Emergency locksmith and lock-out entry

Nobody plans this one. The door has shut behind you, the key has snapped in the cylinder, the lock has seized in the cold, or the keys went with a bag that is now somewhere else entirely. What you want is somebody who turns up, gets you in, and does not invent a price on the doorstep.

We cover London and the Home Counties for emergency entry. Most doors open without damage, picking, bypassing or manipulating the lock rather than drilling it, and where a lock does have to come out, we carry replacements so you are not left with a hole in the door.

What we get called to

• Locked out of a house, flat, shop or office
• Key snapped off in the lock. See broken key extraction
• Lost or stolen keys, where the locks now need changing
• A lock that has seized, jammed or failed internally
• A UPVC door that has dropped and will no longer throw its hooks
• An anti-snap cylinder that has done its job during an attempted break-in
• A door forced in a burglary, needing entry then securing. See emergency boarding up

Non-destructive first, always

Drilling is quick and it is how a lot of call-outs get finished, because it is easier than doing it properly. We try to pick, bypass or slip the lock first: the great majority of doors open that way and you keep the lock you already paid for.

If the lock genuinely has to be drilled, usually because it has already failed internally or because it is an anti-snap cylinder behaving exactly as designed, we tell you before we start and we tell you what the replacement will cost. No surprises once the drill is out.

What we carry

Euro cylinders in common sizes, anti-snap and anti-bump cylinders, mortice locks, nightlatches, UPVC multipoint parts, handles and keeps. Most jobs are finished on the first visit rather than becoming a second appointment for a part.

If a security upgrade makes sense while we are there, say a BS3621 mortice for an insurer or a three-star cylinder on a vulnerable front door, we will quote it, and we will also tell you when it is not worth it.

Pricing

You get a price before work starts, not after. For a straightforward entry that is a call-out plus the opening; if parts are needed the parts are quoted separately so you can see what you are paying for. We would rather have a slightly awkward conversation on the doorstep than an argument at the end.

Questions we get asked about emergency locksmith