Beware! Rogue Traders
£430 to change a door lock
07 February 2008
EDITORIAL - editorial@thecomet.net
| Patricia Hoar with the £430 bill presented to her by the locksmith |
Patricia Hoar, of Shoreham Close, Stevenage, rang Pronto Locks Ltd when she needed to change a barrel at her home where she lives alone.
At the end of the 30-minute job she stumped up the cash because she was too frightened to confront the workman.
Ms Hoar has since realised the man that owns the company, Mark Makowski, had featured on BBC's Rogue Traders programme under different company names and has been prosecuted.
And the plucky pensioner wants to warn others that they could also be at risk of rogue traders.
The 61-year-old said: "The man who did the job said the reason he charged me the price he did for the lock was because it is more expensive to buy them on a Sunday but you can buy them in B&Q for the same price every day!
"It wasn't until he drilled it that he told me how much it was going to be, but I didn't want to have a confrontation as I was frightened of what he could do.
"He had told me the call out fee was £90 or £120, which I was quite prepared to pay.
"But when he left I was gobsmacked. I phoned my friend and said, 'I think I've just been ripped off!'"
Peter Corti, owner of abclocks.co.uk, which covers Hertfordshire, said: "It should have been, at the most, £95 from the sounds of it, £75 during the week, including the parts and the labour.
"It sounds like she's been ripped off. It gives others a bad name as well."
In February 2007 St Albans Crown Court upheld fines, costs and compensation payments totalling more than £10,000 imposed by magistrates against Mr Makowski and his company, Phoenix Locksmiths Ltd, for misleading customers about the cost of its service.
His current company, Pronto Locks, covers the Hertfordshire area and operates out of a head office in London.
The BBC website states: "Mark Makowski has featured twice before on Rogue Traders under two different names.
"He's an emergency locksmith whose specialities are stretching jobs out and drilling through locks unnecessarily."
A spokesman for Herts County Council said: "We are aware of Mr Makowski, having previously brought a prosecution against him and we will look into this matter. If anyone is concerned they can contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506."
The Comet contacted Mark Makowski who refused to comment.
In all fairness, the Comet made a couple of mistakes, firstly my name, that I corrected, also cylinders/barrels for upvc / aluminum doors are around £18 to £35, depending on quality and size.
