HENDERSON (KTNV) — A Henderson family is warning others about a locksmith company after they say they were charged $915 to unlock their front door — with no upfront price disclosed — while stranded outside with an infant in the summer heat.
WATCH | I heard from the family about what led to this and what they are doing now:
Justin Hixon said his girlfriend was locked out of their home after dropping him off at the airport. She called a company called Mobile Locksmith Now for help. By the time she arrived home, Hixon said, the technician was already working on the door without her authorization.
"My girlfriend's pulling up the guy's already getting to work, she didn't give him authorization," Hixon said.
The work took less than a minute, Hixon said. But the bill that followed was far from small.
"$915; they did a 75% premium because they thought insurance was gonna pay that we didn't have," Hixon said.
A copy of the service invoice shows the fees and pricing with a total of $915.
Hixon said no price was discussed before the work began.
"Doesn't ask her if she has insurance, doesn't ask her, doesn't tell her how much it's gonna be," Hixon said.
The experience left the family feeling taken advantage of.
"Like we didn't get upfront price. It was kind of just pushed in our face, and she was there with the baby and kind of felt, you know, obligated at that point," Hixon said.
Mobile Locksmith Now's website promises an upfront flat rate quote — something Hixon says his family never received.
To find out whether $915 was a typical price to unlock a front door, I called several local locksmith companies. 702 Locksmith quoted $120 for the service. ABC Locksmith quoted $95 to $150.
"$915 is insane in general," Hixon said.
Hixon is now taking the matter to small claims court and wants others to know what happened before they find themselves in a similar situation.
"I don't want like literally nobody to deal with this like this," Hixon said.
I reached a customer service representative at Mobile Locksmith Now by phone and was told a technician or supervisor would call back to answer questions. That call has not been received yet.
