My wife called PDX Locksmith Services in a panic when she locked herself out of her car in the passenger drop-off zone of the Portland Airport on a Friday afternoon, 7/26/19. A nearby skycap recommended "Pop-A-Lock", which turned out to be PDX Locksmith Services.
The technician arrived within about 30 minutes. He saw the airport cop threatening to tow my wife's car from the passenger drop-off zone, and knew she had no choice but to pay whatever he charged. The technician used an inflatable air bladder to quickly unlock her car. He then presented the bill -- an outrageous $249.
I've since called several other nearby reputable locksmiths and tow companies. Their estimates to unlock a car range from $40 - $75. A reputable local locksmith, Mr. Bill Segraves, who owns Curly's Lock & Key, Inc. in Vancouver, WA, gave me a written quote of his company’s charge for such a call -- $55. He says the charge of $249 was "extortion".
FYI, I have made multiple calls to PDX Locksmith Services, at 503-386-9649, to discuss this bill and ask them to reduce it to a reasonable charge. The person who answers says he is just a dispatcher and claims to be unable to discuss billing or complaints. He promises a manager will call. No one ever calls me back.
I just added my own 1-star review of PDX Locksmith Services to Yelp, at https://www.yelp.com/biz/pdx-locksmith-services-beaverton?osq=pdx+locksmith
I found several recent complaints on Yelp about exorbitant charges. For example:
On 7/24/2019 a Yelp reviewer wrote: "This is an awful business . . . These people are thieves. . . I locked my keys inside a work truck . . . They sent someone out who looked at it and said it would be $270. I of course said no, but I still had to pay a $30 fee for him to come out and look at it. When I checked my card balance, he charged me $40. . . I was basically just robbed of $40. I then called a roadside service and they did it in about 2 minutes and only charged $60."
On 8/18/2019 a reviewer wrote: "I called this service because I was locked out of my home. They quoted $29 to come out and said there might be additional charges. I was astonished when the person who responded said it would cost $190. . ."
On 6/20/2019 a reviewer wrote: "This was an awful and sketchy experience with dishonest people. I locked my keys in my car around 11pm. When I called, the dispatcher refused to give me a quote, saying that the technician would call back and answer all my questions. The technician called back, only said $29 + labor, and said he would be there in 10 minutes. Without my keys, I waited outside in the cold. He came 20 minutes later, looked at my car, and said it would be more than $100 on top of that. When I said I would rather find someone else, he drove off angrily. When the dispatcher called me back, insulted me, and tried to bargain, I refused and hung up. . . I was scared because I was alone in the dark. If either of them had given me an honest quote from the get-go, I could have made an educated decision . . . I ended up finding someone else who gave me a much lower quote for a flat rate immediately over the phone, and unlocked my door quickly and easily."
So those are three recent examples of complaints just like mine about the deceptive and predatory practices of PDX Locksmith Services. It is obvious this company’s business practices are exceptionally shady.
PDX Locksmith Services shamefully victimized my wife as an elderly female driver in distress. The business apparently makes a common practice of grossly overcharging for a simple lockout service call.
PDX Locksmith Services Reviews
My wife called PDX Locksmith Services in a panic when she locked herself out of her car in the passenger drop-off zone of the Portland Airport on a Friday afternoon, 7/26/19. A nearby skycap recommended "Pop-A-Lock", which turned out to be PDX Locksmith Services.
The technician arrived within about 30 minutes. He saw the airport cop threatening to tow my wife's car from the passenger drop-off zone, and knew she had no choice but to pay whatever he charged. The technician used an inflatable air bladder to quickly unlock her car. He then presented the bill -- an outrageous $249.
I've since called several other nearby reputable locksmiths and tow companies. Their estimates to unlock a car range from $40 - $75. A reputable local locksmith, Mr. Bill Segraves, who owns Curly's Lock & Key, Inc. in Vancouver, WA, gave me a written quote of his company’s charge for such a call -- $55. He says the charge of $249 was "extortion".
FYI, I have made multiple calls to PDX Locksmith Services, at 503-386-9649, to discuss this bill and ask them to reduce it to a reasonable charge. The person who answers says he is just a dispatcher and claims to be unable to discuss billing or complaints. He promises a manager will call. No one ever calls me back.
I just added my own 1-star review of PDX Locksmith Services to Yelp, at https://www.yelp.com/biz/pdx-locksmith-services-beaverton?osq=pdx+locksmith
I found several recent complaints on Yelp about exorbitant charges. For example:
On 7/24/2019 a Yelp reviewer wrote: "This is an awful business . . . These people are thieves. . . I locked my keys inside a work truck . . . They sent someone out who looked at it and said it would be $270. I of course said no, but I still had to pay a $30 fee for him to come out and look at it. When I checked my card balance, he charged me $40. . . I was basically just robbed of $40. I then called a roadside service and they did it in about 2 minutes and only charged $60."
On 8/18/2019 a reviewer wrote: "I called this service because I was locked out of my home. They quoted $29 to come out and said there might be additional charges. I was astonished when the person who responded said it would cost $190. . ."
On 6/20/2019 a reviewer wrote: "This was an awful and sketchy experience with dishonest people. I locked my keys in my car around 11pm. When I called, the dispatcher refused to give me a quote, saying that the technician would call back and answer all my questions. The technician called back, only said $29 + labor, and said he would be there in 10 minutes. Without my keys, I waited outside in the cold. He came 20 minutes later, looked at my car, and said it would be more than $100 on top of that. When I said I would rather find someone else, he drove off angrily. When the dispatcher called me back, insulted me, and tried to bargain, I refused and hung up. . . I was scared because I was alone in the dark. If either of them had given me an honest quote from the get-go, I could have made an educated decision . . . I ended up finding someone else who gave me a much lower quote for a flat rate immediately over the phone, and unlocked my door quickly and easily."
So those are three recent examples of complaints just like mine about the deceptive and predatory practices of PDX Locksmith Services. It is obvious this company’s business practices are exceptionally shady.
PDX Locksmith Services shamefully victimized my wife as an elderly female driver in distress. The business apparently makes a common practice of grossly overcharging for a simple lockout service call.