Driver warns others about hiring locksmith in a pinch

FORT MILL, S.C. — A local woman has a warning for other drivers after she was locked out of her car and had a bad experience with a locksmith.

Brenna Fasching says she had a great day along the Catawba River until she got back to her car and realized she didn’t have her key.

“So I called just the nearest locksmith, the first one that popped up,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.

She says the locksmith wouldn’t give her a quote over the phone, but once he got there, he charged her $600.

“He didn’t give me the option to say, ‘Well, you know, no I can’t afford this.’ He just said, ‘Well you have to pay since I’m already here,’ she said.

She says he gave her a new key but couldn’t get all of the buttons to work, so he dropped the price to $450, but then “he tacked on taxes and service fees that make it go to $513.”

She told Stoogenke that wasn’t all that didn’t sit right. She says he wasn’t clear about who he worked for. But she says she didn’t feel she was in any position to argue, so she paid. “I’m really upset just because I’m a college student as well. I play sports in college, so I only have three or four months out of the year to work and $500 is like a week’s worth of work for me,” she said.

She says she had questions about the key after he left, but that he ghosted her. She says she called the number she originally called to complain but didn’t get very far. Her father also called the same number, posed as a customer, and got quoted a much lower price.

Fasching says the business used at least two names: “Dynamic Fast Locksmith” and “Always 24/7 Locksmith.” Stoogenke tried five phone numbers and two emails over the last nearly two months to get the company’s side of the story. It didn’t respond in time for this report.

In North Carolina, locksmiths need to be licensed. That means taking a test and undergoing a background check.

But Brenna Fasching was in South Carolina where they don’t need a license. Anyone can do it and charge what he/she wants.

If you need a locksmith:

- In North Carolina: Search his/her name on the state licensing board’s website. It’s quick and you can do it on your phone.

- In either Carolina: Pay with a credit card. You usually have more recourse that way.

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