Not sure what’s wrong with your door? WhatsApp me a photo of it on 07453 327708 and I’ll tell you what it probably is, and roughly what it’ll cost, before you book anything. It’s free, and if the door’s fine I’ll say so.
Let me be straight with you about what you’re reading. This isn’t a clever new service. It’s how I’ve quietly worked for years, written down so more people know it’s on offer. I’m a locksmith, not a journalist, and this is one locksmith’s honest opinion on the easiest way to find out what’s wrong with a door without a stranger standing in your hallway.
Why would a locksmith want a photo before a booking?
Because most of the worry about ringing a locksmith is the not knowing. You don’t know what’s broken, you don’t know what it’ll cost, and you don’t know whether the person turning up is straight. A photo takes the first two off the table before I’ve started the van.
It’s also better for me. I turn up with the right part already on the van instead of guessing. I know whether it’s a ten-minute adjustment or an hour with the door off its keeps. And I don’t burn diesel driving to Totton to look at a handle spring I could have named from a picture.
The honest bit: I’d rather you found out for free over the phone than the hard way once someone’s in your hallway. Nobody should be hearing a price for the first time with a stranger stood in their doorway. That’s the whole reason I do it.
What should I take a photo of?
The bit that’s playing up, as close as you can get without the picture going blurry. For most jobs that means one of these:
- The edge of the door with it open, so I can see the lock strip, the hooks and the latch. On a uPVC door this tells me more than any other angle.
- The handle and the keyhole from the outside, straight on.
- The key itself if it’s snapped, bent or won’t go in. Keep the cuts out of shot if you’re posting it anywhere public. Sending it to me privately is fine.
- The wall or brickwork where you’d want a key safe, with the door in the frame so I can judge the spot.
If you can’t get the phone in there, a ten-second video of you lifting the handle and turning the key does the job. I can hear a gearbox that’s on its way out. I can see a handle that’s gone floppy. Whichever’s easier for you.
What will you actually tell me from a photo?
The probable cause and a starting price. Not a guess dressed up as a promise. Here’s a real shape of exchange, the sort I get most weeks from Hythe and Marchwood:
“Hi, the handle’s gone floppy and the door won’t lock.”
And my reply, near enough word for word:
“Hi, it’s Bugsy the locksmith. From that it’s probably one of two things: the gearbox in the door or the handle spring. Send me a ten-second video of you lifting the handle and turning the key and I’ll tell you which, and what it’s likely to cost. Or I’ll pop out and look for free. No call-out fee.”
Notice what I’m not doing. I’m not diagnosing a gearbox from a still photo, because you can’t, and any locksmith who tells you they can is guessing. A photo narrows it down. A video usually settles it. If neither does, I come and look, and that costs you nothing.
For what it’s worth, my prices are on the site for anyone to read. A uPVC gearbox replacement starts from £185 fitted. If it turns out to be only the handle, it’s a lot less. A lock change starts from £90. Those are starting points, not the number on every job, and the price we agree before I start is the price you pay. I’ll tell you mine because I’ve got nothing to hide.
Is it really free?
Yes. No fee for looking at a photo, no fee for the video, no fee for the phone call, and no call-out fee if I come out to look. Coming out to you is part of the job, not a line added on top of it. If I think a job might turn complicated I say so on the phone and we agree the price before I start, never after.
And if the door’s fine, I’ll tell you it’s fine. Sometimes it’s a hinge that wants a quarter turn, or a keep that’s dropped a couple of millimetres over the summer. I’d rather say that than sell you a part you don’t need. You’ve lost nothing and you know where I am next time.
Who am I actually messaging?
Me. The number goes to my own mobile, not an office, not a call centre, not a lad in another county who sub-contracts the job out. I answer it myself. The bloke you message is the bloke who turns up, in the black van with the gold owl on the side and both numbers lettered up the back. Accountability built into the metalwork.
Me and the family have run KeyWise from Hythe since 2013. Everything I’ve written on here is under my own name, and every review on Google is from a real customer who could pick me out of a line-up. The full write-ups of real jobs live on my Facebook page. The reviews live on Google. Have a read of both before you ring anyone, me included.
What happens after I send it?
- I read it properly. If I’m mid-job you might wait twenty minutes for a reply, but you’ll get one from me, not an auto-message.
- I tell you what it probably is and give you a starting price, or I ask for a short video if the photo doesn’t settle it.
- You decide. Book me, sleep on it, or ring someone else with the information in your pocket. No pressure, no chasing.
- If you book, I turn up with the part on the van, fix it non-destructively wherever I can, take a card if you’d rather, and email you a receipt before I leave.
Drilling is the last resort, not the first move. On most uPVC doors around Southampton the fix is a part swap or an adjustment, not a new door and not a wrecked frame. If you want to see what a job like that looks like start to finish, I wrote up a jammed uPVC door in Dibden Purlieu a few weeks back.
What does a photo protect you from?
Spotting a wrong’un gets a lot easier when the price is already in your pocket.
You’ll have read the stories. Someone rings a number off the first advert they find, a van turns up, and the price triples once the bloke’s inside. The lock gets drilled when it didn’t need to be. Cash only. No receipt. No company name they can say without checking their own van.
Getting a price by message before anyone arrives takes most of that away. You’ve got it in writing. You’ve got a name. You’ve got time to check the reviews, look up the van, and change your mind. If a locksmith won’t give you any idea of price until they’re in your doorway, treat everything they say with both eyebrows up. That’s not a tradesman, that’s a hostage situation.
So here’s what I’d want my own mum to know: take the photo, send it, get a price, then decide. Doesn’t have to be me. I’d rather you were safe with someone else than caught out by a cowboy.
FAQ
Can I send a video instead of a photo?
Yes, and for a door that won’t lock it’s usually better. Ten seconds of you lifting the handle and turning the key tells me more than three photos.
Do you charge for looking at the photo or coming out?
No. No fee for the photo, the video or the call, and no call-out fee if I come to look. The only money that changes hands is the price we agree before I start a job.
Can you tell me the exact price from a photo?
A starting price, honestly given. The exact price depends on the part and the door, and I’ll confirm it before I touch anything. What I won’t do is name a low number to get the booking and change it on the doorstep.
What if it’s the middle of the night?
Ring rather than message. I’m 24 hours for lock-outs and emergencies. For a door that’s playing up but still locks, a message in the morning is fine and I’ll come back to you as soon as I’m off the job.
Which areas do you cover?
Hythe, the Waterside, Totton, Marchwood, Dibden Purlieu and across Southampton. If you’re a bit further out, send the photo anyway and I’ll tell you straight whether I’m the right person or point you to someone honest who’s nearer.
Is my photo kept private?
It stays on my phone between us. I don’t post customers’ doors online. The photos on this site are my own jobs, cropped so nobody’s home can be picked out.
One last thing.
Calling a locksmith isn’t scary. Most of the dread is just not knowing what you’re dealing with, and a photo fixes that in about four seconds. Send it to 07453 327708, or ring the landline on 02381 550025 if you’d rather talk, and with any luck the door will behave itself in the meantime.
Bugsy, KeyWise 24hr Locksmiths, Hythe, Southampton.
Be wise, phone Keywise.
