Around The Clock Locksmith, by using Google intercepts calls intended for Pop-A-Lock customers who are seeking remedy for automobile lockout situations. At no time does their representative distinguish his services from Pop-A-Lock who provides service expeditiously and at a reasonable price. Around The Clock Locksmith relies on the good name of Pop-A - Lock to provide a level of trust and confidence that he provides the same level of service.in reality he is a con artist who never verbally discusses the fee he charges and thus relies on the consumers assumption that they are dealing with Pop-A-Lock or an authorized subcontractor. The consumer feels confident that the price for service will be commensurate with those of Pop-A-Lock.
In my case the fees charged were 10 times those charged by Pop-A-Lock. For a 1 hr. Maximum time commitment which involved less than 10 minutes of actual service (the remainder was travel time as recorded by time notations on our cell phone) he charged $795.00. The typical charge by Pop-A-Lock is $79.50 for an after hours service call. (Please note the similarity in price numbers.).
Around The Clock Locksmith uses the surrounding physical area to his advantage to disguise what he is doing. His truck, while saying "Around The Clock Locksmith" is eerily similar the vehicles used by Pop-A-Lock. He, in my case used the fact that he arrived at dusk 5:28 PMEST (phone verification) on January 23. Which is very close to sundown. The Parking area was dimly lit and all transactions were conducted from inside his vehicle where no illumination was provided.
Around The Clock Locksmith never denied that he had any affiliation with Pop-A-Lock. This is despite the fact that on at least two occasions Pop-A-Lock was referenced by me ad the person who made the original call. (Unsolicited verification on file). He depends on covert deception to lull the consumer into carelessness.
Around The Clock Locksmith also provided protection for himself by having the end user sign both estimates and a completion of services papers in numerous places. The amount of signatures and time used to explain the agreements distract the user from the content of the estimate and final charge.in reality the charges are located far from the description of services and verbal agreement.
When the work is completed Around The Clock Locksmith requests either a VISA or MasterCard.in my case I presented him with my wife's MasterCard which he refused to accept because my wife was inside a friends home and I was conducting the business. (the outdoor temperature was an uncomfortable 20 degrees.) By this time I was becoming frustrated with the demands for more information fromAround The Clock Locksmith as it was not enough for him to possess my drivers license, insurance card and automobile registration. Rather than have my wife come into the cold I gave him my Debit card and asked him to put it on the credit aspect of the card. When the receipt came out he had used the debit aspect but at this time I was not in the mood to have him change it. He kept referring to the fact that he was required to do all of this by someone else, presumably a corporate entity. He then asked me to sign two copies of the receipt which I did and he was about to pocket both when I asked him for my copy and why I had to sign my copy. He gave some lame excuse, handed me my copy and left.
By the time he left it was too late as my bank account had already been depleted. I suspect that he was considering using both receiptsand double charging me. Additionally, in retrospect a signed receipt is not necessarily needed unless the consumer requests it as the PIN # is generally sufficient as an electronic signature.
The next morning I canceled my card and the card I originally tried to pay with as he had had it n his possession long enough th swipe it and obtain the account #. Ifeel that there was a real possibility that he could have submtted my signed receipt (s) as well as that which he debited. The total could have been @2,385.00 if my suspicions are correct.in responses to other complaints against this individual, he states that his charges are reasonable. I let the reader be te judge.
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