On Call Locksmiths

Absolute scam - I was charged over $650 for a simple lockout call. When I challenged the fee, (as a similar callout two weeks ago in my apartment block for my neighbour was $200), the attending locksmith said my lock has a ‘high security lock’ and a more complicated job. I felt pressured to pay the amount as I was desperate to get back in to my… Read more

apartment , which he quoted halfway through the job. He was onsite for a total of 17 minutes. I asked for a receipt and none was provided via sms as promised. When I followed up with On Call Locksmiths to complain and demand a refund - no response. I have reported to my bank, Master Locksmiths Association (who confirmed I have been scammed) and the ACCC. This company should be closed down as they taking advantage of innocent people in vulnerable situations. Be warned - DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!

Charged $1000 for a pair of Lever on Plate handles which can be obtained for $147.70 at Handles Plus. Originally quoted $600 then on installation said that applied to each handle. They are undoubtedly untrustworthy and I would never consider using them again.

Absolute scammers. Avoid at all costs. They took hours to reply, the technician assigned to us changed multiple times, they came without all their tools and had to borrow ours, then charged us $200. Without fixing the lock.

Ripped off 1,070 to change the lock on my security door. And fitted two new handles. Then proceeded to show me how he can pick a lock in a few seconds. Said he was arriving around 2pm. Ended up 4.20pm. Sent me a text to see if it was the right house… Read more

he had arrived at. Called himself [Name Removed]. Had a thick accent. Quoted us $500 then doubled it at the end. My god!!! I’ve never been so humiliated. I’m so upset! I felt like I was powerless to tell him to get out of my house. Ugh. Please don’t EVER use this company. Also said if I wanted private work done, I could call the number he had been texting me from.

Requested new locks on 2x security screen doors. Price $1,900 odd dollars, asked for a breakdown on the costs ... internal mechanisms $399 each, key hole barrels $80 x4, GST 10%, call out fee $29, labour 20% of the price of the hardware (30mins… Read more

labour max) ... no real idea how '[Name Removed]' came to his figure, then he suddenly brought the price down by $300. So now $1,600 odd dollars ... googled up basic prices and this job was DOUBLE!! Asked him to remove the locks and leave! Which he did after taking a $29 call out fee!! Bloody outrageous, stay away!!!! No honestly, no integrity, no transparency! No invoice provided!! I've just got screen shots of text messages shared with the technician.

Suggest them profoundly! – The locksmith was responsive, and kind and went far in excess of in his work to assist us with getting once more into our home. Suggest them profoundly!

Their Product Really amazing! – I love this company. I am really helpful using to this company and there price was resonable. Best Company in this Area. Thank you Guys.

Fantastic, timely service – Lost our only Mazda car key. Alon arrived within 30mins. We were quoted around $1880+ to replace the key from 2 Mazda dealerships. We would have also had to pay to get the car towed to Mazda. But thanks to Alon & his fantastic service, he met us at our car, we got 2 new remote car keys, plus he changed the key barrels on the door & we got an extra… Read more

manual key, all for just $720 (this included the low call-out fee of $35). If I could give 11/10 I would. Thank you so much to Alon & On Call Melbourne Locksmiths. I highly recommend this business. Thanks again to Alon. Vanessa

This is the most corrupt, worst business I have ever seen. Was told he would be arriving in 15 minutes, took him over 2 hours. We rang him on 4-5 occasions and he kept saying “5 more minutes” or “10 more minutes”. A complete liar. Once he arrived, he couldn’t even get unlock our security door, so he had to angle grind our lock off. He then… Read more

charged us $550. Quoted a “weekend” rate on a Friday! After that, he then it will cost another $399 for them to put a new lock tomorrow. This business is run by crooks, don’t not ever get them your money. Use a credible business like RACV and don’t let people like this get away with, taking advantage of people who need it most.

Two young guys showed up to change a door handle,quoted $250 for the two sides which it didn't need ,when I refused they quoted $350 for one side, they went away to get the handle came back it didn't fit so,they left again with my handle, never returned..I had to sort out a way of locking up as this is a business and,bought one and did it myself… Read more

next day for $183. Would not recommend them to even do a padlock on the kids cubby house,crooks, scammers,DONT USE.

SCAM ALERT, I was unable to get the key to turn the key in the ignition of my vehicle so I did a search and On Call Locksmiths came up in my search. On their site they state that the have a $29 call out fee so I called them. It was very difficult to communicate with the lady who talk my call as English was not her first language and she had a… Read more

thick accent and I had trouble understanding what she said and she had trouble understanding me. When the locksmith arrived he told me there was a $380 call out fee plus labour. As I was in the car park of a fenced business at the time, I needed to be able move my vehicle. I was panicking that I had a serious problem that may have taken several hours to sort out, so I agreed. As it turned out, the ignition barrel needed cleaning and it took him about 20 to 30 minutes to do it, for which I was charged another $236. All up the total cost was $616, including GST. I would like to note that my vehicle is 38 years old and has simple, old, metal key with an ignition barrel, there are NO ELECTRONICS involved so it was a very simple task. I still have the same problem from time to time and since he worked on my vehicle I've discovered my head lights don't work and there's a wire hanging down that wasn't there before. I'm embarresssed to say that I didn't think to check them out in advance for scam alerts as I didn't realise that this occurred. NEVER USE THIS COMPANY, IT'S A SCAM.

Charged my young son $1300 to unlock a door. It was Xmas day , so he expected it to be dearer than normal, it was a 6 point lock. But $1300 for 10 mins work and took nearly 2 weeks wages off him. Shame on you, have taught my son to check Google reviews first now. DO NOT RECOMMEND !

Extremely disappointing experience — completely non-transparent pricing. I strongly warn others to avoid this company. Over the phone, I repeatedly asked for a price estimate. The only information given was a $25 call-out fee, and they refused to provide any further quotation. Once the technician arrived, I was suddenly told it would cost $399… Read more

for an “advanced lockout”, even though it was just a simple internal bedroom-style lock that required no special tools.

The job took about 30 minutes, yet the final invoice came to $650.17, including: • $399 “advanced lockout” • $100 “priority/urgent fee” (never mentioned beforehand) • $74.85 labour fee • 10% GST • credit card surcharge

This felt like a classic case of withholding the price on the phone and then dramatically inflating the cost on-site.

Afterward, I checked the market rates — a standard lockout in Point Cook is typically $120–$250, meaning their pricing is excessively inflated.

I have filed a formal complaint and will also be lodging a case with Consumer Affairs Victoria. This type of non-transparent, misleading pricing should not be allowed. Please be very cautious and avoid becoming the next victim.

We used 24/7 hour locksmith when we moved into our new place in inner city Melbourne. In hindsight we should have done our due diligence in slowing the process down in changing our locks. Unfortunately, 24/7 locksmith is a scamming service. Initially, when i asked 24/7 locksmith for any identifying details, he was initially hesitant to give any.… Read more

He only have a verbal quote of around $480, not a written one. Paul, the locksmith, spent 6 hours trying to change 4 locks in the house. He underquoted the front door, saying it was now $240 for a double barrel instead of $120 as agreed earlier. This was initially fine until he said he needed a new lock to change the back door, and quoted us $350 for it. We initially agreed to this, but when he couldn't change the door and requested to bring his manager (after two hours), he then quoted $450. We then found out through another locksmith the next day he used copy keys for all doors and we had to get them all replaced again. This is a scamming service designed to extract as much money from people who need safe and security for their property.

Avoid this company at all costs. I wish I can give a negative review coz they don’t deserve any star. I locked myself out of my home on a Sunday and found this company online. Their advertisement claimed 24/7 availability and a $29 call-out fee. Before the locksmith arrived, I asked over the phone how much the service would cost. He said he… Read more

needed to see the door first.

Once he arrived and briefly inspected the situation, he quoted me around $700—a shockingly high amount for a simple lockout. When I said I couldn’t afford that and wanted to cancel, he told me there would be a $250 cancellation fee.

This felt extremely misleading and exploitative. Be very cautious before contacting this company.

They also operate under the name “Services on Wheels”

They also operate as Services on Wheels. Extortionate prices and poor service. They buy google ads to make sure that they appear prominently on search results and claim that they have a $35 dollar call out fee. If you do call them out, they will calculate their 'services' on their personal phone, piling costs upon costs to service your lock. They… Read more

overcharge on everything they do for a few minutes of simple work. They then put pressure on you with a final bill in the hundreds for services that they have already performed. Avoid them at all costs. As an example - my invoice. unlock $149.00 New lock $170.00 Installation $99.00 expansion $229.00 After Hours $99.00 Call Out Fee $35.00 Sub Total $781.00 GST $78.10 Credit Card Fee $25.77 Total $884.87

SCAM! - DON’T USE THEM. They send an independent Locksmith, they will gas light you, thinking they are doing the right thing and charge you over double the amount. An apartment was unlocked under 10 seconds, the job ended up $903.00 with all the additional costs, as per attached. Under the Consumer Affairs ACT Section 18: This is Misleading and… Read more

Deceptive, committing this act. SHAME On Call Locksmiths, Service On Wheels and the independent locksmith

This is hands down the worst service I’ve ever experienced. I was charged an outrageous $700 just to get through a standard door — no complex locks, no replacements, nothing special. When I asked for an itemised quote to explain the cost, they couldn’t provide one. No transparency, no breakdown, no justification. It honestly feels like they prey… Read more

on people in stressful situations. Totally unprofessional and predatory. I wouldn’t recommend this company to anyone. Do yourself a favour and call literally anyone else.

Ripped off by criminals – Criminals. Stay away from them. Will take advantage of your situation Was advised the cost would be $35 plus $45 for unlocking my lock. Upon arrival I was asked if the back of the locked door had a standard handle to be able to pull down on to open it without any need to touch the lock. I replied, yes, it has a handle. I was then told the cost… Read more

was $249 plus $35 for call out, plus $99 for weekend making it now over $380

30 seconds later, the door was opened and then I was charged $421 which included GST and card fees.

Absolutely a scam and they hide the costs until you’re cornered knowing full well that they are gouging people with every job they do.

Don’t trust any information on the website because none of it applies when they arrive.

$695 to pick a lock – The technician was really nice. However, for a 9pm call out I was charged $695. A fee for the lock, a fee for late call out, a fee for call out, then get on top. I would not recommend using this service.

Taken advantage of – We used On Call Locksmiths late evening after having our vehicle vandalised and the ignition damaged rendering it un-driveable. At the time, it was late at night and starting to rain and this was a convertible car without a roof. We had already been waiting for quite some time prior to calling On Call Locksmiths to arrange for a vehicle tow… Read more

without any luck, so by the time we called On Call Locksmiths, we were already getting quite desperate to resolve our situation. The technician arrived and after an assessment of the situation, advised that he should be able to at least get the vehicle running again by fiddling around with the ignition and basically being able to turn on the ignition with the likes of a screwdriver. For this, he quoted $400 which I thought was a lot but given our options and circumstance, I requested him to proceed. After some time, he then said that surprisingly, the key still fitted into the ignition and after a few more minutes, he was able to turn the key in the barrel of the ignition so effectively, he had salvaged the ignition completely. I was very relieved up until we had to pay the technician. I had assumed that the amount owing was $435 ($35 call out plus the $400 that he quoted), only to be told it is about $555 PLUS GST!!! After looking at the website now and seeing the prices quoted for different works, I am struggling to comprehend how the price had blown out from the estimates provided on their website. I noted the car key extraction' ($75) or Car Key/Ignition replacement ($150) which is possibly what needed to be done which even if these were added together, would be around $225. I understand that circumstances can vary the price to some degree but the price we ended up paying was basically triple that amount. Also, at no point did the technician explain that there was going to be further charges on top of the $400 price quoted. This is just ruthless cash grabbing by taking advantage of people who are in a vulnerable situation. Just a terrible experience overall:-(. I do however give credit where credit is due and the technician is clearly very capable and resolved our issue but that came at an extreme cost

Took advantage of desperate and vulnerable family member, unbelievable overcharge ($420 for a $100-$150 job) – As so many others have noted, this “company” is not very different to scammers: underquoted, attend and mumble a quote and take advantage of a family member in a desperate situation, charge 3x the cost of other reputable companies for a two minute job ($420 for a $100-$150 job quoted by other companies). No email address. Call centre answered by… Read more

someone in Philippines. No resolution. Taking the case to Consumer Affairs. Please don’t use this company.

Fraud!!! – Scam! Scam! Scam! DO NOT CALL THEM! These people do not provide a quote until the work is done and booom $300 sevice fee plus $35 call out fee for 2 minutes work. You cannot take advantage of people who are just stuck