Locked Out in Basingstoke | What to Do Before You Phone a Locksmith

I take calls from people locked out most days, usually at the worst moment: school run, tradesman waiting, baby asleep next door, bin lorry coming. First thing I'll say on the phone is the same thing I'll say here. Take a breath. A good number of these sort themselves out in five minutes, and you'll feel daft paying me to find a window you left open.

This isn't me talking you out of a call-out. I'm happy to come. It's me saving you the money where I can, because that's the locksmith you'll ring next time.

Walk the whole perimeter first

Sounds obvious. Isn't, when you're flustered. Go round and actually try:

• The back door. Left on the latch far more often than people admit, especially in summer.
• Patio or French doors. Sometimes only locked when someone remembers to.
• The side gate, then whatever it gives you access to.
• The internal garage door, if you've an integral garage.
• Any ground-floor window you tilt rather than shut.

I've stood at a front door for ten minutes while the owner found a wide-open kitchen window round the back. Be quicker than that bloke.

Work out which kind of locked-out you are

This changes everything, so be honest about it:

• Key's inside, door slammed. The lock may only be on the latch, not deadlocked. That's often a quick, non-destructive open.
• Key's genuinely lost, dropped on the train. You'll get back in, but you'll likely want the cylinder changed afterwards, because a lost key with an address on the fob is a live risk.
• Key snapped or the lock's seized. Different job again, and worth saying on the call so I bring the right kit.

Telling me which one you are is half the job done before I arrive.

Who else has a key

Spare keys live in odd places and odd hands. Run the list:

• Partner, housemate or parent at work. Can they nip back?
• The neighbour you once left a spare with.
• Cleaner, dog walker, pet sitter, the decorator who was in last month.
• Your letting agent, if you rent.
• A key pouch in the car. I've found house keys in glove boxes more than once.

Anyone within a half-hour drive with a key is cheaper than me. No offence taken.

Check the hides, then ditch them later

If you maybe-hid a spare and can't recall, check under the nearby pots, the porch light, behind an external meter box, a magnetic box under a bench or the bins. If you find one, great. Then, once you're in, get rid of that hiding place. Outdoor spares are one of the easiest wins going for an opportunist. A small key safe fitted out of sight is the grown-up version.

If none of that works, then ring

When you call the office, have this ready so I can quote properly and bring the right things:

• Full address with postcode.
• Door type: front, back, garage, communal, flat entrance.
• Material: wooden, uPVC, composite, aluminium.
• The brand on the lock if you can see it: Yale, Avocet, Ultion, ERA.
• Anything obviously wrong: snapped key, broken handle, signs someone's had a go at it.

That's enough for me to give you the labour rate, a parts estimate and the VAT on the call, send the closest engineer, and tell you a realistic ETA.

What it usually won't cost you

A wrecked door. Most lockouts I attend open by picking or bypassing the lock, and it still works when I leave. Drilling is the last resort, not the first, and only when a cylinder's anti-pick, badly worn or already damaged leaves no other way. If I ever do need to drill, you'll know before I start, and I'll replace what I drilled.

Once you're back in

Two quick jobs while it's fresh in your mind:

1. Get a properly fitted key safe somewhere discreet, a Burton or similar with a decent rating, not a £12 one off the shelf.
2. Have a look at your front-door cylinder. If it's a snappable one and I'm already there, I can usually upgrade it on the spot so the next surprise isn't a break-in.

That's it. Most lockouts are sortable, most are sortable cheaply, and most are over inside the hour. We cover Basingstoke and RG21 to RG29, day and night, and I'd genuinely rather talk you back in for free than charge you for an open window.