Apartment door locked

What to Do about Lost Apartment Keys

It’s a frustrating situation: you arrive home and realize that your apartment key is missing. Don’t panic. Depending on the situation, you might have several options.

What to Do If You Are Locked out

The first thing you should do is to retrace your steps. If you drove yourself home, your apartment key might have slipped off your keyring in the car or in the driveway or parking lot.

If you can’t locate your key, you will need to find a way to get into your apartment. If there is an unlocked window that you can climb in safely, you can do that, but don’t try to force the door or a window open. You would almost certainly cause damage, and you would need to pay for repairs.

If you live with someone else, get in touch with that person. If he or she is nearby or will be home soon, you can wait to be let in.

If you live alone, or if a person you live with cannot come home and let you in anytime soon, get in touch with your landlord or management company. If there are on-site staff and you are locked out during business hours, someone should be able to let you in. Depending on your landlord’s policy, an employee might let you into your apartment after business hours. Many landlords and management companies charge fees for this service.

Unable to find someone that can let you into your apartment? You will need to call a reputable, professional locksmith.

All American Locksmiths is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help if you accidentally lock yourself out of your home. If you get stuck, give us a call!

Depending on the terms of your lease, your landlord might require you to pay to have the locks rekeyed if you lose your key. Even if the lease does not require this, it might still be a good idea, especially if your wallet was lost or stolen and your identification with your address was inside.

How to Avoid Getting Locked out

Prepare for the possibility that you might accidentally lock yourself out of your apartment. If you have a close friend or relative who lives nearby, you can give that person a copy of your apartment key for emergencies. Only give a key to someone you know well and trust.

Another option is to hide a spare key near your apartment. Avoid obvious places, such as under the doormat or inside the mailbox. Choose a place where a thief would not immediately look and where the key would not be easily seen. A hole in a tree, a stone wall, and a dense bush are good hiding places.

Be Prepared

Getting locked out is a major inconvenience. Depending on your landlord’s policies, it could also cost a lot of money. You will likely lock yourself out at least once. Know what to do so you can get back into your home as quickly as possible.

scared girl

Terrifying Lost Keys Scenarios & What to Do About It

There’s a good chance that you’ve been in a situation where you’re looking around and you can’t seem to find your keys anywhere. Pretty terrifying, right? The casual search suddenly turns into a full-blown panic attack while you feeling around in your bag and trying to frantically retrace your steps.

Whether you’ve lost your house or car keys or you managed to lock yourself out, there are a few things you can do to stay calm and get it fixed.

How to Find House Keys

The worst part about realizing that you’ve lost your house keys is the fact that it usually happens when you get home and you’re on your doorstep waiting to go inside. If possible, try to have a spare hidden somewhere but be clever about this because thieves are already on to this trick if you’re going to do it. If you don’t have a spare lying around, it’s best to call a professional locksmith. Someone with qualifications can make a new key, duplicate your spare, and help you get inside safely and quickly.

How to Find Car Keys

If you have a tendency to carry your car keys in your pocket, you probably have experience with them falling out when sitting down. The first thing to do is retrace your steps. If you don’t find them right away, be sure to stay by your car. If someone did pick up your keys and they are trying to steal the vehicle, they will most likely walk among the cars and test out the remote to see which car it belongs to. Your last resort would be to call an emergency locksmith service or the local police.

Tips for Replacement

There are going to be a situation when you simply cannot locate your keys at all. When you can’t find them, a replacement is your only option. If the key that you lost is for your home, it’s best to not only get a replacement but to also change your locks as soon as possible. If you lost your car keys, be sure to invalidate them using your car’s onboard diagnostics port. When you call for a locksmith, ensure that you tell them exactly what’s wrong and what you need.

If you find yourself in one of these spooky situations, give us a call and we will help you get back inside and get those keys replaced for you!

If you reside anywhere in Connecticut or Westchester County, New York, then we’re at your service. Few locksmiths know Connecticut like we do. Why? Because we’ve traveled all over the state to help people with their house keys and car keys. We’ll gladly visit you in Greenwich, Stamford, New Haven, Hartford, and anywhere in between. If you need help anywhere in Connecticut, don’t hesitate to call us now. Don’t think that any town is too far for us, because it’s not. If, for example, you’re in Hartford, and we’re servicing someone in Darien, we’ll gladly come to your aid. As an added bonus, we may just visit The Capital Grille on the way back!

avoid scammer locksmiths

How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off by Scammers Posing as Locksmiths

Nothing’s worse than realizing you’ve been locked out of your home or that your business doors aren’t properly secured. Having a locksmith you trust in your contacts list is vital. Today scams are common and it’s easy to feel vulnerable when these situations occur.

Here’s how to avoid getting ripped off by scammers posing as reputable locksmiths.

Do Your Research

Unfortunately, thieves are getting smarter today and leveraging technology as a way to fool innocent consumers. They can do things like caller ID spoofing and phone number forwarding so you think you’re calling a local company but the call is rerouted out of state or to a call center in another country. Many are now also creating imposter company names similar to legit businesses in the area in an attempt to trick someone who is in a panicked rush to find a locksmith.

Be sure to check the BBB for credibility and have a company you trust lined up in advance of an issue occurring with your locks. That established relationship will be important to keeping you safe and protecting your wallet from being overcharged.

Be Careful of Low Price Baiting

You may also find yourself questioning if you’ve been had if you choose a locksmith who shows up to do an emergency lock job and hands you an astronomical bill at the end of the service for something that should have been a quick, easy fix. This is another tactic that non-reputable locksmiths are using to prey on those vulnerable and looking to regain access to their home and belongings.

To trap consumers they bait them in with a service listed on their site as being $19 (and up) and then show up to the job and begin up charging and naming fees and services needed for extra security and other false claims ultimately ending in a bill almost 4x the original quote.

Reputable Locksmiths Have Value-Adds

A reputable locksmith such as All American Locksmiths will offer more accurate pricing and quotes for customers. One option that can easily help get a better quote (and that All American Locksmith’s offers) is emailing photos of the actual lock along with a description of the problem they are having.

Companies that plan to use up charging tactics won’t offer this so they can leave room for technicians to give a higher price once they arrive on the scene. With this communication, there’s less room for surprises and you can feel confident in selecting a reputable locksmith company.

We offer prompt lockout services, new locks, and more throughout Connecticut & Westchester County. Get in touch today!