Got locked out of our house
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52201)
Staten Island, New York
June 26, 2024 2:08pm CST
Saturday night hubby went to our house to pick up some clothes. He unlocked the door but when he turned the knob nothing was happening. He was locked out. It was clear that the button was pushed in on the knob from the inside to prevent anyone from getting into the house. We do not have a key to that knob on our key rings so no way for us to get inside. With no way to open the door hubby went back to my mom's house where we are staying right now.
He went back to the house Sunday to try and get into the house through the backyard door. I found keys for that in my mom's house. He went to the neighbor, told him what happened, and the neighbor let him climb from his backyard over to ours. The key went into the lock but wouldn't turn. Even spraying the lock didn't help. Had no choice but to call a locksmith. It cost him $220. That's just crazy. And the guy didn't even spend that much time getting the lock to open.
I told the contractor what happened and he said that he thought we had the key to that knob so that's why he pushed the button in. He didn't do that before so why did he decide to do that now? Makes no sense. He also asked why we didn't call him if we were locked out. Honestly, it didn't hit me to try and contact him. And hubby didn't think of that either.
9 people like this
6 responses
@celticeagle (189917)
• Boise, Idaho
27 Jun 24
That's a steep fee for sure. @Marie Coyle's son has an interesting new-age way of it.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
28 Jun 24
Probably because it is a Sunday.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
28 Jun 24
There’s no worse feeling than being locked out of your own house. That happened to my brother once, and he ended up breaking a window to get into his house.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Jul 24
@lovebuglena Oh okay. That makes sense. Yeah, they already are too expensive on regular days, so you know they are going to kill you with their Sunday prices.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
28 Jun 24
If I wasn't able to get in through the back I'd not have called the locksmith. I'd have tried to pick the front lock myself first. If he needed a clean t-shirt and shorts we could have just bought them at TJMaxx or Marshall's. Would have been way cheaper than $220.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
2 Jul 24
@moffittjc It is. But it was a Sunday. Locksmiths are usually closed on Sundays. It is only logical they'd charge more to come to your house on that day.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
14 Jul 24
Hope it doesn’t happen again. But we gotta get a new knob in its place, whether with lock or without.
@LeaPea2417 (40037)
• Toccoa, Georgia
26 Jun 24
You could get a spare key made and hide it somewhere outside, so you never get locked out again.
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Jun 24
I cannot find any keys to that knob. I am not sure what happened to them. I remember having them at one point. We may need to replace the knob.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98026)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Jun 24
Too bad you didn't think about it before the locksmith robbed you, To me that just shows people are out to get money any way they can, Having a writer's imagination I wonder if the contractor and the locksmith both made a deal and will split the money 
@lovebuglena (52201)
• Staten Island, New York
26 Jun 24
I don't know how much they usually charge but I think that it was this much because it is a Sunday. But I wonder, how would the contractor get it open. Unless he has the tools for picking locks. I did find online that you can open a lock with bobby pins. The post had step-by-step instructions. Hubby didn't want to try that. If it were me I'd try that for sure.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98026)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Jun 24
@lovebuglena For your future reference and to remember I went to my source the Internet and this is what I found out
If you reach out to a locksmith during off-hours, such as nights, weekends, and holidays, you can expect to pay a surcharge between $150 to $250.
@RasmaSandra (98026)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
26 Jun 24
@lovebuglena yep and now you know, I figure it is because no one wants to work at those times but will if the pay is high enough but I think that is taking advantage of people,
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
27 Jun 24
I'm sorry you got locked out. Hopefully you've made arrangements to fix the problem. Have a good day.
@LindaOHio (222624)
• United States
29 Jun 24
@lovebuglena Getting a new knob is probably the best solution.
1 person likes this
