SOS Locksmith & Advanced Security is a licensed provider of high quality Locksmith & Security Services in the New York Metro Area. Not all locksmiths however are like SOS Locksmith.
The following information was collected by ALOA (Associated Locksmiths of America) and is published for the benefit of all consumers
Below are links to various news outlets, consumer protection agencies and state Attorney General offices addressing the issue of "phony locksmiths". The story is familiar in many states: an out-of-state company hires a number of unscrupulous individuals in the area to sub-contract its work using assumed business names, fake addresses and phone numbers. Many times consumers have been over-sold, under serviced, or just plain lied to!
The Illinois Attorney General filed criminal charges against a New York locksmith operation for setting up phony storefronts with unlicensed individuals practicing locksmithing that lead consumers to believe they were dealing with local companies. The action was successful, and the company was ordered to pay thousands in restitution, to cease operations and to no longer do business in the state under a new name or any of the 25 different names the company had been using in local telephone directories!
Below are links to news articles from all over the U.S:
• Scam Artists Pose As Locksmiths (KTVT-TV Channel 11 Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX 01/25/07)
• I-Team: Deceptive Locksmiths (Today's TMJ Channel 4 Milwaukee, WI 01/22/07)
• Watch the Channel 4 investigative report video!
• Investigators Open Up Alleged Locksmith Scam ( WCAU-TV Philadelphia 01/10/07))
• Locksmith overcharged her, woman alleges (Boston Townonline 12/28/06)
• N.Y. locksmith firm fined -- city says scams continue (Chicago Sun Times 11/19/06)
• Deceptive Locksmith Investigation (Today's TMJ Channel 4 Milwaukee, WI 11/29/06)
• Watch the Channel 4 investigative report video!
• Lock Crock - Hank Phillippi Ryan Investigates (WHDH-TV Boston 11/06/06)
• Mistrial in locksmith fraud case after 'attack' on judge (Chicago Sun Times 10/31/06)
• Blagojevich Administration Suspends License of Dependable Locks for False License Information (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation 9/25/06)
• Locksmith Cited in San Francisco Sting (Bay City Newswire 09/07/06)
• Sting Nabs Unlicensed Locksmiths Working in the Bay Area (California Department of Consumer Affairs 09/07/06)
• Suspended Locksmith at Work? (Chicago Sun-Times 09/04/06)
• State suspends locksmith's license (Chicago Sun-Times 09/01/06)
• Price Line Locksmith License Suspended (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation 08/31/06)
• Valley woman locks horns with locksmith company (KVTV Channel 3 - Phoenix, AZ 08/21/06)
• Watch the Channel 3 investigative report video!
• Locksmith Consumer Alert (KGO TV Channel 7 - San Francisco 08/12/06)
• Restoring honesty to his trade is key, locksmith says (Detroit Free Press 07/02/06)
• Petro Sues 'Locksmith' For Cheating Stranded Cleveland Consumers (Ohio Attorney General Press Release 06/28/06)
• Locksmith Pleads Guilty of Fraud (Chicago Sun-Times 04/05/06)
• City sues N.Y. locksmith accused of price-gouging (Chicago Sun-Times 03/16/06)
• Locksmith Again Found Liable for Fraudulent Practices (Chicago Department of Consumer Services 02/28/06)
• Scum Alert (Cleveland Scene Letters to the Editor 01/18/06)
• Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves (Cleveland Scene 01/11/06)
• Madigan Seeks to Close Door on Phony Storefront Locksmiths (Illinois Attorney General Press Release 12/21/05)
• Local listing in directory doesn't mean biz is there (New York Daily News 10/21/05)
• Scammer Locksmith Alert (KPNX Channel 12 - Phoenix, AZ)
• City threatens to throw away key on locksmith (Chicago Sun-Times 08/27/05)
• Out-of-state locksmiths picking on locals (Chicago Sun-Times 08/01/05)
• Chicago Department of Consumer Services Offers Tips for Hiring a Locksmith (09/09/05)
• Locksmith Found Liable for Fraudulent Practices (Chicago Department of Consumer Services 09/01/05)
• Unlicensed Locksmiths Strike Again (KRON Channel 4 - San Francisco 08/25/05)
• State Investigates Renegade Locksmiths (KRON Channel 4 - San Francisco 08/19/05)
• Consumer Alert: Unlicensed Locksmiths Strike in San Francisco (California Department of Consumer Affairs 08/12/05) |
