Woman Believes She Was Scammed After Locksmith Charged $5,390 to Open an Apartment Door
A woman says her partner’s sister got locked out of her apartment and called a locksmith, expecting the usual painful but manageable bill.
Then the final charge came out to $5,390.
She explained in a Reddit post that the sister needed help getting back into her apartment. Locksmith calls are rarely cheap, especially after hours, but most people are expecting a couple hundred dollars, maybe more depending on timing, labor, and the lock.
This was not that.
The locksmith charged thousands of dollars to open the apartment door, and the family immediately wondered how that could possibly be legitimate. The number was so extreme that it stopped feeling like an expensive service and started looking like a scam.
That is the part that made the situation feel so maddening. When someone is locked out, they are vulnerable. They need immediate access to their home. They may be tired, panicked, outside in bad weather, or worried about pets, kids, medication, work, or safety. That urgency can make it much harder to slow down and question every fee before the work begins.
A shady locksmith knows that.
The sister likely called expecting professional help. Instead, she ended up with a charge that sounded more like a used car payment than a door opening. And once the door was open, the leverage had already shifted. The locksmith had done the work, and she was stuck dealing with the bill.
Commenters immediately treated it as suspicious. Many said locksmith scams are common, especially when someone finds a number online and calls in a hurry. A company may advertise a low service fee, send someone out, then suddenly claim the lock is unusually difficult, the hardware needs drilling, replacement parts are required, or emergency rates apply.
By the time the person realizes the price is absurd, they are standing outside their own apartment with someone pressuring them to pay.
That seemed to be what readers feared had happened here.
The woman’s question was whether they were overreacting by thinking the charge was outrageous. But the reaction from commenters was basically: no, that number is wildly outside normal.
A $5,390 lockout fee raises all kinds of questions. Was there a written estimate before work began? Did the sister sign anything? Was the company licensed where licensing is required? Did they drill or replace hardware that did not need replacing? Was the charge placed on a credit card? Was the invoice detailed or vague? Did the company have a real address, or only a dispatch number?
Those details matter because the next steps depend on how the payment happened. If it was paid by credit card, disputing the charge could be an option. If the sister signed under pressure, she may still be able to challenge it, but the paper trail matters. If the locksmith misrepresented the price or performed unnecessary work, there may be consumer-protection routes.
Commenters also suggested reporting the company to local consumer protection offices, the state attorney general, the Better Business Bureau, and any licensing board if locksmith licensing applies in that area.
But the immediate concern was stopping the money from being gone forever.
If the charge was recent, commenters urged acting fast. Save the invoice. Screenshot the website or ad. Preserve call logs. Write down the timeline while it is fresh. Contact the bank or credit card company. Ask the apartment complex whether the lock work was necessary or whether the locksmith damaged property. If the apartment management has preferred locksmiths or maintenance staff, they may also be able to say whether the charge was wildly out of line.
The emotional piece matters too. People often feel embarrassed after being overcharged. They worry they should have known better or asked more questions. But lockout scams are designed around urgency and pressure. The whole point is to catch someone at a moment when they cannot easily shop around.
The sister needed a door opened.
She ended up with a bill big enough to make the whole family wonder if they had been robbed without anyone ever picking a pocket.
Commenters overwhelmingly told the poster this sounded like a scam or extreme price gouging. Many said $5,390 was nowhere near a normal locksmith charge for an apartment lockout.
Several people urged the sister to dispute the charge with her credit card company or bank immediately if she had paid by card. They said time mattered and that she should gather every document before making the dispute.
A lot of commenters suggested reporting the locksmith to consumer-protection agencies, the state attorney general, licensing authorities if applicable, and the apartment complex.
Others said she should save the invoice, screenshots of the company’s ad, call logs, texts, and any written estimate or lack of one.
The strongest advice was simple: do not treat this as a normal expensive service call. Treat it like possible fraud, document everything, and challenge the charge quickly.
