What to Do When You’re Locked Out: A Guide to Emergency Locksmith Services

If you’ve ever been locked out of your home, you’ll know how stressful it can be. You’ll know that sinking feeling when you realise you don’t have your keys and there’s no one around to let you inside.

This can happen at any time, after a long day at work, during a bad storm, or after school drop off or pick up. And it’s always stressful. So, today, we want to provide you with a guide on what to do when you get locked out and help you stay calm and get back inside swiftly and safely.

What To Do When You’re Locked Out

Stay Calm and Assess the Situation

We understand that getting locked out is stressful, but the best thing you can do is try to stay calm. Panic can lead to rushed decisions, like trying to force a door or break a window. This can potentially get you inside faster, but can result in injuries and leaves your home damaged and unsecure.

Instead, try to take a moment and assess the situation. Consider whether there’s another way in without damage, someone you can call with a spare key, or somewhere safe you can wait until an emergency locksmith can get you back inside safely. If you rent or live in an apartment building, consider calling your building or property manager for assistance. 

Lockouts may be stressful, but they are common and are always solvable with the right support. Taking a moment to consider your options can prevent costly damage or injuries.

Try Safe Alternative Entry Points

Homes usually have more than one access point. Before forcing any doors, consider whether there is another access point you can use safely. 

For example, if you’ve lost the key to your front door, do you have one for a backdoor or garage? Or, is there an unlocked window on ground level that you could access without damage or injury?

Only consider alternative access points if you can use them safely, without forcing or breaking anything. DIY entry hacks to force or unlock doors or open windows can result in damage to your property or injury, so if you are unable to open anything without force it’s best to wait for professional support.

Call an Emergency Locksmith

The best thing you can do when you’re locked out of your home is call an emergency locksmith. If there’s no one you can call with a spare key and no safe, alternative access points, then it’s time to contact a locksmith.

Many emergency locksmiths are on call 24 hours a day to help you gain access  when you need it most. Whether you’re locked out late at night, early in the morning, or in the middle of the afternoon, expert support is never far away.

Emergency locksmiths understand the stress and potential dangers of being locked out at any time, but especially late at night or if you have children with you. That’s why they always arrive with all the tools and expertise to address issues on the spot and get you back inside quickly and safely.

Staying Safe While You Wait

Once you’ve called an emergency locksmith, there may still be a wait time while they are in transit. It is important to keep yourself safe during this time. Even if it’s just an hour, it’s crucial to find a safe place to wait, especially if it’s late at night.

Consider waiting in your backyard, a well-lit foyer if you’re in an apartment, or with a neighbour. Also, try to keep your phone charged and consider contacting a trusted contact, especially if you’re alone at night. 

Moreover, once the locksmiths arrive, be sure to verify their identity before letting them in. Unfortunately, there are a number of locksmith scams and people who will try to take advantage of you in stressful situations. It’s important to stay aware and ensure you are partnering with a trusted and licensed locksmith. When they arrive, take note of the vehicle and their uniforms for branding and request identification or licensing, to make sure they are who they say they are. 

Verifying Your Identity

Much like you have the right and should always verify the locksmith’s identity, professional locksmiths will also need to verify your identity and your right to the premises. When emergency locksmiths arrive onsite they will request documentation to verify that the person locked out does in fact have the lawful right to have the premises opened.

We verify identity and access to the address in a number of ways, including current drivers or a copy of a rates notice or utilities bill. We do understand that most people don’t always have access to these documents when locked out of their home, in this case we will require you to produce documentation immediately, once the door is opened.

It is important to note that all legitimate locksmiths will require documentation, only scammers will not. So, if they request identification, it’s a good sign that you’re partnering with a trusted and registered locksmith.

Preventing Future Lockouts

Finally, once you’re back inside safely it’s time to think about how you can prevent this stressful situation from occurring again. If you’re unsure where you lost your keys, it is recommended to have your locks rekeyed immediately. This ensures that your old keys are rendered useless to anyone who may find them.

Moreover, consider setting up a back-up plan with a spare key. This could include giving a spare key to a trusted friend or family member, or storing one in a dedicated, secure key lockbox. If misplacing keys is a common occurrence, you could also consider investing in smart locks or keyless entry.

Emergency locksmiths will also be able to provide tailored, expert advice to help you make the best decisions for your future security needs following a lockout.

What to Expect From Amalgamated Locksmiths’ Emergency Locksmiths

At Amalgamated Locksmiths, we understand the stress and panic that comes with getting locked out of your home. Our emergency locksmiths are always ready to respond to your call with strict 1-hour response times, so you’ve never left locked outside and alone for long. 

Our mobile vans are also always stocked with everything we need to address security issues on the spot, ensuring you are back inside and your home is secure, fast. Whether it’s a simple lock replacement or rekeying, we are dedicated to providing reliable, tailored support when you need it most.

If you’re ever locked out of your home, regardless of the time of day or night, give Amalgamated Locksmiths a call for swift emergency assistance.

When and Why You Should Rekey Your Locks

Many of us don’t think about our locks or keys until it’s too late. We simply trust our home is secure and no one else has access. But do you really know who has a copy of your keys and access to your home?

We share keys with others for a number of reasons, whether it’s a visiting family member or friend, a house or pet sitter, or a tradesperson doing renovations while you’re at work. Any of these people can forget to return your keys or make a copy without your knowledge. This leaves your home vulnerable to unauthorised access.

In this article, we will explore the importance of rekeying locks and when you should do it to ensure the highest level of security for your home and family.

What Is Rekeying and How Does It Work?

Rekeying locks is the process of adjusting the lock cylinder so that old keys no longer operate it. Rekeying allows you to enhance your home security without having to replace the entire external locking hardware. This offers a faster, more cost effective way to ensure your security when you’re unsure who has a copy of your keys.

During a rekey locks service, professional locksmiths change the internal parts of a lock, specifically the pins and tumblers, to correlate to a new key. They then provide you new keys that are configured to the new set up. This ensures that any of your old keys will no longer work.

When Should You Rekey Your Locks?

Rekeying locks is one of the fastest and most effective ways to render any copies of your keys useless and secure your home. It’s not something that needs to be completed on a regular basis, like other home maintenance jobs. However, it is important to consider it during major life changes or if you lose your keys or if you share them with someone that you no longer want to have access to your property.

When You Move Into a New Home

Regardless of what the real estate and paperwork says, it’s impossible to know for sure how many copies the previous owners made or who they gave their keys to. That’s why it’s crucial to have locks replaced or rekeyed as soon as you purchase a new home.

Having your locks rekeyed before you move in, or as soon as possible after, allows you to start afresh with your keys, knowing exactly how many copies exist and who has them.

When You Lose Your Keys

Lost keys are a major security risk. You never know who may find them and try to use them, especially if there’s anything on the keyring that can be used to identify you or your address.

Whether you’ve lost your keys or had something stolen with them inside, such as a bag or vehicle, it’s essential to have your locks rekeyed as soon as possible to render the keys useless to anyone who may have or find them.

After a Break-In or Attempted Break-In

Whether successful or not, any break-in attempts should be treated seriously. It’s a sign your property has been targeted. This means a break-in could be attempted again, regardless of whether they gained access or stole anything the first time.

For this reason, it’s important to have your locks rekeyed, and consider investing in higher security methods to protect your home and family against future attempts.

After a Change in Household

When a former partner, housemate, or family member moves out it’s important to rekey locks. As with previous home owners, it can be almost impossible to know who your old partners, housemates, friends, or family members shared their keys with without your knowledge.

This means that any number of people could potentially have a copy of your keys and access to your house.

After House Maintenance or Renovations

Providing temporary access to your home for maintenance or renovations is common, but it’s easy to lose track of who has copies. Whether you have a regular cleaning service or need to provide temporary access for renovations, it can be difficult to keep track of exactly who has access to your keys and who can make copies.

Rekeying after renovations are complete is the best way to ensure you know exactly who has a copy of your keys and access to your home. However, if you have a regular, ongoing maintenance service it may be beneficial to invest in higher security or smart locking measures instead.

Between Tenants in Rental Properties

If you own an investment property, it’s mandatory that you replace or rekey locks between each tenancy. This not only ensures security and peace of mind for new tenants, but also ensures full compliance with the Residential Tenancy Authority (RTA) and Queensland legislation.

What Are the Benefits of Rekeying Your Locks?

Rekeying locks offers a wide range of benefits for homeowners, including:

  • Enhanced Security
  • Immediate Peace of Mind
  • Simple Access Control
  • Cost-Effective Compared to Lock Replacements
  • Maintains Existing Hardware

When having your locks rekeyed, you can also opt for a master key setup if multiple entry points and access levels are required. This is most beneficial for multi-residential facilities, such as apartment buildings, or businesses.

Rekeying vs Replacing Your Locks

Rekeying is a fast and cost effective method for ensuring security when you lose your keys or have concerns over who has copies of your keys. Lock replacements, on the other hand, are beneficial for when locks are damaged or if you want to upgrade to a higher security solution, such as smart locking.

Professional locksmiths can provide expert advice upon inspection on whether full lock replacements are required. However, in many security situations, rekeying is adequate for regaining control over who has access to your property and ensuring peace of mind.

Maintain Security & Peace of Mind with Expert Rekeying Services

Rekeying is one of the simplest and most affordable steps a homeowner can take to maintain control of their security. It’s easier to lose track of who has had access to your keys than you may think. Whether you loaned your keys to a visitor, shared them with a former partner, or gave them to a tradesperson to gain access temporarily, it can be almost impossible to know whether any of them made copies or loaned the keys to anyone else without your knowledge.

Not knowing who has copies of your keys can be a major security risk. So, if you’ve lost your keys or have any concerns about who may have copies, it’s important to act fast to secure your home.

Contact Amalgamated Locksmiths today to book a lock rekeying service.