The East London Locksmith

Jason Payne

Jun 24, 2026

I hired this locksmith for an urgent lock issue at my tenants’ flat. What followed was one of the most unprofessional and alarming experiences I have had with any tradesperson. He attended, opened the door and identified that the gearbox needed replacing. He then left partway through the job, leaving an occupied property requiring urgent re-securing. When he later returned, he said he was fitting a temporary lock and would contact me regarding the replacement gearbox. At that point, I asked a straightforward question about whether he had looked at the separate front and rear door alignment issues we had discussed earlier, and whether his company could provide a lasting repair rather than simply adjusting the doors again. I expressly said more than once that I was not asking him to do that work there and then, as it was late. I was merely asking whether he had inspected the problem and whether it was a service he could provide. Instead of answering professionally, he repeatedly acted as though I was demanding that he carry out additional work immediately. He interrupted, became confrontational, accused me of being “condescending”, and then announced that he was abandoning the job because he was “not going to argue”. The situation became considerably worse afterwards. The property was not left properly secure, and my tenants reported that the door could not be locked properly. He then confirmed in writing that he had removed the temporary lock because he considered me rude. That is an extraordinary and unacceptable attitude for a locksmith dealing with an occupied residential property. A disagreement with a customer is not a justification for leaving tenants without proper security after beginning an emergency lock job. Communication was poor throughout. He was late, failed to provide a reliable arrival time, did not complete the work he had started, demanded payment while the security issue remained unresolved, and displayed a hostile, defensive and highly unprofessional attitude when asked basic questions. I would not trust this business with an emergency, a rental property, tenants, or any job where reliable communication and proper re-securing are required. The service was chaotic, the attitude was appalling, and the end result was a property left in a worse and less secure position than it should have been.