The New York Times has a blog called The Board written by a group of journalists on their editorial board. Last August I happened to read board member Verlyn Klinkenborg’s post entitled “A Bad Day.” It was a litany of exasperating experiences that piled up all in one day.
Klinkenborg’s bad day began as he left for work. He found he was locked in his apartment with a deadbolt that wouldn’t retract.
What originally intrigued me about the story was Klinkenborg’s next sentence:
“If you’ve ever called an emergency locksmith on a Sunday, you know what followed – a visit from the Russian mafia, which accepts only cash on weekends, a whopping bill, and a grudging drive in the locksmith’s van to a nearby ATM.”
“Hum, so the Russian mafia is probably controlling the whole locksmith industry in New York City,” I thought. “Glad we don’t have that problem in Florida.”
I didn’t think about it again until ten days later when I received a call on our business line from a man with a heavy Russian accent and broken English.
“Hello. What is Martin Security? You a locksmith?”
“Yes, Sir, we are,” I replied. “How can I help you?”
“I find you online. Craig’s List. This is Locksmith 911. I lost a man in your area and need someone to take care of a lady. You do Orlando?
“Yes, now, what did you say your name was?” I asked. “Are you in Central Florida?”
“This is Russell with Locksmith 911. We work all over Florida. I lose a man. You do the job? Yes?”
“Yes,” I said. Since I was at my computer I did a reverse phone number search on the name and number listed on my digital display. His name and number matched, but he was calling from a landline in Manhattan, NY.
As Russell gave me the particulars of the job, I searched the Florida Department of Corporations website, but a company by the name of Locksmith 911 was not found. A dozen businesses were listed under Russell’s name, but all were medical industry companies (medical supplies, doctor groups, HMO’s). Russell must have a common Russian surname.
“I give you this one free,” said Russell about the financial arrangements. “Next time you pay me 30 percent and you get to keep 70 percent. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said. “But where do I send you the money? What’s your address here in Florida?
“Next time I call, I give you my address and you mail me a business check.”
“Right,” I thought, “I’m going to send my check with my bank account numbers on it to someone who may be in the Russian mafia. No way!”
I assured Russell that if for some reason we couldn’t do the job, I would get another locksmith to do it. We hung up and after thinking about what transpired, I decided to toss this hot potato to Jerry, a fellow locksmith, who accepted the job after I explained the situation.
Russell’s Florida business must have slowed down or he discovered I passed the job on. In either case, he’s never called again.
Showing posts with label 24 hour locksmith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 24 hour locksmith. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Florida legislators should tone down pending locksmith laws
Right now two locksmith licensing bills are working their way through the Florida legislative process – SB 1844 in the Senate and HB 107 in the House of Representatives.
The Senate bill is 30 pages long and the House bill is 31 pages long.
While I believe some regulation of this industry is necessary, parts of the bills seem to be drawn with a wide brush. For example:
Locksmiths can be denied a license or have a license suspended or revoked due to:
a) failure to satisfy a civil fine, administrative fine or other penalty arising out of any administrative or enforcement action brought by any government agency.
(Sound like it includes everything from parking tickets to the IRS!)
b) received any civil, criminal, or administrative adjudication in any jurisdiction
(Better not get a speeding ticket.)
c) having pending against them any criminal, administrative or enforcement proceedings in any jurisdiction.
(Let’s hope your grass doesn’t grow too high while you’re on vacation because if one of your neighbors calls code enforcement, you could lose your livelihood.)
I guess I just don’t like that word “any” since it is applied in such an all-encompassing way. It can obviously apply to a lot of infractions not related to locksmithing. Is it any wonder locksmiths and locksmith associations are against the law as it is written?
In comparison, what I do like is the way the Miami-Dade County’s 15-page Locksmith Ordinance is written. It was enacted in 1995. Miami-Dade County does use the word “any”, but limits it to crimes related to locksmithing or felonies involving moral turpitude or serious violent crimes. Here is that portion of their code:
Sec. 8A-362.
(3) Absence of any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt or conviction within the past five (5) years, in any jurisdiction, of a felony, misdemeanor, or ordinance violation for robbery, burglary, larceny, theft, possession of stolen goods, possession of stolen car, breaking and entering, or any other crime related to locksmithing, whether or not adjudication has been withheld. Effective October 1, 2000, any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt or withhold of adjudication shall only be considered if the applicant files an application for the first time or has not filed timely and successive renewal applications.
(4) Absence of any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt, or conviction, in any jurisdiction, whether or not adjudication has been withheld, of any felony involving moral turpitude relating to sex, the use of a deadly weapon, homicide, violence against a law enforcement officer, or is a habitual felony offender.
No industry likes to be regulated, especially in this case when it is those outside the industry (non-locksmiths, con artists) who have created the serious issue by posing as locksmiths.
Legislators should not pull a page from the crisis management playbook of President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”
To over-burden genuine hard-working blue-collar locksmiths with all-encompassing regulations is just short-sighted. When locksmiths decide to change occupations due to over-regulation, a shortage of locksmiths will occur causing increased service fees and product prices to consumers.
Editor’s note: Future blogs will reveal what else in the pending bills are making locksmiths uneasy.
The Senate bill is 30 pages long and the House bill is 31 pages long.
While I believe some regulation of this industry is necessary, parts of the bills seem to be drawn with a wide brush. For example:
Locksmiths can be denied a license or have a license suspended or revoked due to:
a) failure to satisfy a civil fine, administrative fine or other penalty arising out of any administrative or enforcement action brought by any government agency.
(Sound like it includes everything from parking tickets to the IRS!)
b) received any civil, criminal, or administrative adjudication in any jurisdiction
(Better not get a speeding ticket.)
c) having pending against them any criminal, administrative or enforcement proceedings in any jurisdiction.
(Let’s hope your grass doesn’t grow too high while you’re on vacation because if one of your neighbors calls code enforcement, you could lose your livelihood.)
I guess I just don’t like that word “any” since it is applied in such an all-encompassing way. It can obviously apply to a lot of infractions not related to locksmithing. Is it any wonder locksmiths and locksmith associations are against the law as it is written?
In comparison, what I do like is the way the Miami-Dade County’s 15-page Locksmith Ordinance is written. It was enacted in 1995. Miami-Dade County does use the word “any”, but limits it to crimes related to locksmithing or felonies involving moral turpitude or serious violent crimes. Here is that portion of their code:
Sec. 8A-362.
(3) Absence of any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt or conviction within the past five (5) years, in any jurisdiction, of a felony, misdemeanor, or ordinance violation for robbery, burglary, larceny, theft, possession of stolen goods, possession of stolen car, breaking and entering, or any other crime related to locksmithing, whether or not adjudication has been withheld. Effective October 1, 2000, any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt or withhold of adjudication shall only be considered if the applicant files an application for the first time or has not filed timely and successive renewal applications.
(4) Absence of any plea of nolo contendere, plea of guilt, finding of guilt, or conviction, in any jurisdiction, whether or not adjudication has been withheld, of any felony involving moral turpitude relating to sex, the use of a deadly weapon, homicide, violence against a law enforcement officer, or is a habitual felony offender.
No industry likes to be regulated, especially in this case when it is those outside the industry (non-locksmiths, con artists) who have created the serious issue by posing as locksmiths.
Legislators should not pull a page from the crisis management playbook of President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who said, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. This crisis provides the opportunity for us to do things that you could not do before.”
To over-burden genuine hard-working blue-collar locksmiths with all-encompassing regulations is just short-sighted. When locksmiths decide to change occupations due to over-regulation, a shortage of locksmiths will occur causing increased service fees and product prices to consumers.
Editor’s note: Future blogs will reveal what else in the pending bills are making locksmiths uneasy.
Missouri Attorney General sues Florida locksmith company
Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit last Thursday to stop Dependable Locks, Inc. of Florida from fraudulent business practices. Koster is asking the court to approve an order which stops the company from advertising itself deceitfully with at least 16 different business names and bogus addresses and from charging consumers two to three times more than the price quoted for service. None of the 16 businesses are legally registered with the state to conduct business in Missouri.
Since Missouri is not one of 13 states with laws regulating the locksmith industry, Koster was required to go through the court process to stop the fraudulent activity. An online search of both the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives revealed that there is no locksmith legislation currently working its way through their legislative process.
In addition, Koster notified AT&T (a regulated industry) that it is carrying deceptive advertisements and demanded that the phone company take all appropriate steps to remove the ads, including removing them from electronic sites such as “The Real Yellow Pages” and yellowpages.com.
According to the State of Florida Division of Corporations website, Dependable Locks, Inc. is owned by David Peer of Dunedin, Fla. Peer lists his former address on the 2006 incorporation papers as Bronx, NY. He is listed as the sole officer of the company. According to the 2008 forms, the principal place of business is at 407 S. Arcturas Ave., Clearwater, Fla. 33765.
Koster requests that victims of Dependable Locks, Inc. file a complaint at www.ago.mo.gov or call his consumer hotline at 800-392-8222. Investigators in the Attorney General’s office found the following business names being used by Dependable Locks, Inc.:
A #1 24 Hour Locksmith
A 24 Hour locksmith
AAA 24 & 7 day Locksmith
A Always Available 24 Hour Locksmith
A Emergency A Locksmith
A Locksmith Always 24 Hour
A Locksmith A 1-24 Hour
A Locksmith 00 24 Hour
A Locksmith O Always 24 hour
A Locksmith Service 24 hour
A Locksmith 24 Hour Emergency
A Locksmith
A Kansas City #1 Emergency Locksmith
24 hour A Locksmith At St. Louis
24 hour A Locksmith
Locksmith
0 24 Hour Locksmith
Since Missouri is not one of 13 states with laws regulating the locksmith industry, Koster was required to go through the court process to stop the fraudulent activity. An online search of both the Missouri Senate and House of Representatives revealed that there is no locksmith legislation currently working its way through their legislative process.
In addition, Koster notified AT&T (a regulated industry) that it is carrying deceptive advertisements and demanded that the phone company take all appropriate steps to remove the ads, including removing them from electronic sites such as “The Real Yellow Pages” and yellowpages.com.
According to the State of Florida Division of Corporations website, Dependable Locks, Inc. is owned by David Peer of Dunedin, Fla. Peer lists his former address on the 2006 incorporation papers as Bronx, NY. He is listed as the sole officer of the company. According to the 2008 forms, the principal place of business is at 407 S. Arcturas Ave., Clearwater, Fla. 33765.
Koster requests that victims of Dependable Locks, Inc. file a complaint at www.ago.mo.gov or call his consumer hotline at 800-392-8222. Investigators in the Attorney General’s office found the following business names being used by Dependable Locks, Inc.:
A #1 24 Hour Locksmith
A 24 Hour locksmith
AAA 24 & 7 day Locksmith
A Always Available 24 Hour Locksmith
A Emergency A Locksmith
A Locksmith Always 24 Hour
A Locksmith A 1-24 Hour
A Locksmith 00 24 Hour
A Locksmith O Always 24 hour
A Locksmith Service 24 hour
A Locksmith 24 Hour Emergency
A Locksmith
A Kansas City #1 Emergency Locksmith
24 hour A Locksmith At St. Louis
24 hour A Locksmith
Locksmith
0 24 Hour Locksmith
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
