Oregon next state to lock out 1-800-LocksmithScammers

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, (D), has about 30 days to sign into law a bill that will create a Board of Locksmiths to oversee and license the state’s estimated 2,000 legitimate locksmiths and to combat untrained sub-contractors from posing as such.

The sub-contractors, working for call centers, defraud consumers with shoddy workmanship and bait-and-switch schemes. They have overwhelmed the phone directories and Internet with hundreds (and thousands) of bogus business listings. Unknowingly consumers have called the imposters thinking they were calling a legitimate locksmith.

According to the bill, the Board would be established within the Construction Contractors Board (CCB) that now licenses locksmith businesses but not individuals. The new Board would adopt rules concerning the passing of a competency test, background and fingerprint checks, continuing education standards, fees and penalties for violations – all with a deadline of July 1, 2010. Until then the CCB must make locksmith certification available no later than Jan. 1, 2010.

Ernie Blatz is licensed by the CCB. He is also the President of the Pacific Locksmith Association (PLA), owner of Ernie’s Locks and Keys in The Dalles and has been in the field more than 20 years. He said the PLA has a membership of 70-80 locksmiths from 4 states: Oregon, (South West) Washington, Idaho and (Northern) California.

Blatz said one problem with being licensed with the CCB was that all the continuing education is geared toward contractors. “We just want to be able to get accredited classes through the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA),” he said.

“It wasn’t just the 1-800-LocksmithScammer that was the problem,” said Republican State Representative John Huffman, who sponsored the bill. “There are very serious breaches of security going on and the consumer doesn’t even realize there is a problem.”

Huffman cited the following case relayed to him by a locksmith who had been hired to rekey a 12-unit apartment complex. For many years, the manager rekeyed and maintained the lock system at the complex. The locksmith, however, discovered the pinning system was flawed. Every laundry room key, which the tenants each had, was actually also a master key to the entire complex.

Huffman feels confident the governor will sign the bill, if not; the process to pass a locksmith law will begin next March 2010 when the Oregon legislature meets again.

As of today’s post the bill was not signed. However, Jillian Schoene, the Governor’s Deputy Communications Director, said she expected the bill to be signed within the next few weeks.

Blagojevich did do something right

Ousted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich apparently did something right in 2006 when his administration suspended the locksmith license of Dependable Locks and its owner, David Peer for giving a fraudulent address on its license application, for failing to provide a list of its licensed staff and for failing to cooperate with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) in its investigation. The company was then based out of New York, but has since relocated to Florida.

The Department also suspended Price Line, based out of New York as well. Both companies listed their businesses with Illinois addresses, advertised their businesses in phone directories and used local phone exchanges and business names in their ads.

Consumers called a local number not realizing the companies had set up Remote Call Forwarding (RCF) numbers with the local phone company that forwarded their calls to call centers in New York.

The call centers then dispatched a sub-contractor to do the work. Illinois law prohibits unlicensed sub-contractors to work as locksmiths. Locksmiths must carry their locksmith license and the agency must also be licensed. Both companies complied with getting a license for their businesses but not for their employees. Not only must the employee pass a background check, they are also required to pass an exam to prove competency as a locksmith. I guess it was too much of an investment for the companies.

Investigating Locksmiths? Moi?

I know. I know. The title of my blog is The Locksmith Investigator, but that is really not what I’m doing. Genuine locksmiths don’t need to be investigated. Those who legally register with the state, county and city are doing every thing right.

What I am investigating are the phony “locksmiths” or “locksmith” companies. I hate to even use the word “locksmith” with these scam artists. These are those who are out there preying on the public -- like the company who posted the following ad on Craig’s List. (Craig’s List has since removed the ad).

Locksmith (No Experience - OK) (Minneapolis+St Poul)

March 15, 2009
Filed under Skilled Trades

We are looking for high motivated individuals who would like to establish a business relation with a nationwide company who can provide up to 30-40 service call a week on a 24/7 basis. our business model includes : subcontracting the Jobs to you, and you will receive a percentage of every invoice. Expected income, based on our subcontractors all over the Major US cities, will be 1000-1500 a week. we will cover 50 % of the travel expenses for the training. Locksmiths with experience are well-come to answer this add as well.

So let me see if I read this right. This national company wants to sub-contract locksmithing jobs out to inexperienced locksmiths?

An inexperienced sub-contractor is NOT a locksmith!!!

He’s just a guy with a drill who drills out perfectly good locks because he has no skills or tools with which to pick them open. He then replaces them with junk which he calls a high-security product so he can overcharge the consumer.

Okay, so how do I investigate phony locksmiths? Since the call centers change sub-contractors frequently, tracking down the sub-contractors won’t help. Listing call centers and the various names they use would help, but the best course of action, I believe, would be to list all the genuine locksmiths out there.

If people had the truth, it’s not likely they will choose a fake. But first, I had to find the genuine locksmiths -- and I did. I knew the tax collector was the best keeper of that information. Now all I needed was to speak to the right person in his office.

After two days of phone tag with three very helpful Orange County staff members, I finally did speak to the right person and he sent me a file with the information I needed. Thank you, Joe Giovanelli! Of course, I still have to sort through 1114 pages to find the answers I need, but I’ll work on that over the next few days.

Hope to have time to get updated information from Seminole County this week. Last year there were 21 registered locksmiths. I had to actually go to the county services building at the opposite end of the county from where I live to get the information, so I know it's not easy for consumers to find the answers. Hope to have some answers soon on how many actually locksmiths are in these two counties. We know there are 1791 phone listings, so this should be interesting.