LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — It is a universal, sinking feeling. You hear the door click shut, look down, and realize your keys are sitting on the kitchen counter or resting on the front seat of your car.
In that exact moment, you are vulnerable. It’s that rush for help that several locksmiths in Southwest Florida tell WINK Investigates causes many customers to try and find the first locksmith they can find.
But a growing number of Southwest Florida residents tell WINK Investigates that urgent call for help have turned into a financial nightmare, leaving them with damaged property and exorbitant bills.
It was the last weekend of January when Natasha De Souza Justino found herself stranded at a park on Sanibel Island. She was trying to show off the beauty of Southwest Florida to her out-of-state best friend, but amidst the chaos of packing up a diaper bag and a stroller, with a newborn baby to care for, she accidentally locked her keys inside the trunk of her car.
“Full panic set in because it was really cold that day,” Justino said.
With no time to research, she called the first number she found online: Budget Locksmith of Florida. She says a technician eventually arrived in an unmarked car, wearing no uniform or company logo, carrying just a few basic tools.
“They basically just had like a little bar thing… and it took them three seconds,” Justino recalled.
The quick job was a massive relief—until she saw the bill. For her estimated “three seconds of work” on location, Justino was charged $548.
“I mean, like, we’re in the wrong line of business,” Justino said, holding up her receipt. “If I could do something that takes me three seconds and charge people almost $600? We could pay off the house.”
Justino’s experience is far from an isolated incident. Just two months ago, WINK Investigates’ Chief Investigative Reporter Chorus Nylander shared the story of Beth Reurink, an Estero senior who was charged $650 by Budget Locksmith of Florida for a house lockout. That job, Beth said, took less than ten minutes.
“I could have bought a new door for the cost of the service call,” Reurink said at the time.
After WINK Investigates stepped in and revealed that other area locksmiths valued the job at a maximum of $200, Budget Locksmith had its contractor return and hand-deliver a $450 partial refund to Reurink.
“It’s only because of WINK News and you, Chorus, that I got any money,” Reurink said.
When WINK Investigates originally reached out to the owner of Budget Locksmith of Florida regarding Reurink’s case, he defended the charge as “reasonable” and claimed they value good customer service—despite issuing the heavy refund. WINK Investigates reached out by phone and email again last week, asking the owner to justify the pricing in cases like Justino’s, but received no further response.
Unlike Reurink, Justino has yet to receive a single dime back.
Established local locksmiths say these billing practices are actively destroying their industry’s reputation, and they blame a lack of state oversight.
“Unfortunately, they do it every day,” said Dean Ferreira, owner of Naples Locksmith.
Ferreira recently helped a local customer who was handed an $800 invoice by Budget Locksmith for a 15-minute lockout. Ferreira said not only was the price well-above what he would charge, he said the technician completely ruined the hardware.
“They opened the door in 15 minutes for 800 dollars and destroyed a customer’s lock, and this lock is very expensive,” Ferreira said.
Ryan Delfino of Bonita Beach Locksmith echoes that frustration, stating he sees these exact situations on a daily and weekly basis not just with Budget Locksmith but many other companies offering locksmith services. The root of the problem, he says, is that Florida does not require a license to practice locksmithing.
“They destroy the doors, they destroy the locks, and they destroy the reputation of other locksmiths in the area,” Delfino warned, adding that under current state law, just about anyone can pick up a drill, post an ad online, and call themselves a professional.
“That is a problem,” Ferreira agreed. “I do think regulation would help this situation.”
“I don’t think any Joe Schmo off the street should be able to be a locksmith,” Justino added.
A look into Budget Locksmith’s online presence shows how the business structures its digital outreach. The company’s website lists no physical address for offices in Ft. Myers, Cape Coral or Southwest Florida. Instead, they are tied to a national network called “Budget Locksmith and Lockouts,” which claims to provide 24/7 service across 11 states—including Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Sarasota.
The website has a disclaimer stating all jobs are performed by independent contractors, and additional costs for parts or labor may apply.
How to protect yourself in an emergency
If you find yourself locked out, local industry leaders say you can have better luck experiencing reasonable service charges by following a few guidelines:
Look for local area codes: Check for a local number (like 239 in the Fort Myers area) rather than relying solely on 1-800 numbers or generic landing pages.
Demand a quote upfront: Ask for the total cost, including service fees and labor, before the technician drives out.
Verify credentials: Use the “Find a Locksmith” database through the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA). Members of this association are vetted and have passed mandatory criminal background checks. You can find that resource here.