What to do if you are locked out

People accidentally locking themselves out of their house, car of even place of business happens a lot more often than you might think. If it’s ever happened to you then you’ll know how extremely stressful and worrying getting locked out can be.

Follow our 5 top tips for when you get locked out to ensure that you can get back into your home safely, in good time and without damaging anything or spending a fortune.

1. Keep calm!

It seems like such an obvious suggestion but if you start to panic and stress yourself out you may well miss an obvious solution to getting back in to your home.

Panicking often leads to bad decision making and can stop you from being level-headed about the situation, so stay calm and explore the different options available to you.

2. Don’t try to break-in yourself

Fiddling with the lock in an attempt to get back into the property is possibly the worst thing you can do, as you aren’t likely to succeed and you could potentially damage the lock and have the expense of replacing damaged locks. Any significant lock damage can then make it even more difficult for a professional locksmith to gain access later on.

3. Think about who has a spare

There may be a member of your family who has another key who can come and open up for you, or you may have even given a spare set to a friend or neighbour.

Leaving a spare key with a trusted person who lives nearby in advance can really help you out in a situation like this. If you have lost your original key though we would still advise having your locks changed as you don’t know where it is and who might have found it.

4. Call a specialist locksmith NOT 999

If you are locked out and nobody has a spare key you can use then you need to call a reputable 24 hour Doncaster locksmith. We would always recommend finding a local locksmith who is police approved, insurance approved and CRB checked, rather than calling a national call centre who could potentially send out an under-qualified tradesman.

Don’t call 999 unless there is a risk of fire, it’s a real emergency, or you can’t get to a child inside. Having fire fighters attending to people who have locked themselves out has cost the UK taxpayers millions of pounds, and often if they have broken in to get you back in the property you’ll still need a locksmith to repair or replace the lock.

5. Ensure any new locks are to the British Standard

If you do need to have any of your locks changed by an emergency Doncaster locksmith, ensure that your new locks comply with the British Standard 3621:2004. This standard requires that a door is secure from both sides, so that once it has been locked a key is required to open it from both the inside and outside. Often your Home Insurance Provider will require you to have British Standard locks so this can be a very important step.

6. Bonus tip! – Add our number to your contacts

This extra tip can save you a lot of time and money if you do get locked out of your property in the future!