Locksmith pricing scene: brass keys, an open euro cylinder lock and a notepad on a workbench under warm amber light

Pricing

Honest, upfront locksmith prices

From £90. No call-out fee. No surprises at 2am.

This page exists because most locksmiths won't show you a price until they're already on your doorstep. I'm a one-man-band, so the phone rings on me directly. I quote the all-in cost over the phone before I leave the van, and that's the cost you pay when the job's done. Cash, card, transfer, whatever suits you. The figures below are what I actually charge, in pounds, for the jobs I get called to most.

  • Standard DBS Checked
  • £1M Insured
  • 12 months Guarantee
  • No Call-Out Fee
  • No VAT Added

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Why I publish my prices

Most locksmiths keep their prices off the website on purpose. The trade has a reputation problem and a small handful of rogue operators have ruined it for everyone. They quote £80 over the phone, turn up in an unmarked van, "find" extra work, and hand you a card machine with £400 on it. You're stressed, your front door is open, and you pay just to make it stop.

I'm not a call centre. There's no marketing budget being recouped on your invoice and no third-party "fitter" turning up two hours later. When you ring Lockerfella, you get me, and you get a real number before I set off. The figures below are what I charge, the only thing on top is the cost of any parts I have to fit, and you see those itemised on the receipt. If you're ever unsure, ask me on the phone. I'd rather lose the job than have you feel ambushed.

Service prices

All prices are on-site labour. Where a new part is needed, a standard part is included in the from-price and any upgrade is itemised on top. No call-out fee, day or night. I'm not VAT-registered, so the price I quote you is the price you pay. No VAT added on top.

  1. Emergency attendance (daytime)

    From £90

    On-site labour to diagnose and resolve a lock emergency, Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm.

    Affects: Distance, parts, lock type.

    Read about emergency locksmith
  2. Emergency attendance (night, weekend, bank holiday)

    From £170

    On-site labour for out-of-hours emergencies: 6pm to 8am weekdays, all weekends, all bank holidays.

    Affects: Distance, parts, lock type.

    Read about emergency locksmith
  3. Standard lock change (uPVC euro cylinder)

    From £90

    Labour plus a basic euro cylinder. Anti-snap and TS007 3-star upgrades available, priced separately.

    Affects: Cylinder grade chosen.

    Read about lock repairs & replacements
  4. uPVC multi-point gearbox replacement

    From £145

    Labour plus a standard gearbox strip. Diagnosis on the doorstep is free.

    Affects: Gearbox brand and variant (Fullex, GU, Mila, Lockmaster differ in cost).

    Read about upvc door & window lock specialists
  5. uPVC window lock repair / adjustment (per window)

    From £75

    Labour to free, adjust or repair a seized espagnolette, cockspur handle or cam lock on one uPVC window so it opens and locks again. Often no new parts at all.

    Affects: Number of windows on the same visit, whether the mechanism can be adjusted or needs a new part.

    Read about upvc door & window lock specialists
  6. uPVC window handle replacement (per window)

    From £85

    Labour plus a matching replacement window handle (cockspur, espagnolette or tilt-and-turn) where the original is worn or snapped.

    Affects: Handle type and spindle, number of windows on the same visit.

    Read about upvc door & window lock specialists
  7. uPVC window mechanism replacement (per window)

    From £115

    Labour plus a standard replacement espagnolette locking strip where the original mechanism is beyond repair.

    Affects: Mechanism length and brand, number of windows on the same visit.

    Read about upvc door & window lock specialists
  8. uPVC window gearbox replacement (per window)

    From £125

    Labour plus a standard replacement window gearbox where the drive gearbox inside the espagnolette has failed.

    Affects: Gearbox brand and variant, number of windows on the same visit.

    Read about upvc door & window lock specialists
  9. Snapped key extraction

    From £90

    On-site extraction of a snapped key from the lock, no damage to the cylinder where possible.

    Affects: Whether the cylinder needs replacing afterwards.

    Read about emergency locksmith
  10. Lock-out (non-destructive entry, no new lock)

    From £90

    Picking, decoding, or bumping the cylinder open with no damage. No replacement lock fitted.

    Affects: Lock type. Some high-security cylinders may require destructive entry which is itemised separately.

    Read about emergency locksmith
  11. BS3621 5-lever mortice deadlock (supply & fit)

    From £120

    Labour plus a BS3621 Kitemarked 5-lever mortice deadlock for a timber door. Like-for-like replacement; a fresh mortice cut into an un-prepared door is quoted separately.

    Affects: Whether the door is already morticed, lock brand (Union, ERA, Chubb), and backset.

    Read about lock repairs & replacements

Why I price the way I do

There's a reason a lot of locksmiths won't show you a number until they're standing on your doorstep. The person on the phone isn't always the person doing the work, and the person doing the work isn't always the person who set the price. Somewhere between the call centre, the dispatcher and the fitter, the figure you were quoted gets "adjusted" to whatever the moment will bear. I run differently. The phone rings on me. I quote on the phone. I show up. I do the work. The figure I told you stays the figure unless something genuinely unexpected turns up on site, and if that happens I tell you before I start, not after I'm finished. That's the whole pricing model and it's the bit of the trade I'm most stubborn about.

Two principles sit behind the numbers on this page. The first is that the floor price has to be honest. If I publish "from £90" for a daytime emergency, the £90 jobs have to actually exist. They do. Most lockouts on a uPVC door, daytime, no parts needed, sit at the floor. The second is that anything above the floor has to be explainable. Out-of-hours costs more because getting out of bed at 2am costs more. A TS007 3-star anti-snap cylinder costs more than a basic one because it is more, in materials, in security, and in what it stops at the door. None of it is hidden, none of it appears on a card machine after the work is done, and none of it goes on a separate call-out fee on top.

What can push the price above the 'from' figure

The "from" prices on this page are real, but they're the floor, not the ceiling. A handful of factors decide where a specific job lands. The biggest is the time of day. Out-of-hours work runs from 6pm to 8am on weekdays, plus all weekends and bank holidays, and it's why the night rate jumps from £90 to £170. That premium is what it costs to get someone out of bed.

The second is lock type and brand. A standard euro cylinder is one price, a TS007 3-star anti-snap from Avocet ABS or Ultion is more, and a Mul-T-Lock high-security cylinder is more again. You get the part option in plain English before I fit it.

The published from-prices apply across every listed service area. For an address outside that list, any extra travel is quoted on the phone before you book, so you know the all-in figure either way. Inside the catchment, distance changes how long you wait, not what you pay.

Finally, parts on the van versus parts on order. I keep the most common gearboxes (Fullex, GU, Mila, Lockmaster) and a wide cylinder selection on board, so most jobs are done in one visit. If you've got something niche, I'll source it next-day from my supplier rather than fit the wrong part. Job complexity is the last lever: a simple rekey is quick, a stuck multi-point gearbox that's chewed up the keep plates is a longer job. I tell you which one yours is before I start, not after.

What you can pay with, and when

You pay after the job is finished and you've seen it working. Not before, not on the doorstep before I start, not as a deposit on the phone. The figure on the receipt matches the figure I quoted you, with parts and labour split out so you can see what each cost.

I take cash, debit or credit card on a portable card machine, or bank transfer. Card payments take a minute or two on site. Transfer payments are fine if you'd rather not have me hovering while it goes through. The receipt comes either way, by hand on site or by email and WhatsApp afterwards.

For insurance claims, the receipt itemises the labour, the parts, and any BS or TS standards the parts meet, so your insurer has what they need to settle. If you want a separate VAT-style invoice rather than a receipt (for VAT-registered businesses, or for landlord-paid rentals), tell me on the phone and I'll have it ready.

Sean Hamilton from Lockerfella, in the branded Lockerfella t-shirt, handing a fresh set of keys to a smiling young woman customer at her uPVC composite front door on a sunny south Staffordshire afternoon

About the locksmith

Who's quoting you these prices

I'm Sean Hamilton. I run Lockerfella. The reason these prices are on the website at all is because almost nobody else publishes theirs. If you're going to trust the figures above, it's worth knowing who they came from.

  • 30+ years fascinated by locks. I've been picking, stripping and studying locks for the love of it for over 30 years. Lockerfella is what happens when a lifelong interest in how locks work becomes the day job.
  • Trained and certified. Certificate of Locksmith Skills from A'Jam Locksmiths covering cylinder, mortice, padlock, wafer and euro lock picking, plus re-keying and mortice bypassing.
  • Standard DBS checked, £1M insured, 12 months workmanship guarantee. Redacted DBS and insurance certificates are published on the About page, with originals available to view in person before work starts.
  • One man, one van, one phone number. The phone rings on me directly. No call centre. No third-party fitter. If I quote you a price, that's the price you pay.

Read the full About page See the brands I fit

Pricing questions

Straight answers about the price you actually pay.

Why do you publish your prices when most locksmiths don't?

Most locksmiths hide their prices because the industry has a real reputation problem. Rogue traders quote £80 on the phone and then charge £400 on the doorstep. I'm not like that. I publish what I charge so you can make a proper decision about whether to call me, and so you know exactly what to expect when I arrive.

What does the daytime emergency attendance price actually include?

Daytime emergency attendance is from £90 and includes my attendance, doorstep diagnosis and the labour to do the job, with no separate call-out fee. If you need a new lock or a replacement part fitted, that's extra and I quote you the part cost separately. You get an itemised receipt showing exactly what you paid for.

What can push the price above the "from" figure?

The parts you need. A standard euro cylinder is £90 fitted. A uPVC multi-point gearbox replacement is £145. A snapped-key extraction is £90. If the lock needs drilling out or there's damage to your door, that changes what I need to do, and I'll always tell you the extra cost before I start.

Is there a call-out fee?

No. There's no call-out fee on any standard attended job. You only pay for the labour and the parts. If you call me and I can't help, or you decide not to go ahead after I quote you, you don't owe me anything. The only time a charge can apply on attendance alone is the narrow wasted-journey case set out on the no-call-out-fee page (customer not present and uncontactable, access not arrangeable, or site unsafe to work on).

Do you add VAT on top of the price?

No. I'm not currently VAT-registered, so the price I quote you on the phone is the price you pay. There's no VAT line added on top, no "plus VAT" surprise on the receipt, and the figure on the card machine matches the figure I gave you. If you're a VAT-registered business and need a VAT-style invoice format for your records, tell me on the phone and I'll put one together; just be aware it won't carry a VAT number, because there isn't one to put on it.

Do you charge extra at night, weekends, or bank holidays?

Yes, but not because I'm trying to squeeze you. Out-of-hours work (6pm to 8am on weekdays, all day on weekends and bank holidays) is from £170. That's what it costs to get someone out of bed. Daytime emergencies are from £90.

How do I pay, and when do you take payment?

I take payment after the job's done. You can pay by cash, bank transfer, debit card, or credit card. I'll sort it on your doorstep and you'll get an itemised receipt straight away.

Will you give me a written quote before starting work?

I quote you the all-in price on the phone before I set off, so you know exactly what it's going to cost. Once I'm with you, I work through the job and confirm the final cost before I start. Everything I fit comes with a 12-month workmanship guarantee on top of any manufacturer's warranty on the part itself.

Ready when you are

Locked out? Need a quote?

Three ways to reach me. Pick the one that suits the moment you're in.

Page last reviewed: . Reviewed by Sean Hamilton, the locksmith behind Lockerfella, under our editorial standards.

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