Yes, all our Locksmiths are DBS checked and are registered with the MLA (Master Locksmith Association)

It all depends on the job, we will always give you a fixed price in advance before we undertake any work, this can quite often be given to you over the phone before we arrive. On the odd occasion where we are unable to establish exactly what the work entails or what parts are needed we will visit your property and carry out a no obligation free of charge survey.

As a guide a normal call out to change a lock will be between £85-£120 on average depending on the type of lock and an emergency call out to open a door will be between £75-£95.

No, we specialise in NDE (Non Destructive Entry). We will always employ non destructive methods where possible. Our Locksmiths have a variety of different tools and techniques for opening doors without any damage.

An easy way to tell is to look for a British Standard (BS 3621) kite mark printed on the lock. Most insurance companies now stipulate that there needs to be at least one insurance approved lock fitted to any final exit door and all accessible windows need to have key locking window locks installed.

This will vary depending on the type of door you have and what your budget is.

There are various different brands that offer the same level of protection but vary greatly in price and quality. We only fit locks that we have tested ourselves and are happy with their performance.

The lock is only as strong as the door it’s fitted to, if a you have a wooden door make sure your door is of solid construction, chipboard fire doors and panelled hardwood doors are often quite easy to break in to, no matter what locks you have. If you have a UPVC door make sure you have a lock with hook bolts installed so there is no possibility of someone levering it open and ideally get one with a mid rail for additional strength.

We recommend on a wooden front door to have at least one British Standard mortice deadlock, this can be made more secure with the addition of a lock guard fitted either side of the lock and a London or Birmingham bar fitted to the frame.

For UPVC and Composite doors we recommend an anti-snap high security cylinder with security handles fitted. This is especially important at the moment as most doors don’t come with this as standard and with the recent increase in burglaries using the cylinder snapping method it is money well spent.

Most locks from new come with 2 or 3 keys depending on the manufacturer, we do however have mobile key cutting facilities, let our Locksmith know how many keys you need and they can cut you more on site if needs be. We also offer a mail order key cutting service for all of our master key suite systems.

Yes we do. When you call Abbey Locksmiths you will speak to a trained locksmith (not a call centre) meaning quite often we are able to give a fixed price over the phone in advance after asking you a few questions.

Sometimes a photo can help, we often ask people to send us a picture of the lock or door as it can be hard to describe sometimes especially if you’re not familiar with all the terminology.

We also carry out free no obligation surveys for residential and business customers, these are normally pre booked and during office hours.

We accept all major credit and debit cards as well as cash and bank transfers. All work unless agreed otherwise is to be paid for on completion.

We do also offer credit terms for business customers. Please call our office on 0800 052 0775 to discuss.

Yes. There is an invoice issued for every job we do. Since 2015 we have switched over to a completely paperless system, all invoices are now emailed to our customers along with any credit card receipts. We have had the odd occasion where a customer does not have an email address, if we are notified in advance we can bring a printed copy with us or put one in the post.

No we don’t. The reason for this is we have heard of other companies operating with a call out fee and then charge an hourly rate once they arrive, we believe this to be a bit deceiving and open for exploitation, jobs can be dragged out for extra money and a fee can often still be due even if they don’t manage to complete the job or if a customer cancels in advance of the Locksmith arriving.

We have chosen to distance ourselves from these sort of companies and just charge one fixed price regardless of time spent doing the job or travel time. This also means if you call us out and before we arrive you decide to cancel, there is no charge.

The main areas we cover for our domestic and commercial customers is Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and London.

As a result of ongoing national contracts for the debt recovery and the utility sector we do also have a network of vetted Locksmiths throughout the UK. Please call our office on 0800 052 0775 to enquire.

All work carried out by Abbey Locksmiths Ltd comes with a full 12 month parts and labour guarantee. As well as the guarantee we will also give you advice on maintaining your locks and security.

Providing a lock is fitted correctly and is the right lock for the application it should last a lifetime.

Most problems with locks arise when duplicate keys are made, if a key is badly cut it can damage the lock. Always use an original key when making copies and when you get any new keys try them as soon as possible, if they are difficult to turn in lock or are sticking throw them away or take them back to the place they were cut and ask for a refund or a new key.