Locked Out Late at Night: A Calm Checklist

First, a minute to settle

Being locked out at eleven at night feels very different from the same problem at lunchtime. It's dark, you're tired, and your phone battery is suddenly the most important thing you own. The good news is that a lockout is almost always a fixable inconvenience, not an emergency, as long as you keep yourself safe while it's sorted out.

Work through the list below in order. Each step is small, and none of them involve damaging your own property.

The checklist

• Am I safe right here? If someone is acting suspiciously nearby, if there are signs of a break-in, or if you feel threatened, leave the area and phone SAPS on 10111, or 112 from a cellphone. Don't go inside to check.
• Save your phone. Turn down the screen brightness and close apps you don't need. If your car is with you, charge the phone there.
• Who else has a key? A partner, housemate, family member, a trusted neighbour, or for a business the other keyholders and the alarm company's keyholder list.
• Any other way in that is already open? Walk around and look at other doors and a sliding door, without climbing, lifting gates off rails or forcing anything.
• Where can I wait that's lit and visible? Inside your locked car, at a neighbour, or at the guardhouse if you live in an estate.
• Is my ID on me? If not, think about what you can show instead (see below).
• Call us. We answer 24/7. Tell us what's locked, where you are and how to get to you.

Stay visible while you wait

Waiting in the dark on a quiet street is the part of a lockout people tend to underestimate. A few simple choices make it far more comfortable.

• If you have your car, sit in it with the doors locked, parked under a light, and keep the phone on.
• Let someone know where you are and that you're waiting for a locksmith.
• When the technician arrives, check the vehicle and the person before you get out. It's perfectly fine to ask for their name on the phone and confirm when they get there.

In an estate or complex: start at the guardhouse

If you live in a security estate or a complex with controlled access, the guardhouse is your friend at night. Let security know that you're locked out and that a locksmith is on the way, so the vehicle is let through without a long delay at the boom. Have your ID ready for them too.

Some estates may also have a spare-key arrangement or a managing agent who keeps contact details. It's worth asking. Don't assume they can open your home for you, though.

Locked out of the office or shop after hours

A late-night lockout at work brings a few extra people into the picture. Before you call a locksmith, check whether another keyholder can get there, and speak to your alarm or armed-response company so that a technician working at the door isn't mistaken for an intruder. In an office park or business park, let the security gatehouse know who is coming.

If the door is part of a shared building, the landlord or managing agent may have rules about who can authorise work on the locks. Find that out on the phone if you can, so the job isn't held up at the door. Our commercial locksmith service covers offices, shops, warehouses and other business premises, and the same R250 call-out and on-site quote apply.

Proof that it's your home

Before opening any door, the technician will ask for proof that you live there or own the property. It's the same request whoever you are, and it protects you from someone else getting into your home this way.

What not to do, however tired you are

• Don't break a window or a glass panel. It's dangerous in the dark, it leaves the house insecure overnight, and the repair is usually more involved than the lockout.
• Don't climb onto a roof, a wall or burglar bars. Falls at night are a real risk.
• Don't force the lock with tools. You can damage a lock that would otherwise have opened without harm. We try non-destructive entry first.
• Don't set off your own alarm. If the alarm is armed and you can't disarm it, phone your armed-response company and explain.
• Don't post on a community group that your house is open or unoccupied.

What to tell us when you call

Our emergency locksmith service runs 24/7. The R250 call-out fee. The technician assesses the job on site and gives you the price before any work starts. Nothing is done until you agree. Payment is by EFT, cash or card.

• The address, the estate or complex name, and anything the guardhouse will need.
• What's locked: front door, security gate, garage, office, car or safe.
• The kind of lock, if you know: a key-in-handle lock, a mortice lock or a gate lock. A photo helps.
• Whether the keys are inside, lost or broken in the lock.
• Where you're waiting and what you're wearing or driving, so the technician can find you.

If a key has jammed or snapped rather than been lost, see key stuck in the lock and won't come out. For how the visit is priced, see what a mobile locksmith costs in Centurion. You can also find more on our mobile locksmith in Centurion homepage.

Need a locksmith to look at it?

If this hasn't solved the problem, our emergency lockouts service covers it. We're a mobile locksmith in Centurion, so we come to your door.

Sources and further reading

• Western Cape Government: Know who you can call in an emergency — Lists the national numbers: Police Flying Squad 10111, ambulance 10177, and 112 for emergencies from a cellphone (MTN, Vodacom, Cell C and Telkom).
• Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, section 15 (Acts Online) — Consumer authorisation before charging for repair or maintenance work; background to agreeing a price before work starts.