Locksmiths and Auto Locksmiths based in more rural areas often get asked “do you cover my area? I am all the way up in……..” when someone rings up for their services. Customers living in more rural areas also understand that they will probably pay more than a customer living in a more urban setting.
It’s true that in more rural areas a locksmith will travel further, a lot further in fact than a locksmith based in the city but it still depends on the job and does reflect pricing.
A locksmith based in Greater London or Greater Manchester just wants work that’s only a couple of miles down the road and doesn’t want to travel any further than that, otherwise he or she is not making a lot of money and is in fact on a terrible hourly rate. This is because in large cities such as London, Manchester, Birmingham etc there is plenty local work due the condensed population and higher crime rates and the roads are usually jammed whether is 2pm or 2am so taking on only very local work makes a lot of sense to these city dwelling locksmiths and they can still make a good living from their chosen trade.
However in rural areas where the population is more spread out the humble locksmith is willing to travel a lot further which is less difficult than it is in the city due to quieter roads. But the locksmith still needs to weigh up the cost incurred by travelling, say 80 miles or more to repair/change a gearbox on a door, change some locks or perform emergency entry on a domestic or residential building or a vehicle and this is why rural locksmiths rarely have set prices and why companies like the MLA need to stop trying to dictate set prices for standard locksmith work.
For years the MLA (Master Locksmith Association) have tried hard to establish themselves as some sort of official regulator for the un-regulated locksmith industry when they are in fact just a private company offering a private locksmith training course and members club.
When working in rural areas prices for standard locksmith work cannot be set, a locksmith travelling 80+ miles cannot perform emergency entry on a home, office or vehicle for a set price because unlike city centre locksmith who are travelling a couple of miles the rural locksmith must factor in fuel and vehicle wear and tear and people living in rural area understand that they do in fact pay more than people do in urban areas and are fine with this.
However, the MLA started posting what they call “standard” locksmith prices to social media recently and at the same time did a number of posts and tweets suggesting that only MLA trained locksmiths are qualified locksmiths and the public should not use a locksmith who isn’t part of their private club which angered many people because it is in fact the complete opposite.
Back in 2019 Ofqual, The Government Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation finally regulated two locksmith training courses, one for the domestic and commercial sector and one for the automotive sector.
Now many people don’t understand this, but Ofqual courses can only be run in colleges and universities, these can still be private colleges and universities as long as they are recognised as such by the Gov’t, are accredited as higher learning institution and have qualified teachers.
The MLA didn’t meet this criteria so couldn’t run the official Ofqual courses, that’s right, the company who for years tried to appoint itself as official regulator for the locksmith industry didn’t have official college accreditation or the qualifications to offer these official courses and many people believe that their recent behaviour online trying to control pricing and trying to suggest that only their locksmiths are qualified is linked to this fact and all that they are doing is trying to throw a spanner in the works when the locksmith industry is finally working its way to getting some much needed regulation.
The MLA continue to push their cheap 5 day locksmith course and members club but people in the industry believe that their days are numbered.
Want to train as a locksmith? Then search for the Ofqual Level 3 Diploma in Commercial Locksmiths & Property Security or the Ofqual Level 3 Diploma in Automotive Locksmiths & Vehicle Security as these are the officially recognised courses