Many of you I am sure have had to go through the awful experience of getting locked out of your house or car and left only with the option of calling a locksmith to get back in. As if the headache was not enough—imagine if you were charged more than double the going rate of the locksmith service that you received. Shockingly, this is an all too common occurrence for many California residents.

Earlier last year during a meeting with San Francisco small business owners, it was brought to my attention the extent of unlicensed locksmith activity in the city. Now granted, locksmith service is not always the first thing to come to mind when you think of a consumer rip off. However, after watching numerous reports in the media and meeting with district business owners and the California Locksmith Association—I have decided to tackle this issue head on by introducing a very important piece of consumer protection legislation.

Last year, KGO’s Seven on Your Side uncovered that of the 2,300 locksmiths listed in the San Francisco yellow pages-only about 7 percent actually had a license to practice the trade. Seven on Your Side also submitted a public records request to the State Board of Equalization, the state agency in charge of collecting sales tax, and discovered that anywhere from 75 to 93 percent of San Francisco locksmiths listed on yellowpages.com don't even have permits to collect taxes.
 
This means that consumers are not only being overcharged for services that are incomplete or insufficient, but the state is also losing money because these unlicensed businesses are collecting taxes from customers and pocketing the money for themselves. What makes this all even worse is the fact that these fictitious businesses list a fake address or none at all.

This month I will be introducing legislation that will revamp the entire law on locksmiths including strengthening enforcement provisions and increasing fines for unlicensed activity. One of the major problems with the current law is that the fine for unlicensed activity is only $1,000. This fine is merely a slap on the wrist for someone who can make much more than that in one service call where a consumer is overcharged by outrageous amounts.

The legislation that I will be introducing increases the fine to $10,000, which will not only prove to be a deterrent for unlicensed activity, but also provide District Attorneys’ with an incentive to investigate and prosecute a crime with a greater fine. My bill will also make numerous other updates to California’s Locksmith law including a requirement that all locksmith’s display their license on their service vehicles and that owner’s name and license number are displayed on all advertising material.

My hope is that once this legislation passes through the legislature and is signed by the Governor that unlicensed locksmiths will be a problem of the past in San Francisco. In the meantime if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being locked out of your house or needing a damaged lock replaced be sure that when the locksmith arrives, request to see a license. To find out whether the locksmith you intend to use is licensed-you can go to the Better Business Bureau’s website and search the business by name: http://search.bbb.org