Locked out of your house?What to do first

Before you phone anybody

• Check every door and window properly. Not a glance — actually try them. Bathroom and scullery windows are the usual culprits.
• Find out who else has a key. A partner twenty minutes away is cheaper than any call-out.
• If you rent, phone the landlord or agent first. Many are obliged to hold a spare, and changing a lock without telling them can cause a bigger argument later.

Do not force it

The single most expensive thing people do is try to get in themselves. A credit card on a modern lock does nothing except bend the card. Levering a window frame costs more to repair than the lockout would have. Breaking a pane means glass, a board-up, and a glazier on top of the locksmith.

What a locksmith will ask

• The address, and whether it is a house, a flat or a complex.
• What kind of lock it is — a standard mortice, a cylinder, a security gate, or a gate with a motor.
• Whether the door is simply locked, or locked and jammed.
• Proof you live there. An ID with the address, a utility bill, or a lease.

That last point again: if a locksmith opens residential doors without checking, that is not someone you want holding your address.

Opened, or drilled?

Most locks can be opened without damage. Some cannot — anti-drill cylinders, locks that have already failed internally, and doors that have dropped on their hinges. A straight locksmith looks at it, tells you which it is, and gives you the price of the replacement cylinder before starting rather than after.

Afterwards

Two things worth doing once you are inside. Get a spare cut and leave it somewhere sensible — not under the mat. And if the lock was sticking before the lockout, deal with it now: a lock that is hard to turn is a lock that is about to fail.