Dear readers:

I wish I could say it’s good to be back, but far from it. Having spent the last five months mourning the death of my life partner, I now find myself preparing to mourn the death of my country.  And had I not prepared myself emotionally to get back to work and once again into the swing of things, I would have found myself completely unable to deal with the disaster which is about to befall us.

Those of you who have come to know me over the years have hopefully come to realize that I am just a simple person (not simple-minded, but merely uncomplicated). I was born and raised in this country, and I love it deeply, and I openly admit to an enormous well of resentment of the cavalier attitude of our so-called leadership toward the citizenry of this nation.  In my lifetime I have seen United States government ignore our constitutional protections, moving away from respect for individualism and toward collectivism. I have watched as our schools have been dumbed- down to the point that American students are now being taught what to think, and not how to think. I have watched as the admirable goal of ending poverty (Lyndon Baines Johnson’s ‘Great Society’) has becom application process $6 trillion boondoggle which has not created less, but even more poverty than had previously existed. I have watched as government at all levels has both attempted and succeeded in exerting ever- increasing control over every citizen in this country. I have watched in disbelief as the federal government authorized the murder of over 40 million innocent children who have paid the ultimate price for the moral turpitude of their mothers (or are they really mothers?). And I, like many of you, have been forced into involuntary servitude, slavery, if you will, to support the 40% of us who pay zero taxes. Some of us say that enough is enough. Some of us say it’s already too much. But I pose this question: Where do we go once we realize that  even too much will never be enough to satisfy the gluttonous pig that we call the federal government? How many of you even have the sense to understand or care about it? Only time will tell.

Anyone who’s been paying even the slightest bit of attention for the past few decades can attest that common sense has flown the coop in this country. Back in the 90s,when this great land was ruled by Emperor Bill Clinton, it was decided by the powers that be to order Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to approve mortgages for people will obviously couldn’t afford them. Deregulation of the mortgage application process resulted in temptation on the part of mortgage grantors to pave the way for practically anyone who had a pulse an a heartbeat to buy a house. Are we now to understand that no one foresaw the possibility that these people might be unable to continue making the payments once the house had been purchased?

I can understand the sentiment that set these wheels in motion (caring about the welfare of the poor,helping those less fortunate,etc.) ,but what I cannot understand is how, over the years, practically anything that you can think of has somehow come to be considered as a basic human right. Turn on your television for couple of hours and you will see exactly what I mean–people are told that they have a basic right to medication, a basic right to health care, a basic right to motorized scooters,to diabetic testing kits, to diabetic shoes, free immunizations, free housing, free dental, free childcare, pre-kindergarten,a grade-school education, a high -school education, a college education, you name it! And now we’re being told by presidential- hopeful Senator Barack Obama that these rights not only apply to American citizens (and any illegals who wish to take advantage [ not that they would] , but that they also apply to every adult and child on the planet Earth ! Has he completely lost his mind? Or have we lost OURS? 

More on this soon.

Val

Dear readers:

After visiting this morning with my husband at the hospital (he’s battling a very aggressive form of cancer), I found myself in a very pensive mood (which should be no surprise to anyone), and overheard a discussion on economics coming from the TV in the next room. The financial pundits were in disagreement as to whether the government’s stimulus package would kickstart the economy into recovery and, keeping in mind that each of these ‘experts’ was convinced that he was the smartest guy in the room, their discussion ended with an agreement to disagree. The optimists on one end of the spectrum took a wait- and- see- what develops posture, while those on the opposite end of the spectrum insisted that we are in for dark times ahead. I tend to agree with the latter.

As I halfheartedly listened to this outpouring of economic wisdom, I scribbled down the numbers that they were throwing around, and I gradually came to the realization that, given our current status as a massive debtor nation, we Americans would be unable to meet our financial obligations to foreign interests even if we were taxed at a rate of 100% ! And now it’s got me to thinking about who we are as Americans, where we are as Americans, and where we seem to be headed in the (very near) future.

I wish to God that I could continue to believe that everything will work out, that everything is going to be okay in the end– but I can’t bring myself to drink the Kool-Aid anymore. And I never have and never will find it in myself to just bend over and grab my ankles. Believe me when I say that I’ve had it up to my eyebrows with being lied to, with being manipulated, and with being forced into INVOLUNTARY servitude by an out-of-control  government and the virulent, malignant egophrenia of its ‘leadership’. Like almost everybody else, I would love to turn my thoughts to the upcoming summer, to the beach, to Disney World, to the wonderful ordinary things of life to which we have become accustomed as Americans. But I can’t do it, and here’s the reason why: our ‘leadership’ (both Democrats and Republicans) has distorted the real cost of living for decades, deceiving and confusing the American public with talk of inflation, deflation, stagflation and other gobbledygook. And I believe that they have done so, and will continue to do so, in order to delude the American public into believing that inflationary problems will soon be at an end, and that everything will once again be rosy.  But those of us who lack the capacity for self-delusion and wishful thinking have begun to smell a rat. 

The Community Reinvestment Act, which, under the presidency of Bill Clinton, began to be used as a bludgeon in order to blackmail banks and other lending institutions into making  loans to people who would never be able to pay the money back ( this ruse, as always, was done in name of fairness for the less fortunate). And, as usual, it is turning out to be unfortunate for those of us who will have to pay for it, and less so for those who have received the benefit of those loans. Once the news got out, mortgage brokers started popping up out of the ground like mushrooms, and it became easier than ever for anybody to buy a house. Ridiculously easy credit made it possible for someone making $18,000 a year to buy a half million dollar house–and what’s the big deal if we fudged the numbers a little bit? I mean, isn’t it the right of everyone to have a home of his own? NO, IT IS NOT EVERYONE’S RIGHT !!! And especially not if I am the poor idiot who will  eventually have to pay for it. The whole concept is as ludicrous as the idea that every child has a right to go to college (even if the little dope barely had the brains to get through higschool. It is as ridiculous as is the notion that anyone who wants one should have access to a free diabetes testing kit (I know someone who has 10 of them), or diabetic shoes (whatever they are), or free motorized scooters (my mom has two, which have replaced her four walkers). What’s next? Free cell phones? Governmental tinkering and manipulation will be the death of this country. But not without the assistance of greedy moneylenders who will make money from illegally applied- for mortgages up front. And not without the assistance of the legions of financial “specialists” who stuff their pockets with the proceeds of questionable financial arrangements at the expense of their clientele, and of the nation at large.

The day will soon come when banks will begin calling upon the Federal Reserve to print up an endless flurry of brand-new fiat currency to help them cover their deposits, which then will snowball into God- only- knows- what, with credit card companies screaming for someone (anyone), to help them cover their losses. And then brokerage houses (why not?), and mortgage lenders, and anyone else who had the good sense to bribe a politician or two on the way up. And you and I will get to pay for it all !  And those of you, who ( like me), have lived within your means, who have saved your money rather than spending it stupidly, will once again be forced to bail out those of us seduced by grandiose dreams , and even more grandiose lifestyles. And, oh yeah, your savings will likely be wiped out in the process …

The US government and the Federal Reserve are taking the American people down the left hand path to disaster via political expediency, and I only wish that it was merely a matter of gross mismanagement, rather than the servicing of big- money special interest groups through a let’s- play- pretend bottomless pocketbook. The solution to not having enough money to meet our financial obligations IS NOT to print more money, and definitely not TO BORROW more money! Our economic system is based upon the dollar’s being backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government (and not by gold or silver). The only other alternative would be for us to renege on all of our existing debt and financial obligations (another possible unhappy ending). And so we find ourselves with a ‘leadership’ which spends borrowed money like a drunken sailor, and which then prints more money to cover the debt (which will more than likely bring about the eventual absolute collapse of the value of the US dollar and all related dollar- backed paper assets. Armageddon? Definitely maybe.

When the Weimar Republic of Germany collapsed no one saw it coming. Their currency was so quickly devalued that no one could prepare for it. Grocery store shelves were empty. Paper money was worthless.  And now the Federal Reserve Bank (which is in no way related to the US government) is calling upon our leaders to give the Fed permission to borrow money on it’s own authority, and not on the authority of the US treasury, which would give the Fed the authority to borrow much more money than is needed to run the government, while at the same time driving all Americans further into unfathomable debt. I imagine  the Fed would then have the power to force America and all Americans to dance to its tune at that point. Does the term ‘human collateral’ resonate with you at all?

I’m just a simple American– not a simpleton, just uncomplicated. I’m not a mover or a shaker. I’m not grandiose, nor do I want to rule the world or anything else. I’m not a member of a secret society, nor am I privy to a secret handshake or agenda. I’m just a humble locksmith who seeks nothing more in life than to live in peace and harmony with my family, in my community alongside my neighbors, and in the nation in which I have lived for all of my life. It’s not in my nature to be an alarmist, but there is a sliminess, an intangible something or other in the air that’s beginning to make my skin crawl .

If this economy collapses, it will be nothing like the Great Depression. I believe it’ll be something which has never seen before in this country. Our manufacturing base is practically nonexistent. We depend on other nations for everything from apple juice to underpants. This is no longer an agrarian society. Oh sure, we still grow plenty of food in this country– it’s just that agribusiness owns the food. How many Americans know how to plant a garden anymore? How many Americans have a place to plant a garden anymore? If there’s no food on the shelves, and if no one knows how to grow food, and if no one has thought to store food, then what could possibly come next? If Americans can’t drill for oil, and if Americans can’t refine oil in sufficient quantities, and if Americans can afford oil or gas, then what could possibly come next? Civil unrest? Rioting? Total anarchy followed by martial law? You do the math.

The general price of everything is due to the increase in the overall amount of cash in circulation. As I am just thinking out loud at the moment, and as I am not an economist, but rather a simple tradesperson, I am only capable of applying my theory to goods and services. I doubt that I could even begin to evaluate the pricing of financial assets. But I do know that the German people in the 1920s (when their currency inflated by 20,000 percent) saw the same phenomenon we are seeing today in our society. The people of Hungary after World War II saw the same thing, as did the people of the now- dismantled Yugoslavia in the 1990s. And all because their governments, just like ours, found themselves unable to resist the urge to print worthless money in lieu of raising money for its perceived needs through taxation or other means.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic, and I look forward to hearing your comments. Now go out there and try to have a great day, ’cause I know I’m gonna (try)…

Val

Dear readers:

Since September 11, 2001, American foreign policy has been shaped by the idea that we are at war with radical Islamists. The drunken spending binge that Congress has embarked upon has created a need for foreign bailouts so huge that the American government has been blinded to the reality that Islam’s war against America is not merely one of guns, bullets, and missiles, but also predicated upon the Islamist desire to bring about the financial destruction of the West, and particularly, of the United States of America. It’s about time that Congress and the current administration realize this, and take immediate action to prevent this  looming disaster.

Because of the insane spending habits of Congress (whose moral compass is obviously missing its needle), we Americans are facing widespread economic instability, resulting in an extreme devaluation of our money (goodbye to the dollar-hello Amero), as well as an extreme devaluation of our faith in our government leadership. And so today many people feel that faith is for churches, and for churches alone: I tend to agree in part.  On March 14, in reference to the nearly 100 trillion dollars of American money which  OPEC has pocketed,  President Bush welcomed capital investments from foreign wealth funds saying, “It’s our money to begin with–(and) it seems like we ought to let it come back.”

The Saudis, and the other oil- producing Gulf states, appear to be aggressively pursuing methods of economic warfare against our country, and little- to- nothing is being done about it. American economists, while applauding the fact that our dollars are ‘coming back’,  ignore the fact that the 2-1/$2 billion dollars per day we put into the pockets of Middle East oil producers gives them enormous leverage and unfathomable control over the dollar, and not surprisingly, our economy.

Many of the clients with whom I’ve spoken at express their concerns that the American government leadership, rather than looking to American needs and interests, are quite possibly positioning themselves to be offered and to accept positions with a new world government, happily acquiescing to the homicidal agenda of their masters. I say homicidal because I am convinced they are trying to kill our country dead. The 1/2  mile- wide NAFTA superhighway continues to be built in secret. The border problem is an anarchist’s wet dream. Congress refuses to permit us to drill  in the insanely oil-rich Gulf of Mexico (we don’t want some spoiled billionaire’s penthouse view destroyed by ugly American oil rigs– I suppose they’ll  prefer ugly Chinese oil rigs). The innocuous light bulb is about to be banished from the face of the earth in favor of the corkscrew- shaped carbon fluorescent light bulb (which is highly toxic). I suppose that this fiasco is some type of reward to General Electric for promoting the global- warming scam. In the meantime, the United States teeters between the twin pillars of root rot and financial insolvency.

I be writing more on this topic as things progress, but in the meantime –

Have a great day, ’cause I know I’m gonna–

Val

Well, the word is finally out.  After five years of complaining to my Yellow Pages rep about fraudulent advertising, criminal locksmith rings, ripped- off consumers, and wasted advertising revenues, local authorities are about to institute what, in their minds, is the solution to the phony locksmith ripoff operations which have plagued South Florida area for several years now. The stage has been set with an array of the usual suspects– a local politician or two seeking the usual photo op, a TV reporter or two seeking to validate their usefulness to the South Florida community, and maybe a locksmith company or two seeking to make a name for themselves by standing at the forefront of the proceedings.  And, as usual, authorities are preparing to lean on the wrong people in order to solve the problem.

It’s no surprise that things should have come to this– it’s just the way things are done in this country these days. If Americans react negatively to the flood of illegals in this country, it’s easier to shout ‘xenophobe’ or ’racist’ than it is to fix the problem. If some kid on the other side of the country pulls a gun and shoots some students, it’s easier to demonize  guns and/or legal gun owners than it is to admit that nothing can be done to prevent lunatics from committing acts of insanity anywhere, or at any time. And, now that the country has been plagued by thousands upon thousands of phony locksmiths and criminal ring members, it has been decided that the time has come for the ‘powers that be’ to require me to jump through hoop after hoop in order to proclaim my own legitimacy, and to justify my right to exist in my chosen field of endeavor.

After years of complaining to almost anyone would listen about the extent to which phony locksmith companies were dominating online 411 and the Yellow Book/Pages/Verizon/SuperPages, it is now being decided that I need to be tested, that I need to be fingerprinted, and that I need more documentation (as if a Federal tax ID number, a continuous and legitimate corporate name listed with the Florida division of corporations since 1998, a sales and use tax certificate issued by the Florida Department of Revenue, a Broward County occupational license, and a City of Weston business license are apparently not enough proof of legitimacy). Maybe, as long as they’re at it, they ought to think about hair follicle testing, retina scanning, and voice and facial recognition databases. You can’t be too safe when it comes to ME!

In the meantime, how is any of this going to prevent criminals from committing crimes? Who is going to hold the Yellow Pages’ feet to the fire when it comes to accepting advertising money from people who are blatantly on the wrong side of the law? If you want to talk about ripoffs, let’s talk about the many tens of thousands of dollars that I’ve spent on advertising in the Yellow Pages over the years– don’t I have the right to expect that my advertising dollars are being well- spent?  Do I have the right to expect to compete against others in my trade on a level playing field? Does anyone actually believe that I, as a legitimate tradesperson, can possibly compete against undocumented and unregulated criminals who infiltrate the locksmithing trade, while at the same time paying for no corporate license, paying no taxes, paying for no county or city occupational licensing? The word ‘undocumented’ (in my mind) has come to mean a license to steal, a license to get away with murder, a license to do whatever the heck you want, whenever you want, and to whomever you want (a house near mine is currently occupied by a number of single males who come and go at all hours of the day and night, party like it’s 1999 and yet, barely speak a word of English. The landlord says that they haven’t paid a penny in rent for almost a year now). I find it ironic that, living in a strange land, and speaking little or none of the native language, a person who knows how to play the game can drive a late model car, dress well, wear plenty of bling, and live rent- free. “Give us your tired, give us your poor (give us your sociopathic scam artists) gimme–feed me, feed my kids, pay our rent and doctor’s bills . I don’t care what it costs YOU to take care of ME AND MINE (amoral familialism)! Oh yeah– and let me work off the books, too, ’cause I can’t pay off my Cadillac Escalade on what little I get from you.” And so you and I have been forced into servitude, enslaved by the masses…

There is much more to this topic than a simple licensing issue. Even though America is the land of the free, I have had to get permission from everybody and his mother just to do business to support my household.  As is all too common in America today, law-abiding citizens get screwed to the wall, while lawbreakers get to tip-toe through the tulips. Forget about the war in Iraq — start paying attention to the war against the middle class in this country!  It won’t be long before America is divided into only two classes — the well-to-do (overseeing the middle-class scramble for survival with typical Olympian detachment), and the marginal poor (waiting for their government handouts, chirping like baby birds to be fed by their government masters).

Nothing will be done about the problem of phony ‘locksmiths’ if Government (federal, state or local) addresses only the issue of lost tax revenues. Nothing will be done about the problem of phony ‘locksmiths’ simply by restructuring the membership criteria of trade organizations. Nothing will be done about the problem of phony ‘locksmiths’ if today’s advertising venues are permitted to continue accepting tons of advertising dollars from clearly disreputable sources, and at the expense of their legitimate advertisers.  Phony locksmiths will not cease to advertise just because they’ve received a fine of several thousand dollars (many of them can earn that money back in one or two jobs– clearly no big deal!) These criminals have severed the bond of trust which has historically existed between locksmiths and the public at large, and they’ve been assisted by irresponsible advertising companies, greedy wholesalers, and by (ostensibly) legitimate locksmith companies who, for a price, don’t mind fronting for those who walk on the shady side of society. 

Look at what’s all around you. Ballplayers have shown us that the only way to do well in today’s world is to cheat– to do whatever it takes to get an edge on the other guy. Moms teach their kids to lie and manipulate for ‘Hanna Montana’ tickets, and God only knows what else. Schools waste enormous sums of money building a kid’s ’self-esteem’ and promoting the ‘global warming’ hoax. Self-interested parties collude with government (once they discover that their future profit margins are to be decided by Washington) to the point that it becomes difficult to determine where Government ends and Big Business begins: we once called it ‘Fascism’). The deal goes down like this: the Government promises Big Business a share of the market, further promising to suppress competition, creating a reliable profit stream. In exchange, our ‘progressive’ Corporate citizenry agrees to comply with certain ideological and political agendas, profitably buying into  the global-warming tripe (20,000+ scientists have disagreed with the “consensus“, so where’s the consensus?), buying into diversity, and ‘comprehensive’ immigration reform (enabling Government to capitalize on the woes and tribulations of a newly-minted underclass which will gratefully refrain from EVER biting the hand that feeds them) . What we, as entrepreneurs, get in exchange are punishing economic policies and the inhibition of free markets. HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THAT?

Let’s hope that the dealmakers in government and in our trade organizations do more than rewrite and administer the upcoming locksmithing business codes to their own advantage. Let’s make sure they don’t– vote sensibly, and often!

Have a great day – ’cause I know I’m gonna.

Valerie Tannenbaum,
Maverick Locksmith, and president,
A2Z Locksmith, Inc.
Weston, Florida

copyright 2008, Valerie Tannenbaum (all rights reserved)

1. Locksmith scam may have hit Tucson - Arizona Daily Star Online (09/03/2007)
2. Man sentenced for fraudulent locksmith scheme - KNTV San Jose (09/26/2007)
3. 2 On Your Side: Bogus locksmiths - KATU-TV, Channel 2, Portland, OR (09/10/2007)
4. 2 On Your Side: More bogus locksmiths - KATU-TV, Channel 2, Portland, OR (09/17/2007)
5. Some Locksmiths Cost Customers More Than They Bargained For - KABC-TV Channel 7, Los Angeles, CA (09/20/2007)
6. Picking a locksmith at random could cost you – KOMO-TV, Channel 4, Seattle, WA (09/02/2007)
7. Unlicensed Locksmith Enters No Contest Plea - KGO-TV, Channel 7, San Francisco, CA (08/30/2007)
8. Common Name Problematic for Locksmith – Fremont Tribune, Fremont, NE (08/23/2007)
9. Some Bay Area People Fall For Locksmith Scam: Scam in New York Could Be Connected – KGO-TV San Francisco, Channel 7 (08/22/2007)
10. The key to picking a locksmith: Deceitful companies abound and a professional license doesn’t mean much. But there are ways to protect yourself – Los Angeles Times (08/05/2007)
11. “I feel like they ripped me off” – KOMO-TV, Channel 4, Seattle, WA (07/24/2007)
12. Locksmith Imposters – WPTV-TV, Channel 4, Palm Beach, FL (07/19/2007)
13. Locksmith scam makes a bad day even worse – KOMO-TV, Channel 4, Seattle, WA (07/19/2007)
14. The Locksmith ‘Mafia’: Making an Estimate You Can’t Refuse – ABC News National (07/18/2007)
15. Out-Of-State Locksmiths Picking Local Customers’ Pockets – WTAE-TV, Channel 4, Pittsburgh, PA (07/17/2007)
16. Locksmith Trial Set – Oakland Tribune (07/14/2007)
17. Locksmiths Pick Your Wallet – Sun Sentinel, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (07/13/2007)
18. Locked out? Don’t fall for this locksmith scam – MSNBC (07/13/2007)
19. Skepticism The Key To Avoiding Locksmith Scam – Consumer Affairs (07/12/2007)
20. Update: Unlicensed Locksmith In San Mateo County Jail – KGO-TV, San Francisco, CA, Channel 7 (06/28/2007)
21. Investigators Open Up Alleged Locksmith Scam – WCAU-TV, Philadelphia, PA (06/11/2007)
22. CBS 5 Investigates Locksmith Scam – KPHO-TV, Channel 5, Phoenix, AZ (06/10/2007)
23. CBS 46 Investigates: Phony Locksmiths Fined - WGCL-TV Channel 46, Atlanta, GA (05/31/2007)
24. Better Business Bureau Revokes Six Memberships Including Liberty Locksmith - KOTV Channel 6, Tulsa, OK (5/29/07)
25. Locksmith Investigation - KOKI-TV Channel 23, Tulsa, OK (05/26/2007)
26. Putting The Lid On Law-Breaking Locksmiths - Realty Times Online (05/25/2007)
27. Lawmakers Taking Action On Unlicensed Locksmiths - KGO-TV San Francisco, Channel 7 (05/23/07)
28. Investigators: Door Jam - KSHB-TV Channel 41, Kansas City, MO (May 3,2007)
29. Tips for Choosing a Locksmith (KDVR-TV Fox Channel 31, Denver, CO - 4/30/2007)
30. Lousy Locksmiths (WSVN-TV Miami/Ft. Lauderdale Channel 7 - 03/20/2007)
31. Unlicensed Locksmiths Run Rampant In S.F. - The Back Story (KGO-TV San Francisco, CA Channel 7 - 02/28/2007)
32. Don’t Get Ripped Off by Locksmiths (KGO-TV San Francisco, CA Channel 7 – 02/24/2007)
33. Locked Out And Marked Up (WCCO-TV Minneapolis, MN Channel 4 - 02/19/2007)
34. I-Team: Deceptive Locksmiths (Today’s TMJ Channel 4 Milwaukee, WI 01/22/07)
    • Watch the Channel 4 investigative report video!
35. Investigators Open Up Alleged Locksmith Scam ( WCAU-TV Philadelphia - 01/10/07)
36. Locksmith overcharged her, woman alleges (Boston Townonline 12/28/06)
37. Lock Crock - Hank Phillippi Ryan Investigates (WHDH-TV Boston 11/06/06)
38. Blagojevich Administration Suspends License of Dependable Locks for False License Information (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation - 9/25/06)
39. Sting Nabs Unlicensed Locksmiths Working in the Bay Area (California Department of Consumer Affairs 09/07/06)
40. Price Line Locksmith License Suspended (Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation 08/31/06)
41. Valley woman locks horns with locksmith company (KVTV Channel 3 - Phoenix, AZ 08/21/06)
    • Watch the Channel 3 investigative report video!
42. Locksmith Consumer Alert (KGO TV Channel 7 - San Francisco - 08/12/06)
43. Locksmith Again Found Liable for Fraudulent Practices (Chicago Department of Consumer Services 02/28/06)
44. Scum Alert (Cleveland Scene Letters to the Editor 01/18/06)
45. Gypsies, Tramps, & Thieves (Cleveland Scene 01/11/06)
46. Scammer Locksmith Alert (KPNX Channel 12 - Phoenix, AZ)
47. City threatens to throw away key on locksmith (Chicago Sun-Times 08/27/05)
48. Out-of-state locksmiths picking on locals (Chicago Sun-Times 08/01/05)
49. Chicago Department of Consumer Services Offers Tips for Hiring a Locksmith (09/09/05)
50. Locksmith Found Liable for Fraudulent Practices (Chicago Department of Consumer Services 09/01/05)
51. Consumer Alert: Unlicensed Locksmiths Strike in San Francisco (California Department of Consumer Affairs 08/12/05)

A flood of complaints to the Better Business Bureau has revealed that more than a few locksmith companies, using methods of 411 monopolization, Yellow Pages advertisement manipulation, and other sophisticated methods, are bilking consumers for a fortune throughout the country.  Aside from significant overcharges to the consumer, and charges for unnecessary services, failure to respond to complaints, and the unbridled use of intimidation tactics have all contributed to a scandal reaching far and wide into this great country.

Just yesterday, I received a call from a woman who was mistaken in her hope that I might be involved with a company called “Dependable Locksmith”. Apparently, the ad to which she had responded indicated that the phony company was located at 1801 North University Drive in Plantation, Florida, and the guy with whom she had spoken had quoted her $45 to unlock her husband’s car. And the reason she called me about it was because I had apparently been listed in either the Yellow Book or Super Pages or somewhere as being located at 1802 North University Drive (an address I had vacated years ago).  What she didn’t know at the time was that 1801 North University Drive is a closed down Fuddrucker’s restaurant. She also didn’t know that her $45 service charge would explode to $159 for some inexplicable reason once the car was opened.

She told me that the guy who opened the car was very intimidating and very large, and that she was too frightened not pay him. I responded by telling her that many locksmiths (why do I even bother calling them locksmiths?) in the Yellow Pages are not locksmiths at all, but rather complete and total frauds who exploit the vulnerable situation of consumers who are locked out of their houses or cars.  I further informed her that many of them may not be locksmith companies at all, but rather  criminal rings which take advantage of consumers’ misfortune. And while ‘phony’ out-of-state companies currently find themselves under the investigative microscope, you need to know that THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO LICENSED, LOCAL COMPANIES WHO ARE ENABLING THESE SCAMMERS TO DO THEIR DIRTY WORK (who says crime doesn’t pay?).

Having heard this sad tale before, I then suggested to her that she might not only help herself, but many others as well, by reporting this incident to the advertising arm of the Yellow Pages, or to whomever she had turned to in order to obtain the listing.

There are over 114 Better Business Bureaus serving the US nationwide and, according to their records, complaints about locksmith services from 2005 to 2006 increased over 75%, and they have continued to come in steadily. ’Dependable Locksmith’ appears to be particularly disreputable, and operates under more than a dozen different names.  This company (and others) poses as a local locksmith in cities around the country, using local phone numbers and phony local addresses.  Consumers who call them might think they’re dealing with a local locksmith, but are actually connected to call centers located in the Bronx in New York City.  Other aliases used by this company include Superb Solutions, USA Total Security, Locksmith 24 Hour Inc., SOS Locksmith, Priceline Locksmith, and many variations on these names.

Other phony locksmith contractors are Basad, Inc. (a ring of  Middle-Eastern scammers, I’ve been told),  with very thick foreign accents to match).  This company operates under almost 50 names nationwide, such as A1 Locksmith Service, A1- 24 Hour Locksmith, A1 Lock and Key, AAA Locksmith 24-Hour, Liberty Locksmith, and dozens of permutations of these names. They also work in a fashion very similar to that of ‘Dependable Locksmith’, in that they also pose as local locksmiths, running full-page Yellow Pages ads and/or multiple single-line listings connected to phony business addresses.  Even though the addresses appear to be local ,they either belong to other established businesses in the local area, or are (not surprisingly) non-existent.

As a licensed, insured, bonded, legal and local locksmith, I owe it to myself and to you, my readers, to pound away at this topic until you understand it fully. Because as long as these phony companies have free rein to do whatever they like, every one of us will be vulnerable to their abhorrent practices.

If you have been victimized by one of these companies, make sure you get in touch immediately with the company or companies which published their ad.  Make sure you file a formal complaint, and demand a written response .  Call your Better Business Bureau and complain. Call the Florida Division of Corporations and complain. Tell your sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers and neighbors to complain. Because if we don’t cut the heads off these snakes now, we may all soon expect to see these companies posing as floral delivery services, carpet cleaning services, pressure cleaning services, and God only knows what else.

There you go.  I’ve said my piece and counted to three.  Have a great day, ’cause I know I’m gonna.

Valerie

Five years ago, when I first started complaining to my Yellow Pages rep regarding an unexplainable drop in business calls, I was told that it could be that my new ad was less effective than the one I had recently retired. Although I had always gone to great lengths to see that my ads were informative and clearly formatted, I accepted the possibility that I had missed the mark, and resolved to begin tracking my new calls much more carefully from that point on. As luck would have it, my ordeal  was just beginning, and I saw a troublesome pattern beginning to develop.                           

As the weeks turned into months, I noticed that the ratio of new clients to repeat clients had begun to narrow slightly. I felt at the time that this might have been due to the heavy influx of illegal aliens into locksmithing and all the other trades. Little did I know at the time that my hypothesis barely scratched the surface of reality. While unlicensed competition is definitely a serious problem for anyone trying to do business legally, I remained confident that the quality of my work and hard -won reputation of my company would sustain me, and eventually correct any trade imbalances. I WAS WRONG!!

A year later, having redesigned my Yellow Pages ads, I was ready to get back into the swing of things–I was ready to leave the past in the past, and to get back down to business. Once the new Yellow Pages were distributed I was amazed to see several ‘locksmiths’ listed within spitting distance of my own business address. Normally, I try to avoid becoming overly-concerned with the competition, mainly because I consider myself to be the competition for everyone else. But this new development had an unfamiliar stink to it that bothered me. I started calling some of these new and unfamiliar numbers, learning in the process that dozens of these phony numbers all belonged to the same phony company, which by the way, was located somewhere in the Bronx– way up in New York City, of all places!

At first, I was able to track just 10 or 15 fake locations to a company named PricelineLocksmith, Inc., which appeared to be a company within a company within a company–a bottomless pit of fraud and deceit. Disgusted, I again contacted my Yellow Pages rep to tell her what had found. She suggested that perhaps it was the economy, or my new ad (Again? How could my talent for communication have let me down two years in a row?) She then suggested that maybe it was the size of my ad, implying that a larger ad might convince potential clients of the stability of my company (which had already been pretty darn stable for years). After wrapping my head in duct tape to prevent it from exploding, I suggested that the Yellow Pages again begin checking the licenses of their advertisers (like they had done when I had first started advertising with them,).  I was then told that it was not the responsibility of the Yellow Pages to check the licensing of their advertisers. Little by little, it became more and more difficult to do business, and it was eventually discovered that these fraudulent ads have been extended into the thousands throughout the country!

Today it appears that the practice of the illegal address listing, bait- and- switch practices, physical intimidation, online and 411 monopolization have become the norm. Indeed, a great portion of America’s major metropolitan areas have been dramatically affected. I have even heard rumors of a malpractice lawsuit involving a major telephone provider (I shudder to think of the size of such a lawsuit once the lawyers have factored in the monetary losses of the legal advertisers , as well as the losses of those poor souls unfortunate enough to have responded to all of those phony ads). It also appears that the more the investigators dig, the greater the problem appears. Literally thousands of fraudulent address listings have been discovered blanketing several major metropolitan areas by dominating the top tier of locksmith service listings in SMART pages.com, and in the Verizon Super pages.com., which makes it nearly impossible for a legitimate single- listed locksmith business to get any referral whatsoever from these venues. After much investigation, it has also been recently discovered a second company was also involved in these deceptive practices (USA Locksmith from New Jersey). Then another in Las Vegas, Nevada. And then another (are you beginning to see a pattern?).

411 monopolization comes into play at this point: as fewer and fewer people use the printed Yellow Pages for information, and, as more and more people begin to use the online Yellow Pages and 411 for information, it’s practically guaranteed that they will get either a phony ‘ USA locksmith’ or a phony ‘Priceline locksmith’, after responding to the hundreds of phony locksmith numbers they may find there.

This scam activity that these companies have generated has become so big and so twisted out of shape that it may never completely unravel. It has also been recently learned that these same companies have begun to use these same methods to infiltrate and dominate other businesses, such as carpet cleaning and possibly others. These activities will continue to have a profound impact on my life and, once these scammers have robbed society of its legitimate tradespeople, your nightmare will be just beginning.

I’ll be writing more on this topic as things unfold.

Valerie

Scammer Alert ( PDF)