Rob Graham, from Ross Galt Lock & Alarm, is concerned about substandard work being done by a Christchurch locksmith firm that has a chequered past.

When Sarah Vickers needed the lock on her ranch slider fixed she googled "Christchurch locksmith" and rung the first number she saw.

The locksmiths arrived in an unmarked vehicle, without a uniform and had no proof as to who they were, Vickers said.

"Looking back, I should have smelled a rat," she said.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Rob Graham says Christchurch people are being overcharged and provided with a substandard service by a company that has recently set up in the city.

Instead, Vickers ended up being charged $295 for what turned out to be a $59 lock – and later had to call another locksmith to rectify what she said was poor workmanship by the first company she called.

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Vickers is one of a number of dissatisfied customers of Meridian Locksmith, which operates the christchurchlocksmith.com website that often appears at the top of Google searches for locksmiths in the city.

GEORGE HEARD/STUFF Graham is urging people who need the services of a locksmith to be careful about who they hire.

Meridian, which has ties to a locksmith company that left a trail of disappointed customers in Auckland last year, is the subject of a complaint recently lodged with the Commerce Commission by people who feel the company has taken unfair advantage of them.

The complaints include poor workmanship, overcharging and its employees misrepresenting who they are, pretending they were from other, well-established Christchurch locksmiths, when asked.

The sole director and shareholder of Meridian Locksmith is Noam Cohen, according the New Zealand Companies Office register.

Cohen was the sole director and shareholder of ABN Inc, now removed from the companies register. ABN was behind Local Locksmith 24/7 and Locksmiths Auckland, which attracted a string of complaints and an appearance on Fair Go last year

A Commerce Commission spokesman said it has received six complaints against Cohen and/or 24 Hour Locksmith and/or Emergency Locksmith.

Stuff called the phone number on the christchurchlocksmith.com website that Meridian Locksmith responds to, and after asking for the manager, spoke to someone who would only be identified as David.

He said the company's ownership was "complicated" and Cohen was no longer the owner, despite being the sole shareholder and director. A cellphone number David provided for the new owner is disconnected.

Vickers said after removing her ranchslider lock the Meridian locksmiths said they needed to go back to their office for parts. Fifteen minutes later they returned to fit the lock.

"They demanded payment up front," she said. "And when they put it back on it looked really shoddy."

When the locksmiths first arrived at the property Vickers also asked them to refit a bathroom door handle, not realising she was about to be overcharged.

Both jobs combined took about 90 minutes, she said, and payment had to be made on the spot.

The bill included $295 for the ranchslider lock, which can be bought at hardware retailers for $59, two amounts of $95 for labour, a callout fee of $35 and GST – a total of $598. Her invoice said the money was paid to Meridian Locksmith.

Vickers later phoned another locksmith company to get a quote for fitting window stays and to ask what it would charge for work Meridian had done. She said the technician she spoke to was quick to recognise Meridian's work through the many fix-up jobs he had done in the two months Meridian has been operating in Christchurch.

Ross Galt Lock & Alarm business development manager Rob Graham said his biggest concern was that the company was overcharging – on average around twice the going rate – while the quality of the work done was substandard.

Care needed to be taken when searching for locksmiths online, he said, including checking whether a company was a member of the Master Locksmiths Association and looking for reviews of work.

Locksmiths should also have a uniform and identification, he said, and be driving a sign-written vehicle.