No money for the locksmith - 6 ways for you

BEFORE HIRING A LOCKSMITH SERVICE

Depending on the key, different insurance companies are responsible for your damage:

• Private property: Household contents or household insurance if applicable

• Third-party property (e.g. central house key of the rented apartment): Liability insurance

• Company property: In most cases, the company's public liability insurance

Before you hire a locksmith, you should check whether your insurance covers the costs of opening the door. Many insurance companies offer this service as an optional extra, which requires you to use the insurer's locksmith service. Therefore, proceed as follows:

1. Check whether the locksmith service is included in your household contents insurance.

2. Find out whether a specific locksmith must be selected by you or whether the insurance company itself must be notified.

3. Contact the locksmith or have him contacted by the insurance company if necessary. (Beware of fraud by dubious locksmiths!)

4. After the door has been unlocked, have a correct invoice issued, on which the work carried out is noted.

5. If you have a good credit rating, an online loan with fast pay out is often possible.

6. Submit the invoice to the insurance company if necessary.

Important: If your lock has been willfully destroyed - e.g. by glue or mechanical force - the insurance company is only liable if you are also insured against vandalism.

AVERAGE COSTS FOR THE LOCKSMITH SERVICE

It is important that you describe what services are required in the first conversation with the locksmith so that a fixed price can be determined. It is helpful if witnesses, such as neighbors, are present during the phone call.

• Travel allowance: Usually around €36 in urban areas, around €80 in rural areas

• Simple door opening: usually around €112 flat rate

• Material costs: Depending on the service, the material is charged extra. Enquire about the price before installation.

• Surcharges: If the working time exceeds 15 minutes, an additional €20 to €50 will be charged for each additional quarter of an hour or part thereof.

acc. Research from July 2022

Important: Always ask directly where the locksmith is starting from. An area code from a certain area does not mean that the employee will set off from that city.

YOU HAVE THESE OPTIONS FOR QUICK FINANCING

If your insurance does not cover the locksmith service, you will of course need money immediately to pay for the service. You have these options to receive your pay out immediately:

1. Try to increase the size of your dispo account.

2. Sell collateral to a dealer without waiting.

3. Pawn collateral and have your money paid out immediately.

4. If you find yourself in an absolute financial emergency, a charitable organization may be able to help you.

5. Bridge the payment with a credit card to give you time to talk to your bank manager.

1. INCREASE IN DISPO ACCOUNT

The costs for the locksmith service usually amount to 150-300 euros. Note that the interest for overdrawing your account can be up to 15% p.a. - you should only consider this option as a short-term solution.

1. Call your bank, explain your emergency situation and ask for an increase in your overdraft facility.

2. If your contact person complies with your request, the procedure can be initiated immediately.

3. You can now withdraw more money from your account.

2. IMMEDIATE SALE OF COLLATERAL

Do you have a games console, the previous model of your cell phone or other things at home that you no longer use? You'll get a little less from a dealer than from a private sale, but you'll get your money immediately and without waiting.

3. PAWN COLLATERAL

If you have valuable items that you don't want to sell, you can also simply pawn them at a pawn shop and borrow money.

1. Offer: You can display the payout amount for your pawn loan online at digital pawnshops such as CASHY. You then decide whether you want to pawn your item and book through straight away.

2. Handover: Your collateral can be brought to a store or sent by post - depending on how quickly you need your money.

3. Payout: You can also pay out cash in the store. When shipping your item, you can only have your money paid out to your PayPal or bank account.

Important: CASHY bears the WKO seal of approval and thus complies with the guidelines of the Association of Financial Service Providers.

4. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS

If you find yourself in dire straits, both the state and a social organization such as Caritas can help you.

Simply contact an organization or your municipality directly and ask about the requirements. You will usually get help if

• you are in an emergency situation due to personal, family or financial circumstances or as a result of extraordinary events or you are threatened with an emergency situation as a result of the payment.

• it is absolutely not possible for you to settle the bill with your own funds.

• the payment enables a sustainable improvement in your life situation.

• you help to improve your financial situation.

5. TAKE OUT AN INSTANT LOAN

If you do not have a negative entry in the debt register and your credit rating is reasonably good (medium-good), you can contact a provider of micro and mini loans online. Your solvency will be checked within a few minutes and you can receive money within a few days if the result is positive.

In Germany, for example, you can find this option on auxmoney.at. The founders of the platform launched the company as a start-up in 2006. They discovered that people are often still creditworthy despite being rejected by the bank if you take all aspects into account. The company takes a closer look at your creditworthiness, so you may have a better chance of getting a loan than at the bank.

6. CREDIT CARD USE

If you need a small loan and want to buy yourself some time, you can also use your credit card to make the payment. Depending on the billing date, you can postpone your payment by up to 5 weeks.

Many providers also give you the option of setting up an installment plan for your credit card. Ask the credit card company about this option. Although you will pay interest every month, you will only ever be charged around 10% of the total amount.

Tip: If you have a bottleneck, contact the credit card company directly. With good customer service, you may be able to postpone the payment due date by a month in an emergency.

Your options in comparison:

We have summarized for you where you can get the money for the locksmith service quickly, easily and without checking your ability to pay (credit rating):

Tip: You can also pawn your car at a pawn shop. Simply enter your vehicle details and call up the possible payout amount online in the calculator.