I went to open a trunk of a car yesterday. The key was locked inside.
In order to save time, the company I work for gets the information from the customer like his or her name and discription, the make, model, and color of the car, and the customers ID and/or credit card number. When I get to the car I take the plate number and the VIN number. The dispatcher didn't do it this time as I found out later after the cops showed up as you'll see.
I located the customer who did not have a call back number at the car after matching his discription with the one the dispatcher gave me and told him who I was. I stated again the agreed upon price and method of payment and took the information from the car and opened the trunk. I didn't bother with checking his ID because I 'thought' the dispatcher already did that and because the keys were in the trunk, I figured the car belonged to him.
The customer then tried to crawfish on the 75.00 fee by saying it was only worth 40.00 dollars. I called the dispatcher and she talked to the customer again to 'remind him' that the agreed upon price was 75.00 to 100.00 dollars to do the job. The customer said "Fine I'll pay".
He then took the keys out of the trunk and told me he was going to see if his car would start. He started his car never putting it in gear. Now I'm not stupid, I blocked him in with my truck before I did the job. While the car was running he said he had 100.00 dollars in his pocket to pay me. I said, "Here I have 25.00 change. He said, "I dont want your money, lets go to the ATM machine". I said, "Give me your card and I'll run it through on my card reader". He said, "No, I want to go to the ATM machine because I need to get some extra cash". I said, "We'll go in my truck". He said, "No, I want to drive my car". I said, You told me you had the money to pay me in your pocket and now your telling me you want to go to the ATM machine. Your not going anywere in this car until you pay me".
I reached in the car, cut it off and took the keys. His eyes got about as big as grapefruits and I jumped in my truck and drove a few blocks away and called the police. Thirty minutes later the law showed up. I explained to the officer the situation, he took my personal information, and we drove to the car. When we got there, the customer was no where to be found. The officer ran the plate. We called the dispatcher and she told me she never got the customers ID, she claimed she was to busy. The officer made a report for 'theft of service' and I gave him the keys to book for evidence and I drove to my next call. I did not find out if the plate was clean before I left to go to my next call.
The moral of the story is never trust anyone else to get the customer information for you. You never know what you're getting into. Always get all the information before you do the job.
For the Texas locksmiths and lawyers out there especially but for everyone else too I ask this;
Did I do the right thing by taking the keys and leaving or am I going to have to worry about a problem with the law?
Glen