This is how the price stacks up. Every job starts at the start rate, and the work you need is added on top. You hear your total on the phone before we set off.
| Component | Amount | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Start rate: the call-out, the travel and the VAT | €75 | The base of every total |
| Opening a door | +€75 | €150 total during the day |
| SKG★★ cylinder, fitting and new keys included | +€75 | €150 total during the day |
| SKG★★★ cylinder, fitting and new keys included | +€125 | €200 total during the day |
| Evening and night, once | +€75 | Opening a door becomes €225 total |
| Weekend during the day | +€0 | No surcharge |
| Every extra half hour of work | €75 | First half hour included, always agreed with you first |
Public holidays are treated as evening and night. There is one price list, in euros, for everyone.
It stacks up from one base. The start rate is €75, which covers the call-out, the travel and the VAT. The work is added on top: +€75 to open your door, so €150 total during the day. A new SKG★★ cylinder is +€75, so €150 total during the day; an SKG★★★ cylinder is +€125, so €200 total during the day. You hear your total on the phone before we set off.
Every job starts at the €75 start rate. That is not a separate bill, it is the base your total is built from. Then the work you need is added: +€75 to open your door (€150 total during the day), +€75 for an SKG★★ cylinder (€150 total during the day), or +€125 for an SKG★★★ cylinder (€200 total during the day). Outside office hours one further €75 is added on top.
No. It is the base the total is built from, not a separate line. When we quote you €150 to open your door during the day, the start rate is already inside that number.
The €75 start rate plus €75 for the opening itself: €150 total during the day. In the evening or at night one further €75 is added, so €225 total. A weekend during the day adds nothing, so it stays €150 total.
On top of the €75 start rate, an SKG★★ cylinder is +€75, so €150 total during the day. An SKG★★★ cylinder is +€125, so €200 total during the day. Fitting is included, and so are new keys. In the evening or at night one further €75 is added.
In the evening and at night one further €75 is added to your daytime total, so opening a door becomes €225 total instead of €150 total. A weekend during the day carries no surcharge. Public holidays are treated as evening and night.
The first half hour of labour is included in every job. If it runs longer, we charge €75 per extra half hour. We always discuss that with you first: the locksmith explains why it is taking longer and what it will cost, and you decide. You will never meet it for the first time on the invoice.
Check the obvious routes first: a housemate with a spare key, a back door, your landlord or building manager. If none of those work, call or WhatsApp us. Tell us where you are and whether the door is locked with the key or just pulled shut, that changes how we open it.
Usually within thirty minutes. We work across the whole country with engineers in every province, and our locations are dispatch bases rather than shops, so the locksmith travels to you.
Almost never. We always try to open without damage first, and that works in the large majority of cases. Only when the cylinder is fully locked is drilling sometimes the only option. You hear that beforehand, including what a replacement would cost.
Yes. The locksmith will ask for ID and for something showing you live at that address. Without that check we do not open the door. Inconvenient when you are in a hurry, but it is exactly the reason you would let us in.
After a break-in or an attempted one, after moving house, if your key went missing together with something showing your address, or if you do not know how many copies are out there. If your key simply got lost somewhere inside the house, you usually do not need to.
The Dutch SKG mark says how much resistance a lock offers during a break-in attempt. Two stars is a solid baseline for most homes. Three stars is the heaviest class and is more often required by insurers where the risk is higher.
For most front doors an SKG★★ cylinder is the best balance: €150 total during the day, including fitting and new keys. If you want more resistance, or your insurer asks for it, SKG★★★ is €200 total during the day. The locksmith will check what fits your door on the spot.
Technically yes: one screw in the faceplate, old cylinder out, new one in. What usually goes wrong is the size. A cylinder that is too long sticks out and makes your door less safe, not more. If in doubt, have it measured.
If you are standing outside, we open your door: €150 total during the day, €225 total in the evening or at night. Whether the lock also needs replacing depends on whether someone could find your front door. If the key disappeared together with your bag, post or wallet, have the cylinder replaced.
Then opening alone is not enough, because someone else can walk in with those keys. Have the cylinder replaced straight away: €150 total during the day for SKG★★, €200 total during the day for SKG★★★. New keys are included.
Yes, a new cylinder comes with new keys. If you need more than the standard set, for example because you share the place with housemates, tell us beforehand and the locksmith will bring them along.
No, we do not cut keys. For a plain spare, a local shoemaker or key service is quicker and cheaper. If you have a certificate lock such as M&C, DOM, Nemef or Nuki, we can reorder original keys through the manufacturer: call or WhatsApp us with the certificate to hand.
Often, especially after a break-in. You will need a police report and an itemised invoice, and your policy has to cover it. Our invoice lists the parts fitted and their certification, which is what insurers ask for.
Frequently yes: your buildings insurance for damage to the door itself, your contents insurance for what was taken. Always report it to the police and photograph the damage before anything is repaired.
That depends on the policy. Some Dutch contents policies cover cylinder replacement after keys are lost or stolen; others only after a break-in. Keep the invoice and check your terms.
Usually yes, as long as you keep the original cylinder and put it back when you leave. Dutch tenancy practice treats the lock as part of the property, so the safest route is to replace it, store the old one, and tell your landlord in writing.
It depends on why. After a break-in it is often the landlord, as part of restoring the property. If you lost the key, it is usually you. Agree it in writing before the work happens, so there is no discussion afterwards.
In most Dutch rental agreements, yes, the landlord is entitled to access for maintenance and emergencies, usually with notice. Refusing outright tends to create more problems than it solves.
Often only with your landlord’s agreement, and in shared housing the room lock and the front door are treated differently. Check your contract first. If a housemate has moved out and still holds a key, that is a good reason to raise it.
Have the cylinder replaced on the door that matters to you. If it is your own room, that is straightforward. If it is the shared front door, you will need agreement from the other tenants or the landlord, because everyone’s keys change at once.
Yes. There is one price list, published in euros and in English on our prices page, for everyone. You hear your total on the phone before we set off, and that total is what appears on the invoice.
Yes, from the first phone call through to the invoice. Tell us where you are and what has happened, and we will take it from there.
Yes, evictions, forced sales, bankruptcies, utility disconnections, police seizures and post-burglary repair. In short: opening properties and securing them again. We work across the whole of the Netherlands.
Several things at once: a Dutch KvK number that checks out, a fixed phone number, one total price up front instead of a “from” price, reviews about real jobs, and a locksmith who identifies themselves at your door. Anyone who only starts talking about money once they are standing there is a bad sign.