What to Do When Locked Out

What should you do when you are locked out of your home?

The first thought that runs through you head might not exactly be a ‘G’ rated on but after that has passed here are the steps you should follow.

Step #1 – Don’t panic. Do you have a spare key? Most people keep a spare key hidden somewhere in their car or hidden somewhere in the garden. Do you have a spare key somewhere?

Step #2 – Try and retrace your steps if you didn’t go far. Did you got to the store? The service station to get petrol? A friends house? Call who you can or drive back where you came from and ask if anything was handed in and also look around.

Step #3 – Who did you give a spare key to? Do you have flatmates you could get a key from? Family? Friends? Neighbor? Partner?

Step #4 – It’s a long shot and this should really be #1. Try the door. Maybe you forgot to lock it in the first place. If not, and likely not, look for a window that might be cracked open a little you can climb in through.

Step #5 – Don’t pick the lock yourself. It’s not like the movies. You can’t just open a locked door with a credit card in 10 seconds or so. Lock picking is more of an art that needs special tools. If you try to pick the lock or use a card you’re very likely to damage the card, the lock or something else.

Step #6 – Call a locksmith. This is really the best bet if you had no luck with anything else. The other option could be to smash a window. But then you will have a broken window that will need fixing. That is going to cost a lot more compared to having a locksmith called out.