Take Action — Write to Your MP

Write to your MP about locksmith scams — template letter

The Government has known about this problem for over a decade and has chosen not to act. Writing to your MP is one of the few things that changes that calculation. Here is exactly how to do it — and a template letter you can copy and send today.

Find Your MP → Sign the Petition →

Why writing to your MP matters

Politicians move at the speed of constituent pressure. When twenty people in a constituency write to their MP about the same problem in the same month — the MP raises it in Parliament. When enough MPs raise it — ministers are forced to respond. When ministers are forced to respond publicly — the political calculation about inaction changes.

The locksmith licensing debate in 2021 happened because MPs were lobbied by constituents and industry professionals. The Government rejected licensing at that time. Complaints have risen 147% since then. The political case for action is now stronger than it has ever been — particularly after Prime Minister Andy Burnham's cowboy builder crackdown announcement in August 2026.

Your MP can raise a written question to the relevant minister, request a meeting with the Business Secretary, table an amendment to relevant legislation, or simply add their voice to the growing cross-party consensus that the UK's failure to act on locksmith scams is no longer acceptable.

The Government's failure — a timeline

2015

First parliamentary questions about locksmith licensing. Government says existing consumer protection legislation is sufficient.

2021

Full parliamentary debate on locksmith licensing — 22 September 2021. Government rejects mandatory licensing. Says there is no evident high level of criminality.

2024

Digital Markets Competition and Consumers Act 2024 passes — new CMA powers. Locksmith sector not specifically addressed.

2026

Complaints rise 147% in Q1 2026. Andy Burnham announces cowboy builder crackdown — locksmiths not included. UK still the only European country not to have acted. Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Sweden, and Belgium have all banned paid locksmith advertising on Google. Ireland has mandatory licensing.

How to find and contact your MP

1

Go to members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP and enter your postcode to find your MP's name and email address.

2

Copy the template letter below — personalise with your name and postcode. Add any personal experience of locksmith scams if you have one.

3

Email it directly. MP emails are in the format firstname.lastname.mp@parliament.uk. Every email is logged and contributes to the evidence base MPs use when raising issues with ministers.

4

Also sign the parliamentary petition at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/759825 — every signature is a matter of parliamentary record.

Template letter — copy and personalise

Dear [MP Name],

I am writing to you as a constituent to raise my serious concern about rogue locksmith scams in the UK — and to ask why the Government's recent cowboy trader announcement does not include locksmith services.

Fake locksmith listings on Google Maps — using virtual phone numbers, fabricated reviews, and false addresses — are causing serious and documented financial harm to vulnerable people in constituencies across the UK. Consumers are routinely charged five to six times a fair price. Elderly and vulnerable people are specifically targeted. The highest documented charge for a standard lockout is over ÂŖ3,000.

The Master Locksmiths Association documented a 147% rise in consumer complaints in Q1 2026. An independent public interest database documenting over 120 rogue locksmith operators — with Companies House details, phone numbers, and consumer harm evidence — is publicly available at locksmithscams.co.uk. This database has been shared with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority.

The UK is the only country in Europe that has not acted on this problem. Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Belgium have all banned paid locksmith advertising on Google. Ireland has mandatory licensing under the Private Security Authority — and the fake listing problem simply does not exist there at the same scale.

The Government rejected mandatory locksmith licensing in the 2021 parliamentary debate — saying there was no evident high level of criminality. Complaints have risen 147% since that decision. A network of eight locksmith shell companies has been documented — all incorporated by the same director between March and August 2026 — three in two days — all at the same serviced office address — one confirmed on a consumer invoice charging over ÂŖ500 for a job that should cost under ÂŖ100. That is evident criminality.

I ask you to raise two specific questions with the relevant minister:

1. Will the Government extend the new Approved Codes Scheme — announced in August 2026 — to cover locksmith services?

2. Will the Government consider mandatory locksmith licensing on the Irish Private Security Authority model — the one measure that has been proven to work in comparable European countries?

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to present the evidence in person.

Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your postcode]

Also sign the parliamentary petition

Every signature is a matter of parliamentary record. When a petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government must respond. At 100,000 signatures Parliament must consider a debate.

Sign the Petition at parliament.uk →

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