Refund, Cancellation and Chargeback Policy

1. Scope

This policy applies to all locksmith services supplied by EMA Locks 24/7 LTD (“we”, “us”, “our”) to customers in England, whether arranged by telephone, WhatsApp, our website or in person. It covers emergency lockouts, lock repairs, lock replacements, and any additional security work supplied on the same visit.

This policy sets out your rights and how we handle refunds and disputes. It does not reduce your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

2. Pricing and authorisation — before any work begins

We do not begin chargeable work without an agreed price and your authorisation.

• We quote first. Before starting, we tell you the price, or the exact basis on which it will be calculated where the job cannot be fully assessed until we are on site.
• We re-quote if the job changes. If, on arrival, the work turns out to be different from what was described, we stop and re-quote. We do not proceed on a revised price without your agreement.
• Additional work is quoted and authorised separately. Any work beyond the emergency job you called us for — for example a lock upgrade, extra locks, or non-essential hardware — is priced separately and only carried out with your specific agreement. Section 4 explains your cancellation rights on that work.
• Everything is recorded. On completion we issue a job sheet and invoice showing the work carried out, the parts supplied, the price agreed, and your authorisation. You receive a copy.

Card payments are taken on site or remotely by the cardholder. We do not store card details.

3. Emergency work — no 14-day cancellation right

Where you have specifically asked us to attend for urgent repairs or maintenance — an emergency lockout, a broken or insecure lock, entry following lost or stolen keys — there is no 14-day cancellation period for that work.

This is a specific exemption set out in regulation 28(1)(e) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which excludes the cancellation right where a consumer has specifically requested a visit for urgent repairs or maintenance.

Your protection on the quality of that work is unaffected — see section 6.

4. Additional work — your 14-day right, and when it ends

The exemption in section 3 covers the urgent job itself and the replacement parts necessarily used to carry it out. Under regulation 28(2), it does not extend to additional services, or to goods other than those replacement parts, supplied on the same visit.

For that additional work, you have 14 days to cancel. Two things follow, and we will explain both to you before we start:

a) If you ask us to start straight away, and we finish the job, the cancellation right ends. Under regulation 36(2), you cease to have the right to cancel a service contract once the service has been fully performed, where performance began after your express request and with your acknowledgement that the right would be lost on full completion.

In practice: we ask you to confirm in writing — on the job sheet, by email or by WhatsApp — that (i) you want the additional work carried out immediately, and (ii) you understand you will lose the right to cancel it once it is finished. You receive a copy of that confirmation. Once the work is complete, the 14-day right no longer applies.

b) If you cancel part-way through, you pay for what has been supplied. Under regulation 36(4), where you asked us to begin and then cancel before completion, you pay an amount in proportion to what has actually been supplied, measured against the full contract.

If you cancel additional work before we have started it, there is nothing to pay for that work.

Where a cancellation right applies and you exercise it, any refund due is paid within 14 days of you telling us.

5. Call-out attendance and the cancellation fee

Our call-out terms are as published on our website:

No call-out fee if the job gets completed. If we come to you and no work is carried out, a £39 cancellation fee applies.

The £39 reflects the cost of attending. It is disclosed before we dispatch, so you always know it applies before an engineer sets off. If you have paid in advance and cancel before dispatch, we refund in full.

6. If something is wrong with the work

You are entitled to work carried out with reasonable care and skill (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49). If it is not, the statutory remedies apply in a set order, and we follow it:

Step 1 — we come back and put it right, free of charge. Under section 55, where a service does not conform to the contract you may require us to perform it again. We will do so within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to you, and at our own cost. This is the primary remedy and, in the great majority of cases, it fully resolves the problem.

Step 2 — a reduction in price, where step 1 does not apply. Under section 56, you become entitled to a reduction in price where repeat performance is impossible, or where we have failed to carry it out within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to you. The reduction is an appropriate amount, which may be the full price where you have derived no benefit from the work.

Where a refund is due:

• it is paid within 14 days of us agreeing you are entitled to it (s.56(4));
• it is paid by the same means you used to pay, unless you agree otherwise (s.56(5));
• no fee is deducted from it (s.56(6)).

Parts carry the manufacturer's warranty in addition to the above. We will assist with any manufacturer claim.

Please give us the opportunity to return and remedy before escalating. It is normally the fastest route to a working lock, which is the outcome you called us for.

7. Complaints, and what happens before a chargeback

If you are unhappy with a charge, contact us before raising a dispute with your bank or card provider:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 0330 179 6039
• Acknowledgement: within 1 working day
• Substantive response: within 5 working days

We would rather refund a genuine problem quickly than dispute it. Where a chargeback is raised:

• If it relates to a genuine service failure, we accept it.
• If it relates to work that was quoted, authorised in writing and completed, we defend it, and we supply the card provider with the records listed in section 8.

Raising a chargeback without contacting us first usually slows matters down, because your card provider will request from us the same evidence we could have given you immediately.

8. Records we keep

For each job we retain, for as long as required for tax, legal and dispute-resolution purposes:

• The booking record: date, time, address attended, engineer, and the work requested
• Where applicable, your request for urgent attendance
• The quote given, and your written authorisation to proceed
• For additional work: your express request to begin immediately and your acknowledgement of the effect on the cancellation right, on a durable medium, with a copy provided to you
• The completed job sheet and the invoice issued
• Photographs of the lock, door or mechanism before and after work, where appropriate
• Telephone, WhatsApp and email correspondence relating to the booking

Personal data is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and UK GDPR.

9. Contact

EMA LOCKS 24/7 LTD
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0330 179 6039
Web: www.emalocks247.co.uk