Every lock problem, one honest process.
Nine services, one way of working: you describe the job, you get a fixed quote, you approve it — and you pay at completion, once the work is done and tested. The price we agree is the price you pay.
You'll speak to George — the owner, and a working locksmith.
- ID offered at the door
- DBS-checked
- Fixed quote before we set off
Fixed quote
from £69
Mechanism / gearbox · realign from £65
uPVC door & window locks — fixed, not replaced wholesale.
Service Overview:
Handle lifts but nothing locks? It's usually the gearbox or the keeps — one part, one fixed price, not a whole new door. Typically with you in 30–45 minutes — we'll confirm your exact ETA when you call, no overpromising. 8am–midnight from £69. What changes the figure: the part, if one is needed — named and priced in writing before we fit it — or a second lock. We're rarely the cheapest quote you'll get. We're the one that doesn't change when we arrive. Payment at completion — never before we start, never chased after. You'll have your price in writing before we set off.
How a uPVC repair actually goes
- Diagnose — Open-door test, handle feel, a look at the strip — or send a WhatsApp video first; it is often enough. No pressure, no obligation.
- Name the fault — Gearbox, keeps, hinges or cylinder — we show you the failed part and explain it in plain English.
- Fixed quote — One all-in figure with any parts named and priced. You approve it before any work starts — or you pay nothing.
- Repair & test — Most realignments take under an hour; gearbox swaps a little longer. We cycle the door locked and unlocked with you watching.
- Pay at completion — Card, bank transfer or payment link once the door locks with two fingers — never before we start.
What's always included.
Why Choose Us:
No call-out fee - when you accept the quoted work
Payment at completion - never before we start, never chased after.
12-month workmanship guarantee - (terms apply)
£2.5M public liability insurance - Barclays
Real jobs, photographed on the tools
Every frame is a real call-out — 45 photographs taken on the job. The doors, the worn gearboxes, the finished fits: this is the day-to-day work behind the fixed quotes on this page — and the locksmith in the band at the top of this page is the one who answers when you call.
See all recent workDoor open and you can’t lock it tonight? Talk to an emergency locksmith now →
Door won’t lock · handle lifts, nothing happens · gearbox or keeps
DBS-checked · ID shown at your door. Trulox Ltd since 2019 — check us on Companies House. 12-month workmanship guarantee (terms apply).
0333 880 9173 — Standard rate — answered by the locksmith, not a call centre.
Open 8am–midnight, every day. After midnight, message us on WhatsApp or send the quote form — we’ll ring you back from 8am.
The two-minute symptom check
Sound like your uPVC door?
uPVC doors fail in predictable ways. Every symptom below points at one specific part — which is why nobody should be quoting you for a whole new door.
Quickest diagnosis we offer: WhatsApp us a video of you lifting the handle — we can usually name the failed part from the sound alone.
- Handle lifts, but the key won’t turn. The classic gearbox failure. Stop forcing it — a seized gearbox can lock you out with the door wide shut.
- Only locks if you lift, pull and lean on it. Misalignment — the hooks are missing the keeps. A realignment, and the fix for most “broken” uPVC doors we see.
- Fine all winter, jams every summer — or the reverse. uPVC grows and shrinks with the seasons. The cure is a realignment set with seasonal tolerance, not another squirt of WD-40.
- Window handle spins or won’t lock. A worn espagnolette mechanism or handle gearing — small parts, a quick swap, and your insurer expects windows to actually lock.
Is it the gearbox, or the keeps?
Nine out of ten “uPVC door won’t lock” calls come down to one of two faults — and they cost very different amounts. Here is how to tell them apart from your side of the door, so nobody can sell you the dear one when you have the cheap one.
It’s the keeps (alignment) if…
- The door locks fine when you lift the handle while pulling or pushing the door towards the frame
- It is worse in hot or cold spells, or started after the door dropped on its hinges
- With the door OPEN, the handle lifts and the key turns sweetly
- You can see rub marks or shiny scrapes on the frame keeps
The fix: realign and adjust — one fixed price, no parts needed. Hinges, keeps and door height reset so it locks with two fingers.
It’s the gearbox if…
- The handle lifts but the key will not turn — or the handle suddenly flops with no resistance at all
- It behaves exactly the same with the door OPEN — so the frame cannot be the problem
- You heard a crunch or a click one day, and it has never been right since
- The key turns but the hooks and bolts do not move
The fix: gearbox replacement — the part named, priced and approved before we fit it. The rest of the strip usually survives; we replace the failed gearbox, not the door.
The open-door test is the one that matters: same fault with the door open means the mechanism; fault disappears with the door open means alignment. Try it before anyone quotes you for a new door.
Honest options, fixed first
uPVC repairs, priced before we start.
Most common
Realign & adjust
8am–midnight from £65
- ✓ Hinges, keeps and door height reset so it locks with two fingers
- ✓ Set with seasonal tolerance, so summer does not undo it
- ✓ No parts needed — done and tested in one visit
Best when: the door locks if you lift, pull and lean.
Gearbox replacement
8am–midnight from £69 · the part is named, priced and approved before we fit it
- ✓ The failed gearbox swapped, the surviving strip kept
- ✓ Pattern-part equivalents checked first for older and discontinued mechanisms
- ✓ Cycled locked-and-unlocked with you watching before we leave
Best when: the fault is identical with the door open — the mechanism, not the frame.
Window locks & espags
8am–midnight from £59 · the mechanism or handle is named and priced before we fit it
- ✓ Worn espagnolette mechanisms and window handles swapped
- ✓ Matching handles sourced where the originals are discontinued
- ✓ Locking windows checked against your insurance wording
Best when: a window handle spins, sticks or will not lock.
One price, day or evening — nothing added after 6pm.
Round numbers, total price — no VAT added — fixed in your quote before we start. You’ll have your price in writing before we set off. See the full price list →
Older door? Parts are our problem, not yours
Plenty of “obsolete” multipoint mechanisms have modern pattern-part equivalents, and we check those suppliers before quoting anything bigger. If a part genuinely no longer exists, we say so straight and quote the honest alternative — you are never paying us to hunt for a part that is not there.
Asked every week
Honest answers, before you call.
Do I need a whole new door?
Almost never for a locking fault. The cylinder, the gearbox, the strip and the keeps are all replaceable parts — a door that won’t lock is usually one failed component, not a failed door. If the door itself is genuinely past saving, we say so straight, and you can plan a replacement in your own time instead of under pressure.
My door only locks when I lift and pull it — why?
That’s misalignment: the hooks are missing the keeps on the frame, usually because the door has dropped on its hinges or the frame has moved with the seasons. Try the open-door test — if the handle lifts sweetly with the door open, the mechanism is fine and a realignment fixes it. No parts needed.
Can you get parts for an older door?
Usually, yes. Multipoint gearboxes look bespoke but most follow standard patterns, and pattern-part suppliers cover many discontinued models. We measure yours, check the suppliers first, and quote the part by name before fitting anything. If nothing genuinely exists any more, we tell you straight and quote the honest alternative.
Why does it always happen in a heatwave or a cold snap?
uPVC expands in heat and contracts in cold — a door can grow or shrink millimetres across a season, which is plenty to throw the hooks out of their keeps. When we realign a door we set it with seasonal tolerance, not just “works today”, so it still locks in August and January. That’s also what the 12-month workmanship guarantee is for: if it drifts out inside the year, we come back.
Is the lock cylinder itself secure?
Worth checking while the door is being looked at: many older uPVC doors still carry a builder-grade cylinder that snaps in seconds — and snapping is the most common way through a uPVC door. We’ll show you what your door has and quote an anti-snap upgrade alongside the repair, both numbers separate, no pressure to take either.
Read first, if you’d rather
Guides that answer this properly.
Find out exactly what it costs — before anyone visits.
Describe the door, or WhatsApp a photo — we name the fix and the fixed price first.
Call 0333 880 9173 · WhatsApp a photo · Send the quote form
Standard rate — answered by the locksmith, not a call centre.