For customers
Booking and payments on Keys
How quotes, card holds, extra work and cancelling work when you book a locksmith or roadside service through Keys, in the app, on keys.app or starting from ChatGPT.
The short answer
- Nothing is charged before you choose a quote, and you pay the price of the quote you choose.
- On jobs using Keys' authorization flow, the approved amount is held before dispatch and collected after the locksmith completes the service and submits proof.
- Extra work needs your approval. If you decline, the original service is unchanged.
- Keys does not charge a cancellation fee. Cancel before the job is marked complete and the hold is released, or a payment already taken is refunded in full.
1. Quotes and choosing a locksmith
Keys sends your request to nearby providers who offer that service and are available. Providers send their price, and you choose who to book. The amount you pay is the price of the quote you chose. Keys does not add a fee on top: Keys' service fee is paid by the provider out of that price.
If you start in ChatGPT, you choose your locksmith and authorize payment on a secure Keys page, under the same rules.
2. When your card is held and when it is charged
- Jobs using Keys' authorization flow
- When you confirm, Keys places a temporary hold on your card for the approved amount, and no locksmith is dispatched until the hold is in place. The money is collected only after the locksmith marks the job complete, and Keys will not complete the job until the locksmith has uploaded a photo as proof of service.
- Other jobs
- Your card is charged when you confirm the booking.
- If a hold is about to expire
- Card holds do not last indefinitely. On the authorization flow, if a hold is close to expiring before the job is done, Keys renews it on your saved card. If that does not work, Keys asks you to confirm the payment.
3. Additional work
If the locksmith finds that more work is needed, they send you a request in Keys with a reason and an itemized price. Nothing extra is charged unless you approve it.
- If you approve on a job using the authorization flow, the hold is raised to the new total, or a second hold is placed for the difference. It is collected with the rest when the job is complete.
- If you decline, the additional work does not go ahead and the original service is unchanged. The locksmith carries on with the original job or tells you they cannot complete it.
- The locksmith cannot mark the job complete while a request for additional work is waiting for your answer.
4. Cancelling
Keys accepts a cancellation at any point until the job is marked complete. Keys does not charge a cancellation fee. When you cancel, any hold on your card is released, and a payment already taken is refunded in full. Your bank may take time to remove a pending hold.
Once the locksmith has marked the job complete, it can no longer be cancelled.
5. If no locksmith is available
If no provider near you offers the service right now, or none sends a price, nothing is charged. You can try again later or cancel the request. Keys Concierge can help find and invite providers in areas with few providers.
6. If the job is not finished or something goes wrong
If the locksmith cannot complete the job, cancel the request before it is marked complete: the hold is released or the payment refunded in full, as above. For any other problem with a job, contact the Keys team with your request details.
Service bookings and Keys financial accounts are separate
These rules cover customers paying for a locksmith or roadside service. The Keys Business Account and the Keys Visa® Spend Card are for service providers to receive and spend their earnings; they are not part of booking a service, and customers do not need one.
How providers are checked before they can be booked: provider verification.
Frequently asked questions
When does Keys charge my card?
Nothing is charged before you choose a quote. On jobs using Keys' authorization flow, the approved amount is held on your card before dispatch and collected after the locksmith completes the service and submits proof. On other jobs, your card is charged when you confirm the booking.
Can the locksmith charge more than the quote?
Only with your approval. The locksmith sends a request for additional work with a reason and a price, and you approve or decline it in Keys. If you decline, the original service is unchanged.
Is there a cancellation fee?
Keys does not charge a cancellation fee. If you cancel before the job is marked complete, the hold on your card is released, or a payment already taken is refunded in full. Your bank may take time to remove a pending hold.
What happens if no locksmith accepts my request?
Nothing is charged. You can try again later or cancel the request.
Does Keys add a fee to the quote?
No. You pay the price of the quote you choose. Keys' service fee is paid by the provider out of that price.
