Second Colorado customer comes forward after locksmith company charges thousands for replacement

Another Colorado family has come forward after they say they were charged thousands of dollars for having a lock changed.

When a locksmith showed up to help John and Millie Hynes replace a lock, they were grateful. The technician replaced a basic lock on an outside storage door, and at first, everything appeared to go as planned. John Hynes said he thanked the locksmith, who then handed him an iPad and asked him to sign, saying the company would send a statement later.

The next day, the couple received an invoice. Hynes said he was told the lock would cost $229. Instead, he was charged $4,381.80.

"I kind of steamed and quarreled with myself for the first day," Hynes said. "Then I called Katie. She's like Nancy Drew."

Katie, Hynes' daughter, immediately disputed the charge with the credit card company and reported the incident to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. She said when she saw the charge, it was clear something was wrong.

"When I saw the $4,400 and change, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is clearly fraudulent,'" she said.

On the receipt sent the following day, the company name listed was Fortis Locksmith. A news alert on Katie's phone then led her to a CBS Colorado story about another customer, Florence, who said she was charged $3,800 for a lock replacement by the same company.

"I just thought, oh my gosh, this has happened to someone else," she said.

After speaking with Florence, CBS Colorado found the address listed for Fortis Locksmith led to a home in Denver. Neighbors reported seeing countless vans belonging to different locksmith companies coming and going, along with several expensive vehicles.

After CBS Colorado visited the address, a man claiming to be the owner of Fortis Locksmith eventually called the station, admitting to the overcharge. He apologized, said it was a one‑time mistake, and delivered a refund check for Florence to the newsroom.

CBS Colorado later learned the Hynes family was already fighting the charge before that call.

"It's just so disappointing," Hynes said. "It makes you feel violated, like how these people can feel good about themselves."

Both the Hynes family and Florence said they initially called local or toll‑free numbers advertised as legitimate locksmith services. Calls placed to those numbers led to different company names, including "Veteran Locksmiths" and "Locksmith Pros."

Meghan Conradt with the Better Business Bureau said these types of cases are common.

"A lot of times what we'll see is people become unreachable after they've been charged the money," Conradt said.

She added that locksmiths are not licensed in Colorado, making consumer research even more important.

"Pause, get multiple quotes, and do your research," she said.

For Katie, her parents' experience,  along with the similar case involving Florence, raises broader questions about regulation.

"I don't know how many states require licensing for locksmiths," she said, "but it just seems absurd that Colorado does not."