Locksmith will surely charge you for service calls. A service call is a fee which the locksmiths charge you for the expenses they incurred while taking their time to travel, diagnose, inspect and provide the necessary expert recommendation for the tasks which you had called them.
Even if they end up not offering any services with regards to your locksmith needs, it is important to remember that they are professionals with unique skills and experience when it comes to locksmith matters. The service call is thus meant to compensate for their time and skills in attending to you.
The service call fees will range from one Locksmith Company to the other. The greatest determinants of this fee are usually the nature of the service you intend to receive as well as the distance travelled by the locksmith before accessing your premises. It therefore goes without saying that more detailed services will attract huge fees as compared to simple and easy to do services.
Again, if the locksmith has to travel a longer distance to reach your premises, then you are also likely to pay a higher service call fee as compared to when the locksmith is situated close to you and requires just a couple of minutes to come to your place. This is why it is recommended that you deal with local locksmiths since they are nearby and will respond effectively in times of emergency.
Though every locksmith has the freedom to set up their own fees, be careful not to pay too much of this. You can check the internet for the average rates or simply pick up the phone and call the individual companies and inquire about their rates. Again, you need to be careful not to trust very low rates. Either they will offer substandard services or they will increase the rates upon reaching your premises and inspecting the job.