Locked out with the door locked / Door opening – locked

Locked out with the door locked (abgeschlossen) means: the door was locked with the key – the bolt is thrown. Whether the key is inside or gone does not change the opening price; what matters is latch vs. bolt.

Work on the euro profile cylinder: lock picking, an electric pick gun or similar methods that cause no damage, until the core turns and the bolt goes back. A security door plate with a cylinder cover (ZA, which protects against pulling) or anti-pick pins make this harder – in that case a different fixed price may apply, given beforehand.

Door opening – locked: 129 € during the day (Mon–Fri 8 am–6 pm), 179 € at night, at weekends and on public holidays. Often without a new cylinder. Cylinder change only if necessary – charged separately (fitting 49 € plus material).

You locked the door and lost the key while you were out. Someone in the flat has locked the door from inside and can’t open it. Or a child has turned the key and pulled it out. In all these cases the bolt is out, and the door can only be opened via the cylinder.

With a locked door (abgeschlossen) it is not enough to push back the latch. We have to move the cylinder as if the right key were in it. That takes time and a delicate touch. The better the cylinder is protected, the longer it takes.

If a key is in the lock on the inside and turned sideways, the cylinder may be blocked. Please tell us this on the phone. Some cylinders have an emergency function (Not- und Gefahrenfunktion). This lets them be locked and unlocked from outside even when a key is in the lock on the inside.

Usually the cylinder works just as before afterwards. But if your key is lost or stolen, we recommend a new cylinder. On the same trip this costs 178 € during the day and 228 € at night, each plus material.

Anyone who drills themselves often damages the cylinder, door plate and door. In the end it costs more than an opening by us. After a break-in it can also cause trouble with your insurer.

Give us your address and floor, whether the door is locked and whether a key is in the lock on the inside. Also tell us whether it is a flat door or a front door, and whether you can see a security door plate or several bolts. With this information we give you the fixed price and the expected arrival time.

When you turn the key, a small driving piece inside the cylinder turns with it: the cam (Schließbart). It pushes the bolt out of the lock and into the strike plate in the frame. There the bolt stays firmly in place, because the lock holds it. Pushing from outside does not move it. Only a turn in the other direction brings it back in. It is exactly this turn that has to be recreated when a door is opened without a key.

If a small child is alone in the flat, a pan is on the hob or water is running, every minute counts. If people are in danger, call 112 first. The fire brigade can act immediately. Only when nobody is in danger is it a matter of a gentle door opening by us. Keep talking to the child through the door and tell them calmly what is happening. That reassures both of you.

Sometimes the problem is not the key but a person. The elderly neighbour does not answer, the bolt is thrown, and the newspaper has been lying outside the door for days. In a case like this, call 112 first and not a locksmith. We do not open a flat where nobody answers simply because you ask us to, because the proof of entitlement is missing. The ambulance service and the police then decide what needs to be done.

In your own house there are often several doors: the front door, the patio door, and a garage with access into the house. Check calmly whether one of them is open, but without climbing. Patio doors with a normal window handle cannot be opened from outside. Front doors of houses often have several bolts. Tell us this on the phone, and you will learn the price before we set off. For doors with only one bolt, the normal price applies.

If your key has disappeared together with your bag or wallet, think about more than just the door. Block bank cards on 116 116; this works around the clock. Report a lost ID card to the citizens’ office (Bürgerbüro) or the police. A new cylinder makes sense if your address can be found in the documents. Your car, your letterbox or an office may also be affected.