Any hour, any day
Emergency locksmith Mutxamel, for the night the door won’t open
Locked out with the keys on the other side, keys gone somewhere between the car and the gate, a key snapped in the cylinder, a lock that turns and will not let go. Ring at any hour: a person answers, and you get a straight estimate of the drive to your street before anyone leaves.
Open 24 hours · 7 days
- Answered 24 hours, 7 days
- No arrival time promised
- Price agreed before work starts
Which problems
Problems that will not keep until daylight
- Locked out, keys inside. The door pulled shut behind you, or the wind took it.
- Keys lost. Dropped on the way home, left in a jacket, gone with someone else.
- A broken key. Snapped in the cylinder, half of it still in the lock.
- A jammed lock. The key turns but the bolt stays out, or it will not turn at all.
- A lock somebody has tried. Scratched, loose or forced: see repairs after a forced entry.
- A locked car, with the keys inside it: that has its own page.
Mutxamel after dark
What changes at night, depending on where you are
In the centre and El Ravalet
The old streets of El Ravalet still follow their Moorish plan and are too narrow for a van, so it is parked as close as it can get and the last stretch is walked. Tell us the nearest corner or square and that part is quick.
In the urbanizations
In Bonalba, Cotoveta, Valle del Sol and Monnegre a house often has a street gate before the front door, and at night the gate may be locked too. Say so on the phone. Valle del Sol and Monnegre straddle the line with Alicante, so an address there can carry either town’s name: a location pin on WhatsApp is the surest way, and the guide on the split estates explains why. Every urbanization and partida is on the list of places covered.
Coming home from Alicante
Mutxamel is about ten kilometres from the centre of Alicante, and a lot of lockouts start with the keys still on an office desk there. Before calling anyone, it is worth reading when to go back for them and when not to.
On the phone
The first few minutes of the call
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Where you are
Street and number, or urbanization and partida. A pin on WhatsApp settles it.
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What the door is
Flat, townhouse, chalet or gate; wooden, metal or armoured. A photo of the lock helps more than a description.
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How long the drive is
An honest figure for that address at that hour. Nobody promises ten minutes.
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What to have ready
Something that shows you live there, or the number of someone who can confirm it.
While you wait
Five things worth doing before the door is opened
- Wait somewhere lit and safe: a neighbour’s porch, a bar, the car.
- Look for your ID or a bill with the address, or line up somebody who can vouch for you.
- Do not lever the door or try a card on the latch: a bent frame turns a ten-minute job into a repair.
- Check whether anyone else has a key nearby: a neighbour, the cleaner, a relative.
- If something looks forced, ring the police first and touch nothing.
Phone and WhatsApp are the quick ways in. Email is on the contact page, but it is no use for a door that needs opening tonight.
Tonight or tomorrow
What gets done now, and what can wait for daylight
Done there and then
The door is opened, by the latch or the cylinder wherever it allows. If a cylinder had to be drilled, or a broken key could not be freed, a new cylinder goes in before leaving, so the house locks tonight.
Better booked for another day
Upgrading a door that is old or weak, matching every lock in the house, or changing a gate lock that has been stiff for years. These are planned jobs, and a booked lock change costs less than doing them at night.
Questions
Asked in the middle of the night
It is two in the morning. Will somebody really answer?
Yes. The phone is answered round the clock, every day of the year. You will be told honestly how long the drive to your address is at that hour before anyone sets off, so you can decide.
The key snapped and half of it is still in the cylinder. Should I try to pull it out?
Only if a clean end is sticking out far enough to grip with fingers. Glue, tweezers and a second key usually push the broken piece deeper, and then the cylinder has to come out with it.
My papers are inside the house. Can the door still be opened?
Yes. Something with your name and the address is checked as soon as the door is open, or a neighbour or the owner can confirm who you are. Nothing is opened for somebody who cannot show a right to be there.
Will the lock need replacing after an emergency opening?
Usually not. Most doors are opened through the latch or the cylinder and lock normally afterwards. If the cylinder had to be drilled, a new one is fitted there and then so the house is not left insecure.
Next
After the door is open, people often need one of these
From the guides
On the doorstep with no way in?
Ring, and you will hear straight away how long it will take to reach you.
Open 24 hours · 7 days