Locksmith Scams in Vancouver BC

12th of Apr, 2011 by

This is a warning to consumers about an on-going locksmith scam in the lower mainland. Terry Whin-Yates, Royce Whin-Yates and family have been taking advantage of people in need and taking their money. Others associated with this scam are Michael Lee and Jackie Wu as he targets Chinese as he believes they are less likely to complain. Also associated with the scam is Ken Lapp owner of the web spam company Standard Marketing. You can see pictures of these individuals on the sites listed below. The References at the bottom of this post detail his reputation on various site on the internet where former customers have complained etc.

Here is list of their Websites:

http://www.mrlocksmith.com/
http://www.mrlocksmithburnaby.com/
http://www.mrlocksmithrichmond.com/
http://www.automotivelocksmiths.com/
http://www.mrprolock.com/
http://www.standardmarketing.ca/

The Scam (actually Scams) of Terry Whin-Yates:

1. Locksmith Services scam: Terry Whin-Yates runs a locksmith service that sells false locksmith services. He advises on techniques such as:

1. Low biding, high billing
2. Unnecessary drilling and replacing applying additional charges
3. Up-selling unnecessary services and unqualified security advice to increases the sale

He teaches these techniques to those who buy into his business plan.

He uses the following individuals in this service:

Terry Whin-Yates, himself
Royce Whin-Yates, his son who does the Automotive work
Brian Whin-Yates, his son
Michael Lee, who bought into the scam and works out of East Vancouver
Jackie Wu, who bought into the scam and works out of Richmond

2. Internet Spam and dishonest advertising:

He uses an internet spam company called Standard Marketing run by Ken Lapp, and against the terms of service of these sites he practices the following "black-hat" techniques or tricks to fool internet browsers:

Keyword stuffing, writing unreadable material to fool search engines into judging
Duplicate sites, sites that are identical to each other in content to improve ranking as a group but failing to provide value to searchers
False Google Maps listings, using mailboxes as business listing to fool consumers into thinking he is nearby
Competitor Domain names, he uses the names of competitor locksmith companies to forward traffic to his site when they think they are going to a different company page

2. Locksmith Class scam:

Terry Whin-Yates teaches how to rekey a weiser cylinder for over $1000. You can buy a kit that will teach you this from most hardware stores for $20. He teaches little else of value if you are seeking employment in the locksmithing industry. There are legitimate courses available on locksmithing but they are rare and hard to locate. He takes advantage of this fact and offers a low value solution that could cost you a $1500 more than it is worth.

3 Locksmith Franchise scam:

Terry Whin-Yates is advertising a "Mr Locksmith" "franchise," in which he will teach you how to take advantage of the public using the methods above. This will cost you over $10 000. He will give you the impression of the profitability of this scheme with false statistics and by using his accomplices as examples showing them to be busy. This is all an act to obtain your money. The "franchise" has no support and the numbers are not authentic.

Reference Links:

Better Business Bureau rating of F with 3 complaints unanswered:

http://www.bbb.org/mbc/business-reviews/locks-and-locksmiths/mr-prolock-in-burnaby-bc-1208591

scam Report posting with screen shot evidence of his deceptive advertising practises:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/advertising-deceptive/24-hour-mr-locksmith/24-hour-mr-locksmith-mr-proloc-F8354.htm

Scam.com post explains the same as the ripoffreport.com post

http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=133489

Scam.com Post from a former customer who was video taped by Terry Whin-Yates and his son Royce Whin-Yates without permission:

http://www.scam.com/blog.php?b=10140

Gigpark post by a former customer of "Mr Locksmith" with an interesting rant following in the comments section:

http://www.gigpark.com/recommendations/a461c5ce6

Google Maps listing for "Burnaby Locksmith - Mr Prolock Locksmiths" with a UPS Store as the address:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=2406921803397992823&q=burnaby+locksmith&hl=en&ved=0CGMQ-QswAQ&ei=SmDmTNe9KaGItAPBvanxBA&sll=49.240365,-122.992852&sspn=0.095922,0.134058&ie=UTF8&ll=49.302069,-123.2024&spn=0,0&z=12

Another Google Maps listing for "AA Automotive Locksmiths" at the same address:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=2406921803397992823&q=burnaby+locksmith&hl=en&ved=0CGMQ-QswAQ&ei=SmDmTNe9KaGItAPBvanxBA&sll=49.240365,-122.992852&sspn=0.095922,0.134058&ie=UTF8&ll=49.302069,-123.2024&spn=0,0&z=12

Another fraudulent locksmith listing on Google Maps for "Mr Prolock Vancouver" also a UPS Store:

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?cid=6216703630119482762&q=mr+prolock&hl=en&dtab=0&sll=49.253017,-123.058891&sspn=0.109582,0.308647&ie=UTF8&ll=49.341902,-123.213387&spn=0,0&z=12

Pictured below in order of left to right, top to bottom are Terry Whin-Yates, Royce Whin-Yates, Michael Lee, and Jackie Wu. Familiarize yourself with these pictures before calling a locksmith.

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Comments

4975 days ago by Terry Whin-Yates

Robson Locksmith has no BC Locksmith Business License and Colin EVANS does not have a valid BC Locksmith License or even a BC Security Guard License
Director of Operations at KIMBO Design Inc. - Owner/Operator of Robson Locksmith Ltd.

Current:
Owner/Operator at Vancouver Mobile Locksmith Ltd., Owner/Operator at Robson Locksmith Ltd., Director of Operations at KIMBO Design Inc. http://www.kimbodesign.ca/

http://www.robsonlocksmith.info/

http://vancouvermobilelocksmith.com/
Vancouver Mobile Locksmith Ltd.
Unlicensed Locksmith and Locksmith Business

Robson Locksmith has no BC Locksmith Business License and Colin EVANS does not have a valid BC Locksmith License or even a BC Security Guard License

Protect yourself, you can "Verify Locksmith Security Business licence" at the following BC Government site:

http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/securityindustry/training/index.htm

Also, you can file a complaint to the Registrar of Security Programs and Police Division. The complaint process can be used to report unlicensed companies and locksmiths.

Complaint Process – How to file a complaint against a Security Licensee

http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/securityindustry/complaint/index.htm

Robson Locksmith has no BC Locksmith Business License and Colin EVANS does not have a valid BC Locksmith License or even a BC Security Guard License
Also a Director of Operations at KIMBO Design Inc. http://www.kimbodesign.ca/