Pennsylvania Accuses Montco Locksmith Firm Of Tricky Business

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- The Pennsylvania attorney general's office is suing a Montgomery County locksmith, alleging the company used deceptive advertising to make customers think they were dealing with a local business.

The lawsuit accuses "Always In Service" and the three men who ran the Abington company of tricking customers into thinking they were calling a local business by using 16 different fictitious names and more than 300 telephone numbers to solicit business statewide.

Attorney general spokesman Nils Frederiksen says the company offered locksmith services along with alarm installations and windows and doors:

"No matter which of the numbers, no matter which of the businesses you called, no matter which of the ads you responded to, the phone calls all rang through to one office in Montgomery County where they had a handful of people, a couple of vehicles, and didn't actually do any of the work."

He says they used subcontractors who in many cases did shoddy work, charged fees higher than the estimate, or failed to provide services.

The lawsuit seeks full restitution for the customers and aims to prevent the defendants from doing business in the state as locksmiths or home improvement contractors.

Reported by Brad Segall, KYW Newsradio.