Excellent customer service, and a history of lockmaking.

No sooner had I got the heating repaired, than the next thing broke, this time it was the locking mechanism on the front door of the house which failed on Monday.

Having dismantled it I could see that a piece of white metal had broken in the gear box and could not be fixed. The house is around 10 years old so the lock must be a similar age.

The only identifying mark to be found on the lock were the letters ‘ERA’ so I googled “ERA locks” on the internet and found this company in the West Midlands.

ERA Security

A quick browse through the site identified that this was the right company as they had pictures of locks just like mine. I called their sales line and spoke to a lady called Karen. I told her the problem, and she said she would send a replacement.
We went though the process of identifying the type of lock I would need and I asked how much it would cost. I can’t remember her exact words but she basically said “It shouldn’t have broken, I’ll send a replacement gearbox free of charge”. True to her word it arrived today and I can see from the stamp that it cost their company £2.23 in postage. I think a free replacement of a ten year old lock is an example of excellent customer service.

(I had noted that on their site they do give ten year guarantees on some of their products, but how often does one have to provide original receipts etc when claiming on this type of guarantee.)
Nothing like that in this case, just:- “I’ll put it in the post now, sir”. I called her back after an hour to confirm the measurements of the lock and Karen said “It's already in our post room, sir.” Karen – you’re a star!

I was also pleased to note that the company is still located in and manufacturing locks in Willenhall, quite near where I was born in Wolverhampton.

Willenhall, has been the heart of the British Lock industry for over 200 years with over 300 lock making companies in the town at one time. It was once known to locals as ‘Humpshire’ due to deformities caused to lockworkers by poor working conditions, the article at end of link below will tell you more. I lived quite near there as a boy and was aware that there were public houses in the town with seats modified for people with humped backs until as late as 1956.

Lockmaking in Willenhall.

The locksmiths house in above article is part of the Black Country Museum.