Netatmo launches omajin, a new smart home brand
Explore Netatmo's Energy Deals from 8 to 14 October!Shop now
Getting home and realising you can’t find the keys to your house is a frustrating experience and panic can quickly set in. And losing your car keys is no fun either! But with a few simple tricks, you can make the situation a bit less stressful - read on for some handy tips.
It sounds obvious but it’s easier said than done, because losing the keys to your home or car often results in wasted time and hassle. But you’ll have a better chance of solving the problem quickly if you’re able to stay calm.
Try to remember where you’ve been since you last held your key in your hand. Retracing your steps can help you remember places where you might have left it, so don’t hesitate to do so if you are able to.
If you’ve recently been to any shops, restaurants, offices or other public places, contact them to check if anyone has found your keys and handed them in.
You can also contact any transport service you’ve recently used, such as your local train or bus company, to see whether your keys have ended up in their lost property office.
Ask your friends and family if they’ve seen your keys, or if they’ve borrowed them by mistake. Maybe a loved one used your car and forgot to put the key back?
You can contact the police to report a lost key. That way, if someone finds it and hands it in, you’ll be notified. What’s more, if you lose your entire keychain, you’ll need to give details of each key for identification purposes.
If you’ve looked everywhere and still can’t find your keys after a thorough search, you can try opening your door without using your key. There are a number of ways to get into a house without one. However, you need to be careful when using these techniques or you might damage the lock, and the cost of a new one could be a lot higher than calling out a locksmith! For instance, you could:
Lock and unlock your front door by inserting your Smart Key like any other normal key… or use your smartphone! With the Smart Door Lock, you’ll never get locked out again because you’ve left your keys inside.
The price of key duplication does vary depending on a number of factors, such as the type of key and lock, the place where you have the copy made, the city or region where you are located... Here is roughly what you can expect to pay for this service:
Bear in mind that replacement key prices can vary from one locksmith to another, and from one key cutter to another. So it’s a good idea to compare the market in order to get the best price. What’s more, some stores offer discounts if you get several keys copied at once. If you lose a house or car key, make sure you have proof of ownership or ID to prove that you are the rightful owner of the key you want to have copied. This is often required for legal reasons. Many car insurance policies now offer lost car key insurance as an optional extra. If you don’t have lost key cover, or decide you don’t want to make a claim on your main car insurance policy, you might be able to use your breakdown cover to get a replacement key if the original is lost or stolen.
Whether you keep it or give it to someone you trust, remember to get a duplicate set of keys made so you have a fallback if your original house keys are lost or stolen.
Keeping your keys in your pocket increases the risk of them being stolen or lost.
You can buy key fobs with built-in GPS devices, allowing you to track your keys using an app on your phone if you ever lose them.