Cutting Keys Illegal?

[turbine68rt]

So I stop at Lowes to have an extra set of keys cut for the Charger in the correct square head version. Showed the guy my current pentastar shaped one and immediately he says "we don't have anything in that style anymore". I said no problem, I have a new blank from '68, just need it copied. He said "Nope, can't do that, it's illegal. We can only cut keys that are on our rack". He wouldn't even attempt to help me. So.....I proceeded to do what would most people on this forum would do. Went home, got the Dremel out, put in a fine stem diamond tip, lined up the keys, clamped them in the vise and cut my own. Works perfect. Call me old fashioned, but how hard is it to walk into a store that has a machine, provide the keys and still get turned away?

 

[Sahara]

Wow, perhaps (hopefully) that’s an isolated case? Our local store will cut any key that they can. But I like your Dremel idea.

 

[slimt]

I would take your blank keys to a lock smith shop. Theyll cut those. Or find a quarter machine kiosk . Those are still out there.
Piss on Lowes. They probably have that policy in place so they dont have in house bandits carving store keys.

 

[turbine68rt]

I would take your blank keys to a lock smith shop. Theyll cut those. Or find a quarter machine kiosk . Those are still out there.
Piss on Lowes. They probably have that policy in place so they dont have in house bandits carving store keys.

Well now that I know I can do it at home I'm no longer going to have someone do it for me. I was going to go to a locksmith, but thought I'd give it a shot. Worked out for the better and only took a few minutes.

 

[dart4forte]

Big chains spend more time telling you they can’t help you. Locksmith

 

[Ranger16]

He said "Nope, can't do that, it's illegal. We can only cut keys that are on our rack".

Maybe by "illegal" he meant, that is against company policy

 

[turbine68rt]

Maybe by "illegal" he meant, that is against company policy

When I questioned why he wouldn't do it he said if a customer provided key ended up not being cut right they don't want to be liable for replacing something that's difficult to find.

 

[Ranger16]

That sounds like company policy to me.

 

[Sam69sat]

Probably some moronic corporate policy. I like the dremel idea anways. Rekeyed two door lock tumblers with a dremel to match my ignition key. Took a while but worked good.

 

[turbine68rt]

Wonder how many other stores have similar policies.

 

[dadsbee]

I take my own blanks into our local Home Hardware and get keys cut all the time.. and they don't charge me for doing them as a bonus!

 

[Jerry Hall]

I took my own blanks to our local locksmith and they cut me two new sets of keys and refused any payment. I do go there for everything lock related, but that particular day I didn't know the person on the counter and I'm sure he didn't know me.

 

[Sahara]

I take my own blanks into our local Home Hardware and get keys cut all the time.. and they don't charge me for doing them as a bonus!

Yeah, our Home Hardware is great. I don’t know how they manage to find great staff but it seems to be chain wide. At least here in the west all of the Home stores that I have been to are staffed by helpful, happy people.

 

[Ron H]

Some keys aren't supposed to be duplicated. I had a grand master key at a company I worked with and it was stamped on the key head something on "No duplicate". My P.O. box key says "USPS do not duplicate". Not that they couldn't be; but with that on the key suppose it would raise a question. Car keys? Suppose some like Lowes want to make you buy their key.

 

[MoparLeo]

Probably more along the lines of what someone said, if it gets cut wrong how would they replace it ?
That's the liability.
Ever take your own eggs to Denny's to have them cooked ?

 

[slimt]

Yeah, our Home Hardware is great. I don’t know how they manage to find great staff but it seems to be chain wide. At least here in the west all of the Home stores that I have been to are staffed by helpful, happy people.

We have those stores in the rural areas. None in the city. There a good store to.

 

[1963JAM]

So I stop at Lowes to have an extra set of keys cut for the Charger in the correct square head version. Showed the guy my current pentastar shaped one and immediately he says "we don't have anything in that style anymore". I said no problem, I have a new blank from '68, just need it copied. He said "Nope, can't do that, it's illegal. We can only cut keys that are on our rack". He wouldn't even attempt to help me. So.....I proceeded to do what would most people on this forum would do. Went home, got the Dremel out, put in a fine stem diamond tip, lined up the keys, clamped them in the vise and cut my own. Works perfect. Call me old fashioned, but how hard is it to walk into a store that has a machine, provide the keys and still get turned away?

Lowes employee is a nitwit to think cutting a key is illegal.

 

[Sahara]

Not to hijack the topic, but here’s my Home Hardware story. One of many similar stories. I lost the little pins that hold my staple gun together. It was fine otherwise, and I hate to waste stuff. On a whim I asked the girl at HH. She found the pins online and got them for me. Cost about two bucks. Not a lot of profit but made a customer happy who spends tens of thousands of dollars there through his job.

 

[turbine68rt]

Lowes employee is a nitwit to think cutting a key is illegal.

That's why when he used that term I said you gotta be kidding me.

 

[NJRR]

I cut keys for customers all the time from their own blanks. I just don't guarantee that they will work. Oh yeah, I don't charge to do it either !!!