Frequently Asked Questions
- Do you take credit cards?
- Can I use PAYPAL?
- I don't have a credit card so how can I pay?
- Can I pay by online banking?
- Will you ship to a PO Box address?
- Can I come and collect my order?
- Can I order by phone?
- Do you have a catalogue?
- How long does it take for an order to be delivered?
- When do you dispatch the orders?
- If I order before 3pm on a Friday when will it be delivered?
- Are the parcels wrapped in plain paper/card?
- What are your postage prices?
LOCK PICKING QUESTIONS
- What's the difference between the slimline sets and the standard sets?
- I have a particular lock that I want to open. Will you tell me if I can pick the lock?
- Will the standard sets open UK locks like Yale's?
- Which set do you recommend?
- I am interested in buying the 5 piece set including the book. I was wondering if this is a good idea for a beginner?
- Do you sell the picks to open chubb/lever type locks?
- I have a key broken off in a lock, what can I do?
- Will the 7 and 8 pin tubular lock picks open all 7 & 8 pin tubular locks?
- What is the difference between the E100HO and the E100-C Electric Lock Pick?
- I have a combination lock and I would like to know what is the best tool for picking it?
- Which tool is best for padlocks?
- What lock pick set do you recommend for the locks that are fitted to double glazed doors?
- What is your returns policy?
ANSWERS
Do you have a catalogue?
We only have an online one you can download. You have two options:
- Click here to download the new 2005 catalogue (adobe pdf file 700kb)
- Click here to just download the price list and order form
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How long does it take for an order to be delivered?
Orders under £25 can be sent via first class recorded for £1.50. This can be between 3 to 6 workings days to deliver.
Orders over £25 must use Next Day Special Delivery which costs £4.50
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When do you dispatch the orders?
All orders received by 2pm Monday to Friday get dispatched the same day. Orders received after 2pm are dispatched the following morning. We are closed at the weekend but if we receive a number of orders throughout Friday evening we do come in especially to dispatch on Saturdays mornings (last dispatch is 11am). This does happen most Saturdays but it is by no means a guarantee your order would be dispatched Saturday. We keep a good stock so it is very rare that we can't get an order out the same day.
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If I order Friday when will it be delivered?
If you paid the £4.50 for next day special delivery Royal Mail guarantee delivery Monday but from our clients experience Saturday delivery's happen 90% of the time.
Are the parcels wrapped in plain paper/card?
The image above shows what our parcels look like. Both of these will have the return address shown but do not mention the contents.
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What are your postage prices?
It depends on the amount your order comes to. It ranges from £1.50 to £4.50. Please see our postage page for more details.
Do you take credit cards?
Yes we accept all UK major debit and credit cards but we will only ship to card holders address with no exceptions. Orders received by 2pm will be dispatched same day Monday to Friday. We do dispatch by 11am on some Saturdays but not on all of them. We NEVER get to see your credit card details. Click here for more details. You must be over 18 to buy our products.
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Do you take PAYPAL?
We will accept PAYPAL but ONLY if we have seller protection on the transaction OR we can confirm you are on the electoral role at the address. Please see this page first if you wish to pay by paypal.
NOTE:
If you have previously paid by credit card and this time you want to pay by PayPal using an un-confirmed address you can as long as the delivery address is the same as the credit card address you used the first time. Please state the name on the card when you order.
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I don't have a credit card so how can I pay?
It was only at the beginning of 2005 we started taking credit cards. Before then we only accepted payments by cheque, postal order, bank draft, online banking, moneygram and cash* by registered post. Postal orders, moneygram and cash orders are all dispatched same day. Online banking takes 2 to 4 days to clear while cheque's take 5 working days. If you use Lloyds the process will be quicker because we use Lloyds ourselves. You must be over 18 to buy our products. YOU ALSO MUST MAKE THE ORDER PAYABLE TO "DEVON LOCKS "!
* IF PAYING BY CASH - IMPORTANT!
Please do NOT send cash 1st class recorded or non-recorded. Your money is NOT insured via 1st class recorded. You should only send cash by next-day registered post and make sure it is well wrapped. We had an order arrive in February 05 with the side of the envelope open with the money missing and we do not want this happening again to another customer! It's embarrassing to us and you will have to re-send payment.
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Can I pay via online banking?
Yes but don't forget the postage prices when paying online!
Use your name as the reference number and don't forget to email us with your name, postal address, products ordered and an email address to let you know we've received it.
Email us for our details.
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Will you dispatch to a PO Box address?
We can only ship to PO Boxes if the payment method is Cash by registered post or postal orders. All other payment methods will be rejected if the delivery address is a PO Box Number.
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Can I come and collect my order?
Sorry but we no longer allow pickups.
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Can I order by telephone?
Sorry but we are unable to take orders over the phone. We never get to see your credit card details because no critical information is passed over the net. Your transaction is processed real time with a UK bank and they email us just your address and products ordered.
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What's the difference between the slimline sets and the standard sets?
All of the standard picks work best with locks outside of the UK. For certain locks and padlocks you will be better off getting one of the slimline sets because they were designed specifically for UK and European locks because they have a much smaller width enabling you to get your picks in with room to move about.
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I have a particular lock that I want to open. Will you tell me if I can pick the lock?
We no longer do. People would email us asking if the lock they have on their door for example could be picked. If we said yes they could but their lock is rusty, very old and weak or other such problems the customer would say we lied to them when they couldn't pick a single particular lock. You'll also find that even if you have 10 of the exact same make you may not be able to open maybe 1 or 2 of them. This is common but we don't like customers thinking we lied to them so we no longer offer any advice on makes of locks. We hope you can see why.
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Will the standard sets open UK locks like Yale's?
They will open only some of them. A lot of locks in the UK have small keyway's so the slimline sets were created for this very reason.
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Which set do you recommend?
The 15 piece and above all come with 4 or more tension wrenches. You'll find that not only do you use four or five picks regularly you'll also be using four or more tension wrenches regularly so you need to buy the set with the most tension wrenches you can afford. We would also recommend you buy the slim line sets as these were created for UK and European locks.
Here is a quick summary based on their usefulness:
5 to 11 piece - Useful to see if you will enjoy it. Won't open as many locks as other sets but a good choice for a Christmas or birthday present and for people wanting to see if they will enjoy it.
15 to 37 piece - These pick sets contain far more tension tools which is very important. They also contain picks not found in the smaller sets which do a great job at opening locks.
69 to 74 piece - The 69 piece standard set contains both standard and slimline lock picks, a warded pick set and 8 tension tools. There are no duplicates in this set and it is without a doubt an awesome set to own. Because some people have slightly more problems with slimline sets this set gives you the very best of both worlds.
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I am interested in buying the 5 piece set including the book. I was wondering if this is a good idea for a beginner?
While the manual might be useful we offer a better book free of charge called the MIT guide to lock picking. This PDF file covers a lot more than the book with the 5 piece does. Because the 5 piece only has one tension wrench and it doesn't contain slimline picks you'll find that you won't be able locks with small keyway's and you'll also be restricted by just having the one tension wrench. If you just want a set for a present, a joke or to see if you'll enjoy it then this set isn't too bad. If you want to open a lot more locks then you need to be looking at the 15 piece sets and above which have a lot more tension wrenches and more picks to choose from.
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Do you sell the picks to open chubb/lever/Mortice type locks?
We do not sell these picks for two reasons. The first reason is the cheap picks only work on 1 to 3 lever locks and who has those anymore? The second reason is you would need to buy a set from each manufacture with a total cost somewhere between 5 to 10 thousand pounds. For these reasons we don't sell them.
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I have a key broken off in a lock, what can I do?
We sell a set of Broken Key Extractors on our site. They are located on the bottom of the standard lock pick page and slimline lock pick page.
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Will the 7 and 8 pin tubular lock picks open all 7 & 8 pin tubular locks?
No they won't. Some tubular locks are off set. You can use the 8 pin in most cases to bypass this problem but not always. There are also a couple of designs for tubular locks. The ones with the pins inside the keyway and which also have a dimple running down the keyway are the ones this pick will open. Higher security ones have the pins outside or no dimple. These high security ones would have to be manually picked.
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What is the difference between the E100HO and the E100-C Electric Lock Pick?
The E100HO is 4.5v (3 batteries) whereas the E100-C is 3v (2 batteries). THe E100HO is the more powerful pick and is the most bought one out of the two.
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I have a combination lock and I would like to know what is the best tool for picking it?
The padlocks shims located halfway down the page.
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Which tool is best for padlocks?
The padlocks shims located halfway down the page achieve very good results on cheap to medium priced padlocks but so does picking them with the normal picks. Because padlocks have small keyway's we find the slimline sets are easier to use.
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What lock pick set do you recommend for the locks that are fitted to double glazed doors?
Again we find the slimline sets are the best ones to use on these types of locks.
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What is your returns policy?
With the following exceptions, any product may be returned for any reason, if in new condition (including manufacturer's packaging!) and undamaged, for exchange, credit, or refund, within 30 days of the purchase date. This refund does not include the postage costs. This warranty does not cover abuse or normal wear of the tools. Lock picks may be returned, if in new condition, for credit to your account toward the purchase of another product, or for replacement if defective. On credit card orders there is a 2.6% plus 20p charge on refunds. Postage and packaging price is non-fundable.
You MUST email us first to request a return and you must also post the return via recorded delivery (Special delivery if value is over £25).
EXCEPTIONS:
All our items are warranted again defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 30 days. Our E Series Electric picks are warranted for 90 days.
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