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Locksmith services

About
Quickpickings.

Independent, qualified, family-run. Founded by Steven Codman in Sheffield in 2018, and securing homes and businesses across South Yorkshire ever since. This is the story of why we exist, and why we stay small on purpose.
★★★★★
5.0 50+ Google Reviews
City & Guilds Certified
DBS Enhanced Checked
24/7 Emergency Cover
Steven Codman Founder
Quickpickings exists because of one bad night in 2025, and the realisation that thousands of families across South Yorkshire have had the same one. We're the locksmith we wanted to find that night,
and didn't.

How it started

In 2025, our founder's mum was burgled. The burglary itself wasn't the worst of it. The worst was the next twenty-four hours: ringing locksmiths off Google, getting quoted £400 to fit two locks that
should have cost £180, and waiting until the following afternoon for someone to actually turn up. By the time her doors were properly secured, more than a day had passed.
That night, Steven Codman decided to train. Six months later he was City & Guilds certified. A year after that he was full-time. Quickpickings opened in Sheffield in 2025, with a deliberately narrow remit: do the locksmithing the area was missing, and do it properly.
"Every job is a family's home. Or a family's business. We treat it like we'd treat our own, because the night my mum needed someone, that's exactly what didn't happen." Steven Codman, Founder

Why we stay small

We get asked regularly why Quickpickings doesn't scale up, take on a fleet, open a second base, become the next franchise. The honest answer is that doing so would turn us into the thing we started Quickpickings to be the opposite of: a call-centre brand, a dispatch board, a name on a van that arrives a day late.
Staying small means we know our customers by name, that the locksmith arriving at your door is properly trained, and that the standard doesn't drift. Fewer jobs, done properly.

What we won't do

We won't quote over the phone before we've seen the job. We won't charge a call-out fee. We won't fit cheap cylinders where anti-snap is needed. We won't sell a smart lock because the manufacturer's commission is good. And we won't show up in an unmarked van.

What we will do

Turn up on time. Tell you what's wrong, in English. Quote it before we touch a thing. Fit it properly, with British Standard kit. Clean up after the job. Hand over a written invoice. And answer the phone the next time you need us.
Qualifications

Properly qualified.
Properly accountable.

Locksmithing in the UK isn't a regulated trade. Anyone can buy a van and a sign. These are the things we chose to do anyway.
C&G

City & Guilds

Level 3 Diploma in Locksmithing. Full coursework, full assessment, full certificate.
Certificate available on request
DBS

DBS Enhanced

Enhanced Disclosure Barring Service check. Required for landlord and estate agent work.
Reference available on request
INS

Fully Insured

Public liability insurance through a UK-based broker. Certificate provided on the day of the job.
Renewed annually
EST

Trading Since 2018

Founded in Sheffield in 2018. Independent and family-run from day one. Same number, same team, same standard.
Companies House registered
The two questions everyone asks

Same two questions,
every single time.

Worth answering once, properly.

What makes Quickpickings different from a national locksmith?

National brands run on dispatch boards and Google ads. The person you call isn't the person who turns up, and the price you're quoted isn't the price you're charged. We're independent, locally based, and accountable to the customers we see again. The standard doesn't drift between the call and the job.

What if you're booked up when we need you?

We'll tell you. If we genuinely can't reach you within a reasonable window, we'll say so and point you to the one or two other independent locksmiths in the area we trust. We'd rather lose a job than promise an arrival time we can't keep.
Google Reviews

Customers who've
called us back again.

5.0 ★★★★★ 50+ verified Google reviews
Very professional, turned up on time and great service from start to end. Highly recommended
Kamran Khan
2 months ago
Absolutely top guy very friendly and did the job to satisfaction really helpful and sorted the lock issue out and really reasonably priced..would recommend him for your door lock issues.
Asgar Hussain
2 months ago
I highly recommend Quickpick, Steve knows what he's doing and makes a good atmosphere to maintain a job well done.
Joe Outram
2 months ago
Recently had a key/fob replaced for one of my vans, the service from Quickpickings was fantastic. Was really happy with the price and the quick turn around of them being able to do the work. Couldn't be happier. Will be recommending to all family and friends. 👍👍 Thanks. Again,
Mark McInnes
2 months ago
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