Bondi Files Complaint Against Broward Locksmith
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - State Attorney General Pam Bondi has filed a formal complaint against a Broward locksmith who she claims used the names of other legitimate locksmiths on his website to lure in customers and then provided subpar service.
David Merkatz had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of petit theft for his role in using names, websites and logos of reputable locksmith companies to funnel business to him.
Merkatz reportedly placed deceptive ads on the internet and in telephone directories. In some instances, Merkatz copied locksmith companies' advertising by simply adding a letter to a company's internet domain name or duplicating a company's online ad with his phone number.
When when people contacted him for service, the Attorney General's Office said he dispatched locksmiths that were often self-taught and performed substandard work.
On two separate occasions, the Palm Beach Police Department arrested two of Merkatz's locksmiths that performed services at private residences. The locksmiths were charged with burglary and obtaining property by deception.
The civil complaint, filed by Attorney General Bondi's office, seeks to ban Merkatz entirely from advertising, marketing, offering, providing, referring or selling locksmith services or other building trade services and to impose a $60,000 civil penalty.