Locked on my balcony

Good evening renters! This evening I went out to my balcony to hang some washing, closing the sliding door behind me to keep the cool air in.

When I went to return inside, the door would not open. I could see the latch on the inside was not on the open position and I was stuck there without a phone. Luckily my upstairs neighbours were home, they called the RE who said the owners were away, so I asked them to call a locksmith.

The locksmith arrived about an hour later and spoke to be from my neighbours balcony. I could have sworn he said the cost was $299 for the call out and $199 to open the door, which is outrageous but I had no idea how to get out of the situation otherwise so I agreed.

He eventually unlocked the door and opened the balcony door for me. We checked the balcony door lock, and there doesn’t appear to be any reason this happened, but whatever, I’m just happy to be inside.

When it came time to pay, he gave me the breakdown again, with an additional “emergency fee” on top, bringing the total to $1300. I questioned him and what he’d said when I was locked outside, and we went back and forth. At the end of the day I’m by myself in my apartment with a stranger, so I decide to pay the money and just be done with it.

I’m fully aware I have been completely ripped off price wise, but I feel sick about the whole ordeal, with the exception of my neighbours that were incredibly helpful and sweet. I’ve since read the reviews from the company that charged my card and they are terrible. That aside, do I have any recourse to get my money back in any way from the owner or RE? Thanks in advance

CLARIFICATION my neighbours called the locksmith, not my RE. They just googled it on my behalf and made the call as I had no phone. - no tools were used, as the lock is one of those restricted ones were you can’t get keys recut. He used a wire on a string gadget to reach the door handle and pull on it to unlock the door. This took less than 10 mins. - I don’t think I could break the door if I tried, it’s that double pane soundproof glass. It would also cost a bomb!

UPDATE 1 thank you all for your words of advice and compassion, it’s really appreciated. I finally spoke to ANZ this afternoon, which was more of a challenge than I thought it would be. Once the ANZ agent finally understood that I was stuck on a balcony and quoted a verbal price, then once I was inside my apartment he upped the price significantly and I felt I had no choice but to pay, as a female, alone in my place with a male stranger, they agreed to stop the payment and raise a dispute. I despise that I had to say those words, but here we are.

ANZ suggested I contact the biller to request for them to adjust the invoice and repay me the difference. I did start drafting this, but decided against it as I feel like there is no point trying to argue with scammers, I will let the bank do that.

So far I have reported this to the aus locksmith association and ACCC. Consumer affairs is next on the list!

Happy to keep updating if it’s interesting enough, otherwise please feel free to DM me.

Take care of yourselves