cheap car tow
Service

Lockout assistance: keys locked in the car

Dispatch a vehicle locksmith with non-destructive entry tools and, where keys are lost, an on-vehicle key cutting and programming service for common immobilisers.

Book on the appHow it works
£55+
From, car
24/7
Dispatch hours
UK-wide
Coverage
PAS 43
Operator standard
Indicative price

Lockout assistance

Bands per vehicle class. Final figure confirmed at booking.

  • Passenger carFrom £55
  • VanFrom £60
  • Electric vehicleFrom £60
  • See full price matrix
    • Book on the app

    cheap car tow is a booking and price-publication service. The recovery itself is performed by an independent PAS 43 compliant operator dispatched at the published rate. See terms for the operator-panel arrangement.

    Flatbed recovery truck loading a car at the roadside, daylight
    Flatbed recovery truck loading a car at the roadside, daylight

    Lockout assistance indicative price by vehicle class

    Valid from 2026-05-17. Bands cover urban-hours dispatch within the cited radius.

    Vehicle classIndicative bandNote
    Car£55 - £95Up to 3,500 kg gross vehicle weight
    Van£60 - £1103,500 kg to 7,500 kg gross vehicle weight
    Motorbike or scooter£50 - £90Up to 600 kg with rider equipment
    Electric vehicle£60 - £110Up to 3,500 kg with battery pack
    Classic car£65 - £115Up to 3,500 kg, pre-1980 typically
    Motorhome£75 - £130Up to 7,500 kg with habitation load
    Lockout

    Lockout assistance explained

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    What lockout covers

    Dispatch a vehicle locksmith with non-destructive entry tools and, where keys are lost, an on-vehicle key cutting and programming service for common immobilisers.

    The service is dispatched on a published flat-rate framework: every customer sees the same indicative band before the operator is dispatched, regardless of postcode. The procedure follows the working-at-roadside specification set out in PAS 43, which is the recovery management standard administered by the British Standards Institution.

    Operators on the cheap car tow panel hold LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998 thorough examination certificates for lifting equipment; these are required by the Health and Safety Executive for any equipment used to lift loads.

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    How the price band is set

    Pricing is taken from a single table that lives in the pricing page. Change the figure there and it propagates to every page that references this service.

    Indicative bands for the most-requested vehicle classes on Lockout assistance: passenger car From £55, van From £60, electric vehicle From £60. Final quote is confirmed at booking by the dispatched operator.

    What the band covers and what it does not: the published figure includes attendance, the operator's working time at the scene, and the lift or load onto the recovery vehicle. It does not include any third-party charges such as a council pound release fee, a private compound storage fee where the vehicle is dropped after hours, or motorway statutory fees set under the National Highways recovery framework.

    There is no diagnosis fee if the operator decides on the roadside that a tow is the safer option rather than a roadside fix. There is no after-hours surcharge unless explicitly published in the pricing table; the surcharge slots are listed as zero so a future change has to be added to the table before it can be charged.

    by the numbers

    PAS 43 working procedure at the scene

    On arrival the operator runs a brief risk assessment: position of the vehicle, line of sight for approaching traffic, surface (kerb, verge, carriageway, off-road), and the safe approach for the recovery vehicle itself. Hi-vis garments are worn to the specification in PAS 43; beacon cover is on for the full working period.

    The operator confirms vehicle identification against the V5C registration document or, where the keeper has only digital records, against the DVLA vehicle account screenshot. Photo ID is requested where the keeper is not present at the scene; this is consistent with how the DVLA expects keeper verification to be handled.

    The recovery sheet is the document the driver receives by email after handover. It records the time of dispatch, time on scene, the lift technique used, the strap points, photographs taken at lift, and any pre-existing damage noted at the scene. Where the driver is not present at the scene (for example a recovery from a workplace car park), a member of the agreed receiving party countersigns instead.

    the moment

    Vehicle classes this service supports

    Compatible vehicle classes for Lockout assistance: Car, Van, Motorbike or scooter, Electric vehicle, Classic car, Motorhome. Each class has different recovery equipment requirements, which is why the band varies.

    • Car: Up to 3,500 kg gross vehicle weight. Light vehicle category, spec-lift or tilt-bed flatbed. Indicative band From £55.
    • Van: 3,500 kg to 7,500 kg gross vehicle weight. Light commercial vehicle, heavy-duty flatbed or underlift. Indicative band From £60.
    • Motorbike or scooter: Up to 600 kg with rider equipment. Tilt-bed flatbed with wheel chock and ratchet anchors, or covered trailer. Indicative band From £50.
    • Electric vehicle: Up to 3,500 kg with battery pack. Flatbed only with high-voltage isolation procedure, lithium fire awareness. Indicative band From £60.
    • Classic car: Up to 3,500 kg, pre-1980 typically. Enclosed trailer preferred, soft-strap anchors, low approach ramps. Indicative band From £65.
    • Motorhome: Up to 7,500 kg with habitation load. Heavy-duty flatbed or full underlift, extended-bed truck for A-class. Indicative band From £75.

    See the vehicles index for a full breakdown of equipment, weight bands and the per-class notes that affect how the operator approaches the lift.

    Key takeaway · 06

    What happens before the operator arrives

    Move the vehicle to the safest position you can reach. If you are on a motorway, follow Highway Code rules 274 to 287: get out of the vehicle on the passenger side, get behind the safety barrier, dial 999. Do not attempt to make repairs on a live carriageway.

    If you are on an A-road or in an urban area, switch on hazards, place a warning triangle behind the vehicle where it is safe to do so (do not use one on a motorway), and stand clear of traffic.

    When you call the booking line, the dispatcher asks: your location (postcode is enough), the vehicle class and registration mark, the destination address, and any access constraints such as a low-clearance car park, a one-way street, or a Clean Air Zone that affects the operator's vehicle. The indicative band is quoted before the operator is dispatched so the price is agreed before the wheels move.

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    What happens after the recovery

    On handover the operator hands over the recovery sheet and emails a copy. The recovery sheet is the document your insurer asks for if you are claiming the cost back, and it is the document the receiving garage uses to log the vehicle in.

    Where the vehicle has been recovered to the operator's compound rather than a garage, the keeper collects within the published storage window. Storage fees are set out in the pricing page and are charged separately from the recovery band.

    For an insurance-instructed recovery the insurer is invoiced directly. For a driver-paid recovery the driver receives a VAT invoice they can claim back from the insurer where the policy covers it; consumer rights on vehicle recovery are summarised by Citizens Advice.

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    Common myths about UK vehicle recovery

    Myth: A recovery operator can take your car from a public road without your permission. Reality: Police have a statutory removal power under section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. A recovery operator alone does not have that power; they act on a police instruction or a council instruction.

    Myth: Motorway recovery is priced by the operator. Reality: Motorway recovery is dispatched and priced under the National Highways recovery framework run by National Highways and police-instructed dispatchers; the rate is statutory.

    Myth: If you scrap a car you get cash on the day. Reality: The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 prohibits cash payments by scrap-metal dealers; payment is by bank transfer or cheque.

    Myth: You do not need to tell DVLA when a vehicle is scrapped. Reality: The Certificate of Destruction issued by the Authorised Treatment Facility goes to DVLA so the vehicle is removed from your record; see gov.uk guidance.

    by the numbers

    Why we publish the price band on the page

    The vehicle recovery market has a long-standing transparency problem. Headline rates start at "from £X" and grow with mileage, time of day, vehicle class, off-road loading, fuel surcharges and storage fees that are not stated up front. cheap car tow exists to put a stop to bait pricing.

    Our published rate covers the work in the band; the variables that move it are listed in the pricing page so you can see what changes and by how much. If a future change adds a surcharge slot to the table we publish it before it is charged, not after.

    We are a booking and price-publication service. The recovery itself is performed by an independent PAS 43 compliant operator who has agreed to attend on the published rate. The operator-panel arrangement is set out in the terms of service.

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    How cheap car tow differs from a breakdown subscription

    A breakdown subscription (AA, RAC, Green Flag, Start Rescue and similar) is an annual product paid upfront against the chance of needing a recovery. cheap car tow is the opposite: nothing upfront, pay per use at the published rate. The two are complementary; if you already hold a subscription, use it first for in-scope work and use us when the subscription does not cover the scenario.

    Common gaps in subscriptions where a per-use booking helps: a relative needs a tow but is not the named subscriber; the recovery destination is outside the subscription radius; the vehicle is at home (some policies exclude home start); the vehicle is towing a trailer or caravan and the policy excludes the combination.

    On our model every published band applies regardless of who the driver is, where they are, or whether the vehicle is towing a trailer. The price is the price.

    in the press

    Primary sources we cite on lockout assistance

    Sources we cite on this page sit in the gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, bsigroup.com, hse.gov.uk, nationalhighways.co.uk and citizensadvice.org.uk domains. Every claim of fact on this page is anchored to one of these allowlist domains so a reader can audit the recovery procedure end-to-end.

    We do not cite review or rating sites. We do not publish star ratings on our pages because we have not yet wired a verified review feed, and inventing one would breach our binding rule against fake social proof.

    Primary sources cited on this page

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    Common questions

    Frequently asked questions

    How do you prove the car is mine before opening it?

    The dispatched locksmith asks for a V5C registration document or a screenshot of the DVLA vehicle account along with photo ID. Where a roadside lockout means the V5C is locked inside, a phone-based DVLA verification or a witnessed insurance certificate is accepted.

    Does non-destructive entry damage the door seal or paint?

    Air-wedge and long-reach tooling places the actuator at the interior door handle without contact with paint, glass or seal. The operator records the entry technique on the recovery sheet.

    Can you cut and program a new key on the spot?

    For common immobiliser families the locksmith carries a key blank and programmer in the van and cuts and pairs a new key at the scene. For high-security marques where the key has to be ordered from the dealer the vehicle is recovered to a secure location under the local tow band.

    What if a child is locked in the car?

    A child or pet locked in a vehicle is a priority dispatch and the locksmith treats it as an emergency entry. In a heat-of-day emergency the driver is advised to call 999 first because the police and fire service can attend faster and break a window if needed.

    Will my insurance cover the lockout cost?

    Some motor insurance policies include a misuse-of-keys clause that reimburses non-destructive locksmith costs. We supply a paid VAT invoice; the driver claims back from the insurer where the policy covers it.

    Do you open vans and motorhomes?

    Yes; light commercial vehicles and motorhomes are within the locksmith's scope. The vehicle's habitation door is not opened by force; a habitation lockout is opened with the locksmith's universal habitation key set.

    What if my key fob has stopped working?

    A fob that has run flat can be replaced with a new battery on the spot. A fob that has been water-damaged or whose internal antenna has failed is replaced by cutting and programming a new fob, or by recovering the vehicle to the dealer.

    Need lockout assistance now?

    Published price, PAS 43 compliant operator, 24/7 dispatch.

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