Remember Lisa Mendez? She was prepared to pay $55 plus labor for a locksmith to unlock her front door. She wound up paying $300.

"I big time feel like I got ripped," she said.

So, 3 On Your Side went undercover and called the same locksmith.

Locksmith rep: "Locksmith. How can I help you?"

Producer: "Yes, I locked my keys in my car. How much would it cost to unlock, say, our car door?

Locksmith rep: "It's a $55 service charge."

Producer: "Fifty-five dollars, that's it?"

Locksmith rep: "That's the service charge for the technician to come out."

Producer: "OK, are there any additional charges?"

Locksmith rep: "To open up the lock, it could be $20 to $50 more.

So, according to the verbal quote, we're prepared to pay up to $105. That includes the service call.

Within 20 minutes our locksmith pulls up in a brand-new unmarked Honda and before he ever pulls out a tool, he talks money.

Locksmith technician: "It's a $189 credit or debit or $175 cash."

Producer: "Wait a second, what?"

Locksmith technician: "It's $189 credit or debit, but if you pay cash I can give you a discount. It would be $175."

One hundred and eighty-nine dollars? That's nearly double what we were quoted on the telephone. Time for an explanation.

Harper: "What's up, gentlemen? How much to unlock the door?

Locksmith technician: "One hundred eighty-nine dollars."

Harper: "One hundred eighty-nine dollars?"

Turns out he says he's not even with the company we called. We called Lock and Key, but he claims he's with a company called 24/7.

Regardless, he stands firm on the $189.

Harper: "It was $55 plus a very small labor charge. But now, it's like three times as much. How do you justify that?

Locksmith technician: "Every car is different. Some cars are more expensive than that. But we go by what it costs to break a window. To break a window on any car can be twice as expensive."

I never had him unlock our car door, but I did go ahead and pay the $55 service charge for coming out. You could call it a $55 lesson.

As for Mendez, she wants you to learn from her mistake

"This has got to stop because this is a rip-off," she said.

By the way, I called the company numerous times looking for comment on my report. They never called me back. I even went to their address, the one listed in the Yellow Pages, but the address doesn't exist.