Now for a couple of businesses that we thought deserved honourable mentions. First up, Surelock Homes.
Paul Tribouillard started Surelock Homes in 2006 after locking himself out of his new home. He called a locksmith and it cost him over £400. Feeling ripped off, he wanted to do something about it. At the time he was setting up fire alarms and wanting to take his work in a different direction.
Growing up with his family in Portsmouth, it made sense to start the business there. It also helps that Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes, wrote his first two novels featuring the character while living in Portsmouth.
Surelock Homes covers a 30-mile radius and, following on from Tribouillard’s bad new-home experience, the company prides itself on low rates and fast call-out times with no call-out fee. It offers discounts for senior citizens, NHS staff, emergency services, disabled people and charities.