Price of Burglar Alarm
Discussion
My parents have just been quoted £2,000 for a burglar alarm to be fitted to their home. I get the feeling that they are about to be ripped off as it sounds mighty expensive ?
Detached three bed house, zoned upstairs and downstairs with a few exterior lights etc.
Can anyone tell me what sort of price they should pay for a general alarm to be fitted these days ?
N
Detached three bed house, zoned upstairs and downstairs with a few exterior lights etc.
Can anyone tell me what sort of price they should pay for a general alarm to be fitted these days ?
N
Total rip off.
I had a very sophisticated system fitted to our quite large house. It has panic buttons, sensors, and even fire and carbon monoxide monitoring.
The cost? Around £300 plus £30 per month 24hr monitoring that the police have to respond to if it is activated.
It is an ADT system.
Best money I have ever spent.
I had a very sophisticated system fitted to our quite large house. It has panic buttons, sensors, and even fire and carbon monoxide monitoring.
The cost? Around £300 plus £30 per month 24hr monitoring that the police have to respond to if it is activated.
It is an ADT system.
Best money I have ever spent.
There is little point in a system that isn't monitored in my honest opinion. The police will not respond to any burgalr alarm unless it is a montitored one.
The cost of the ADT system was incredibly good - and it took them two days to install.
Of course they make off the monitoring - but it's worth every penny. Monitored houses are almost never broken into - they are just too tough a target.
The cost of the ADT system was incredibly good - and it took them two days to install.
Of course they make off the monitoring - but it's worth every penny. Monitored houses are almost never broken into - they are just too tough a target.
nutskie.. said:
Can anyone tell me what sort of price they should pay for a general alarm to be fitted these days ?
How many PIR's/contact sensors?
Have they quoted for Dual Tec PIR's?
2 Zones:
Downstairs - Lounge Kitchen & Hallway - 3 PIR's + door contacts on back door & FEP
Upstairs - Bedrooms??? assuming one rear bedroom PIR in there and PIR on landing
Assuming a general/basic installation - circa £1100.00
Cavity dropped/tucked installation - £1350.00
the above is a guess-timate as without a site survey.....................
anonymous said:
[redacted]
anonymous said:
[redacted]
not so I'm afraid The Police may respond, if they have an 'Available Officer'. There is no Legal requirement for the police to respond to an intruder alarm, it is voluntary and dependant upon how busy they are, the police are extremely committed to responding to 'Emergency Calls' but as up to 80% of all alarm activations are false they are often given low priority.
(NOTE: 3 FALSE ALARMS could place your premises on a 'BLACK LIST', this means that if your local Police Force do respond to alarms in general, they may disregard your premises. Premises can be 'Black Listed' for any period of time 90 days to permanent).
>> Edited by marcos maniac on Friday 10th December 18:05
marcos maniac said:
The Police may respond, if they have an 'Available Officer'. There is no Legal requirement for the police to respond to an intruder alarm, it is voluntary and dependant upon how busy they are, the police are extremely committed to responding to 'Emergency Calls' but as up to 80% of all alarm activations are false they are often given low priority.
(NOTE: 3 FALSE ALARMS could place your premises on a 'BLACK LIST', this means that if your local Police Force do respond to alarms in general, they may disregard your premises. Premises can be 'Black Listed' for any period of time 90 days to permanent).
Uhh, sorry but I was correct.
When you buy a monitored system you pay a one off fee of £30 which is an agreement that ADT have with your local force that guarantees they will respond to an activation.
ADT send an engineer every six months to check and service the system and ensure it is fault free. They can also check it remotely.
We once activated it by accident - the police were with us in no more than a minute.
Thanks for the quick replies....
My parents have had the system fitted already: telecanvassed and visit from sales girl on Monday, fitted today.
Good news is they agreed to pay by direct debit: and therefore have not paid anything. I presume there is a 14 day cooling off period in the contract.
I was thinking of having someone reputable value the job and then calling the company and telling them I will pay that amount and if they are not happy 'take me to court' ?
Not quite sure how my father stands in the eyes of the law ?
I really despise these companies that take advantage of elderly folks.
any advice as to method of dealing with this is greatly appreciated guys
N
My parents have had the system fitted already: telecanvassed and visit from sales girl on Monday, fitted today.
Good news is they agreed to pay by direct debit: and therefore have not paid anything. I presume there is a 14 day cooling off period in the contract.
I was thinking of having someone reputable value the job and then calling the company and telling them I will pay that amount and if they are not happy 'take me to court' ?
Not quite sure how my father stands in the eyes of the law ?
I really despise these companies that take advantage of elderly folks.
any advice as to method of dealing with this is greatly appreciated guys
N
nutskie.. said:
Thanks for the quick replies....
My parents have had the system fitted already: telecanvassed and visit from sales girl on Monday, fitted today.
Good news is they agreed to pay by direct debit: and therefore have not paid anything. I presume there is a 14 day cooling off period in the contract.
I was thinking of having someone reputable value the job and then calling the company and telling them I will pay that amount and if they are not happy 'take me to court' ?
Not quite sure how my father stands in the eyes of the law ?
I really despise these companies that take advantage of elderly folks.
any advice as to method of dealing with this is greatly appreciated guys
N
That sounds like very sharp practice to me.
There should be a 14day cooling off period. I would insist that they remove it if that is the case. Also ensure that the DD's are stopped.
Alex
The £30 fee doesn't garauntee a police attendance!
I own a security company, alarm/cctv installation & alarm response etc - we attend on average 20-25 alarm activations per week, several of our clients have 'police notification' as part of their monitoring agreements - I can count on one hand the number of times my staff heve noted 'Police attendance' in the last 6 months on their call out reports.
marcos maniac said:
Alex
The £30 fee doesn't garauntee a police attendance!
I own a security company, alarm/cctv installation & alarm response etc - we attend on average 20-25 alarm activations per week, several of our clients have 'police notification' as part of their monitoring agreements - I can count on one hand the number of times my staff heve noted 'Police attendance' in the last 6 months on their call out reports.
Really? In that case I have been mislead and I apologise for suggesting you were wrong.
That said, they did respond instantly, and my neighbours and I are also notified of any activation immediately.
Still gives me greater peace of mind.
So what was it I paid for?
Alex the £30 fee is for your installer to register your system and confirm that it meets the new (post Oct/Nov 2001) technology - Alarm confirmation technology!
Your ADT system will have it! (ADT got a gold award for their technology)
In brief: Trip 1 sensor and activate the alarm, the monitoring station will recieve an unconfirmed activation - but will notify a keyholder and the Police. (highly unlikely that the police will turn out)
Trip 2 or more sensors 'sequential confirmation' and the monitoring station will receive a confirmed activation - key holder and police will be notified (police will be told its a 'confirmed activation' - keyholder generally isn't unless its a Security company) - there is more chance of the Police attending a confirmed activation signal (but don't hold you breath - only if the have an available officer and it is confirmed that a designated keyholder is attending)
Highest chance of Police attendance is with Audio/visual confirmation technology. - alarm co can dial into the premises and hear or see whats occurring inside after an activation notification.
Is good technology - we can access a couple of our clients CCTV via the net and assess the situation whils our AR crew is en route!
I had to work 2ndO/C and I attended a 'confirmed activation' (with Police Notification)last weekend, arrived at the premises - It was user error! staff member had set the alarm not realising that there were staff working on the LGF - upon my arrival alarm panel was showing 108 activations
- did the police attend Marcos Maniac & Alexkp,
Guys thanks for the replies and advice. I got in touch with a electrician who fits alarms for a property developer mate. The sparky has come across this company before and they vastly over charge in his opinion.
He is going to visit my parents at lunchtime and give them an estimate for the existing job/replacement fitting.
Apparently on previous jobs the customer has had to drive to the office of the alarm company to deliver written notification to avoid them claiming that they never received letters within the 14 day 'cooling off' period. My father said he will do this.
Will post to let you know the outcome of electricians visit.
Thanks again
N
Guys thanks for the replies and advice. I got in touch with a electrician who fits alarms for a property developer mate. The sparky has come across this company before and they vastly over charge in his opinion.
He is going to visit my parents at lunchtime and give them an estimate for the existing job/replacement fitting.
Apparently on previous jobs the customer has had to drive to the office of the alarm company to deliver written notification to avoid them claiming that they never received letters within the 14 day 'cooling off' period. My father said he will do this.
Will post to let you know the outcome of electricians visit.
Thanks again
N
nutskie.. said:
Marcos Maniac & Alexkp,
Guys thanks for the replies and advice. I got in touch with a electrician who fits alarms for a property developer mate. The sparky has come across this company before and they vastly over charge in his opinion.
He is going to visit my parents at lunchtime and give them an estimate for the existing job/replacement fitting.
Apparently on previous jobs the customer has had to drive to the office of the alarm company to deliver written notification to avoid them claiming that they never received letters within the 14 day 'cooling off' period. My father said he will do this.
Will post to let you know the outcome of electricians visit.
Thanks again
N
Would be interested to know 'the company' name (no naming and shaming on PH allowed)although I think I have a very good idea!
The electricians quote will probably come in sustantially cheaper though - but best suggestion I can give you is to look at both prices and find a happy medium between the two
Marcos M,
My father had the system checked by a second party and he estimates the installation of such a simple system would be approx £350-£400.
Obviously £2,000 is an absolutely disgraceful example of overcharging.
My father has sent a registered letter to the company requesting they remove the alarm as he is still within his statutory 14 day period. And he will follow up with a call today.
I will not name the company but if anyone in the Southport area is looking for 'HOME SECURITY' (sic) please ensure that they do not get overcharged by a company providing 'home security' !
Thanks again for your advice and comments. What a shame firms like this tarnish other companies doing a worthwhile service.
YHM.
N
My father had the system checked by a second party and he estimates the installation of such a simple system would be approx £350-£400.
Obviously £2,000 is an absolutely disgraceful example of overcharging.
My father has sent a registered letter to the company requesting they remove the alarm as he is still within his statutory 14 day period. And he will follow up with a call today.
I will not name the company but if anyone in the Southport area is looking for 'HOME SECURITY' (sic) please ensure that they do not get overcharged by a company providing 'home security' !
Thanks again for your advice and comments. What a shame firms like this tarnish other companies doing a worthwhile service.
YHM.
N
nutskie.. said:
Marcos M,
My father had the system checked by a second party and he estimates the installation of such a simple system would be approx £350-£400.
i dread to think what they have fitted - plug and play system from the local DIY store nutskie.. said:
Obviously £2,000 is an absolutely disgraceful example of overcharging.
robbing barstewards!!!!
nutskie.. said:
My father has sent a registered letter to the company requesting they remove the alarm as he is still within his statutory 14 day period. And he will follow up with a call today.
Fax them a copy, e-mail a copy and deliver a copy by hand
nutskie.. said:
Thanks again for your advice and comments. What a shame firms like this tarnish other companies doing a worthwhile service.
Trouble is there are bad apples in every box
nutskie.. said:
YHM.
Thgought so!!!
stay on their case - they don't like it up em!
I'm going to have a check on their NACOSS standing
I just bought an alarm system on the net. (no doubt I will be told its a pile of poo) and installed it myself.
Its a wireless setup called 'powermax+ ' and you add in the things you want. Ie smoke sensors, pirs, audio glass, contact breaks etc.
The reason i got it was that it connects to the phone line at work and if activated will telephone upto 4 numbers. It has so many options on different settings it was a bit scary to start with but having read and played with it it was quite straight forward.
We had an office fire 2 years ago and having a system that will phone me, my mobile, wifes mobile and another number on an alarm is reasuring. I can arm/ disarm etc remotly by phone, I can listen in to the office secretly and talk to the office via the alarm unit etc. It has the capacicty for cctv to link in as well and upload to a home computer.
I paid about £460, which incuded 2 sirens, 3 PIRs, 2 audio, 1 smoke, 1 contact break, 3 remote key fobs all wireless apart from mains to the box and external siren.
so a thumbs up from me. there was a fault with one transmitter which was replaced very quick.
Its a wireless setup called 'powermax+ ' and you add in the things you want. Ie smoke sensors, pirs, audio glass, contact breaks etc.
The reason i got it was that it connects to the phone line at work and if activated will telephone upto 4 numbers. It has so many options on different settings it was a bit scary to start with but having read and played with it it was quite straight forward.
We had an office fire 2 years ago and having a system that will phone me, my mobile, wifes mobile and another number on an alarm is reasuring. I can arm/ disarm etc remotly by phone, I can listen in to the office secretly and talk to the office via the alarm unit etc. It has the capacicty for cctv to link in as well and upload to a home computer.
I paid about £460, which incuded 2 sirens, 3 PIRs, 2 audio, 1 smoke, 1 contact break, 3 remote key fobs all wireless apart from mains to the box and external siren.
so a thumbs up from me. there was a fault with one transmitter which was replaced very quick.
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