I've just had a fairly gentle but persuasive visit from a guy selling a sec urity system. At least his claim is that he is giving me the security syst em as an local advert ("your address was chosen at random"!!!) and selling me the monitoring service.
It is an all singing/dancing system I am assured - wireless, fob operation, intruder and fire sensing and emergency button for illness; a "Grade 2 Sec urity System". I also get free maintenance, etc.
The problem I face is that the monitoring charge is high (£4.5k for 10 ye ars) and I suspect that because it is being paid through the security compa ny rather than directly to the monitoring company, the real cost of the ele ctronics is in this charge and that it is not 'free' at all. The fact that he totted up the number of sensors required does rather indicate this.
Anyone got any idea how much such monitoring costs? Or are there variables that I'm not aware of that make this cost not easily assessed?
Well, you should almost never buy from a door-to-door salesman. If you want such an alarm service, phone around some local installers. At least do this before accepting the door-to-door price. Tell them you were interested because you had a doot-to-door salesman, and they will tell you what the downsides of that particular contract are.
The usual trick with these systems is the maintenance charge is high, and some barrier is put up to make leaving it difficult or expensive, such as the alarm is theirs and you have to pay for them to remove it.
You can get a system monitored yourself, but you won't be able to get a police emergency callout unless the system is is on a maintenance contract by a NACOSS (or similar) registered alarm company. OTOH, police emergency callout is pretty useless - thieves nowadays know they've got 60-90 seconds inside the property, and are long gone before the monitoring station even gets a call in to the police. Monitoring station may be useful to let you know something has happened, and either the monitoring station or your maintainer might offer a service to get the building made secure again if you are away and unable to attend (if your insurer doesn't).
This sounds quite a lot like the systems sold by "SAS Fire & Security Systems Ltd" until they were shut down by Trading Standards etc, though they were pushy in the extreme and preyed on the elderly; I know, my mum was one.
She paid around £5k up-front, and has bu**er all to show for it because when SAS went bust there was no redress. Some other companies did contact us wanting to take over the monitoring - one wonders how they got hold of SAS's customer lists - but they wanted to be paid to do that, and mum had already paid...
In my view the system she was sold did not meet her needs, such as they were, not least because she already has a local-authority-provided red-button call system, for help if eg she falls. I have never managed to get her to tell me why she thought she needed a security system as well as the emergency call system, far less why she decided on the precise features she ended up with. (Her 'security' system has no external bell box or sounder, and even the dummy one that the installer did provide never actually got attached to any wall. The fobs are a bad idea for someone prone to putting things down and losing them, especially because an intruder could make-off with one. She also couldn't read the legends on the fob buttons.)
One of SAS's 'pressure selling' techniques was to install an alarm usually no later than one or two days after someone agreed the contract. This means that the 14-day (or whatever) cooling-off period you should have for a doorstep sale is circumvented, making it much more difficult for less-aged rellies to get a system removed and get the money back. In my mum's case, despite the fact we talk every night, somehow she 'forgot' to tell me she'd had this thing installed; I found out only when I was next in her house.
I'd suggest that if you really need an alarm system you should ask around in your neighbourhood to find some local companies that neighbours trust, discuss your needs with them and get some comparitive quotes.
As far as I know typical monitoring costs are approx £20-30/ month. If you pay for umpteen years' worth of service up-front, expect to regret it later on.
It is an all singing/dancing system I am assured - wireless, fob operation, intruder and fire sensing and emergency button for illness; a "Grade 2 Security System". I also get free maintenance, etc.
The problem I face is that the monitoring charge is high (?4.5k for 10 years) and I suspect that because it is being paid through the security company rather than directly to the monitoring company, the real cost of the electronics is in this charge and that it is not 'free' at all. The fact that he totted up the number of sensors required does rather indicate this.
Anyone got any idea how much such monitoring costs? Or are there variables that I'm not aware of that make this cost not easily assessed?
Thanks Rob
Load of bollix. Is there a lot of crime/burglary in your area is the first consideration. How does a monitoring system help? What happens if the firm goes t*ts up? You can install your own security DIY.
If you are really worried, get yourself a large dog. Alarm system, attack system and excerise system in one package. Cheap to run, can be self replicating, needs no maintenence, can come free of charge, amuses and excercises the kids.
Many thanks for all your replies, guys. I was never going to pay on the dot and fortunately my wife went out as the guy arrived and didn't get back till late so I was able to use her absence as an excuse to put any decision off.
I was tempted until the figures started to appear and then realised that the random address thing is so that neighbours don't talk about it.
The story about SAS was interesting as this company has only been going a year and the potential of it disappearing without too much notice in the near future is something that I did think about.
Presumably you're referring to the advanced model ?
The one that lets itself in and out, takes itself for walks and feeds itself whenever you go on holiday, And is also totally resistant to the charms of tranquilliser doped lumps of raw steak pushed through the letterbox.
Then what do you do? Even if your only 5 mins away that's plenty of time for the place to be turned over and DVD/Telly, phones (mobiles or landline), any other smallish easyly portable stuff to grabbed, laptops, tablets, printers, ...
If you are further away phone plod won't help as you can't say that there are intruders present. Phone a friend? Hum, a disturbed intruder is just as likely to go through some body rather than round when making their get away.
These days plod will not attend to a sounding alarm system in a timely manner unless there is absolute evidence of intruders present. Be that a witness seeing them or multiple sensors being triggered in an order that indicates an intruder, possibly along with the monitoring operator listening in to to any activity at the property.
It's a lucrative market, another company would take on the customers if not the whole company.
But not get a response from plod unless some one can say the intruders (if they exist and it's not a spider) are still present.
Alarms with built in GSM diallers are common now,GSM dialling PIR under 12 quid
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or send you MMS with pic as well
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had earlier generation of one of these for a few years on workshop:
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That with CCTV network DVR and cams means if shed does phone me can tune in to see whats happening.
Last time, few weeks back, cop response on wet Saturday around midnight to confirmed 4 scroats with crowbar, 25 minutes.
Scroats dont like noise, they do recoil from that, PIR floods just make it easier not worried by them.
One thing CCTV does give you is chance to examine the recording of hooded up little bawbags in the act, physical security and noise as first layer over CCTV and lights for sure.
We had an activation when we were on holiday in Malta. It turned out to be a false alarm caused by a thunderstorm, which incidently fried the panel. Alarm company policed it, nothing found, they sent a patrolman to reset the alarm, found it wasn't working, sent for alarm engineer who replaced and reprogrammed the panel and all while we were lying on a beach (not really, I hate beach holidays) in the Mediterranean.
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