Burglar Alarms / Servicing

[nokiauk]

Bought a new build house about 3 years ago, came with bells only burglar alarm.

3 x PIR sensors and door sensors. Mains powered with battery backup and battery in bell box.

Builder covered service for 1st year then was asked to join alarm providers service plan initially on a 3 year contract.

Alarm Year 2 (Service 1) - Engineer guy turned up to service, prob took about an hour, checked error codes, Tested alarm inc mains power off, and fobs, replaced all PIR and door sensor batteries, pre-invoiced before visit for £84, no additional charges got the batteries.

Alarm Year 3 (Service 2) - Engineer turns up, announces all he has to do is change bell box battery, has a quick test of alarm afterwards then disappears, 15 minutes max, again pre-invoiced for £84. Out of the blue 4 days later an invoice for £34 for said battery!!

Needless to say I've complained not only about the battery cost which I felt was high at £34 but also the service which st £84 for 15 mins is crazy. Still awaiting a reply. I could have sourced, changed the battery and set of alarm to test myself for a fraction of the total invoiced cost of £119.

Just wondered what other people's experience of alarm servicing is and costs etc. Right now I'd rather just tell them to stick year 3 and just get someone in if it goes faulty, not worth the bother.

[cheezemonkhai]

That's a lot (IMHO).

Servicing on a commercial system with reporting cost less than that at a previous company, and that included twice a year.

[Aspman]

Just be glad you don't have a stair lift.

 

My Mum's started out reasonable and very quickly escalated to ludicrous. Like £400+ up front annual charge.

Took a fair bit of doing to get a better deal. Stair lift servicing is a bit of a cartel.

[VWD]

ASPMAN- or indeed any disabled kit. mobility scooter- pair of 12v batteries ,cost circa £100 . Drive motor ( 24v ) , starting at circa £200. I've  got two of the fold down type. one has developed a problem with one side of the diff. I'm contemplating asking a gearbox/diff specialist for a quote, as the price of a new one is in heart attack territory.

[rum4mo]

On a slightly different note, we bought a secondhand house that had a alarm system professionally fitted into it, maybe two years after the alarm install.  When I attempted to change the owner's name in the alarm company's records and take on the future payment of the service contract - all I got was no where, absolutely no interest at all. Their plan was come out and basically charge me for a re-install after looking over the system, I didn't fancy that, so run annual checks on it myself and change the batteries, hopefully before they need changing, so bang when my plans for getting reduced house and contents insurance - though I'd guess overall the annual spend would have been the same or more if I could have included the alarm as being fitted and serviced.

[Defenderben]

Domestic bells only system (Grade2 option x) is typically around £45 - £80 p.a.

Normal routine inspection on what you describe is about 20 mins on site but if you make a nice cup of tea, then upto 40mins

This includes: 1x routine maintenance inspection but does not include parts but during the 12 month contract period you have 24hour engineer response, all callouts are chargeable but normally at a reduced(contracted) rates.

The main control panel standby battery is normally a 12v2.3AH - 12v7AH unit depending on panel size but would recommend this sealed lead acid SLA battery is replaced at 4 years old or if it fails a load test beforehand.

Depending on the manufacture, some wireless systems batteries can last 3 or 4 years and are standard AA or AAA's. Some do use more expensive batteries but these are normally around 5 year life.

Edited 18 June, 2016 by Defenderben

[Nathanio]

You need to check that if the insurance company know you've got an alarm. If they do and you don't have it properly serviced by a VAT registered company, they may not payout. Sad but true. Happened to a good friend of my parents.

We use an independent company down on the south coast for ours. I think last service was just under £70. Not had to replace the battery yet on ours and it's 5 maybe 6 yrs old now.