Very sloppy house alarm fitting

KeyserSoze

I don't know if i can mention the name of the company that recently installed an alarm on my house. But the guy who installed it is the co-owner of this company. He was extremely arrogant and seemed to have an attitude problem and every second word out of his mouth was a curse. And I would warn anyone against using them in the future. I have posted a few photos of the aftermath this guy left. Here are a number of points I had issues with:

1. He refused to get into the attic to run a cable for the outside box, claimed it wasn't his job to do that.
2. Constantly blamed the wiring in the house if something became difficult for him.
3. Drilled small holes on the wrong side of the double door before realizing what he did.
4. Alarm was wired through the wrong circuit on the mains, upstairs lights blew once they were switched on later that day, which caused the alarm to become defective.
5. Came back the next day to fix the alarm - wired it to the correct circuit on the mains. But refused to fix the upstairs lights that blew, claiming that "it wasn't his job", AGAIN.
6. Overall his sloppy and messy workmanship.

Have a look at the pictures and be warned !!!!!

gsxr1

this is simple.


Dont pay him till you are satisfied.

I would not bring up dirt on the floor with him though. Installation is going to be a little messy on the floor. Also he will not redecorate around sockets.
this is normal enough with most sparks I work with.

I would question the lose wires. and the mistake with the drill holes.

Jnealon

You have some valid points. Here's my 2c
1- Half of the jobs I do the wire is in the attic, no big deal here. Your installer must have not heard of fishing rods or forgot his ladder
2 - This can be the case when plasterers and cleaners nick the wires
3 - Thats just pure laziness
4 - Is this guy qualified. If he is PSA and SR40 certified you can request to see his training records etc
5 - I can't see this guy staying in business for long with an attitude like that. Bad publicity spreads quicker than wildfire

Did you get a cert or any paper work on completion. What grade did he certify it to. It looks like there is no shock sensor on your patio door, this may not be an issue if you have a pir elsewhere
I dont see any fused spur either. Is there one

KeyserSoze

Thanks for your comments.

I was initially told by this guy that he was PSA certified. After the "job" he did I had my doubts, so I checked him up with the PSA. Turns out he is qualified. I wasnt aware that there are different grades of certification though.

Fair enough, there is going to be some small mess from having work like this done and I can forgive the damage around the light switch. It was his overall attitude that really got to me and spurred me to create a post about it.

Here is another example of something stupid he did - He cut the power to the entire house for a few mins for whatever reason. Then he plugged in an electric screwdriver to remove the mains panel cover. When the screwdriver obviously didnt work for him, he again cursed the wiring in the house. I couldnt believe what I just seen. He then asked me for a lend of a screwdriver !!!

He did have his ladder with him and eventually got into that attic after some persuasion, however he wanted to add €20 to the installation cost for doing so. Once he was in the attic he asked me to call the the electrician who originally wired the house to ask him a few questions, he was very rude and aggressive to the electrician on MY phone.

I dont know what a fused spur is??

Mr Magnolia

Yeah, don't pay him until you're happy and don't let him annoy you. His carry-on is obviously second nature to him so let it flow over you until you're finished with him.

You can buy a compound in most flooring shops that will match and cover-up those holes in your door too btw.

A fused-spur is basically a power outlet generally used for a removable piece of equipent, like a washing machine. In what regard do you ask about the spur?

KeyserSoze

Thanks for that Mr Magnolia. I'll look into patching up those holes in the door.

I referred to a fused spur because JNealon mentioned in a posting that he didn't see one in the photos. I just didn't know what a fused spur was.

Jnealon

Just to clarify a spur would look something like this
It is meant as a visual indicator that there is power goung to the alarm panel. It also allows the tech to isolate the power before opening the panel.

It could be there but I just didn't see in in the pictures.

Another clarification:A spur is not used on "removable piece of equipent", for that you would use a plug

fred funk }{

Was the cable originally coming through the hole beside the light switch? if it was then its not his fault there's a hole left there, In my experience its common. If it was me I would fill it myself with a bit of Polyfilla, it would only take a minute.

Regarding the outside box, if he quoted you to install your alarm with all the wires in place then he would be perfectly within his right to refuse to spend time wiring your outside bell. Personally I would jump into the attic and get it done, not wanting a return call.

There should be a fused spur beside the panel, if there's not get him back.

All installers at some stage have drilled a detector in the wrong place on a door/window. Not the end of the world, try get a few quid off the bill and get a little bit of brown PVC filler.

He should have been polite even if he's having a bad day. Put it down to experience and don't recommend him to anyone.

Naming and shaming on a public forum isn't really fair unless he has a chance to reply.

BTW the cable hanging beside the alarm box might not be an alarm wire, and he left it out so it can be easily found.

KeyserSoze

There definately isn't a fused spur installed anywhere in the house. I will get someone else back to fit one.

As I said before I can forgive the mistakes made like the drill holes on the wrong side of the patio and the small damage done beside the light switch. These things are easily repaired. It was his whole attitude I wasn't too fond about, hence the posting. Also, I have not named any names about this guy or his company.

The alarm panel wire was tucked in behind the light switch, it was not hanging out before the panel was installed. The damage was done during installation.

With regards to the cable in the attic to the outside box, he argued about this before even checking if a cable was there because it was not visible from a grid under the gutter outside the house. When he eventually did get into the attic it turned out the cable was there, it just needed to be dropped outside. So the house was fully prewired for an alarm.

The wire hanging out beside the internal alarm box is definately an alarm wire. There was a bunch of cables there, all belonging to the alarm wiring. Why would this cable be any different?

fred funk }{

The wire hanging out beside the internal alarm box is definitely an alarm wire. There was a bunch of cables there, all belonging to the alarm wiring. Why would this cable be any different?

It could be a phone cable. It could be there for the alarm though to connect to a central station. If so, he should have left it inside the box. It would have been easier to leave it in the panel TBH.

northdublin

i can understand the op's frustration. i installed alarms for about 5 years and never had anyone say a bad word after me. we allways cleaned up after ourselves and i kept filler and caulk in the van for instances where the cables may not have been in the right place. i have to hold my hand up and say i too drilled the magnut in the wrong place, :rolleyes: but theres a few ways of hiding that. thers no excuse for being ignorant and that goes for both partys but as for the installer it pays to be nice as a lot of work comes from recomendations.
also there looks to be no spur there so i wouldnt pay him and the cable thats there looks like a twin core thats used for the door bell so if you doorbell is yet to be hooked up that could be it

Kat1170

Have to say, few things pi$$ me off more than a workman that doesn't clean up after himself. My attitude is, if he didn't take the time to tidy the bits you can see, what are the bits you can't see like.

Sparky

I spent my 1st year cleaning up before I got into doing jobs 100%.
Most clients will offer to clean up after you, but my responce is always that if I wasnt there, the mess wouldnt be either!

That mess on the floor would piss me off too!

As far as the spur issue. I would have him back to install one before I'd pay a cent.