Conscious incompetence alarm buyer

Hi Everyone,

I stayed until 2am looking over old threads after signing to an alarm company and thinking the offer is too good to be true.

Buying a new build so the house wont be ready until July so using the time to research my options. Home secure sent us an offer for free installation and set up for 7 sensors contact, motion, and inertia and can mix and match them, it works of GSM and wifi. The monthly fee is 31.95 which isnt bad I would have thought in the short term with no up front cost but I would rather pay more upfront for equipment that we will own instead of being left to start over again in a few years time.
I will be getting quotes done by site visits once we get keys and are ready to go.

I did speak to a local person who installs for a lot of commercial businesses and was promoting the non commercial side to the business, but he informed me that it wouldnt be a monitored system but he would monitor it and respond to any alerts? I couldnt quite understand that or how one person would have the time or energy for it.
Spoke with Phone Watch at the ideal phone show to be fair they told me that their system wouldnt be suited to me as I have a cat and a perimeter would be best suited.

My main questions are:
Can internal sensors be used with a cat? Is it determined by movement or heat?
In calculating the long term cost benefit of an alarm system , would the monthly cost of a monitored system be significantly cheaper than say leasing the equipment through Home Secure or Phone Watch and being locked into their monthly fees.
I would prefer to be able to remotely access the system (for said cat) can you avail of this and also a professional monitoring service.

Im finding more questions I need to ask than answers to my questions but I would like to have some baseline of knowledge prior to getting quotes

kub

First off, well done on putting up a thread rather than falling into a contract with a company with a big attitude and lots of money for the legal business.

I agree with what the person from Phonewatch said, their system with only beams is not at all suitable and that you are better off with a perimeter type system.

Perimeter type systems are based on the installation of inertia shock sensors and contacts to all of your vulnerable external windows and doors and therefore will detect an intruder before they actually enter your home, this whole beam set up as peddled by companies such as Phonewatch only detect the intruder after they have entered your home.

With the packages you have been offered, I doubt if you will ever actually own the equipment but of course, the companies offering them can confirm the situation there. Usually, you will end up paying for the system a few times over in this arrangement.

I would recommend getting yourself 3 written quotations from PSA Licensed Installers.

That guy you mentioned about responding to your alarm has me confused, your system needs to be connected to a professional monitoring station and there is lots more than the ones Home Secure and Phonewatch mentioned. Monitoring is available through any installer as they connect the systems to monitoring centers, the annual monitoring charges vary and can be anywhere between €150 to €220.


Internal Beams will detect cats, there are pet immune ones available.

Yes you can indeed have full app control of your alarm system even if it is connected to a monitoring station.

Thanks Kub for your reply. I was confused too as it was at a local home improvement show and his approx cost was circa 1100, but as I was in still in initial stages of buying a house I was not concentrating too much on buying a system there and then. He did clearly tell me it wasnt hooked up to a call centre but he would look after the alerts if people went away on holidays .... He said 99% of his business was commercial so maybe they have their own security reviewing alerstl im not sure.

kub

kub wrote: »

Monitoring is available through any installer as they connect the systems to monitoring centers, the annual monitoring charges vary and can be anywhere between €150 to €220.


Internal Beams will detect cats, there are pet immune ones available.

Yes you can indeed have full app control of your alarm system even if it is connected to a monitoring station.

Apologies I couldnt see this part on my phone. Well this is the crux of my problem so thats good to know about the beams. As the cat will be able to enter and leave through a microchipped cat flap i dont want the alarm to be continuously set off as I could see myself over time not setting it or using perimeter only

kub

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks Kub for your reply. I was confused too as it was at a local home improvement show and his approx cost was circa 1100, but as I was in still in initial stages of buying a house I was not concentrating too much on buying a system there and then. He did clearly tell me it wasnt hooked up to a call centre but he would look after the alerts if people went away on holidays .... He said 99% of his business was commercial so maybe they have their own security reviewing alerstl im not sure.

It is very strange, most installation companies would have a high percentage of commercial clients as well as domestic. Was he PSA licensed I wonder?

KoolKid

Deleted User wrote: »

He did clearly tell me it wasnt hooked up to a call centre but he would look after the alerts if people went away on holidays .... He said 99% of his business was commercial so maybe they have their own security reviewing alerstl im not sure.

Something not quite right about that ...

altor

Deleted User wrote: »

I did speak to a local person who installs for a lot of commercial businesses and was promoting the non commercial side to the business, but he informed me that it wouldnt be a monitored system but he would monitor it and respond to any alerts? I couldnt quite understand that or how one person would have the time or energy for it.

Id also be interested to hear what he has planned.
Surely he is not monitoring the system himself and ringing you when the system activates?

Deleted User wrote: »

My main questions are:
Can internal sensors be used with a cat? Is it determined by movement or heat?
In calculating the long term cost benefit of an alarm system , would the monthly cost of a monitored system be significantly cheaper than say leasing the equipment through Home Secure or Phone Watch and being locked into their monthly fees.
I would prefer to be able to remotely access the system (for said cat) can you avail of this and also a professional monitoring service.

Im finding more questions I need to ask than answers to my questions but I would like to have some baseline of knowledge prior to getting quotes

Pet friendly detectors can be used if installing PIRs with pets at home.
The better options is perimeter protection with one or 2 back up PIRs installed. If possible just keep the cats out of the area of the detectors when doing a full set if none pet motions are used.

Remote access can be set up on most systems available today be that true an App or remote access using text.

altor

altor wrote: »

Id also be interested to hear what he has planned.
Surely he is not monitoring the system himself and ringing you when the system activates?



.

Pretty much he said he would have a set of keys and call around if we organised it before going on holidays. I immediately was put off and made me go down the route of considering Phone watch and co. I didnt realise their weaknesses and it is definitely the advertising campaign behind them that brings so many to them. I was only suspicious when I got 'too good of a deal' and decided to google it otherwise I wouldnt have a clue.

altor

Deleted User wrote: »

Pretty much he said he would have a set of keys and call around if we organised it before going on holidays. I immediately was put off and made me go down the route of considering Phone watch and co. I didnt realise their weaknesses and it is definitely the advertising campaign behind them that brings so many to them. I was only suspicious when I got 'too good of a deal' and decided to google it otherwise I wouldnt have a clue.

Sounds like he wants you to set up key holding with his company.
The alarm would still be monitored by a monitoring station and not himself id hope.
Id agree, they have a great marketing campaign.
Panel is rented so its a nice earner for an easy install.
I just dont agree with the set up system they use as it offers little or no real protection.
Especially at night as most the PIRs used are off.
If they used shocks and covered entry points then it would offer a lot more protection at night and day.