Security Horror Stories

Did a domestic upgrade/install today and all was going well until I started clipping some cables in the airing cupboard. I was chatting to the customer on the landing when all of a sudden water started to run out of the shower pump. Turns out the vibration from my clipping (which was very gentle if you ask me!) had caused an already knackered rubber washer inside the shower pump to give up and leak. As it turns out, this piddly little washer is the only thing connecting the hot/cold mixer output and the pump impeller assembly together! No locking nuts, no rubber seals, no bracket, nothing. Totally **** design. Anyway, 2 and half hours later, we managed to repair it and ge…

I worked for an alarm company who finally ended up being one of the biggest names in alarm kit manufacture in the world based in Manchester............ I would regularly turn up to jobs where the mains was wire in 8 core. Usually it was stapled around the gripper rod back to the panel and in one instance around a playroom going a good 20mts back to the panel. Nice one T

EAS just fitted at local Art and Crafts showroom and Library. Can anyone spot the errors made?

Got called out to a system this morning (non contract) customer saying his alarm was going off outside and couldn't stop it. I could hear a noise that didn't sound like an alarm in the background but as he was only 2 minutes down the road I said I'd go and take a look. Anyway, got there to find noise had stopped and the bloke (a bit of a not-right if truth be told) said he couldn't explain it. Checked all the system and nothing appeared to be wrong. Then I heard a 'pip!' Searched the house looking for the source of the noise and it led me outside. At that point, I was thinking that it was a duff SAB as it did appear to be coming from there but I was puzzled. Then I…

Hi, A relative asked me to find some spare remotes for his electric gate; before I answered I wanted to know the manufacturer and PCB model of his controller, so I opened it and found this: The relay, with live 220v in it, fallen into my hands when I removed the cover. And they used telephone wire to supply the 220v to the lighting of the entrance. And it's not a DIY job Is it only me or you also encounter this kind of horrible installs from time to time ?.. uski

We were putting up a 8m WEC column the other day and I had asked my apprentice to put the Redwalls on. So just having finished putting a 20mm hole in the side of the column (hole still burning hot) he decided it would be a good idea to to stick his little finger past the knuckle, in the hole to see if he could get the cable, only to result in him realising the hole was still hot, panicking and yanking his hand away, at this point I fell to the floor laughing at his misfortune after a few intensely funny minuets went to his rescue and eased his now burnt a bloody finger out. needless to say he won't live that one down for a while

Went to a callout this morning, large'ish shop with intermittent alarming problem & now won't arm. System was originally installed by a Large National who were dropped recently because the owners were sick of having to call them out for false alarms. They called me as I was local & gave them a Discount card a few weeks ago, so I went to check the system & try find the problem Went to the panel & immediately spotted faults 1,2 & 3: Panel powered via a 13a plug into the socket at the side of it, 0.5mm 3 core flex for supply, 13a fuse fitted in plug & that's before even opening the panel. Opened panel & find nice 7 A/H battery dated 2001 &…

Best one(worst) was at 1st service customer only had 3 zones and internal sounder (siren) next to panel cable 1 leaves panel goes down to front door surface (plasterboard walls) cable 2 goes down corner then onto skirting away to pick up phoneline cable 3 down wall beside cable 2 but onto top of dado rail to rear of house cable 4 leaves panel goes down wall along with cables 2 and 3 and along underside of dado rail at end of dado cables 3 and 4 cross each other.Quality !! Another one was panel in cupboard under stairs with keypad mounted below panel cable out to CO detecter above cupboard door then into internal sounder (siren),Cable 2 out of panel picks up pir in front…

How many others have had rather painful meetings with gripper rods then? I've had many. I've kneeled on one and the worst one was catching my arm on one (don't ask how) and then trying to pull my arm up again with the pins stuck in me on the 'you're not getting away from me' angle! God, still makes me feel rather sick when I think about that day! Kate C x

I was installing a system a grotty horrid flat above a sex shop of all places in Bolton years and years ago. There was a young girl living there with a baby. I went to move the sofa out of the way to run a cable for the window contact to find about 8 poos behind there on the carpet. I took her to one side and told her that her dog had possibly made a bit of mess behind the sofa... "I've not got a dog..." was the reply... I didn't quite know what to say to that.... I remember nearly being sick as I took that carpet up! Yuck! Kate C x

Was called to a certain job recently which had been dipping in & out of line fail, after several tests i found between earth & phone line connection A there was 170vac & phone connection A was the positive side ?(not a great horror story but a little storey). SO BEWARE LOL

and old college of mine just out on his own was trying to put a 20mm hole in the top of a door for a magnet but could'nt fit his drill inbetween the celing and door. so he borrowed a drill off the customer which was elbow shaped and that allowed him to get the spade drill bit in place to drill as he lent in face level with the drill bit and started to drill the drill bit skided accross the top of the door into his mouth. blood alll over there newly painted hallway and a nerve ending rapped round the spade bit! he was ok and very lucky it wasnt worse shame he didnt know the old trick of a cut down shaft on the drill bit for such tasks lol

Many years ago during my Modern Alarms days there was a service engineer who forgot to apply his brakes whilst entering a service station on the A45, he hit the petrol pump, his car caught fire so did the pump and so did the entire petrol station. I once raced a contractor back to the Luton office from Bedford down the A6, testing my Modern Alarms Fiesta against a Peugot GTI. When we made it back to Luton he said.... //.B.W.F.//, I forgot to clamp my stepladders on.. they were just wedged between the ladders and the edge of the roof rack.

I don't know if I'm supposed to post here but I'm quite angry and I really needed to vent and find out if this is the norm. I want to get an alarm system installed and did my research and decided to get it professionally installed after having found both Bosch and Honeywell have agents where I am (Egypt). I was contacted by the Bosch agent and they sent a guy over to see what I needed, it was decided I needed 8 door contacts, 2 PIR's and the system itself. This is all fine. The guy never showed me a catalogue, he told me they only have wired door contacts but that he would ask about the wireless ones, he wouldn't give me prices, said it was tied to the US dollar rate (?…

After another wasted service visit on another installers system i have yet again been left out of pocket trying to alter programming on a domestic system with an old veritas 8. Why is that company's lock out the engineer code. This should be illegal in my eyes cos i never do it especially on a domestic system. After all the system belongs to the customer and both installers and the manufacturers should not have the right to make this situation possible because the only person that benefits is the //.B.W.F.// that fitted it. Customers should have the right to use whom ever they seem fit. and there's a bloody recession on!!