I had a burglar alarm installed for my small shop over two years ago. When

this years bill came for monitoring I checked to see what I was paying for. It seems this £290 is for two maintenance checks a year and continual monitoring. Since I have only had one maintenance check since its installation and on all three call outs I have had to go in alone in the middle of the night and reset the alarm after phoning the engineer - I feel this is far from a bargain.

Can this system be adapted to non monitoring? can I find an engineer to maintain the system annually and for repairs?

Yes it can be addapted to a bells only but why would youwant to

What type of monitoring is itas there are a few diffrent set ups

on the whole the smaller companys tend to charge about 10 to 20 % of the install price for maiternace

As for the call out situstion you only get an engineer if you have a real problem as they tend to be streched on the out of hours side and cant attened every call

Hope this helps a bit if you want to know more drop me a reply

I had a burglar alarm installed for my small shop over two years ago.  When

this years bill came for monitoring I checked to see what I was paying for.  It seems this £290 is for two maintenance checks a year and continual monitoring.  Since I have only had one maintenance check since its installation and on all three call outs I have had to go in alone in the middle of the night and reset the alarm after phoning the engineer - I feel this is far from a bargain.

Can this system be adapted to non monitoring? can I find an engineer to maintain the system annually and for repairs?

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answer 1.This is not an area which could be considered a problem - I have armour plated glass windows and door, no rear access, railings in front of the premises and even when open have never suffered shoplifting, also there are flats above. I have even removed theft from my insurance policy. The alarm is more an additional comfort for me and a deterrent for potential thieves.

answer 2 The installation manual refers to veritas R8plus and veritas excel does that answer the question about the system?

I presume that once adapted I would be able to deactivate the alarm therefore a call out would not necessarily be out of hours.

I don't understand what 10-20% of install would be - can you be a bit more specific please?

Any help would be gratefully received.

answer 1.This is not an area which could be considered a problem - I have armour plated glass windows and door, no rear access, railings in front of the premises and even when open have never suffered shoplifting, also there are flats above. I have even removed theft from my insurance policy. The alarm is more an additional  comfort for me and a deterrent for potential thieves.

answer 2 The installation manual refers to veritas R8plus and veritas excel does that answer the question about the system?

noo but it gives a clue as to what pannel does it have text on the keypad or just a rowe of lights

I presume that once adapted I would be able to deactivate the alarm therefore a call out would not necessarily be out of hours.

yes once set to bells only you wont need an engineer call out

I don't understand what 10-20% of install would be - can you be a bit more specific please?

average maiternace codt  are about 10% of what you paid for the install

on a smallish bells only about £80 for one visit a year but you would pay for any call outs / faults that you had

Any help would be gratefully received.

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I had a burglar alarm installed for my small shop over two years ago.  When

this years bill came for monitoring I checked to see what I was paying for.  It seems this £290 is for two maintenance checks a year and continual monitoring.  Since I have only had one maintenance check since its installation and on all three call outs I have had to go in alone in the middle of the night and reset the alarm after phoning the engineer - I feel this is far from a bargain.

Can this system be adapted to non monitoring? can I find an engineer to maintain the system annually and for repairs?

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This seems fair to me. You have paid 12-months monitoring and maintenance, had your first service and your second service is due a month either side of the anniversary date. You have had two unconfirmed alarms and been duly notified. Signalling alarm systems do not stop burglary. They DO reduce the time on the property and deter. Your neighbours will find your bells a nuisance and not a call for assistance. Burglars can also be professional and they know who fits what in their own patch. I would pay the invoice it’s a small price for piece of mind especially as you have no insurance. I would also expect that you are in contract for longer than 1 year so you would have to pay regardless. What i find realy odd is you are checking on your installer which shows a mistrust on your part.

Jef

Please make sure that if you do take signalling off your alarm system you inform your insurance company, as failure to do so WILL invalidate your insurance cover....

Personally I think what they are charging is a bargain!

I have even removed theft from my insurance policy.

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Hmmm. And its a shop you say. I have heard the expression "Look after the pennies", but that seems a bit extreme to me - especially for a publicly accessible commercial premises. Just my 2 pennies worth (no pun intended)