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Can someone please help... dispute with ADT.

4 replies

Ingles2 · 30/11/2009 14:06

I'm really hoping someone could give me some advice as this is really worrying me....
We have an ADT monitored alarm system and pay £25 a month for a full service contract.
Recently during storms the alarm was hit by lightning and we had to call the engineer out. We assumed (wrongly) this would be covered by our full service charge. Nobody said anything to us at the time about paying or how much it would cost, we saw no paper work and were just asked to sign one of those electronic boxes to say "the engineer had been"
Finally a bill turns up, infact not just one but three totalling £540!
Now we don't have that money and I phoned ADT immediately to say so. I was dismissed out of hand by ADT.
I spoke to Consumer Direct to say how could this be fair, no-one discussed the cost, we didn't know we would be paying and how could it be so much.
Consumer Direct advised us to send a letter asking ADT to justify their unreasonable charges under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 as I pointed out it is possible to buy a completely new ADT alarm system for £299.
I did this and named companies who would supply a new and better alarm than the one we have for £299.
We haven't had a response to this letter but have just received a email saying as we are refusing to pay they are now putting this in the hands of their solicitiors who will take us to court to recoup their costs. No mention of the letter.
I replied, saying, you haven't responded to our letter, please do so by the end of the week.
Can anyone advise me on what to do next? Have we a leg to stand on? Please help... this is giving me sleepless nights. Thanks.

OP posts:
Piffle · 30/11/2009 14:10

do you have the original service contract?
it is unlikely to cover acts of God such as lightning strikes I would expect.
More likely to cover mechanical failures.
You are then liable to pay an engineer call out free as well as the time for repair and any parts required.
It does sound like an abominable charge but suspect the agent call out free is the killer.
Do check your contract and if you are liable then you need to offer to pay somehow or you will get a CCJ

Ingles2 · 30/11/2009 14:16

So does this unreasonable charge thing mean nothing?
Do they have to respond to my written dispute?
The engineer wasn't on emergency call out btw, we had to wait a couple of days.
and yes the contract says I do have to pay for faults caused by an Act of God. But surely they need to make those costs clear?

OP posts:
Ingles2 · 30/11/2009 14:21

Sorry, meant to say, Thanks Piffle...
am so freaked out, I forgot

OP posts:
FuriousGeorge · 30/11/2009 22:39

Probably not much help,but I used to work for a big alarm company.This type of callout would be covered by a maintenance contract-the type of thing that wouldn't be would be you damaging it by attempting to work on it yourself.If your contract didn't cover call outs it sound pretty pointless,and the least the staff could have done was quote you the rates before the engineer called out,

Are they a member of any trade association? NACOSS or one of the others.If not,try trading standards.

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