House Alarms

[LIZS]

How much do you typically pay for an annual service contract for an alarm system ? Ours needs attention and was wondering if this was more cost effective.

? anyone . sorry not the most exciting thread for Christmas !

I have a sector alarm wireless monitored system - its about £26 a month

do you pay a premium for being monitored and is that optional ?

It is a premium for being monitored - not optional I dont think. The system is connected to a centre down the phone lines that is monitored 24/7 - if it goes off a key holder gets called and the police get alerted immediately. And it works - my cleaner set it off twice while we were on holiday a couple of years ago (dappy woman forgot she wasnt meant to clean then forgot the code) and the police were round within 5 minutes of the alarm going off.

£266 last year for mine and it includes servicing, replacement parts and monitoring. The stand-by battery has to be replaced every few years, and the smoke sensors don't seem to last well. The garage roller-shutter door sensor had to be replaced eventually, I think it might have got wet. Other sensors have been reliable.

If you need an alarm that meets police standards, it has to be maintained, otherwise they won't respond unless the alarm is confirmed e.g. by a neighbour seeing someone inside. Insurance companies may insist that it is a monitored and maintained alarm, depending on risk and valuables. If you forget to set it they might not pay out.

If you have false alarms (it might be 2 in a year?) police stop attending unless alarm is confirmed.

You can get a security guard firm to hold a key and send someone round if you have no trusted reliable local keyholder, at extra cost.

We have a service contract which includes an annual service, change required batteries but wouldn't cover faulty parts and labour for £78. Our alarm is linked to our mobiles but not monitored. The insurers are happy with this their only requirement was a serviced alarm.