ADT Contract ending

[Zak]

i'm glad my comments on "bells only" have stiumlated some debate.....

to summarise:-

computer equipment has gone done in price significantly in the past 3 years - used to be around £2000 for a PC now less than £500 including a flat screen monitor (from Dell).

the Galaxy8 is a tiny PCB which, frankly, can only cost £10 to make. the rest of the system is hardly complex either - PIR's cost £20-£40 etc etc.

Please, think before you post. Control panels are expensive, several more times so than peripherals.

saying that an alarm system is more complex than a computer system is nonsense...

I haven't re-read the posts but I am sure that Bellman said that the standards that alarm companies have to work to are very complex and serious (as in British & European Standards).

so how can a galaxy8 really cost £650?

As I said, did you pay for the installation or not?

is there really much difference between a Galaxy and Scantronix/Texecom systems?

Yes, but not for your requirements

the alarm companies aim to make all their money on the "service" and cover their costs, as much as they can, on the installs.

Really? You write as if "service" is a con, and that alarm companies are making money that they should not be? Would you like free installation and no on going charges?

i'd love WAtchdog or someone independant to do a review of how long it takes monitoring companies to respond to an alarm going off - i agree with the chap from Scotland - do it yourself and save £26/mth. paying that doesn't guarantee that you won't be burgled at all.

Do you want to clarify your slanderous statement? There are strict guidelines in place that govern how ARC's respond to the various signals that they may receive. What on earth has that got to do with Watchdog? There is no point in you coming on here and insinuating that the alarm industry is a money grabbing provider of inferior standard.

i know that the installers want to protect their businesses but joe public has access to so much information nowadays (like this forum) that we can now make informed choices rather than believing the sales patter from the likes of //.National Installer.//.

I am not a fan of //.National Installer.//, for various reasons that you will never know or understand. Out of respect for the fellow members here I choose not to voice the issues I have found with them over the years. At the end of the day, as the UK biggest security provider they will not please all their clients all the time, and lose 10% of their client base per annum. But they also gain more than that in new customers. Maybe your contract with them is not in your best interest, but with all due respect, you should have read it before signing it; you have signed a rental agreement and not an outright purchase. Don't condem the whole industry because you are unhappy with //.National Installer.//.