Being Taken For A Ride.

[Guest mcready]

We're having some work done to our house. The place is like swiss cheese so I decided it would be the best time to upgrade the inherited Scantronic 9800. Although it works - the builders and plumbers are having a gay old time slicing though the alarm cables - it has 8 zones maxed and the cables crumbling. Plus I want extra key pads etc etc.

I look into 5 different companies to give me a quotes, 3 local, two national.

One of the locals is the alarm company that actually fitted the alarm and has been servicing it.

On the phone their quotes are similar, their products are similar. On the phone they talk a good game and the prices are similar. I invite them round, they see the house. Boom, "sorry made a mistake on the price forgot to quote you extra this and extra that, plus VAT, loyalty bonus, monitored this and dual that.

Now it's not a big house, but it does have a lovely frontage... Grass.

Only one of the local guys was nice enough to say "stick with the old system", or if you want I'll do your alarm if you do the wiring to keep the cost down, he even offered to give me the screened cable for free. Plus he was the only one that couldn't come round immediately.

Why is it that people see a nice house and think, money, then try and rip you off.

Aerial guy asked me where I lived, Boom

[hastings]

I don't think 800 quid is anywhere near enough for the amount of equipment you are asking for, unless they are using the very cheapest equipment and cutting every corner imaginable.

1200 - 1500 is much nearer the mark.

[Paul P]

In all fairness if you are installing the cables yourself size of house should not come into the equation for the same amount of equipment. The only concern with customers cabling is what happens if the cable is in the wrong position or damaged, who pays for repair/return visit?

Cant give an opinion on cost though but it looks a lot of kit for

[Flying Boy]

Get real we don't work for free. The system sounds at least

[whistle]

whats you location ?

[Paul Giles]

All that and not even monitored?

Scrap the vocaliser as the panels quoted have on board comms to be connected to an ARC.

As a matter of interest what grade did the companies reccomend?

We often get asked on the phone how much roughly, it is impossible to give a true figure without surveying the property first.

[Guest]

As every one else says, the prices don't seem too bad for what spec you're after. We all get asked for prices over the phone and get told it's an average house (1 keypad, external siren, 4\5 detectors and a couple of door contacts) only to turn up and find something like yours requiring more detection, qadditional keypads, comms etc...

But, your aerial guy is taking the mick a bit, assuming he did just fit the aerial. If he cabled up the whole house and fitted a distribution amp too, then fair enough to

[Guest RICHL]

Only one of the local guys was nice enough to say "stick with the old system", or if you want I'll do your alarm if you do the wiring to keep the cost down, he even offered to give me the screened cable for free. Plus he was the only one that couldn't come round immediately.

Sounds like a part timer, walk away.

From what you have said I would be looking at around the

[Guest mcready]

Thank you for the replies. I live in Bedfordshire BTW. Not a fancy London Suburb, just in a 1960's estate.

Obviously I'm new to this Alarm business. Terminology and all that. "Vocaliser" was a term used by one of the installers, I assumed it meant the function of the item and not the type of company that manufactures it. Sorry.

I gave all of the installers my wish list. They all, except one, came back with the two bits of equipment that I listed. I assume, as I mentioned I already had a scantronic alarm they probaly thought I wanted something similar. I don't want red care as we have it at my friends office and all the burglars do is either show up during the day or get their company black listed then take them to the cleaners. Costs them a fortune. I just thought the something that rang up friends or family with a specific tone or word would be better than spending

[Truss and France]

David

For a start, it would take one or two days to second fix and fully test the system not 3-5 hours and I think it would be hard to find someone who would work on an hourly rate as it is normally a day rate. To use half decent equipment with a Scantronic panel and the rest of your shopping list is going to cost about