D
Derc1
Guest
Hi,
Warning : rant alert !
I got an Eircom Phonewatch monitored alarm system less than 5 years ago and signed up for a 3 year monitored package. Once the three years was up, we were told that the alarm would work as a standalone alarm, ie: it would set off the alarm system if someone broke in, but would not be monitored by ePW. We were happy enough with this, but a couple of months later, we started to get fault alarms, low battery alarms, etc. Anyway, we figured really a monitored system would be better for us, so we went back to ePW. They quoted us over the phone & we explained about the errors we were getting on the system. They said not to worry, that they would sort them out when we resigned. So, they sent out a technician who said that the problem was with the transformer. He said that these normally last for about 15 years and he replaced it. However, when we went to put through the payment for the monitoring system, they said that there would be an extra charge of €100 to replace the transformer on top of the monitoring charge (I think it was about €250 - €300 pa, which is a pretty expensive annual charge). We felt that as their technician himself said that the transformer should have lasted 15 years, then they should have fixed this without charge when we resigned with them, but we didn't get anywhere. I thought it was indicitive of bad service, so I said I wouldn't resign. The technician therefore removed the transformer and left.
So, I now need to get a new alarm system set up. We have the wiring all in place from the ePW system, but obviously the transformer is gone. Is it worth the very high charges to pay for a monitored system? Would we be better off scraping the whole ePW system & starting again? I'm keen to keep the costs down as much as possible, so would like to re-use as much of the existing system as possible if that is an option.
In case you hadn't realised, I'm not a fan of Eircom Phonewatchs' service, so I'm looking for recommendations and estimated costs for other providers please, I'm in the Limerick area.
Rant over, hope someone can help.
Thanks,
Derc1
Warning : rant alert !
I got an Eircom Phonewatch monitored alarm system less than 5 years ago and signed up for a 3 year monitored package. Once the three years was up, we were told that the alarm would work as a standalone alarm, ie: it would set off the alarm system if someone broke in, but would not be monitored by ePW. We were happy enough with this, but a couple of months later, we started to get fault alarms, low battery alarms, etc. Anyway, we figured really a monitored system would be better for us, so we went back to ePW. They quoted us over the phone & we explained about the errors we were getting on the system. They said not to worry, that they would sort them out when we resigned. So, they sent out a technician who said that the problem was with the transformer. He said that these normally last for about 15 years and he replaced it. However, when we went to put through the payment for the monitoring system, they said that there would be an extra charge of €100 to replace the transformer on top of the monitoring charge (I think it was about €250 - €300 pa, which is a pretty expensive annual charge). We felt that as their technician himself said that the transformer should have lasted 15 years, then they should have fixed this without charge when we resigned with them, but we didn't get anywhere. I thought it was indicitive of bad service, so I said I wouldn't resign. The technician therefore removed the transformer and left.
So, I now need to get a new alarm system set up. We have the wiring all in place from the ePW system, but obviously the transformer is gone. Is it worth the very high charges to pay for a monitored system? Would we be better off scraping the whole ePW system & starting again? I'm keen to keep the costs down as much as possible, so would like to re-use as much of the existing system as possible if that is an option.
In case you hadn't realised, I'm not a fan of Eircom Phonewatchs' service, so I'm looking for recommendations and estimated costs for other providers please, I'm in the Limerick area.
Rant over, hope someone can help.
Thanks,
Derc1