Is Phonewatch worth it?

P

pat1019

Registered User
Messages
23
Our house alarm is an old wired system. Every few months the alarm goes off out of the blue and a sensor needs to be replaced. I don't trust it anymore so we're looking at a wireless system. Phonewatch seems to be the most common, but the monthly fee is over €40 per month.
Is it true that intruders are deterred when they see the Phonewatch alarm box on a house?
Any idea if the Guards respond rapidly to calls from Phonewatch?
Is there any competitive alternative to Phonewatch?
 
A lot of people on this site have expressed dissatisfaction with Phonewatch.

What should I look for in a new alarm for my home?

I have the old Simon 3 panel with GSM I want to switch to another maintenance and monitoring company. From looking at boards.ie , it seems that some of the other companies don't maintain that system anymore. The system I have is very old. What should I look for in a new system? Brendan
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
I have Phonewatch for a good few years and have no problem with them .......as long as you can negotiate with them. The system that we had for a few years stopped working so they said that system was now obsolete and gave us a price for the new one which I said was way too expensive. Also they wanted to increase our monthly cost as well . When our system stopped working they did not know it was not working until I rang them which was my argument .I got the new system with no charge and no increase in premium for three years.
So happy enough. Their monitoring is very good .
 
joer said:
.......as long as you can negotiate with them
Click to expand...

That and the fact that Phonewatch is generally expensive was enough to turn me off them.

I found Phonewatch awful to deal with and I was glad that my obsolete system encouraged me to move away from them.

I hear more horror stories about Phonewatch than I do good stories.

You did well to get a new system free of charge joer, but I suspect your experiences are the exception rather than the norm.
 
I have PW for many years also.

You can negotiate with them on the monthly cost.
They are very good at responding to alerts and the system works well even if not as advanced as some of the kit you can get yourself.
 
can't fault them, they're not cheap but we use them for a relative's house which is not always occupied, alarm went off their during the week, the escalation via call worked fine and they were able to tell me correctly via the internal sensors and camera that no one was in the house. Turned out the relative had not closed the front door properly and the wind blew it open
 
See this other thread also.

I strongly advise everyone to steer well clear of PhoneWatch. Since being bought out by Sektor, they use out of date equipment that no other provider can support or service, so once they install a system you're stuck with them and only them unless you pay for a complete new system install. No other operator in the Irish market works on that basis. All other providers are cheaper for the same level of service because they have to compete with each other for business. With every other provider you can switch monitoring provider each year if you so choose to ensure you are getting the best deal.

I never liked PhoneWatch due to their reliance on pressure sales tactics and targeting of the elderly through campaigns of fear, but they managed to lower my low opinion when they managed to trick my elderly parents into signing up a few years back. They managed to convince them that the system they had was obselete (it was HKC kit that was a lot more modern and capable than their own technology) even though it had been installed within the previous 12 months.

They had my parents convinced the other operator had fooled them into buying a system that was not fit for purpose. The kicker was the system PhoneWatch installed only had sensors on the front and back door and a single PIR in the hallway. With PhoneWatch, an intruder entering through a window would only be detected if they happened to pass the area inside the front door covered by their PIR, the system they claimed wasn't fit for purpose included sensors on all windows. and would have triggered on window impact, BEFORE an intruder entered the house. I was successful in having them back to remove all equipment and refund every cent they had charged.
 
I am glad that you got it sorted for your parents Leo.
When my contract is up in almost three years I will be gone from them too. Unless my system packs up in the mean time .
My wife got the deal that we have at the moment (she is a very good negotiator ) . She was even surprised at the deal. I must say though that their monitoring is very good.
 
joer said:
She was even surprised at the deal. I must say though that their monitoring is very good.
Click to expand...

I don't have much experience with monitoring, but I'm sure there are others with similar service, some better, some worse. In my parents case, they live in the country, I don't care how good your monitoring is, if the alarm only triggers once a burglar is already inside, and only if they pass through the area covered by a PIR...that's not going to be a great outcome.
 
That would not be a good outcome at all.
I got my system through Eircom, as it was known then, as there was a good deal at the time. Phonewatch took it over a few years ago and until the alarm went out of order up to then I never had a problem and always found them good. It was only when it did go out of order I saw another side to them. Once my current contract is up I will be gone from them. I am sure there are other good companies around but I did not come across them when I was looking around.
 
Thanks for all the replies. That's certainly not a ringing endorsement.
It struck me as odd that the system seems to be based on the intruder actually entering the house before the alarm goes off. So, we've been looking to add contact sensors on every window and door, but that shoots the cost way up.
 
pat1019 said:
So, we've been looking to add contact sensors on every window and door, but that shoots the cost way up.
Click to expand...
Yep, this substantial additional cost is only mentioned after you have taken the €299 bait.

Extra sensors for all accessible windows and doors cost an additional €900+ in my relations case.

There is also an additional monitoring charge for these additional sensors bringing the monthly monitoring charge to €46.
 
Look up registered installers working in your area [broken link removed]. Better value almost guaranteed!
 
We live Dublin suburbs. Doing a refurb now and not convinced we'll get an alarm. And if we do, not convinced we'll want it monitored....not into monthly sub when we have no alarm currently and never had an issue.
 
JimmyB99 said:
How much does PhoneWatch charge for monitoring? Are these fees negotiable?
Click to expand...
More than pretty much anyone else in the business. and ability to negotiate is severely limited.

Unlike every other security system provider, PhoneWatch install a locked down legacy system that only they can monitor. With any other system you can shop around for monitoring, with the PhoneWatch one, you're stuck with them.
 
Thanks Leo

Reading between the lines, I get the impression that you're not their fan numero uno?;)

How much per month are they?!
 
JimmyB99 said:
Thanks Leo

Reading between the lines, I get the impression that you're not their fan numero uno?;)

How much per month are they?!
Click to expand...
Very perceptive :D. I think I've posted details about it previously but wasn't a fan even before one of their sales people put the fear of god in my elderly father and fooled him into signing up for a system even though they had a much more comprehensive HKC system in place for less than a year. Despite all the advertising, the system installed would only trigger once an intruder was inside.

PhoneWatch were bought out by Sector alarms as a means of shifting outdated technology they weren't able to sell on its merits.

I don't know what their current rates are, but I'd advise shopping around your local suppliers who will be listed in the PSA site here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top