Phone Watch Price Increase

M

MrEarl

Registered User
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Hello,

For anyone who was paying the basic fee, simply for alarm monitoring (without the additional cost of two "free" annual call outs, for equipment servicing), the prices have been increased by close to 40% when annualised.

Phonewatch are claiming that they no longer provide the basic monitoring service, so they are forcing all customers onto the higher rate with the two "free" call outs (subject to you actually requesting the call out each time, which I would suspect most people never do as long as their equipment continues to work correctly).

No specific declaration of the price increase that I am aware of, just noticed it when an invoice came in the door (which was itself unusual, as we traditionally pay it monthly and don't get an invoice on a regular basis).

I am unsure if their other service packages have also seen price increases, but it's a warning for everyone to check their invoices and direct debits.

Is anyone able to recommend alternative service providers to Phone Watch, that also provide a similar monitored service please, as it's time to compare pricing and perhaps move service ?

Thank you.
 
MrEarl said:
For anyone who was paying the basic fee, simply for alarm monitoring (without the additional cost of two "free" annual call outs, for equipment servicing), the prices have been increased by close to 40% when annualised.

Phonewatch are claiming that they no longer provide the basic monitoring service, so they are forcing all customers onto the higher rate with the two "free" call outs (subject to you actually requesting the call out each time, which I would suspect most people never do as long as their equipment continues to work correctly).
Click to expand...

I received the same notice, closer to 20% increase. Rang up and expressed my disappointment and received a 15% 'loyalty discount' which reduced the increase to about 60c, indefinitely.
 
Just had a quick look at our files and they also increased the rate by approx. 10% the previous year !

Nice money, if you can get away with those combined increases over a 24-month period.
 
Slim said:
I received the same notice, closer to 20% increase. Rang up and expressed my disappointment and received a 15% 'loyalty discount' which reduced the increase to about 60c, indefinitely.
Click to expand...

Hello,

Thank you for sharing this.

Do you mind me asking, do you also just have the basic monitoring service ? ... It seems strange that we would be on significantly different rates, if we are on the same service. Was your price also increased by 10% last year ?

I will be making a complaint later today. However, I want to do my research first, as this type of approach (significant price hikes for no good reason) is not the way I like to do business so I will probably move to a competitor, if I find a satisfactory alternative.
 
MrEarl said:
Hello,

Thank you for sharing this.

Do you mind me asking, do you also just have the basic monitoring service ? ... It seems strange that we would be on significantly different rates, if we are on the same service. Was your price also increased by 10% last year ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, basic monitoring. They did notify me a year ago of an option to get more service, as described in the recent letter but I ignored it though I thought they would increase the DD.

I was on €27.99pm, now on €28.33 following phone call.
 
I moved to Top Security based on what happened. Much cheaper for the basic service which I had previously and worked for me.
 
Hello,

After a few telephone conversations, Phonewatch agreed to no increase for the next 12-months. After that, we'll have to see.

While it's good to see the company is willing to negotiate, rather than just lose it's customers, it's equally a shame to think they tried to secure such significant increases in the first instance. A more reasonable price increase might have just been accepted, no questions asked.
 
They're already significantly more expensive than the competition, so even holding their prices for 12 months isn't great value.
 
Slim said:
Yeah, basic monitoring. They did notify me a year ago of an option to get more service, as described in the recent letter but I ignored it though I thought they would increase the DD.

I was on €27.99pm, now on €28.33 following phone call.
Click to expand...
€28 per month? Why not just get a dialler fitted to your alarm panel that calls or texts up to 5 numbers of your choice for a fraction of the cost? I never understood people paying for this service or does it do something extra that I don't know about?
 
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