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- - Alarm (https://britishexpats.com/forum/spain-75/alarm-929163/)

bil8999

Nov 10th 2019 12:15 pm

Alarm

Hi to all
Had a call off verisure alarm people the other day, they said as of the 20th December the alarm monitoring system is being changed from landline to 3g, and our system will not compatible, they would like to upgrade our system free of charge, has anyone else had this call?
What's in the small print?
Is this a scam?
The call was definitely from verisure spain

Dxf	Nov 10th 2019 1:57 pm

Re: Alarm

Hola

As 5G rolls out then 3G probably becomes cheaper until they stop it; 2G for texts remains but I believe that after a while they are likely to phase out 3G - whereupon they will have to upgrade to 4G

Unless anyone knows better

Davexf

bil8999

Nov 10th 2019 2:37 pm

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dxf (Post 12761687)

thanks for reply, surely if they were to upgrade all the 15 year old systems free of charge it would cost a fortune, I am just concerned that there will be something in the small print that ties you into there monitored response, thanks

Fred James

Nov 10th 2019 4:17 pm

Re: Alarm

They stopped supplying systems using a landline many years ago. 3G or 4G depends on your GSM coverage, either will work fine. They changed over as land lines are so easy to sabotage. They even now provide an anti jamming system which detects if such a system is being used and it diverts the calls to a totally different system which is different to the normal GSM network.

They obviously want to get all their old systems changed over as they will no longer work with a land line and they will lose the monthly fees for the service. They make most of their money from the monitoring service and they can well afford to change the equipment.

The advantage to you is that all the equipment will be the latest upgraded systems.

We have used their system for some years and their service is brilliant. We had a fault last week caused by water getting into one of the perimeter alarms and they changed all 4 for no charge to much better new units. List price about €700.

bil8999

Nov 10th 2019 4:36 pm

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred James (Post 12761751)

Thanks Fred
But we don't subscribe to there monitoring system any more, perhaps this is there way of getting us back on board!!, can't understand why nobody else on here hasn't has the same call

bxpuser24710519

Nov 10th 2019 5:48 pm

Re: Alarm

May be they have but prefer not advertise on an open forum that they have a system ?

Fred James

Nov 10th 2019 6:35 pm

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Capitans Wench (Post 12761776)

May be they have but prefer not advertise on an open forum that they have a system ?

True, but if you have such a system you should go the the bottom of the list for likely targets. Just because you have a connected alarm doesn’t necessarily imply you have any serious valuable worth stealing, just that you don’t want the agro of being robbed!

Also, any sensible forum member should try and protect their identity and exact location.

Fred James

Nov 10th 2019 6:42 pm

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bil8999 (Post 12761757)

Thanks Fred
But we don't subscribe to there monitoring system any more, perhaps this is there way of getting us back on board!!, can't understand why nobody else on here hasn't has the same call

Personally, I think that an alarm system that is not connected to a central monitoring system is a complete waste of money.

Notdunroamin

Nov 10th 2019 8:39 pm

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bil8999 (Post 12761757)

can't understand why nobody else on here hasn't has the same call

Ignoring the double negative could it be because the membership represents an infinetisimally minute fraction of the Spanish population as a whole and therefore nobody else here has the same system ?

Just a guess !

Fred James

Nov 10th 2019 8:49 pm

Re: Alarm

Why? Securitas is the largest alarm provider in Spain.

bolton wanderer

Nov 11th 2019 11:54 am

Re: Alarm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred James (Post 12761796)

Personally, I think that an alarm system that is not connected to a central monitoring system is a complete waste of money.

I would agree, especially for a non resident..... Unless you had a very good trustworthy neighbour who is a permanent resident and would be willing to investigate any alarm & ring the police if required. They would also need to hold a copy of your keys and your alarm code. If not then central monitoring is the way to go. Nothing worse than a faulty alarm that's ringing for a couple of months.

If the O/P has a permanent internet connection I would recommend a couple of inexpensive wireless IP cameras instead of the alarm. These could contact the O/P anywhere in the world if motion/sound is detected within the property and allow the O/P to decide if the alarm is genuine and immediately ring the local police. As these cameras are accessible from a laptop/smartphone they could also provide assurance that everything is OK in the event of heavy rainfall or local flooding.

Fred James

Nov 11th 2019 12:38 pm

Re: Alarm

The problem with the CCTV scenario is that most burglaries are over in minutes rather than hours and by the time you have accessed the footage and called the police, they are likely to be long gone. Also, do you think the police will respond to a foreigner calling from abroad with no other evidence than a CCTV picture which will have to be emailed to the police before they take any action. A call from a nationally recognised control centre will receive a high priority.

Most crime prevention experts will say that the deterrent effect of a connected alarm system, with all the warning signs around the house, will make a difference. The only more effective deterrent is a couple of Rotweilers!

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