EEC Home Security

MothballsWallet

BALLY - being registered with TPS and being ex-directory are not the same thing.

heatheryone_2

My first ever job, when I were a wee lass of 16, was in EEC Home Security's call centre. I lasted all of two days before quitting. I didn't know about their, shall we say, interesting pricing structure, or any allegations that they target vulnerable groups, as my job was merely to persuade people to book an appointment to meet a sales person - but I felt very uncomfortable nevertheless. If I recall correctly, the script opened with the question, "Do you have a burglar alarm?" As one disgruntled homeowner told me, that rather made me sound like a burglar myself, ringing up to case the joint. From memory, I think several people found the phone calls rather distressing - I can imagine it wouldn't be particularly nice to have some random person call you up and fire questions at you about your security arrangements.

pedoja

Just had a phone call from this company offering my a free shredder, I checked with the Area Police Office who told me who the company belonged to and so my husband refused the visit when they rang back.

trisontana

Interesting and damning story about EEC :-

Mirror Investigations

littlehelp_2

oh the memories of European Enviromental Controls...First time post on this forum--and i come across this thread--meant to be really

I worked for this company 15 years ago. I remember going from one area to the next, scaring people in these areas where we were staying into buying our house alarms. Painting these scenarios of people breaking into homes etc etc this was high pressure selling at its best. We were targeting the elderly i remember.

It was not very nice and they piled on the pressure and salespeople came and went everyday. It was like a conveyer belt to be honest.

In the end, they decided they did not want me as I was not selling enough..I have morals and did not agree with their methods. So what happened ..?

I was dropped at a train station with no money ,this is not good when your from a different country and know nobody. The rest is a story for a different day.

Anybody considering buying a product from European Enviromental Controls or even working for them would want to have their head examined. Personally i would strongly advise against it.I am also very surprised they are still in operation after all this time.

Please note that this is my personal experience and personal opinion of my experience working for European Environmental Controls and it is up to each individual to make their own choices when engaging their services..

jagman1

I was disgusted to see my father (over 80 and frail) has paid nearly £900 for a two year 'maintenance' contract by EEC. For this, they will service his wireless alarm system once a year. A Which? survey shows a typical cost is £50 - £80 a year ...
If anyone knows of a way to back out of this contract (he did it some months back) I'd love to hear.

goindi

Following on from previous posts, EEC Home Security are now trading in Solar energy, employing the same sales tactics and overpricing products. They recruit gullible (greedy??) sales people with promise of incomes £100,000+ Their ad is in the Daily Mail today (07/04/11).

unityzer0

I had arranged an interview with European Enviromental Controls. Preparing for my upcoming interview, I did a little bit of research.

So far I have read the article from the mirror about EEC losing its case against Ofcom about the Watchdog program. I have read the comments to that article, the first being from a former worker who says this:

JONNY SAID:
"The history of this operation goes back to at least 2003"
A bit further than that I think! I got a job with these scumbags back in 1997, as a "trainee manager" (Everyone who applies gets the job)

They work by making new starters work as a door canvasser, but you are basically working on commission only, and using the name "EEC" to confuse people into thinking its some kind of EU grant. Then a hard sales person visits and forces the sale with the worst kind of sales tactics - eg £2000 for a security light!

The average age is around 25, and some are earning well over £2000 per week on a high commission structure - if you don't hit targets, then you are shamed in front of the whole team.

The team moves across the UK living in hotels, with company supplied expensive cars.(One had lost his licenses due to drink driving, and was given a chauffeur!) They only stay in an area for 2 weeks max before moving on.

There is a cult like feeling to the company, and John Ball is a slime ball, who will offer new girls "PA" positions to go on "conferences" with him. I'm sure I don't need to explain the rest of that part.

It took me 4 days to realise what I had got myself into, and even now after all these years, I feel dirty for being involved with those scumbags.

PETE SAID:

I worked for the ECC in the mid ninties as a canvasser as Jonny has pointed out!

I have to agree with everything Jonny has said! It was the most humiliating and stressful experiences of my life.

I was dropped off in a nice looking estate and told to go round houses selling some over priced security equipment. We were given instructions to pressurise the elderly by a over aggressive team leader! at lunch time we were picked up and if we had not gotten at least a lead we were not aloud a lunch break! At the end of the day the person with the least amount of leads travelled back to the hotel in the boot of the car.
I dont remember the exact pricing of the equipment but I always remember justifying my distaste for the company by pointing out the model of security lights in B&Q and compairing ECC prices and shocking the people I spoke to! I do remember it was prehaps 5-10 times the price.

I also remember the company had recent bad press in BBC's watchdog at the time and had great difficulty selling, which encouraged many a physical threat by my team leader along with the rest of my colleagues!
In the end I decided to quit after a horrible day in Stoke. Becuase I decided to leave at around 8pm at night I was refused a lift to the train station till the next morning! I was also refused the hotel room for the night (When I went to my room I found my bag was packed and taken to the reception)! If it was not for the hotel to offer me a room for free, I would of had to spend the night on the street! A eye opener for a 22 year old!

My only plea with people looking at this with the aim to but from these cowboys is to look into prices more and prehaps local watchdog groups, as these people are by far the most unethical business people I have ever met!

(cannot post links as I am a new user, the article is the second result when you google 'european enviromental controls)

I then found this thread, and saw the posts from former employees, and links to articles stating that the MD has had his house shot at at least twice, plus a hand grenade thrown into his garden. In addition to this, the EEC offices at Hall Street in Southport were firebombed.

Almost everything I have read has suggested that European Enviromental Controls are pretty much my idea of hell, jobwise. Using hard sales techniques to scare old people into buying overpriced products? I don't think its for me.

The people behind this company should be in prison, not making millions by bullying vulnerable people, their own staff included. I am genuinely sickened by what I have found out.

nikkilocke

I have just had dealings with EEC Solar, a connected company with the same MD.

I found this forum thread after I had arranged for a surveyor to call to look at installing solar panels in my garden. Needless to say, this made me very wary of the company! But, as they were the only company I could find who could fit me in before the 12 Dec FIT deadline (this was on 30 November!), I did not cancel the appointment.

I'm very glad I didn't. I was expecting a high-pressure salesperson, but the lady who turned up was lovely. No pressure at all. She surveyed the proposed installation site, and gave us lots of advice about where would be suitable, and where not, what required planning and what didn't, etc. When we said we needed time to think about it, she said no problem, and left us with the necessary forms so we could fax them in if we decided to go ahead.

We did go for it. Throughout our dealings with the company I was very impressed with how carefully they explained things to us before letting us go ahead. When we sent the forms and deposit in (which I put on my credit card, just in case!), they rang back the next day to make sure we understood everything. Later they rang back again to make sure we knew our proposed site would need retrospective planning permission, and that is we didn't get it we would have to pay to have the panels moved.

They gave us an install date of Mon Dec 5. They rang us on the Saturday to confirm the appointment. The groundwork team turned up on Monday morning, and built the steel pergola (which was much stronger and better than the one in their brochure). I noticed the team boss arrived in a Range Rover with a personalised number plate including the initials JB. Yes - it was the MD (although he didn't introduce himself). Although not exactly a cuddly person (think Dragon's Den but in working clothes), he certainly wasn't afraid of hard manual labour, which I liked.

The team put up the massive pergola, and hand dug a trench right across our garden for the electricity supply. They did their best to tidy up, but it was pitch dark by the time they left.

Tuesday the panel installation team and the electricians arrived. They all introduced themselves by name and shook hands, which was nice. It took them all day to install the panels, and do most of the electrics.

Wednesday the electricians came back (they were subcontractors - everyone else seemed to be employees), and got everything working. They also did some more tidying up. They had to ring through to EEC, and answer a long series of questions designed to ensure everything had been done correctly. After they had answered everything, I had to answer some questions too - again, designed to ensure I was completely satisfied, and everything had been completed to their standards. Then I wrote a large cheque.

Later that same day they emailed me the MCA certificate, which enabled me to get my FIT application in to my electricity supplier on time.

From talking to the installers I gather that the attention to detail, long lists of questions, etc. was standard procedure.

So my experience with the company has been good, and it seems they have put systems in place to make very sure they don't get on Watchdog again.

As to prices, the amount I have paid for my solar panels is right in between the two other quotes I got, so I don't think I was ripped off.

I have no connection with the company, other than as a satisfied customer.