Burglar alarm, existing ADT in new house...Options?

parajba

Hi all,

We just purchased a house (hurray!) and it comes with an ADT intruder alarm (Honeywell Galaxy 2).

I have a copy of the ADT sale contract (with previous owner, dated May 2010), the key points of the system/contract being:

1. "Our charge for selling the system, installing it (or to take over an existing system) is: £810. Seems that previous owner paid £810 for the system to ADT. Monthly maintenance fee: £25.95.
2. "Charge for the Unique Reference Number for the Police": £46.62
3. Length of contract: 36 months
4. Type of system: Honeywell Galaxy 2
5. Several motion sensors in the house installed
6. Fire alarm
7. Several keytags
8. Bell box (internal and external)
9. I'm sure I forgot to mention other stuff which is included but I haven't seen yet.

I would like to understand if:

a. if I don't pay the monthly subscription to ADT, can I still use the system? Seems that the previous owner bought the system for £810? What features will I be able to use if I don't subscribe?
b. I would like to understand what my options are, I like the idea of having an intruder alarm but I'm not sure what I can do with this one. Shall I ring ADT to find out?
c. If I don't pay the subscription / renew the subscription, can ADT remove the whole thing? But if they leave it, will I be able to use it?

Thanks everybody for reading!

Myser

Do you want monitoring or just to be called on your phone when the alarm goes?

parajba

Myser wrote: »

Do you want monitoring or just to be called on your phone when the alarm goes?

Hi, thanks for the reply. That it depends on how much both options cost...

anotherbaldrick

You can use the system as it is, you do not need it monitored by the Police , when alarms sound in domestic property they will not respond anyway. You do not need a maintenance contract, ask around locally for an alarm engineer and get him to check your system over and afterwards get him to do an annual check and agree he will respond for a fault call out.

Rapished

Yeah your paying them to have it on WATCH basically its monitored, not by them, its on a system linked to a central unit, basically if alarm goes off, the idea is they call the services on your behalf, for swifter response, but swift response is not actually that swift, there are also fines if the police/fire get called due to false alarms exceeding the limits,

I'd keep the system which belongs to you, ensure ADT give you all service and log books, then have the system checked by an alarms engineer, ie the likes of me, you'll have either 6/12 month service, just ensures the system is clean and operational, then you'll have a certificate which in conjunction with your insurance company may reduce your premium.

No harm in calling some local companies to come and quote for servicing it.

parajba

Thanks both!

So I will call ADT and request all documents and logs.
I'm just a bit worried that they will threat to take the system away?

Can they remotely inhibit my system so that it won't work if I don't have a contract with them? Can my system then function as a stndalone system and call me when the alarm goes off? I don't think we have the GSM module.

I'd be happy to keep it, get a local company to check it and maintein it, but I want the system to call me (and my wife) when something is wrong. Without having to pay for a subscription.

Myser

You don't really need to contact ADT. The new company taking over servicing/maintenance will be able to configure it. Any previous service logs are most likely irrelevant.

I don't think they can remotely inhibit a system. Which codes have you been left with? Just the user code?

The panel will most likely have a telephone line auto-dialer built in, not GSM. The new company may be able re-program that to dial your mobile etc.

GSM auto-dialer modules are very expensive and it is unlikely that your panel will have one.

uk_messer

The system hardware is already paid for and now belongs to you. It will be currently connected to your telephone line and making a call out everyday if you've had your new line installed in time, otherwise an error pops up on the user panel.

I would just get it up and running for your own use for now and then later maybe add a text alert or something else to notify you.

parajba

Quite update.

We have the user code only. No engineer code was provided by previous owner (I doubt they even knew what an engineer code is).

Also received a letter from ADT with their usual advertisment / sales pitch trying to sell me another 'contract'.

The funny bit:

"The good news it that you don't need to do much, as you already have a fully installed ADT alarm system in your new home. And better still, one call to us will get it activated free of charge.

Your system can be easily reactivated over the phone. Once done, it connects to our 24/7 monitoring centre, protecting you and your home 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In the event that an intruder tries to gain entry to your property, our fully accredited operators at our monitoring centre will be alerted and verify the alarm.

Free reconnection and three month's free monitoring - save over £180. Standard reconnection fee is £100".

Now. Here are my questions/comments.

1. Is there anyway to find out the engineer code? Is the engineer code the same as the Master Code? Can I reset the main unit to the default codes?
2. We don't have an active telephone line yet. How can I change the designated telephone to ring when the alarm goes off? Can find how to set the SMS but can't find how to set the main telephone number on the Installation Guide. I guess the ADT number is still programmed in memory.
3. How can I ensure that ADT are not able to remotely access my system (from the day my telephone line goes live).
4. If I can't work it out, can I just pay a local security company to come out, inspect the system and reset it for me? I guess they can do wonders with a PC on site. I don't need anybody to monitor my system, I'm happy to be the only user it calls when it goes off.

Myser

Best to get in touch with a few local alarm companies (NACOSS approved). They'll be able to tell you whether it is possible to re-program the dialer.

Alpha58

I had the same issue when I last moved - the alarm system was a major brand and they contacted us wanting £175 to service the system, despite the fact that it had been serviced a month before the house sale. The system itself was quite old so I just left it.

I have just had a new system installed by a local supplier who was more competitive price-wise, great personal service and I got exactly what I wanted.

Bear in mind that if you take over the system, don't assume that you own the hardware, especially with one of the large companies. I obviously won't advertise on here but I can supply the name of the local company to the OP if you want to message me - I am in Kent.