Best alarm companies/systems?

MrCheeseman

I'm tempted to put this in Is This Quote Fair but I'm looking for more general advice on who to go to for house alarms. I'm looking to get a house alarm and so far I've tried ADT, who've quoted me about £520 initial cost and £36 a month monitoring etc. It doesn't call the police but, instead, has someone at the other end contacting the keyholder. Not sure how necessary this is, to be honest.

Can anyone advise who else is good for alarms, who else they've got quotes from? Thanks.

EssexExile

Why pay £36 a month so the alarm calls the alarm company and the alarm company calls you? Just get an alarm that calls you.

Anecdotal I know but my neighbour had an ADT alarm that was always going off and the man was always there fixing it. They swapped over to Chubb and it's just the same, he's always there fixing it. I have a system put in by a local family firm about 10 years ago and they've been out to it once.

Mutton_Geoff

Use a local firm. Almost all installers use Eaton/Scantronic although there are others that are more suited to DIY install like Texecom. All of them will message you if there is an alarm. It's been years since domestic alarms had the police running round. If mine gets set off, my neighbours are briefed to call the police and tell them they think they saw someone in the back garden with a stick that "might have been a gun".

Phil4432

Avoid Spy Alarms like the plague.  Really unethical company.

Ajmason42

Go local ask them to fit a dialer which connects to your land line.  If alarm goes off it calls you I think ours can have 5 numbers set up to call until you answer and acknowledge the automated message  ours has only done it once  when the fuse board tripped and the backup battery was getting low  it was a bit of a shock as we were away at the time the fuse trip meant we lost the freezer contents but at least a riving home we knew why the alarm was dead.
Take out a yearly maintenance contract so you get an annual health check  wireless systems need batteries replacing every 3 years our silver level contract covers them and give 24 hr service response  and is only £25 a year more that the 7 day response
Don't go to chubb or adt they are rip off merchants
Get 3 or 4 quotes  look round your neighbour hood for the most common bell boxes usually have the firm's names on them (90% in our road are all the same local company which says something)  your local spotted Facebook group can also post on asking for recommendation  
If you definitely want the alarm monitored by other your local firm can also set this up there are a number of monitoring companies

Lenolein

There are also companies that help parents to look after their children. They release various apps for spying on children and adults with dementia. For myself, I found the mSpy company. They can give you free trial for use! This is in addition to protecting your home!