Alarm with no code in new house

justcat01

PlumLuck said:

justcat01 said:

We're in the process of selling our house which has an alarm. We're just going to remove our codes and set a "default" and leave instructions on setting a new code along with the details of the company who installed it so it can be serviced (although it was serviced about 2 weeks ago). 
I asked the installers what I should do, and they basically said as above.

There's usually a sticker on the alarm with information on who to call if there's an issue. So you could call them when you move in.
Otherwise, you can request that they remove it before you move in. Did they put it on the fittings and contents form?

Yes, they've ticked 'included' next to 'burglar alarm'.

In the 360 tour of the house, though, I can't find the alarm panel to see if there's any further detail.

I think you're probably within your rights to ask that they remove it then?

TheJP

An engineer can reset it for you at a cost. it depends if you want to use it or not. Same situation didn't bother over 4 years, made clear to buyer I didn't know code. no issues.

Marvel1

It's no benefit to the seller who has never used it and paying to reset it.

PlumLuck

eddddy said:

Is it a 'high-end' alarm system which has been professionally installed by an alarm company? If so, if you contact them, they might be able to advise you. (But it might involve an engineer call-out with a hefty fee.)

Or is it a DIY alarm system bought online or from a DIY store (maybe for under £100)? If so, google might find discussions about resetting codes etc.

But maybe the easiest thing is to push the problem back on the seller.

I genuinely can't see any branding on it anywhere, but it looks like there's two sensors downstairs and a box on the outside of the house.

RS2OOO

We didn't get any alarm codes when we moved in to current house.

These photos taken the morning after the alarm went off at 1am for 3 hours straight only  show the wiring I ripped out from the shed. In total there were 8 battery backed up sirens that I had to physically smash up and at least 100 metres of wires!. 

HampshireH

We have an alarm. Had it for the 5 years we rented and it never went off, was never used and I never knew we had a code even when we had a partial rewire it didn't sound.

It's lit up and it flashes outside (we use it as the deterrent)

However within the last year it did go off when the meter was changed and I was upstairs wondering why that person wasn't turning their alarm off🤦🏻‍♀️

We found a code in our house paperwork luckily. 

I would definitely make sure it's sorted and you have it set to default or whatever as it's very annoying if it does go off unintentionally.

PlumLuck

RS2OOO said:

We didn't get any alarm codes when we moved in to current house.

These photos taken the morning after the alarm went off at 1am for 3 hours straight only  show the wiring I ripped out from the shed. In total there were 8 battery backed up sirens that I had to physically smash up and at least 100 metres of wires!. 

Well this has thoroughly put me off alarms!

TheJP

RS2OOO said:

We didn't get any alarm codes when we moved in to current house.

These photos taken the morning after the alarm went off at 1am for 3 hours straight only  show the wiring I ripped out from the shed. In total there were 8 battery backed up sirens that I had to physically smash up and at least 100 metres of wires!. 

There would likely be an isolating switch if it was connected to the mains. My toddler switched off the isolate button and the alarms back up battery kicked in at 1am that set off the alarm until i called an alarm engineer who told me to look for a isolation button. Hey presto problem solved.

RS2OOO

TheJP said:

RS2OOO said:

We didn't get any alarm codes when we moved in to current house.

These photos taken the morning after the alarm went off at 1am for 3 hours straight only  show the wiring I ripped out from the shed. In total there were 8 battery backed up sirens that I had to physically smash up and at least 100 metres of wires!. 

There would likely be an isolating switch if it was connected to the mains. My toddler switched off the isolate button and the alarms back up battery kicked in at 1am that set off the alarm until i called an alarm engineer who told me to look for a isolation button. Hey presto problem solved.

No isolation switch on this one.

It was a brief power cut that caused it to go off, and it continued when power came back on.
Then had to keep power off and work in pitch darkness ripping wires out.

I met next door over the garden fence for the first time at about 2am as he came out to ask if everything was alright, while the house, garage and shed were lit up like Christmas trees with flashing sirens!

Btw, no alarm codes given because we bought from divorcing couple, wife still at the property but husband wouldn't give her the codes.

EndOfAbsence

We had an old alarm in our last house that we did use and had the code for, but when we had a hefty power cut at midnight (while alarm was 'off' as we were in at the time) it immediately went off as the back up battery was dead. Trying to figure that one out in the pitch black after half a bottle of wine was fun! Turned out battery was last replaced in 1997...

Anyway, I would be keen in your shoes to not have that kind of ticking timebomb in the house, I think - even if it looks off it can blare out in a power cut if the battery's old, which it sounds like it might be. It was less than £100 to get a guy out to replace the battery and presumably he could have also reset the code for it, so wouldn't break the bank for them to do before you move in. Having said that, it's similarly cheap enough to sort out once you move in so as not to miss out on the house if they refuse to sort it!