Free Home Security System

scourtnadge

Had a phone call from Direct Response Security Systems saying they are giving away a free security system (inc CCTV!) as part of there advertising strategy.

They have found that a box on your house is better advertising than on TV etc. Have got the guy coming round on Wednesday to give me the full facts (oh yea, have to pay 200 for the fitting). Has anyone heard about this company and whether or not this is a legit deal?

CrazyChemist_2

http://www.directresponse.uk.com/ is their website. Is this a regional offer then and what sort of stuff are they installing? Sounds fishy to me... do you have to allow access to your home to prospective buyers or something?

If what they say is correct about the box on your house, why don't they just fit a dummy box on the side of your house? That will advertise for them won't it?

sloppychops

Not exactly free either when you have to tip up £200 for the fitting.

stratford_2

I think there's a fair chance that you would have to sign a monitoring agreement for a minimum period. That is how (apart from the fitting cost) they will recoup the cost of the system.

I guess it's a bit like getting a free mobile phone, but paying a load for delivery and then being tied to a high monthly line rental.

Others monitoring companies seem to charge at least a pound a day for their services.

scourtnadge

They were reluctant to give too much detail over the phone although unlike many cold callers seemed fairly switched on and flexible. They call round in a couple of days so I'll let you all know what the catch is.

rehabrebel

Had a similar system with British Gas

£200-300 installation then £25/month for monitoring.

About a year after you could get same elsewhere witout paying installation,but can't remember who!

flyer

They will hound you to death to take extras, upgrades etc. Cancel the appointment.

Steve_xx

It's a con. They will want you to take maintenance out on it. They will want you to take maintenance for enough years to easily cover the cost of installing it, otherwise they will not instal it in the first place. They don't do this sort of installation for free. They're just very clever at wrapping up the true cost in a way that some unsuspecting people would find totally palatable. It's just a fancy method of overcharging. Steer clear of it.

rushnowt

Since theres a £200 cost for this, it can't be considered a freebie, so i'll move this over to the anything else board

Turning_into_scrooge

I would recommend you check out here how you stand on cancellation if you sign anything as you are inviting them into your home. Cancellation policy is different if you invite them to your home and sign on the dotted line rather than in their premises.:think:

Richie(UK)

Hi s,

You know that nothing like this is ever 'free', don't you? There is always some cost - installation fee, subscription to monitoring service etc.

We had a similar offer from ADT when we first moved into our new house - there was no charge for the alarm system or fitting (because their alarm box was in such a prominent position and would attract new customers - yeah, right!) but there was a requirement to take out a monitoring agreement for a minimum of 12 months.

Now, this was not a problem for us as we had already decided that we wanted a monitored alarm system. This is the key question : is this something that you really want or are you just attracted by the thought of getting something for nothing?