Alarm Company
Bloggers: We are looking for a reputable/dependable alarm company. Besides ADT, can anyone recommend a trustworthy / dependable company? We read some blogs on this site and wanted to know what people thought of Supreme Security. Besides them, we would really appreciate some names. Thanks!
Bloggers:
We are looking for a reputable/dependable alarm company. Besides ADT, can anyone recommend a trustworthy / dependable company? We read some blogs on this site and wanted to know what people thought of Supreme Security.
Besides them, we would really appreciate some names. Thanks!
Idont know about ADT but APX uses auto renewing contracts to try and trick people into having to pay for service when the loose there jobs or fall on hard times. if you do not cancel your service on the yearly date it renews and you loose your job or something a few months later, you are on the hook for hundreds or thousands of dollars. This may be legal but it is dishonest behavior meant to trick people. Make sure any alarm company doesn’t do this before you sign on and never sign on with APX
I installed a Protection One security system and have been very satisfied with the company thus far. I had a break in and got called immediately. The perps were clearly scared off by the alarm which they tried (and failed) to disable by pulling the keypad and motion sensors off the wall. The cops didn’t respond until I got to the scene and flagged them down. Protection One however was on seen that day (a Sunday) and had the system back up in a couple hours.
We don’t need alarms in Brooklyn Heights.
I used for work for an alarm company call center. We were prompt with calling homeowners when their alarms went off, however, as someone pointed out, police response is a different story. Silent, “Hold Up” and medical alarms have a much higher response rate from what I remember. Regular home alarms might not get responded to at all. That’s fine if you are late coming home from work but if you’re on vacation when your alarm goes off, your house could very well be empty when you get back.
If you have good neighbors, close friends or family, I wouldn’t spend the money and let someone housesit. I have dogs-large ones and someone is always at my house when I’m away taking care of them so it works out.
Ditto the ADT saleswoman that came to us. She was the worst and wouldn’t even leave us the brochure when she left. We went with Slomin’s. Great sales reps, good service people and quick response times when alarm trips. It’s true that alarm’s might not prevent all break ins, but the main reason we got the system is to have a fire alarm that gets reported if we are not home.
Security systems are a deterent for crackhead/dope fiend break ins but won’t stop “professional” burglars who now account for most break-ins. They know that even if the alarm sounds that your nighbors will not investigate – the same with loud car alarms that everyone ignores. They have timed police response times in various locales and get into you home and out before the police arrive. The reason that I even bothered with an alarm is so that the Fire & CO2 detectors would be connected to a central service. Even with that, I still have several battery operated units strategically places. I use ADT.
I also hated my ADT salesperson. He was an idiot who knew less about alarms than me, who spent a couple hours on the internet for my knowledge. But I get an exceptional deal on the service (under $20/month) and install (under $1000) because I’m a customer of their partner USAA. My homeowner’s insurance has dropped by more than $20 a month, so excluding the cost of installation, it’s basically a wash. As stupid as it might sound, I do feel that the most important part of the system is the warning stickers you put on your ground floor or otherwise accessible windows, and you can buy real ADT ones on eBay.
I personally feel that an alarm is “worth it” but a more objective measure is that your insurance company will charge you a LOT more if you don’t have a central station alarm.
Nilso,
Supreme’s initial contract is for five years – not a problem for us because the house is a ten-year investment at least, but might not be ideal if you’re not planning to be in your place for that long. They also bill quarterly for the monthly maintenance charges.
We tested Supreme’s response time and it was immediate, even the time I tripped a motion detector and it chimed for less than 10 seconds before I switched it off.
Looking back at the numbers, Supreme’s and ADT’s quotes were closer than I thought, but we would have gotten certain charges waived from ADT because we had an alarm with them at our previous place.
Dog vs. alarm? The alarm works better for me, as my main concern is a break-in when I’m away for extended periods of time, and likely the dog would be with me anyway.