Why Choose an Accredited Intruder Alarm Installer

I recently interviewed our Senior Maintenance Surveyor, Glen Alger, to find out what problems arose when taking over existing home Intruder Alarms from our competitors.

Glen is the pin that holds the Maintenance and the Installation Department together. He spans both Divisions to ensure that our customer service is always outstanding by managing our large team of skilled engineers.

Question 1

I asked Glen to give us an overview of what issues the engineers usually come up against when taking over an intruder alarm installed by a small Company that isn’t NSI Gold Accredited?

Residential burglar alarm systems are graded between zero and two. When we are taking over a low grade system, they are usually basic DIY kits. These bell only alarms are really easy for intruders and thieves to get around and can be disarmed from cutting wires, can be dismantled really quickly and will never come with any maintenance support so often go wrong within the first year.

These cheaper versions can be purchased through large online shopping sites like Amazon and Ebay but what customers fail to realise that a local Alarm Company cannot maintain these systems and so their alarm cannot be Police Monitored which is what the Insurance Company will want if you are using your intruder alarm to reduce your annual Home Insurance charge.

When we go out to homes who want us to quote to upgrade their intruder alarm, it is often the case that we have to actually install a completely new higher graded system from one of our recommended suppliers like Texecom Limited.

Unfortunately, many of our enquiries come after the unfortunate event of a burglary where the existing alarm has been tampered with by the intruder. The customer will end up paying twice to gain the peace of mind that their system can deter a burglar, prevent another break-in and offer police monitoring support.

Question 2

Glen, what would you recommend for customers who are debating whether to spend £500 on a zero graded piece of kit from NetGear or Amazon verses spending a bit more to get a maintained product?

I would always suggest the customer opts for a monitored alarm system with our on-going technical support to ensure their home security system is always working at its most effective.

The customer can opt for either Grade One where the monitoring station will call the homeowner in the event of an activation or we prefer Grade Two which is Police Monitoring.

Grade Two Police Monitoring offers ultimate peace of mind. These alarm systems will notify the police if two PIR Sensors are triggered.

We only source the best UK products available for our customers so they will always have the most latest up to date technology. Our suppliers include Texecom Ltd and Honeywell (now Resideo).

Question 3

If a customer has decided to opt for an upgrade or a completely new system what are the next steps?

I would always suggest the customer gets a quote from an NSI Gold Accredited Installer like Communicate UK. There are many smaller Security Firms that will promise to maintain the alarm, however, these firms have not been verified as meeting the highest industry-weighted standards, often do not use the latest equipment and cannot offer a graded Police Monitoring system.

The Surveyor will then visit the home and design the new Intruder Alarm System. It is important at this stage to identify whether the customer wants a wireless house alarm, has pets so needs to be pet friendly sensors and whether they want to link it to a mobile app and their other security systems like CCTV, automated gates or perimeter beams.

Once the quote has been approved by the customer we will agree a suitable time for the installation. A wireless Monitored Grade Two Intruder Alarm for a four bedroom house normally takes 1 day to install with two engineers on site from 8.30 am.

What Next?

Interestingly, as home security has become SMART the amount of enquiries we receive from customers who just want us to install a product they have purchased on the internet to give them a SMART home system has increased. However, what the Surveying team are really good at is making sure the customer is really well-informed on the difference in the product they have purchased and what we can provide from Communicate UK.

If you are not sure whether your SMART Intruder Alarm is the right product to protect you from an intruder then give us a call. We are happy to offer advice, and we’ll even come out and survey your property for free.

Interested? Just visit www.communicateuk.co.uk/home-alarm-company and complete the short form and we’ll call you back!