# Eircom Phonewatch (Are the Gardai really going to respond) Closure of Stations.



## RMCF (16 Oct 2011)

I continually hear the adverts on the radio for the Eircom Phonewatch service, and I know that it is a very pricey product.

Now I just got to thinking about how they will 'call your local Garda station' and get them to respond to any alarm.

But will they really?

There is talk of 3 very small Gardai stations close to me closing with the cutbacks on the way. So if I was to be a PhoneWatch customer, and the alarm now goes to a station 20miles away, will they really respond quickly to an alarm at my house?


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## micmclo (16 Oct 2011)

It depends, well that's a pretty useless answer.

If your house is fourth on the left down the boreen then it's a lot to ask a squad car to drive twenty minutes to head out and check every alarm

Any of us who lived in an estate are well used to random alarms going off every day for no reason at all.

I thought it worked by calling the owner or a designated keyholder before they call the gardaí. Your neighbour can check something out faster then a squad car

But if you are the hotel in the town centre and the alarm goes off the squad car will be down in a flash as there are people around, lots of cash in the safe and it's a real risk. They have to prioritze


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## RMCF (16 Oct 2011)

micmclo said:


> *If your house is fourth on the left down the boreen* then it's a lot to ask a squad car to drive twenty minutes to head out and check every alarm



How do you know my house?

Anyway, it appears that you all think that the Gardai won't be responding to alarms in rural areas. That's probably fair enough, but Eircom PhoneWatch's advertising would have you believe otherwise.


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## Leo (21 Oct 2011)

Eircom are careful to only state they will contact the Gardai (they won't do so in all circumstances I believe). They cannot guarantee any level of response from the Gardai, and you can understand that even without station closures, Gardai are not going to travel distances to alarms such as this where a crime may or may not be taking place. It's likely by the time they get there the burglers will have already left. In such circumstances they are likely to do nothing and wait for you or your identified key holders to report a burglary if one has taken place.


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## ajapale (24 Oct 2011)

OT posts which hint at bribery and corruption have been deleted.

Please stick to the topic.  

aj
moderator


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## terrontress (27 Oct 2011)

In my opinion, Eircom Phonewatch advertises itself by breeding fear and paranoia via its marketing literature and radio ads. They make problems sound greater than they are and their response to be greater than it actually will be. 

You are better ignoring those ads completely and work out what they are actually selling, how much it costs and how much you need it.

What you will find is a more sensible question is whether the Gardaí will be able to serve your needs, should you need Gardaí assistance, due to the closure of local stations. Whether that is responding to a burglary alert because Eircom phone them or a neighbour sees someone climbing through your window is irrelevant.


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## RMCF (27 Oct 2011)

I would never dream of buying Eircom PhoneWatch, its far far too dear.

I was merely pointing out how their advert hints that if they suspect something is up, they will have the Gardai round at your place in double quick time. Probably nothing could be further from the truth.

As for them generating fear, I remember their adverts used to have the sound of young children crying/laughing etc and hinted about how you might lose something very valuable. All very 'Maddie McCann' and in terrible taste I thought.


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## PaddyBloggit (27 Oct 2011)

I have eircom phonewatch installed.

When an alarm goes off they ring the householder first. If unable to contact the householder they contact the keyholders.

Householder/key holder gives a code to the operator ..... and alarm is cancelled. If code isn't provided gardaí are called immediately.

If householder/keyholders aren't contactable gardaí are called immediately.

In my case Gardaí were called once ... keyholders (and moi) not contactable).

The Gardaí operate the x number of callouts before they stop responding for eircom phonewatch customers same as they do for others. I think it's three times.

Re. the monitoring ... all contact points within the house are numbered, incl. smoke alarms so eircom phonewatch know exactly what sets off the alarm.

If they get no response and its a smoke alarm has set off the alarm they call the fire brigade. Fire brigade cannot be cancelled unless the householder confirms code word with phonewatch.


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## NorfBank (11 May 2012)

My alarm was triggered this morning.
I got home in 15 minutes, Gardai arrived 3 minutes later.
False alarm thankfully.


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## Purple (11 May 2012)

I woke up  one night to hear people downstairs in the house. My local station is a 5 minute drive away. I called them directly and told them that there were burglars in the house and I had two small children in bed upstairs. 

Two hours later they rang the doorbell.
I don't think I'd bother calling them if it happened again.
Will they call out if Eircom calls them? They will yea, sure.


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## Leo (11 May 2012)

Gardai got called to my house recently by a neighbour who saw two guys climb in over the back. They came over pretty quickly, had a look over the wall, saw nothing and left. Unfortunately, they left the burglars who were in my shed at the time to it!


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