# Monitored Alarm System - Auto Enrollment in 12 month contract



## Finian Gardner (17 Jul 2017)

Hi,

Decided to change alarm systems recently. Company I was with told me I would have to pay up for the remainder of the 12 month contract. When I said I didn't remember ever signing a contract I was told that they sent me a letter in December and if I didn't cancel then I was automatically signed up for 12 more months.

*Points to Note:*

I never got letter
I requested a copy and it did indeed say what they claim, on the back of an invoice in small print.........why would anyone be reading it in that much detail even if they got it!
I was fully paid to date
I was offered incentives to stay but refused
Amount O/S is small approx €240 (but I am very annoyed about it)
I have since been sent a solicitors demand letter. Now I am pretty sure that further action will probably not be taken due to the small amount involved however I am really annoyed by it. I pay my bills and do not take lightly my name being dragged through the mud. 

I do not know what the law is in this regard but I feel like I have been tricked into a 12 month contract. I was under the impression this was not allowed.

the fact that I never received the letter probably means I am ok (even if I did it is wrong IMO).

Thanks for any advice.


----------



## Leo (17 Jul 2017)

I think we can all guess what alarm company that is. 

Ask them to provide you with proof that the original contract you signed-up for allowed for this automatic renewal.


----------



## MrEarl (17 Jul 2017)

Hello,

Good to see you are resisting this company as I do not think that they should be permitted to conduct their business in this manner. 

Have you been in contact with the consumers association on the matter and if so, what have they said about the company's attempt to charge you for the remainder of this 12 month period ?

Is this possibly a company with the word "watch" in it's name by the way (because if so, then I am also a customer) ?


----------



## Finian Gardner (20 Jul 2017)

It is possible! 

Worst case I'll have my day in court.

I even rang them in advance to see the date my DD had covered me for as I wanted to cancel the service whilst I was still paid up i.e. did not want to leave a bill behind me even if it was just a few days.


----------



## Leo (21 Jul 2017)

Let us know how you get on. There is some history of them backing down if you stand your ground and perhaps even threaten to create some negative publicity. If they're on Twitter, a post there often helps companies take notice.


----------



## SMAEL17 (21 Jul 2017)

I had been paying monthly direct debits to this company for almost 10 years with several price increases (especially in the past few years since they were taken over).

But the final straw was an e-mail I received on 10th April with the subject line 'Service & Maintenance - More cover, More benefits'. 
The first part of the mail was some info about how great they are. Then came:-

'Your monthly monitoring and maintenance service will be 34.57 a month. You’ll see this on your next invoice which you’ll receive in the coming days. We really hope you decide to renew your PhoneWatch service. Once you do you will be protected for a further 12 months. Your new contract start date will be 25 Apr 2017 and this contract will expire on 24/04/2018 .

If you have any questions, we’ll be happy to go through your invoice with you. Just give us a call on* 1850 753 753.'
*
This was approx. €5 p/m increase on my previous payments (a 33% increase in 2 years), but the most annoying part was the way the price increase and new 12 month contract was 'hidden' in what looked like a generic marketing e-mail - I could have easily not opened this mail.

I called and cancelled and now have monitoring with another company for €19.50 per month - €180 saving per year.


----------



## pinkie123 (21 Jul 2017)

SMAEL17 said:


> I had been paying monthly direct debits to this company for almost 10 years with several price increases (especially in the past few years since they were taken over).
> 
> But the final straw was an e-mail I received on 10th April with the subject line 'Service & Maintenance - More cover, More benefits'.
> The first part of the mail was some info about how great they are. Then came:-
> ...



I got this email last week - after getting caught out by the auto renewal last year I rang them today as my monitoring was going up by €7.50 a month.

I'm curious as to which company you went with SMAEL17 - I thought from reading other threads in this forum that no other company can monitor PW alarms?


----------



## SMAEL17 (21 Jul 2017)

pinkie123 said:


> I'm curious as to which company you went with SMAEL17 - I thought from reading other threads in this forum that no other company can monitor PW alarms?



I switched to Clare Alarms. No issue with taking over the monitoring - Has same certifications etc. for insurance.


----------



## Leo (21 Jul 2017)

pinkie123 said:


> I got this email last week - after getting caught out by the auto renewal last year I rang them today as my monitoring was going up by €7.50 a month.
> 
> I'm curious as to which company you went with SMAEL17 - I thought from reading other threads in this forum that no other company can monitor PW alarms?



It depends which panel you have, it's the newer systems that are locked down. Given the significantly cheaper annual charges out there for the same level of service, even if you have one of those, you'd still be better off in the long run replacing the panel and going with the competition.


----------



## MrEarl (21 Jul 2017)

SMAEL17 said:


> ....I called and cancelled and now have monitoring with another company for €19.50 per month - €180 saving per year.



Is that with the same equipment, or did you also have to purchase a new alarm system ?



Leo said:


> It depends which panel you have, it's the newer systems that are locked down. Given the significantly cheaper annual charges out there for the same level of service, even if you have one of those, you'd still be better off in the long run replacing the panel and going with the competition.



That makes sense and from memory, I actually think we touched on this once before, but I'm sorry to say I can't find it from a quick search.

Any chance of a quick run through whats needed, costs etc. based on your own experience please ?


----------



## SMAEL17 (24 Jul 2017)

MrEarl said:


> Is that with the same equipment, or did you also have to purchase a new alarm system ??



There was no change to the equipment but I have an older/basic phonewatch panel from 10 years ago. - It might be different for more modern systems. There was a €40 callout fee for the switching.


----------



## pinkie123 (24 Jul 2017)

Leo said:


> It depends which panel you have, it's the newer systems that are locked down. Given the significantly cheaper annual charges out there for the same level of service, even if you have one of those, you'd still be better off in the long run replacing the panel and going with the competition.



Thanks Leo, mine installed in 2008 so I'd say its the old panel. When I went to cancel I was met with a very persuasive sales rep saying he will beat any quote from a competitor. Well we'll see. Tbh the way this company goes about its business does not make me want to stay a customer.


----------



## SmartCustomer (16 Oct 2020)

This appears to be a common issue with this company and still ongoing years later. Has the OP or someone else had a satisfactory resolution?


----------



## Shadowofthewind (12 Mar 2022)

I'm not surprised to find lots of common experiences with #watch on here.

I'd notified #watch that I would be leaving them late last year as i fell out of contract and I'd complained about ever rising costs for an alarm that does not get used often during covid and when tested it does not sound even after being serviced. App is awful and gets lost looping to detect the in house device status and temperatures. Despite my notice to leave they are advising they rolled me into another 12 month contract as part of auto renewal yet I've no written copy of contract and no prior notice that it would renew. They are misrepresenting capability in terms of tech reliability when compared to competitors in my view and definitely not a market leader. They can't even be graceful in letting customers go that are dissatisfied with them, all eyes on locking in further billing charges. Pretty pathetic operating business model if you were confident about your capabilities.

Absolutely fed up with rising service provider costs in Ireland for undeniable low value offerings.


----------



## Leo (22 Mar 2022)

Shadowofthewind said:


> I'm not surprised to find lots of common experiences with #watch on here.


Perhaps the AAM crowd are less likely to get sucked in by pressure sales tactics  , but I've had the occasional rant now and then when the opportunity arises.


----------

