Tied to Alarm Company in new House

Hi there,

My in laws moved into a new house probably a year ago now. Alarm came fitted as standard. Alarm now flashing up to contact engineer, which when I phoned for them - surprise surprise they need it serviced at a minimum cost of €80. Alarms should not need to be serviced every year (I have spoken to an engineer about this and also plenty of people who have had alarms for years which work perfectly). Aside from this, I don't feel they should be tied to this alarm installer without having chosen this company themselves. Obviously they don't have the engineer's code. Does anyone know if this is legal - being tied to the alarm installer the builder chose? They said they didn't get any paperwork in relation to this when moving in.

I just want to know in regard to consumer choice. I do understand from the alarm installer's point of view they will feel entitled to the business as they've got the work to intall the alarms from the builder.

Thanks

Think you will find that in the case of a break in and claim, the Insurance company might query as to whether the alarm had been serviced. Regardless the alarm company normally has to be a member of the ISIA in the case of high value contents ion the house. An alarm does normally require to be serviced once a year, as the batteries need to be changed etc. Depends really on how complex the system is.

First point. You are not being tied to this company, any licenced company can service your alarm .
Secondly. The engineer lock is also a security feature, without it enabled a system can be bypassed in less than a minute.
Third point. For insurance and Garda response your alarm system must comply with standard EN50131. An annual service is a requirement of that standard.
Fourth point . as already posted an insurance company may require proof of compliance to standards before paying out on a claim.
Finally 80 euro is aboout standard in the industry, You are not being ripped off. If an engineer is telling you a service is not required he is giving you very poor advice. Dont let a burglar find the faults insted