I have just received a phone call from my home security company advising me that due to changes in the BT telephone system from analogue to digital my monitored home security system will no longer work correctly. They advise that they need to come to the house and replace components in the control unit and the PIR’s to ensure compatibility with BT’s new digital systems. This is going to cost £1434 and is the customers responsibility? The system is under a 5 year contract for maintenance and alarm monitoring and I am just about half way through the 5 years. I struggle to see why it is my responsibility to pay for the upgrade when I payed for a system to work for 5 years. I feel like I, as the consumer, am caught in the middle of a contractual issues between BT and the alarm company.
Is anyone else experiencing this problem with their home alarm systems and are the company within their rights to expect the customer to pay.
Comments appreciated from those in the legal and home security business.
According to BT’s website, customers have the option not to switch to digital. So no problem.
Quote We aim to finish the upgrade by 2025 and you’ll be invited to switch your home phone service over to Digital Voice when it’s available to you. If you wish to stay on your current home phone service for now, you can.
Thanks for your reply. My problem is that my home security supply company say they need to change the equipment in my house and in particular the phone link from the house to their monitoring service, they are telling that changes are happening now and my system will stop working. I am trying to establish if they are being economical with the truth shall we say to persuade me the to hand over money for the changes before I need to or before my contract with them expires in November 2023. Will my system continue to function until the end of my contract is my concern.
It seems to me that if you have a 5 years contract, for maintenance AND monitoring - and that monitoring will shortly cease to work, due to BT changes - your home security company could be in breach of their own contract.
I suggest you politely decline their offer and ask how they intend to proceed…?
Thank you Ian I have already done that. They claim that these are changes beyond their control as it is BT and not them. They are dangling a carrot by saying if I get the changes done now they will do it at a discounted price rather than the full price, a difference of £800. I am trying to establish if both systems will continue to run in parallel until the end of the contract in November 2023 or will my system stop working before then as the security company suggests.
Ian, I am in the process of contacting BT as we speak to get their view of the situation. The actual cost the company want to charge me is £1195 + VAT if I say yes now or 1995 + Vat later if I say no!
Gazza, you may well be right but how does one get to the truth. I have no intentions of paying anything at the moment and have made them aware of the fact. I suspect they are a taking an opportunity to get some changes done early and rake in some cash during the current pandemic climate? I am not prepared to have the change done until I have to and even then may just switch to someone else as I have never been happy with them.
Some homes won’t be upgraded by BT until 2025. Presumably your home security company will still be able to monitor those homes. Why are they saying they can’t monitor your home if you don’t change over to digital.
This sounds like a total con. Another £2000 just to do what they are already doing…? FSS. But - they will likely claim its Force Majeure - so nothing they can do.
They won’t say, every time I challenge them they say my information is incorrect and that I don’t correctly understand the issues. I think they’re suggesting that when my exchange changes to digital my system won’t work. They are saying that some customers are already experiencing problems, whether that is true or not I can’t say. These are questions I am try to get answers to elsewhere at the moment.
they claim the cost is to replace the whole system with new equipment compatible with the digital switch over. If my system will keep working until the end of my contract (Nov 2023) I fully intend to dump them for someone else.
Ian, as long as the system still works I will stay put. If it stops working before the end of my contract (Nov 2023) then I will cut my losses and invest the money in someone else.
Ian, The stern formal letter is slowly in the making. I need to be sure of my facts before I ‘launch’. I’ll Keep my powder dry for now, gather the facts of my argument and ensure it’s watertight. In the mean time none of this may be needed if the system continues to work to end of contract (Nov 2023). After that they are toast anyway!
