A couple of months on, with news of break-ins filtering back down the line, I have had my ear bent for advice on a few of these incidents. Obviously I cannot mention names and places because there may be court cases already pending, but we can look at the incidents and learn how to avoid making the same mistakes.
The first incident started some time ago with a familiar story. A small shop with an alarm system installed by a national company. A long history of problems and high charges culminated with the shop owner throwing a first class paddy and then throwing the visiting engineer out on the street followed closely by his bag of tools. The shop owner then decided to go back to his local installer (cap in hand) and ask if there was any way he could take the system back under his wing. The stumbling block was the insurance broker who was still pushing a short list of four big national companies.
But, after a long and heated argument which, once again, ended with the shop owner throwing a paddy (this time at the insurance broker and threatening to take his business elsewhere), permission was finally granted to give the "lesser" alarm company the job back, and procedures got under way.
A URN was applied for and granted and the changeover of the RedCare line approved. But, due to the rush of work it was decided not to change over until after the Christmas period. The larger company was given notice that on such and such a date in the New Year the contract would be terminated and the new company brought in.
But the large company cancelled the monitoring immediately, without telling the customer or visiting the shop to remove the ten-minute bell delay. Needless to say, during the Christmas period a break-in occurred and with a ten-minute bell delay, and the police not getting the call, the thieves had a field day and cleared out the shop.
The shop owner (who by now had got steam coming out of his ears) was all set to sue the first alarm company for negligence and failure to operate ... not to mention stress, loss of stock and earnings, and extra costs in staff time in sorting out the problems. He is even going to try to sue them for the cost of fitting a new alarm system, along with repairs to the shop, because the only reason he decided to change was what he says was the failure of the company to install a system that worked. The whole thing is daft when you realise that if the job had been done right in the first place, and the alarm company hadn't charged so much, all this would never have happened.
The moral of this story is don't get greedy ... and look after your customer.
A CASE OF GRUBBY FINGERS
Another case that I was asked to advise about was something that could happen to anybody if your service lads aren't on the ball.
Once again a larger company installed a system complete with RedCare and a service or maintenance agreement.
Several years down the line the inevitable happened and there was a break-in. Only this time with a difference ... after kicking in the front door the alarm was turned off using the customer code. Because the code was entered within 90 seconds after the front door was opened there was an automatic abort and the police were not called. The thieves then spent an estimated three hours opening and emptying the safe. As you can imagine there followed a huge witch-hunt to find out which member of staff was involved or had given the code away, the alarm company was also brought in and the same accusations pointed at them. It was plain for all to see that the thieves had used the code.
By now the nasty stuff had hit the fan, the property owner was saying that the alarm company should have spotted the grubby buttons and cleaned them as part of the service they had paid for. They should have also advised the use of multiple codes so that they could have pinpointed any possible staff involvement, and anyway the muck would have been spread evenly over the buttons so the code wasn't so obvious. The alarm company was saying that it was the responsibility of the customer to keep his property clean and if he had read his instruction manual he would have seen that his control offered multiple codes so it was not their fault.
At this stage my phone rang and I was dragged into the fray. The new company that had been called in for advice was one that I inspect so he told me the story and said the owners now wanted to know if they could sue the alarm company to recoup their losses.
My advice to him was simple – you have worked out the probable cause of the code being discovered and you have alerted the end user to the fact that he should be using multiple codes. You have done enough. Advise them to call in a solicitor and let the professionals take over. It is no longer your department. Dirty buttons are one of those things that we inspectors see fairly regularly. I always point it out to the installer I am inspecting and advise them to do something about it. The main thing of course is to first KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN to spot the problem, then advise the customer accordingly and cover your back by putting it in writing so you can't be sued later. Finally .. one of 'Michael's tips': Taping a small sheet of clear plastic over the buttons can prevent the buttons from getting dirty, and then when the sheet is dirty it can be changed by the customer without violating the guarantees. But you must put this in writing to cover yourself.
EXPENSIVE LESSON LEARNED
The final bit of advice I was asked for came from a member of the public. He had had one of those cheapo alarms fitted ... for less than £200, no VAT, two PIRs and a door contact. The customer was a joiner and carpenter by trade and his workshop was the garage at the side of the house. I know – you've guessed it already – the PIRs were put in the easiest place, lounge and kitchen and the contact on the front door.
The workshop, the most important place, was not covered and of course it was burgled.
A vanload of power tools had disappeared into the night causing him to cease trading overnight until replacements could be bought.
The insurance company refused to pay out because, although he had got an alarm as they had requested, the one place they wanted covering was missed. Here was a very unhappy man.
His only contact with the company was a mobile phone number. It was done on the cheap without a bill or VAT. They had claimed in their newspaper advert to install to BS but they had failed to specify which standard. All in all, he had paid dearly for his losses.
I offered the only advice I could: the choice of three good local companies who would quote for a good job. Rip out the old and start again.
I'VE BEEN BUGGED
I believe I've found a Millennium Bug in my machine. For some strange reason my computer has forgotten all the fancy spelling corrections I have lovingly added to my spellchecker over the last three years. It no longer recognises ACPO or NACOSS; it has forgotten what PIRs are and all the other "trade speak" stuff I've fed in. Then just to be awkward it gives me duff information. It suggests that ACPO should be ALCO and NACOSS should be LACROSSE. Is it daring to suggest that these two reputable bodies are no more than ALCOholics and fun and games played by ladies? I dare not tell you what it suggests for the SSAIB and the BSIA!
CAREFUL WIT' CASH
The Yorkshireman has a reputation for being careful with his money. A couple of months back one of the companies I inspect told me of a phone conversation he had ... A Yorkshire voice came on saying, "How much is a burglar alarm? I don't really want one but I suppose I am going to have to have one. I want one of them magic eyes in me living room and one in me dining room and one of them switches on't front door. Oh aye, and I want one of them bell boxes on't front of t'house. An afore tha says owt I've been to B&Q and I gather tha can get all tha wants for about a hundred and twenty quid".
Quick as a flash the installer said "A hundred and twenty! I can get you something a lot cheaper. Go to the shop and get yourself a whistle and a dustbin lid. Then when you hear anything blow the whistle as loud as you can and bang the dustbin lid on the wall. That should scare 'em off". After a very long pause in the conversation back came the reply: "Alright, I get tha point, you'd best come round and give me a price". The Yorkshireman may be careful – but he's not daft.
Source
Security Installer
Postscript
Mike Lynskey is an independent inspector of security systems, a security consultant and tutor. You can e-mail him personally at mike.lynskey@virgin.net
