Many alarm companies insist upon maintenance contracts when they install an alarm system. What does that mean and is it really necessary? We’ll answer that question in this video.

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The subject of today’s blog is maintenance contracts with alarm systems, and helping you to decide whether having a maintenance contract with your alarm system is the right thing for you.

It’s not something I can definitely say, yes, you need a maintenance contract, or no, don’t have a maintenance contract. What’s right for one person is completely wrong for another, so rather than giving a definitive yes or no, I’m going to be trying to give you the pros and cons of each option, and let you weigh them up for yourselves and decide what’s right for you.

So what is a maintenance contract? Typically, you’ll pay a monthly fee, sometimes an annual fee, and for that you’ll get maintenance callouts. If something goes wrong with your system, you can call up your company and they’ll send an engineer out to fix it. You’ll typically get spare parts included in the contract, and more often than not, you’ll get one or maybe two visits a year to check that your system’s working correctly.
So what are the pros of having a maintenance contract? The main one is peace of mind. You’ll always know that if something does go wrong, you’ll be able to call on someone. They’ll be there as soon as they possibly can. They’ll get it sorted out, and you won’t get landed with a hefty bill because it’s included in your maintenance contract.

You’ll pay your monthly fee or your annual fee, and when you call them out, there won’t be an additional charge for that. That’s good for some people, as I say, it gives people peace of mind that they’re covered. They’ve got help at hand whenever they need it. Obviously the downside to that is the monthly fee that you have to pay. Whatever happens, even if you don’t use the service, even if you don’t have any problems, you’ve still got to pay that monthly service fee.

So why would you not have a maintenance contract? Well, more often than not, actually, it turns out in the long run to be cheaper if you don’t, because of those months where you don’t have any call outs and the months where you don’t have a maintenance visit to check the batteries and service the system. That’s the main reason why you wouldn’t have one is because you’ll save money in the long term, but you are then gambling on if something does go wrong and you need a new detector or maybe even a new siren or a new control panel, then that’s going to have to be paid for, assuming that the system’s out of warranty, that’s the gamble that you take if you don’t have a maintenance contract.

So, as I say, what’s right for one person is wrong for another, and it’s not for me to decide for you whether you want a maintenance contract or not. But hopefully that will give you something to discuss amongst yourselves as to whether it’s a good idea for you or not.

And if you need any more assistance, give us a call.