Brinks vs ADT

[SA53]

Hello,

We have had some break ins during the day in our neighborhood and I am going to ask for a security system for my birthday since my husband doesn't think it is necessary, I will pull the "It's my present" card.

Do any of you wise budget boarders have any opinions on either service? They are the big 2 in my city so they are the ones I am leaning toward.

Thank you all for your help,

K in SA

 

[Auggietina]

We got broken into this summer. First thing I wanted to do was get an alarm. But then the my dh didn't want to pay for a service, so we compromised and purchased this:

http://www.amazon.com/Skylink-SC-10...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1224167128&sr=8-1

It's an alarm and if the alarm goes off, it will call numbers you program (currently it calls my cell, my dh's cell, my work, etc) to alert you that the alarm is going off.

We were out of state and the alarm went off and it called me. We were able to go call my brother in law and he went over to check. We also called the police and let them know and asked them to just drive by and make sure that everything was ok but we did have someone going over to shut the alarm off.

Turns out, our son who was watching our pets, set the alarm so the motion sensor would work, but the cat was in the house, so the cat set it off.

But at least now I know it works and does what it is suppose to!

I installed it. It was a snap. You can buy extra sensors for all your windows. I did buy one and installed it on my daughter's window.

 

[HM]

The right company will not charge you for the keypads and sensors in your house, just a quarterly fee for their services. Brinks and ADT both like to charge what they say is a 'deal' of about $99 to install, plus their fees.

We went with a lesser known company (maybe just in our state?) and have been very happy with them. ABV Security Systems Inc. insalled two keypad and several sensors thoughout our house, includeing glass-break sensors and an outdoor siren. Our house was prewired so they didn't have to pull many wires.

 

[maraki527]

We have adt. Our home was already wired and there was a special in the value pak of coupons that we get delivered once a month.

 

[prncess674]

You should tivo a couple of episodes of "It Takes A Thief" on Discovery Channel. The alarm is only part of the answer to home security.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/ittakesathief/about/about.html

 

[MaryKLady]

You should tivo a couple of episodes of "It Takes A Thief" on Discovery Channel. The alarm is only part of the answer to home security.

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/ittakesathief/about/about.html

OMG, I love that show! Since we moved into our house 9 years ago I wanted an alarm but DH didn't want to spend the money. After watching that show, he decided we needed it. When I was a kid our house was broken into a bunch of times So I grew up with an alarm system and the knowledge it can happen any time to anyone and it totally stinks. We have Brinks. I liked both companies but went with them because of the free panic buttons. My system has three buttons, fire, police and rescue squad. If there's a problem you hit one of them and Brinks call those services right away. With ADT there was an additional monthly charge for that service. Instillation of the whole system was free...they own the equipment, not you so you don't have to pay for it. We weren't even charged for instillation. We opted for more glass breaks than the system came with so we had to pay for them but it wasn't much.

 

[Chelley00]

We have ADT. We pay $39.99 a month for monitoring. It's expensive, but we had someone break in our garage and steal my purse, so I feel much safer knowing the house is wired (especially since DH is gone at night a lot) Our system was already wired when we built our house, but ADT gave us an upgraded system for free if we signed a 2 year contract. You can always call and ask them for deals.

 

[Melrosgirl]

I like ADT. (Make sure you are buying through ADT though and not one of their sub-contractors.) The ones with coupons, etc. in my area are usually sub-contractors who do hook up a real ADT system, but just cut out the middle man IMO.

Typically most companies like to just wire 2 doors and 2 windows. Get it all done IMO. Both floors. Our system cost about $1800, not including monitoring. Well worth it though.

Brinks, last I heard, was looking to be bought out. I did research when deciding between the two companies.

Oh and with ADT, you own the system after your 3 year contract. (Again, that is if you go through ADT...not a sub generally.

 

[SA53]

Thank you all for the information. Our house is prewired, all doors and windows, both floors with 2 touch pads but has never been monitored. Our battery died a few years ago so it has been a while since it has been used plus we had a tricky connection on one window that went off all the time so we haven't used it in around 10 years. It is good to know that they can update the exsisting system. Also, interesting to read about Brinks.

Thank you all,

K in SA