The "historic acquisitions" clause certainly didn't apply to my case -- I originally signed up with ADT de novo back in 2006 when I bought the house, and I ended up paying R446.31/month earlier this year before I switched to VS. I can also confirm that (to my knowledge) the service did not include massages, pedicures, milk delivery, complementary newspapers, fridge magnets, nor anything else beyond monitoring (radio and telephone) and armed response.
VS had some difficulties getting their radio system to play nicely with my existing alarm system, but to their credit they: Kept coming back at my convenience until the problem was fixed Ended up installing an entirely new alarm control system at their expense, because they couldn't make things work with my old system, but had to make good on our original agreement. So, I am now free of the Hellkom shackles that my ADT-monitoring dictated, because my VS-monitored system is fully functional with only a radio link, and I am saving R200/month on the monitoring/armed response fees. That's a fillet steak, glass of fine wine, and a dessert :-) Of course, as people have pointed out elsewhere, there are two obstacles to switching over: i) Apathy/time ii) Sneaky 2-year contracts in the fine-print. But, eventually, let's watch the "free market" take its course, in this case at least. On Oct 15, 11:32 am, Gill Gimberg <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks David. > > ADT doth protest too much, methinks. Or is it just a crafty madness? As > Shakespeare might have said ... > > The explanation of the different rates is fine, although I'm pretty sure > that, if we compare services, we'll still find that we're not getting the > same value for money, twolley for twolley (as another eminently quotable > person used to say). This statement: > > A large number of the ADT client base are through historic acquisitions. > These previous companies had their own sales prices and clients will have > come into the ADT client base at varied rates. The individual terms of those > agreement do not allow for blanket standardisation in the shorter term, and > this is a process that we are aware of and manage. > > probably comes closer to the truth. But, manage? How? When? > > It's also not too difficult to publish a price list that details a base rate > (for standard level of service), plus the extra cost for the various > additional services offered. And – here is my main point, so I'll shout – > MAKE THE PRICE LIST AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS. > > Gill > > On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 10:45 AM, David Raphael <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > *I have just received the following from ADT:* > > > * * > > > The recent discussion around pricing variations are noted and are worthy of > > a response, and there are a number of contributing factors that may not be > > immediately apparent to residents: > > > · A large number of the ADT client base are through historic > > acquisitions. These previous companies had their own sales prices and > > clients will have come into the ADT client base at varied rates. The > > individual terms of those agreement do not allow for blanket standardisation > > in the shorter term, and this is a process that we are aware of and manage. > > > · There are a number of different service offerings that clients > > may be contracted for, and therefore at different rates. The list below > > contains some of the variances, but is not an exhaustive list: > > > o Domestic vs commercial service categories. There may be occasions > > where a small business has been categorised as a domestic premises, and > > therefore may pay a different rate > > > o A number of our agreements are for leased, or rented alarms. The > > terms and conditions and pricing is affected in these categories, as a > > portion of service fee funds the hardware provided. > > > o A large number of systems have maintenance agreements included in > > the fee. This too provides a pricing discrepancy to standard non-maintenance > > agreements > > > o There are a number of different service categories for domestic > > services, including: > > > § Telephone alarm monitoring only > > > § Radio alarm monitoring only > > > § Domestic telephone monitoring and armed response > > > § Domestic telephone and /or radio monitoring and armed response > > > § Panic only service > > > § Additional security service such as patrols > > > § Any one of the above categories on a rented system basis, or > > maintenance basis will vary, and our price list has 30 variations of service > > category > > > · ADT does offer area based sales specials from time to time > > > · ADT offers a number of value added services such as SMS alerts, > > supervised ‘opening and closing’ that all attract an additional nominal fee. > > > From the above, we are aware that the pricing standardisation is not a > > simple matter, and we do engage with clients on a case by case basis. We > > urge any clients with particular issues to raise them with our Customer > > Services Department on 086 12 12 300. > > > Regards > > > *Rob Dale* > > > Managing Director > > > ADT Western Cape > > > *ADT Security > > *5 Louwtjie Rothman Avenue > > N1 City > > Private Bag X104, N1 City, 7463 > > > Tel: 086 12 12 300 > > > Fax: +27 (0)21 508 7966 > > > [email protected] > > >www.adt.co.za > > > * **A Tyco International Company* > > > * * > > > *David Raphael* > > > * 072 065 7223* > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected] <obsnw%[email protected]>. > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en. > > -- > Gill Gimberg > Editor / Writer > 084-683 6230 > > image001.gif > 3KViewDownload -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. 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