Pitfall 1: “Free installation”, years of paying

• You often pay around €43 a month for the first 6 months, then often €60. After a few years the amount often goes up again.
• The system usually remains the provider’s property. Stop paying, and it often no longer works.
• Charging hundreds of euros in installation costs afterwards is very common, even after only a few years as a customer.

With a subscription alarm you are renting security. You do not pay for the installation to the installer, but later: through a monthly fee and a contract that often runs two years or more, sometimes with automatic renewal. The low entry price makes signing easy. You only see the real amount when you add it up over the years.

• Contract term: the “free” installation is often tied to a minimum customer period.
• Cancelling: charging hundreds of euros in installation costs afterwards is very common, even after only a few years as a customer.
• Extending: an extra sensor or a siren often means a higher monthly fee or a separate surcharge.

A subscription often costs €43 a month for the first 6 months, and then often €60 a month. Over 10 years, at €60 a month, that is €7,200. An AJAX system with SIM card costs €1,802 incl. VAT, and is yours from day one.

With the subscription systems we come across on the doorstep, that amount is often for a system without a loud siren and without jamming detection. Use the amount from your own quote in our subscription comparison calculator.

How it often goes: The salesperson only mentions the promotional rate for the first months. You sign at the kitchen table. Three years later you move, or want to stop. Then it turns out the equipment is not yours, installation costs are charged back, and the boxes on the wall do nothing without a subscription.

With many contracts, cancelling means the app, the notifications and the monitoring disappear. The control panel and sensors may stay on the wall, but you can no longer use them and often cannot have someone else connect them either. You have paid for years, and are left with nothing.

Subscription. Pay monthly for as long as you want to be protected. System usually owned by the provider. Cancelling often means: no app, no notifications.

Ownership. Pay once. The system is yours and keeps working. You decide whether and when to extend it.

Are you offered a “free” alarm with a new-build home, or does the bank tie a lower interest rate to an alarm subscription? The same questions apply. Read more on new build: the ‘free’ alarm at handover.

1. Do I own the system? And what still works if I cancel?
2. What does it cost over the full term? Have the amount after the promotional period, on renewal and with price increases put on paper.
3. What do I pay if I stop? Ask in writing whether installation costs or other amounts are charged back, and when.

We do not sell subscriptions. You buy the system once, it is yours, and it works without a monthly contract. During the home visit you see in advance what it costs, on paper. How that visit works: how we work; what the basic package includes: the starter kit.