phonewatch.ie

I'd notified Phonewatch that I would be leaving them late last year as i fell out of contract and I'd complained about ever rising costs for an alarm that does not get used often and when tested it does not sound even after being serviced. App is awful and gets lost looping to detect the in house device status and temperatures. Despite my notice to leave they are advising they rolled me into another 12 month contract as part of auto renewal yet I've no written copy of contract and no prior notice that it would renew. They are misrepresenting capability in terms of tech reliability when compared to competitors in my view and definitely not a market leader. They can't even be graceful in letting customers go that are dissatisfied with them, all eyes on locking in further billing charges. Pretty pathetic operating business model if you were confident about your capabilities.

The first salesman lied about the features of the system,
when the installer arrived he informed us that we couldn't arm the door sensors and have the motion sensors disarmed at the same time, (we have a house dog) I sent the installer away,
the second salesman apologised for the failings of the first salesman and offered a free install if i would reconsider,
after the system was installed i called him as agreed,
he made a bullsh1t excuse and refused to do anything for me!
an absolute joke of a company!
dishonest chancers!

Salesman said the alarm would be ours in 12 months and could be used without monitoring. We didn't realise that they were within their right to roll us over into another contract and when we questioned this the customer care team were extremely unprofessional and rude. They were delighted to inform me that id have to stick with them or pay them a substantial fee to cancel the contract. What they didn't bargain for is that i don't like being bullied. I used the fact that an unresolved fault in their app and the remote/fob which was reported 7 months previously as my ticket out of their contract under consumer law. Needless to say a bully hates being bullied back but tail between their legs they granted my wish and im free of this dreaded company. Be aware and warned, don't go near this company if you want a good service.

A few issues people need to be aware of when going with this crowd.
1. They have a 12 month rolling contract which automatically renews annually without the customer actually confirming they want to get locked in for another 12 months. Although legal as it's in the small print which they know nobody reads it's sharp practice and not the norm with regards utility contracts in Ireland. Generally you do the 12 months and are out and can cancel with a months notice.
2. You are paying 41 euro a month but this includes servicing but batteries are not included in the service charge they are 95 euro extra. They are in every device they install so you can have 5 that will need replacing every 3-5 years. I find it funny that the actual thing that is guaranteed to need replacing is excluded from your 492 euro annual bill.
3. This is a point from personal experience. The customer service is poor. I was given incorrect information on a number of occasions when my batteries went and needed replacing. I was told they were under warranty. Then I got a bill. I managed after a number of calls and emails to get that invoice cancelled. I was changed a "cancellation fee" of hundreds of euro when I gave notice of not renewal when my latest 12 month rolling contract was coming to an end. They claimed I'd gotten a free battery which constituted entering into a new contract! I got a new battery because they told me it was under warranty when ordering. I had to threaten them with the consumer protection commission to get this sorted. Very messy to actual get away from them. They put up barriers some being totally false probably thinking some customers will just accept the lies and be kept locked in.

My advice choose homesecure. I moved to them after finally getting away from Phonewatch. They are cheaper, very nice to deal with and batteries are included in the monthly fee.

*Update*

Had had issues with my elderly parents phone system after a service call. Had difficulties getting anyone to take the case seriously and get someone out to them.

Received a call from one of the Managers David , who could not have been more helpful. David acknowledged the failures and promised to have the issue resolved. Engineer was out in less than 1 hour. Michael , the engineer could not have been more accommodating and brought my parents through the issue. They discovered a fault and Michael was able to resolve there and then.

Received a follow-up call from David to reassure me as to what had been done and to again apologies for the issues experienced.

Thank you David , you restored faith in Phonewatch for my parents. Great job

12 month rolling contract that is apperatly advised with renewal information they email. (Which probably goes into spam giving the nature of their business COWBOYS and SHADY and spam gets deleted automatically after 30 days and I am very sure Phone watch are well aware of this giving the way they do business SHADY) Not a text to advise that an email or letter is on its way with renewal information. NO where on ther website does it say it is a 12 month rolling contract (At least no obvious place does it say it). I''ll accept 12 months or 24 months the inital year or two like most companies do but to make it a rolling 12 month indefinitely in the small print is shameful and disgraceful. Phone watch are not much better than your local thugs extorting money from innocent customers hoodwinked by them. There monthly fees are beyond excessive for what you get.
I will be telling family and friends of the experince and rest assure when I advise them of other deals out there they won't be long changing provider once there 12 months are up that is.

Don’t go near them. We built our house salesman calls promises the world . We kept it for 1 year and then said We would cancel. When I went to cancel they had already entered me into another 12 month contract with my consent I was in a new contract for a month and the refused to cancel. Apparently it was in my first contract that it’s a rolling contract my fault I never read it . Good way to catch people out though phone watch. I have now received a letter that my account will be passed to a debt collection agency. Be very careful of this company as all they are out for is money and will charge you extra for equipment on installation compared to the “fantastic price Initally quoted when the salesman appeared

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