Frequently Asked Questions

 

What information do you require from me to monitor my alarm system?

The Control Room has notified me of an alarm activation, what now?

Can a Patrol Officer respond to my alarm on my behalf?

What can I do to reduce the amount of alarm activations from my security system?

When do the Police get called to check my premises?

What happens if I set off my duress alarm?

Why do I get charged for you changing my alarm codes?

What are these telephone charges on my phone bill? - Residential Customers

What are these telephone charges on my phone bill? - Commercial Customers

I have 'FC' or 'Comm Fail' showing on my codepad, what does this mean?

 


 

Q. What information do you require from me to monitor my alarm system?

 

A. For us to monitor your alarm system, and for you to get the best out of it, we do require a few things. 

    1. At least 3 after hours contact numbers. They can be mobile phone numbers, pager numbers, home phone numbers, friends

    phone numbers etc.

    2. Your site telephone number, and fax number if you have one. Sometimes we are required to call the premises during

    normal business hours to notify you of certain incidences. These may include loss of power to the alarm system, or a call

    to confirm that a technician is on his way to site.

    3. Site postal details. There are some occasions where we may need to post information out to you.

 

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Q. The Control Room has notified me of an alarm activation, what now?

 

A. When the Control Room notifies you of an alarm activation, a few different approaches could be taken. 9 times out of 10,

     the person being notified of the activation will respond and ascertain the cause. Sometimes though, this just isn't possible.

     If you are unable to respond to the alarm then you may wish to call someone else, i.e. a spouse or a friend. Unfortunately, 

     the Control Room can't make these other calls for you, as our instructions are to notify the first person we can get in contact with.

 

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Q. Can a Patrol Officer respond to my alarm on my behalf?

 

A. Yes. We have a Patrol response service in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area. This service is available 24 hours a day,

     7 days a week. There is a $35.00 callout charge (plus GST) applicable to this service. The Patrol Officer will respond 

     to your premises upon your request. Some people prefer to have the Patrol Officer as their first response, to save time. 

     If you want us to attend the premises in the event of an alarm, then we require a set of keys to gain entry in order to check 

     the premises internally, as well as externally, and to reset the alarm system. If keys are not provided, then the Patrol Officer 

     can only conduct an external check of the premises, and sometimes this could mean the difference between detecting a breach,

     and not, as some people out there are aware, intruders don't always smash windows.

 

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Q. What can I do to reduce the amount of alarm activations from my security system?

 

A. There are always going to be some 'rogue' alarm transmissions from your alarm system. People often deem these as

     'false alarms' because they haven't actually been broken into. Most alarm system components are designed to detect movement. 

     This could mean the spider web that may be hanging in front of the detector, or even a cardboard advertisement hanging from 

     the ceiling. There are ways to reduce these alarms.

     1.    Clean the detector every month or two, just wipe it down with a damp cloth, and ensure there are no spider webs hanging 

           in front. If you like, you can always organise a routine maintenance schedule with us, so you don't have to remember to do it.

     2.    Lay some mice baits, mice have a tendency to set alarms off too.

     3.    Try to leave your air conditioner off whenever possible, sudden drops or rises in temperature can set the alarm off.

     4.    Don't leave windows open when your alarm system is turned on, as the wind will blow curtains and set the alarm off.

     5.    Don't leave pets inside with the alarm system turned on.

     These are just a few of the most common reasons alarms are activated, if you follow these few steps, you could dramatically 

      reduce the number of alarm activations.

 

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Q. When do the Police get called to check my premises?

 

A. As you can understand, the Police have a very busy job as it is, so we try to keep calls to the Police to a minimum. The only 

     time we call the Police for attendance, is if one of the following occur.

    1.    We receive a Duress alarm from your premises.

    2.    More than 1 zone is activated on your alarm system. I.e.: Lounge Room Window Reed and Internal Lounge Room Detector.

    3.    In the event of a confirmed breach. 

 

    Once we have called the Police, they prioritise their attendance. As you can appreciate, they can't be everywhere at once.

    This is another good reason to have the Patrol Officer attend the premises, because then we can confirm the reason for the

    activations.

 

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Q. What happens if I set off my duress alarm?

 

A. If you activate your duress alarm, then the Police are called by us immediately. We pass on all relevant information to the 

    Police and leave it in their hands.

 

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Q. Why do I get charged for you changing my alarm codes?

 

A. Some people think that changing your alarm codes is as simple as typing in a few numbers. This isn't the case. There are a

     number of steps that must be followed.

    1.    The request is received by us via e-mail, fax or letter, it is then registered in a document register in the Control Room so 

           we can trace the document back, and also to ensure we keep correct records.

    2.    The document is then passed on, so the codes can be 'downloaded' to the alarm system. This is done by someone ringing 

           into the alarm system, uploading the current configuration, making the code changes, then downloading the new configuration.

    3.    The document now goes to be entered into the monitoring database.

    4.    Once the information has been entered into the monitoring database, it has to be verified by another two operators to 

           ensure the information has been entered correctly.

 

    As you can see, this is quite a lengthy process. The charges for the code changes are a set fee of $35.00 (plus GST) 

    per one download. This means that if you send one fax, requesting 10 codes to be changed, then you still only get charged once. 

    But, if you send a fax requesting changes on Monday, then a separate fax on Thursday requesting different changes, then two 

    charges will apply. You have the option of managing your own user codes, which means we instruct you at installation how

    to change them. Note: If you manage your own codes, we will not know what codes you have on the system, and therefore

    won't be able to tell you, it is up to you to keep track of these changes. The Control Room staff will not be in a position

    to assist your staff with any queries regarding codes if managed by you.

 

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Q. What are these telephone charges on my phone bill? - Residential Customers

 

A. You might notice on your phone bill, that there are calls to either 1300 365 144 or 93793433 at some odd hours. 

     These two numbers are our receiver numbers. Your alarm system transmits signals via a telephone line to our Control Room

     Generally, the alarm system is programmed to send a 'test' signal at 1 week intervals, this is to ensure its transmission path

     (The phone line) is still available. If the Control Room does not receive this signal when it is supposed to, an alarm is 

     brought to the Operators attention. The Operator will then endeavor to contact someone and advise them that this signal has 

     not been received. This is the only way that we can know if the alarm system can report in the event of an alarm activating. 

     There may be more than 1 per week, this may be because the alarm has activated at some stage, and transmitted the signal 

     to the Control Room.

 

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Q. What are these telephone charges on my phone bill? - Commercial Customers

 

A. You might notice on your phone bill, that there are calls to either 1300 365 144 or 93793433 at some odd hours. 

     These two numbers are our receiver numbers. Your alarm system transmits signals via a telephone line to our 

     Control Room. Generally, the alarm system is programmed to send a 'test' signal at 24 hour intervals, this is to ensure 

     its transmission path (The phone line) is still available. If the Control Room does not receive this signal when it is supposed to, 

     an alarm is brought to the Operators attention. The Operator will then endeavor to contact someone and advise them that this 

     signal has not been received. This is the only way that we can know if the alarm system can report in the event of an alarm 

     activating. You may also notice more than 1 per day, this is because alot of companies require access reports. These reports 

     provide information as to who entered the premises at certain times of the day. In most cases, there are only 3 reports per day, 

     these are a test signal, an opening (disarming) signal and a closing (arming) signal. Sometimes there will be more, as people 

     may access the building more than once or twice a day, and also if any alarms have been activated, then these will also show up 

     on your phone bill.

 

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Q. I have 'FC' or 'Comm Fail' showing on my codepad, what does this mean?

 

A. An indication of 'FC' or 'Comm Fail' means that there has been a problem transmitting a signal to the Control Room. 

    The most common cause of this happening, is some sort of telephone line trouble. This may be because the telephone line 

    that your alarm uses has been cut off, or was temporarily unavailable. This is extremely rare, but can happen.

 

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