Dear LPG, 

I cannot help but notice all the television advertisements which suggest that we need more burglar alarms these days. There seem to be many more adverts since the popularity of the Ring Bell systems.

It has to be about eight years ago that my aunt and I, who live together, were walking through the shopping precinct in Catford.  We were stopped by one of those pop-up stalls that appear from time to time, and burglar alarms were the item of the day.  We ended up being persuaded to have a representative do a home demonstration and my aunt ordered one even though I have never heard of the company or think that we have anything worth protecting.  

I don’t really know what convinced her that it would be a good idea, and the thought of the bell going off and disturbing all the neighbours put me off too.  I have to say that there was many a time that we opened the front door before remembering to disarm it when we first got it.  It is wired to a security centre, and they try our home and mobile phones if the system is triggered, and they also have a neighbour’s number in case they can’t get an answer from us.  

It has gone off a couple of times over the years; more because the system needs a new battery or a bit of maintenance than for any other reason, and we have to admit that we often don’t even turn it on as much as we should, but recently it went off on a day when I was not home or near enough to my mobile phone to notice.  The alarm monitoring centre made the usual telephone calls and my neighbour’s number was the one they got through to.  Having tried phoning and ringing the bell, she used her spare key to open our front door.

The alarm came with a panic button which my aunt rarely bothers with, but she happened to have it with her that day when she fell in the garden.  The alarm was raised, and everything was fine.  We so often think that keeping your mobile phone with you all the time is so easy to forget to do, but those little pendants or devices that hook onto your clothes or a belt which are so much easier to attach and then forget proved to be worth it that day. 

But we are aware of all the times we have ignored the fact that we have the alarm and what happened made me think that it would be a really good idea to leave a reminder about the importance of keeping those personal alarm buttons or Linkline buttons with you, if you have one,  as you walk around the house. 

FI, Catford.  

LPG found a few bits of information that might be of interest…

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