Alarm system rings up stealth charge

THOUSANDS of businesses and households are unwittingly paying premium rate phone charges when they use a system operated by ADT, Britain's biggest burglar alarm company.

ADT's alarms for businesses use an 0909 phone number charging 60p a minute to notify the company each time an alarm is switched on or off. Residential customers who opt for ADT's premium service are similarly hit. The phone call alerts ADT when premises are empty and the company then notifies the police if the alarm is triggered.

ADT is the biggest provider of monitored alarms in the UK with about 120,000 domestic customers and even more business premises, including those belonging to 89 of the 100 biggest companies in the UK.

There are about two million alarmed premises in the UK and ADT has more than 20% of the market, according to industry experts. The National Security Inspectorate, which enforces standards in the security industry, is launching a crackdown after complaints.

Richard Norburn, director of standards and certification at NSI, said ail that several alarm companies used premium rate numbers. It is one way of paying for a monitoring service,' he said. But the row is over how this is disclosed to customers.

ADT's marketing information does not mention the use of premium rate numbers and the ADT website specifically says the group's system means premium rate numbers are not needed. A contract in the possession of Financial Mail on Sunday includes no mention of the premium lines.

One customer, who asked not to be named and is currently in dispute with ADT, says the charge was never disclosed to him either as a business customer or as a residential user. ADT says there is information about the charges in marketing literature for businesses and it says residential customers will not be hit unless they specifically request the premium service.

A company spokesman said: 'Commercial customers are made aware of the charge that will be incurred and residential customers are always made aware of the charge if they have requested the 'signal open/close' service.'

Customers claim the premium rate calls can even remain hidden on phone bills as they are too short to register on standard records. And because each call costs less than 10p, the practice is not covered by the statutory regulator for premium rate calls, Icstis.

The customer told Financial Mail that the total bill for the calls can amount to more than £40 a month for his business. Residential users would face smaller costs.