Ramesh Patel has two Costcutter stores in Essex. The original store has ADT alarms and the annual cost is about £320. When he took over the second store, in Romford, in January, he was assured by the rep that the cost would be similar.

But the invoice was a shock. It was more than double, at £763.55. He says he doesn’t need ‘fancy’ and so shopped around, finding two quotes for Digicom systems, at £290 (+ £75 for ‘police and Vat’) and £420 (including Vat and police charge) from other companies. He is in the process of cancelling his second contract with ADT.

I asked ADT if anyone would care to comment, saying that I hoped ADT would let Ramesh out of the new contract without severe penalties!

The reply I got: “ADT is unable to discuss specific customer circumstances. However, we would like to assure you that ADT is aware of Mr Patel’s situation and the company is actively working to address it.

“ADT is committed to providing customers with security solutions that meet their specific requirements. Every customer situation is unique and ADT will always carry out a thorough audit of premises, taking into consideration their business type and size and their bespoke security criteria - be it a new system or a takeover and support of an existing system. Every contract will come with its own differences and these are discussed thoroughly with the customer to provide them with the best system to suit their needs and allow their system to work effectively.”

I don’t know if that is a yes or a no. I expect Ramesh will tell me.

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