Has anyone else had someone visit re Eircom Phonewatch?

jasonb

Hi there,

Not certain if this is the right forum, but couldn't really find anywhere else to put it. Apologies for the long message!

I live in Kildare. Two nights ago, as I was leaving the house, a man came up to my door. He asked me if I was interested in Eircom PhoneWatch for an Alarm. He had a badge around his neck, which had the words Eircom PhoneWatch on it, but I don't know if it was a proper card or just one made up. He also had some papers in his hand which showed pictures of different alarm boxes.

He told me that if I bought an Eircom PhoneWatch product through 'them' instead of directly from Eircom, and agreed to display one of the Alarm Boxes on the front of my house, I could get a huge discount, up to €900. I asked him if he had any leaflets etc. on the offer, but he said he was only in the area for the day visiting houses and didn't have any. I told him money was very tight, and he said they'd a finance offer of €10 a week. He asked if I'm happy with my current alarm ( he could see the box on the wall ) and I said I was.

Anyhow, that was that, he took my name ( as I had expressed an interest in PhoneWatch ) and off he went. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I was a bit unsure about him. While he had an 'Eircom' type card around his neck, he never actually said he worked for Eircom in any way, that was more 'implied'. Now I'm wondering if he worked for Eircom ( which I doubt ), if he worked for some other company selling Alarms, or if he's sussing out which houses in the area have alarms etc. for other reasons!

As a small aside, two nights previously a Polish man had knocked on our door and asked if any Polish people live there. My wife answered and said no, and when she confirmed there were only Irish people living in the house, he left. She reckoned he was looking for somewhere to rent.

So, am I being paranoid here, or are people sussing out my house? Anyone else get visits like this? Please don't think that just because a Polish person knocks on the door I think 'thief!', it's just two different people ( their Nationality makes no difference ) coming to the house and asking details about it in a couple of days of each other. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid, but would appreciate other opinions. Thanks!

J.

CeilingCat

You should probably ring Eircom either way - either to confirm he's legit, or give them the heads up if he's not. It sounds suss.

TwoShedsJackson

The Phonewatch guy sounds dodgy as hell, probably around checking who has alarms, how many people living in the place etc. As far as I know Eircom do the alarms direct only, it's unlikely that some reseller can offer such ridiculous prices.

Mr. Incognito

Scammer.

They "fit" your alarm, and then promptly come back to rob you with the new non alarm.

Why didn't you ask im for ID mate?

easyeason3

I read something similar about the ESB a few weeks ago.
Apparently there were guys going door to door saying they were there to check that the meter is running right & not overcharging the customer. Then they charge the customer for the 'service'. ESB already provides this free of charge if you feel the bills are ridiculously high.
Ring Eircom & then ring the guards. Otherwise a little old lady will be on Joe Duffy in a few weeks telling us how she got conned out of money & can't afford cat food because of it.

jasonb

He 'showed' me his card while talking to me, but all he really did was hold the card around his neck up for a second, just long enough for me to see the 'Eircom Phone Watch' written on it. I was heading out the door and in a hurry so didn't give it a lot of notice, it was only afterwards that I realised how dodgy it seemed.

I've contacted my Eircom Account Manager ( I work in IT ) just to get his thoughts on it, and give him a heads up about it. Of course, now I'm wondering how secure my house is, and what I can do extra to make sure it stays secure!

J.

easyeason3

jasonb wrote: »

He 'showed' me his card while talking to me, but all he really did was hold the card around his neck up for a second, just long enough for me to see the 'Eircom Phone Watch' written on it. I was heading out the door and in a hurry so didn't give it a lot of notice, it was only afterwards that I realised how dodgy it seemed.

I've contacted my Eircom Account Manager ( I work in IT ) just to get his thoughts on it, and give him a heads up about it. Of course, now I'm wondering how secure my house is, and what I can do extra to make sure it stays secure!

J.

A shotgun always makes me feel a bit more secure. So does a big dog with big spikey teeth.

Have a chat with your neighbours & ask them to keep an eye out for anything unusual if you're not around & vice versa.
To be honest you probably can't do much more, except sit polishing the shotgun.

Mr.Lizard

Dodgy as fook. It's like that scene in Home Alone where Joe Pesci dresses up like a copper and then visits the houses asking them all about their home security. I tells ya, ya can learn a lot from that movie.

K-9

Maybe the fella who called was an Eircom Pole?

Anyway, yep, it sounds dodgey alright.

gaz wac

Is your wife hot ? if so, id put barbed wire around your house, give up your job and stay awake all night and put a bell around the neck of that Polish dude...you cant trust those funkers !!!

Kablam

gaz wac wrote: »

Is your wife hot ? if so, id put barbed wire around your house, give up your job and stay awake all night and put a bell around the neck of that Polish dude...you cant trust those funkers !!!

seeee ya!

az2wp0sye65487

jasonb wrote: »

As a small aside, two nights previously a Polish man had knocked on our door and asked if any Polish people live there. My wife answered and said no, and when she confirmed there were only Irish people living in the house, he left. She reckoned he was looking for somewhere to rent.

So, am I being paranoid here, or are people sussing out my house? Anyone else get visits like this? Please don't think that just because a Polish person knocks on the door I think 'thief!', it's just two different people ( their Nationality makes no difference ) coming to the house and asking details about it in a couple of days of each other.

J.

Racist!

No but seriously, whenever people like that come knocking and you're not sure about them always make sure to tell them how good your current alarm is, and mention that there's always someone home..... burglars generally won't want to risk a confrontation.

astrofool

Eircom phonewatch is usually installed by contractors rather than Eircom themselves, and will often do this type of thing (spend a day in an estate). They're usually not that great value once you look at other alarm systems. You could easily have taken his badge number and rang Eircom Phonewatch to check it.

Lobelia Overhill

I'd a couple of fellas come to the door a few weeks ago asking if we were interested in eircom phone watch. I meant to tell the Gards about it but forgot to They looked well dodgy and one of them kept trying to look over my shoulder into the house. I told him we didn't need an alarm as the house was occupied 24/7 (which it is) he wanted to know how many rooms we had. I wouldn't tell him and said "the pit bull tends to deter most people", at which point he left.

ScumLord

Nobody realises that eircom phone watch is just that. A phone watching service, they're under no obligation to watch the rest of your house.

Turd Ferguson

Its legit OP. I used sell PhoneWatch door to door. There is a number on the badge that you can ring and confirm their details if you wish.

jasonb

Turd Ferguson wrote: »

Its legit OP. I used sell PhoneWatch door to door. There is a number on the badge that you can ring and confirm their details if you wish.

Well, I'm glad to hear it's legit, but I have to ask how can you get that much of a discount?

J.

Turd Ferguson

jasonb wrote: »

Well, I'm glad to hear it's legit, but I have to ask how can you get that much of a discount?

J.

The discount is to get a bunch of people in the area to buy it so that neighbours and such see people getting it in and through word of mouth and people talking about it the neighbours would be more inclined to go with Eircom as they know people who are happy with the alarm.

jasonb

Well, that makes sense! It's a bit sad that my reaction was one of mistrust. Thanks for the info!

J.

kingtut

All

Please be very careful with these type of visitors.
I know a few people who had their houses broken into lately.

Do not trust anyone who calls do your door and do not provide them with any information until you know they are who they say they are and that they work for the company they claim to work for.

Common questions they ask are:
1) Are you happy with your current alarm system? If you say "I don't have one" then thiefs will instantly target your alarm free house.
2) If they ask do you live alone? They want to learn about your routines and how many people are in the house. To install an alarm they do not need to know this.

and so on........

Please be very very careful everyone! If someone calls to your door ask to take their badge, write down all their details (if they refuse to provide you with any contact details then you should become highly suspicious). Take their car reg if possible. If a business offers a mobile number only and not a land line then tell them where to go. Mobile numbers are easy to change, land lines are more permanent.

With the recession and so on some people resort to stealing to get money. Most of these door to door sellers have clipboards and hi-vis jackets etc to make themselves look professional. It is a con 9 times out of ten. It is a shame though as it makes you mis-trust the genuine sellers

If you see someone like this wandering around your neighbourhood I would recommend you inform your neighbours and those around you.

Some of these people are legit, just be careful

Good luck all

Lobelia Overhill

Also, don't open your door completely, just enough to peek out, and if poss make it look like you're trying to restrain a dog (or have it locked in another room)

Rottweiler's don't tend to bark ...

kingtut

Lobelia Overhil wrote: »

Also, don't open your door completely, just enough to peek out, and if poss make it look like you're trying to restrain a dog (or have it locked in another room)

Rottweiler's don't tend to bark ...

Good advice!

Also if you have to go back into the house to get a pen and paper / mobile phone etc then don't go off and leave the door open. Close it completely and then open it when you return. Leaving it open gives them a chance to check out the hallway, doors and so on.

galah

Turd Ferguson wrote: »

Its legit OP. I used sell PhoneWatch door to door. There is a number on the badge that you can ring and confirm their details if you wish.

And how easy would it be for a scammer to fake the number and have some other scammer answer the phone and tell you that it's legit?

While I'm all for checking and reconfirming, how many people would actually do that - find the phone, find the phone book, find the number for, in this case, Eircom phonewatch, ring them and reconfirm?

Birdie086

Lobelia Overhil wrote: »

Also, don't open your door completely, just enough to peek out, and if poss make it look like you're trying to restrain a dog (or have it locked in another room)

Rottweiler's don't tend to bark ...

All my friends, family etc live on complete opposite side of town(smart move on my part!) so I dont get many unannounced callers, but when I do the sitting room and tend to communicate with via the small window. House so full/busy cant even get to door, now shoo!!!

gaz wac

Kablam wrote: »

seeee ya!

bye are you leaving us ?

* checks this is AH

me-skywalker

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

The Phonewatch guy sounds dodgy as hell, probably around checking who has alarms, how many people living in the place etc. As far as I know Eircom do the alarms direct only, it's unlikely that some reseller can offer such ridiculous prices.

guy could be dodgy.... but we have had a dodgy taoiseach and he was still in a job after 4years!!

junior_apollo

Lobelia Overhil wrote: »

Also, don't open your door completely, just enough to peek out, and if poss make it look like you're trying to restrain a dog (or have it locked in another room)

Rottweiler's don't tend to bark ...

LMAO

I have images of someone struggling with an imaginary dog... and getting overpowered and the door slams... how long would the salesman stay waiting for your return?...

Or tell them to wait one second.. close door and return in the nip.. then ask them if they need a good chimney sweep.. and wink...