QuestionI have an older woman friend thathas a problem. Her car had been stolen and when she got a new car I told her to get a viper with engine kill. Well she did and last week her car was stolen. People were playing tennis about 20 feet away(hedge hid car)..There was no alarm( no one heard on tennis court) and the engine started just fine!!!When she called Viper(DIE or DEI)she was told they would send her a coupon for a new system. What kind of offer is that. She is 66 and is out the deductable of $500.00. Why isn't Viper responsible? I had a car stolen and I had a club and they paid my deductable with no problem. What good is a Viper if it doesn't work? Seems ther company is rather shady.
AnswerNow I am NOT a DEI fan by any means. Not of the equipment,
or the management, so you are preaching to the choir.
(See the reviews at www.alarmdomain.com)
From the sounds of it though, it appears to be installer
error, and maybe a bit of your friends too.
Not defending DEI mind you, but let's take this by the numbers.
1. If installed correctly, when armed the alarm will cover
all door ways and most likely has impact sensing. This means
the alarm would set off immediately if disturbed. Also,
is the alarm a "passive" arming system? Does it
lock and arm the doors when your friend walks away automatically? This brings us to the next question...
2. If it was actually set before walking away from the vehicle. Now this one is a gray area. Can you be certain that your friend actually did press the lock button to arm and lock the doors? Or does the system do it for her?
Important because if not passive, SHE MUST PRESS THE BUTTON
TO ARM THE SYSTEM HERSELF.
This is a hard one to answer I know, but it is part of
what's happening here.
3. Lastly, did the installer shop go over all the
instuctions carefully with her so she knew
exactly what to do? This is a problem throughout the
industry, not just DEI. But that's all water under the
bridge at this point now.
I feel for your friend, but to be frank, as I started
to say in the begining, if installed correctly, it
is hard to see how the car was stolen, and did not
make a sound in the process. Once armed, starter kill is
engaged, and would be nearly impossible to start the
engine unless the button to unlock/disarm is pressed.
This is why I wanted to know about the passive arming.
In any case, it's evident she needs another alarm.
Please make sure it's done by a qualified, bonded and
insured shop, and all the functions are explained to her
and that she asks for a passive arming set up.
Sorry if it sounds like I am covering for the
alarm company, but after 30+ years at this, you
see most everything, and it usually boils down
to a combination of lack of skilled installation, or
educating the customer properly on the use of the device.
Let me know what she does to sort it all out.
Good luck with the new one.
ALARMTEK
CARALARMINSTALLER.COM
