Re: NextAlarm and Amcest

["Robert L. Bass" <robertlbass@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I and a confirmed do-it-yourselfer with an annual monitoring contract with
> NextAlarm which seemed to be working pretty well.  This morning I received
> mail indicating my contract had been transferred to Amcest.  As far as I
> know things are still working well, but my curiosity has been aroused.
> Both
> Amcest and I are in New Jersey, and this may be a factor in the change.

Location isn't the issue.  Amcest is one of the lowest priced contract
monitoring firms in the country.  They charge dealers as low as $2 a month
per account.  If Next charges you $9 a month then their markup is 350% over
cost.  Out of that they must pay for insurance, office fees and things like
advertising.  When all is said and done they're probably only making
200-250% markup.

> I wonder if anyone here can shed some light on this kind of thing or
> discuss
> their own experience along these lines.  Please hold the flames re cheap
> monitoring, etc., a long-dead horse. Thanks.

No flame.  The old saying that you get what you pay for does not necessarily
apply with alarm monitoring.  There are some firms which charge very little
and do an excellent job, some that charge a lot and do awful work.  There
are also plenty of hard working people in the trade who charge a reasonable
fee and do the best they can for their clients.  As to Amcest, I've not used
them so I couldn't tell you whether they are good, bad or whatever.  I only
know that they advertise really low prices to alarm dealers.

It is fairly common in the alarm industry for companies to change service
providers.  Smaller dealers are frequently purchased by large ones and your
monitoring service may be provided by just about anyone.  In and of itself,
this is neither good nor bad for the end user.  It all depends on the kind
of company you end up using.

Amcest has at least this much to their credit.  They're among the oldest
monitoring centers so you are not dealing with a fly-by-night firm.  They
have survived two recessions *and* two Bush administrations so they are not
likely to fold any time soon.  Give them a try for a while and if they
respond promptly and efficiently to your needs you're all set.  If not, make
sure you know when and how to notify the dealer of your intent to cancel.

Best of luck.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

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