Re: Devcon Buys Out Coastal Security, Adelphia, & Guardian

["Stanley Barthfarkle" <sbarth@xxxxxxxxx>]

More than $20 per month for UL monitoring is highway robbery. Any initial
contract term longer than 1 year is also highway robbery.

Go with a quality local idependent alarm dealer, folks- these crooks with
their "free" or "low upfront" systems are gouging you big time. It costs
them $100 to $300 for equipment, and another $50-100 in subcontract labor
for some slob to come slap in a cookie cutter system into your valuable
home. It only costs a larger company $1 to $3 to monitor the system. Do the
math.

A quality-minded local company will charge you more up front- the cost of
the equipment & labor plus some markup to cover overhead and a small profit.
They will then charge you a fair monthly rate of $15-20 for monitoring, with
no long term agreement. You will get a system that is not "one size fits
all", but rather tailored to each individual home and it's occupant's
lifestyle. In the end, you will get a better product for less money.


Let's do a 5 yr comparison-

Big Company 'fast-food' Security System- one size fits all, inconsistent
quality
$150 -avg. Upfront cost (cookie cutter- 3 doors, 1 motion, etc)
$30 -avg. UL monitoring for 3 yrs (or longer) -cancellation will incur
charges
$250- 2 avg svc calls per year, and they WILL charge you, (a higher rate,
too) even if they say svc is "free" (they will blame you, or a bad battery,
etc)
$100- 2 avg false alarm fines per year (many caused by equipment, some by
poorly trained customers)
--5 Yr Total Cost- $3950



Small Company "custom designed" Security System- custom designed, veteran
techs do a careful, time consuming job
$1500 -avg Upfront cost (larger system- more equipment)
$18- avg monthly UL monitoring - 1 yr initial term, cancellation not a
problem
$50- 0.5 avg svc call per year- vastly reduced svc calls due to quality
design, equipment, and installation
$25- 0.5 avg false alarm fine per year (customer caused occasional false)
--5 Yr Total Cost- $2955


So, with a local company, you get a higher quality system, custom designed
to fit your home & lifestyle, and installed by seasoned, bonded, background
checked company-emp-loyed professionals for LESS MONEY.