Re: Slomins vs ADT vs Brinks vs any other home security system vendor

[Robert L Bass <sales@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> With ADT how do I know if I'm dealing with corporate or authorized dealer?

Just ask them.  If they get caught lying ADT will...
Hmm.  Scratch that.  Check what it says on the contract.

Bear in mind that not ALL authorized dealers are bad.  It's just
that so many are that most of us have a bad feeling for the
dealership program in general.

Monitronix is also a dealer program, though not quite the same as
ADT.  Some of the dealers are good and some are not.

If you do decide to go with an "authorized dealer", check him out
first with neighbors.  Ask people you know who they use and if
they would use them again.  Could be the local authorized dealer
is a good choice or it might be a nightmare.

Whatever you do, heed well Mr. Campbell's comments regarding
long-term contracts.  They do lots of financial good for the
alarm company and nothing at all for your benefit.  Most such
contracts allow the dealer to raise the price after the first
year, even though you are bound for 3, 4 or 5 years.

Also note (1) the length of the renewal period and (2) the amount
of advance notice required to cancel:

1.  A month-to-month renewal would be sufficient to maintain the
limitation of liability and third party indemnification terms of
the contract intact.  Annual renewals are IMO fair enough.
Automatic renewals that bind the customer for 3-5 more years are
not fair to the customer.  AT the very least there should be
written warning that your renewal period is about to commence,
allowing you to respond in time to cancel.  While the salesman
may promise you the moon, such notice is rarely given and you'll
likely wind up committed for longer than you plan if you're not
extremely careful.

Remember also that even if the company gives poor service,
responds extremely slowly to emergency signals or even if they
fail to maintain the alarm system in good working order, it will
still be harder to extract yourself from that contract than a
mortgage signed by Lucifer.

2.  Alarm companies have no real cost to schedule a cancellation
since the system can be disconnected from monitoring with one
phone call from their modem.  There is no reason for them to
require more than a few days' notice of your intent not to renew.
The requirement of a 30, 60 and sometimes even 90-day advance
notice on your part serves only one purpose.  They hope you won't
remember to cancel until it's too late so they can bind you for
another one to five years.  Think you'll be able to get them to
release you because your job moved to another state or because
your finances have changed?  Think again.

In short, be very careful.  Do your homework.  It's good to check
USENET.  It's also important to use offline resources.

Last comment:  If for any reason you decide not to hire an alarm
company there's still another option -- DIY.  That's my area.

Best of luck.

--

Regards,
Robert L Bass

Bass Burglar Alarms
The Online DIY Store
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com