Re: Any tips for a consumer about to purchase a system & contract?

["Bill" <bill190nospam@xxxxxxxxx>]

Some "big" alarm companies can be bigger crooks than the crooks they are
protecting you from! Beware!

You can get monitoring here for $8.95 a month for example...
http://www.alarmrelay.com

Read *everything* in any contract they want you to sign. You can be stick
with an expensive monitoring contact for years which has automatic renewal.

You can be stick with a system where they only have the key to the box, they
have the installation/programming codes, and they will disable it if you
cancel your contract.

I would get a system where you have the key to the box, you have the
installation programming codes, you have the programming instructions, and
you can program it yourself. Also where you can select which company will
monitor your alarm and switch to another monitoring company as you wish.

Don't go by what the salesman tells you. Go by what is written in the
contract. Read it - every line. Might be better to have no contract, buy
your own equipment on the internet, and have an off-duty alarm company
employee do the installation for you. Or insist they install everything and
you pick your own monitoring company. Smaller companies are better if you
ask me.