Re: New House Alarm - Am I locked out?

[Nick Lawrence <nlaw@xxxxxxx>]

Jason...

The former homeowner purchased the security system, you bought the house
with it already installed: therefore you own it.

The former owner had the 'monitoring turned off'. But it appears the
outgoing dealer locked the panel instead.

Options? Suggest you call the outgoing dealer, ask that they un-disable
the panel, remove the 'local programming lockout', and restore both the
'installer code' and 'CSID' to the factory default, and that they do it
today.  Because it appears they did not merely 'turn off the monitoring'
(as they were instructed to do), ask for this to be done at n/c.  You
will need regular telephone dialtone connected to the alarm's RJ31X jack
for them to do this.

If they are uncooperative, you might remind them that Bay Alarm Company
of Pacheco CA was brought to task for locking out consumers, in a
purported class action lawsuit.

As a sidebar, a Bay Alarm Company of Pacheco CA (a related company, and
a long story) was found by the CA alarm license authorities to have been
an unlicensed CA alarm company from 10-2000 til 12-2005.

Once it is unnlocked, there are other monitoring agencies able and
willing to help you reprogram your system, and, if you elect, to provide
monitoring service, at competitive prices.

What is the name and city of the outgoing alarm dealer?

Give me a call if you'd like, phone number at the website below.

Nick Lawrence
http://911Alarm.com



jasonextras@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> Hello all.  I recently purchased a 7 year old home that has a built-in
> alarm system.  The previous owner chose to purchase the unit as part
> of the then-new home's price rather than lease, but when he had the
> monitoring turned off prior to sale it looks like they locked the
> board.  They used a First Alert FA147c panel and a fixed word keypad.
> It permanently displays "dl" on the display, which according to the
> manual means the system is disabled.  No notices for zone trips are
> provided and the motion sensors are shut down.  I cycled the power and
> used both * and # methods to try to retrieve the installer code, but
> #20 makes the system display "EE" on the keypad.
>
> It appears I'm locked out and the system is permanently disabled.
> Does anyone have any experience with this board to know if this is the
> case for sure?  If it is locked, what are my options?  Can I swap
> boards with a Vista 10SE and keep my sensors as they are, or do I have
> to ditch everything and start over?  A drop-in FA147c replacement has
> proven impossible to locate, and even then I'd have to procure a Alpha
> keypad to program it.  I'd just like to be able to use this alarm
> locally without a monitoring service.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>