Re: the police was dispatched to ... the wrong house

["Roland More" <NoSpamroland@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Alarm companies can get pretty nasty when a customer tries to leave.

Not true in all cases. There are some customers we would love to get rid of
but can't. Unless the system was a leased system (which are very few in
number over all) I can't remember a time we've held a cutomer to a contract
they wanted out of. A PITA customer is not worth having.

"Robert L Bass" <RobertLBass@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:o%bri.1097$vW.1069@xxxxxxxxxxx
>> The alarm panel was installed and activated as
>> part of a deal when I bought the house (new
>> construction) a year ago. In exchange for signing
>> a 3 year contract with Westminster security,
>> they would install panel/sensors/detectors for free.
>>
>> When I called the Central Station I learned that they
>> are a separate company.  The guys that actually did
>> the physical installation are a third company. There
>> is a bit of finger pointing at this stage.
>
> Arrangements like that are fairly common. Unfortunately,
> because the installing dealer has no intention of
> maintaining a long-term relationship with the customer,
> he may be disinclined to pay attention to details. Their
> objective is to sell and install as many systems per week
> as possible.
>
>> As you pointed out, the main issue is: the CS does
>> not crosscheck incoming alarms with the caller ID,
>> leading to a situation where a mis-programmed panel
>> in another house is generating an alarm that SEEMS
>> to originate from my house. I am not sure if this
>> crosscheck is a "nice" thing that every CS "worth its
>> salt" should have, or a "requirement".
>
> It's not a legal requirement.  Common sense and sound
> business practice dictate using it but there's no law
> (at least none I know of) that requires them to be smart.
>
>> I received a letter from the Phoenix police department,
>> they are logging one false alarm against me, and after
>> two "free" alarms I will be fined...
>
> Forward a copy of the police letter to the alarm company
> along with a letter stating that if they allow the situation
> to continue unabated you will be forced to seek an
> alternate provider.  They may try to fall back on a clause
> in their contract which states that you can't refuse to
> stay and pay due to false alarms.  Due to the high number
> of bushed-up installations, alarm companies routinely
> include such wording in their contracts.  However, this is
> not a false aalrm coming from your system.  It is something
> they messed up elsewhere which is almost certain to
> happen again since they haven't a clue where the signal
> originated.  This is a serious enough failing to constitute
> a breach on their part.
>
> Whatever you do, document every phone call and keep
> copies of all correspondence.  Alarm companies can get
> pretty nasty when a customer tries to leave.
>
>> The police also sent me a list of the obligations of the
>> alarm company, but the detail of whether or not they
>> should crosscheck the Caller ID is not in there, so I do
>> not know if I really have any recourse for A) terminating
>> the contract with the alarm company / central station
>> (my preferred approach at this point) or at least B)
>> get them to change my account # with no expense for
>> me.
>
> At the very least they should be willing to perform (B).
> It will only take them a few minutes and they should
> be able to do it by modem from their office without even
> visiting your site.
>
> If they refuse, document that as well and take your
> business elsewhere.
>
> --
>
> Regards,
> Robert L Bass
>
> =============================>
> Bass Home Electronics
> 941-925-8650
> 4883 Fallcrest Circle
> Sarasota · Florida · 34233
> http://www.bassburglaralarms.com
> =============================>