Re: Need to cut through the BS on Alarm monitoring costs

[Frank Kurz <tech@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 01/02/2012 5:45 PM, blueman wrote:
> nick markowitz<nmarkowitz@xxxxxxxxx>  writes:
>
>> On Feb 1, 5:34 pm, blueman<NOS...@xxxxxxxxxx>  wrote:
>>> I am looking for honest, unbiased, unemotional answers to this
>>> question. (I know it's Usenet, but one can always hope...)
>>>
>>> I currently have a fire&  burglary monitoring policy with the local
>>> dominant alarm company. I own the equipment and I am responsible for
>>> service charges to fix the equipment.
>>>
>>> They charge me $36/month for straight Internet monitoring.
>>>
>>> National online monitoring companies offer seemingly the same service
>>> for $8.95/month. Or 1/4 the cost.
>>>
>>> My high-priced local company claims:
>>> - They are big (20,000 customers) - but the national competitor claims
>>>    40,000 customers
>>>
>>> - Their service center is "local" -- but it's really halfway across the
>>>    state so does that really mean anything in the day of the Internet
>>>
>>> - They are a "security company" vs. competitors being "monitoring"
>>>    companies. Though not sure what that means or why I care
>>>
>>> - They have a 5-star UL-listed center - but the national competitor
>>>    claims to be UL-listed and it's not clear what 5-stars means and who
>>>    even grants such certification. Sounds like marketing hype.
>>>
>>> - They have 30-second average response time -- but competitor claims the
>>>    same
>>>
>>> - They say they have a better BBB track record than big national
>>>    competitors - but the competitor claims an A+ BBB rating which can't
>>>    be too bad
>>>
>>> The bottom line is that I can't see one compelling reason to pay 4 times
>>> the competitor rate for what seems to be a commodity service.
>>>
>>> - I live in a very safe, low crime neighborhood.
>>>
>>> - I primarily pay for the monitoring to get the insurance break.
>>>
>>> - I don't stay up nights worrying about fires or burglaries and in any
>>>    case I still have the in-house alarm to warn me of a fire and scare
>>>    off amateur burgalers.
>>>
>>> - I am technically adept and have no problem servicing and programming
>>>    my system
>>>
>>> Seems like worst case perhaps the response time will be a few seconds
>>> longer in some rare cases or maybe there is a small chance they will
>>> make a mistake -- but the point is that there are so many other failure
>>> points in a security system and we are talking about rare events (fire,
>>> burglary) anyway.
>>>
>>> So, why pay 4 times as much????
>>
>> Go to that national service and find out the hard way. What they
>> promise and what they deliver is another story.
>> I have seen national centers take 20 minutes to dispatch a fire
>> system . owe did I mention the phone calls in middle of night because
>> your system did not test or some other thing that could wait till
>> morning  go ahead go to that other service you will gladly pay 10
>> times the cost to go back to what you have.
>
> I asked to avoid the emotional marketing hype and hyperbole.
> - I highly doubt 20 minutes to dispatch a fire system is the rule or
>    even the exception
> - I hightly doubt test calls in the middle of the night are a regular
>    feature (they staff less overnight and probably have to pay more).
> - I highly doubt it would be worth paying 4 times the amount let alone
>    10 times for a protection that I barely use (the burgularly part since
>    we often don't even arm the system) or the rare case of a fire where
>    we are away or don't hear the alarm and need someone else to call for
>    us
>
> I would almost guarantee you work for one of those companies trying to
> scam users with high fees.
>
> Your response was a waste of bandwidth and exactly what I wanted to
> avoid.
>
> I would be happy to entertain fact-based and documented differences in
> service levels. But ridiculous generic scare stories without facts or
> logical basis are less than worthless...
>

- Twenty minutes to dispatch the fire trucks is criminal.

- Systems I program are designed to transmit test signals between
midnight and 0300.  Less traffic and less likely to interfere with more
important signals (like openings and closings).  Fail to test reports
are generated sometime later.  I usually get mine around 0700.

- You're right.  $36.00 a month is a very steep rate for a home security
system that typically won't require "special actions" like a phone call
to let you know you forgot to arm your system.  Find someone with a
monitoring station that's "local" to you.  Not only will the price be
more reasonable, the service will likely be much better too.

Nick doesn't work for one of "those companies" and many here will tell
you to steer clear of them.

I also don't think you'll get much for your $8.95 (either in service or
peace of mind).  The same goes for so called "free systems".

BBB should only be used as a "rough guide" and as a small part of the
investigative process one undertakes to find a qualified, reputable
alarm company.  Talk to your neighbours and friends.  Talk to your local
police service.  And always remember:  "Google is your friend".

I don't care how "techno savvy" you might be, you'd never get access to
installer level programming on a system I would monitor.  It's not about
"you", it's about what you could inadvertently screw up.

--
Frank Kurz
www.firetechs.net