Re: monotronics

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Sunday, March 3, 2013 6:40:49 PM UTC-5, E DAWSON wrote:
> "Jim" <alarminex@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:99945564-31ec-45f0-8409-a=
469eda3eacc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx On Friday, March 1, 2013 5:32:55 PM UTC-5, =
Roanin wrote: > Anyone have any information on this company who is a monito=
ring service > for home security systems? Quality of service, Reputation Cu=
stomer service > Thanks, R Don't know much about them except that they are =
big. My choice would be to go with a less-national monitoring company. I fi=
nd that local monitoring companies have a better "feel" for the geography a=
nd rapport with the local police than the larger monitoring companies who a=
re located half way across the country. If there are power outages, storms =
or local emergencies, etc. Also, if there's a problem, it's a lot harder to=
 deal with a person who's insulated from you by a thousand miles. Obviously=
, if you DO go local, you want to find a company who has a good track recor=
d. Ask some of the locals who have alarm systems installed who they use and=
 you'll eventually find that there are some local monitoring companies that=
 will pop up more often. The lower the price the more likly you're going to=
 have a problem .... is my rule of thumb. I don't know if you're an end use=
r or an alarm company looking for a monitoring company but ..... either way=
 my suggestion applies. If you're an end user looking for monitoring direct=
 from a central station, you may find some difficulty finding a central sta=
tion that will deal with you directly. They usually don't want to cut into =
the business of their alarm installing dealers. Others just don't know what=
 kind of problems they're going to get from a DIY installed alarm system. T=
hey'd rather it be installed by an alarm company who will take responsibili=
ty if their are technical problems. There are some central stations that ad=
vertise on line that do deal direct with end users. Prices are usually pret=
ty low but personally I think you're taking chances dealing with them. But =
...... ya never know. Hi, Monitronics installed systems have their mainboar=
ds locked up to their central station numbers. They can be reprogrammed on =
all sections except the central station phone number. It is stored on the m=
ain chip. Unless you know their main codes to enter that section, you would=
 need a re-dialer to send the alarms to another central station. If you are=
 a user looking for monitoring for an existing system, I would avoid them..=
.my opinion on what I have heard from customers that were with them over th=
e years. Also, don't get caught signing for more than 1 year for your exist=
ing system. I do not agree that lower the price on monitoring means lower s=
ervice. Shoot, look at the national companies, they charge higher fees and =
they do not provide higher service. A local company that you can discern th=
at the technician or owner is conscientious with his work is the way to go.=
 A good company will thoroughly check every part of your existing system an=
d also check every last section of the programming. Don't settle for less.

Hi,

Yeah, you're right about the pricing. I normally don't think of the Nationa=
ls ..... at all, so I forgot about their need to make up for the cost of in=
stallation for the "free" alarm systems.=20

I concur with the rest of your post but again, it's important to note that =
you don't go with a company without a good, long track record. There's alwa=
ys that possibility that a small local company offering low pricing without=
 any longevity will disappear. To me, and in my experience, any small local=
 company offering low pricing and long waranties, won't last long.