Well, first off, are you purchasing the system outright at the front end or
is part of the price for the system built in to an inflated monitoring rate
spread over a long term contract. You will have to do some research to see
what a proper sale price for a system in your area runs. Also this can vary
greatly depending upon what is including in that system.
Other questions to clarify:
1- Do you own the system from day one or only after the contract is over
2- Is the company locking your board (only legit if you don't own it until
the end of the contract), and if so, how much to unlock at the end. Get it
in writing !! (they will change the installer code, but this part is nothing
to worry about)
3- Does their contract auto renew for a like term. This can end up catching
the consumer unaware unless he is very diligent.
4- What exactly is covered in the warranty...batteries ? Clarify thoroughly,
and also how much is a service call
5- Who does the monitoring; is it local and if so, is it from a ULC rated
station (this seems to be particularily important in the USA )
6- Does this company program in daily or at least weekly test signals? Do
they use cancel codes ?
7-How thoroughly do they go through the calling list BEFORE dispatching
authorities
There are others but other posters will no doubt cover those. These simply
come easily to mind....
You are best to get at least three quotes from both small and large dealers.
You may be very surprised at the differences ! Your rate of $35 is
definately on the high side for conventional monitoring services, even with
a measure of warranty thrown in. It may vary in your area, but usually
monitoring sits from $15 up to about $27 monthly here in my city.
It may help you to know that all alarmcos make the majority of their
revenues from RMR (recurring monthly revenues). So they will tend to do
those things which will ensure you stay with them. These "measures" can vary
from the legit to the criminal, with most companies thankfully going only
the legitimate routes. But it is very much buyer beware in this market (in
case you haven't noticed...
)
I do have some information on my website which may assist you in your
shopping...pages "how to shop", and "contracts"
Best of luck !
R.H.Campbell
Home Security Metal Products
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
www.homemetal.com
