Alarm Farce...

Like they say let the buyer beware. shame so many outright frauds in our business.

RHC: Sir, I have to bite my tongue a bit here to ensure that my reply stays polite. Why on earth would you ever opt for a system that costs so little and expect it to operate like a real professional system. You get exactly what you pay for in this and any other business !! Alarm Force equipment is junk, and the company is as close to a scam as it can be without actually being one. As you've found out the hard way, they are a money machine - nothing more.

You signed a long term contract without knowing a thing about this company other than your take from a lot of glitzy advertising and empty promises and now you want out. Signing a long term contract always puts you at the mercy of the alarm company when it comes to dealing with bad service ! Although there are legitimate reasons for signing a long term contract from the alarmco's perspective (builds equity), there's virtually no advantage to doing so from your perspective. Next time shop around to find a company that doesn't lock you in, or at least find a real company you can count on before committing long term.....

I've thrown out more Alarm Force equipment than I can count. If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone in your misery.....

RHC: Sorry Frank, I just realized this was a referral from you from somewhere else. I jumped too quickly. It's just when I see the name Alarm Force, I feel like a bull seeing red ! These guys give our industry a severe bad name and it makes me exceedingly angry.....

I'll wipe the slobber off my cheek now.....:))))

No worries, mate! (as the Aussies say). Alarm Farce makes me see red as well. Substandard equipment, empty promises, and their much ballyhooed "voice response"... All designed for one purpose... To "fleece" the unsuspecting and trusting public. Have you seen the "interview with a real burglar", who actually "avoided Alarm Farce protected homes"??? At least one guys got himself a semi-legitimate "job"... :-)

Their system is "free", which means it has no value. When will people realize that "free" means "nothing" in the way of security?

RHC: Unfortunately, you and I discussing something like this we both totally agree on is like the "minister preaching to the converted". The really sad part is how unsophisticated consumers are taken in by all the phoney marketing hype.

At least when you have taken no security precautions, you know it and can accommodate to a degree for it. However, when you are sold crap and lead to believe you have a real measure of security, you end up fooling yourself with a false sense of security. That's really sad.....

o "fleece" the

This is the very reason when I hear people complain about these scam companies and free alarm systems I no longer get upset. I used to get really pissed thinking that the companies were taking business away from me. Quite some time ago I finally realized that there are scam companies in every industry and there are people who fall prey to them. And those people who do fall prey ...... are not and never would have been my customers.

Now when I hear stories like this I'm happy. Because ...... NOW they ARE my customer!!!!!.

RHC: Sorry, you've lost me there....how are they our customers ? Perhaps having been burned, and after doing even a bit of research, they may well end up as our customers....maybe

That's awful harsh Robert, you'd think they were ADT or something...

RHC: ADT are saints compared to Alarm Force. ADT is a legitimate company, and basically a good one (on the commercial and large government side anyway), but Alarm Force....well....wait until they come south and then tell me you don't agree....:))

Meaning that ......... when these kinds of companys attract end users, these end users are not the type of people who are seriously looking for a security solution. They're looking for a cheap way out. That they can be deceived by these companys doesn't put them in a category of client that I typically attract or, in fact would want to call me for an estimate. It's just a waste of my time. After they get the cheap system from the "other" company, some of these people are satisfied or if not, will tolerate the poor protection and service and being screwed on their monthly rates. Others learn that you don't get something for nothing and look for a better product. They weren't my (type) of customers before but now, they can be.

Not that I know much about the actual system but can you tell me any instance where one of their installations failed during a real burglary?

RHC: That's not the issue here at all.

It's about selling security services that are poor quality, at inflated prices, being sold to gullible people looking for something for nothing. Its about unsupervised wireless, sketchy coverage and poor to non existent service.

then it should be a simple answer, tell me instances where the system didn't work or the customer was unprotected?

I installed tons of 3 doors and a motion DSC 1550's, I imagine many here wouldn't consider that much of a system but I never felt the customer was unprotected

Hey Robert, with answer like that, I think that no response is your best response.

You might be right, I'd like to know more about their equipment before I pass judgement

RHC: No, my point was, we all know that once an alarm is in place, good bad or indifferent, the chances of a real alarm drops significantly. The two door and one motion alarms, although of poor coverage, will work in a large percentage of the cases to do as much as any alarm does to "catch" the burglar. However, these simple systems are generally of decent technical quality and installation although extremely limited in coverage. The Alarm Force stuff is not professional quality equipment, and is clearly a rip off by selling consumers more of a dream than a reality, leaving them vulnerable through a false sense of security.

Does it work ? ..who knows ! In my case with a1000 alarms in place, I have had 5 real alarms over a 15 year period, and the systems worked as they should. If I had installed a system like AlarmForce's unsupervised junk, I would be constantly wondering whether the doors and motions are continuing to work when really needed; I would wonder how the monitoring operator would respond since no burglar is ever going to answer a tinny call at the front door; I would be wondering how the system would stop a burglar at the back of the house coming in through a basement window and cleaning out my office etc.

If you buy a product, you have a right to expect it to work as advertised; if you buy junk, there is far less of a chance of that happening. Whether it works or not is a non issue. Fleecing unsuspecting consumers is the issue here (besides giving the alarm industry another black eye....)

No response would leave the thread going in the wrong direction

RHC: Mark, I happened to run across a You Tube video where AlarmForce's Joel Matlin was being interviewed. During the interview he indicated that they are opening a branch in Columbus, Ohio. So if you know anyone around there, you might be able to get more first hand information allowing you to make up your own mind...

I actually have two customers with "Alarmfarce" systems that were broken into. Both had a single door contact on the front door and an inverted motion mounted 3.5 feet above the floor (pet resistance at it's best??). Scum broke into a back door, took the phone off hook so the system couldn't dial out. These guys went out of their way to hit "AlarmFarce Protected Homes". It doesn't take much in the way of research to find out exactly what you're buying and where the system has it's weak points. Both customers were "locked" in to three year contracts and both wound up paying them off just to get their krap out of their houses.

Shortly after the first customer came over to us, we moved into a new house that was pre-wired. A week before our move, I called AlarmFarce (and a couple of others) to see what they were going to pitch at me. The basic system (at that time) was a single door contact and what they called a "pet proof" motion sensor. It also came with their "famous" voice activated alarm box. Our house is on two levels. If they installed their "box" in the kitchen, my wife could be screaming "blue murder" in the master bedroom and the operator wouldn't hear a thing. The biggest surprise came when I asked if I could arrange for a security survey. AlarmFarce doesn't do that. All their "sales" are over the phone. The first AlarmFarce guy you see after you make arrangements for the installation is the "technician".

Here's the "catch". If you express "concern" over the lack of coverage, they offer to "upgrade you" and that's when the "no fee installation" starts costing you big bucks. $80.00 for an additional door contact, $180.00 for a motion, $200 for a glass break. They're using unsupervised krap that's been "reboxed".

They are successful because the buying public is inundated with their ads on practically every radio station you care to name and there isn't anything (or anyone) with a counter to their spiel. They spend a fortune on advertising (which is probably cheaper for them than employing a sales farce).

It's unfortunate that a lot of people wind up falling into the "myth" that they're the "most trusted name in home security". Poppycock!

You'll find the same method of putting all the money into advertising rather then quality products.works for Bose, Monster cable and Thompson water seal.