New House Alarm - Am I locked out?

Hello all. I recently purchased a 7 year old home that has a built-in alarm system. The previous owner chose to purchase the unit as part of the then-new home's price rather than lease, but when he had the monitoring turned off prior to sale it looks like they locked the board. They used a First Alert FA147c panel and a fixed word keypad. It permanently displays "dl" on the display, which according to the manual means the system is disabled. No notices for zone trips are provided and the motion sensors are shut down. I cycled the power and used both * and # methods to try to retrieve the installer code, but #20 makes the system display "EE" on the keypad.

It appears I'm locked out and the system is permanently disabled. Does anyone have any experience with this board to know if this is the case for sure? If it is locked, what are my options? Can I swap boards with a Vista 10SE and keep my sensors as they are, or do I have to ditch everything and start over? A drop-in FA147c replacement has proven impossible to locate, and even then I'd have to procure a Alpha keypad to program it. I'd just like to be able to use this alarm locally without a monitoring service.

Thanks for your help.

Reply to
jasonextras
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call the installation company and tell them you want the service. or that you'll pay them a service call to make it a local system, if you don't want monitoring.

Reply to
GROUP MODERATOR

If you own the equipment, call the servicing company and tell them to unlock the board and program it as a "local" for you and restore the installer code to "default".

Reply to
Frank Olson

They should be willing to do that for the price of a service call. Remember they have no obligation to you (you did not buy it from them afterall) and can't be expected to work for free. Some companies may do it for you, but most will atleast insist you pay for a service call. I also would not totally trust what the previous homeowner told you about the status of the system. People don't always tell the whole truth. Not saying htis is the case, but I never take anythig at face value anymore.

Reply to
Bob La Londe

Jason...

The former homeowner purchased the security system, you bought the house with it already installed: therefore you own it.

The former owner had the 'monitoring turned off'. But it appears the outgoing dealer locked the panel instead.

Options? Suggest you call the outgoing dealer, ask that they un-disable the panel, remove the 'local programming lockout', and restore both the 'installer code' and 'CSID' to the factory default, and that they do it today. Because it appears they did not merely 'turn off the monitoring' (as they were instructed to do), ask for this to be done at n/c. You will need regular telephone dialtone connected to the alarm's RJ31X jack for them to do this.

If they are uncooperative, you might remind them that Bay Alarm Company of Pacheco CA was brought to task for locking out consumers, in a purported class action lawsuit.

As a sidebar, a Bay Alarm Company of Pacheco CA (a related company, and a long story) was found by the CA alarm license authorities to have been an unlicensed CA alarm company from 10-2000 til 12-2005.

Once it is unnlocked, there are other monitoring agencies able and willing to help you reprogram your system, and, if you elect, to provide monitoring service, at competitive prices.

What is the name and city of the outgoing alarm dealer?

Give me a call if you'd like, phone number at the website below.

Nick Lawrence

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snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
Nick Lawrence

Jeez...I wonder what the ng reaction would have been if I had suggested that......:)))

RHC

Reply to
tourman

Thank you for the responses. I'll get the monitoring company on the phone tonight to see if we can work something out. I hadn't planned on getting land line phone service, so they'll definitely need to at least send someone out. I'll let you guys know what they say. I would have simply called them right off, but assumed they'd just tell me they owned the system and I needed to sign up for monitoring no matter what.

I'm inclined in this case to trust the previous owner. Long story short, they built a new house and the homebuilding company bought their old house as part of a "guaranteed sale" program so they no longer had any interest in the sale of the home. Of course, it was an elderly couple and they may simply be mistaken. Then I could be in trouble. We'll see.

Thanks for the help so far!

Reply to
jasonextras

Nick's advice is sound. This panel now belongs to you and they have no right to lock it since presumably there is nothing owing on the system or previous monitoring contracts. I see this type of shit so often it's almost becoming a weekly event.

If the people who locked it are the same people who installed and monitored it for the previous owner, then they ethically should put it back into unlocked mode for you, since they had no business locking it in the first place (assuming nothing further was owed on the account). They may very well be able to dial into the panel remotely and unlock it, which makes any talk of a service charge pretty "iffy". If they refuse to do it without extorting another long term contract from you, then tell them you'll take it to the local media, as well as launch a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This is YOUR property and they have no business putting any sort of hold on it (which amounts to a lien of sorts). And above all, don't listen to the bleating on the ng in response to this post that you may be cheating someone out of monies owed. Most of that, with rare exception, is bullshit !!

I wish you luck.

Reply to
tourman

Nick's advice is sound. This panel now belongs to you and they have no right to lock it since presumably there is nothing owing on the system or previous monitoring contracts. I see this type of shit so often it's almost becoming a weekly event.

If the people who locked it are the same people who installed and monitored it for the previous owner, then they ethically should put it back into unlocked mode for you, since they had no business locking it in the first place (assuming nothing further was owed on the account). They may very well be able to dial into the panel remotely and unlock it, which makes any talk of a service charge pretty "iffy". If they refuse to do it without extorting another long term contract from you, then tell them you'll take it to the local media, as well as launch a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This is YOUR property and they have no business putting any sort of hold on it (which amounts to a lien of sorts). And above all, don't listen to the bleating on the ng in response to this post that you may be cheating someone out of monies owed. Most of that, with rare exception, is bullshit !!

I wish you luck.

Reply to
tourman

Nick's advice is sound. This panel now belongs to you and they have no right to lock it since presumably there is nothing owing on the system or previous monitoring contracts. I see this type of shit so often it's almost becoming a weekly event.

If the people who locked it are the same people who installed and monitored it for the previous owner, then they ethically should put it back into unlocked mode for you, since they had no business locking it in the first place (assuming nothing further was owed on the account). They may very well be able to dial into the panel remotely and unlock it, which makes any talk of a service charge pretty "iffy". If they refuse to do it without extorting another long term contract from you, then tell them you'll take it to the local media, as well as launch a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. This is YOUR property and they have no business putting any sort of hold on it (which amounts to a lien of sorts). And above all, don't listen to the bleating on the ng in response to this post that you may be cheating someone out of monies owed. Most of that, with rare exception, is bullshit !!

I wish you luck.

Reply to
tourman

Some people tend to conveniently forget their obligations when they move. That might be why you're locked out. Why not call the alarm co and just ask why they locked the board? js

Reply to
alarman

Why should they do it for free? Granted it would be good pr and all that, but why would you *expect* them to do it for free? They have no relationship to the new owner at all.

| > It appears I'm locked out and the system is permanently disabled. | > Does anyone have any experience with this board to know if this is the | > case for sure? If it is locked, what are my options? Can I swap | > boards with a Vista 10SE and keep my sensors as they are, or do I have | > to ditch everything and start over? A drop-in FA147c replacement has | > proven impossible to locate, and even then I'd have to procure a Alpha | > keypad to program it. I'd just like to be able to use this alarm | > locally without a monitoring service. | >

| > Thanks for your help. | >

Reply to
Crash Gordon

Assuming of course no monies were owed on the panel, the issue is really the correctness or not of locking it in the first place. Assuming they did lock it for no valid reason, then they DO have an obligation to make the situation right (since they had no right to make the situation WRONG to begin with). It's called restitution for a wrong committed.

Obligations or not to the new owner has nothing to do with it. It's called doing the right thing.

RHC

Reply to
tourman

what usually happens is the old owner moves and fails to notify the alarmco or notifies after the phone has already been disconnected so the alarmco can't upload the panel. the OP has no phone line. so now it requires a service call. how is that the alarmco fault?

Reply to
GROUP MODERATOR

According to most monitoring contracts, mine included - there is a clause that states the dialer belongs to me. Since the dialer is integrated on the board - I retain ownership of the board unless the customer has fulfilled his contract.

Nobody is clear on if a contract was made by the builder and the installing company, (and fulfilled or not) thus, no one here can say for sure who's property it is.

Reply to
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

First thing you need to do is to ascertain whether or not the smoke detectors in your house are connected to the 110VAC circuits or are controlled by the alarm panel.

Its likely that they are connected to the 110 and in that case you have no problem. If they are controlled by your DISABLED alarm panel then you need to have someone come out and rectify this at once.

Please look into this immediately.

Reply to
JoeRaisin

If they locked it out when it was already paid for, that was a major ethical breach. It's tantamount to stealing. Thus they

*should* undo the wrong they did. Unfortunately, if that is what they did there's between nil and zero chance they'll do the right thing now.

OTOH, there is the possibility that the previous homeowner didn't buy the system. If it was leased they had the right to lock it out. It's their hardware. They can unlock it if they choose and they can charge a fee for doing so if they want.

The problem for the current homeowner is twofold. First, he might not be able to prove the system belonged to the seller. Second, if the seller was telling the truth the alarm company isn't likely to be any nicer to him than they were to someone who paid them for services.

Most of the time these things end up with the new owner replacing the panel. Either that or he can get Jim Rojas to unlock it for him. If he wants to replace it, I can help.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

unless it's a brinks. ;)

Reply to
GROUP MODERATOR

Reply to
I brive a dus

Reply to
I brive a dus

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