There is one in Canada, it's called LANVAC. They also DO NOT CHARGE EXTRA for commercial open/close signals. In fact they ENCOURAGED me to to the same for residential accounts - open/close signals. And yes they are on 800 lines.
Julian
So it's the CS that's cheap? You gotta let the chemo drugs wear off a bit before the stupid replies!
The CS is in business to make money. Plain & Simple. CS's sell their services like the cable companies do. Sure I COULD receive all the channels for one low price, but the cable companies sell their services in tiers, pay for how much you service you want.
Same with CS's. Pay a basic amount for burg & supervisory, add more for open/close, more again for supervision, more again for daily tests. After all it is usually the CS paying the tel bills and they have to charge you more if you're going to call them more. Long distance may be cheaper today than 10 years ago, but it's not free.
And I don't really care how you USED to do it. If your CS was as good as you say - and we all know how truthful you are - you would have sold it and made enough money to take a permanent vacation in Brasil. But obviously that's not the case. You don't monitor alarms anymore and that's a fact you can't deny, although I'm sure you will.
Julian
Yes, but alarm companies are also at fault. Neither wants to spend a little extra to do it right.
Poking fun at someone for undergoing treatment for cancer has to rank as about the stupidest reply yet. You've managed to bring yourself down to Jiminex' level because you can't debate an issue on the merits.
Figured that out all by yourself, did you?
The difference is that cable TV companies offer various service levels to every customer. They publish a list of offerings and let the customer know what is available. Most alarm companies don't even mention daily test as an option. Furthermore, I believe that daily test and Caller ID monitoring should be included at no extra cost to help solve this kind of problem, among others.
Central stations charge dealers between $2 and $7 per month for each account. Dealers then mark the service up to $25-$0 per month and resell it to end users. There is plenty of margin in there to cover the cost of daily tests but alarm dealers are too cheap to cover it. The central stations are likewise too cheap to include it in the basic fee so customers are left in the lurch.
As Leuck pointed out, 800 number costs are not the problem. When a large CS runs several T1 lines, the cost per call is a fraction of a cent. On a monthly basis it's not even a dollar per account.
And yet you try to argue about that very subject. Seems you care very much. :^)
I did sell it. The business wasn't large enough to retire though. However, I manage to make two or three trips a year to Brasil. We have a second home there. I'll be down again this fall fishing in the Amazon forest. Hope you're doing as well.
Why would I deny it? I sold the central station and all the accounts with it. That's no secret. One of the nicest things about *not* running a central station any more is that I have the freedom to travel whenever I like. In the old days we hardly ever took a vacation and when we did it was never more than a week. Now I bring my laptop and a VoIP phone to Brasil, plug them in and I'm able to work a few hours each day, staying there for several months if I like.
Heh. You're the first person in nine years to shut Leuck up. :^)
Well technically speaking, Leuck doesn't *represent* Monitronics although he does work there and he is almost certainly aware of their problem. My guess is he didn't realise that you knew about it. You caught him off guard like a certain Republican congressman with a hooker.
Good. You finally admit that there are some central stations that are willing to do it right at no extra cost to the end user. In other words, it is financially viable yet most central stations and most alarm companies are too cheap to do it.
Thanks for confirming what I've been saying.
GET A JOB OR A LIFE NUMBNUTS
I think you need to trademark that one before someone like the American Cancer Society steals it for their logo. Did you learn that one in sensitivity training, or just pick it up from all the good volunteer work you do at the local hospital? Either way its impressive I must admit. Even Jim might wince a little when he reads it.
the truth is not sensitive, neither is reality. just ask bASS
get real!
yes, but if it doesn't happen again it was probably a boo boo by someone setting up an alarm system
yes
lobby your legislature to not let diy's set up monitored alarm system, and to not let unlicensed companies sell alarm systems.
Never allow a paid installer into your home. These guys screw up all the time. :^)
Do your own installation and save about
3/4 of the cost while avoiding most of the false alarms caused by careless, slipshod workmen.
just because you did that kind of work and lost your company and license and ability to warranty parts and monitor doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the industry.
how can they save money when you sell at retail plus while most alarmcos buy at wholesale and pass the savings on just to get the business. all the customer pays for is labor.
I forgot to mention these guys also lie through their teeth.
Easy. A typical "professional" crap system consists of 1 panel, 1 keypad, 1 motion detector,
2 door contacts and 1 very small interior siren. For this the average "authorized dealer" charges $200 for the system plus $90 for the phone jack (which costs him $1.49). The victim then pays the dealer $40 per month for five years. That's $2690.Add 2 more doors ($70 each), another motion detector ($130), 2 smoke detectors ($150 each
The smart alarm user opts to DIY, buys a much better system such as a Vista-20P or Napco P3200 with more advanced keypads and spends a fraction of the up-front price. To make it even better the DIYer opts for monitoring through
911Alarm at $12 per month. Furthermore, the DIYer is not bound by a long-term contract like your victims are. He can choose to go monitored at any central station he likes or stay local and pay no monthly charges at all.Besides the cost savings, my DIY customers get something you don't offer. They have all the codes and full access to all function of their systrems. They never have to worry about some jerk refusing to unlock their panel without first extracting a ridiculous fee.
All around the DIYer is better off.
Yes, and pay for it they do. There have been countless horror stories here from alarm consumers who are routinely over charged (gouged is a better word) by professional alarm installers who have locked the panels so that the consumer can't even use the system which he has bought and paid for. You really should be ashamed.
You're not talkin' a "professional" system here. What you're describing here is a typical "AlarmFarce" system. Most professionals don't sell that crap.
Where'd you get your info? At "Alarmfarce Dot Com"?? C'mon, Bassy... you don't honestly believe that anyone would consider such a system "professional" do you?? Why not ask RHC? He's your "best bud"...
I just hope he buys it locally (from a friendly Professional Alarm Company). That way he can call them up when he runs in to a problem and have it fixed "professionally".
911Alarm is a reseller. They are not a monitoring station. They use a number of "friendly" stations (none of whom are actually listed on their website so there's no guarantee that the station is even UL Listed for fire). I'll bet he has customers in Hartford that are still using that central you ran out of your bedroom (or was that your bathroom/garage/kitchen - I just don't remember).Long-term contracts are a benefit both for the alarm user as well as the alarm company. The consumer has to "shop around" for the best deal taking into consideration where the monitoring station is located, whether-or-not it's UL/ULC Listed, has SIA trained staff, monthly cost, etc.
Unfortunately there are a number of ULC Listed centrals that he won't be able to choose (unless he goes through a licensed dealer).
There isn't a "jerk" that participates here that charges such a fee (as far as I know). Now don't get your knickers in a knot about ML. He's not an installer and happens to work for one of the bigger centrals in the US of A.
As long as he doesn't deal with *you*.
And there are countless horror stories here from your own victims that have had problems like receiving the wrong equipment, getting proper credit for returned items, and even having problems returning said items (when the guys at ADI refuse to accept it). Then there's the fact that you never answer your phone, emails, etc. Your "Contact Us" page doesn't even list an 800 line. You really should be ashamed, Bass.
I seriously doubt many panels would be able to survive a lightning strike (no matter how well grounded they might be). :-)
It was the garage.
He once told us that an angry customer was in his CS. Robert demanded he leave, angrily pressing the Genie button. Woot!
ROFL! But I know you're lyin'. Robert only uses "Craftsman" garage door openers.
$11.99 per month. Monitoring by UL-listed (for fire) monitoring station. Caller-ID tracking on incoming signals helps avoid false dispatches. Licensed and insured, California based, since 1980. Reseller of quality alarm monitoring services to end-users, alarm dealers, and DIY'ers.
Nick Lawrence
Nick,
Please call me when you have a moment. Thanks.
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