Consumer Safety & Awareness Part 7

Bait & Switch: Household Alarms


Home alarm companies so overuse bait and switch that they need an entire section to themselves. The large national companies’ advertisements appear to offer a free or inexpensive home alarm system, but once you get to the sales pitch, with a salesman in your living room or kitchen, you discover it only covers a few doors and perhaps no windows (substituting an interior motion sensor that supposedly covers all windows). Then they offer small add-ons at “low cost,” which, once added up, comes to a substantial selling price. Your house, no matter who you are or where you live, is always more complex than the initial basic system. But if you do not purchase it today you will not be able to get all of the great side products they are offering at the same price tomorrow.

ADT is a national alarm company that has ads in magazines, mailers, on television, and on the Internet. A typical ad states that their “state-of-the-art system includes”
a) Front and back door protection. If you have any additional exterior doors they are extra.
b) Infrared motion detector. Singular. One is included in the package. These are line of site detectors only, so if an intruder bypasses the area covered by the motion detector they will not set off the alarm.
c) Lots of add-ons such as a way of turning the alarm on and off, window and lawn signs, emergency buttons, and a siren.

There are no window alarms included. No glass breakage. Their initial system is free, except for a $99 installation fee and a 36-month monitoring contract that costs $35.99 monthly, or $1,295.64. How good is this system? So good that as soon as they come to your house (we actually invited them in) they prepare a list of things you need to add on. In our case they ignored the basement window, our glass-enclosed sunroom, and the garage. Strange, as the salesman was working on commission.

Consider your house. Calculate the number of entry doors you need to alarm, and the number of windows that an intruder can enter. Do not forget to include basement and second story windows that can be accessed, no matter how difficult it may seem to you, from a garage or add-on roof. Does their two-door and a motion sensor system cover your house?

Their online site does supply one price. Their top-rated alarm panel costs an extra $349. Every other product has this statement “Click Here To Schedule Your FREE Risk Assessment. “ The salesman will count every window on your first floor and basement as well as potential points of entry elsewhere. For each window he will recommend, at an additional price, a window alarm and glass breakage alarm (because a thief can break your window and disconnect the alarm). How much more will this add to your cost?

Because California has strict liability laws, there is, hidden in their web site, the required “Contract for our California Customers.” Most likely these apply to every state. Here are a few things you need to know copied directly from their site. This is lengthy, but, as with all fine print contracts, please read it through completely. As you go through these statements, ask yourself why they feel they have to include them.

a) You agree that: if you terminate this contract during the first year, you will pay us $450.00, if you terminate this contract during the second year, you will pay us $200.00. These amounts are agreed upon damages and are not a penalty.

b) We have the right to increase the annual service charge at any time after the first year.

c) You agree to pay all directly or indirectly imposed false alarm assessments, taxes, fees or other charges of any police or fire department, or any other governmental body. You agree to pay all telephone or signal transmission company charges for area code, telephone numbering or other changes. You agree to pay us to reprogram the system if necessary to comply with any area code, telephone numbering or other changes. You agree to pay to us any increases in our cost for facilities used for transmitting alarm signals under this Contract. You agree to pay a service charge if our representative responds to a service call or alarm at your premises because you improperly followed operating instructions, failed to properly lock or close a window, door or other protected point or improperly adjusted CCTV cameras, monitors or accessories.

d) It will be extremely difficult to determine the actual damages that may result from our failure to perform our duties under this contract. You agree that we and our agents, employees, subsidiaries, affiliates and parent companies are exempt from liability for any loss, damage, injury or other consequence arising directly or indirectly from the services we perform or the systems we provide under this contract. If it is determined that we or any of our agents, are directly or indirectly responsible for any such loss, damage, injury or other consequence, you agree that damages shall be limited to the greater of $500 or 10% of the annual service charge you pay under this contract. [Editor’s note: The annual service charge under this contract would be $360.] These agreed upon damages are not a penalty. They are your sole remedy no matter how the loss, damage, injury or other consequence is caused, even if caused by our negligence, gross negligence, failure to perform duties under this contract, strict liability, failure to comply with any applicable law, or other fault. At your request, we may assume additional liability by attaching an amendment to this contract stating the extent of our additional liability and the additional cost to you. You agree that we are not an insurer even if we enter into any such an amendment.

e) In the event any lawsuit or other claim is filed by any other party against us arising out of the services we perform or the systems we provide under this contract, you agree to be solely responsible for, and to indemnify and hold us completely harmless from, such lawsuit or other claim including your payment of all damages, expenses, costs and attorneys' fees. These obligations will survive the expiration or earlier termination of this contract. These obligations will apply even if such lawsuit or other claim arises out of our negligence, gross negligence, failure to perform duties under this contract, strict liability, failure to comply with any applicable law, or other fault.

f) If the system is ADT Owned, we have the right upon termination of this Contract, to remove, disable or abandon all or any portion of the ADT Owned system. You are required to provide us access to the system for removal and we have no obligation to repair or redecorate your premises after any such removal. We do not waive our right to collect any unpaid charges by such removal, disablement or abandonment of the ADT Owned system. If the "Customer-Owned" box is checked, the equipment will become the property of the Customer upon payment of the Total Installation Charge including Sales Tax in full. ADT yard signs and window stickers shall remain the property of and may be removed by ADT, even if the "Customer -Owned" box is checked. Your right to display them on your property during the term of this Contract is not transferable.

g) However, there may be areas where we determine, in our sole discretion, it is impractical to conceal the wiring. In such areas, wiring will be exposed. Upon completion of the installation of the alarm system, we shall thoroughly instruct you in the proper use of the alarm system. We shall not be liable for loss due to water intrusion, mold, fungi, wet or dry rot or bacteria.

h) During the first three (3) months after installation, we will repair or, at our option, replace any defective part of the System, including wiring, and will make any needed mechanical adjustments, all at no charge to you. We will use new or functionally operative parts for replacements. At your request we will repair or replace the equipment we provided at our then-prevailing prices.

Most likely all national home alarm companies have similar policies. From what we can tell, all similar alarm companies use the same lack of pricing formula and also provide only a very basic system.

We do recommend home alarm systems, but believe it is far better to deal with a local alarm company. They usually know what is happening in the area and can recommend a system that is best for your neighborhood rather than a generic anywhere-in-the-country setup. If possible get at least three estimates. While they are looking over you house, ask questions about your current home situation – alarm experts love to point out weaknesses in your security. They will spot where you need to add a lock, an outside light, or other simple and inexpensive solutions to problems you might not even realize you have.

You have all heard of the medical alert alarms offered by various companies, especially useful when an elderly or sick person is living alone. Many of the home alarm companies can provide such remote pendants that do the same thing for a considerably lower cost. They work anywhere in your house. Now you can also get such systems in the form of a brooch or a wristwatch. Most of them are waterproof so can even be taken into the shower, but ask before you do so. They are tied into the home monitoring system and while they have an initial reasonable cost, there should be no extra monthly monitoring fee. When the alarm buttons are pressed, it sends a signal through your home system to alert the monitors. They can be used in case of injury, fire, home invasion, or any other emergency. They are far more reasonably priced than the nationally advertised security products for which you have to pay additional monthly fees. For what those national medic alert companies charge for monthly service, you can have your entire house monitored for break-in, fire, and medical assistance. So if you are planning on getting a home alarm, it is wise to pay the extra for fire monitoring and purchase one or two of the remote personal pendants.