Common Service Issues with Residential Alarms

Response

• Slow or inadequate response to a signal sent from the home to the monitoring station is a common problem for people who subscribe to monitoring services. A typical alarm system sends a signal to the monitoring company when someone triggers a sensor or when the system needs maintenance. Maintenance issues include low batteries and loss of power to the system. Low batteries mean that the system will shut down if the homeowner does not change the batteries. A loss of power may indicate that a burglar has cut the power and is waiting for the batteries to drain. When alarm companies fail to respond quickly to a tripped alarm or a warning signal, they put homeowners at risk for a loss.

Cancellation

• Alarm companies often provide homeowners with multi-year monitoring contracts. In some instances, the contracts are renewed automatically. Consumers who are dissatisfied with a company's service may not be able to cancel when they want because of early cancellation fees in the contract. Homeowners may face additional problems if only one monitoring company is able to monitor their system because of the particular configuration of the system. Those homeowners must replace their entire alarm system if they want to switch monitoring companies. Charles County, Maryland government officials caution consumers to read their contracts and ask specifically if they will need to re-install their systems to change monitoring companies before signing the agreement.

Installation

• The alarm company must install the security system properly before it will operate as expected. Installation errors cause false alarms and prevent homeowners from realizing the full protection of their systems. Improper installation can include installing sensors and contact points on windows or doors that do not close properly as well as failing to provide sufficient power to the system. If wind and inclement weather frequently set off the alarm system, it is possible that the company did not install or set the sensors properly. Some communities impose fees on homeowners when the police respond to multiple false alarms. For example, as of July, 2010, the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, fines alarm owners $150 for the 4th false alarm and $500 if the police receive 10 such calls.