KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ****************************** Alarm customer cancellation question October 12 2022 ******************* Alarm customer cancellation question ******************* Ken, I have some questions on the optics of cancelling our current alarm clients that are past due on their payments. We have heard that: We need to send multiple written letters The final notice must be certified mail Can you clarity this and how we can proceed? Appreciate your help in this. Please let me know your rate for answering these questions. Christian ********************* Response ********************* Let’s start with your last question first. I don’t charge the alarm industry for questions that are of interest to the industry and used on this forum. Concierge Clients get a free contract review for half hour each month and one free collection letter each month; also 10% off hourly legal fees. Those in the alarm industry can call me for a “quick call’ and there’s no charge for a quick answer. Concierge Clients are welcome to call any time and generally will not be charged for a call lasting less than a half hour. Alarm industry members who want to reserve a specific time for a consult are charged at an hourly rate of $500 an hour. Most issues are resolved within 15 to 30 minutes. Non-Concierge Clients are required to make a payment to reserve the time. Members of the public, non-alarm industry people, including aggrieved alarm customers, call with some frequency. They cannot book any time or get any information [and usually an alarm company calling on behalf of a customer problem won’t be able to get much information either]. You’ve been advised that you need to send multiple letters before terminating an account in default and that the final letter must be by certified mail. I checked K&K records and you do not appear to be using Kirschenbaum Contracts™, despite the fact that most alarm companies do use those Standardized Form Agreements. It’s not possible for me to advise you on your required termination procedure without reading the contract you have with this defaulting customer. There are no statutory requirements for termination, other than a requirement in most jurisdictions that you notify the AHJ when canceling monitoring of a commercial fire alarm. Your contract will specify the procedure and method of notification to cancel the account for default. For those who do use the Kirschenbaum Contracts ™ you are not required to send multiple letters and you never have to use certified mail. You can terminate service. The latest updated version of the Standard Form Agreements does have an after the fact notice. The actual notice reads as follows. If you don’t have updated contracts I suggest you get them; today. “Upon suspension or termination of services ALARM COMPANY will notify Subscriber of such termination and the balance owed by Subscriber for the term of this agreement. ALARM COMPANY is authorized to notify Subscriber by email, First Class Mail delivered by the US Postal Service or text message to Subscriber’s cell phone.” ********************* To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ******************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our Email List / Email Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
