KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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can you cancel inoperable account / Liability issues Regarding Fire Alarm Panels Part 5 / Current listings on The Alarm Exchange
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October 11, 2024
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Schedule your free private meeting with KK at ISC East
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If you're interested in a private [yes, it's free] meeting at ISC East [we will be meeting just outside the exhibit hall] please contact Stacy Spector,Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304 or SSpector@Kirschenbaumesq.com. Concierge Clients will have priority.
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can you cancel inoperable account
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Ken,
We have a few alarm accounts that have various issues most being the panel is no longer communicating with the central station. Some are due to customer changing from landline to AI phone and will need cellular communicator. If we do not want to continue services for this customer(s) can we send a cancellation of services due to inoperable equipment? We are in the process of finding another dealer to offer to them as a contact. I wanted to verify that we had no requirement/liability to provide the quote for replacement equipment. We do use your agreements.
Anonymous
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Response
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The quick answer is, yes you can terminate the contract. Here’s why?
The contract prohibits tampering with the alarm system and by changing the communication pathway that’s exactly what the customer has done. The customer is also required to provide electrical and communication pathway as required by you. But the full response requires additional consideration.
If you are on a per call or repair plan you will have the right to charge to render the system operable, which includes communicating with the central station. The customer has the contractual duty to maintain the system, fix it, when it needs repair. You can remind the customer of this obligation and at the same time remind the customer that the monthly charges continue even if the customer refuses to fix the alarm, which can be done by calling you or someone else if they have a per call deal and not a repair plan, but again, your RMR continues either way.
The other consideration is that if the customer is paying the RMR then all you need do is remind the customer that the system is not communicating and that you are willing to come and fix it but will be charging for the repair. If the customer stops paying the RMR then you can call the contract into breach and pursue collection with K&K’s Collection Department, or just close the account after letting the customer know you have terminated.
There is another option, sell the account or accounts. K&K will assist you with that. There is usually someone willing to buy anything [sucker born every minute] ["There's a sucker born every minute" is a phrase closely associated with PT Barnum, an American showman of the mid-19th century.] Actually another company may pick up the accounts for low multiple and turn the account around to full value. One man's garbage is another man's treasure. [This is a proverb; the idea that value is subjective, and what one person may perceive as worthless, another person may view as a treasure.]
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Liability issues Regarding Fire Alarm Panels Part 5
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I mentioned contracts, also code and UL, but what is also important is how you educate the end-user. You cannot force them to do anything, but they need to feel like they have accomplished something and it is profitable to them. Sometimes it is far easier if their prior experience with lightning on other systems may help you facilitate surge suppression.
What can you do in preparation on the inevitable: Sometimes it is very wise to put an extra expense on the design by adding a #14 Guage green wire, and plumb that through the system from building (A) all the way through to building (Z). It will make your life a little easier in the event that you are finally given the green light for surge suppression.
In cases like above, with a single building issue, generally the water sprinkler system piping is not bonded back to the AC power ground. Thus, you have a grounding differential. Ohm-ing it out you find that the dry contacts in your contactors show that the sprinkler system is isolated and there is no reference to a grounding differential. However, according to IEEE, 5” air gap, lightning can jump that air gap up to 75000 volts. If the air gap is much smaller or closer together it wouldn’t take so much less voltage to arc over. Now if it was over 10,000 volts, I would say that air gap would arc weld together and your wires would vaporize. Some old dogs out there have seen these many times. If this were to occur, I can bet that there will be damage on the PC board. Understanding this, there is no provision in the code book for this type of grounding differential. Common sense rules here.
John Pecore, BSEET, MBA,
Power Quality Engineer in the Life Safety Industry
Stormin Protection Products Inc.
www.firealarmprotection.com
Lawtey FL. 32058
727-823-6100 x 1
Jpecore@earthlink.net
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Featured Listings for Alarm Accounts for Sale
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K&K, as you hopefully know by now, has been very active representing alarm companies sell their business and accounts and brokering the sale [at well below market commission rate – K&K rate is one month RMR, about 3%]. Listing with K&K gets you the widest promotion in the industry through The Alarm Exchange. For the most economical and expert advice in selling [or buying] alarm accounts contact Ken Kirschenbaum, Esq.
The following are K&K featured listings: Call today if interested [K&K NDA will be required for further information]
For Sale: Poughkeepsie, NY. Number of accounts 1580; Residential 30% or 471 accounts; Commercial 70% or 1109 accounts, RMR for Inspections $9,798, RMR for Service $17,345; Central Station Safeco and Affiliated Monitoring; Central Station monthly $15,414; Number of techs 7; Employment contracts No; Accounts are concentrated in Dutchess County NY; Equipment Honeywell Firelite Hikvision Unifi CDVIC; Panels Honeywell Firelite Silent Knight; Software Compass Silent Knight Software Suite HSS Strium Finder Napco Quick Loader. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq at 516 747 6700 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com if serious buyer ready to close within 30 days.
For Sale: Nassau County, New York. approx 221 alarm accounts. residential 190; commercial security and fire 31; RMR approx $13,230.00 [res $8844; comm security and fire $2118; Inspection RMR $2268; Resideo / Honeywell; some Radionics. Vista 20P / Vista 128BPT. Most accounts on updated K&K contracts. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq at 516 747 6700 x 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com. K&K NDA will be required for more information.
For Sale: New Jersey. 90 alarm accounts, 43 residential; 13 commercial security; 29 commercial fire. Central Station: Rapid Monitoring RMR $4100 net; fire inspection RMR $1740. Equipment Honeywell, System Sensor, and M2M; Honeywell panels; one Napco account. Accounts throughout NJ; all on K&K contracts. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq if interested. 516 747 6700 x 301; Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com; K&K NDA will be required
For Sale. Phoenix area, Arizona, 181 alarm monitoring accounts [115 res; 66 commercial; commercial fire 5]. Net RMR $4700.00; DSC panel and equipment; Microkey softrware. Older contracts for most part. K&K NDA required for more information. Contact Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
at ken@kirschenbaumesq.com or 516 747 6700 x 301.
For Sale: Cincinnati, Ohio 375 accounts. 50% commercial fire and some with security and 50% residential; on K&K contracts; approx. $15,000 RMR. Owner, NICET IV and CFPS, available for transition and training. Standard equip used. Contact our attorney Ken Kirschenbaum for further details, which will require K&K NDA. 516 747 6700 x 301 or Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com
For Sale: Lewisburg, West Virginia. Alarm accounts [K&K contracts]. # of accts: 338 % res: 74%; % comm sec: 20%; % comm fire: 6%; RMR for inspection or service:all per call. RMR monitoring: $9872; cs:Security Central, Statesville, NC. On segregated lines; Accts concentrated: Greenbrier County; equip used: Panel: QOLSYS IQ4; software: Mobile Tech, Alarm.com. K&K NDA required for more information. Contact our attorney Ken Kirschenbaum for details. 516 747 6700 x 301; Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com
For Sale: Shrevesport, Louisiana over 1300 Alarm accounts; residential and commercial, over 45K RMR monitoring accounts; Kirschenbaum Contracts. mid-sized turn-key operation fully staffed with RMR and growth. Contact our attorney Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq for details. Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com or 516 747 6700 x 301
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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