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 ****************************** comment on can customer pay existing company and switch alarm company April 4, 2026 ************************* comment on can customer pay existing company and switch alarm company from article on March 18, 2026 ************************* Ken Sound or seemingly sound advice, but how do you square that up against the TV ad wars amongst the cellular carriers? They openly advertise that they will payoff your existing contract with your old carrier up to XXX.XX dollars. Your business logic (sound or not) can be easily applied to the expectations of the current carrier? And the potential new carrier (consider Mint) says you can bring your existing number and existing phone for their low low rate and save you money. Certainly the six major carriers, plus the cable companies and others like Chuck McDowell who hawks for Red Pocket Mobile on the Fox News channels on Sirus can't all be wrong? They all have lots of attorneys on staff and retainers that cost more than your concierge program. Bart Didden *************************** Response *************************** I think you answer your own question when you compared the cellular carriers and their owners to the alarm industry businesses and its owners. Size and money, and particularly money for legal. And yes, their legal budget is a bit higher than most if not all alarm companies [certainly your company which I think has its first and every buck thereafter allocated to legal pinned to the wall]. The customer who pays off its alarm company contract is done with that contract; cannot be sued because of the alarm company's hopes [speculation and conjecture] that the relationship should have continued. But the alarm company that encouraged the move can be sued depending on how the communication with the customer started and progressed. That lawsuit would be for tortious interference of contract. In case I didn't mention it, that's a difficult case to win; it's costly to pursue too. So you have high cost and low probability of winning; a bad combination. The numbers are also different than the potential customers that the cellular services take from each other. Also, you see the cellular companies advertising their availability and reasons they are better and why customers should switch. That they can take their phone and number is the same for all carriers, but not all carriers may emphasize that, which is advertising and marketing differences among the cellular companies. I don't know that there aren't lawsuits by one against the other; I haven't researched it. In the alarm industry there have been lawsuits between alarm companies for tortious interference and it usually involves deceptive business practices, either limited to a few sales people or company wide policy and practice. Only a handful of alarm companies would be willing to prosecute that claim even if the facts were favorable for a win. Candidly I have, on more than one occasion, suggested that the alarm company losing the accounts go and focus on the other alarm company's customers and try and lure them over. You might even be permitted to advertise: All customers of XYZ Alarm Co switch to us and get free service for one, two or lifetime, etc. It might even be legal if you include in the ad that contract should be expired or there may be buyout obligation. I haven't researched this either very carefully. Bart, would you like to authorize K&K to do that research? 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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
