comment on modifying the call list and keeping it updated July 28, 2017

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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comment on modifying the call list and keeping it updated
July 28,  2017
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comment on modifying the call list and keeping it updated from July 19, 2017 article
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Ken
    In response to the question about who is ultimately responsible for updating the call list, it should be the subscribers responsibility to keep their call list current and updated. However, we all know that very few subscribers think to update the list when there are changes. In that case, the responsibility should fall on the dealer. If the Central Station happens to talk to someone from the account, by all means they should try to update the list, but I don’t think it should be its responsibility to spend the time trying to track down someone that can update it. If the subscriber doesn’t keep it updated, the dealer should.
    Just my two cents.  
Les Adair, Central Station Manager
Burgarello Alarm Inc
Sparks, NV
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Response
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    Excellent point, but the issue is very tricky.  Central stations get their call list information in different ways.  

• CS inputs data from information furnished by dealer
• dealer inputs data directly into CS's system
• subscriber accesses the CS and inputs the information

    Call lists are not uniform in the industry.  While the best practice is to have the subscriber sign off on the Call List [a feature of the Standard Form All in One agreements] it doesn't always happen.  Sometimes the call list is called in by the dealer.  Sometimes it's the dealer filling out the CS's call list form.  
    By and large most central station dealer agreements [if you're a dealer and you haven't signed a Central Station Dealer Agreement you should either ask for one or find another central station fast] will require the dealer to provide the call list information.  The dealer's subscriber agreement requires the subscriber to provide that information to the dealer, who presumably will pass it on to the central station.
    Next issue is that not all central stations involve live operators to perform the monitoring services.  I am not talking about the central station you use where you think half the operators should be cast in The Walking Dead, but those central stations that are automated, entirely, at least for some of the accounts.  Knowing that a call number is wrong or obsolete may be beyond an automated system.
    So let's get to the heart of this issue.  Let's assume the central station has clearly imposed upon the dealer the responsibility to keep the call list updated, and the dealer has passed that responsibility along to the subscriber.  At some point, could be right away or months or years into the monitoring services, the central station operators begin logging into the Activity Report that the call number is no longer working or not reaching what appears to be a responsible party.  The central station reports this to the dealer and requests confirmation or updating of the call list.  If the call list data is furnished by the subscriber directly to the central station then there may be a way for the central station to alert the subscriber directly.  
    It's important to adhere to the contract provisions for update responsibility and if there are notification duties.  I know there is temptation to do "what is right", "what is reasonable", "what a reasonable person would be obliged to do".  This is fraught with risk.  Once you go beyond the contractual duties you will be expected to act in a "reasonable way" and that, unfortunately, can be subjective and a matter for the "jury".  So if you do go over and above your contractual obligations be certain to act in a prudent manner and record your actions in the Activity Report for the subscriber.  This applies to central station and dealer.
    There is more to this discussion but I will end it here and merely suggest that both central station and dealer consider this issue carefully and develop a written policy how you intend to address known bad or outdated call lists.
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THE ALARM EXCHANGE

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
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