KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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How important is the K&K Concierge Program and K&K Alarm Contracts
August 23,  2024
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How important is the K&K Concierge Program and K&K Alarm Contracts  
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          Sometimes it’s difficult to prove the negative.  Things go as one hopes, smooth sailing, and often it’s hard to pinpoint why things are going so well. Obviously it’s because of the client’s genius, vision and hard work; luck too probably [attributable to the client’s luck] and sometimes, just sometimes, it’s contributions by professionals or others who the client seeks advice and assistance.
          But when things do go wrong it’s easier to figure out who things could have turned out better.  Thinking about the right, and wrong, way to conduct your business and achieve your business objectives in advance just might improve your odds.
          Your relationship with your customers involves many aspects and here we explore just a few.  But these few seem to me to be essential issues in the overall plan.
          Your need customers.  You need to make sales; make deals with customers.  You need to be able to enforce those deals.  You need to be able to defend yourself when things go unexpectedly wrong.  This may be obvious to you.  But to achieve this you need to be mindful of all the regulations, rules and laws you need to navigate in all aspects of your business, from organization of your business, licensing, HR employment issues, contracts with your customers, your vendors and others you do business with.  You need advice and assistance, and if you don’t think so you’re a fool. 
          That advice includes technical, HR, accounting and taxes, license compliance, legal compliance ….. the list can go on and on. 
          Keep in mind that the objective in business is to make money; be able to earn a good living and, especially in this industry, build a business that you can eventually sell and retire on, more than comfortably. 
          As I started with, when things are going OK, or better, you may not focus on whether you’re on the best path.  But when things go wrong, it’s time to reflect on what you could have done better.
Here is a reported situation.  The alarm company did not have K&K as its counsel; did not, use K&K contracts.  The events reported below are a year old, and I may have commented on this when it was first reported, but it was brought to my attention again.  You face potential problems from customers, vendors, licensing agencies, consumer agencies and law enforcement.  This one attracted law enforcement and the consequences of persistent non-compliance proved quit costly. 
Could this have been avoided?  No doubt; had the company been a Concierge Client, had a relationship with K&K, sought, considered and followed advice advocating best practices and, at the very least, compliance with the law, this could have turned out much different.  Even using the K&K contracts and keeping them up to date would have avoided some of the issues. 
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AG Campbell Announces $6.5 Million Settlement With Home Security Company for Improperly Charging Consumers on Auto Renewal Contracts
Settlement Resolves Lawsuit Alleging That Company Harmed Consumers by Violating State Consumer Protection Laws and Debt Collection Regulations
For immediate release:
2/09/2023

  • Office of the Attorney General

BOSTON — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced that her office has reached a $6.5 million settlement, including $4.7 million in debt relief, with a Connecticut-based home security services company and its CEO to resolve allegations that they violated state consumer protection laws by deceptively trapping Massachusetts consumers in long-term auto renewal contracts and engaging in illegal debt collection practices. The settlement builds on AG Campbell’s commitment to build economic stability for residents by holding accountable those who engage in predatory business practices.   
The consent judgment, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that Safe Home Security, its sister companies, and CEO David G. Roman, employed alleged deceptive tactics to prevent consumers from canceling their contracts, charged consumers for services when their systems were not working and engaged in aggressive and illegal debt collection practices, in violation of G.L. c. 93A and the AG’s Debt Collection Regulations.  
“My office will always advocate for consumers, especially when they are preyed on by a company that engages in unfair and unlawful business practices,” said AG Campbell. “We were able to hold Safe Home Security and its sister companies accountable for their alleged deceptive tactics, securing millions in debt relief for consumers, and we will continue to hold bad actors accountable.”
The settlement resolves a lawsuit the AG’s Office brought against the company in December 2019. The AG’s Office began investigating the company after receiving more than 100 complaints from Massachusetts consumers. Upon filing the complaint, the AG’s Office immediately sought and obtained a preliminary injunction, prohibiting the company from engaging in misconduct, such as illegally charging consumers, while the lawsuit was pending. The AG’s Office amended the complaint in 2021 to include related companies, Security Systems, Inc., Safe Home Monitoring, Inc. and National Protective Services, Inc., as defendants and include additional allegations. 
The amended complaint alleged that the defendants violated state consumer protection laws by employing unfair practices designed to trap consumers in their contracts including: failing to cancel contracts when consumers submitted timely written cancelation requests, misinforming consumers about the requirements needed to cancel and steering consumers into contract renewal rather than cancellation. The AG’s Office additionally alleged that Safe Home Security had also billed and collected from consumers during periods of time in which the company’s services were not being provided due to malfunctioning or inoperable systems. Safe Home’s actions are alleged to have impacted thousands of Massachusetts consumers.  
The AG’s Office also alleged that Safe Home Security engaged in aggressive and illegal debt collection practices against consumers that fell behind on payments. This includes excessive debt collection calls, sending letters that did not contain notices of consumers’ rights as is legally required and threats to report damaging information about consumers’ credit.  
Under the settlement, Safe Home Security will be required to pay $1.8 million and to waive and forgive $4.7 million of outstanding debt. Safe Home Security has also agreed to make significant changes to its business practices including coming into compliance with the AG’s Debt Collection Regulations, crediting consumers whose non-functioning systems it cannot repair, implementing new complaint procedures for consumers and permitting existing consumers to cancel their contracts by telephone. 
Safe Home Security has also committed to revising the terms of its contracts by changing auto-renewal terms from annual to month-to-month, removing a clause in its contracts that caused future charges to become due immediately upon default and disclosing key terms in its contracts in a size 12 bold font – including monitoring charges, contract term, auto-renewal provisions, cancellation policies and procedures, late fees and other costs.  
The AG’s Consumer Protection Division enforces laws to protect consumers from fraud, deception and other unfair business practices. Consumers are encouraged to call the AG’s consumer hotline at 617-727-8400 or file a complaint with the office if they think they have been victimized by a business.  
This matter was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Schuyler Daum and Mercy Cover, Paralegal Noah Kopf, and Division Chief Shennan Kavanagh, all of the AG’s Consumer Protection Division, with assistance from Senior Financial Investigator Colleen Frost of the AG’s Civil Investigations Division. 
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STANDARD FORMS  Alarm /  Security / Fire and related Agreements
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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