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 white list ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ************************************ What’s wear and tear in service plan April 18, 2020 ******************* Webinar on Monday April 20, 2020 noon ET Sign up now ********** Title: Software to lower your operating costs for Central Station Integration, Alarm.com, and electronic agreements When: Monday, April 20, 2020 at 12pm EST Presented by: Steven Hayes, President of WorkHorse, Inc. Phone: 855 354 1775 steven.hayes@workhorsescs.com Who should attend? Alarm Company Owners and Managers Register here:https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8364430660856893196 ********************* What’s wear and tear in service plan ********************* Ken Can you advise what is considered wear and tear in a service plan? Stu ********************** Response ********************** Normal wear and tear is damage that naturally occurs over time due to use and ageing. It’s something that just happens over time with normal use; something that has not been caused intentionally, or by misuse or abuse. Its damage that naturally and inevitably occurs as a result of normal wear or aging, even when an item is used competently and with care and proper maintenance. The Standard Form Agreements use the term “ordinary wear and tear”. Equipment that malfunctions as a result of ordinary wear and tear are covered by the Repair Service Plan, which is charged to the subscriber as RMR. But simply stating that only ordinary wear and tear is covered would leave too much room for disagreement between you and your subscriber. Therefore the Standard Form Agreements identify common issues that arise causing malfunction of equipment, and specifically excludes those occurrences from Service Plan coverage. Instances where repair service is excluded include batteries, electrical surges, lightning damage, software upgrades and repairs, communication devices no longer supported by communication pathways, obsolete components and components exceeding manufacturer’s useful life, alteration to Subscriber's premises, caused by unauthorized intrusion, water, insects or vermin. Different environments and systems may require additional provisions. When deciding on whether to offer a Service Plan with RMR or per call service you should keep a number of things in mind. The per call option does not require your subscriber to call you; it can call anyone [unless the service involves any labor or equipment still under warranty, but then the call is for warranty work, not service under the repair service option. The per call option also does not require that you perform any service work, so if you can’t agree on a price you are not required to perform the service, or for that matter, even give a price if you don’t want to do service work for the subscriber. You may have a situation where a subscriber has paid for many years under a RMR service plan without ever calling for service. Then you get a call for a clearly non-covered repair. Maybe a dog ripped a wire. Maybe a painter covered a motion detector or pulled a wire. You may want to consider whether charging for that repair call would cause the subscriber to re-think the service plan. What about the subscriber with many more calls for service than anticipated? Well, it’s likely that those calls are not covered under the plan. If the calls are covered you might want to re-evaluate why there are so many ordinary wear and tear calls; could be your fault and you should fix it; could be manufacturer’s fault, and then it should fix it. How about adding value to your contract and your business? The per call subscribers generally add no value, especially when the valuation is based on RMR. The Repair Service Plan RMR will add value, perhaps not as much as the monitoring RMR, but definitely more than “nothing”. I generally value Service RMR about 5 times multiple less than the value of the monitoring RMR, but not always. You’ll need to go to WhatIsMyAlarmCompanyWorth.com [https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth]to get a more accurate assessment. By the way, I just googled “What is my alarm company worth” and was surprised that others have “borrowed” that slogan from K&K’s website. When seeking valuation keep in mind the motive of the evaluator. Is it a potential buyer? A broker? Well, they may have skewed views of the values because their goal is to buy or sell your business. At K&K we have no motive. We won’t be buying or selling your business, just giving you our fair assessment of its value based on your accounts and operation. By now you should know the essential factors that go into valuing an alarm company and you have taken steps to maximize that value. Don’t seek valuation from others who may have their agenda in giving the valuation. ***************** Reaching K&K during the lockdown ********************** During this crisis the most efficient way to reach our attorneys is via email. You can also call and if not picked up, leave a message and your call will be returned promptly. Here are a few departments to contact directly: alarm / security / pers / fire department: Ken - Ken@Kirschenbaumesq.com or call and leave a message with return number at 516 747 6700 x 301 health care professionals: Jennifer Kirschenbaum,Esq 516 747 6700 x 302; jennifer@kirschenbaumesq.com alarm licensing: Alison Gallup,Esq 516 747 6700 x 317 AGallup@Kirschenbaumesq.com; or Eileen Wagda, Licensing Administrator, 516 747 6700 x 312 EWagda@Kirschenbaumesq.com Employment issues: Kieran Bastible 516 747 6700 x 315 kbastible@kirschenbaumesq.com; or Jennifer Kirschenbaum,Esq Concierge Alarm Clients have full access through our Concierge Program Coordinator, Stacy Spector, Esq 516 747 6700 x 304 or SSpector@Kirschenbaumesq.com Collections: [courts are shut down at this time, so don't expect much progress. We will however continue to prepare papers on our end so that we will be ready when the courts normalize] Kathleen Lampert 516 747 6700 x 319 KLampert@Kirschenbaumesq.com Pending litigation: Caroline Wallet,Esq CWallett@Kirschenbaumesq.com 516 747 6700 x 305 and Maureen Biel,Esq 516 747 6700 x 303 MBeil@Kirschenbaumesq,com Bankruptcy and debt collection issues: Steve Sheinwald,Esq 516 747 6700 x 309 SSheinwald@Kirschenbaumesq.com or Scott Dillon,Esq 516 747 6700 x 318 **************** 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. *********************** NOTICE: You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles *********************** THE ALARM EXCHANGE
This area is reserved for alarm classifieds, alarm company announcements, solicitations, offers, etc. There is no charge to post a listing here.Include your contact information, phone, email and web site. If you would like to submit a post, please send an email to ken@kirschenbaumesq.com. To create a reciprocal link to our website, click here. ************************************************ 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
