Should you provide notice if terminating monitoring?

I want to comment on a recent legal article in SDM.  A court  reportedly held 
that an alarm company had no duty to notify its subscriber  that monitoring 
was being terminated.  You should be clear that in that  case the subscriber 
did not have a contract with the alarm company and had not  paid for monitoring 
services.  The subscriber had taken over the premises  from a former 
subscriber who had a non assignable alarm contract.  The  new tenant had declined to 
sign a new alarm contract.     
Notice to subscribers of termination of monitoring  service is a tricky 
subject.  There are many different factual scenarios  that can change the final 
decision on notice.  Prudence would suggest that  you give some form of notice 
that monitoring is going to be terminated and  another notice once it has been 
terminated.  The form of this notice can be  by any means that you can 
establish if necessary. Have the clerk or  secretary who sends the notice prepare an 
affidavit attesting to the notice  and save it in a file.  I am not a fan of 
certified mail because  it's costly and time consuming, and doesn't prove what 
was in the envelop  anyway.  Email or fax, especially where you can get a 
receipt, or a  recorded telephone call is fine.  Causing the key paid to read 
"monitoring  terminated" may also be something you can do, at least for several 
days.
    You should be aware  what your contract with your  subscriber requires 
regarding monitoring termination and notice.  You can  follow the dictates of 
the contract unless your locale has governing statutes or  ordinances that you 
are required to follow.  In some areas for example you  must notify the local 
fire department if you are terminating monitoring.
    Be careful if you have provided monitoring without a  contract.  This can 
occur when you install and monitor without a contract,  a new tenant comes in 
and doesn't sign a contract, your contract with the  subscriber expires, 
doesn't have a renewal clause or your don't comply with a  statute that requires 
some notice before the renewal clause will be  enforced.  Once you have 
provided monitoring without a contract your  termination of that service will not 
have any guideline, such as the terms of a  contract.  I have counseled alarm 
companies to use common sense and provide  notice before terminating.  Unless 
there is a governing law, and I am not  aware of any, other than for fire 
possibly, I think you are on safe ground once  you know the subscriber is aware that 
monitoring is terminated and has had a  reasonable time to replace the 
service.  This is days, not weeks or  months.
    If a new tenant takes over space or a house, and you  don't know about 
it, but you have continued to provide service, then you need to  terminate that 
service immediately upon learning about the new occupant.   Even then you 
should provide some notice if you know the new occupant has relied  on your 
service.  Better safe than sorry.  You don't want to find out  if your termination 
without notice was proper only after a lawsuit.

 
Ken  Kirschenbaum, Esq