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CAN YOU HARASS A NON-PAYING SUBSCRIBER
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Ken
    I have a non paying customer that uses our Alarm.com services only for their burglar alarm.  I have tried many ways to contact the customer about payment (mail, email, text), with no response.  I can see that he is still using the alarm, just not paying for it.  At this point he owes me over 6 months of monitoring fees.  My question is can I change the programming of his panel to make using it a nuisance to him if he continues to use it.  For example change the exit/entry door to an instant zone so the alarm triggers instantly each time he opens his entry door?
I can make these changes remotely. 
Greg
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RESPONSE
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    I may have given away my answer in the way I framed the question.  You cannot harass your subscriber.  Causing the system to false alarm isn't going to help, it's going to aggravate the situation and give your subscriber a claim against you that even the best contract won't protect against.
    You don't mention what contract you used for this subscriber.  I am going to assume it's the Standard Form Residential All in One Agreement, because if it's not then I don't know what you agreed to do in the event of non-payment or if your contract is silent on the issue.  The All in One has a few definite and decisive measures that you can take, and reprogramming is one of them.  However you cannot reprogram to cause false alarms and you cannot render the system entirely inoperable.  Why not?  Because the subscriber purchased the system [unless it's leased in which event you can shut it down completely] and the non-payment relates to the monitoring [and possibly repair service] charge.  
    Can and should shut down monitoring.  I am fine with changing the display on the keypad to read that the monitoring is suspended, canceled or other wording that conveys a similar message.  Avoid derogatory displays, such as "You are a dead beat" or other potentially challenging words.  You can say "no payment - no monitoring", or "monitoring services suspended" or "monitoring services terminated" or "no monitoring service - contact us at 555-555-5555".  Be certain that you have notified the subscriber that monitoring is canceled before you shut it down.
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The Dead Beat Calendar
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    Maybe you can sell your subscriber the Dead Beat Calendar.  My tongue in cheek idea did get a few comments; here they are.
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Ken
    Actually, I don't think the calendar would be a big volume seller but would reach a certain level and then sell as a novelty over a long period. I think that graphics on each page would be essential in attracting someone to pick up the product to look at it but applying graphics on each page would probably present more of a problem (expense) than obtaining the quantity of excuses.
    It wouldn't be that much of an expense to have a local printer make some up for you and put them out on consignment in local gift and stationary stores to see if there is an interest. Packaging is important and obviously finding the right price point above cost. 
Gene
Reliable Alarm
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Ken
    I would buy it. 
Brian Watson, President
Alarm Center Security
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Ken,
    I love the idea of the calendar.   However in this day and age you might be right with regard to most people not using it.   However another idea would be to make an Outlook plug-in or Google calendar plug-in.  What this would do much like your reminders pop up it would tell your customer another great excuse for not making payment.    A good addition would be you can offer updates for New Year's at a reduced price for existing subscribers.  
    Let me know if you need help with this I do computer consulting.   Have a great Fourth of July weekend.  
    Please excuse any typos this was sent from my Phone. 
Bill Kane
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Ken
    sign me up for one.
ralph aiello
ess, llc
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Ken
    Your idea
    You’re right, most people don’t use calendar tear off sheets anymore. However, if it’s formatted more like a notepad laid out simply, it would be used to jot down phone #s and notes.  I think it’s a good idea. I would suggest also writing a simple app. Something that can be a floating (or docked) window displaying the date and day of week, along with appointments possibly (or an exclamation mark reminding the user to go to their calendar. The “saying of the day” could be on that window. It’s a very simple app to write. (certainly a lot less complex than our hosted system). BTW - we are doing great with it. I may need you to draft a licensing agreement. We have dealers interested in licensing our system for their business! Six figure licensing fees. Reach out to me one day so we can chat. Not bad for a dinosaur…
Mitch Cohen
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Ken
    Yes, make it and sell it to me, unless you will violate copyright by stealing his excuses.
     Great idea though
Tom B
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