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 whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ********************** Can you increase recurring charges, when and how May 1, 2023 ********************** Can you increase recurring charges, when and how ********************** Ken, As you know, all of our costs have been skyrocketing so we are wanting to do a uniform % increase across all our accounts to help off-set the rising costs. Is there anything in the contracts that would preclude that or make that not feasible? Are there any notification requirements? Thanks for all your help. Brett ************************** Response ************************** Let’s get a few items out of the way up front. You can increase the RMR charges without any notice to customers. You can do it annually and up to 9%. Your customer has already agreed to pay the increase. This advice, of course, assumes you are using a Kirschenbaum Contract™; if you don’t use a Kirschenbaum Contract™ [and it’s been updated within a decade or so – yeah I know, some of you are actually still using such an old contract and some of you managed to steal an old version and think you got away with it] then I don’t know what you can do, but not likely do the increase without notice and without risking your customer canceling the contract or refusing the pay the increase. The All in One permits the increase and the customer has agreed in advance to pay that increase. You can do it once a year up to 9%. A customer paying $40.00 RMR goes to $43.60; a rather innocuous increase but still not one you would want to waive in your customer’s face if you don’t have to. You can let your customer know the increase is coming; you can even ask permission to increase. With today’s inflation and economic conditions I would be surprised if most customers weren’t annoyed with the increase ….. sort of like kicking someone when they’re already down. You can explain your hard luck story all you want but your customers are, for the most part, already in that same boat and most don’t have an option to increase their income to cover your increase. Keep in mind you’re not the only one looking for an increase. Difference between you and the next guy is that you were smart enough to use the Standard Form Agreements so you don’t even have to tell your subscriber about the increase, you don’t need permission and your subscriber has no choice but to pay the increase or to be in default of the contract. If you decide to send some notice I have provided a sample letter prepared by ai. By the way I haven’t raised my rates in maybe 20 years …… just a thought. ************************* Sample letter – courtesy of Artificial Intelligence ********************** Dear Valued Customer, We hope this letter finds you well. As one of our valued customers, we wanted to reach out and inform you of an upcoming change to our service. Due to the rising costs of labor, materials, and operating expenses, we have found it necessary to increase our monthly service charge. This change is in accordance with our contract and will take effect starting next month. We understand that this news may come as an inconvenience to you and we want to assure you that we have not taken this decision lightly. We have explored all options to minimize the impact on our customers, but unfortunately, we cannot continue to absorb these rising costs without affecting our operations. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued loyalty and support. We value your business and hope that you understand the reasons for this increase. Rest assured that we will continue to provide you with the same level of service and quality that you have come to expect from us. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our customer service team. We will be happy to assist you in any way we can. Thank you for your understanding and continued patronage. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Company Name] ************************* STANDARD FORM AGREEMENTS: 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. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ************************* THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily. https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-exchange ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our email list / 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. ************************** 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
