KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Comment on continuing to collect after system is down
 / Central station 2020 webinars
July 10, 2020
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Central Station* 2020 webinar series starts July 13, 2020.  K&K will be hosting webinars by central stations, one at a time, who will address "why you should be using our central station".  Each webinar will be approximately 20 minutes and then Q&A opportunity.  See what your central station has to offer or what others offer, enabling you to choose the right central station for you.  
You should be using a central station listed on The Alarm Exchange to be assured of quality and more importantly, accountability
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  *  only central stations on The Alarm Exchange will be invited to participate
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Register Now for the CS webinar series: 
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AvantGuard Monitoring Centers - July 13, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/678509033268733199
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UCC – United Central Control - July 14, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3503808614443052302
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Rapid Response - July 15, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2467263818567576075
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Dispatch Center - July 16, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5719660994972167691
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Statewide Central Station - July 17, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2654849298360793872 
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Affiliated Monitoring - July 20, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6582371903028819982 

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Dynamark Security Centers -  July 21, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2732409948268814863
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Stanley Security Wholesale Monitoring  July 22, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1266411303572956432
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Allstate Security Industries Inc – July 23, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7997485149440152333

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General Monitoring Services  - July 28, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6847800607085109776
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Comment on continuing to collect after system is down from article on July 1, 2090
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Ken, 
            Re: Your newsetter on July 1, 2020, Continue to collect after system is down
            Your response says our obligation is to notify the customer that "service is required and their system is in trouble".  
            I'm confused, as your Standard Residential Security Agreement, section 6 line 4 says in part;  
            “No response shall be required for supervisory, loss of communication pathway, trouble or low battery signals.”
            We are a very small company.  It is not uncommon for customers in our area with a national internet company to have their telephone lines interrupted for short periods daily.  Those incidents are logged in their individual accounts.  I would find it very labor intensive to call each and every one of those accounts that there was a loss of communication pathway.  
            If there is a loss of pathway a trouble light (which is a notification of sorts) lights up on their keypad.  If the outage is longer than the programmed period of time a missed "Timer Test" signal is logged.  These are programmed as daily, weekly or monthly.  
            I do make a concerted effort to advise that customer of the issue, usually via a text message to the first person on the call list.  
            My question, the way I understand the contract we would NOT be obligated to do any notification.  I think it is good customer service to do so but I cannot imagine what a large company would do as this happens daily to a large number of accounts.
     Thank you for your efforts.
Harry
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Response
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            This is from the current most updated Commercial All in One and the Residential All in One:
            “No response shall be required for supervisory, loss of communication pathway, trouble or low battery signals.”
            The above provision does not appear in the Commercial Fire All in One because monitoring is pursuant to NFPA or AHJ requirements and that includes notification of trouble signals.
            When I suggested that you should notify the subscriber of a trouble signal I did not intend to address a temporary situation, but one where the system would require a service call to restore the system.  Even if the contract doesn’t require notification you are still permitted to provide notice, and sometimes it’s a good idea for customer relations.  Temporary loss of communication or power is likely to correct itself before notification is require, appropriate or made, unless it’s for an extended period, and then notification may not even be possible or effective.
            But when a trouble signal is for system failure related to a malfunctioning component, that isn’t going to resolve itself without a repair.  If you’re under a Repair Service Plan you should notify the subscriber, even though the contract doesn’t require it.  If you’re on a per call service you don’t have to let the subscriber know of a trouble signal, except for fire systems, but you can.  A subscriber who uses the alarm system should see that a system is in trouble and call for service.
            The question makes it seem like the dealer is giving the notice.  What about the central station?  It’s the central station who should be providing the notice of a signal.  You should check with your central station and find out its policy on every signal, not just trouble signals.  I don’t know that every central station follows the same protocol or whether they all do it effectively.  
            This may be a topic the central stations should cover in their individual webinars starting July 13, 2020.  
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Central station 2020 webinars
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            Our central station's webinars begin soon.  Register now.
    
            Central stations will have the opportunity to tell you what services they offer, to what extent the services are unique or specialized and, with some pressing, what you can expect to pay.  The webinars are starting July 13 and the central stations are lining up to participate.  
            The webinars offer an excellent opportunity to interact with your central station, scope out another central station, and consider whether you want to move accounts or open new accounts with a particular central station.  Am I encouraging central station hopping?  No, but I am encouraging you to use central stations listed on The Alarm Exchange.  Why, for you, not me.  You get the added protection of knowing that the listed central stations are expected to deal with dealer issues and cooperate with a goal of resolving disputes. Those that fail to co-operate risk having their post removed from The Alarm Exchange.  That may not sound like a big deal to you, but check out The Alarm Exchange central station category.  Every major reputable central station is participating.  If your central station isn’t, move to one that is.  If you don’t, don’t bother complaining to me about problems you have with the central station; I have no relationship with that central station and won’t be able to make a call to resolve your issue.  
            So make some time to attend the webinars, by video or on your phone.  They will all be recorded and you will be able to view or hear them by visiting the K&K website and navigating to the alarm webinars:  https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars
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To order up to date Standard Form Alarm /  Security / Fire and related Agreementsclick here:  www.alarmcontracts.com
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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