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DISCONNECTED SUBS WHO WANT TO CONTINUE SERVICE
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Ken
    We are using your contracts and have questions about customers who are disconnected and want to sign up again.  First, what is the proper way to notify a customer that they are subject to disconnection?  Do we need to send a certified letter?  
    Second, if a customer is disconnected and then wants to be reconnected within a short period, let's say a week or less, is there any reason we shouldn't reconnect them?  If we do reconnect them, should they sign another contract and should we completely test their system at that point?
    It is usually beneficial to us to get these few customers back, but I also don't want us to shoot ourselves in the foot.  Thank you for your advice and for your thorough contracts.  I would prefer to remain anonymous.

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RESPONSE
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    We actually encounter this issue fairly often in our Alarm Collection Department. [available in NY, NJ, CT, Florida and most other states - if you are using our updated Standard Form Agreements].   Reinstatement is often the cheapest and easiest way out of a lawsuit for breaching the alarm contract.  But it comes with a price.  Once you have gone to the expense of terminating the subscriber's services, typically the monitoring service, reinstating that service may entail time and expense.  For example, you may have already canceled service with the central station; perhaps you notified the AHJ of the cancellation.  
    Charging a reinstatement fee is therefore justified, though not always part of the settlement for reinstatement.  We have clients that will routinely waive a reinstatement charge, happy to get the subscriber back and paying the RMR, and other clients who will not reinstate unless the defaulting subscriber pays not only the reinstatement charge but pays all legal fees in addition to everything owed to bring the contract current.
    If you are using the Standard Form Agreements you can notify your subscriber by regular mail.  While notification may not be required it's a better idea to provide some notice that alarm services are being terminated.  That notice can be in any manner however, including programming the keypad to read "monitoring service canceled" or "no monitoring service".  Don't waste your money on certified or overnight mail.  
    If you have formally terminated the alarm contract then you will need to either reinstate that contract by agreement with the subscriber, or get a new contract signed.  A new updated contract is preferred, even if you have to reduce the initial term.  A subscriber who defaults with 24 months left on the contract may not be willing to sign a new contract for 60 months, especially if the reinstatement charges are being paid at the time of reinstatement.
    If you reinstate the old contract be sure to get a writing that provides for reinstatement.  We do not offer a form for this.  
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CAN ANYONE RECOMMEND FIRE ALARM REPORT SOFTWARE
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Ken,
    Have you heard of any fire alarm inspection companies that handle or manage the inspections through report software or the like?  
Thanks
Eddie
Prestige
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