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EXPIRED CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS
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 Ken
    We use your alarm monitoring contracts on every one of our accounts.  We have a couple of accounts that we have tried to contact by phone to let them know that their carbon monoxide detectors have expired and they are no longer functioning but they are not interested in replacing them.  Are we liable if there was a carbon monoxide poisoning?
    We have started sending out letters to all our customers with carbon monoxide detectors that will be expiring soon.  Is it enough to just send out a letter?   How can we prove that we tried to contact them?
Thank You
Mike 
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RESPONSE
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    Good questions and not easily answered.  This issue doesn't arise unless you are under an agreement to service the alarm system.  If your agreement calls only for installation or just monitoring then you have no obligation to notify that a device is not functioning unless that device causes the system to notify you, in which event you will notify the subscriber that a signal was received and the system requires service.  
    So let's assume you are under a service obligation.  The Standard Form Agreements all impose a testing obligation on the subscriber, and the subscriber has to notify you that the system needs repair service.  Only then do you have to service the system.  If you are under an Inspection obligation then of course you need to inspect and report, service also if that's part of your deal with the subscriber.
    Your Agreement lets the subscriber know that the subscriber has to watch for non- operational equipment, and that you are not responsible for batteries or obsolete of end of life equipment, none of which is included in your Service Agreement.
    To directly answer the question, unless you get notice of a non-functioning device, including a CO detector, you are under no obligation to notify the subscriber [unless of course you agreed in your contract to provide notice based on passage of time].  If you do decide to provide a notice then you are permitted to send that notice any way you want.  A letter is acceptable.
    Your final question, how do you prove you sent a letter, is interesting.  By prove I assume you mean in a court, perhaps in a case accusing you of negligence because you didn't send a notice or your CO detector didn't work.  Proof of mailing notice can be established a number of ways.  The best way, in my opinion, is to retain a copy of the letter along with a certification from someone in your office certifying that the letter was sent on a particular day to the address on the letter.  That certification will state that the person stuffed that letter in the envelope, added the proper stamp and deposited it in a US Post Office receptacle.  You should keep a log of each letter sent as a separate business record.  You can also go to the expense of a postal receipt or even certified mail, but I don't think that's necessary.  A fax or email confirmation works just as well.
    The Standard Form Agreements are designed to minimize your risks and also reduce what you have to do in order to avoid exposure for liability,  Use the Standard Form Agreements and worry less.
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IS SPECIFIC INSURANCE NEEDED
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Ken
    We're looking to buy several of your alarm oriented contracts, and thought about insurance.  Is specific insurance related to alarm systems, sales and monitoring needed?
Thank you
Just getting started
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Response
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    Another good question.  Though alarm contracts and insurance are not in the same categories, I suppose both are designed to provide you some comfort and protection.  Without alarm contracts you may as well not be in this business because you won't be building any equity and you won't survive long in business.  Without insurance your day of reckoning will come sooner or later and whether you'll be able to self fund the defense and the damage award remains to be seen.
    So do you need insurance?  Yes you do.  Is it specific insurance for the alarm industry?  Yes it is.  
    Should you use a broker who knows the alarm industry?  Yes you should.
    Why?  Because if you don't you may not get the protection you need, think you have or may pay much more for the coverage than you need to.  Your alarm insurance should include basic general liability and errors and omissions insurance.  It should cover installation, service and monitoring; it should not exclude any services you provide or are likely to provide.  You should get your insurance from a broker listed on The Alarm Exchange, and you should shop them for best prices and policies.  
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COMMENT ON CODE AND CO DETECTORS FROM OCTOBER 27, 2015 ARTICLE
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Ken
    To John in NJ.  Thanks for the honest explanation of how you handle trouble signals on your accounts, I can see that you are very concerned and take great care of your customers.  So please tell me, did you man-up and pay the $300.00 fine that you caused for your subscriber or just blast away at the AHJ while you hide behind the curtain with the wizard??
    I can assure you of this, if your subscriber was here in Phoenix I would personally walk them thru the false alarm appeal hearing process to help them present their case in order to have YOU charged for the illegal dispatching of the AHJ on non-critical supervisory signals and make sure that YOU pay the $300.00 in false alarm fees.  Not sure about the AHJ in NJ, but that’s how we take care of our citizens out here in the West when they are getting stroked by someone like you. 
    `So John, were you in Scottsdale for the Honeywell Dealers CONNECT 15 conference last week to learn about the newest happenings with Honeywell products, you should have been there; I was.  I even got to have lunch with Bart Didden and discuss the finer aspects of life!  Are you coming to Phoenix for the CSAA Fall Operations Management Seminar next month or the ESA Leadership Summit in Chandler Az next January??  I will be at these events if you’re coming and I would love to meet with you to discuss my ability to dissect the installation of an alarm system according to the manufacturer specifications, industry standards or best practices.  I am sure I could learn something from you, although, I have been thru NTS training, NSCA’s EST, attend ESA/NTS CEU classes, manufacturer product training and have clearance from the manufacturers to access the same technical support desks that you do on a regular basis.  You seem to think I do not know my way around a professional alarm installation, well, maybe I don’t need to have a litany of three letter acronyms after my name to spot stupid.  Please come to Phoenix and open up an alarm business because I would really like to meet you and have a chance to inspect one of your accounts!! 
    I suppose, based on your description of what happened to your customer that you would argue that an alarm company or their central station is supposed to dispatch PD on the SIA Standard ADEMCO CID event code 383.  I know at least one other alarm company and CMS that would have agreed with you because they dispatched PD on the “trouble” caused by the customer who was changing out his own wireless batteries on Honeywell 5816 transmitters.  The alarm company/CMS did however, sing a different tune after we had a conference call during the inspection to go over the alarm event history and I showed the customer how much his alarm company/CMS cost them in false alarm fees for dispatching on the event code 383 and also because they still dispatched PD on several BA events after event code 406 came in to the CMS before PD was called.  I then suggested that the customer take the Phoenix PD alarm inspection report to the Az Registrar of Contractors (ROC) and file a complaint against their ROC license if his alarm company does not make him financially happy with some $$$ credit on his next monthly bill.  On the post inspection follow up visit he let me know that they made him an offer with some free equipment and $$$ reimbursement so they could avoid the ROC complaint.  As far as the CMS goes, the CMS manager promised me that they are changing their policy.  One down and a few more to go!
    So I cheer… Go Bart Go!!  I am with you 100% on this issue of dispatching the AHJ on trouble signals and other non-critical system or babysitting events.  This is a classic example where the central station operators needs to stand up and be the gatekeeper in the industry against the stupid things that the dealers do/sell/install. 
    So does anybody else besides John in NJ want to try to explain what does the alarm company think that the responding PD or fire is going to do for the customer with a trouble signal, fix it for free or charge them for a false alarm dispatch???  I’ll ask a rhetorical question; what’s the purpose of reporting a “trouble” signal that is different from an “alarm” signal if the CMS decides to dispatch the AHJ on both??  Maybe we should go back to the dark ages to find and old dinosaur (*respected elder) to give us an answer of how it used to be back in the day.  This makes me wonder; John, are you still installing McCulloh loop transmitters back in NJ??
Thanks,
Detective H.W."Robbie" Robinson #5002
Phoenix Police Code Enforcement Unit,  Alarm Inspections
Phoenix, Az.
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RESPONSE
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    Robbie, John is a "big boy" and can take it, so I am circulating your comments .  Referring to Bart may be the only low blow......  only kidding.
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