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 white list ken@kirschenbaumesq.com 
************************************
more on 3 day notice of cancellation / comment on ADT wins fire death case
January 12, 2019

****************
more on 3 day notice of cancellation
*****************
Ken,
            You are the lawyer and I'm an electrician, so, I hesitate to question something you wrote in your newsletter regarding the three day cancellation notice. 
            Based upon a class I took many years ago given by AT&T lawyers when I was an AT&T alarm dealer, the class was told that the FTC rule regarding three day cancellation notices only applied to customers where we initiated the initial contact (i.e. knocking on doors cold calling). The AT&T lawyers said that the three day notice was not necessary if we had an existing relationship with the customer or if the customer initiated the initial contact with us. 
            The AT&T designed alarm was the worst alarm I had ever seen in my life. Perhaps the legal advice AT&T gave us was as bad as the alarm system they designed. 
Best regards,
Bob 
********************
Response
********************
            Perhaps you misunderstood or remembered what you heard in the class.  The purpose of the 3 day notice is to provide a cooling off period for the consumer who may have been pressured into signing the contract.  This pressure would be the same whether the transaction began with a cold call knock on the door, or the customer calling the company and asking to meet with a sales person. 
            The rule of thumb is that unless the contract is signed at your retail business, give the 3 day notice.
            If you never visit the consumer's home you probably don't need the 3 day notice of cancellation.  If you have visited the home then I'd give the 3 day notice.  Keep in mind that potential buyers of your accounts and going to be looking for compliance with the 3 day notice requirement. 
            Electronic signature, where the transaction is entirely over the phone or Internet, or mail, and you haven't been to the house, you don't have to give the notice.
********************
comment on ADT wins fire death case from November 26, 2018 article
********************
Ken
            I’m sorry for the loss of life, but relieved the contract held.  However, I’m confused as to why they were litigated on these signals.  Were there fire devices connected to this system?  I’d like to know how other dealers would have responded to these trouble signals.  My company would have treated the tamper as a burglary alarm. Under no circumstances would we have dispatched the fire department on these signals.  
            On another note, I am once again surprised to find my independent alarm dealer heart feeling sorry for, and then happy for, ADT.  It’s a barometer of how much the residential market has changed.  
Jean Levenson  
********************
Response
********************
            Here is what is worth repeating.  I can't tell you how important it is for the dealer and the monitoring center to know what each signal is and how it's to be responded to.  Dealers can't sneak a fire alarm device on a burglar alarm contract and not let the monitoring center know it's a fire signal.  The reason is obvious, the monitoring center responds depending on the signal.
            As to why there was litigation?  Why not?
************************

NOTICE:  You can always read our Articles on our website at ww.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles
***********************
THE ALARM EXCHANGE

alarm classifieds alarm security contractsThis area is reserved for alarm classifieds, alarm company announcements, solicitations, offers, etc. Those wishing to sell or buy; borrow or lend; dealer program or dealer; central stations; insurance brokers; business  brokers, insurance companies. Equipment to sell; looking for employees; subcontractors; mergers;

There is no charge to post a listing here.Include your contact information, phone, email and web site.  If you would like to submit a posting, please send an email to ken@kirschenbaumesq.com.  To create a reciprocal link to our website, click here.
**************************************************************************************
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.  You can read articles and order alarm contracts on our web site www.alarmcontracts.com

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
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com