more on what service plan covers / collecting on contract even if you’ve made a mistake / Register for CS webinars / CS webinars start tomorrow October 16, 2023
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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 ********************** more on what service plan covers / collecting on contract even if you’ve made a mistake / Register for CS webinars / CS webinars start tomorrow October 16, 2023 ************************ SEE WEBINAR REGISTRATION BELOW – REGISTER NOW ******************************** more on what service plan covers from article on October 3, 2023 ********************************* Ken: When I had my operating alarm company we sold annual inspection contracts. For around $100.00 in today’s dollars we visited location, tested system, replaced batteries and provided a service plan. We charged a percentage of the selling price; I believe 5% and that included a site visit with testing of the system and battery replacement; two no fault service calls up to one hour free. After one hour we billed regular charges and 30% discount on all equipment. This protected us from doing hours of service work for free. The 30% discount on equipment gave pricing that more than covered our equipment cost. We had around $100.000 RMR in today’s dollars and when we sold we received full multiple; the same as our leases and monitoring. Why? Because we had years of history of stable and very profitable income AND could prove it because we had financials with specific profit centers displays. We believe this on-site visit reduced attrition. We also created upgrade business and asked for and received referrals. Other than that, why bother!! Jim Wooster Sr AFS Inc jtwooster@alarmfunding.com ******************************* Response ******************************* Many alarm companies do not have RMR for service plans or inspection service plans. Some don’t know how to price these plans; others don’t know how to “sell” the plans and others haven’t thought about how the repair service plans and inspection service plans with RMR add value to the business. That RMR does add value; a lot of value. While service and inspection RMR won’t attract the same multiple as monitoring RMR, and is harder to price, there is a buyer for that RMR and the multiple is likely to be close to 5 points of the multiple for the monitoring RMR. Pricing is essential obviously because no one is going to want underpriced service or inspection plans where you’re losing money. That would be like trying to sell monitoring RMR when you charged less than the central station was charging you. Only central stations should lose money on monitoring, not dealers. [what? What central station loses money? Plenty. Typically alarm companies who monitor their own accounts and a few other dealer accounts but there aren’t enough accounts to really cover the expense of carrying and operating a technologically up to date central station facility meeting the NRTL [National Recognize Testing Laboratories] requirements]; but that’s a bit off topic. The All in One agreements are designed to maximize your sale, services and RMR that you charge for those after-install services. We should have a webinar to discuss the value in service and inspection plans and how to price those plans. Anyone interested in presenting, let me know. ******************************** collecting on contract even if you’ve made a mistake ******************************** Ken You stated that an alarm company that breached the contract would not be able to collect on that contract if the customer canceled. But what you implied (actually said} was that in contrast it would be understandable for a customer to cancel if the alarm company, rather than a third party, was the one who failed to perform properly. I sent you my case to show that even in a scenario where it is the alarm company that failed to properly perform the customer couldn't cancel, let alone one where the fault was someone else's. RK ************************* Response ************************* So there are a few scenarios that come to mind. Alarm company and subscriber have long term contract. Subscriber becomes unhappy because of false alarms, or missed signals by the central station, or delayed service call repairs or miss applied payments or … you fill in the blanks. Subscriber cancels; alarm company sues. Can alarm company collect? Should alarm company collect? This can be a bit tricky. For starters, even though you’ve had experience collecting on a case doesn’t mean you can rely on that case. Some cases produce aberrant results; you can’t count on them for the next case. A party cannot breach a contract and expect to be able to sue and collect on it. But a mistake does not, in my opinion, constitute a breach of the contract, especially when the contract has specific provisions for remedies, which a properly drafted alarm contract will. Even a successful burglary or fire, and the alarm didn’t work, would not be sufficient for a subscriber to terminate the contract; essentially breaching the contract, but some judge may disagree, so it could be toss-up. It’s a good idea to use K&K collection dept because we have the experience and can assess the case, pursue the ones that warrant pursuing and weed-out those that don’t. **************************** ALL WEBINARS WILL BE RECORDED AND ACCESSIBLE ON K&K WEBSITE https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars Don't miss out on live Q&A and your chance to be heard *********************** WEBINARS SCHEDULE and REGISTRATION: SOFTWARE / CENTRAL STATIONS ************************** central station webinars ************************ If you haven’t signed up for the webinars you’re making a mistake. The live presentations offer you the opportunity to ask your questions and get answers. You can join on any device including your office computer or your smart phone, so even if in the field or driving you can join and even participate. If you miss the live webinar, no worry. It should be posted on the K&K Website for alarm webinars within a few days of the live presentation; go here to check: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars *************************** Central Stations series: Why You Should Be Monitored By Our CS Hear from the leading central stations and “Why you should be monitored by” that central station. The topic of remote operator monitoring from outside the central station facility and the dynamics that issue presents is sure to come up. The question you need to be asking is why isn’t your central station participating and why are you still using your central station if it’s not participating? ************************ October 17, 2023 noon ET,Emergency 24 Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5032873072502046552
October 31, 2023 noon ET, Rapid Response Monitoring Center Registration Link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2959829660260960857 ****************************** 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
