Selecting a central station to monitor your alarm subscribers should be one
of your more important business decisions. Certainly price alone is not the
sole criteria. Disputes can arise, as you can see from the last email. A
dealer, ready to retire and sell his subscriber accounts, found out that he
was under contract with his central station to continue the monitoring
service for 5 years. This contractual obligation made his accounts less
appealing to another alarm company interested in buying the contract
accounts because that buyer had its own central station. Here is a reprint
of an article that has been on my web site for several years. The advice
is still sound, and of course we'd all like to hear from the central
stations if they have their own ideas.
Selecting a Central Station: Considerations
Alarm dealers who do not have their own central station
facilities face the option of selecting from the plethora of companies
that provide monitoring for other companies. This is known as "wholesale"
monitoring or "third party" monitoring. Here are some issues that a
Dealer should consider.
1. Does the dealer require UL certified monitoring, and can the central
station (CO) provide that service?
2. Is the CO competitive in its prices for its monitoring service?
3. Does the CO carry industry accepted errors and omissions insurance?
4. Does the CO provide any type of support to the dealer other than
monitoring the accounts, such as technical support, assistance with
service or equipment, or discounted errors and omissions insurance
premiums?
5. Does the CO require that the dealer sign a contract, and does that
contract lock the dealer into a long term relationship with the CO, does
it require the dealer to indemnify the CO, and does it give the CO an
option, first right of refusal, to purchase the dealer's subscriber
accounts if the dealer wants to sell?
6. Is the CO also an installer that may actually be in competition with
the dealer?
7. Is the CO a local company providing monitoring to dealers in its
geographic area, or a nationwide monitoring company?
8. Will the CO permit the dealer to have its own telephone line coming
into the CO?
9. Does the dealer require the dealer to have all subscribers sign the
CO's monitoring contract, a "three party contract"?
10. Does the CO have a reputation for honesty, efficiency, providing good
monitoring service, keeping good records and being responsive to the
dealer when necessary?