As with any other volume based scam, the commercials seem to be everywhere. Deals from $ 9.99, $ 14.99, $ 19.99 and pretty much everything in between.
So with all the different prices out there, what is the difference and what is the best way to go when it comes to monitoring your home or business security alarm system.
The first thing you should know is the industry standard rate for monitoring is right around $25.00 per month. Some companies may charge you a few dollars more of you are leasing the equipment. Some will charge you a little extra for a service contract. The thing is this $25 is pretty much what the service is worth. If you see a price for anything less than that you should be suspicious as to why the price is lower.
One needs only to call a credit card company or computer technical support to realize many companies outsource their call center work to foreign countries (Often India.) In theory, this should not be too big of a problem; in fact I have received some fairly good technical support from India. Personally, when dealing with the dispatch of police to my home during a break-in, I do not want my safety to be the victim of a breakdown in communication.
Further to that, foreign alarm monitoring stations are not subject to the same laws as domestic. In other words, your personal and private information may be exposed to the less reputable in society. Be careful who you give your banking information to. One need only look at what is happening with all those nigerian internet scams. For the most part, this sould not be a concern as there is usually some sort of local representation. The thing is to be careful and aware of the possibilities.
Even if the monitoring station is not in a foreign country, long distance carriers use a technology referred to as “Least cost routing” Basically, this means long distance calls are often routed through several switches, all with the sole purpose of saving money. With voice calls, this could result in a slight echo, or maybe a little bit of static or a change in voice frequency. These issues are not a big deal when it comes to voice. The problem arises with frequency based data transmissions such as alarm signals. A slight deviation in bandwidth could have serious side effects on the ability for the signal coming from your security alarm system to be understood.
So what does this mean in the real world? Failure to communicate is a security alarm term referring to the security alarm panel not being able to communicate an event to the alarm central monitoring station aka Monitoring Center. In other words, neither the police, fire department nor the ambulance will know about your alarm going off. Burglars will have their way in your home, your home could burn down, or worse, an elderly family member calling for help may pass.
On a lighter note, when choosing a security alarm monitoring station or security alarm Installation Company, one should also look at the service policy and labor rates. In the case of a discount monitoring center, there usually is NO service. This is not saying they will not come out, what I am simply stating is if they do have a service technician in your area, you will be charged beyond normal industry rates for any kind of service calls. This includes simple instructions, entry delay changes or even code changes. Some of these companies even have the balls to charge an activation or connection fee.
In conclusion, be careful who you choose to trust your home or business security to. Maybe you are on a tight budget and you cannot afford quality alarm monitoring services. In that case, maybe the cheap guys are for you. What ever you decide, do yourself a favor and look at all the details. Choosing the cheapest monthly rate may result in you paying more in the long run.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment