This topic is very close to my heart, as a technician, I have always felt many alarm sales people lacked integrity, honesty and the basic technical knowledge to properly represent a security alarm installation company. Of course, in the eyes of many, sales has more to do with the ability to close a deal than actual knowledge of what you are selling. After all, if the average consumer knew anything about security alarms, they would probably try to install them themselves or, at the very least, they would not fall for these crap sales oriented companies. This is by no means saying all security alarm sales people are douche bags, just enough of them to make the industry look bad.
So who is my target today? In the past, I have exposed several alarm companies including ADT, Alarmforce and other Discount alarm companies for either their crap systems or their marketing misrepresentations. Today the topic is much more urgent and really quite serious. Although several companies, including ADT, have been known for their "Summertime Sales" promotions. This is when a company hires students right out of high school (and often in high school) to do door to door sales of their security alarms. Although door to door sales is often a necessity in many home service type businesses, there needs to be a line drawn in the sand.
If there was in fact a line in the sand, APX Alarms would have long stepped all over it and kicked sand in the eyes of the person drawing the line. I am by no means saying every APX alarm sales person is a douche, but from what I have heard and read many of them are severely lacking in knowledge and scruples. I have been personally told, APX Alarms instructs their sales people that nothing is sacred with respect to closing the deal.
How do I know this, well it is quite an interesting story. About a week ago I heard a knock at my door. When I answered it a very young male dressed quite nicely was at the door with some pamphlets. As I have security alarm stickers on my window, and a keypad right by my door it was obvious I had a security alarm system. His first words were, "Hello, I am from the alarm company and I need to talk to you about your security system." Having heard of APX Alarms and their sales techniques, I withheld my anger and disdain and let the young punk in (fully knowing he was not from my alarm company as I am the owner.) After a few prodding questions and comments about an apparent "Crime spree in the neighbourhood" it became evident he was in fact not from my security alarm company and was in fact from APX. He went on to say how the owner of the company who was taking care of my alarm system was in fact being charged with stealing from his customers (Odd, did I miss something)
Still withholding my anger, I played along for abit. The sales person went on to say the security system I had installed was old and out of date and did not provide sufficient protection. Hmmm, fully automated home with a hardwired security alarm system consisting of glassbreak detectors, motion detectors, contacts on every window, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on every floor plus a water sensor by the hot water tank, with cellular, landline and IP alarm reporting... ya ok that is out of date and full of holes.
He went on to say APX Alarms was affiliated with Honeywell Security Systems and was therefor able to get better equipment than anyone else in the industry. That is odd, Honeywell is no longer in the alarm installation business.
This APX alarms sales person went on to say he could replace my "out of date security system" with a "High Tech Wireless Honeywell Security System." Now that was funny. With-holding my laughter, I played dumb and asked what was so wrong with the security alarm system I had. Now this is where it gets really funny. Without missing a beat, this teen aged punk continued on to tell me how the APX system was superior because it talked and how my system was garbage and could be bypassed by someone simply cutting the wires. Hmmm, what wires I said (not telling him my system also had voice control and could be accessed and controlled over secure internet.) He quickly responded "The wires going to your doors and windows." Keep in mind, all the wires are hidden in the walls. Furthermore, he said, "criminals now have code scramblers and they are able to disarm your particular alarm system by putting a special black box next to your keypad."
At that point I could not hold back, I informed the little punk APX alarm sales person that he was completely full of crap and requested to see his security alarm sales licence. Of course, he did not have one. When I told him I actually owned the alarm company he was bad mouthing, he quickly switched gears and tried to suck up for a job. This APX alarm sales person said he was simply trying to get into the alarm sales business and responded to APX alarms "No Experience required" advertisement. He told me they taught him everything about how to close a deal and how he would be able to help my company make millions.
Being a little interested in their "techniques" I inquired a little further. He went on to say, the sales trainer at APX alarms told me all I need to do is induce fear because fear is the biggest reason people choose to install security alarm systems. He was gloating about how the area sales manager for APX alarms listens to a police scanner to target certain area's which have been hit by a recent break-in's. He seemed really excited and wanted to go on further but I kicked him out of my house. Unfortunately I forgot to get his name as he needed to be reported.
As if that wasn't enough, I heard my brother and a family friend in another city have also had similar experiences. When I first got into the security alarm industry 25 some-odd years ago, I found it hard to believe a company would be running the risk of bold faced lying to get a sale. Unfortunately this is still a practice used by many security alarm sales people in the industry. APX alarms is not the first and I'm sure they will not be the last. What is truly scary is that this appears to be a practice used on a national basis. Normally I try to stay away from slamming a company as hard as I just did and I try to skirt around the issues. This time I felt it was important to out-right explain my experience in detail. Fear should NEVER be used to sell anything. This is a very cruel thing to do to a person and I am beyond angry that APX Alarms is doing this.
I am located in Eastern Canada, I do not know how far APX has gone with their Summer Promotion, however their website indicated they are targeting most of Canada and pretty much all of the United States. They do not appear to have service departments set-up and utilise contractors on piece work. What this means is, if something goes wrong with your alarm system or you have a simple question which requires a technician to visit. Your service will be taken care of by the lowest bidder in their pool of sub-contractors. I don't know what APX Alarms' service policy is however you will most likely be billed well over $150 per hour for any technician visit. A battery change could end up costing you as much as $500.
If you feel comfortable with the APX alarms sales person who visited your home and you decide to go with them, please read the contract in detail. Make sure you understand what you are getting into and ask clear and concise questions. If possible, get any promises in writing signed by someone within management of APX Alarms. This also applies to any consumer purchase, especially ones which involve door to door sales.
Good Luck, and I hope I answered all of your questions. FYI, the alarm system APX Alarms is offering for "FREE" is on promo at the wholesalers this month for $97 CAD. This is quite easily covered by the first few months of monitoring fee's. Remember, nothing in life is free.
Showing posts with label free alarms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label free alarms. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2009
Saturday, September 20, 2008
More ALARMFORCE REVIEWS
NOT Alarmforce anymore.We have had Alarm Force for 10 years and now we are going away from it due to their one-man service. "Free"is good until you have a problem. their system shorted the phone line ( relay locked open probably) and cooked the high speed modem ($79.95 plus tax) but the fellow refused to admit any problem, and insulted my friend the phone line fellow. then he said we should have been running a full test of the system every month. then he suggested over the phone a "hard reset" of the system. I wanted another unit; he didn't want to do that and said again that "you can never be too sure with the phone system"I'm going local with the ADT all in one price, and they have a line check they do every month for problems. AND no extra charges for battery service.AlarmForce, the main unit, which they own, has to have the battery replaced $100 plus sooner or later, 3 or 4 years max.If we were broken into would they say the system was not at fault because we didn't test it every month?There are problems getting calls back within 2 days, and I heard it cost one older lady $200 to have him come and check and replace her batteries throughout the house.Certainly something similar I know of happened to my folks, $100 plus to check the batteries.I'm not happy with service, a one man show.Me? I'm an Electro-mechanical research gadget builder and know a little bit about this over the last 30 years, so to hear it passed off on the phone company again when I was there with the meter in my hand- well that's just crap.- Unknown
4 comments:
Anonymous said...
This guy is a moron. I do not have an alarm service yet and was doing some research to see if there were any issues/complaints about the company. I want to add, that I worked for a security company for 14 years as a service technician. The way an alarm system works is a sensor connected to the main control panel triggers an alarm event when armed. This in turn, activates the dialer inside the control panel. The dialer does a couple of things then. 1 - The dailer relay which is a dry contact NO VOLTAGE what so ever, changes position/toggles to check for dial tone. When the control panel senses the dial tone, it then dials - hence the name - a preprogrammed number, just like a redial on your phone. The monitoring center is then called, again just like your phone at your house. Data is normally exchanged between the Control Panel and the Monitoring Center and then the Control Panel hangs up. The more likely cause is that the phone line probably took a surge that back fed the Control Panel, fused the relay shut and continued to the next device, the modem. This guy probably doesn't realize this but the alarm probably took the brunt of the surge and slowed it down. He is lucky that all his phones in the house were not damaged. You see in order for the alarm to have priority over other phones in your house, it is usually the first in line if installed properly. In 14 years, I have seen my share of cooked phone lines and equipment. NEVER was it the cause of the alarm system. IT IS A LOW VOLTAGE SYSTEM! It operates in most cases at 12 volts DC and pulls realitively no noticeable current unless the siren is sounding during an alarm. The a/c transformer is usually 12-18VAC. The same as a cordless phone. Come on you Thomas Edison want to be - Don't talk about things you don't understand.
June 28, 2007 5:40 AM
Anonymous said...
ADT Isn't the Greatest Solution either. They are just as bad when it comes to scamming the consumer... They just do it on a larger scale.As far as Dialer tests go, they are useless unless they are done daily. With how overleaded the receiver lines at ADT are, they generally ignore 1 fail to test, sometimes even 2. In this scenario, you will not find out about a buggered panel for up to 3 months. Yes, some panels will indicate a failure to communicate trouble, however ADT disables that on most of their panels because they do not want extra service calls.In addition, ADT has a 30 to 45 second Abort Delay STANDARD. What this means is if a crackhead breaks into your home, they have the initial 30 seconds to do whatever. Once the alarm starts to ring, they have up to an additional 40 seconds to find your panel and destroy it. This is not difficult as most ADT Systems are wireless and the whole alarm is on the keypad, or the panel is right next to the siren.... Not hard to find that with the siren ringing and the panel doing squat for 40 seconds. That is over 1 minute of useless alarm people. Think about it.
May 19, 2008 7:07 PM
Anonymous said...
I have worked for an security alarm compeny for a little over 5 year 3.5 as tech 1.5+ as an inspector. Alarmforce should be called Alarmfarce. The sytem they use is antiquated by design. What i mean is the technoligy is at least 20 years old. Also most of their customers use the phone to arm/disarm system (can you say redail!!!!!) also they do NOT have phone line siezure which means that if the phone is off hook it can NOT call out or if the Bulglar calls in it can NOT call out. Placement of the panel is another story. The kichen counter or behind a couch is good enough?? Next most devices are 2-way taped on?? Also for the first 30 to 90 seconds the "operator" you hear is a recording until a live operator can get to your alarm. Next and most important Joel advertises his 2-way as a good way to confirm alarms only thing is if the bulglar is queit the it goes the same way as any other alarm unverified. Next if it is a robbery in progress and the operator comes on after you press your panic button i really hope you are wearing a bullet proof jacket>>>>
June 20, 2008 12:37 PM
4 comments:
Anonymous said...
This guy is a moron. I do not have an alarm service yet and was doing some research to see if there were any issues/complaints about the company. I want to add, that I worked for a security company for 14 years as a service technician. The way an alarm system works is a sensor connected to the main control panel triggers an alarm event when armed. This in turn, activates the dialer inside the control panel. The dialer does a couple of things then. 1 - The dailer relay which is a dry contact NO VOLTAGE what so ever, changes position/toggles to check for dial tone. When the control panel senses the dial tone, it then dials - hence the name - a preprogrammed number, just like a redial on your phone. The monitoring center is then called, again just like your phone at your house. Data is normally exchanged between the Control Panel and the Monitoring Center and then the Control Panel hangs up. The more likely cause is that the phone line probably took a surge that back fed the Control Panel, fused the relay shut and continued to the next device, the modem. This guy probably doesn't realize this but the alarm probably took the brunt of the surge and slowed it down. He is lucky that all his phones in the house were not damaged. You see in order for the alarm to have priority over other phones in your house, it is usually the first in line if installed properly. In 14 years, I have seen my share of cooked phone lines and equipment. NEVER was it the cause of the alarm system. IT IS A LOW VOLTAGE SYSTEM! It operates in most cases at 12 volts DC and pulls realitively no noticeable current unless the siren is sounding during an alarm. The a/c transformer is usually 12-18VAC. The same as a cordless phone. Come on you Thomas Edison want to be - Don't talk about things you don't understand.
June 28, 2007 5:40 AM
Anonymous said...
ADT Isn't the Greatest Solution either. They are just as bad when it comes to scamming the consumer... They just do it on a larger scale.As far as Dialer tests go, they are useless unless they are done daily. With how overleaded the receiver lines at ADT are, they generally ignore 1 fail to test, sometimes even 2. In this scenario, you will not find out about a buggered panel for up to 3 months. Yes, some panels will indicate a failure to communicate trouble, however ADT disables that on most of their panels because they do not want extra service calls.In addition, ADT has a 30 to 45 second Abort Delay STANDARD. What this means is if a crackhead breaks into your home, they have the initial 30 seconds to do whatever. Once the alarm starts to ring, they have up to an additional 40 seconds to find your panel and destroy it. This is not difficult as most ADT Systems are wireless and the whole alarm is on the keypad, or the panel is right next to the siren.... Not hard to find that with the siren ringing and the panel doing squat for 40 seconds. That is over 1 minute of useless alarm people. Think about it.
May 19, 2008 7:07 PM
Anonymous said...
I have worked for an security alarm compeny for a little over 5 year 3.5 as tech 1.5+ as an inspector. Alarmforce should be called Alarmfarce. The sytem they use is antiquated by design. What i mean is the technoligy is at least 20 years old. Also most of their customers use the phone to arm/disarm system (can you say redail!!!!!) also they do NOT have phone line siezure which means that if the phone is off hook it can NOT call out or if the Bulglar calls in it can NOT call out. Placement of the panel is another story. The kichen counter or behind a couch is good enough?? Next most devices are 2-way taped on?? Also for the first 30 to 90 seconds the "operator" you hear is a recording until a live operator can get to your alarm. Next and most important Joel advertises his 2-way as a good way to confirm alarms only thing is if the bulglar is queit the it goes the same way as any other alarm unverified. Next if it is a robbery in progress and the operator comes on after you press your panic button i really hope you are wearing a bullet proof jacket>>>>
June 20, 2008 12:37 PM
Some Alarmforce Stories
Hopefully this information keeps others for falling into the Joel Matlin Alarmforce trap
Source: http://blog.eagleinbc.com
AlarmForce Annoyance
Published by Cameron at 7:54 am under Business, Customer Service, General, Technology
Since I seem to be on a bit of a rant this morning, I figure, why stop at toy recalls!
I have had an alarm system from AlarmForce for a couple years now. Overall, I’m not very impressed with there alarm system. They advertise a free alarm system, but there “free system” doesn’t include much, so you end up buying lots of add-ons to actually make it worth having an alarm from them. Without getting into the technical details, I’ll just say
that in my line of work, I’ve seem considerable better equiped systems out there. But until my contract is up in another 2 years, I’m stuck with them.
Back to my point though. About a week ago, I started getting a message from my system that it has a low system battery. So, I called up the Technical Support line, and was told that for $19, they’ll mail me a new battery. Maybe it’s me, but this seems like a load of crap. I did not have to purchase the system itself, I have not done ANYTHING to the system that would cause this “rechargable” battery to not hold a charge, and yet, after 2 years, it won’t charge. Personally, I think that they should replace it free, and send someone out with it. If the power goes out now, and someone breaks in, I don’t have an alarm. You’ll be sure that I’ll be holding AlarmForce accountable then.
Maybe I’m wrong.. But I don’t feel like a “valued customer”.. certainly not a satisfied one.
3 Responses to “AlarmForce Annoyance”
# AlarmForce - The Follow-Up Post! « Cam I Amon 03 Oct 2007 at 8:17 pm
[…] I’d leave a follow-up comment on AlarmForce. A few weeks ago, I put a post up about my disatisfaction with how AlarmForce handled my back-up battery replacement. The battery arrived, about three days after this post. […]
# Jonon 17 May 2008 at 12:30 pm
In April, 2008, Alarm Force stopped my wireless line cut protection without notifying me that they required a system upgrade, yet continuted withdrawing money from my account for both April and May 2008. They told me I wasn’t being monitored at all. So for two months they were stealing my money and providing no service!
Alarm Force refuses to release me from the contract even though they broke their end of the contract! I have contacted the Better Business Bureau, my bank is investigating, and I am also going to contact my State Attorney General’s Office.
Alarm Force is a total fraud. They stole my money for two straight months and did not provide the service I signed for. Further, they tried to extort me into paying for a system upgrade at the same time they told me I was not being monitored!!! Either I pay more money than I signed for in the original contract, or I am not monitored! Yet, they want to lock me into this contract for the remainder of the term or force me to pay the remainder of the contract which would be almost $550. Yea right….. they’ll never see a dime. And if they put it on my credit, I will fight them to the bitter end in court.
Alarm Force is OUTRAGEOUS.
# Fredon 24 May 2008 at 8:57 am
Alarmforce ?Duh !.I complained to the installer that the cat would trigger the motion detector. He ignored me. The cat did set off the alarm and I got a $75 bill from the municipality for a false alarm call. I called Alarmforce - they were RUDE, and said “how can we know why it happened, we weren’t there”.
They are still sending invoices with GST at 6% for services received in 2008 !.
Joel Matlin - “Mr. Cardboard Cut-Out” - you suck, bite me !
Source: http://blog.eagleinbc.com
AlarmForce Annoyance
Published by Cameron at 7:54 am under Business, Customer Service, General, Technology
Since I seem to be on a bit of a rant this morning, I figure, why stop at toy recalls!
I have had an alarm system from AlarmForce for a couple years now. Overall, I’m not very impressed with there alarm system. They advertise a free alarm system, but there “free system” doesn’t include much, so you end up buying lots of add-ons to actually make it worth having an alarm from them. Without getting into the technical details, I’ll just say
that in my line of work, I’ve seem considerable better equiped systems out there. But until my contract is up in another 2 years, I’m stuck with them.
Back to my point though. About a week ago, I started getting a message from my system that it has a low system battery. So, I called up the Technical Support line, and was told that for $19, they’ll mail me a new battery. Maybe it’s me, but this seems like a load of crap. I did not have to purchase the system itself, I have not done ANYTHING to the system that would cause this “rechargable” battery to not hold a charge, and yet, after 2 years, it won’t charge. Personally, I think that they should replace it free, and send someone out with it. If the power goes out now, and someone breaks in, I don’t have an alarm. You’ll be sure that I’ll be holding AlarmForce accountable then.
Maybe I’m wrong.. But I don’t feel like a “valued customer”.. certainly not a satisfied one.
3 Responses to “AlarmForce Annoyance”
# AlarmForce - The Follow-Up Post! « Cam I Amon 03 Oct 2007 at 8:17 pm
[…] I’d leave a follow-up comment on AlarmForce. A few weeks ago, I put a post up about my disatisfaction with how AlarmForce handled my back-up battery replacement. The battery arrived, about three days after this post. […]
# Jonon 17 May 2008 at 12:30 pm
In April, 2008, Alarm Force stopped my wireless line cut protection without notifying me that they required a system upgrade, yet continuted withdrawing money from my account for both April and May 2008. They told me I wasn’t being monitored at all. So for two months they were stealing my money and providing no service!
Alarm Force refuses to release me from the contract even though they broke their end of the contract! I have contacted the Better Business Bureau, my bank is investigating, and I am also going to contact my State Attorney General’s Office.
Alarm Force is a total fraud. They stole my money for two straight months and did not provide the service I signed for. Further, they tried to extort me into paying for a system upgrade at the same time they told me I was not being monitored!!! Either I pay more money than I signed for in the original contract, or I am not monitored! Yet, they want to lock me into this contract for the remainder of the term or force me to pay the remainder of the contract which would be almost $550. Yea right….. they’ll never see a dime. And if they put it on my credit, I will fight them to the bitter end in court.
Alarm Force is OUTRAGEOUS.
# Fredon 24 May 2008 at 8:57 am
Alarmforce ?Duh !.I complained to the installer that the cat would trigger the motion detector. He ignored me. The cat did set off the alarm and I got a $75 bill from the municipality for a false alarm call. I called Alarmforce - they were RUDE, and said “how can we know why it happened, we weren’t there”.
They are still sending invoices with GST at 6% for services received in 2008 !.
Joel Matlin - “Mr. Cardboard Cut-Out” - you suck, bite me !
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Alarm Force Employees Speak Out
It is very cheaply made and can be bypassed very easily. As a customer service representative I deal with more complaints about door sensors falling off, motion detectors going off for no valid reason and the system not arming. 90% of the product sold to customers is refurbished and sent out as new. It's very tiresome to hear irate customers calling in and not be able to talk to someone in the technical support staff. Why? Because at any given time there maybe 3 or 4 people dealing with all of Canada's and the US's problems. So as a customer service rep, we generate a service ticket and tell the customers someone from service will call you back. People call back sometimes up to 2 weeks later saying that no-one from service called them back therefore having customer service deal with many irrate customers demanding service now. People are paying for a functional alarm not for a piece of trash that keeps breaking down. People then try to get out of their contracts because of constant problems only to find out that "Oh well that's to bad your locked into a contract." People beware the company does not like law suits or people going to the Better Business Beaureu. So rather then getting upset with the Alarm Force Rep. Don't just threaten to go the the BBB follow up with it and they will let you out of your contact. They don't want to ruin there reputation with BBB.
As for the Central Station, again there are only 4 to 5 people covering active alarms. So when you think it's a good idea to get Two-way, it's not. It may take up to 10 minutes before you get a response on the two-way from someone in central station. In the meantime you could be dead or your contents stolen from your home thus defeating the purpose of a two-way system. I strongly recommend you consider another company. As a employee insider they are very un-organized and they scam people when signing work orders to get them to commit for another 4 years without even advising them. They have no compassion for people who become disabled, the elderly, people who have lost there jobs or even people who run into hard times. They protend to give you the best for your money but in the end you are a number, not a customer. Just to inform you that they are losing at least 100 to 150 customers a day because people are becoming wiser that this company is a joke. THINKING ALARM FORCE THINK AGAIN
As for the Central Station, again there are only 4 to 5 people covering active alarms. So when you think it's a good idea to get Two-way, it's not. It may take up to 10 minutes before you get a response on the two-way from someone in central station. In the meantime you could be dead or your contents stolen from your home thus defeating the purpose of a two-way system. I strongly recommend you consider another company. As a employee insider they are very un-organized and they scam people when signing work orders to get them to commit for another 4 years without even advising them. They have no compassion for people who become disabled, the elderly, people who have lost there jobs or even people who run into hard times. They protend to give you the best for your money but in the end you are a number, not a customer. Just to inform you that they are losing at least 100 to 150 customers a day because people are becoming wiser that this company is a joke. THINKING ALARM FORCE THINK AGAIN
Sunday, December 2, 2007
The Beaver made me do it – Security Alarm Systems and Telecom Companies
I can’t really say I blame them, in a business model; alarm monitoring is very much like cell phone service. There is however one major difference, a faulty cell phone merely needs to be brought into the local sales office for replacement. When it comes to a security system, a higher level of service is required… after all you are dealing with the safety of your home and family.
The phone companies will argue, the system is wireless and a failing device can easily be pulled from the wall and brought in for replacement… just like a cell phone? Seriously now, is that really effective home security?
It is all about the contract - This is by no means a new venture, cable companies and local phone companies have all ventured into the home security realm. Tempted by fast profits and re-occurring revenues, how can one argue. The thing is, pretty much every one of the previous companies has sold all their accounts to a third party, usually a foreign Based Company with cheap out of country monitoring. To a company less concerned with maintaining a loyal and happy client base, a monitoring account is worth anywhere from $ 600 to $ 900 on the open market. These large monitoring stations are often located out of the country where local regulations are less strict when it comes to the employee’s they hire. I am by no means saying all monitoring stations operate in this manner; in fact there are plenty of local monitoring stations within the Vancouver area who are highly regulated by the Attorney Generals Department of British Columbia.
So before you let yourself be tempted by the Beaver and their cute marketing techniques, think about how you want to be treated… as a commodity… or a person? Remember, although cute on the outside, beavers have sharp teeth. Has anyone ever truly been happy with the level of service from their cell phone company?
The phone companies will argue, the system is wireless and a failing device can easily be pulled from the wall and brought in for replacement… just like a cell phone? Seriously now, is that really effective home security?
It is all about the contract - This is by no means a new venture, cable companies and local phone companies have all ventured into the home security realm. Tempted by fast profits and re-occurring revenues, how can one argue. The thing is, pretty much every one of the previous companies has sold all their accounts to a third party, usually a foreign Based Company with cheap out of country monitoring. To a company less concerned with maintaining a loyal and happy client base, a monitoring account is worth anywhere from $ 600 to $ 900 on the open market. These large monitoring stations are often located out of the country where local regulations are less strict when it comes to the employee’s they hire. I am by no means saying all monitoring stations operate in this manner; in fact there are plenty of local monitoring stations within the Vancouver area who are highly regulated by the Attorney Generals Department of British Columbia.
So before you let yourself be tempted by the Beaver and their cute marketing techniques, think about how you want to be treated… as a commodity… or a person? Remember, although cute on the outside, beavers have sharp teeth. Has anyone ever truly been happy with the level of service from their cell phone company?
Gee, Joel sounds like a nice guy – Home Security the Alarmforce way
If you live in Canada and you are looking at purchasing a home security system, I am sure you have heard the AlarmForce commercials. After all, who outside someone living in a cave hasn’t heard the irritating little jingle consisting of nothing more than a phone number?
I will be the first to admit the obvious lure of the soft spoken voice, the false empathy and of course the price…. Who can beat FREE!!!! Don’t let yourself be fooled, when it comes to home security, nothing worth getting will ever be free. This especially holds true for wireless security systems.
Wireless security systems are flawed in their design and manufacture. Mr. Matlin of AlarmForce may tell you his system is superior to hardwired and is the latest and greatest technology available. The reason he can say this with such confidence is he knows he is not marketing to people within the security alarm industry. He is taking full advantage of the naivety of the security alarm consumer and those who do not research a company fully before they purchase a home security alarm system.
Here are some simple facts about Mr. Matlins’ AlarmForce neighbourhood.
1 - The Wireless technology used is similar to that of early model garage door openers. Remember the ones with the little switches inside you could move around and open your neighbours’ garage door?
2- Aside from being bulky and ugly, sensors are put up on your wall with Velcro tape.
The “thundering” 2-way voice comes from a small transistor radio style speaker mounted in the main control unit. This is also the location of the microphone, the dialer and everything which controls the security system.
3 - The main control unit is nothing more than a box about the shape of a loaf of bread. This box is typically set in a convenient place to access. Unfortunately this is also a convenience place for the potential burglar who could easily disable the alarm by stepping on it or putting it in the neighboring microwave oven. (It fits perfectly, I’ve tried.) In fact, many in the security alarm industry refer to this type of alarm as a “toilet alarm”, as it also fits nicely in the toilet bowl.
4 - Line seizure is a term in the industry referring to the ability of the alarm panel to take control of your phone line. This ensures picking up any phone in the house will not interfere with the transmission of the signal to the monitoring station. Since a counter mounted toilet alarm which plugs directly into a regular phone jack does not have line seizure, your home is further at risk.
5 - The monitoring contract. Oh ya, Joel Matlen of AlarmForce never mentioned the contract in his ad. Yes this is typically seven years. Seven years aside, the toilet alarm being sold here is not usable by any other alarm company, therefore you will never be able to cancel with Joel and switch to another company unless you switch out all your equipment. Therefore, Joel is really not giving you anything for free, his little box is a disposable technology, similar to a cell phone which will be out of date and non-functional in a couple of years.
I sincerely hope you found this information helpful. All the information contained within this article comes from industry experience and personal observation. I am by no means stating Joel Matlin or Alarmforce are lying to the consumer, I am simply pointing out some weaknesses in the system. Yes, I am in the industry but I will not mention my company name because that would make this nothing more than a marketing piece for my company. I do not wish to diminish the seriousness of this article just to boost my credibility in the industry at the cost of another. My sole purpose with this blog is to educate potential consumers on the predators of the security alarm industry. To be quite honest, my market is local and I have plenty of happy customers to keep me busy.
I will leave you with this one last though.
Hardwire security systems will ALWAYS be superior to wireless. Wireless security systems are flawed in their design and the failure rate is higher than that of hardwired security systems.
Good Luck in the installation of your home or business security alarm system.
I will be the first to admit the obvious lure of the soft spoken voice, the false empathy and of course the price…. Who can beat FREE!!!! Don’t let yourself be fooled, when it comes to home security, nothing worth getting will ever be free. This especially holds true for wireless security systems.
Wireless security systems are flawed in their design and manufacture. Mr. Matlin of AlarmForce may tell you his system is superior to hardwired and is the latest and greatest technology available. The reason he can say this with such confidence is he knows he is not marketing to people within the security alarm industry. He is taking full advantage of the naivety of the security alarm consumer and those who do not research a company fully before they purchase a home security alarm system.
Here are some simple facts about Mr. Matlins’ AlarmForce neighbourhood.
1 - The Wireless technology used is similar to that of early model garage door openers. Remember the ones with the little switches inside you could move around and open your neighbours’ garage door?
2- Aside from being bulky and ugly, sensors are put up on your wall with Velcro tape.
The “thundering” 2-way voice comes from a small transistor radio style speaker mounted in the main control unit. This is also the location of the microphone, the dialer and everything which controls the security system.
3 - The main control unit is nothing more than a box about the shape of a loaf of bread. This box is typically set in a convenient place to access. Unfortunately this is also a convenience place for the potential burglar who could easily disable the alarm by stepping on it or putting it in the neighboring microwave oven. (It fits perfectly, I’ve tried.) In fact, many in the security alarm industry refer to this type of alarm as a “toilet alarm”, as it also fits nicely in the toilet bowl.
4 - Line seizure is a term in the industry referring to the ability of the alarm panel to take control of your phone line. This ensures picking up any phone in the house will not interfere with the transmission of the signal to the monitoring station. Since a counter mounted toilet alarm which plugs directly into a regular phone jack does not have line seizure, your home is further at risk.
5 - The monitoring contract. Oh ya, Joel Matlen of AlarmForce never mentioned the contract in his ad. Yes this is typically seven years. Seven years aside, the toilet alarm being sold here is not usable by any other alarm company, therefore you will never be able to cancel with Joel and switch to another company unless you switch out all your equipment. Therefore, Joel is really not giving you anything for free, his little box is a disposable technology, similar to a cell phone which will be out of date and non-functional in a couple of years.
I sincerely hope you found this information helpful. All the information contained within this article comes from industry experience and personal observation. I am by no means stating Joel Matlin or Alarmforce are lying to the consumer, I am simply pointing out some weaknesses in the system. Yes, I am in the industry but I will not mention my company name because that would make this nothing more than a marketing piece for my company. I do not wish to diminish the seriousness of this article just to boost my credibility in the industry at the cost of another. My sole purpose with this blog is to educate potential consumers on the predators of the security alarm industry. To be quite honest, my market is local and I have plenty of happy customers to keep me busy.
I will leave you with this one last though.
Hardwire security systems will ALWAYS be superior to wireless. Wireless security systems are flawed in their design and the failure rate is higher than that of hardwired security systems.
Good Luck in the installation of your home or business security alarm system.
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