Need alarm system alternative after ADT possibly riped us off for 9 years

For the last 9 years we have been using ADT at our home. However, yesterday when I called to upgrade to their Pulse system I found out that I was not being monitored for smoke or carbon monoxide despite the fact that they had installed the system and I had been charged for it. I was on the phone for nearly an hour today with the billing and customer service department trying to confirm what services we had, but neither could confirm that we were being monitored for these services until they called their “monitoring department” and the technical department run some test. I gave up and cancelled my account. I would like to think that I was not being ripped off, but I am baffled that their system could not tell what was being monitored.

Thinking about Frontpoint, does anyone have any recommendations?

bdz

in General Discussion 8 years and 10 months ago

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idreamoftile | 8 years and 8 months ago

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Hi, I’ve been in the electronic security business for years and have heard that about ADT for many years and sympathize with you. However, a system which is 9 years old is not compatible with the systems of today. You would not find a company to monitor your equipment without selling you a state of the art system.

princess-cele-celesimpson | 8 years and 9 months ago

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All these years you were under the impression of being monitored, you have every right to know what went wrong, about the compensation and ask for new offer from them to make amends for their mistake. Don’t give up ! You were lucky to have been spared off any untoward incidents with these dumb system not working. It is an eye opener for all and I guess we all should have a regular checking done at regular intervals. 9 years is quite sometime which goes on to show their lacklustre attitude and to add to woes their sheer negligence in addressing your problem . When you are planning of buying a new security system take a review of their current one. Do check similar tips at http://www.sleepwellsecurity.ca/blog/security-system/how-to-choose-an-office-security-system/. Hope you will soon get an appropriate monitoring system installed and this time take your own time in ascertaining the best one, remember it is an investment for a long time to come.

sleestack | 8 years and 10 months ago

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Agreed about Alarms-R-Us. Silly name, but a great family-owned business with excellent customer service. We had them install our system four years ago, and they’ve been great.

Guest User | 8 years and 10 months ago

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There was an alarm system in our place when we purchased it. It was set up to protect the whole building when the former owner was renovating it, in and out of town, for a few years. We used Alarms-R-Us to reconfigure the system — they DID NOT need to use their own equipment. They just reconfigured what we had, saving us a lot of money. We also had them install fire and carbon monoxide detectors that were connected to our alarm system, which helped us tremendously when we had a house fire and weren’t home. Once the smoke detector was activated as a result of the fire, central station notified the fire dpt and they got to our place fast (we were not home). Anyway, we can highly recommend Alarms-R-Us (even tho it’s a corny name).

SoSlope | 8 years and 10 months ago

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I use alarmrelay.com. There are quite a few options out there that are vastly cheaper than ADT. It is quite likely that you can find a company that will monitor your existing system, possibly just with a simple adapter.

Re: simple smoke detectors vs. a monitored fire alarm: A monitored system is definitely not overkill. Fires can start without human interaction (electrical short, furnace, old extension cord, etc.). If you are not home, the fire will grow quite large–and probably spread to the next house if you live in a brooklyn row house–before anyone notices and calls 911. Monitoring is so cheap (as little as $10 per year) that it seems to be an incredibly small expense for the benefit.

stuyheights | 8 years and 10 months ago

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Frontpoint is great

slopefarm | 8 years and 10 months ago

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The insurers discount when they know there is an outside monitor. That is, they want to cover risks like, for example, if you were away on vacation and there was a fire. A local smoke detector would go off but there would be no one home to find the fire and put it out. One that is wired to an alarm company would generate a call to the fire department.

Now, I think this is absurd overkill, and not every insurer works this way, and, of course, a fire is most likely to start from, say, smoking in the house or from cooking, which obviously won;t happen when no one is home. But insurers like to close the loop on risk that puts policy proceeds at issue.

cmu | 8 years and 10 months ago

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Still not getting it. You can install your own smoke and CO detectors, so for a one-time fee you get the insurance discount. Why pay monthly for the same? Or do you mean some insurances specifically want monitoring instead of detectors for the discount?

slopefarm | 8 years and 10 months ago

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Because you get more off your insurance for having the monitoring than it costs for the monitoring. At least with Slomin’s.

problem with switching alarm companies is that everyone uses their own equipment. So you are looking at a new installation.

cmu | 8 years and 10 months ago

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Am I not understanding this? People actually pay monthly for smoke and CO monitoring instead of installing smoke detectors? Why?