FAQ Discontinuing Monitoring

Before You Cancel Your Monitoring Service...

For a variety of reasons, we regularly receive requests from subscribers to cancel their monitoring service. Most often it is the result of moving, but sometimes a subscriber will make a hasty or uninformed decision that can have a few unexpected results. Before you "pull the plug" on this valuable and important aspect of your security or fire alarm, we hope you will take a moment to review the following information:

Q#1: I don't really need the monitoring service, because I think the local sirens will be enough.

Please check our page, "When might a Local Alarm System be appropriate?"

Q#2: What has to be done to take the system "off line?"

First, we need your request in writing. It does not have to be elaborate, a simple note will do. Please include the following information:

•The subscriber's name

•Premises address

•An authorized signature

•The date

•A brief request to discontinue the monitoring service

•Almost Optional: Please give the reason(s). If you don't give one, we usually try to call you to learn the reason. In a recent case, I left several messages when I could not reach a subscriber directly. Assuming they were moving or were not interested in using the system or were for some reason angry with us (We are not clairvoyant - please complain!), I gave up. A few weeks later, the husband called to say he was mailing his check, needs the service because he is away a lot, never meant for the service to be stopped, and didn't know who had requested that it be turned off. I think his wife wrote the cancellation note when he wasn't around to discuss it with her, but when I checked, I found the note was unsigned. (We had gone ahead and discontinued the service on the basis of accumulated overwhelming evidence that supported the note's authenticity.)

Next, we need to arrange to unprogram the communicator. Some can be unprogrammed remotely using a computer and modem. (This requires that the premise phone service still be in operation.) Others must be unprogrammed on-site. Some are owned by us, and we will want to retrieve them. We can come and get it or you can ship it to us freight prepaid, in good and reusable condition. There is detailed information about this issue in a policy page we can mail or fax to you when the subject comes up.

Next, we need to relay your request to the Central Station and follow up in a reasonable time to see that it has been done. We also have to undo our own billing record so you don't keep getting billed for future monitoring service.

If your property is going to change hands imminently, we need to tell the Central Station to disregard signals until the account is actually deleted from the Central Station computer database. That's because some Central Stations only do their deletions once a week.

Last, our agreement specifies that termination of the monitoring contract requires payment in full for services rendered. Technically, if you stick us for the bill, we could continue charging you for monitoring, whether or not you are actually using the service. (We've never had to do that yet, but...)

Q#3: What are some of the possible "Unexpected Results?"

Insurance: When we install a system, we are often asked for a letter certifying that the system was installed. A copy of it goes to the property insurance issuer, who usually gives a discount on the policy premium for having the system. They like to see three elements combined: Monitoring, Fire protection and Burglary protection. If you discontinue monitoring, you may be obligated to notify your insurance company. If you fail to do so and a loss occurs, you may have a tough time with a claim. (We have served a number of subscribers who simply could not obtain insurance at all without a system.)

Alarm Panel Beeping: Many of the panels we use will sound off a trouble alert if the signal to the Central Station fails to go through. This is especially likely to occur if the system is set up for 24-Hour Automatic Tests and you disconnect the system from the phone line or have the line itself turned off by the Phone Company. Call us, we will explain how to silence this noise, or you can find it in the User's Manual under "Trouble Signals."

Requirements of Local Authority: Some of the systems we installed were originally mandated by the local authority, usually a Fire Marshal or Code Enforcement Officer. Users occasionally forget that the system itself was required, or they fail to realize that the monitoring service is part of the requirement.

Burglar Alarm vs. Fire Protection: Occasionally subscribers will cancel the monitoring because they no longer need or use the Burglar Alarm. More than once a big light bulb has turned on when I reminded them that their Fire Alarm would also no longer be monitored.

Temporary Discontinuations: In a budget crunch, sometimes subscribers will want to take the system off line for a few months to "catch their breath." They don't realize the amount of work it will require to put the system back in service later on.

•Setup expenses to put the system back on line: There is paperwork; the system must be inspected and tested; the Central Station database needs to be filled in again. The setup cost to put the system back in service might easily exceed the expected savings.

•Potential for Errors: If we put the system back on line later on, there is always a possibility of data entry error. I would rather leave the system in the Central Station computer over a brief outage, and work out a cost adjustment to help the subscriber get through those rough months, than take a chance that something will get fouled up while being re-entered.

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