Help after break-in Brinks system

[[email protected]]

Hello,
I had a break-in last week. I have a Brinks system (about 10 years
old). The burglers cut the phone lines so my system didn't alert Brinks
or the police. The alarm sounded etc. but Brinks said because they
don't get a signal they don't know when the intrustion happened.

I checked with them about a "line-cut" feature, but they said my system
is too old. Is this a good feature to have? How about the radio
frequency backup. The rf feature would cost $100 per keypad and I think
$7.00 extra per month.

I have been a long time customer and thought I would get a break but no
such luck. I am surprised that most people I have told of the break in
have assumed that an alarm system always calls the police, even if the
phone lines are cut. Is my system just so out-dated?

Thanks
Mel

 

[Beachcomber]

Hello,
I had a break-in last week. I have a Brinks system (about 10 years
old). The burglers cut the phone lines so my system didn't alert Brinks
or the police. The alarm sounded etc. but Brinks said because they
don't get a signal they don't know when the intrustion happened.

I checked with them about a "line-cut" feature, but they said my system
is too old. Is this a good feature to have? How about the radio
frequency backup. The rf feature would cost $100 per keypad and I think
$7.00 extra per month.

I have been a long time customer and thought I would get a break but no
such luck. I am surprised that most people I have told of the break in
have assumed that an alarm system always calls the police, even if the
phone lines are cut. Is my system just so out-dated?

Thanks
Mel

Think about what you are saying. If someone cuts your phone lines,
can you still make phone calls? 90% of consumer home alarm systems
work with POTS ( Plain Old Telephone Service Lines). There are
modules you can buy that monitor the lines locally, but all they can
do is sound the local alarm if the line is cut or goes dead. It
sounds like you might have had one of these.

Many sensitive commercial establishments (banks and jewelry stores)
have dedicated phone lines to a local monitoring service. These are
expensive, but the service gets a "trouble" indication if the line is
cut and they can act according to pre-programmed instructions.

A radio frequency backup would be a good option but its cost should
not be based on the number of keypads. It has nothing to do with the
number of keypads.

Beachcomber

 

[[email protected]]

Sir, not to sound harsh, but it is ultimately your responsibility to
know how your alarm system works. On the other hand, I can empathize
with you, since I often find that a lot of people don't have the
foggiest idea of how their alarm works to the station. No matter how
well you train them, many think that simply disconnecting or fooling
with an alarm sensor, or disconnecting the line exclusion jack is
somehow going to generate an automatic signal to the monitoring
station. It is surprising how few appreciate the fact that an alarm
simply dials on the phone network like a telephone does....

Luckily for our industry, the average thug has even less knowledge of
how they work

R.H.Campbell
Home Security Metal Products
www.homemetal.com

 

[Lee W. Thul]

You should harden or conceal your telephone wires.

 

[[email protected]]

Hello,
I had a break-in last week. I have a Brinks system (about 10 years
old). The burglers cut the phone lines so my system didn't alert Brinks
or the police. The alarm sounded etc. but Brinks said because they
don't get a signal they don't know when the intrustion happened.

I checked with them about a "line-cut" feature, but they said my system
is too old. Is this a good feature to have? How about the radio
frequency backup. The rf feature would cost $100 per keypad and I think
$7.00 extra per month.

I have been a long time customer and thought I would get a break but no
such luck. I am surprised that most people I have told of the break in
have assumed that an alarm system always calls the police, even if the
phone lines are cut. Is my system just so out-dated?

Thanks
Mel

Best advice. Shop around for another Alarm Monitoring Provider. There
are many national programs out there that will install a new security
system and include your existing equipment. You can have them add the
cell backup and because you're a new customer, they'll generally do it
for a real low price. The monitoring of the cell backup shouldn't be
more than a few bucks extra a month and it is definitely worth getting.
The main thing is, when you call a security company to ask for a
quote, keep in mind, they really, really, really, want you're business
and should bend over backwards to help you out as long as you have a
decent credit score. Best thing to do is call several different
companies and let them know your shopping. Tell them what you want and
what you have.

However, there is a kicker to going down this road. You got to make
sure you're no longer under contract with your current security
provider. Many companies have roll-over clauses in their contracts
that lock you in for another full term of the contract if it is not
cancelled within 90 days. This means, if you don't cancel within this
time, you're locked in for whatever length the contract stipulates.
It's absolute bullshit if you ask me but its absolute legal bullshit so
you gotta check your contract first. Don't waste anyone's time if your
locked in for another 2 or 3 years, to pay that off to start with a new
company would cost a small fortune. If you can cancel and sign up with
someone new, do it. Make sure the company is reputable and stable and
you should have a good experience.

Oh and also check to see what sort of service plan they offer. Some
have plans that cover everything for the life of your monitoring
contract and you are only responsible for a small $20 or $30 trip fee.
And definitely make sure you add at least 1 monitored smoke detector
but more if you can afford it. Those things can absolutely save your
life, absolutely.

 

[Crash Gordon]

Except you can't takeover a Brinks system, so he'd have to buy new
equipment...panel & keypad(s) at least. The new company will have to spend
time figuring out the Brinks wiring as well.

I've never heard of any company basing the price of radio backup upon how
many keypads you have installed...seems weird.




|
| [email protected] wrote:
| > Hello,
| > I had a break-in last week. I have a Brinks system (about 10 years
| > old). The burglers cut the phone lines so my system didn't alert Brinks
| > or the police. The alarm sounded etc. but Brinks said because they
| > don't get a signal they don't know when the intrustion happened.
| >
| > I checked with them about a "line-cut" feature, but they said my system
| > is too old. Is this a good feature to have? How about the radio
| > frequency backup. The rf feature would cost $100 per keypad and I think
| > $7.00 extra per month.
| >
| > I have been a long time customer and thought I would get a break but no
| > such luck. I am surprised that most people I have told of the break in
| > have assumed that an alarm system always calls the police, even if the
| > phone lines are cut. Is my system just so out-dated?
| >
| > Thanks
| > Mel
|
| Best advice. Shop around for another Alarm Monitoring Provider. There
| are many national programs out there that will install a new security
| system and include your existing equipment. You can have them add the
| cell backup and because you're a new customer, they'll generally do it
| for a real low price. The monitoring of the cell backup shouldn't be
| more than a few bucks extra a month and it is definitely worth getting.
| The main thing is, when you call a security company to ask for a
| quote, keep in mind, they really, really, really, want you're business
| and should bend over backwards to help you out as long as you have a
| decent credit score. Best thing to do is call several different
| companies and let them know your shopping. Tell them what you want and
| what you have.
|
| However, there is a kicker to going down this road. You got to make
| sure you're no longer under contract with your current security
| provider. Many companies have roll-over clauses in their contracts
| that lock you in for another full term of the contract if it is not
| cancelled within 90 days. This means, if you don't cancel within this
| time, you're locked in for whatever length the contract stipulates.
| It's absolute bullshit if you ask me but its absolute legal bullshit so
| you gotta check your contract first. Don't waste anyone's time if your
| locked in for another 2 or 3 years, to pay that off to start with a new
| company would cost a small fortune. If you can cancel and sign up with
| someone new, do it. Make sure the company is reputable and stable and
| you should have a good experience.
|
| Oh and also check to see what sort of service plan they offer. Some
| have plans that cover everything for the life of your monitoring
| contract and you are only responsible for a small $20 or $30 trip fee.
| And definitely make sure you add at least 1 monitored smoke detector
| but more if you can afford it. Those things can absolutely save your
| life, absolutely.
|
|

 

[[email protected]]

Except you can't takeover a Brinks system, so he'd have to buy new
equipment...panel & keypad(s) at least. The new company will have to spend
time figuring out the Brinks wiring as well.

I've never heard of any company basing the price of radio backup upon how
many keypads you have installed...seems weird.

Yeah, I agree that is weird but they make up all sorts of abitrary
costs. One company I worked for used to charge additional money for
every contact monitored. Biggest rip-off I've ever seen.

But, he shouldn't have to buy new equipment. Dealers for the larger
companies usually absorb the cost for the installation, new control
panel and new keypad and then incorporate all the contacts. As long as
the contacts are N.O. or N.C., there should be no problem. It's all in
the resistance, after all. But even if the sensors need to be
replaced, unless it's a large system with lots of
contacts/motions/sensors, it shouldn't cost more than an activation fee
and the first months monitoring.

The cell back-up will cost but because the price has dropped so
substantially, he shouldn't have to pay more than $200 for the unit and
maybe a few dollars more a month but the company I work for now doesn't
charge anything for the additional monitoring. I think cell back-up is
the new plan for the future of alarm monitoring anyway. Phone lines
are just too damn hard to protect and for just a few dollars you can
get better coverage; so why not. I don't know what the prices for all
this stuff is countrywide but in the northeast, we're begging for
clients whenever we can find them. You'd be amazed at all the stuff
we throw in just to get a deal. Maybe other cities and states operate
differently but I'm just going by what I know.

 

[Crash Gordon]

They may absorb the cost of panel/keypads, but not without a 2-3 year
contract...I wouldn't either.

|
| Crash Gordon wrote:
| > Except you can't takeover a Brinks system, so he'd have to buy new
| > equipment...panel & keypad(s) at least. The new company will have to
spend
| > time figuring out the Brinks wiring as well.
| >
| > I've never heard of any company basing the price of radio backup upon
how
| > many keypads you have installed...seems weird.
|
|
| Yeah, I agree that is weird but they make up all sorts of abitrary
| costs. One company I worked for used to charge additional money for
| every contact monitored. Biggest rip-off I've ever seen.
|
| But, he shouldn't have to buy new equipment. Dealers for the larger
| companies usually absorb the cost for the installation, new control
| panel and new keypad and then incorporate all the contacts. As long as
| the contacts are N.O. or N.C., there should be no problem. It's all in
| the resistance, after all. But even if the sensors need to be
| replaced, unless it's a large system with lots of
| contacts/motions/sensors, it shouldn't cost more than an activation fee
| and the first months monitoring.
|
| The cell back-up will cost but because the price has dropped so
| substantially, he shouldn't have to pay more than $200 for the unit and
| maybe a few dollars more a month but the company I work for now doesn't
| charge anything for the additional monitoring. I think cell back-up is
| the new plan for the future of alarm monitoring anyway. Phone lines
| are just too damn hard to protect and for just a few dollars you can
| get better coverage; so why not. I don't know what the prices for all
| this stuff is countrywide but in the northeast, we're begging for
| clients whenever we can find them. You'd be amazed at all the stuff
| we throw in just to get a deal. Maybe other cities and states operate
| differently but I'm just going by what I know.
|
|

 

[[email protected]]

Yes, he'd have to sign a 2-3 year contract but if he's had the system
for 10 years, he's probably going to continue monitoring. Making a 2-3
year commitment to save several hundred dollars in upgrade fees is
probably the smartest route to take unless of course he is planning on
moving or cancelling in the near future. Because his contract is so
valuable, it gives him a lot of leverage with the companies and he can
pretty much get just about anything he wants within reason.