If you monitor subscriber alarm systems by subcontracting the
monitoring to a wholesale central station, you need to read this article.
If you are a central station, monitoring other dealer's subscribers, you
need to read this article.
This topic was addressed in a previous article, but that article was
lengthy and I want to make sure the issue receives the attention it
deserves.
Do you communicate instructions to the central station regarding
your subscribers' systems? Can you put a system on test, vacation,
change call numbers and authorized personnel, change zones and
reporting instructions, change codes?
Does your central station take instruction from you, either over phone,
fax or email?
If you or the central station answer yes to any of the above, then
you must review your monitoring contract and the three party monitoring
contract [between you, subscriber and central station] to find the
provision that authorizes you to act for your subscriber.
There are only a few ways you can be monitoring your subscriber's
alarm systems.
1. The most dangerous way is without any contract at all. You have no
protection. You must have your own monitoring contract; the three party
monitoring contract your central station has you get signed by your
subscriber is not sufficient to protect you. You must get your own
contract and use it.
2. You use just your monitoring contract, and you either maintain your
own central station or you subcontract monitoring to a wholesale central
station, but that central station does not require that you use a three
party monitoring contract.
3. You use your own monitoring contract and you also have your
subscriber sign a three party contract provided by the central station.
This is by far the best method of conducting your monitoring business;
both for you and the central station.
Some contract signed by the subscriber must authorize you to act on
the subscriber's behalf when dealing with the central station. Without
such explicit authorization you will be scrambling to find authority if
there is a miscommunication that contributes to a missed signal and no
response.
If the central station has a direct contract with the subscriber [which
it does with the three party contract] that contract usually has
subscriber information including codes and call numbers, etc. If that
contract signed by the subscriber does not authorize the dealer to make
changes then by what right do you communicate those changes to the
central station?
If you are using your own monitoring contract, and a three party
contract provided by the central station, you have two opportunities to
include a provision that authorized you to act on behalf of the
subscriber when dealing with the central station. Since that is
typically the reality of the relationships, shouldn't your contract(s)
provide for it?
Failure to include this provision exposes you and the central
station to unnecessary risk. Check your contracts today.
If you can't find the provision that authorizes you to act for your
subscriber then you should either get that authorization by separate
written agreement [letter] and you should change your contracts.
Get updated contracts at www.alarmcontracts.com
Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at
Law
200
Garden city Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516
747 6700 x 201