AlarmForce

[Bob Worthy]

It looks like AlarmForce is in the southern part of the US or at least this
is the first I have heard of them down here. I have a past client that moved
outside my service area but has contacted me about possibly using them. I
don't know anything other than what I have heard here. Is there a consumers
report site that talks about them or does anyone have any solid info rather
than personal opinions on this company?

TIA

 

[Frank Olson]

It looks like AlarmForce is in the southern part of the US or at least this
is the first I have heard of them down here. I have a past client that moved
outside my service area but has contacted me about possibly using them. I
don't know anything other than what I have heard here. Is there a consumers
report site that talks about them or does anyone have any solid info rather
than personal opinions on this company?

TIA

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/home/break_in/alarmsystems.html

"Alarm Force wouldn't agree to an interview with Marketplace, but if you
read the fine print, Alarm Force doesn't make any promise that police
will respond -- just that "dispatch, whether by police or private
response services is not guaranteed.""

AlarmFarce wouldn't agree to an interview... right.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=46896

Check out the comment by "Skippy":

"Try to find an independant alarm company if you can. A friend of mine
is with Alarm Force and he was not very happy with their product and
service. Basically they rely on a simple plug in alarm module that does
not take control of the phone line (at least not in my friends install).
All the rest of the modules are wireless and require batteries to be
changed periodically which is not covered or done by alarm force."

I've taken out more AlarmFarce panels than I can count. There stuff is
crap. Unsupervised wireless. The supposed "pet proof" motion is a
detector mounted about four feet off the floor up-side-down. That and
Brinks (at least they're using a recognized product - Honeywell). I
used to have a significant pile of parts and so far no one from either
company has ever called to recover them (I've left messages, emails,
etc.). They all went to the dump/recycling facility the week before
Christmas. I got tired of seeing "Mount Brinkle-Farce".

Joel Matlin is a cartoon. There isn't a single self respecting burglar
that would be "scared" to break in to an AlarmFarce protected home (let
alone any home "protected" by a security system). They're in and out
before the cops (or paid security) would ever show up. It's a simple
fact. What a good alarm system will do is detect the perp *before* he
gets in, sound an obnoxiously loud siren (that will alert your
neighbours and wake the dead), and thereby severely limit the amount of
time he can spend on site. Don't keep your jewelry in the obvious place
(your bedroom) and don't make it easy for him to find any "good stuff".
Harden your front door, use a good long throw deadbolt, and make sure
any ground floor windows are properly locked (or barred). And for
heavens sake don't use an alarm system that's an "all-in-one" where all
you have to do is rip the sucker off the wall to kill it (if you do,
make sure you hide it and use the available remote keypads). If the
system doesn't offer line seizure, remote keypads, or doesn't provide a
back-up communications method, it's useless.

 

[tourman]

It looks like AlarmForce is in the southern part of the US or at least this
is the first I have heard of them down here. I have a past client that moved
outside my service area but has contacted me about possibly using them. I
don't know anything other than what I have heard here. Is there a consumers
report site that talks about them or does anyone have any solid info rather
than personal opinions on this company?

TIA

RHC: Bob, they have a large presence here in Canada. I believe they
started in Toronto, and have branched out across Canada to all
provinces.They state in their advertising that they have 150,000
people on their service and make a point of telling you they are
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. I remember seeing something
about them planning to expand into the USA with an anticipated opening
of 38 planned branches. They advertise extensively on radio and TV and
have been very successful this way. They specialize in two way voice
services and their advertising is based around the supposed
superiority of this versus conventional monitoring. They sell the
"sizzle not the steak" and their advertising is superb, to the point
that if I didn't know better, they would sell me on it....)

Equipment I have had the opportunity to see is older Linear totally
wireless, non supervised, "all - in - one box" type equipment. They
specialize in the "two doors one motion" type systems and from
speaking to one of their past service technicians who quit the
company, they are supposed to be working at putting ten systems a day
on line for every sales / technician on staff. Typically they charge
$25 monthly, with no long term contract for leased equipment, but
with payment annually up front. They have recently started peddling a
wireless keyfob arrangement for older folks calling it "AlarmCare" and
making another major advertising todo about it. The installations I
have seen have no line exclusions...they just plug into a phone jack.
They advertise a backup type of system of some sort protecting the
client against line cut, but I don't know how that works in reality. I
know from clients who have come to me for a real system, that they
won't come out to change batteries for their clients, which would
leave the client totally unprotected if the they don't notice the
batteries are low.

The rest of what I "know" is opinion and you say you don't want this
(and it isn't good anyway....).

 

[mikey]

RHC: Bob, they have a large presence here in Canada. I believe they
started in Toronto, and have branched out across Canada to all
provinces.They state in their advertising that they have 150,000
people on their service and make a point of telling you they are
listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.   I remember seeing something
about them planning to expand into the USA with an anticipated opening
of 38 planned branches. They advertise extensively on radio and TV and
have been very successful this way. They specialize in two way voice
services and their advertising is based around the supposed
superiority of this versus conventional monitoring. They sell the
"sizzle not the steak" and their advertising is superb, to the point
that if I didn't know better, they would sell me on it....)

Equipment I have had the opportunity to see is older Linear totally
wireless, non supervised, "all - in - one box" type equipment. They
specialize in the "two doors one motion" type systems and from
speaking to one of their past service technicians who quit the
company, they are supposed to be working at putting ten systems a day
on line for every sales / technician on staff.  Typically they charge
$25 monthly, with no long term contract for leased equipment,  but
with payment annually up front. They have recently started peddling a
wireless keyfob arrangement for older folks calling it "AlarmCare" and
making another major advertising todo about it. The installations I
have seen have no line exclusions...they just plug into a phone jack.
They advertise a backup type of system of some sort protecting the
client against line cut, but I don't know how that works in reality. I
know from clients who have come to me for a real system, that they
won't come out to change batteries for their clients, which would
leave the client totally unprotected if the they don't notice the
batteries are low.

The rest of what I "know" is opinion and you say you don't want this
(and it isn't good anyway....).

Hey Bob... shouldn't you be someplace warm about now?
Joel plays fast and loose with honesty and integrity but he sure can
market (there's a sucker born every minute).
There's a picture of that old Linear stuff he's using for Alarmcare oh
his site: he puts a sleeve over it for private labeling hahahahaha,
looks hilarious, big red cross on it if I recall.
I also found his "live two-way voice" recording he used in that mis-
leading commercial, it's not a live operator at first, it's just that
wav file instead of the siren... I suppose sooner or later you hear
from one of their ops.
Pretty bad but it's working for him.... oh, the 150000 accounts, he
doesn't tally his accounts, he counts every member in the family and
probably guests too.

 

[tourman]

Hey Bob... shouldn't you be someplace warm about now?
Joel plays fast and loose with honesty and integrity but he sure can
market (there's a sucker born every minute).
There's a picture of that old Linear stuff he's using for Alarmcare oh
his site: he puts a sleeve over it for private labeling hahahahaha,
looks hilarious, big red cross on it if I recall.
I also found his "live two-way voice" recording he used in that mis-
leading commercial, it's not a live operator at first, it's just that
wav file instead of the siren... I suppose sooner or later you hear
from one of their ops.
Pretty bad but it's working for him.... oh, the 150000 accounts, he
doesn't tally his accounts, he counts every member in the family and
probably guests too.

RHC: Hey Mikey, good to hear you're still around and working. I hope
their AlarmCare nonsense isn't cutting into your medical business too
hard. You know, when it comes to AlarmForce, I can only conclude that
the power of good advertising is enough to sway a lot of other wise
intelligent people to make a terrible choice for their security
services versus a bit of intelligent shopping on their part which
would quickly discourage them from this crap. This stuff is everything
an alarm system should NOT be, yet they still seem to be successful.
And if you listen to their customers, many think this shit is superb
stuff and they have the best systems in the world, until they don't
work properly and are pulled out. What a sales job they've done...

Sad.....

 

[Jim]

RHC: Hey Mikey, good to hear you're still around and working. I hope
their AlarmCare nonsense isn't cutting into your medical business too
hard. You know, when it comes to AlarmForce, I can only conclude that
the power of good advertising is enough to sway a lot of other wise
intelligent people to make a terrible choice for their security
services versus a bit of intelligent shopping on their part which
would quickly discourage them from this crap. This stuff is everything
an alarm system should NOT be, yet they still seem to be successful.
And if you listen to their customers, many think this shit is superb
stuff and they have the best systems in the world, until they don't
work properly and are pulled out. What a sales job they've done...

Sad.....-

I do home theater installs. What you're describing sounds exactly like
what Bose has done in that industry. Just through the power of an
unbelievable amount of advertising they've got what you would
noramally think of as "intelligent" people thinking that Bose is the
best thing since the megaphone. In my opinion they're only slighly
better.

I was just at a doctors house who called me to install a new $700.00
receiver for him that he got for Christmas. I'm thinking he's got at
least a half way decent system to hook it to. When I get
there ....he's got a $5000.00 Pioneer Kuro TV, a Sony Blue Ray disk
player, Verizon Fios and five twinky little Bose double speakers and a
subwoofer (which is really only a big speaker) !!!!!!!!!!! He thinks
they're the GREATEST!!!!!! Paid between 2 and $3000.00 for them.
UN Freeken BELIEVable!

I don't think of these people as ever being my customers to begin with
though, so I'll make what ever I can from them .... should they offer
me the opportunity. But ........... if they don't and they're happy
with what they've got, you have to forgive them because they've just
never had anything better to compare it with. Given the opportunity on
a few occasions .... . I've been able to make a few of them see what
they've been missing in quality sound. I always feel kind of bad for
thoes who don't move up but ........... hey wadda ya gonna do?

All of this applies to alarm systems too.

 

[tourman]

I do home theater installs. What you're describing sounds exactly like
what Bose has done in that industry. Just through the power of an
unbelievable amount of advertising they've got what you would
noramally think of as "intelligent" people thinking that Bose is the
best thing since the megaphone. In my opinion they're only slighly
better.

I was just at a doctors house who called me to install a new $700.00
receiver for him that he got for Christmas. I'm thinking he's got at
least a half way decent system to hook it to. When I get
there ....he's got a $5000.00 Pioneer Kuro TV, a Sony Blue Ray disk
player, Verizon Fios and five twinky little Bose double speakers and a
subwoofer (which is really only a big speaker) !!!!!!!!!!!  He thinks
they're the GREATEST!!!!!!   Paid between 2 and  $3000.00 for them.
UN Freeken BELIEVable!

I don't think of these people as ever being my customers to begin with
though, so I'll make what ever I can from them .... should they offer
me the opportunity. But ........... if they don't and they're happy
with what they've got, you have to forgive them because they've just
never had anything better to compare it with. Given the opportunity on
a few occasions .... . I've been able to make a few of them see what
they've been missing in quality sound. I always feel kind of bad for
thoes who don't move up but ........... hey wadda ya gonna do?

 All of this applies to alarm systems too.

RHC: Yup ! The difference is one is the quality of the sound that is
lacking, while with the alarm it is the quality of the customer's REAL
security that is lacking. A bit of a difference wouldn't you say ?

I don't know how people in this company can sleep at night while
giving this kind of phony security to customers. Money obviously talks
louder than ethics !....(or they actually believe their own company
propaganda)

I'm reading John Grisholm's latest novel "The appeal" which although
fictional, does illustrate how organized big money spend on promoting
a vested interest can be very successful. In the novel, right and
wrong has little to do with anything....it's what you can sell to
people that counts....

 

[George Siegle]

HEY!!!! I just started reading "The Appeal"...don't tell me any more.....the
next thing I know you will be posting that the butler did it...lol


RHC: Yup ! The difference is one is the quality of the sound that is
lacking, while with the alarm it is the quality of the customer's REAL
security that is lacking. A bit of a difference wouldn't you say ?

I don't know how people in this company can sleep at night while
giving this kind of phony security to customers. Money obviously talks
louder than ethics !....(or they actually believe their own company
propaganda)

I'm reading John Grisholm's latest novel "The appeal" which although
fictional, does illustrate how organized big money spend on promoting
a vested interest can be very successful. In the novel, right and
wrong has little to do with anything....it's what you can sell to
people that counts....

 

[HL B123]

These must be fairly common.are they still being made?.The serial number
is in the 500.000 range. I assume this is quanity made. thanks for all
answers vulcan autosonic mark 60.
harold