hello,
I am looking to get a residential alarm system (3 family house in urban
area). Is there a difference in quality of equipment between ADT,
Brinks, Slomins?
This is a frequently discussed issue in this newsgroup. Slomins
has been accused of all sorts of bad behavior, some of which
accusations are actually true.
Brinks sells a proprietary system which cannot be used without
them. No one but Brinks can service or monitor it. The system
is usually leased (though their salesmen rarely mention that
during the presentation).
ADT has two separate and vastly different divisions of its alarm
business. ADT corporate has a good reputation. Their
"authorized dealer" network, unfortunately, does not. They are
rife with problems, have been sued by attorneys general in
several states for fraudulent marketing and other consumer abuses
and have generally done all they can to destroy public confidence
in the alarm industry.
Of the three companies you mentioned, I'd hesitate to recommend
any except ADT and then only if it is ADT Corporate should you go
forward.
Others have mentioned going with a small, local dealer. There
are lots of honest, competent people in this industry who run
small, independent alarm companies. You may very well get a
better deal from one of them than you can from Brinks, Slomins or
any "authorized dealers". Note that Protection 1, Monitronix and
Sonitrol dealers can be equally bad as some of the ADT authorized
dealers.
Unfortunately, there are also far too many incompetent, uncaring
individuals running small independent alarm companies. One
example (I'll let you figure out which it is) posted a nasty
reply to you already. That person ran an illegal alarm company
in Milford, CT, for several years until the state caught up with
him. Unable to pass the license exam and without any of the
required qualifications to be a licensed alarm installer, let
alone an alarm contractor in CT, he lied to the state (told them
he was running a "home improvement" operation which did not
require a license. He *claims* to have left the trade due to his
girlfriend getting sick or some such nonsense. Unable to work
illegally in CT, he's now doing the same thing in NY state (again
without a license). You can't even imagine the miserable
"workmanship" his victims get in return for their money.
The short answer to your question is, "Be careful of any alarm
dealer." Many are good and will try to protect you and your home
to the est of their ability. Very few of those, however, are
"authorized dealers" and very few of them work for Slomins or
Brinks.
What about independent dealers? How would a consumer
know if the equipment was "good"?
Get several bids. Insist that the salesman list exactly what
components he will use and where. List the makes and models here
or send me an email. I'll let you know whether it's good quality
hardware and whether it is an adequate plan of protection.
Although you're not interested in DIY, feel free to browse my
website. You can at least get a good idea from my pages what the
equipment costs the dealer and whether his markup is reasonable.
Note that many dealers are pushing bare bones systems lately,
trying to beat the "free" (they really are not free, but I'll bet
you already knew that) system dealers. At a minimum, ask for a
bid that includes all exterior doors and motion detection in
hallways, in front of (but not onto) the stairs leading to
sleeping areas, near the stereo, office, etc.
A better approach is to protect all exterior doors and all
accessible windows using magnetic sensors (called "contacts").
Back this up with motion and, in rooms with glass doors, perhaps
a glass break detector as well.
Ask for smoke detection, too, but refuse to pay an incremental
fee to have it monitored. There is no excuse for charging extra
to monitor smoke detectors. Fees like that are a rip-off.
Best of luck.
--
Regards,
Robert L Bass
Bass Burglar Alarms
The Online DIY Store
http://www.BassBurglarAlarms.com
