One Reason to Avoid Brink's Home Security

[MSgt213]

How far can a vendor go in enforcing unfair contract terms? I don't know, but it appears that at least one company, Brink's Home Security, thinks it can use the "evergreen clause" in its contract to financially punish any customer who threatens to go to a competitor.

A Florida resident whom I will dub Mrs. House has been a customer of Brink's home monitoring service for over eight years. "I think I had called them four or five times total over the years, mainly just to check the system," Mrs. House says about the service, for which she paid $30 a month. "But the last time I called it was because we were having a lot of false alarms." She was informed the alarm system wiring for some of her window screens had gone bad and would require some expensive re-wiring not covered by her "Platinum Service" maintenance plan.

As she and her husband had been planning on re-modeling their home anyway, they ultimately decided to cancel the service. "When I called to cancel, that's when I found out about Brink's 'evergreen clause,'" Mrs. House says. The contract she had signed eight years ago was, as she knew, a three-year commitment that she had long since fulfilled. What she had not realized was that the contract also said that:

"Thereafter, this agreement will automatically continue for successive one year renewal terms unless you or Brinks give written notice of cancellation to the other at least 60 days before the initial or renewal term ends."

Since Mrs. House was just a few months into her ninth year of service when she cancelled, Brink's was therefore claiming she owed them for another nine month's of service. "Right after I called, the local dealer came and collected all their equipment, so we could no longer use the system even if we wanted to," she says. "Then almost immediately I received a cancellation notice with an invoice for $269.05 and a remittance form and envelope."

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2005/3/17/8131/00969

[Longhorn]

1. What a scam!

Our house was already wired for home security when we moved in so I called a couple of companies and decided against it. I didn't like their sales tactics and I also didn't feel that I would be more secure with their service. All anyone would have to do is cut the phone lines and we would have no protection. We lived pretty far from any neighbors at the time so no one would hear any alarms. And we have four dogs who are more likely to protect us than the security service (as well as lots of smoke detectors.)

This article brings up a very important point: read and understand the contract before you sign it. You just can't trust companies to have reasonable terms; the deck is almost always stacked against the consumer when it comes time to end the service, unfortunately.

[MSgt213]

2. I guess it never occurred to companies to rope consumers in with great

products backed by great service and customer relationships. Or maybe all that costs too much. Much easier to resort to gimmicks and shams to squeeze every single penny out of loyal customers. This is not about a company offering something for nothing. It's about figuring out creative ways to retained business you already have.

[Warpy]

3. The best security system is a DOG

meaning a medium sized mutt or standard breed that appeals to you.

The second best is a neighborhood association, formal or informal, of neighbors who know what your vehicle looks like and call the cops if anybody else is parked in your driveway and carrying things out of your house.

The third best is to have lights and radios on timers if you're going to be out at night, making your house look and sound lived in. If you live in a cruddy area like I do, nobody expects people to answer knocks on the door after dark.

This is over and above the obvious things like deadbolt locks and closing the garage door when you drive away.

Most professional thieves can clean your place out between the time the alarm company gets the call and they alert the cops. The services are generally a waste of money unless they also maintain a panic button service for elderly folks who live alone.

(one benefit of living in a lousy neighborhood is that the professionals pass it by. Kids with screwdrivers are easier to defeat)