Can an alarm company use a previously installed home alarm system?
December 14, 2009 by
Filed under american alarm company
I have a previously installed Brinks home security system in my home (though I do not currently use any service). My fiance is moving in and she has a contract with a local alarm company. The local alarm company is telling me they may charge extra when we convert her service to my house because they are not sure they can use the equipment that’s already installed in my house.
Is this legitimate or are they just trying to make some extra money?
As long as the current alarm system can call their call center and identify the problem (ex. which window was opened) you are OK. However, it is possible that the s/w in their call center may not be combatible with your alarm system).
Two options: Since you will pay them monthly, they might as well install their system for free
Let your fiance cancel with them and call Brinks.
Whether or not your system will work with the local company depends on the kind of panel you have and the kind of panel they want/can set you up with. For example if you have a honeywell lynx panel, it won’t work with the vista panel because the lynx has wireless sensors, and the vista sensors are hardwired. It’s not only a problem of the panel communicating with the monitoring station, but also of the sensors communicating to the panel. Find out from one of the technicians at the company whether or not it will work. The rep probably just wants money, but the tech just gets paid to do the installation. They don’t care what equipment you have. In fact the less they have to install new, the happier they are. If they are “not sure” they can use the equipment, have them at least try. worst case scenario is that they can’t, and you don’t have to go through with it if you don’t want to. Also if they are moving her system, it shouldn’t cost anymore with you having your equipment than if you didn’t have any.
Oh and if your going to try and have your fiance cancel with her company, you’d better hope that her contract with them has expired or else it will cost the remainder of however many months of mmr that she has left to cancel.