National vs. Locally-Operated Home Alarm Monitoring Systems

If you search for home security and monitoring systems online, you'll find names of companies you know and have heard advertised, such as Brinks, ADT, Honeywell, and DSC. Just knowing that these companies are so large might sway you into thinking that they are also better than small local companies just the way brand names in the grocery store give people the impression of a better product than comparable store brands. Does the brand name of a home monitoring system ensure that you're going to get better service, or is it just going to cost you more money?

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One woman who had been employed by by a large company commented that she would stick with a local service rather than going with something larger. She cited reasons as being that locally-owned companies are run by people who actually care about their customers and their satisfaction. Instead of having their installers slap together several systems in a day's time in order to earn more commission, these smaller companies trained their installers to work carefully to ensure quality and paid them a daily wage. She said that the local company she worked for after leaving the larger company trained her better and encouraged her to take the time to answer homeowner questions.

Spend some time reading through the websites offered by the national security companies. Read all of the small print. These companies often try to lure customers by offering great deals and using fancy rhetoric. One website offers installation for $49*. How many people are going to miss the "*" mark and read this offer as guaranteeing them $49 installation? If you notice the asterisk, you have to go down to the bottom of the page to find what it refers to.

You find a link that says "Offer Details and Restrictions". Click on the link, and you will see that you have to sign up for 3 years of monitoring in order to get the deal, and you're only guaranteed that the monitoring could be as low as $31.99 per month. Of course, it might be as high as $100 a month and they just aren't telling you. The deal isn't sounding quite as good any more, is it?

Keep reading and you'll learn that your local code may require additional equipment at additional cost. If you want fire detection monitors it will cost an additional $2 a month and carbon monoxide monitoring will $1 a month more. You will also need to pay applicable taxes and permit fees. Reading further you'll discover information concerning what you'll need to do to reinstate your service in the event that you move. You'll see that there are a lot of restrictions, and most of them are going to cost you more money. In fact, there will probably be a lot of information on this information page that you won't understand at all!

Instead of trying to find and understand all the fine print on one of these websites, try visiting with a local representative to learn about the exact service plan they have available and a total cost that encompasses everything you're buying in the plan. You'll probably find that they are more than happy to explain everything to you fully and in plain English. Otherwise, you may find yourself confused by all of the poetic prose of the brand name website and end up with more expense than you can handle.