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FORGOT TO INVOICE SUBSCRIBER FOR YEARS - CAN YOU COLLECT NOW? 
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Ken    
    Due to an office error a customer went without paying for monitoring for over two years and we kept monitoring the customer.  Now when we contact the customer, are we allowed to require money owed for the entire time he was monitored ?  Is there a limit ?  I realize we were responsible for over looking his account payment status but he was not verifying payment either.
As always, thanks for all you do !
Please keep my name anonymous
Thanks again !
anon
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RESPONSE
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    The Standard Form Agreements [residential, commercial, fire, home automation] do not require you to send an invoice.  The subscriber has agreed to pay you for your designated services.  Your failure to invoice is therefore not fatal to your right to be paid.  Your look back period is governed by the Statute of Limitations in your jurisdiction.  In New York it's 6 years; elsewhere it could be 3 or 4 years.  Not likely less than 3 nor more than 6.  
    Of course most issues are not cut and dry, so let me play devils advocate and see if I can come up with a few arguments that the subscriber might make, and prevail on.  
    Even though the contract does not require that you invoice, you, like most other alarm companies and other businesses, do invoice.  It's your way of encouraging prompt payment; reminding the subscriber that the payment is due.  Your failure to send the invoice is not likely going to sustain a successful defense to payment by the subscriber.  But some of you have modified the Standard Form Agreement to provide for a late payment charge, or you may decide to declare the subscriber in default for non payment, thereby invoking the liquidated damage provisions calling for 80% of the contract balance and interest.  If you deviated from your invoicing practice then the subscriber may be successful defending against your demand for late charges and declaring a default.  The Judge may excuse the late payment and the acceleration by default, but should require that payment be brought up to date.
    But what if you stopped invoicing and the subscriber thought [or now claims to have thought] that you were no longer providing your alarm services, monitoring or repair service.  The subcriber claims that when you stopped the invoices the subscriber stopped using the alarm system, and maybe the subscriber stopped setting the alarm.  Though a fire alarm may still be operational, perhaps no signals were sent.  Or maybe the subscriber disconnected the system altogether.  Under this scenario the subscriber would make a better case for defense, essentially claiming that you'd be unjustly enriched since the system was not used and you should be equitably estopped from recovering.  In other words, you did something that caused the subscriber to believe you canceled your service and the subscriber never used the system or your services again, at least knowingly.  I think the subscriber still loses and owes you the money, but this is a stronger defense.  It will be better if you can show that the alarm was indeed used during the non payment time.
    I've been doing collection work for the alarm industry for 41 years now - I've heard it all.  I am amused when my young associate attorneys come in with the defense sob stories.  This would be a good book idea.  
    Actually I do have a favor to ask all of you. I'd like to know if you'd buy this product I want to make and sell.  It's one of those daily calendars that you rip off the daily page.  It would be called the Dead Beat Calendar.  Each day it would have another excuse why payment couldn't be made that day or why payment can't be sent out that day.  My source for the 365 excuses?  One of my clients.  He really is the best.  I think I have literally heard close to 300 excuses already.  I told him I want to do the calendar, just haven't had the time and now with computers I don't know if anyone still uses this kind of calendar.  I think it's essential for every business owner and it would be very useful for a dead beat.  Let me know what you think.
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                                           PERS: SERIES of 4 WEBINARS 
                              WEBINARS - ALL 4 WEBINARS ARE FREE 
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WEBINARS:  PERS:  Personal Emergency Response Service  / Medical Alert:   Everything you need to know and do to get started with PERS or grow your PERS business to a nationwide operation.  Presented by a leading PERS manufacturer, a central station specializing in PERS monitoring, atttoneys who will address licensing and contract issues and telemarketing issues.  Sign up for each webinar separately.  These webinars are FREE.  You need to register in advance to reserve your spot [attendance is limited] and sign in a few minutes before each presentation.
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Title:  PERS equipment and systems by Essence-USA, a leading manufacturer of PERS equipment
Date and time:  July  6, 2016  12 noon to 1 PM
Place:  your computer
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8091795726955290115
Presented by:  Ritch Haselden, Vice President of Essence-USA.  www.essence-usa.com
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Q&A:  Send your questions in advance to ritchha@essence-usa.com
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Title:  How to Select a PERS Monitoring Center
Date and time:  July  20, 2016  12 noon to 1 PM
Place:  your computer
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5252919376200633603
Presented by:  Mike Zydor, Managing Director of Affiliated Monitoring www.affiliated.com
Topic:  Selecting the right monitoring center for your PERS business is a key to growth
Q&A:  Send your questions in advance to Mike Zydor at sales@affiliated.com
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Title:  Licensing and Contracting for your nationwide PERS operation
Date and time:  July  27, 2016  12 noon to 1 PM
Place:  your computer
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5380922320883276803
Presented by:  Licensing by Nicoletta Lakatos, Esq., licensing counsel at Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum; Nationwide PERS Agreement by Jesse Kirschenbaum,Esq., contract counsel at Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum.  Moderator: Ken Kirschenbaum
Topic:  Licensing for nationwide PERS.  Agreement needed for nationwide PERS
Q&A:  Send your questions in advance, for licensing to Nicoletta Lakatos at NLakatos@KirschenbaumEsq.com and for contract questions to Jesse Kirschenbaum at Jesse@KirschenbaumEsq.com
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Date and time:  August 3, 2016  12 noon to 1 PM
Place:  your computer
Register here:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3591740925073303811
Presented by:  Matthew Pitts, Director of Legal Compliance, Alliance Security, Rhode Island.
Topic:  state telemarketing licensing; Federal and State Do-Not-Call compliance and call scrubbing; current legislation including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Telephone Sales Rule (TSR); vicarious liability and the use of sales affiliates; recent litigation trends. 
Q&A:  Send your questions in advance to mpitts@alliancesecurity.com