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Question - husband wife dispute- and you're in the middle 

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Ken,

    Long time participant on your forum.

    I have a French couple who are going thru a divorce.  The contract is under a husband name and I only dealt with him on a take over also did his business alarm and cameras.  Have known him for about a year.  TI only saw the wife in passing and was introduced once.  I get a call from her wanting to change her user code and password.  I thought this was normal situation but before I could go further, she asks me: Who else will know the password?   I knew this situation is different.  She goes on to say that he has moved out.  I told her that we need a letter from a lawyer and she said she has something from a lawyer in Paris.  She also told me that I should NOT contact the husband on this issue.

    I asked her if she changed the locks? She said NOT yet but will do it soon.  She has agreed to send me the letter and agreed to sign a contract with me and make payment.  I was wondering if I am dong it right...  I hope I dont get sued by him since contract is in his name and he has made payment until Dec 2013.

    Your thoughts on this will be highly appreciated.

thanks

Tony

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Answer

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    You're between a rock and hard place.  You have an existing contract with the husband, prepaid through end of December.  Wife tells you he moved out and not to contact him.  Of course you want a new contract from her so you'd like to accommodate her.  It's a tough call.  

    I would start by getting the wife to sign a new contract and include in that contract an indemnification in the event the husband sues you for breach of his contract.  Before you sign off on the contract you may want to consider contacting the husband and letting him know you will be changing the passcode the bad news, but good news is that he doesn't have to pay you under his residential contract.  If you do get the indemnity from the wife you may prefer not contacting the wife.

    BTY, since you risk losing the husband's business account you may want to get the wife to indemnify against that also.  

    It's not your obligation to determine legal disputes or get in the middle of one.  You also can't rely on letters from attorneys unless the letter offers to indemnify you, which is highly unlikely.  You can rely on court orders that permit one party to change alarm codes etc.  

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AZ- do you need two licenses?

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Ken - 

    There is some confusion whether low voltage contractors in Arizona need to obtain a second license from the Board of Technical Registration.  I recently saw this posted from SIAC:

        "The Arizona Board of Technical Registration is now accepting certification applications from alarm businesses and agents. All alarm companies must be certified by October 1, 2013. According to a recent opinion released by the Arizona Attorney General's office, all businesses who sell, lease, rent, install, monitor, or repair/maintain alarm system MUST obtain a certification. For more information and application forms, please click HERE.  You may also ready the Arizona Attorney General's opinion by clicking HERE."

 

    However, there should be no confusion and two licenses are not required.  The AG's conclusion clearly states that the Board has no authority to require those licensed solely by the Registrar to take any action. Without authority, the Board cannot demand those who are solely licensed by the Registrar to obtain their license also. This is a clearly written conclusion and is easy to understand. Please get this out to help save alarm contractors from paying undue dual licensing fees. 

    Arizona Attorney General's Conclusion

        "Alarm businesses must be licensed by "either" the Registrar or the Board. Where alarm businesses are certified by the Board, they are subject to requirements of the alarm legislation and the Board's other statutes. If an alarm business is licensed only through the Registrar, the Board has "no authority" to require that alarm business to take any action. Alarm agents are certified by the Board and are also subject to the requirements of the alarm legislation and the Board's other statutes."    Thomas C. Horne,   Attorney General

 Roger D. Score, 

President, Arizona Alarm Dealers Association, Inc. 

arizonaalarmdealers@gmail.com

(520) 307-4138

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Webinars

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December 4, 2013   12 noon EST  Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4919260455763006721

    Title:  10 Things Residential Security Alarm Companies should consider BEFORE entering the world of Commercial Engineered System Fire Alarms

      Presented by:  Bob Williams, President of Briscoe Protective Systems and his Management Team. 

Briscoe Protective Systems has been in the industry for 35 Years and has made the transition from a Residential Alarm Company in the late 70’s to a Engineered System Fire and Security Company that is an SDM Top 100 Company. Find us on the web at www.BriscoeProtective.com or on LinkedIn under Companies, Facebook and Twitter@BriscoeProSys 

      Description:  There is a big difference between installing Residential Fire Systems and Commercial Engineered Fire Systems and there are “Key Factors” that Security Company’s should consider before attempting to go into this lucrative but challenging market.

      Who should attend:  Alarm company owners and fire techs.  

 

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