comments on referral problems from The Alarm Exchange May 18, 2017

KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
You can read all of our articles on our website     Having trouble getting our emails?   Change your spam controls and white list ken@kirschenbaumesq.com, secure.mybiz.com and mybiz.com 
**************************************************************************************************
comments on referral problems from The Alarm Exchange
May 18, 2017
*********************
comments on referral problems from The Alarm Exchange from May 13, 2017
*********************
To all:
    I can attest to Ken's willingness to get involved to help resolve an issue. I had purchased what was advertised as an IPGM4G cellular radio off of the exchange and it turned out to be a IPGSMCFP4G which is very much different although the outside case is the same looking. The seller even said it was a IPGSM4G but it was not and did not want to take it back. Ken did help and I did get the issue resolved via the item return and refund. This was about a year ago. Just FYI, Ken does help out if there is a legitimate issue. Thanks Ken!  
Ron Baumann
ProAlert Security Systems, LLC
Cincinnati, Ohio
*********************
Ken
    Just a note on this issue.  Being a California company I have been contacted numerous times to do sub-contract work for out of state companies who have accounts in California.  Many years ago I was eager to help folks in my industry.  I have also been burned, and not paid.
    We are now of the opinion that we will not assist anymore. 
    Our industry has changed, and I believe it is not for the best.  Yes there are still quality companies who take our industry seriously.  But, I am seeing more and more companies pop up and all they desire is accounts, any way they can get them. 
    So my advice in closing, BE AWARE.  As Ken says, “Be Smart”.
Tim
***********************
Ken
    What excellent advice for those on The Alarm Exchange.  As any attorney will tell you, a verbal (handshake) agreement is not worth the paper it's written on.  Memories fail us, words are interpreted differently by each party and protections are lost without a written agreement.  Standard industry agreements, such as Mr. K's, provide the protections you need and are a good investment.  They are also "defensible" in that the various protections are court tested and will likely hold up under judicial scrutiny. 
    And if you can, get a deposit so that if a job gets cancelled in mid-progress, at least you will be paid for what work you have done, and not left "holding the (empty) bag". As a fire alarm design firm, we require a 50% retainer before we start a project and we have an agreement which spells out our "scope of work", exactly what we are going to do, what we will deliver and in what time frame. This prevents the "I thought you were going to.........." situations. We require a retainer because some projects "die on the vine", due to financing issues, owners lost interest, zoning issues and other problems.  We don't want to be in the position of spending hours creating a code compliant design and then being told "job is dead, stop work".  At least we can charge our time against the retainer and the work will not be a total loss.
Joseph Hayes, CPP, PSP, SET
All County Security Inc.
Ossining NY 10562
***********************
Response
*********************
    Thanks to all.  I hope you all find The Alarm Exchange useful.
***********************

THE ALARM EXCHANGE

Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq
Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC
Attorneys at Law
200 Garden City Plaza
Garden City, NY 11530
516 747 6700 x 301
ken@kirschenbaumesq.com
516 747 6700
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com
oovoo account: KenKirschenbaum