KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ
ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE
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Competitor representations regarding your business / changing contract terminology and services / cs webinars continue
August 5, 2020
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BIRTHDAY SPECIAL [yes, it's my birthday]:  $100.00 off each All in One Agreement.  $50 off every other contract priced over $200.  You must order today before midnight ET.  Call our Contract Administrator Eileen Wagda at 516 747 6700 x 312 when placing the order so she can apply the discount.  
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Tomorrow's webinar:  starts at noon ET.  Register now:
Electronix Systems Central Station Alarms - August 6, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2606752262202465549
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Competitor representations regarding your business
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Ken
            Thanks for your Q&A; we love it.  Quick question:
            A newbie alarm co in our area has been soliciting customers of ours and others saying they will reduce their rate and the customer can keep their existing equipment. 
          How can another co imply the customer can ‘keep’ their equipment if it’s a leased system?
           Isn’t this stepping over the line of another co interfering with our contractual agreement and attempting to interpret our contract without even seeing it?   Isn’t this misleading and deceptive (implying to the customer that somehow they know what’s in our contract)?
Johnny 
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Response
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               We can address the question as presented, but keep in mind that you may not really know what the competitor says.  It would be risky for your competitor to assume that the system you installed was sold to and is now owned by the subscriber.  As you mention, a leased system belongs to you, not the customer.  Both the customer and the competitor would be committing “conversion” by taking over your equipment, subjecting them to liability for the property’s value.
            If a competitor knows the equipment is leased and owned by another alarm company then representing to the customer that it’s permissible for the customer to allow the competitor to take over the system could be deceptive business practices; it might be supportive of a tortious interference cause of action; there would probably need to be more however for a successful lawsuit.  
            Maintaining customer relations is still the second best way to retain your customers and ward off improper competitor solicitation.  The first best way is a Standard Form Agreement which you can refer to remind your customer that they are “contracted” for the balance of the term.
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Changing contract terminology and services
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Ken
            We’re going to use K&K's Residential All in One and the Commercial All in One as well as our proposal as the Schedule of Equipment and Services.  Do we need to change that wording on the contract to “See attached Proposal” rather than “See attached schedule of Equipment and Services”?
         Or should we start titling our proposals ‘Schedule of Equipment and Services” instead of “Proposal”?
         Or do we not need to change either and it’s assumed that the proposal is the schedule?
         Are we able to remove the Runner Service and Guard Service sections if we don’t offer those?
April
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Response
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            You’re driving yourself crazy.  
            I don’t take particular pride in authorship in the term “Schedule of Equipment and Services” and you can change it to “proposal”, “rider”, “addendum”, or any other descriptive term.  The problem is, however, that the term Schedule of Equipment and Services appears in various places throughout the contract, so you should edit and change the term in all places unless you define that term as the “attached proposal”.  
You can take out runner and guard service, but once again, be careful that you don’t change paragraph numbers because they may be referred to in the contract.  There’s a good reason to leave runner and guard service in the contract.  Your contract and the Disclaimer Notice make clear that you offer additional equipment and services if paid for.  You should ask yourself, if a customer wanted guard service would you make arrangements for that service if the customer agreed to pay your price?  I suspect most companies would say, sure, and I could get “most” to “all” by changing the scenario to the customer insisted on the service and agreed to pay generously.  Pay you enough and you’ll put on that guard uniform and run in the middle of the night.  Well, maybe not you, but someone will.
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Register Now for the CS webinar series: 
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Electronix Systems Central Station Alarms - August 6, 2020
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2606752262202465549
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To order up to date Standard Form Alarm /  Security / Fire and related Agreementsclick here:  www.alarmcontracts.com
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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
www.KirschenbaumEsq.com