FOLLOW UP TO COMPLAINT TO FLORIDA LICENSE BOARD AND ESA FROM AUGUST 12, 2016 ARTICLE
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Ken
Please forward this issue of FRAUD CERTIFICATE to Michelle Yungblut @ ESAWEB.ORG. Michelle is Vice President of Training and Certification at ESA and handles ALL NTS matters regarding training and certifications.
If there is certificate fraud I am sure would want to know about it.
Too bad your antonymous complainant can't come forward with more specific information
ESA has expended a lot of time and energy to maintain the integrity of the brand as well as the industry as a whole.
Joel Kent
FBN
CT
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Ken,
In the past I have made several posts on your site. For some I've received praise, and for others I've been harshly criticized. I don't understand why a person would send you a tirade about the Florida ECLB and the ESA and then sign "Anonymous".
Mr. Anonymous makes some very good points. If he has the proof he claims about forgeries and falsifications of documents, he should be willing to state who he is, and provide that proof to both the ECLB and the ESA.
I have been the President of the AAF several times, served as Vice President of ESA, and am the current President of ESA of Florida. The ESA has to protect the privacy of the individuals that pay to take their classes, and the records of their membership. They are not a government entity and are not obligated to disclose private information. Same goes for the AAF. The ESA can not police everyone who takes a class.
Mr. Anonyomous has many options besides spewing anonymous negative comments on your site. He needs to get involved with ESA and provide the information to them so they can investigate. Attend the ECLB meeting and provide proof of the fraud to them. Get involved with both the ESA of Florida and the AAF and promote a legislative change to 489. (Does he know what 489 is?) He needs to provide a complaint to the ECLB who does have the power to go after the qualifier of the company for allowing such a fraud to be perpetrated on the public, and public safety. Report the individual to your local sheriff's office and let them take action as well. If I had such proof in my area (Palm Beach County) the PBSO alarm unit here would vigoursly go after the individual, the qualifier, and the alarm company.
The legislature isn't going to make a change on it's own. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Only if the ECLB, ESA of FL or the AAF through their legislative lobbyists and committees seek a change and provide documented proof of the need for a change, will it occur.
Mr. Anonymous is correct about other states. You can verify qualifications in many, not all states. If this is truly a need in Florida, and I happen to agree with that need, he needs to get involved and help promote such change.
Don't blame the ECLB or the ESA and others when you won't even have the chutzpah to say who you are.
Roy Pollack, CPP SET
Past President of the AAF
Past Vice President of the ESA
President of ESA of Florida
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Ken
I am one that supports state licensing of security systems companies and believe that Florida might as well not have a law since there is no registration of anyone except the low voltage license holder with the state.
When a technician completes the FASA/BASA training, he/she is issued a pocket card and a blank fingerprint card. They are then supposed to go to a local law enforcement location for fingerprints and background check. Without the state overseeing this, who's to say if the check was ever done, even if it was done, who's to say the results have been scrutinized to say the person is worthy of being licensed. Except for drug use, there are no guidelines in the law that says what laws can be broken that precludes employment (exert below, link to law - http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0489/Sections/0489.518.html) .
(c) Has not been convicted within the last 3 years of a crime that directly relates to the business for which employment is being sought. Although the employee is barred from operating as an alarm system agent for 3 years subsequent to his or her conviction, the employer shall be supplied the information regarding any convictions occurring prior to that time, and the employer may at his or her discretion consider an earlier conviction to be a bar to employment as an alarm system agent. To ensure that this requirement has been met, a licensed electrical or alarm contractor must obtain from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement a completed fingerprint and criminal background check for each applicant for employment as a burglar alarm system agent or for each individual currently employed on the effective date of this act as a burglar alarm system agent.
(d) Has not been committed for controlled substance abuse or been found guilty of a crime under chapter 893 or a similar law relating to controlled substances in any other state within the 3-year period immediately preceding the date of application for employment, or the effective date of this act for an individual employed as a burglar alarm system agent on that date, unless he or she establishes that he or she is not currently abusing any controlled substance and has successfully completed a rehabilitation course.
Another problem with it not being state controlled is transferring the card when an employee leaves a company for another. The card is issued by the company where the training was taken, in some of the mega-companies, the FASA/BASA is done in-house. If you want to transfer the license and the tech doesn't have the certificate (or one wasn't issued in the case we had with an ADT tech), you must have the certificate. Has anyone ever tried to call an ADT office and actually talk to a person at the office, even if you find a local number it goes to their call center, even if you have a person's name they will not transfer you.
Dan
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Ken,
This email is in response to your industry newsletter dated August 12, 2016. In that newsletter a person who wished to remain “anonymous” took issue with the ESA National Training School’s long standing policy of maintaining student confidentiality. For the benefit of your readers I have included the policy below.
“Student mailing, email and additional contact information is kept confidential and not given to third parties without prior written consent of the student. Individual student test results are mailed to the student’s address as indicated on the student registration form. Notwithstanding the foregoing, student contact information, test results (including results from prior tests) and a record of all ESA/NTS courses taken by the student shall be made available to the student’s employer upon request, and the student hereby consents to the disclosure of such information to his or her employer.”
Whether you agree with the ESA/NTS student confidentiality policy or not, just imagine for a moment how “anonymous” might feel if his/her competitor called ESA/NTS and requested information related to his/her employees.
Additionally, this “anonymous” person made claims of forgery related to an ESA/NTS training certificate. We are aware of this situation and ESA/NTS previously conducted a complete investigation regarding the allegations and found no basis for this claim. In fact, we offered our assistance to the ECLB investigator and it was refused. The ELCB told us that the case was closed some time ago and the party in question was in fact properly licensed.
There are many facts surrounding the claims made by “anonymous”, too many to bore your readers with. ESA stands by its student confidentiality policy, the investigation conducted and the action taken.
In conclusion, we take consumer protection very seriously. As a reminder, ESA has a Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct Policy that includes a mechanism to file a formal complaint with the goal of protecting consumers. http://www.alarm.org/Resources.aspx
Yours for a better industry,
Angela C White
President ESA
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Ken
I certainly sympathize with this person. What a dilemma!
However, the one thing that stands out to me in his description of events is his comment about the ESA having any credibility.
In my opinion ....... It doesn't and it hasn't for many MANY years. It simply exists to be a gathering point a few times a year for the "good ol boys" to meet, have a few beers, play golf at some resort and pat each other on the back for doing such a good job of promoting the ESA in spite of the fact that it doesn't and hasn't done a thing for the vast majority of alarm installers in the nation for years and years. The very fact that it changed it's name from the NFBAA to hide it's terrible record of ineffectiveness and cronyism is evidence enough for it to be thought of as a do nothing useless monument to doing nothing ..... bureaucracy. It lauds itself on setting up standards that only the largest of companies can abide by and proceeds to totally ignore the smaller alarm companies that combined, create more business and do more installations than all the large companies put together.
In my opinion ....that the ESA won't do anything to help the alarm installation companies in this persons area only says that there isn't anyone in that area that is a member of the "in" group of the ESA. The poster should also be reminded that the Florida license board, like any government agency is only a collector of money for which there is a "threat" that they will enforce the law but mostly they are more interested in collecting licensing fees. Alarm licensing, like gun laws are only obeyed by the legitimate people and the government does not actively pursue the ones who break the law unless the offense is blatantly obvious thereby making a politician look bad in the eyes of the public.
As I say, I sympathize with the poster but it's a bureaucratic "who do you know" world. I can offer him no advice that could be remotely considered ethical or ...... legal.
Gene
Reliable Alarm
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Ken
In response to verifying BASA/FASA complaint, I suggest you get the individual’s l$%&!FG@ name, and call the AAF office at 1-800-899-2099. I’d bet a couple months RMR they will tell you if that person has a current certificate. They are always very helpful. Once you find that information, try to catch them in the act. Get all the proof you can, get their picture, and call the police. I had 3 A….T door-knockers arrested near my house when they showed me their “solicitors permit” and no BASA card. They laughed at me until the sheriff deputies cuffed ‘em & stuffed ‘em. They also tried to claim they were with the “Advertising Dept.” not selling anything, but they were going into the houses and coming out with signed contracts. Looks like a duck to me, how about you Boudreau?
In response to verifying BASA/FASA complaint, I suggest you get the individual’s l$%&!FG@ name, and call the AAF office at 1-800-899-2099. I’d bet a couple months RMR they will tell you if that person has a current certificate. They are always very helpful. Once you find that information, try to catch them in the act. Get all the proof you can, get their picture, and call the police. I had 3 A….T door-knockers arrested near my house when they showed me their “solicitors permit” and no BASA card. They laughed at me until the sheriff deputies cuffed ‘em & stuffed ‘em. They also tried to claim they were with the “Advertising Dept.” not selling anything, but they were going into the houses and coming out with signed contracts. Looks like a duck to me, how about you Boudreau?
By law, any contractor, salesperson, or tech must show you their card on demand. If they don’t have it and are performing any of those duties, it is a misdemeanor and you can force the police to arrest them. You may have to print and show them a copy of chapter 489 and ask them to read it first. Go to your local building and fire inspectors meeting and ask for their help in reducing false dispatches by asking all techs on jobs to display their card. It takes a little work but you can make a difference, and all of us can make a big difference if we just take the time to educate the authorities.
Ray Yauchler
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