Top 5 Reasons to Ditch your Alarm Company

If you’re currently wondering whether you should ditch your home alarm provider, you’re not alone. Here are our Top 5 reasons why you should ditch your alarm company and try a new approach.

1. Overkill.  Yes, I said it. Most people know in their heart of hearts that they don’t need the 7 motion detectors arranged around the house, the 24×7 monitoring station, and the police on stand-by. All these features offered by alarm companies are overkill, and we all know it. Most people just need peace of mind — if I’m away from my house, I just want to know everything is ok. I don’t need a SWAT team on stand-by.
2. Outdated Technology.  Do you think in 2 or 3 years time, we’ll be using phone lines connected to 1980-style motion-detectors as a way to protect our homes? Nope. It’s going to be video systems that are mobile-enabled that are easy-to-use and ‘just work’. It must be said, that some alarm companies are moving in that direction, but v-e-r-y-s-l-o-w-l-y, and the ones that don’t will be extinct.
3. Bad Service.  Why can we bring home any other piece of technology way more complicated than an alarm system, set it up in a few minutes, and not require a technician, but with alarm companies you need to schedule an installer? No idea, but that’s just bad service. And when you do you have an alarm go off, the monitoring station just calls you to tell you the alarm went off and the police are on their way. If it’s a false alarm, a $150 bill is also on the way. Great, thanks!
   
4. Long-term Contracts.  Almost all alarm companies require a long-term contract. You get locked-in for 2 or 3 years as a way to subsidize the cost of their hardware and installation costs.
5. Price.  And yes, to top it all off, they’re expensive. Most companies charge $30+/month for their minimum service, for what amounts to doing nothing. If there’s no motion event or incident to respond to, it’s a complete waste of money. And it’s not like they’re updating their technology or providing you with new features in the meantime; you use the same capabilities they installed on Day 1, and pay that over the life of the contract. Great deal.
   

So, there’s our snarky Top 5 reasons why you should ditch your alarm company. I’ve personally had nothing but lousy service from these guys — maybe I just had a bad provider, but I suggest you also look for alternatives. Camcloud offers a simple video monitoring service that offers most of the features people need. Give it a try for free, or add a comment below on other alternatives that are out there in the market.