ALARM ONE INC

Beginning six weeks ago my business started receiving "low battery" notifications from the monitoring service, usually in the middle of the night. I called Alarm One to ask that the battery problem be fixed. They promised to respond to my request within the next 24 hours to set up an appointment for the repair. I didn't hear from them and got busy on other projects at work. After a couple of weeks I called back and asked about getting the repair done. Again, someone would get back to me. They never did. I called again, got apologies and a month of free service. A couple of days later I called again and was told that because my system was not supported by their regular service they had to farm out the request to another company. I thought this was ridiculous considering they installed it only three years ago. In the meantime, I was getting false alarm reports and responses from the fire department. When I called again about getting the problem fixed I was told the repair service was probably busy and couldn't get to my request. They didn't know when it could be fixed. The next time I called, I was very frustrated and demanded that my system get fixed. I was told the situation was "unfortunate" and that my repeated calls would do nothing to help the situation. The next time I called I said I wanted out of my contract which had automatically renewed the previous month. They said no way would they allow me to cancel the contract. I am tired of getting 3 AM phone calls and having to run down to the business to mollify the fire department. One more false alarm and the city will impose a fine, which according to my contract with Alarm One is my responsibility, not theirs. So now I'm not setting the alarm at night. How stupid is that? I have an alarm service but I can't use it. I still, though, get the middle of the night calls about low battery warnings.

Their monitoring was satisfactory, but their maintenance was horrific. No calls were ever performed by the main company. We were always referred back to their ''consulting technician.'' Adam Faura, a roguish smooth-talker who never finished the jobs, improperly installed cameras and was not always available on an emergency basis. We were left in the lurch without a capable alarm sysatem for weeks on end. The company did not ever come to check on the installation, other than referring us back to the very irresponsible technician who represented them. Moreover, the company arranged to withdraw money directly from our bank account, rather than place it on a charge or allow a monthly check. This protected their contract from any dispute that might have triggered a question froma bona fide credit card provider. They are heavily censured in the files of the Better Business Bureau--a fact that the technician failed to point out, although he knew it.

IT IS A GOOD COMPANY. I HAVE NOT HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE SYSTEM, BUT, OF COURSE, I HAVE NOT HAD A CHANCE TO GIVE IT A TEST ANYWAYS. NO ONE HAS TRIED TO BREAK IN AND I HAVE NOT HAD ANY EMERGENCIES. I FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT THE PRICE BECAUSE I KNOW SOME PEOPLE ARE PAYING 100 DOLLARS A MONTH FOR THEIR SYSTEM. THE RESPONSIVENESS, PUNCTUALITY AND PROFESSIONALISM WERE ALL GOOD. I MEAN, AS FAR AS THEM COMING OUT, THEY SET THE APPOINTMENT AND CAME OUT. I HAVEN'T HAD THEM COME BACK OUT. THE TIME THAT THEY GAVE THEY WERE HERE AT. THEY GAVE ME THE SERVICE THAT THEY SAID THEY WOULD PROVIDE.