Next Alarm Transition
- Thread starter pete_c
- Start date
pete_c
Guru
Well sent a letter posting to the alarm relay company customer service folks here to see if they will do a price match.
I also looked up the history of Amcest and it is not good but it also appears that Next Alarm was subcontracting their services and CO.
Its just a PITA as I have not had any issues with Next Alarm in the last 20 or so years.
That said too a few years ago wrote a blog of sorts here relating to low cost DIY alarm services and posted my experiences with a less than stellar vendor. I agreed to a one year contract with them; half way through the contract they almost doubled my rate and started to automagically ding the credit card on a lock to the account which I could not get out of even after a formal complaint to the State of Washington AG office. Very willy nilly company and they are still in business as they keep changing their name and starting from fresh.
I like the suggestions here of moving over to Alarm Relay and value everybodies comments on the company. It was just that the testing so far (with no contract signed yet) was as easy as changing the dial out number. Noticed too that they are building a new web site for access to your personal account.
I also looked up the history of Amcest and it is not good but it also appears that Next Alarm was subcontracting their services and CO.
Its just a PITA as I have not had any issues with Next Alarm in the last 20 or so years.
That said too a few years ago wrote a blog of sorts here relating to low cost DIY alarm services and posted my experiences with a less than stellar vendor. I agreed to a one year contract with them; half way through the contract they almost doubled my rate and started to automagically ding the credit card on a lock to the account which I could not get out of even after a formal complaint to the State of Washington AG office. Very willy nilly company and they are still in business as they keep changing their name and starting from fresh.
I like the suggestions here of moving over to Alarm Relay and value everybodies comments on the company. It was just that the testing so far (with no contract signed yet) was as easy as changing the dial out number. Noticed too that they are building a new web site for access to your personal account.
Any company that has you sign a contract which allows them to raise their rates during that period should not be trusted or used. In many cases, unilateral contracts like that violate state laws. You have zero protection from the contract where they have full protection. You know full well that their costs didn't double and at the end of the contract they would offer you the lower price again, only to raise the rates again while under contract.
ADT does the same exact thing. When it comes to alarm monitoring, you need to trust the service provider and when they feel it is right that they can change the rates while you're under contract, then how can you trust them? Why even have a contract at all?
ADT does the same exact thing. When it comes to alarm monitoring, you need to trust the service provider and when they feel it is right that they can change the rates while you're under contract, then how can you trust them? Why even have a contract at all?
Alarm Relay is reliable, they answer the phone when you call, and they do what they say. They also are a bit on the expensive side, but cheaper than many, like ADT. They do support DIY, but they don't do a lot of hand-holding, so as long as you know what you are doing, they are good. Here is an example. When I first got setup up, I had my panel send open/close reports as I had that with NextAlarm. Note I am using cellular only. About 7 months later they called me up to turn it off, saying that feature costs extra. I understand that, but it took them 7 months to figure it out.
Also, note, Alarm Relay seems to call for EVERYTHING. Battery low, they call. Trouble anywhere, they call. Sometimes its a bit annoying, like when your wireless battery gets weak, as they always do at 3am, they will call and tell me, but the panel has already told me, so it's a duplicate.
Also, note, Alarm Relay seems to call for EVERYTHING. Battery low, they call. Trouble anywhere, they call. Sometimes its a bit annoying, like when your wireless battery gets weak, as they always do at 3am, they will call and tell me, but the panel has already told me, so it's a duplicate.
pete_c
Guru
Any company that has you sign a contract which allows them to raise their rates during that period should not be trusted or used.
Yes the contract I signed with my testing a new DIY alarm company looked fine except that they updated it and sent me a new one 3-4 months after initial contract then when they upped their service that said that they had misconfigured my account and features and started to charge my CC# to bring it up to a new yearly rate. The whole deal was documented here. I ended up opening a new Washington AG report almost every two weeks until this was all finished. They did threaten to take me to court for slander. Crooked as H***. It is a shame company and they are still in business and for whatever reason the State AG supports them over the consumer.
I have asked for the like for like with Alarm Relay which is a tad more than the Next Alarm contract and that is just the texting / emails. It will be a tad more than the old contract.
Yes the contract I signed with my testing a new DIY alarm company looked fine except that they updated it and sent me a new one 3-4 months after initial contract then when they upped their service that said that they had misconfigured my account and features and started to charge my CC# to bring it up to a new yearly rate. The whole deal was documented here. I ended up opening a new Washington AG report almost every two weeks until this was all finished. They did threaten to take me to court for slander. Crooked as H***. It is a shame company and they are still in business and for whatever reason the State AG supports them over the consumer.
I have asked for the like for like with Alarm Relay which is a tad more than the Next Alarm contract and that is just the texting / emails. It will be a tad more than the old contract.
pete_c
Guru
Recently I posted I went back to the Next Alarm dial up number (even though it will be discontinued) because while testing the new company Amcest my features of texting / emails did not work.
That said I did write to the company about this and got a wishy washy answer that I should entertain a new contract with new features and putting a rush on it now cuz the Next Alarm service is just about over. IE: typical sales talk.
This has me now writing Amcest off.
I had written to Alarm Relay and they are now responding to my questions and most likely will go with them.
That said I did write to the company about this and got a wishy washy answer that I should entertain a new contract with new features and putting a rush on it now cuz the Next Alarm service is just about over. IE: typical sales talk.
This has me now writing Amcest off.
I had written to Alarm Relay and they are now responding to my questions and most likely will go with them.
kurtmccaslin
Active Member
Pete, I use Homeseer for texting/emails and Alarm Relay for the monitoring only. My experience has been the same as Ano. They call me every time my system calls them.
I got hit by lightning 5 years ago and my OmniPro started calling Alarm Relay every 15 minutes. I was not home and could not turn it off. They complained that the calls were using up their bandwidth, but they worked with me until I was able to get to the system and shut it down. I have not had a break-in, but have had an unexpected high number of water leaks, battery failures, etc, and they call every time.
I got a certificate from Alarm Relay that gives me a small discount on my homeowners insurance for having a water alarm and freeze alarm. No extra charge from AR.
I got hit by lightning 5 years ago and my OmniPro started calling Alarm Relay every 15 minutes. I was not home and could not turn it off. They complained that the calls were using up their bandwidth, but they worked with me until I was able to get to the system and shut it down. I have not had a break-in, but have had an unexpected high number of water leaks, battery failures, etc, and they call every time.
I got a certificate from Alarm Relay that gives me a small discount on my homeowners insurance for having a water alarm and freeze alarm. No extra charge from AR.
pete_c
Guru
Thank you @rockinarmadillo and understood.
Yes have doing the same with Homeseer and the OmniLinkBridge plugin relating to email / texts alert.
I do not really need the ones that I have been getting from Next Alarm. It is a bit over the top.
I also have changed my access to a call home VPN these days which I like.
The Alarm Relay CS has been pleasant with our email exchanges.
Yes have doing the same with Homeseer and the OmniLinkBridge plugin relating to email / texts alert.
I do not really need the ones that I have been getting from Next Alarm. It is a bit over the top.
I also have changed my access to a call home VPN these days which I like.
The Alarm Relay CS has been pleasant with our email exchanges.
IVB
Senior Member
Totally forgot to transition away from NextAlarm as work has been insane, obviously now it no workie. Looks like Alarm Relay is what several of y'all like so I'll just go with that.
Did you go with internet or cellular?
Also, if there's a referral bonus i'm happy to list one of you as the person.
Did you go with internet or cellular?
Also, if there's a referral bonus i'm happy to list one of you as the person.
kurtmccaslin
Active Member
For me, I am still on POTS
Really, cellular is a bit more in cost, yes, but really who are you kidding with Internet monitoring. During, a fire, say, power might go out anywhere, so you need battery backup for a modem, and router and maybe switches, wifi receivers, etc. If the fire was near your electrical panel, oops, cable or dsl might be out as well. With cellular its all battery backed and you have one thing, the cellular modem. It just seems so much more reliable. My modem monitors the cellular modem connection, and it's only gone down once for less than an hour at 3am in several years. I assume cell tower maintenance.IVB said:
pete_c
Guru
Here my PFSense box monitors the internet and autoswitches to a combo cellular modem should the line go down.
The modem does have a battery. Backup is to the Internet and an attached 24/7 cellular line.
Got a deal a while back with T-Mobile Sim cards - 5 for $20 each per month. No contract. Been doing this now for over 5 years.
Update:
Just switched over to Alarm-Relay. Appointment was for 8 AM local time. CS called at 8 AM. He had me make one change to reporting on the panel. He was very familiar with panel. Tested alarm mode dial out and all worked fine. Ended call at 8:20 AM.
The modem does have a battery. Backup is to the Internet and an attached 24/7 cellular line.
Got a deal a while back with T-Mobile Sim cards - 5 for $20 each per month. No contract. Been doing this now for over 5 years.
Update:
Just switched over to Alarm-Relay. Appointment was for 8 AM local time. CS called at 8 AM. He had me make one change to reporting on the panel. He was very familiar with panel. Tested alarm mode dial out and all worked fine. Ended call at 8:20 AM.
