A number of consumers have run into problems with home security monitoring contracts including automatic renewals, one-sided contracts and excessive penalties for early cancellation. One widow was dunned over $1,500 for a contract signed by her deceased husband with repeated letters addressed to “Mr. and Mrs.” at her new address. As with any contract, you should read everything, but the irony here is in needing a watchdog to police those whose job is to protect our assets.
Gereg noted that a contract may have terms that will not be upheld in court. A trade official says that alarm-monitoring contracts often provide for automatic renewals, but a state law on real estate and personal property specifies how a customer must be notified of such provisions in contracts lasting more than 30 days, according to Christine Pritchard, a spokeswoman for State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
In April, Spitzer announced a settlement with a Tarrytown-based home-security company following alleged violations related to automatic renewals. “Laws governing automatic renewal clauses in contracts are designed to protect consumers against unknowingly locking themselves into open-ended contracts,” Spitzer said then.
Newsday.com: Sounding a home security alarm: Check the contract