Are there certain features that are more beneficial than others?

Samuel Gramwell in Burglar Alarms 10 years ago.

I live in Plainfield/Joliet, IL, and had purchased (not leased) a wired system from Brinks (now ADT) in '98. The monthly monitoring fee has increased, and I also pay $4/month 'insurance' for free repairs. I've used that feature once. So I pay 35/month, which I think is pretty high.

I have few valuables so rarely turn on the system when I am gone. My area has slow police service so my main concern is being woken up so I can handle it until the police show up.

I have a smoke alarm wired in (for the Fire Dept- fire alarms are just the standard ones bought at the store) and a panic keychain as well.

There's a local place down the street that I called when I first moved in, but they never returned my call, so I wrote them off. Not sure if that was rash since sales <> operations.

I see posts relating to the fact that the big guys charge little to nothing for a basic service, then you pay high monthly monitoring fees. However, I paid a pretty penny back in the day to get what I wanted and to own it. But, I still pay those high monthly fees.

Suggestions?

technochick66 in Burglar Alarms 13 years ago.