How to Terminate a Home Security Monitoring Agreement

Your contract may make terminating a security agreement difficult.

When you sign a home security monitoring agreement, you are entering a binding contract. Although contracts differ from company to company, there is often a penalty for early termination. Depending on your reason for canceling the contract, however, you may be able to avoid termination penalties. The trick is to read your contract carefully and work with your monitoring company.

Instructions

1. Check your home security monitoring contract. Look for the sections regarding early termination and cancellation. In these sections, you will find the rules for terminating your contract. Generally, you will be allowed to terminate your contract early, but you will be required to pay the balance. Further, you will likely be required to submit a cancellation in writing 30 days before terminating the contract and the balance must be paid before then. Although these standards are typical on security monitoring contracts, look for any loopholes that may apply to you, such as a cooling-off period or a clause that lets you terminate your contract if you move out of the coverage area.

2. Call your security monitoring company. If you have found a loophole in your contract that makes you eligible to cancel without penalty, find out what kind of supporting evidence you need to submit. If not, make your case for why you should be able to terminate your contract without penalty. The company may be willing to work with you if you are dealing with unemployment, if you can provide examples of why you are unhappy with their service, or if you can otherwise demonstrate why your situation has changed since you signed the contract.

3. Write a letter stating that you wish to terminate your contract. Include your address, account number and date you want your service to end. Typically, you must notify the company of your plan to terminate 30 days before you want the service to end. You should also send any early termination fees and the balance of your contract, depending on the terms of your agreement. Check your contract or call your monitoring company to get the correct address for sending your letter. They may require you to send your letter via certified mail. Even if not required, you may wish to use certified mail to ensure you have proof of the date the letter was mailed.

Tips & Warnings

• According to Smart Home, most security monitoring companies use "roll over" contracts, meaning that your agreement automatically renews if you don't actively cancel it. Keep this in mind if you decide to wait your contract out.

References

• PAC Secure: Monitoring Agreement
• Smart Home: Professional Alarm Security
• Alarm Professor: Canceling an Alarm Agreement