I have dogs that bark a lot, much more effective. A couple neighbors have been broken into in the past couple years, all with security systems.

We do keep the ADT sign out front that the last owner had, but we removed the actual system.

11/28/2013 10:04:22 AM

Our dogs bark as well, problem is we boarded them when we went on vacation and that is when we were robbed. Now we have a sitter come by when we are out of town and we use a security system. I like having the peace of mind that I know everything is ok. It is also nice when I get home and wonder if my wife has been home already and let the dogs out, I just check the history on the alarm app and I can see if the door was opened and when. Has also helped us realize when we used an old dog sitter/walker and we were paying her for a half hour walk with our dogs and she only came by for 7 minutes. She was then fired and not payed for that visit.

11/28/2013 2:20:17 PM

the whore that broke in to my house knew my dog unfortunately

so alarm system and video surveillance it is. . .

12/2/2013 6:32:06 PM

Ah yes, barking dogs are great substitutes for a monitored security system!

12/13/2013 1:10:51 PM

Another big plus for FrontPoint, I bought new equipment when we moved to our new and bigger house. Spent over $400 and one of the pieces was a $79 additional panel. They ended up sending me the $140 touch screen panel with more features for free.

1/11/2014 1:33:01 PM

Dayum. Frontpoint sales rep was nice, but for what I can get at Simplisafe for $675 with no contract, it'll cost me $1k at Frontpoint, plus 3 year contract at $43/mo vs. $25 at SS. The only advantage I can see that Frontpoint has over Simplisafe is the garage door sensor.

10/1/2014 3:14:01 AM

I ended up throwing my garage door sensor in the trash. Tons of false alarms. Got my the myQ system so I can monitor it remotely and it works great. No alarm hooked up but it didn't work anyways.

10/1/2014 7:54:34 AM

^^I am continually impressed with FP's customer service. Hands down top-tier. As far as equipment costs, they will discount it further, if you mention that you can get it cheaper elsewhere (I did the same, as ADT was going to be cheaper for equipment). No clue on monitoring, but if SS is still as good and cheaper, it may be worth it; or ask FP about a discount.

^I had the same problem; FP sent me a long-range sensor (for free) which solved the problem. Long-range means the sensor & magnet can be further apart, which I didn't think was my issue, but the new sensor has never given a false alarm...

10/1/2014 10:29:52 AM

http://www.livewatch.com/ or http://www.safemart.com

I have had these guys for almost a year now. They have great customer service and you can shop around for sensors (ebay, mulitiple websites). Cellular monitoring with alarm.com app is only $29.99 a month and I only had to do a 1 year contract.

10/1/2014 12:11:38 PM

I use Simplisafe too. Really awesome and no price gouging like ADT when I had them.

10/1/2014 12:26:31 PM

Just installed ADT under the USAA promo a couple months back. Wireless system. Four contacts + fire. I think it was like $70 out of pocket + $43/month so not too bad I guess.

I should mention that I just deposited the $texas settlement check from them from events occurring prior to and during the install. It took a while, but their legal dept came around eventually.

So...there's that.

Pointers:
- Use anybody but ADT
- Record all your calls with them since it seems my case is not atypical for a security company
- Don't let the installer out of your sight and go hard at the company if they do something other than what you were expecting

10/1/2014 12:45:29 PM

Pretty much everyone hates ADT.

I almost went with them, but they wanted to put just a couple sensors on my house to keep the cost down and act like their sign would keep people out. When I told them where I wanted sensors the price went retarded.

10/2/2014 1:29:12 AM