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CNN Live At Daybreak
Dollars & Deals: Securing Your Home
Aired December 12, 2003 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Time for 'Dollars & Deals' now with consumer guru Clark Howard. And if you are headed out of town on a holiday vacation, maybe you need a home security system. No worry, Clark has got the lowdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARK HOWARD, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: Today's question is from Andy in Lexington, Kentucky. You are looking to buy a home security system. You want to know if I have any recommendations.
Andy, do I ever. Rule No. 1 when you are going to get a home security system, do not sign a long-term contract for monitoring under any circumstances. The burglar alarm industry wants to handcuff you to that contract so they can give you the worst service in the world, but you are stuck paying them big bucks.
What I want you to do is start in the yellow pages and call burglar alarm company after company after company. First question you ask, do you require a contract for monitoring? If they say yes, you say thank you and hang up. Call the next company.
Once you get companies that don't require a contract, then your next question, what do you charge for monitoring? Monitoring is where the big money is, not the cost of the system. You are looking for a monitoring cost in the mid to high teens, no more than $20 a month.
Once you get a quote in that price range, then and only then is it OK for you to get a quote from a company for a system where you protect the doors, the windows, have an interior motion sensor, and most important of all with a home security system, fire protection. We fear the burglar. What we should fear is the smoke and fire that could really cause us harm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Good deals. Clark will be back next Friday with more 'Dollars & Deals.' And you can e-mail us your consumer questions, just visit our Web site, CNN.com/DAYBREAK. In the meantime, you can get Clark's money-saving tips on the Web. The address is ClarkHoward.com.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 12, 2003 - 06:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Time for 'Dollars & Deals' now with consumer guru Clark Howard. And if you are headed out of town on a holiday vacation, maybe you need a home security system. No worry, Clark has got the lowdown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARK HOWARD, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: Today's question is from Andy in Lexington, Kentucky. You are looking to buy a home security system. You want to know if I have any recommendations.
Andy, do I ever. Rule No. 1 when you are going to get a home security system, do not sign a long-term contract for monitoring under any circumstances. The burglar alarm industry wants to handcuff you to that contract so they can give you the worst service in the world, but you are stuck paying them big bucks.
What I want you to do is start in the yellow pages and call burglar alarm company after company after company. First question you ask, do you require a contract for monitoring? If they say yes, you say thank you and hang up. Call the next company.
Once you get companies that don't require a contract, then your next question, what do you charge for monitoring? Monitoring is where the big money is, not the cost of the system. You are looking for a monitoring cost in the mid to high teens, no more than $20 a month.
Once you get a quote in that price range, then and only then is it OK for you to get a quote from a company for a system where you protect the doors, the windows, have an interior motion sensor, and most important of all with a home security system, fire protection. We fear the burglar. What we should fear is the smoke and fire that could really cause us harm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Good deals. Clark will be back next Friday with more 'Dollars & Deals.' And you can e-mail us your consumer questions, just visit our Web site, CNN.com/DAYBREAK. In the meantime, you can get Clark's money-saving tips on the Web. The address is ClarkHoward.com.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
