About 25 years ago I had an Aritech Moose Systems wired alarm system installed in my home. I served me well for many years. Fast forward about 15 years......... I decided it was time to upgrade it. I researched alarm systems extensively and decided upon the Honeywell Vista series of panels. I then researched local installers who worked with these panels and found Bulwark Security.
I reached out to Bulwark and spoke with Jeff about my needs. My system was evaluated, pricing was provided, and a deal was struck. One of Jeff's installers came out and replaced my alarm panels and controller as agreed. I also made arrangements to begin using the monitored alarm service marketed by Bulwark. All went well with this setup for until.......
.............. one of my legacy wired alarm sensors failed. I reached out to Bulwark to determine the cost to troubleshoot/repair and was surprised to hear the cost. It seemed rather high given that it was single wired glass break sensor. Replacements are available online for just a few dollars each. I then inquired about possibly replacing the wired sensor with a wireless sensor and the cost was even higher (not surprising or unreasonable). At that point I decided to simply bypass that sensor. I did this for a while but finally decided that I'd simply replace the sensor myself. I went to my alarm panel to try to access the programming and found that it required an installer code (which not been provided).
I contacted Bulwark to ask for the installers code and was told that their policy was to not provide this information to current customers. Well that sucks! I waited for several months after my alarm monitoring contract expired and inquired again for the installers code. Again I was told that they did not provide this information to current customers. Uhhhh... my monitoring contract has lapsed, I'm not exactly a current customer.
I reached out to a number of other organizations and eventually found a company online that provided me instructions on how to reboot the panel and get the installers code. I followed their instructions and was able to retrieve my installers code. Using this I'm starting the processing of documenting how my alarm panel is configured.
While I completely understand the policies put in place by Bulwark Security, I have trouble with their policy given that I paid for the Vista alarm system in full. I own the system in question yet I'm unable to configure my own system because the alarm service company I worked with won't give me access. Seems rather illogical to me!
Don't get me wrong, Bulwark is a good company. I like their people. I like the products that they sell and install. I just feel like I was being strong armed into using them for all of my service and support. Would I use them again? Probably but under the condition that I retain access to the current/valid installer code for my system.