Security Matters:
Mr. A had a state of the art alarm system. He ensured sensors were attached to every opening of the house and paid a lot of money for the system. In addition he paid a monthly subscription for a fast response team to visit his house should the alarm was triggered.
One day Mr Burglar entered the house stealing valuables. It took 46 mins. for staff to arrive at the property (the company explained they do not send anyone to inspect the property if the alarm is triggered due to an electric fault- well of course there was an electric fault the system had been ripped off the wall). After the break in, the security company fixed one of the sensors which had been installed by them in the wrong place, allowing the thief to enter the property undetected. Mr A sued for damages (he had not insured all the property) and was forced to retract his lawsuit.
Facts supported by the Israeli Courts:
1. Security companies are not insurance companies. However, why activate your insurance policy if the reason for the burglary was the negligence of the security company who did not inspect the property properly or send a member of staff to inspect within a reasonable time or negligently set up the system. The point of the security company is to arrive at the property in a timely manner to check if anyone has triggered the alarm. The Israeli courts have made it clear. Even if there is negligence on the part of the security company, this does not allow you to receive compensation for the full damage incurred (even if the burglar spent the night in the property and emptied the whole house).
2. The contracts presented to the client to sign are ratified and accepted by the court as fair. All security companies have almost the same terms and conditions. One of these conditions is limited liability which sets compensation at 30 or 60 times the amount of the monthly subscription. If negligence is proved compensation will be on such a small scale it will not be enough to recover the damages.
3. Many do not read terms and conditions or do not understand Hebrew. They are therefore unaware of the limited liability as ratified by the courts. The Israeli court is not interested in this. As soon as you have signed a document there is a legal presumption you knew what you were signing. The Oleh Chadash excuse will not cut with the court.
Conclusions:
a. Security staff are not allowed to enter the property. If a burglar closes the door or breaks in leaving no signs, there is nothing the company can do.
b. The security firm has no commitment to send staff to check the property upon receiving an alert. The staff have no real additional authority than the average citizen.
c. Properly insure your contents and purchase a decent safe rather than pay a monthly fee to the security company.
D. The sales person who visits your house to sell a security package probably has no clue what the terms and conditions are. Ask to see the terms and conditions and ask him about limited liability etc. All the promises and assertions made by these companies may be appealing BUT when tested in court, they will win!!!!
Simon Seitz is an experienced real estate lawyer, mediator and Notary. He can be reached at simon@seitzlaw.net . For more articles please visit www.seitzlaw.net.