Comment on NY alarm co hiring Florida sub from article on January 21, 2023
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Ken, Regarding below, (NY company hiring a Florida company as a sub). The NY company is not permitted to engage, sell, or design solutions in Florida without a license, and they most certainly cannot hire a Florida sub to work for a client of the NY company. There are countless examples of companies in Florida with a license being disciplined by the ECLB for “aiding and abetting unlicensed contractors” which as described below, is a clear cut case of exactly that. It is a big deal and you should advise anyone asking against it. No subcontractor agreement will protect them in that circumstance. Thank you!
Best Regards,
David Botknecht, CEO HW Automation, Inc.
State License EF#20000457 Board Member – Florida ECLB *************************
Ken,
Your advice is correct…..The Florida alarm company will get in hot water. There will be a paper trail. The New Yuck alarm co doesn’t have the money or resources to get a license in Florida for one job..! My suggestion would be to ask the attorney general’s office in Florida; I already know the answer…NO Similar to creating plans for a job in Florida. This holds true for a few states up-down the eastern seaboard.
Mike
CSS
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So my advice was correct, you must be licensed to contract for alarm work in Florida and hiring a licensed Florida subcontractor would not cure your license problem, but I didn’t sufficiently warn both the out of state alarm company and the licensed Florida subcontractor; Florida’s licensing board is very active enforcing the Florida license requirements. And Florida is not alone in this regard; other states have very active and involved license enforcement, though some states are more lax than others when it comes to enforcement.
The consequence of enabling an unlicensed alarm company by doing its work can be serious, including suspension and loss of your license. An unlicensed company can find that getting the license will be much more difficult and perhaps barred for a period of time until amends are made. To up the ante a bit, some states make it a crime to enable an unlicensed company to engage in alarm business in the state. Some central stations are very mindful of this because they are one target when they accept monitoring accounts from an unlicensed alarm dealer. Last I checked there were 7 states, though I can’t recall which ones. The best practice and solution is of course to get the licenses you need to do alarm business. Contacting K&K’s License Coordinator Eileen Wagda at 1 516 747 6700 x 312 will get you started.
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Ken, I have a commercial customer we installed an alarm system for this past fall. They are under a Commercial All in One agreement. They now want to add two cameras, how should we handle this? Draft a new agreement? Thanks, Chuck
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You could use the Supplemental Rider that came with the All in One for the additional work, though that Rider was really designed for additional work or equipment during the job or shortly thereafter. And, before I move on, if you’re “on the job” that means you should have the All in One signed, not waiting to be presented or signed. Too many of you ask me about contract challenges after the job is complete or in progress and that’s a little late to ask if the barn door needs to be closed once the horses are in the pasture. Updating the All in One is the best practice if some time has elapsed since it was signed. If the original term was 5 years getting a new contract signed will renew that 5 year term, and if you’re really engaged in best practices, you will be presenting the subscriber with an up to date contract with all the latest terms, bells and whistles.
One more thought you should be having if this is a residential customer; do you need to use the three day cancellation notice? The answer is no if you use the Supplemental Rider and yes if you are getting a new contract signed. While the Supplemental Rider is indeed a contract it is modifying an existing contract and you should have used the cancellation notice when that contract was fully executed.
