A little after 2:30 a.m., our burglar alarm went off. When the noise finally penetrated our sleep, Jim and I went to the top of our stairs, turned the alarm off so we wouldn't wake the neighbors, and peered down the stairs.
The front door was wide open.
Obviously, we weren't going downstairs to close it, but locked the bedroom door, and called the police on my cell phone. In the meantime, our home phone rang, and it was Brinks asking if everything was okay. I was shaking because we had an intruder in 1991 (which is why we got the alarm), and told them "NO, everything is NOT okay! Our alarm has gone off, and our front door is wide open. Contact the police."
In the meantime, because we'd called the police directly on my cell phone rather than on our land line, our call had to be redirected to the right precint (it had gone to Alexandria rather than to Fairfax County), so the cops still hadn't arrived. Normally, they can be here in about two minutes. And our front door was still wide open. The 911 operator remained on the phone with us until the police arrived, but it seemed to be taking a long time.
Then, Brinks called back, and said that they couldn't send the police because we didn't "have a permit on file." I said, "I have no idea what you're talking about! We've had Brinks since the mid-1990s, I don't know what you mean about a permit." The lady repeated, "You don't have a permit on file." I said, "Ma'am, our alarm has gone off, we've called 911, our front door is open, and I have NO idea what you're talking about." She said, "I'll connect you to customer service."
The 911 operator is still on my cell phone, so we have two calls going now. The Brinks customer service person asked me for our password, and then explained that our county requires that we have a permit for alarms before they can respond. I said, "No one ever told me that! I don't know that! How am I supposed to KNOW that??? We've been paying for Brinks service since about 1994, and I was supposed to have a permit all this time? And the police won't respond unless I do???" I was so furious. I said, "I don't have time to straighten this out with Brinks customer service right now!! My front door is open, we have the police on the way, the 911 operator on the other line, and you're telling me that my Brinks protection was useless??"
I hung up.
I realized that all those times we'd been out of town, if our alarm had gone off, the police wouldn't have responded. Not a happy realization! And what about THAT, by the way. Isn't a Brinks call the same as any other 911 call? Brinks is telling me that the police wouldn't respond to a 911 call?
In the meantime, the police arrived, and went through the house. We had to throw coats on because they wanted us to stand outside, and we had Lucy on her leash.
So, here's the bottom line: We don't know exactly what happened!
There were absolutely no signs of forced entry, and certainly not on the front door. The police speculated that we may have gone to bed without locking the front door (Jim had taken Lucy out, and I was already in bed when he came back inside), and that the wind blew it open. However, I didn't notice any high winds last night, so I don't know.
Jim says it's possible that he forgot to flip the deadbolt when he came in, but thinks that he would have shut the door completely, so we don't know how it ended up being wide open. In any case, we were really rattled, and up until about 5:00 a.m., so I'm exhausted.
Yesterday, I learned that one of my doll club ladies lost her husband suddenly, and the funeral is this morning, up in Maryland. I had planned to go (that's why I'm up again, after having had no sleep), but am not going to be able to get there by 10:00 a.m., now, and am pretty much a zombie. Not what you want to be when driving on the Beltway.
Jim and I debated the night's events again before he left for work, and we're still baffled. I asked if he thought it might have been a combination of things. Maybe he forgot to flip the deadbolt, and someone tried the door, but he thinks it's unlikely that someone would walk up to a front door, with front lights on, and just open it. He thinks it's more likely that there was some wind, and we didn't notice, but there sure as heck wasn't any wind when we were standing outside, and for the remainder of the night. So, I don't know what to think, but it wasn't a fun time, and I'm still unnerved.
So, my task today is to find out what the **** Fairfax County needs from me (if anything), and why no one from Brinks ever informed us of this necessity...
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
Oh dear what a mess. And how scary. Is there another security company that you can go through? Doesn't sound like brinks is very customer friendly. I mean the nerve of them, what if someone was in your house?
They made it sound like it's a Fairfax County requirement, but Brinks should have known this when we put the alarm in, or informed us of it later if the requirements changed.
If it's a Fairfax County requirement changing security companies wouldn't help us, but I just want to know why we weren't TOLD that this was necessary! Geez... I don't want this news in the MIDDLE of a possible crisis, for heavens sake. I was literally being told that the police couldn't respond to my emergency because I didn't have the right paperwork on file.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
You were attacked by a ghost? Honestly that's bizarre.
Moving on, time to fire Brinks or contact management there and complain. That's unacceptable behavior and that person needs to be removed from duty. Complain, A LOT. I would say if nothing happens after complaints then switch to a different security company.
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"If you were looking for something clever or witty or funny here, you've come to the wrong place."
I could see how it wouldn't matter if it was a Fairfax thing. But the customer service has to be better somewhere else. I mean seriously they are telling you at a time when for all they know a killer could have been in your house that they wouldn't send help. That is absurd. And I am with Brandon. I hope you make a lot of stink about it. Because someone should have told you guys years ago that this was the requirement.
I just called the Fairfax County nonemergency number, and the officer essentially said, "bull***!!" He said that if they're asked to respond to a possible emergency, they respond.
He also said that alarm systems are supposed to be registered with the county, but that most of the alarm companies do the registration themselves at the time the system is installed. He gave me a county number to call, which I'm going to do next, to find out what's what and THEN I'm a-gonna shoot in a lil 'ole phone call to Brinks!
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
EEEEK!! What a horrible thing, Moore!! That idiot on the phone this early morning needs to be replaced, to say the least. At least the police DID come and check out the house in response to the 911 call, but as for Brinks - well, they need a little BAD publicity over this one. Do you have a local paper that would like a nice juicy story like yours?
It probably was a combination of factors, including the wind, that opened the front door. We had that happen to us a couple of times with no real explanation, and the usual trading around of blame within the household. If the dead bolt had been flipped into place, nothing would have been able to open the door, not even a huge gust, so Jim most likely forgot to do that in his sleepy state. Poor little Lucy must have been awfully confused by all the activity in the middle of the night.
My parents just recently cancelled their Alarm Force security system and what a HUGE pain in the butt that was. Ted had to disconnect all the sensors and drive to some god-forsaken outpost in the suburbs to return them, and my parents were still billed for the following month. I wonder just how good those systems really are when we all have access to 911. They might make us feel better when they aren't needed, but after your experience last night, I honestly wonder if it's worth it.
I hope you can catch a nap today, Moore. And so sorry about your friend's husband. What a way to begin the week, non?
Poor Lucy hates the alarm. It has gone off a few times accidentially (when we pushed the wrong button), and she freaks out. She doesn't even like the beep sound when we set it, when it's out of sinc, but accepts it when we're leaving the house, or at bedtime.
I'm still working on my coffee, and will call Brinks here shortly.
I actually declined a lunch invitation from my former roommate (the Canadian who lives in Baltimore) because I was going to the funeral. Now, I guess I'm going to be napping instead.
Whatever the problems with alarms are, though, I will never live without one again. Just knowing that a big noise will be made, and may scare someone away is enough for me! After our other experience, especially when combined with my childhood experience. Most people say that if you have an alarm system, and its obvious, most intruders will go somewhere else, feeling that you're house is just too much trouble. Not that they can't get around alarm systems, if they know what they're doing, but it's just not an easy target.
Jim said that traffic was just HORRIBLE this morning. Not only are there a gazillion extra people in town, but there was a water main break in the heart of downtown, so a number of other streets were closed. A motorcade went by too, and Jim speculated that it was the Obama girls, on their way to school.
The city is gearing up!
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)
I would definitely say that having the alarm was worth it. Otherwise you guys would have woken up this morning to not only a very cold house but the door wide open. Not a very happy good morning.
When Brinks was installed, Fairfax County didn't require a permit, and so Brinks didn't fill out any paperwork, and neither did we because we weren't required to at the time.
Sometime recently, that changed, and Fairfax County now requires one.
Fairfax County told me to call Brinks for the form. Brinks told me that I'm supposed to get the form from Fairfax County. No one answers the number they gave me, and it's different from the one I called earlier.
Once I get the stupid form and get a permit number, I'm supposed to call Brinks back, and let them know the number.
Fairfax County, of course, says that they respond to all emergency calls.
Brinks says that the FFC dispatcher said last night that they wouldn't.
Both say that we did the right thing by calling 911 ourselves, but that doesn't help much when we're out of town and can't hear the alarm now, does it...??!!
So, I'm still circling the issue, but getting closer to the ground. I guess Fairfax County, one of the wealthiest counties in the U. S., needs a little additional revenue with these permits.
Oy. Stay tuned...
Once I get this resolved, I'm going to take a mug of tea upstairs, and take a nap!
Brandon -- you're our hero, protecting the ladies here so diligently. Cyber hugs to you.
__________________
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities"
(Dumbledore to Harry Potter)