Brinks Alarms: Beware of the Fuel Surcharge Tax

I like to inform consumers when I feel they are being wronged. A run-in with Brinks leads me to believe that I am not alone in my 2 thoughts....

I recently had a problem with my Brinks alarm. I was trying to test the system and realized I didn't have a live connection with the monitoring group. For those not familiar with the Brinks alarm system (or don't currently own an alarm that is monitored), your are expected by Brinks to "test" your alarm once a month. This is done by asking the system to send a signal to the central server to ensure the unit is performing correctly (verifying a live signal) and then sending a counter-signal back to the device to let the user know (with a loud beep) that a successful connection was made. After repeated tries, I decided to call Brinks to get help with this problem.

We purchased through Brinks because we wanted a reputable company. We were assured of their great technology and years of expertise in residential service. We were also assured of their no-hassle technical service should we have a problem with our system at any point. Imagine my surprise when I asked for a technician to come out and Brinks hesitated. They first asked if I had a digital phone. I told them I did but it was in place before I had the system put in (which I was told at the time wouldn't be a problem). They repeatedly stressed that their system has problems with digital phones (monitoring requires a connection via the telephone line). They (Brinks) wanted to let me know that a charge would be made if it the problem wasn't theirs. I told Brinks I didn't care as the phone was well in place before and the system had worked fine for months. What I also found out was technicians only work Mondays to Saturdays and only during work hours. With the exception of a Saturday visit, I would have to take time-off work to be home between the hours of either 9:00am - 12:00am or 1:00pm to 4:00pm. I booked a Friday knowing my wife would be home on one of her days off.

I called later that day to see how things went. My wife told me the technician had come and mentioned that Brinks was having several problems with their systems similar to ours. He ended up fixing the system but then asked my wife for a $5.00 fee to cover the fuel costs for the trip. She paid the fee but knew full well that I would have not endorsed such a cost.

I called Brinks yesterday to examine the plausibility of the cost. Here is Brinks arguments for charging the $5.00 fee:

• Its a Canadian Law to charge the $5.00 fuel surcharge.


• Its Brinks policy.


• Everyone is charged and has been charged since March of 2007.

Here are my arguments:

• Firstly, there is no such Canadian Law that asks all services calls for warranty approved work to be charged a $5.00 surcharge for fuel.


• The very meaning of the word "surcharge" implies this is a company policy to add an additional cost to its clients, not a Canadian Law demanding such a fee. Also, Brinks constantly referred to this $5.00 surcharge for fuel as a "Fuel Surcharge Tax", talk about trying to group words together to make the argument.


• The Protective Service Agreement that I signed with Brinks to enter into this arrangement in section 6. under "Repair Service" does not mention any such surcharge to warranty approved work. There is mention of acts of god, misuse, negligence, fire, but no mention of a surcharge that will accompany a visit where the system is not performing to its designed specifications.

In the end, the Service Call Manager (of course I had it elevated) gave me another number to call to get my credit of $5.00. He said that he would neither agree or disagree with me on this matter as he did not have the authority to change company policy. This in itself is an admission of error on the part of Brinks.

If anyone else has had similar challenges, the number to call is: 1-800-437-3611. They are only open Mon-Fri 8am to 5pm.

BC Lions - CFL Western Conference Finals

I can add my first CFL (Canadian Football League) game to my list of things accomplished - a western conference final game at that. While the BC Lions did not fare well in the bout (losing 26 to 16 to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders) I really enjoyed the game and the experience.

A while back I wrote about my "First NFL Experience" and while the CFL experience was similar in some ways, it was also quite distinct. Firstly the atmosphere; there is something about being at a BC football game that makes you a little more patriotic. I found myself standing, cheering, “booing”, and thoroughly absorbed in the game (at least for the first 3 quarters). It wasn’t until the 4th quarter when BC took their fans out of the game by not completing plays, taking penalties, and unable to stop the Saskatchewan offence or defense. I do not pretend to be a big football fan, but even my wife who has rarely ever watched the sport felt that BC’s play-level just wasn’t there. Saskatchewan’s quarterback was bobbing and weaving (sorry more of a basketball fan) and ran more times than the BC QB got sacked.

For those who haven’t been to BC place, the view is great regardless of where you are sitting. The stadium is full enclosed so you don’t have to worry about the rain either. The announcer is bit annoying as his dialogue seems to consist of variations of “make some noise”, “bring the noise”, “louder, louder, and louder”. The stadium does a good job of keeping people entertained between plays with a Kiss Cam (random people from the crowd are displayed on the big screen and encouraged to kiss each other); hold the cup (a picture of the Grey Cup displayed and people pretend to hold it); and the Geroy Simons Dance Cam (random people videoed dancing in the stands). Entertainment was also provided from a few random fights where people were promptly escorted form the stadium or as the tag line goes “Be a Fan, not a Fool”.

While there were not as many people at BC Place (the upper bowl was empty in several sections), the Canadian experience really hit home for me, even if BC lost. On the way out of the stadium, my friend who attended with my wife and I asked if we wanted to go to the Canucks game which was occurring right after. I told him I didn’t have the heart to see 2 Canadian teams lose the same day J (As my sister-in-law would be quick to point out, the Canucks beat the Flames 4-1).

My 2 thoughts anyways…