To Foil a Thief - Home Security

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Sunday, November 8, 2009

Who Rates Best (& Worst) in the Washington DC Area? Now You'll Know.

Home Security

	The prospect of having an intruder in your home is unsettling at best. So it's no surprise that the home security alarm business thrives. But most homeowners can significantly cut their risk of burglary with small expenditures and a few new habits. We discuss how to assess your home's vulnerabilities, how to discourage burglars, and whether to purchase a home alarm system. We also give advice on selecting an alarm installer. From Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK Magazine
	Read our article and findings (available exclusively to CHECKBOOK subscribers)	Back to Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK Table of Contents.


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	Name	Number of ratings	Checkbook's top rating ()		What percent of customers rated firm "superior" on our survey for "overall quality"	Firm's price index score
	Name	Number of ratings	for quality	for price		Firm's price index score
1.	5 Star Security PO Box 99 Bluemont, VA 800-742-6360	31 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
2.	ABC Burglar Alarm Systems 1532 Pointer Ridge Pl #A Bowie, MD 301-249-9200	14 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
3.	ADT Security Services All locations combined 866-746-7238	751 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
4.	Alarm Associates 6666 Luster Dr Highland, MD 301-854-0100		Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
5.	Allied Alarm Specialists PO Box 6238 Alexandria, VA 703-329-8660	54 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
6.	American Home Security 2655 Duke St Alexandria, VA 703-461-8100	38 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
7.	Brink's Home Security All locations combined 800-725-3537	238 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
8.	Cain Security Systems 8101 Hinson Farm Rd #206 Alexandria, VA 703-360-1900	90 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
9.	Custom Security 13904 Wanegarden Dr Germantown, MD 301-428-3298	11 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
10.	Digital Security 204 S King St Leesburg, VA 703-742-6060	12 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
11.	Dominion Security Systems 6705 Oak Dr Alexandria, VA 703-765-2244		Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
12.	Fire Burglary Alarms 12321 Wilkins Ave #A Rockville, MD 301-231-0555	39 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
13.	Guardian Alarm PO Box 509 Germantown, MD 301-972-1545	16 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
14.	Guardian Protection Services 8475 Helgerman Ct Gaithersburg, MD 301-330-1399	57 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
15.	Guardian Protection Svc 174 Thorn Hill Rd Warrendale, PA 412-788-2580		Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
16.	Hofheimer Security & Telephone Systems Alexandria, VA 703-820-0808	26 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
17.	Homesafe Security Systems 1215 Greenwood Dr Baltimore, MD 888-466-3723	15 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
18.	Interamerican Security 4817 Randolph Rd Rockville, MD 301-530-9140	115 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
19.	Maximum Security 1702 Picadilly Rd Crofton, MD 301-261-3600	23 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
20.	N & D Security 4625 Old Dominion Dr #101 Arlington, VA 703-243-0499	48 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
21.	National Security 10410 Main St Fairfax, VA 703-273-5555	40 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
22.	Petitbon Alarm 2125 Baldwin Ave #10-B Crofton, MD 301-858-0820	11 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
23.	Potomac Security Systems 9821 Kendale Rd Potomac, MD 301-767-0039	107 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
24.	Protection One Alarm Monitoring 3921 Vero Rd #A Baltimore, MD 410-247-7701	12 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
25.	Security Services PO Box 7 Libertytown, MD 301-933-6755	14 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
26.	Sentry Installation 15940 Derwood Rd Rockville, MD 301-670-1008	32 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
27.	Splaine Security Systems 3829 Plyers Mill Rd Kensington, MD 301-942-6262	35 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
28.	Ultra Guard 7632 Standish Pl Rockville, MD 301-840-8004	10 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
29.	Vector Security 9800 Patuxent Woods Dr #B Columbia, MD 800-688-0150	160 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.
30.	Vintage Security 8220 Stayton Dr #A Jessup, MD 301-596-7663	15 ratings	Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK has ratings of 27 local home security firms. Subscribe now for ratings, articles and more.

Washington DC home security firms by neighborhood

MD
Home Security Firms in Baltimore, MD	Home Security Firms in Bowie, MD	Home Security Firms in Columbia, MD
Home Security Firms in Crofton, MD	Home Security Firms in Gaithersburg, MD	Home Security Firms in Germantown, MD
Home Security Firms in Highland, MD	Home Security Firms in Jessup, MD	Home Security Firms in Kensington, MD
Home Security Firms in Libertytown, MD	Home Security Firms in Potomac, MD	Home Security Firms in Rockville, MD
PA
Home Security Firms in Warrendale, PA
VA
Home Security Firms in Alexandria, VA	Home Security Firms in Arlington, VA	Home Security Firms in Bluemont, VA
Home Security Firms in Fairfax, VA	Home Security Firms in Leesburg, VA

Subscriber Comments/Reviews

CHECKBOOK provides subscriber comments on their experiences with the firms they use. Please remember that individual subscriber comments are informal. Subscriber comments may give you insight into the types of features and problems that exist in a service field, but are not the best basis for selecting or rejecting a specific firm. To assess the quality of a firm's performance, we recommend that you give more weight to the percentages of favorable ratings. Those percentages are generally based on much larger numbers of consumers' ratings (the number of consumer ratings is noted above).

Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote about GUARDIAN PROTECTION SERVICES, Gaithersburg, MD on 11/01/09: I had Guardian in my prior house and wanted it in my new house but..........

Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 11/01/09: I went out the back door without realizing the system was activated. It took them..........

Subscriber from KENSINGTON, MD wrote about POTOMAC SECURITY SYSTEMS, Potomac, MD on 10/05/09: I can't recommend Potomac Security Systems highly enough. Jeff Young, the owner, is fantastic. He..........

Subscriber from SPRINGFIELD, VA wrote about BRINK'S HOME SECURITY, , on 09/28/09: We have a Brink's system and service/maintence contract. Brink's is top-notch. I don't know why..........

Subscriber from BETHESDA, MD wrote about CUSTOM SECURITY, Germantown, MD on 09/21/09: Very grouchy staff. The person who came to make the estimate didn't check for what..........

Subscriber from ASHBURN, VA wrote about VECTOR SECURITY, Columbia, MD on 09/20/09: Service exceeded expectations........

Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote about HOFHEIMER SECURITY & TELEPHONE SYSTEMS, Alexandria, VA on 09/20/09: The owner, Louis Hofheimer, moonlights as a magician, so a real crowd-pleaser for the kinds!.......

Subscriber from FALLS CHURCH, VA wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 09/16/09: Problems with billing and very difficult to resolve. Months later all resolved........

Subscriber from GAITHERSBURG, MD wrote about POTOMAC SECURITY SYSTEMS, Potomac, MD on 09/15/09: Excellent advice, reused components of old system when appropriate, timely, and an overall excellent experience........

Subscriber from SPRINGFIELD, VA wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 09/15/09: Had system checked, and one sensor replaced; paid only $25 for the visit, in addition..........

Subscriber from LEESBURG, VA wrote about DIGITAL SECURITY, Leesburg, VA on 09/08/09: The best.......

Subscriber from KENSINGTON, MD wrote about ALLIED ALARM SPECIALISTS, Alexandria, VA on 09/01/09: Good company.......

Subscriber from LAUREL, MD wrote about MAXIMUM SECURITY, Crofton, MD on 08/28/09: Rick, owner of Maximum Security, surveyed my home and provided a no-nonsense evaluation– he didn’t..........

Subscriber from STERLING, VA wrote about VECTOR SECURITY, Columbia, MD on 08/26/09: Salesman unsolicited. Very pushy. Talked me into service that was not needed. Now I'm stuck..........

Subscriber from MCLEAN, VA wrote about FIRE BURGLARY ALARMS, Rockville, MD on 08/24/09: Friendly and helpful. Aggressive sales pitch, but that might be true of all of these..........

Subscriber from ANNANDALE, VA wrote about SPLAINE SECURITY SYSTEMS, Kensington, MD on 08/24/09: Excellent job on installation of our new security system. They did a great job of..........

Subscriber from POTOMAC, MD wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 08/24/09: Been customer 35 years and most of the time get good service. Feel safe........

Subscriber from SILVER SPRING, MD wrote about POTOMAC SECURITY SYSTEMS, Potomac, MD on 08/17/09: Outstanding job -- end to end........

Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote about ULTRA GUARD, Rockville, MD on 08/12/09: Signal for wireless management of account has faded to practically non existent and they haven't..........

Subscriber from GERMANTOWN, MD wrote about POTOMAC SECURITY SYSTEMS, Potomac, MD on 08/11/09: This service blows away the national chain companies who are literally just in it for..........

Subscriber from ARLINGTON, VA wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 08/10/09: They are well trained, do a neat job and are fair on costs. It is..........

Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote about AMERICAN HOME SECURITY, Alexandria, VA on 08/10/09: After spending 10-15 minutes examining my townhouse, the rep from this company gave a price..........

Subscriber from WASHINGTON, DC wrote about BRINK'S HOME SECURITY, , on 08/07/09: We switched from ADT to Brinks, afer the ADT rep came to us with a..........

Subscriber from ALEXANDRIA, VA wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 08/04/09: Sales people were not as knowledgable as the installation folks. He knew the answers and..........

Subscriber from DARNESTOWN, MD wrote about ADT SECURITY SERVICES, , on 08/03/09: installed security in renovation using wireless technology; it all worked, but I had to remove..........

See more comments at Washington Consumers' CHECKBOOK.

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