Call Kurtis: Bound To 8-Year-Old Contract

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) --  An alarm company tells a long-time customer from antelope, he can't cancel without paying for eight more months of service.  That's when he decided to call Kurtis Ming. 

Ottis Berry says he signed on with Brinks almost eight years ago.  The company has changed hands twice since he signed his contract.  So is he still tied to a little clause in fine print that says his contract renews a year at a time?

Berry wanted a talking feature in his alarm system, which tells him exactly which door or window is open.

"We're at the age where we don't need to be searching every window," says Berry.

He had to switch to a new alarm company, because he says his old ADT alarm system didn't offer the talking feature.  But when he called ADT to cancel in September he didn't like what he heard.

 "That's when they told me if we change, we'd have to pay until the end of the contract," says Berry.

 He signed that contract in May of 2003 with Brinks.  Brinks was taken over by Broadview, which has since been taken over by ADT.  In the fine print of the Brinks contract, it says his service renews a year at a time on the anniversary, which is in May, unless he cancels.  Berry says ADT asked for $92 to settle his account through the month of May.

"I didn't think that I owed anything and that's what I told them," says Berry. 

 If you look at ADT's current contract posted on its website, the alarm company doesn't force customers to renew a year at a time.  After your initial two years, customers are automatically renewed for just 30-day periods.

 "I wouldn't mind 30 days.  That would give them time to close the books," says Berry. 

If the current ADT contracts are month to month after two years, can they hold him to the terms of the old contract?  Contract law professor Brian Slocum with McGeorge School of Law says yes.

 "He signed this contract that was delegated to ADT," Slocum tells us, "And he's under this contract."

We reached out to ADT on Berry's behalf.  Even though he's tied to the old Brinks terms, the company agreed to clear his balance.

"Had I known that I'd be going through this, I probably would not have changed services," says Berry.

Slocum tells us when you sign a new contract, you should immediately look into how to cancel it.  If your alarm company changes hands check out the terms of that new company's contract.  If the terms are better you may want to ask if you can sign a new deal.  But read it closely though to make sure it's a better deal for you.