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Schlage: Unlock Your Front Door Remotely (but Not Cheaply)

Lock manufacturer Schlage has just begun an advertising campaign on TV promoting a new front door lock that can be unlocked remotedly.  Their commercial depicts a homeowner in Seattle unlocking a door far away for a friend just by pressing a few button on his cell phone.

*MOUSE PRINT: In case you didn’t catch that fine print disclosure on the bottom of the screen, it said:

“Monthly fee is required for the remote featured benefits. Product is simulated and requires additional third party equipment and service for proper functioning.”

A monthly fee to unlock your front door in an emergency? What will they think of next? And the cost here is key — $12.99 a month. That’s not insignificant. What’s wrong with the old-fashioned way — keeping a spare key in the flower pot — and that’s free?

As to what else you need to make this work:

— a compatible cell phone with Internet access (or remote computer);
— a Schlage Link bridge — a device that sends wireless signals to the lock
— an Internet router — you plug the bridge into the router
— a live broadband Internet connection

The lock pictured in their commercial, incidentally, is just a latch type lock. If you want a deadbolt, which provides more security for your home, it does not lock/unlock remotely as depicted in the commercial.

*MOUSE PRINT: From Schlage’s FAQ:

“For the Schlage Wireless Deadbolt, however, you can remotely activate the lock which makes it possible for the door to be unlocked by someone turning the outside thumbturn. Since door frames aren’t always aligned and a deadbolt can require more leverage to engage or disengage, the deadbolt requires manual operation.”

The starter kit that Schlage sells is $299.

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UPDATE: T-Mobile Delays/Rethinks Fee for Paper Bills

T-Mobile just announced that it is delaying and rethinking its plan to charge customers a $1.50 a month fee to receive a paper bill via the US Mail. The company apparently heard the yells and screams of customers, and word that a class action lawsuit had been filed.

Here is the official announcement on the T-Mobile message board:

Paper Bill Charge T-Mobile Statement

T-Mobile is committed to encouraging customers to make the move to paperless billing. It’s a great alternative to paper and better for the environment.

Since the announcement we’ve heard everything from kudos to concerns about the move to paperless – especially from our customers who today are receiving paper bills at no charge.

So, we’ve decided to not charge our customers a paper bill fee for now. Instead, we’ll be taking more time to determine the fairest way possible to encourage people to go paperless.

Customers can still visit my.t-mobile.com to sign up for paperless billing.

We thank our customers for their patience and appreciate people letting us know how they feel about this important topic.

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When Written Permission Can be Oral!

There is good news this week for everyone who has been annoyed by receiving prerecorded telemarketing sales calls (“robocalls”) at dinnertime, even if you are on the “do not call” list. Starting September first, an amendment to the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule requires telemarketers to get your express written permission before they can make such calls. This even applies to people who are not on the “do not call” list.

Sounds great, right? Who is going to fill out a form, sign it, and mail it back indicating they want to get junk phone calls? Very few people. But leave it to lawmakers to be hip and allow “electronic signatures” to substitute for ones on paper under the so-called E-Sign act.

*MOUSE PRINT: What is an electronic signature?

The E–SIGN Act defines an ‘‘electronic signature’’ as ‘‘an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.’’ 15 USC 7006(5). The Act further defines an ‘‘electronic record’’ as ‘‘a contract or other record created, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored by electronic means.’’ 15 USC 7006(4).

So one might think that typing “John Doe” on a website is an electronic signature, and you would be correct. But things you would never expect to constitute a “written signature” qualify also.

*MOUSE PRINT: The following types of things would also qualify as an electronic signature, depending on the wording:

  • Clicking a link in an email
  • Clicking a “yes” button on a website
  • Pressing a key on a touchtone telephone
  • Orally saying “yes” in a telephone call that is recorded

    • So, getting you to agree “in writing” to receive robocalls may be easier for a telemarketer to accomplish than you originally thought.

    One method that would not comply with the law is to bury a statement of your agreement to receive such calls in a contract, such as in the terms and conditions of a credit card agreement. For example, last week, Chase sent some card holders a notice of change in terms, but it is not an acceptable method of gaining your written consent to receive robocalls:

    *MOUSE PRINT:

    “You authorize us, or anyone acting on our behalf, to call or send a text message to any number you provide or to any number where we reasonably believe we can contact you, including calls to mobile, cellular, or similar devices, and calls using automatic telephone dialing systems and/or prerecorded messages,or to send an email to any address where we reasonably believe we can contact you.”

    Chase and most others, however, are allowed to call you using a prerecorded message that is informational in nature (rather than sales-oriented), such as providing a balance update or a reminder that a payment is due soon.