On Wed, 20 Jun 2007 08:39:11 -0700, jJim McLaughlin
wrote:

I assumed it was like any other
"utility", cable, electric, telephone, gas, etc., maybe you had an
activation charge, but after that you paid monthly for as long as you
used
the service & when you were done, you were done

Come to think of it, I can cancel my in-house telephone and electric
any time I wanted, but I didn't sign a contract for them. I just
called on the phone and they connected it afaicr. Gas is like that
too.

I don't remember cable tv. And I don't know about cable internet or
voip.

Cellphones have all kinds of longterm deals.

Burglar alarm companies might well need a contract even when one can
cancel at will, because they need the customer to acknowledge the
limitations of the services provided. They're not going to send an
army if the alarm goes off, only call you and then call the police. I
haven't seen one of those contracts yet, but I wonder if it limits the
promises it makes on that. like "within 5 minutes".