A personal alert service looks like a box, a pendant and a monthly charge. On paper it is a contract with a term, a renewal date and a cancellation route. Most of the trouble comes from the paper, not the box.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

This piece covers the questions to answer before you sign, and what to check on the page before the first payment goes through.

Read the term and the renewal

Find the length of the agreement. Is it month to month, or does it run for a fixed number of months? If it is fixed, find the date it ends. Then find the renewal language: does it renew automatically, for how long, and at what rate? Ask the company to point you to the sentence in writing. If they cannot, do not assume there is no renewal.

Check the notice period. Many agreements require you to cancel a set number of days before renewal. Write that date on the calendar before the first bill arrives, not after.

Check who owns the equipment

Ask whether the base unit and pendant are owned by you, leased, or rented. Find out what happens to the equipment when you cancel: is there a return box and a shipping deadline, is there a fee if it is not returned, and who pays the return shipping? A device you cannot return on time can become a second bill.

Ask who pays for battery replacement and repairs, and whether there is a charge for a replacement pendant if it is lost or damaged. Get the answers in writing.

Check the account holder and the contact list

Decide who is the account holder and who can change the emergency contacts, the address and the phone number. The contacts on file must be the people who will actually answer when an alert goes off. If the account is in your name but your parent lives elsewhere, or the reverse, find out how changes are made and whether a second contact can make them.

Ask how the service behaves during a power outage or a phone outage. Find out whether the base unit has battery backup, how long it lasts, and what the company does if a test fails.

Compare before you commit

Put three things side by side for each service you consider: the term and renewal language, the equipment and return rules, and the contact and outage answers. Do not compare marketing claims. Compare the sentences in the agreement and the answers you got on the phone, and keep copies of both.

If the company will not give you a written copy before you pay, that is your answer.

Keep the paper together

Save the agreement, the confirmation email, the cancellation notice address, and a note with the renewal date in the same folder as the rest of the care papers. Put the next review date on the calendar. The alert device only works when the paperwork behind it is still active, so give the contract the same attention as the battery.

For public sources on how to read consumer agreements and check the rules that apply, see Sources.