NYMP still up for sale and Pro 1 proactive

Here are a couple items of interest:

One is a short update on something I wrote about earlier this month: The proposed sale of the New York Merchants Protective Co. The sale is still awaiting a federal judge's decision.

The financially embattled New York-based alarm company—owned by the same family for about 100 years—has been in the news because Bank of America in January sued NYMP and owner Wayne Wahrsager for more than $19.2 million for allegedly defaulting on a loan.

Then, in August, a court-appointed receiver overseeing the company posted newspaper ads putting it up for sale. The notice said the company would be sold to Professional Security Technologies LLC unless the receiver got a better offer.

A judge was slated to hold a hearing on Sept. 16 on whether a sale should go forward. Then the hearing got moved to Sept. 20 and then to Sept. 26.

I've been checking court records and there's been no decision yet. I checked in with Wahrsager, who is no longer a part of the company, but has characterized the pending transaction as a “fire sale.” He claims the receiver, who fired him this summer, is mismanaging NYMP.

Wahrsager told me in an email: “I would simply say that the court adjourned the matter and has not approved the buyer.  The court is evaluating the statute to determine whether the receiver complied with what he was supposed to.”

Another item that just came across my desk almost made me think it was still summer, instead of fall.

Protection 1, the Romeoville, Ill.-based home security giant, put out a release saying it has received reports that door-to-door salespeople in the Boston area are falsely claiming they work for Pro 1. “These individuals are persistent and have been reported to harass customers until they agree to sign a new contract for a fraudulent system upgrade,” Pro 1 said. Sounds like the kind of complaints made quite frequently during the warmer months when the summer sales model companies are active.

Pro 1 is being proactive about the issue, sending out a release with tips for customers to protect themselves and urging them to call Pro 1 to verify a salesperson's employment status.