Consumer Complaints: ADT Home Security
Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Consumer Complaints
Have you looked at your home security system bill lately? Have you ever wondered exactly what kind of service you're receiving for your monthly fee? Me too!I've had ADT for nearly four years, faithfully paying them $37 a month, every month. And when I first started with them, I got good service. In my city, the police do not respond to home alarms. Instead, ADT has a list of numbers to call when an alarm goes off.
If they do not reach me, they're supposed to dispatch the "guard service." If they do reach me, I have the option of having the guard respond or not. If the guard is dispatched to the house, the guard is supposed to survey the perimeter of the house to look for obvious signs of a break-in, like a broken window or door. If everything looks okay, the guard leaves with no further action. If there is evidence of a break-in, the guard calls the police. Everything used to go like clockwork, and I had no complaints.
But over the last year or more, I've gotten the feeling that the guard service does not actually go to the house. The prior company contracted by ADT used to leave a business card or note to let the homeowner know they showed up. The current service doesn't do that, and I was convinced it was because they weren't going to the houses. (After all, if I'm not there, I'll never know!)
I've asked ADT about this a few times, and got standard answers. I was basically told that if I had a problem I should take it up with the guard service. Really? Because I don't pay them. I pay ADT. So it's ADT's responsibility to monitor the performance of their vendors, in my opinion.
Yesterday I got one of those calls about my alarm. I told the ADT representative that I wanted the guard service to check things out, but that I didn't think they really ever did that anyway. The representative put me on hold and called the guard service. He said he was told it would take 30 to 45 minutes for someone to get to my house, but that someone would definitely show up.
I raced home to see if the guard service showed up. And a guard arrived! But instead of surveying the perimeter of the house, he got out of his car, went to the front door, rang the doorbell, and turned around and left. He didn't even bother to check anything. He knew I wasn't home, yet he rang the doorbell. What was that supposed to accomplish? Maybe a burglar is going to answer the door?
I immediately called ADT to cancel my service. I see no reason to pay $37 a month to receive essentially no service. Oh sure, ADT calls me and says that my alarm is going off. What good does that do? The guard isn't going to actually do anything, so I really don't need to pay $37 to receive a useless phone call. I'll know the alarm went off once I get home and look at the keypad.
But this is where the situation takes the best turn of all. Customer service offers to give me a credit on my next bill for my trouble and to complain to the guard service. I turned them down, and insisted that I wanted my service canceled. ADT will cancel my service, but I still have to pay for another 30 days of monitoring. Why? Because ADT requires a 30 day notice to cancel my service with them. I'm under a month-to-month contract with them, but still need to pay for 30 more days after I decide I want to cancel.
The fact that I'm canceling because ADT is incompetent doesn't matter to them. The fact that I haven't been getting the service I've paid for and probably deserve a decent-sized refund doesn't matter to them. No, they want their money for 30 more days and they don't care what I think.
Of course, I explained over the phone that I felt it was completely unfair to force me to pay for 30 more days of a service I haven't even been receiving. They don't care. They say it takes 30 days to "get me out of the system anyway." Yeah, like I really believe that. If they can put me "in the system" in one day, they can surely take me out in one day.
I've signed up with a competing security company, which will hopefully provide the service I'm going to be paying for. But I'd advise homeowners to stay far, far away from ADT Home Security. Not only do they not provide the services you pay for, they want you to keep paying for non-service for 30 more days after you figure out you're not getting any service. That, my friends, is definitely a rip-off.
Have you been cheated, scammed, or otherwise disappointed by a company? WalletPop wants your real life consumer complaints and scam stories Email us with your story.
Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-05-2008 @ 9:41AM
Tracy Coenen said...
ADT already knows they suck... check out this domain name registration they have:
Visit AboutUs.org for more information about ADTSUCKS.COM
AboutUs: ADTSUCKS.COM
Registrant:
ADT Security Services, Inc.
10550 Deerwood Park Blvd.
Suite 400
Jacksonville, FL 32256
US
Domain Name: ADTSUCKS.COM
Reply
9-05-2008 @ 11:57AM
Mark 24hr said...
I agree with the complaint and urge all people to look at their security and the way the companies portray the level of protection. Especially when signing up on 2 to 5 year contracts.
In relation to ADT owning the domain ADTSucks.com that was due to a trademark case WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center ADMINISTRATIVE PANEL DECISION ADT Services AG v. ADT Sucks.com Case No. D2001-0213.
I am not a fan of ADT but I do like to see the correct potrayal of any information correct.
9-05-2008 @ 3:02PM
jeremy york said...
ADT is always going to have issues with it's wide customer base and as it tries to chip away as much money as possible. However they are the few big companies with calling centers nationwide so it's a gave take almost. http://www.homesecurityadvice.com talks more on this issue.
Reply
10-21-2008 @ 4:25PM
JayP said...
I disagree. I have been a customer for 10+ years and there is no one better than ADT. I would trust my family with anyone else.
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6-09-2009 @ 11:00PM
jim said...
How long you been working for ADT??
1-07-2009 @ 11:43AM
Truth said...
lol this has got to be the most retarded reasoning i've ever seen. You even stated yourself "in my opinion."
You pay them (ADT) to call a guard service because the police in your city are too short-handed to do it themselves. It's not their fault that YOUR guard service for YOUR community has shitty employees. The fact that someone has shown up at your door says that ADT did their job. Do you see ANYWHERE on that guards car, or hell, even the guards place of work, that says ADT? No, because they have no control over them. Murphy's Law will prove to be a bitch in most of these cases where people get so butt-hurt that over refusing to take matters into their own hands because it's easier to blame the person their paying.
If I thought my TV should have 2 av inputs instead of 1 I wouldn't call best buy, I would call the manufacturer. Don't be retarded, in my opinion.
Reply
4-12-2009 @ 10:22AM
Tim said...
I am not a fan of ADT. For the simple reason that my flat was one of 4 broken into a few weeks ago in secure complex with foot patrol. You can't tell me that 4 flats were nailed and all incidents went unnoticed... Fortunately my possessions were recovered by the ADT guard on duty... however he still had the cheek to ask me for a reward!
Anyway, their credibility went down the tubes once again - and probably for good this time - I was at a friend's place for lunch and his neighbours dog got shot dead in the street by.... ADT! A journalist from a national paper reported on it....:
*****A FAMILY pet was shot dead last night by security guard from a private company, who then allegedly pointed his firearm at the dog’s owner and fled the scene.
Two security guards from the world’s largest security company, ADT, were responding to an alert at a house in Orangezicht, Cape Town, when the incident happened.
Dima Sheinman found his three-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback lying in the street in a pool of blood and an ADT security guard standing over it.
His wife Jane told the NEWSPAPER the ADT guard had pointed his gun at her husband before running up the street and climbing into a City Bowl Security company vehicle.
The City Bowl guard, who asked not to be named, said the ADT guard had told him there had been an armed robbery.
"He was shaking and holding his gun, so I just decided it was best to drop him off at the ADT office," the guard said.
"Security officers are trained to use pepper spray if a dog attacks you, even if it is a Pit Bull."
ADT are the Sheinman’s alarm company but the guards were responding to an alert from another home in the street, which is badly numbered.
"Our tenant said the dogs were barking because they were rattling on the gate and pulled it open. I am heartbroken, Kandahar was the most beautiful dog. He was one of our three Ridgebacks," Jane said.
"I was playing with my children in the park. Now they’ve had to see their beloved dog dead."
The police were still taking statements when the Sunday Times was at the scene. Rob Dale, General Manager of ADT Security Cape Town, confirmed that an officer had shot a dog. "ADT is currently doing a full investigation into the matter. We sincerely regret this unfortunate incident and our condolences go out to the owners of the dog." *****
Reply
4-14-2009 @ 2:38PM
Kourdaddy said...
ADT was just OK when they were my monitoring company. When they increased their rate with very little notice, I decided to "release" them. They offered to rescind the increase if I stayed on as one of their customers. I told them that I can't just arbitrarily raise my rates to my customers and see who pays it, so why should they be able to? They are already the highest monitoring company that I know of.
Anyway, now they keep billing me for multiple cancellation fees and monitoring service. When I call them they say they have no record of the bills that I have in my hands and the only charge they are aware of is the $135 that has been turned over to collection. Collection! I cancelled the service in March, this is mid April and I authorized them to bill the fees (including the cancellation fee) to my credit card!
Calls to ADT get bounced around until I finally get sent directly into a voice mail where someone is supposed to return my call. I am not holding my breath. I could go on, but I'll bet you get the picture. Who owns ADTfreakinsucksbad.com?
Reply
4-24-2009 @ 4:01PM
Jennifer said...
ADT is absolutely horrible! I will spare you the long saga of details, but they have sent two technicians and two salesmen out, have $350 of my money and have stopped returning my calls over the last 2 months. When I call "HQ" they say I need to deal with the home office in Houston where I live. When I call the Houston office, IF anyone answers, they tell me to call HQ.
If you want to be "safe," the first step to take is get as far away from ADT as possible. Please take my word for it and save yourself the time.
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5-04-2009 @ 12:39AM
Matthew Zivkovic said...
I think the reason is due to ADT's affiliate program. They grant anybody with a website "authorization" to sell their system.
Make sure you are dealing with ADT themselves or a direct dealer of ADT.
I know a good one is ADT.com and http://www.residential-security-services.com
Reply
6-08-2009 @ 11:19AM
angela said...
I have to agree with most of the comments on here ADT SUCKS!!! I have been argueing with them since Feb. and still do not have my refund they promised me through the BBB. First there were alot of important information not filled in until I after I signed the contract, the rate increased by $12 a month after unauthorized changes had been made by someone in the HQ. I never had problems getting in contact with a real person during the inital set up time and the first month but now all I can get are automated voicemail boxes or get bumped around to different departments always hearing the same thing, "This department can not handle this problem but let me send you to someone that can" YEA RIGHT!!!
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