Guardian Interlock

I reckon every person forced to use this device is a liar too. This thing is **. I understand and agree with the concept. But, it's a fragile technology and the DMV holds it like a holy grail. The only time they should extend is if someone is very obviously trying to drive their vehicle intoxicated. That isn't the case in my state Colorado. They figure if you tried and it failed you and you find a different way to work, because their stupid thing fails. By that, I mean the machine fails, not the user. It's a notch in your "interlock" bed post. Need to change my name to Jose and just drive without a license I guess.

I bought a personal breath analyzer just to double, triple check to make sure I'm good to go, and I still get fails. And get this, they were all below any DUI limit. But yay for me, I get an Extendo of three months. Thanks God at least the folks I get serviced by are half decent, aside from the fact, that it's always your fault. Never the device, never the calibration, because God forbid they were wrong, then a class action might be feasible. One day the truth will come out, and all will see what a p to the o to the s it is. Until then, we suffer and the DMV and Guardian make a whore of a killing.

I have an ignition interlock device installed on my vehicle that Guardian Interlock installed. Each month, they are supposed to submit the data to the AZ Department of Transportation, indicating that I had my system calibrated for the month. They have not done that. It is time for the system to be removed from my vehicle because I've had it on for the required 12 months. I've almost exhausted all known ways to get this resolved. I've spoken with Mark **. I've left messages with David ** and most recently, I have been speaking with a young lady by the name of Marsha.

When I initially called to get quotes I was told that it was a set price with no hidden charges and tax was included and if I paid in full I was to be given a free breathalyzer. Got to my set appointment and fees had changed resulting in much higher prices. There were 3 new packages to choose from. The cheapest offered little service and the most expensive offered all. I was told that if I chose the cheapest package "I get what I pay for" and that if someone with a higher package walks in they would be serviced first. I wanted to leave my appointment and find another company but they had already installed the device and I would now have only 72 hrs to get it installed anywhere else and I had no choice but to pay their prices.

First off. Beginning installation, was initially told set price. Was billed 200 dollars more for the installation. Also was booked for 10:00 o'clock, wasn't even seen until 12:00. Car wasn't completed until 4:00. (Same goes for monthly service appointments--booked for 10:00, not seen until 12:00). My time is money, too.

Secondly. Vehicle needed repair. November 9th was towed into mechanics shop. Phoned Guardian to advise of needed repairs as per their contract. "No repairs until notification." Tried all afternoon with no response and finally left message. Nov. 10th phoned left message and called back a number of times. No response. Nov. 11th called left message. No response. Nov. 14th called again left message and tried numerous times to get through, yet they are still "busy" and I received no response nor call back. (Keep in mind my vehicle is in shop taking up space).

Nov. 15th and 16th, called many times and left messages. No response. Nov. 17th, called and got same "please leave message" answer. Called back to different area of Guardian. Got an actual person. Asked who oversaw this program so I can make a complaint? (Government agency since it IS, sanctioned by them)? They said no one regulates them but I may speak to a manager. Was told they would personally take my concerns "across the hall and hand them my name and number and I will have a return call by the end of the day." That was yesterday. Today is now the 18th of Nov.

I think these units are a good idea. I really, truly do believe that it's so embarrassing, degrading, repetitive, and awful an experience that it will help prevent halfway intelligent people from committing another DUI crime. That being said, I believe that this company is an extremely corrupt and problematic entity. I received a DUI 2-1/2 years ago. My punishment was 1 year suspension, one with the device. I completed the year of suspension without incident, and promptly received a letter from the Department of Revenue informing me that I must install one of these devices in my car for a year. Included was a list of venues for installation located in my state. At the time I think the only one in my city, Wichita, was Guardian Interlock; they had two locations. I called and set up the appointment, did the installation, read the tutorial paperwork they gave me and went on my happy way.

For the first 6 months of having this thing on my car, from approximately November 2010 April 2011, the only issue I had was that the cold weather lengthened the warm-up time, which I could deal with, and did every day, the unit sometimes takes more than 10 minutes to let me start the car.

As soon as the summer hit, and nationwide, I believe it was a brutal one, especially so in Kansas, I began having many, many problems with this device. It became a normal occurrence for it to fail me twice every time I tried it, passing me on the third time. These failures showed up merely as sensitivity failures at first, and I suffered no consequences. When I suggested that it may be due to the hot weather, they denied that heat causes their units to malfunction. They merely turned their computer screen towards me, pointed to a jumble of figures which meant absolutely nothing to me, and told me the machine is, essentially, infallible.

As a prerequisite to this next statement, and although I know it doesn't mean much, given the circumstances, I have not drank alcohol since my DUI 2-1/2 years ago. That being said, one morning when I tried to go to work, the device continually failed me, to the point that I had to have my girlfriend drive me to work. When I went in to have the device re-booted for my upcoming month, the guy from the store, whose name escapes me now, whistled and told me I had a big failure, .24. I assured him it was impossible, the level I had when I received my DUI was almost, but not quite, as high and I was literally incapacitated (I had blacked out and crashed the car into a ditch, to give you an idea of how drunk .24 makes me). "How, at 8 am, on my way to work, could I possibly have been that drunk?" I asked. He told me it has way too high sensitivity, and the machine doesn't lie. I asked him what the consequences are, and he said, "Legally, you should have your license suspended for another year. But I can just mark it down as two late appointments, you can pay me an extra $100, and we'll act like it never happened."

What choice did I have but to pay? The receipt was itemized and the extra $100 on a separate line. I saw him put it under the cash register drawer, the $80 monthly fee went inside.

On another occasion I overhead him discussing first with a woman and then his partner, Tristan, how he was going to "corrupt her file" because "she's a friend of mine, and she has some violations." This woman was a probationer on the interlock program and he was wiping her file clean. I asked, "Family troubles? " when he hung up with the girl, before calling his partner, and he replied, "No, just some girl I mess around with. I try to keep her on her toes, but she keeps failing." I remember, several months earlier, this same man telling me about how he and his wife of several years go to Mexico every summer for Sammy Hagar's birthday party, and he's committing crimes for his younger girlfriend on the side. I was actually kind of stunned. He realized that I was listening to him, became somewhat verbally hostile, yelled at me for signing my name instead of printing it, as he'd said (which I did out of nervousness), and then he confirmed, "One month? (because you can pay for two at once). I said yes and he looked me in the eye, took my paperwork. After looking it over to confirm it was correct, he slid it across the counter towards me. There was two months worth of credit on my account, for which I only paid the $80 monthly fee because I had overheard him committing a crime, for God's sake.

These people are **. The guy that founded the company, Kip Fuller, is an egomaniac and a leech of the first degree. Look up his YouTube account: he's posted every video interview he's ever done, posted them himself. He's like an even more-evil Shamwow guy, marketing all these goofy products like robots for your home and even a "stealth bra" for your car that deflects cop radar. I met a "corporate representative" from Ohio when I got the unit taken off, today in fact. He told me that originally in the 80s, they lobbied for this stuff in congress. These people have made their product a government-mandated obligation for which we have no choice but to pay, and they employ operators who are morally dubious, at best. It makes me sick. He then went on to extol the life-changing capabilities of the Guardian interlock system, and how it really helps make a difference in America's society. I felt like strangling him to death.

That same day, they said the de-installation fee was $100. I asked him if he had a copy of the contract, and he answered no very defensively, and said I should have kept mine. I did, and went out to the car to get it. It said "De-installation fee: $50" (or thereabouts). He replied, "Oh, yeah, that's the old one. I'll go ahead and honor that." Anything about honor sounds like an ironic joke coming from this guy's mouth.

We need to be careful about these people, and these companies, because they're already running our lives, and they don't have anything but your money on their minds.

I was a tech for Guardian Interlock and Driver Advisors and left the company due to the stupidity of the clients. They changed their name because they want to be more than an Interlock Provider. They want to aid you from start to finish and make sure you have no issues, and if you have an issue, they are here to advise you on what to do. At James, there are still Guardian Interlock signs up. They are trying to hide nothing (this has been the only company that actually cares about you as a client).

We tell you a million times and give you a ton of documents about violations and what can extend your time. I bet you were in a hurry and just signed off and blew off the tutorial. It detects alcohol when you blow into it (what's on your breath). James, if you use mouth wash and blow into it, you will get a violation. The mouth wash is over 20% alcohol or above .20 which is above the .08 violation limit. James can be smarter than the machine. They charge you for violations because they do not want you to be extended, like when you over draft your checking account, they charge you fees because they do not want you to overdraft.

I bet the machine went into permanent lock and you were locked out because you had too many violations. The handset dropped days from say "30" to "-1" because you violated the machine, but you are not smarter than the machine to notice your days dropped. **, it counts down to "-7". This is your driving responsibility, so do this "Probationary Program" correctly, follow the rules set out by the State of Arizona and MVD.

At the Jetta guy, google Jetta brake fuse and/or Jetta brake light issues. You will get thousands of issues from Jetta owners with the same issue. Second, you are full of it or your Jetta tech is an ** hat. No interlock is tied into your brakes. It is done behind the key and they go to the starter wire; the ignition and power wire all behind your key switch. None of those wires interact with your brakes behind the key switch. FYI, all Jettas are electrical nightmares, they are garbage as far as the electrical set-up is concerned.

Guy with starter issue, does your car start at will? If you have a short in the ground to your starter, it will affect the machine and short into our machine, affecting the behavior. If your car does not work right, how can you expect our machine to do so when it is being shorted out by your car? It is the same concept of leaving a plasma screen outside during the summer months in AZ and expecting it to work correctly.

In short, James, you are a lazy, pathetic human being and I hope you get extended longer by multiple companies until you realize you affect the outcome of the machine and you must take this seriously. I'm so happy I do not have to deal with people like you anymore. I'm sick of hearing how you are a victim and nothing is your fault and you are perfect. Well now, I know you are the one who drove drunk, what if you killed someone? Now, you have to pay for driving drunk and I bet you won't do it again. So, grow up and deal with what you did.

I will begin by admitting that I made a big mistake. I did the crime and I have to pay the consequences. However, the interlock has made my life more miserable than it has to be. I have had several "early recalls" although I've done nothing wrong, and nothing to tamper with the machine. I checked my starter for continuity, and only being two-years-old, it works at will. I asked the installer if it was relevant to the interlock, and he said it probably is but there's nothing he can do about it. I've been stranded out of town; I have been late for work. It's embarrassing to no end. If I weren't so embarrassed by having an interlock, I'd speak up and protest against this cash-cow they have going.

This company, also known as Drivers Advisor, is a rip off. They continually change their name to hide from their bad reviews of incompetency, no integrity, and substandard equipment and employees. The owner/manager is the biggest thief of them all. If they cannot get your money for a BAC violation, then they charge you for their crappy equipment not working. If you don't like what they tell or charge you, they will tell you to call the DMV as you are a convicted DUI criminal. And the DMV will never believe what you say about them. Again, use any company but this one. Do not use the office at 2350 W. Mission Ln. in Phoenix. They are criminals.

Other than the staff mostly being friendly, I have had hardware failures, blow failures, and hum failures. And now, currently my car is dead at V.W. Then I'm being told that they have conclusively proven that the interlock device has blown fuses that allow my car to function at all. For the past 6 months, I've been replacing brake light fuses, and I'm just thinking it's odd to only find out it was a much bigger issue with the interlock.

Now to the Guardian folks who say "We hear you don't drink all the time; you had someone else blow." and all you folks who say that it's our own doing, try this on for size, guys. I also have SCRAM device attached to my ankle that monitors me for alcohol every 30 minutes and which I have had on for 3 years, and I never had one single violation. Sure it costs $360 a month versus the $80 or so of the interlock, but it flat out proves that Guardian will place blame anywhere but squarely on its own shoulders. They are able to blow our complaints off, simply because we made a mistake. And yes we did, and we are paying for it, some in spades. The deal is though they need to be watched over to prevent this kind of thing.

I'm going to make it as short as I can. After I installed the unit on the car, I had my first fail after two weeks. It just won't power up. I missed a day at work (cost money) and I had a friend drive me over to have the tech give me another one, 10 min later. He said he had seen that before and he was going to send the unit to Guardian. Next, when I came in for monitoring, it showed that I tried to start the car 11 times before blowing for a sample. When I asked what time it happened, it showed 12am sharp each time. Wait, I'm in bed that time! Why would it say that?

I demanded another unit as this one is not working right. So I got another unit and 2 days later, it cut down on my time and I lost 14 days. I took it in and I watched the tech download the info. There was nothing on there to explain why it cut down on my time. I had been also told that this time it would be free but next time it would cost extra to reset the unit. So i guess it's my fault if the unit malfunction now. While getting my unit checked I had seen people drive or walk in with units that need to be reset all the time. Many of them got stranded at work or home. I was talking to the tech while he took care of people in front of me, and he mentioned that it's very common for the units to fail and he sees it all day long.

A month went by when I tried to go to work when the unit again failed me. Ok, I tried drinking water and lots of it but nothing helps. When a friend walked by( and I know he doesn't drink at all), I asked him to blow to see if it's me or not. Guess what, he failed too. I called in and had been told to wait and try later. There went another day at work. I couldn't pass the rest of the day and no one in the family could as well. I took the unit in at the end of the day and it showed all the fails and I needed to pay money to reset it, as it's my fault. The tech calibrated the unit same time. When I got home, I can start the car with no problems. I guess seeing the tech got me all sober in 45 min. When I called Guardian about it. They said that I must be drinking, as their units work and 100% never failed. A few days later, I lost time again. I'm very mad now because it's above and beyond what should be normal to have problems. I drove back in to have it checked up. The tech told me that I missed a rolling retest at 2am and I had been trying to start the car at 12am sharp on the dot. Well if did try to start it and couldn't, how did I manage to refuse the rolling retest?

After coming over so often, the tech and I started to talk on first name basis and got to be sort of friends. That's when he told me that whenever he has to reset the unit, the shop keeps the money. So they are not really interested in repairing the problems. Also, all late fees that people pay the shop is their to keep. So they are really happy to have people come late. Guardian won't admit that their units have a lot of problems. Every time something happens it's the customer's fault and customer pays extra money which the shop gets to keep. If you call Guardian, they will give you the runaround till you give up and just pay up and move on with your life. I agree it's a good idea with the interlock. It makes you think before you drive. But guardian got into it and they just do their best to milk the people for all they can get away with.

I have had my interlock ignition switch in my car for two years. I had issues with my unit since day one. It gives false readings and blows me dirty all the time. I have not drunk since my DUI (driving under the influence) back in August 8, 2007. I understand this is the consequence from my actions in 2007, but I refuse to be treated unfairly. I have told them about my unit being bad, and they claimed they didn't have available anymore. Every time a false reading is done, it cost $40 extra each time it has to be re-set by the person in charge of my unit (Nick **).

The unit would blow me legally drunk at .100; I would turn my car off and then blow again, and it would blow a 0. The unit blew me dirty one night I was driving my kids to a school dance. It completely shut my car down, and it left us stranded for three hours. I called the 24-hour emergency hotline; they said that I had to get it towed at my expense, and it was my problem. This was about six months ago. Also, my truck was broken down, and it had to go to the shop. The guys fixing my truck didn't want to be liable to blow in my machine and interlock ignition, they said that they don't give out the password to bypass it. They then sent me to the DMV for non-compliance in getting it serviced on time when it was broken down.

I have told the company many times to take my credit card off file, so I can send them a check. They continue to bill me; a couple times they billed me twice, causing me to over draft. This is the biggest scam. It is really unfair to a person that has completely changed his life to have to deal with this. This machine has completely broken my car and my bank account. Please, help!

First, I want to say that this was a great company. I have the device for two years and never had any problems. My complaint is to all you ** who have nothing better to do than beat someone up who is just doing their job. Face it, you screwed up. ** it up and get through it like the rest of us. They explain all the rules to you upfront, it's not their fault you're an ** and did not listen. How about getting your head out of your ** and find something better to do! I had a tech, I guess they call him by the name of Mark, who was great. He explained everything to me and went above and beyond what I expected of him to do. It's not their fault that we drink and drive, so don't take it out on them. I'm just sick and tired of you people ** about this. It's all I heard in my TSS course and now, it's all I see online. Face the fact that you ** up, not them!

I'm a customer of Guardian Interlock in Tempe. I have noticed that sitting in the lobby or even on here, that it is never your fault, it is the interlock system. I have had this system for almost two years due to an extension. I missed re-tests (which does suck if you just missed one). I had fail-violations due to mouth wash. This was all my own fault and left my car running, or used mouthwash. I got the DUI. I decided I knew more than the techs, and did not listen to their tutorial. The one thing that gets me is that everyone here is a victim and they are being preyed upon. Well, grow up. We made the choice to drive drunk and possibly kill or injure someone.

We made the choice not to make this our responsibility and not to take it seriously. Grow up. You did miss the re-test or used/"violated" the machine because we are human and make mistakes. But we lie about it, so we can make someone feel guilty that we made poor life choices and have to have this interlock device. In short, own up. Take this seriously because you do not want another year extension. It's because you cannot take ownership for your actions, or think you know more. Or, the more you bitch and moan you will get your way. I got bad news. If you think you can fool the system or lie, you can't. So, learn from me. Take this seriously.

This interlock company is a gang of con artists. After finally getting an interlock I couldn't afford on my car (after 2 years of having it suspended), I'd had the interlock device on a total of about a week when I got my first fail-violate despite the fact that I don't drink at all and haven't in over a year and a half. Literally one minute later, when it asked for a retest, I passed. When I called and spoke to the very friendly lady at the Tempe location in Arizona, she said it was probably caused by something I ate.

I hadn't eaten anything or brushed my teeth within several hours. She assured me not to worry as it wouldn't affect anything since I am over 21 and can fail, just not 3 times consecutively in 15 minutes. So when it randomly fail-violated on me 4 more times throughout the month, I thought nothing of it. Well I get a letter from the Arizona DMV stating that my license has been re-suspended for a year. After this, I tried calling Guardian interlock and ended up being repeatedly redirected to different numbers and people, all of whom claimed they had no access to my reports or file at all. This was the location I had it installed at in AZ, the branch that does the monitors in CA, and the regional headquarters in NM, all of whom claimed themselves incapable of helping me and redirected me back and forth or told me to call back on another day.

This went on for 5 days (14 phone calls) until I finally got hold of Marsha, the lady I was told to wait all weekend to speak to who could access my records. When I spoke to her, she explained (as per usual) that she couldn't access the monitor reports or help me at all but to call the regional manager for Guardian Interlock in California (where I live). I got hold of him and finally he went over my report and basically said there was nothing wrong with my interlock. When I explained that I don't drink, he made a remark about how he hears that all the time. When I asked him to look at the monitor report and see that the fail-violates were followed by a pass within 60 seconds, he accused me of having someone else blow into it. I live by myself, and never have people in my car as I can only drive between work, home, and school. He repeatedly failed to acknowledge the possibility of the device being defective, was absolutely unwilling to help, and basically told me to file a court hearing, while I'm in the middle of college midterms.

So, I'm reading these "complaints" about Guardian Interlock and I'm astounded. Not only am I astounded at the ignorance of the people and their posts, but I'm astounded that you would legitimize these complaints based on the information included. I have worked in the Interlock field for several years, and many of the "issues" that are mentioned here are caused by simple user errors.

For one, what don't you people understand about the concept of an alcohol testing device? Do you not know that they are sensitive to alcohol, in whatever form? I see multiple instances where people are complaining about being able to start their car when they haven't been drinking, and receiving a fail test. Well, did you stop to consider the perfume you just bathed in before you left the house and all of the alcohol in it?

Or what about the mouthwash you used after you brushed your teeth? Did you ever notice that it contains (usually) about 21% pure alcohol? Another one mentioned the handset saying "refused" when they first plug it in. That just means that you got in too much of a hurry when you last drove your car and unplugged the handset (which, is a customer convenience feature, by the way) before it was eligible.

I just think that it is hilarious that these people want to play the victim after they have been convicted of a serious offense. Drinking and driving is not only illegal, it's irresponsible, it's dangerous, it's costly to everyone (not just offenders) and people who offend and get caught should expect the consequences. The bottom line, don't put yourself at the mercy of the state, and you won't have anything to worry about.

I have the Ignition Interlock installed into my 2007 Camry, per ordered by the Registry of Motor Vehicles. I haven't had any problems up until today at 8 a.m. Every time I blow into the breathalyzer, it won't accept my reading. It keeps saying abort and then starts all over. I am blowing for over 5 seconds but it's still not registering. I went to the gas station and told the owner, Jerry, about the problem I was having. He said there was nothing wrong with the machine. I have been using the machine in my car for many months now, and I think I would know if there is a problem. I am now stressed to drive the car because if you don't get a reading, you either can't start the car, or it can lock you out of the car. Frustrating at the least! I do not suggest to anyone to deal with Jerry at that gas station because of his attitude and demeanor. It's all about the money with the Ignition Interlock.

Long story before, short story now. It malfunctioned (a short in the fuse, which they never told me about!) at Burning Man. I had to get the car towed. Eventually, after 5 days and a vacation in a rented car to Lake Tahoe, the Kia dealer removed it. I went to Small Claims Court today. Only a partial victory. The defendant, Guardian Interlock of Arizona, lied so many times I felt faint (due to drinking too much last night) and didn't present myself very well.

I was awarded $450 plus my court costs because they unconsciously kept my money (from a pre-paid contract) when they canceled the contract. I can collect the $800 towing charge from the maintenance-free contract on my car. So I still lost about $1000. I had an extended vacation in Reno (Lake Tahoe) and had one of the most traumatic experiences in my life. I took them to court and they lied in court. I should have said something but the judge told me to shut up. The Judge only awarded me the money they kept from me because they canceled my contract.

Below is a copy of the letter faxed to Guardian Lock:

Your service center in Richmond, where I go to, is in a very convenient location and I am pleased with their service. Unfortunately, the product itself is the one in question. I had the device installed in 5/3/10 and to date, I had the following experiences: Numerous times, the system locked me for 10 minutes after 4 to 5 attempts to successfully blow the device. The handheld prompted inhale, but won't turn on even after inhaling again. These resulted to lost appointments, working late, etc. These were acceptable, but not when I got fail readings on the monitor check reports.

One night, after DUI school, the handheld won't turn on so I had to leave the car in the parking lot overnight. I missed work the following day and arranged for a cab service to take me to the service dealer and back to my car. Around 4PM in the parking lot where I work, I sprayed sunblock on my arms and the system gave me two violations. At least, I know how this happened. There was one incident that I got a fail reading and I cannot explain how it happened. These incidents were reported as violations even with no drop of alcohol in my system.

10/4/10, around 3PM, I was in my house in Sacramento going home to the East Bay. I did not drink any alcohol the whole day, but the system gave me a fail reading. I waited for almost 3 hours and was able to drive and meet my friends for dinner that night. I blew the device 4 times to drive to Richmond and 2 times after dinner to drive home successfully. The following morning, 10/5/10 around 7AM, the system read fail the first time I blew. I was so furious because I just drank strawberry lemonade the night before and I consumed nothing that morning. After just a few seconds, I tried again and passed. The same day, around 5PM after work, I plugged the unit and it prompted "refused".

I realized that these are just some of the consequences that convicted DUIs like me have to suffer. However, IDD users are still entitled to accurate reading reports. I have suffered a great deal from this mistake and have definitely learned my lesson not to drink and drive. These inaccuracies have been giving me unnecessary stress and I am afraid of the results of these false reports.

Charge of misdemeanor DUI when I had not been drinking (got arrested on new years eve) After all this ** around with the courts, lawyers, mvd, and finally the interlock place. Even with an appointment, I have had to sit in the waiting room for over an hour for them to put a new sticker on my device, telling me the next time I had to come in and throw away more money at them.

They have given me defective devices, charged me extra fees to have it re-calibrated, got threatening letters from the mvd saying, I was going to have an extension on the duration I had to have this stupid thing on my car, and have had to waste plenty of gas and time going back and forth to the place.

My physical safety has been at risk ever since this thing has been installed. I have asthma and blowing into the device is sometimes difficult and when I am short of breath the device aborts. I have had multiple attacks while trying to use the thing to start my car and almost had to call 911 once. Multiple times, I have sat in my car in tears for 30-60+ min trying to get my car started. I have missed work and 2 doctors appointments due to the thing not working. I have had to sit in the deadly heat of Arizona waiting in my car for the device to let me start it.

I have suffered heat stroke from this. It has fallen under my brake pedal multiple times and I have had to reach down while driving to pick it up, being a serious hazard while driving, been stranded in dark, isolated areas where I, as a 21-year old girl, felt unsafe and was almost attacked one time while waiting in a dark parking lot in my car (thankfully locked) for the thing to warmup. This device is unreliable and unsafe! I want reparations for all.

After 3 false positive readings, my daughter has lost her license for 300 days. She is 18 and has a fulltime job and also 4 college courses.

My issue is that even though these false positive results were in the morning after being home, all of the night before they are not contestable at all. The Guardian Interlock is uncooperative to say the least. It is a proven fact that normal everyday things cause a false reading. Guardian is making a killing being affiliated with Maryland's MVA and will say and do anything to buck or disregard claims towards them.

A jury of 12 is required to convict a murderer but MVA snatches a license based upon false information. This is not Fair.

I have a Guardian Interlock System on my car. I had it installed on 4/14/2010 by Lang Auto in Maumee, Ohio. It worked fine for the first two weeks and then yesterday, I noticed that the countdown to days before needing service was four days early and I was also having a lot of "aborts" when I would have to blow into the unit. I called Lang and was told to come in today 5/6/2010 at 11am and that I must have missed a rolling test to make the unit take away four days. I told them I have never missed a rolling test and something was not right with the thing. Lang said he didn't want to argue over the phone and the unit will show what is going on when I bring it to them. I said okay.

This morning, 5/6/2010, I plugged the unit in at 7 am and it comes up "refused" and my horn goes off and won't stop blowing. I didn't blow into the thing, just plugged it in and now this. I knew something was wrong with it and have called Lang but no answer as they are not open yet. My attorney says not to unplug battery, wait and call them and see what they say. I don't want this to go against me and have found out online that there has been all kinds of problems with this thing. This is my life and I don't need to have this go against me as I am trying to do everything right.

I had a device installed per AZ law and it has been a nightmare. Nine times in 6 months, I have had the device say I missed a retest. Never once was I told there would be any repercussions, but I still repeatedly asked for a new handset since it was a huge pain to drive down to their facility. I was constantly told it wasn't the device, it was me and not worry about it. Well, when I got a bill for $30 for each re-test, I went ballistic. I realized they didn't want to change my device because they planned on making money off of me. Well, after speaking to the manager who called me a liar (you know for saying it was the device, not me) I threatened to report Guardian to the BBB. Immediately after that my latest failed re-test in March was reported to the MVD and my restriction extended. The letter from the MVD even tells me to talk to my authorized dealer for more details on keeping the device in my car another year.

So, Guardian gets $30 for each "missed re-test" and gets to try to use the MVD to bully me into another year-long contract. Let's not forget the money the AZ DOT makes off of all of this. Most of us know that the interlock deal is a scam, but it is only getting worse. The interlock dealers have carte blanche to report what they want; and if you cross them by telling them their fees are being illegally charged they will make sure to use MVD to ** over. The DOT wants you to have the interlock because the "authorize dealers" have to pay them to operate.

I'm not saying that I have been unfairly punished, but as someone who can honestly say I never drove when my license was suspended and have never driven without the interlock while my license is restricted, I am being completed worked over by Guardian and the state is sanctioning the extortion. Maybe it is time for a class action suit listing the state of AZ as well as Guardian.

By the way, I wrote to contest my restriction extension and sent in a copy of one of my reports showing a missed test back in January that guardian never reported. I hope that the MVD will see that and question all of the data Guardian sends them. They normally don't give out copies of the reports they pull, but one guy thought giving it to me would prove his point, but all it did was help me confirm it was BS because I had someone in the car with me at the time. Unfortunately, having this corrective action reversed means someone at the MVD has to lay down the rubber stamp and actually look into the matter which I doubt will happen. They get a paycheck whether they do the right thing or not so they choose the lazy route. Maybe it's time the Federal Government looks into this state.

The guys who make your appointment are in the corporate office, they're customer-service oriented, nice guys. The shop, however, is a completely different story. I had an appointment and showed up 10 minutes early, they weren't open. Finally, 10 minutes after my appointment passed, they opened. They told me it would take an hour to install the interlock. Fine, I left. When I came back, my car was done and sitting out front. Great, I thought I'd be out of there in 5 minutes. They took 3 walk-in customers ahead of me despite the fact that I had an appointment. I sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes waiting for them to "go over the contract" so I could leave.

Every customer that came in there in the 2.5 hours I was there was there because there's a major problem with the device used by Guardian Interlock, either the car starts without blowing, the device malfunctions and the car is inoperable for no reason or it just shuts the car off while you're driving it. The manager totally freaked out and removed the device from my car when I complained.

I took my business (12 months paid up front, by the way) to another company (LifeLock) who not only installed the device and had me on my way in 1 hour, they told me to come in for my monthly maintenance by end of day on my scheduled appointment and it would be fine. (Guardian charges you if you're 5 minutes late). Unfortunately, Guardian interlock messed up the wiring under my car so badly that I had to take it to get fixed before LifeLock could do the install. Do not give these people your business. They treat you like total crap.

I had reported to you about a week ago about an incident with the provider of the device. Well I'm back again, it seems the interlock device is malfunctioning right and left. On March 4, 2010 I was on my way home from work, about 5 miles. I got home and shut the vehicle off, was waiting the 10 seconds to disconnect the device, when the thing beeped at me and said "blow now". I blew and received an error message "abort". The engine was not even running. I am concerned the installer will once again report to the state that I have "tampered with the device". Obviously the machine has a mind of its own, what's next?

In January, 2010 I had the interlock device installed. I went to have the device calibrated on Feb. 6, 2010 and passed the Calibration Certification. The report was sent to the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division who requires me to maintain this device. On Feb. 18 the device malfunctioned causing the days to service to be reset to show 6 days to service. On Feb. 19, I went to the installer who reset the device to show the normal amount of days until my next monthly appointment.

On Feb. 23rd, I received a letter from Arizona Motor Vehicle stating "Corrective Action" against my driver license. The letter stated that "We have received a report from an authorized installer that your ignition interlock device shows evidence of tampering or circumvention. Your period of driver license restriction has been extended one year. Please refer to your authorized interlock installer for details.

On Feb. 27, I went to see the installer who claims he did not send any report of tampering to Arizona, gave him a copy of the corrective action and he said he would contact AZ MVD about the misunderstanding. I phoned AZ MVD and indeed they claim that they had received a tampering report from the installer on Feb. 20. I went back to the installer today March 1, 2010 and he was unable to come up with any form stating that the device had not been tampered with, so he typed a notice to MVD stating that he did not send any such report on Feb 20. Also said that I had not tampered with the device. He then signed the letter and faxed it to AZ MVD. MVD says the letter is no good and refuses to remove the corrective action against my driving record.

I have had to miss work so I could contact MVD by phone. I am mentally drained and stressed out to the max. This has caused me many unnessary trips to the installer which result in gas, also the expense of faxing paperwork to Arizona. Also **, because now AZ MVD requires me to keep the device for an additional year which will cost another $720.

The installer is outright lying to me about sending such report. Also while attempting to contact the installer by phone, they never answer the telephone and I've had to leave many messages, which I have never received a call back so therefore I've had to drive to the location every time I need to speak to them.

I am very frustrated, have lost many nights' sleep, and don't have hundreds of dollars to retain an attorney to get to the bottom of this problem. How do I get Arizona to remove the bogus "Corrective Action"?

I am a researcher for a class action law firm who is looking to create a case against Guardian Interlock for faulty equipment. My close family friend has had the Guardian Interlock breathalyzer machine in his car for over a year now. Since he moved back to California from AZ I have witnessed several issues with the accuracy of the machine. On several occasions, when he hadn't had a drink, I have witnessed the machine malfunction and deny his attempt to start his car. I also understand that there are other problems with the machine, which result in legal issues as well as the inconvenience of not being able to start his car. The consequences are legal issues, unwarranted embarrassment, inability to drive, and abuse from the company Guardian Interlock.

I had the device installed in my car on 7-09. One month later, it failed to operate. It wouldn't even turn on. I had no way to get to work that day so I had to take a day off. I took the hand held unit back to the service center and they said they couldn't find anything wrong with it. They said that since they had problems with these units, they would give me a new one any way.

About one month after that, the replacement unit failed. It kept aborting. I counted 30 times. I blew into that thing and it would not let me start the car. Once again, I took the device back to the service center and they gave me a new handheld unit. It's now 1-21-10 and the 3rd unit is working okay but I got a letter from MVA stating that that I didn't show up for my last scheduled appointment and that I'm in violation of the interlock program. I have kept all my appointments. I've been on time and had no failures. The people at the service center have been great. It's the Guardian Interlock that's the problem. I hope that someone who has to have one these devices put on their car reads this and is forewarned.

I have a breath analizer on my car. My battery went dead and we charged it up. Everything on the car worked after that exceped when i pulged in the analizer it would not come on. With out it not coming on the car would not crank when i turned the key. I called the phone # given to me for service. CAll several times on Sat. 9/12/09 and 9/13/09 and got the same message(serving another customer will get back with you and leave name & phone# and message) each time i called. Tried another phone # i found the same message. The device before had reported that i failed a few times/once was because i was useing a mint for my breath and once i had on colonge. I have enphyzeme and i have a hard time blowing on it to get it started. I sent a letter from my dr about this to the person that reads the out come on them( Mel Rodrigues court monitor). The device makes you have to blow every 10 to 20 min. while driving. It gives you a short time to blow and get a responce to keep driving or it will kill the engine then.

My son has one in him car. they are not accuret at all. i was in the car with him and i know he had nothing to drunk but we had on colony and the system failed. he cam to visit me and him car battery did no a sat. we charged the battery but the breath alizer would not let him crank his car. what happens if he is out in a remote area and this happens. these breath alizers are not saft at all. if you are driving down a road and it goes off the car will die and you cant do anything. this can cause accident.

if this is the only way they have for people who drink they are stopping one harazed and correcting a bigger one by not have control of a car in the middle of triffic and this has happened. My son was not able to get intouch with anyone to come and fix this and was unable to go to work. no one would answer our calles and we both left v/msgs over and over for them

Twice the system left my car inoperable. Once because I forgot my appointment and once because it broke. Neither time were they avaialable to help. The first time I had a wrecker tow the car. I was criticised because I didn't call so they could tell me to just bring in the hand set. I showed them my phone log where I had been calling for 16 hours (both local and corporate office) I was told their phone was out of service that day. I said they owed me for a wrecker since I couldn't get hold of them.

The second time it just broke a week later. Again I called all numbers and no response. I ended up leaving my car overnight in a deserted parking lot and took the handset in the next morning. They were going to get a new handset but evertime I called they said they were out. They told me to write a letter explaining why I thought they should pay for the wrecker and I did. After two months they still didn't make a decision and kept wanting me to pay my monthly fee. We'll let you know by your next appointment was all that they kept saying.

Finally I told them to take it off and I would get Smart Start to install. When I took the car to Smart Start he showed me how the had torn up my wiring (under dash) and I had to have it repaired. I have talked to other Guardian customers and they all have similar stories. We have to have these devices on our cars, do we have to be at the mercy of these companies? Don't we have a right to know that if the courts make us have devices on our cars that can and do malfunction that we can expect to be able to get some kind of help in the middle of the night in the middle of no where when it DOES malfunction? Don't we have the right to know that if the courts are making us have this equipment on our cars that it is being done by qualified people and that we don't have added expense to repair their screw ups? If ever there was a class action suit waiting to go to trial I would think this would be one. Of course if I was as smart as I think I am I wouldn't have to have this thing on in the 1st place. Please feel free to have an attorney call me.