ALCOLOCK Canada Reviews

So I called the Interlock Company, Motor Vehicles, superintendent of Motor Vehicles and the ombudsman of British Columbia. They all said that there was nothing they could do for me. Superintendent MV told me that they had actually gave Guardian Interlock the contract for British Columbia, but they had no control over how they do business and extort money from clients. How can they force you to sign a document to get your license back which includes terms that you pay for their own equipment failure?

If you ever want to drive again, you almost have to sign, no matter what consumer or civil rights you give up. Just like having a gun put to your head to sign. I know there are a lot of people who abuse the process, but I did nothing wrong and they should pay for their ** equipment. If you can't supply a breathalyzer that detect blood alcohol and not cologne, orange juice or spicy food, then you have no business being giving a government contract to supply ** to the public, even us "pieces of garbage drunk drivers" including our premier Gordon Campbell included. Don't worry, I will be bringing this corruption to my MLA, the paper global news and definitely marketplace "as a consumer extortion". Wish we could all get together in front of someone who gives a **. It would be a good system if it was accurate at reading blood alcohol. Good luck. Neal, cheers.

But here’s what happened. At 7:55am, I gave my first sample and it allowed me to start the car. Within 5-minutes it asked me to blow again like usual I did so; but this time it failed me telling me to pull over and stop the car. This had never happened before and I was 5-minutes to the GIS Center. So I did not stop and went straight there with the alarm going as I pulled into their parking lot. I told them, "Hey you did not tell me that it would start alarming for the missed appointment". They said that it had to be the second breath sample, it read 0.25. I said "impossible". Their excuse is that it must have detected something in the car or something that I had consumed. But I had consumed nothing; in fact I was about to get a coffee when this happened and instead just went straight to GIS.

I consumed nothing and know without a doubt that this device is faulty. This was my only rolling failure, but I know for sure that I had a couple of other false readings in winter when trying to start. It just proves undeniably that this device is not as reliable as they claim. I broke the law and know that I deserve what I got, but this device causes a lot of unneeded anxiety and will cause someone undo harm sooner or later. Thankful that it is over.

So they installed an older (hard-wired) model into my 96 Blazer and no problem, until it got really cold and my Warm-up mode would not work. I have a 3-year-old and at temperatures in the morning of -35 C, I cannot warm my car up without sitting in the vehicle with my child. I have had to start unplugging my handset at night to keep it warm in the house and get this! By unplugging it, the light on the base in my car stays lit and drains my battery. This is unacceptable ... Need a boost; I do daily!

I have had this device since July 2012 and have had nothing but problems. I recently got an early recall for absolutely no reason. I was in Kamloops at a dance competition and I needed to get to my home in Vernon. The device gave me multiple abort 15 messages. I rinsed my mouth with water, aired out the vehicle, drank a full bottle of water and tried again. Lock out 5:00 appears. I wait and try again (rinsed mouth aired vehicle). Lock out 15:00 appeared. I left the machine for the 15 minute lockout and called my "emergency service provider". They said that there was nothing they could do in the case of a lock out and that I would just have to wait. I was told to air the car out and rinse my mouth. I told her I had done so already. She said shake the device a few times; there might be moisture in it.

Also, I had mentioned that I had eaten pizza half an hour before trying. She said that this could be the problem that the pizza had caused it to fail. I tried again after the lockout was finished and after multiple abort 15 messages, what do you know, Lockout 15:00. At this point, I was very frustrated I was stranded in Kamloops and needed to get home. I have been told that a second failure results in an early recall (you pay money basically for no reason; they can fix this problem over the phone). I think that it is ridiculous that I have to pay for something when I have no idea what I did wrong. Was I just supposed to stay in Kamloops for the night? If I were not to try the breathalyzer, I would be stranded and still get an early recall. If I was to try again and fail the test, it would result in an early recall. Finally at 8pm (3 hours later), my car started.

Every service provider I talk to really has no clue what to say to me. They say there is nothing they can do. Well thank you for the service Guardian Interlock! I find it terribly frustrating that they have not made a better working device; with technology these days, you think they would have this intact. I understand that I drank and drove and must pay the price, but I think I deserve a little more respect from your company. I also think there should be a 24-hour helpline in your own province that actually knows what’s going on. The response I get from the helpline usually is “We are in Montreal ma’am; we do not know anything about your device and your restrictions.” I am happy that others are having this issue; I say we band together and fight this, this is inhuman!

Are you ** kidding me?! If this isn't the biggest money grab ever, I don't know what is. Fair enough, I got caught doing something wrong, but I have paid and paid and paid. If the people at Guardian had been a little less **, it might have been easier to swallow, but between them and the ministry of transportation, it was absolutely impossible to explain any situation including having my penance extended another 3 months for blowing over twice in a row in the last 3 months of my term. Meaning I got the 5-minute lockout, waited another hour because I knew I hadn't done anything wrong, and got the second lockout. I inquired and saw that the BAC was 0.001. I could have been the bagel or juice or whatever. Do you think the police would have charged me with that or that I was weaving to-and-fro all over the road? Beware… bagels and juice for breakfast is evil and dangerous.

There is definitely room for improvement in regards to Guardian Interlock. What a joke! My device had gone into an early recall with a date of 2012-04-08 at 23:59 hrs, which is Sunday at midnight and they're closed. Now, it’s gone into service lockout and I’m stranded 2 hrs from where I need to be.

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.