ADT Reviews
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About ADT
ADT is a home security company offering 24/7 professional monitoring nationwide. It offers customizable systems with equipment like cameras, motion and glass break sensors and smart home devices. You can choose between prebuilt packages or build a custom system, with options for professional or DIY installation.
Visit www.adt.com/new-media/home-security- Variety of equipment to choose from
- Customizable packages
- 24/7 professional monitoring with emergency dispatch
- Nationwide availability with local service coverage
- Integrates with Google Nest smart home devices
- Some plans require a contract
- Shorter warranty than some competitors
ADT Reviews
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Reviewed May 23, 2013
I had service installed in our house 4-13-13 and got the pulse system put in which is the top of the line $54.99 a month 3-year agreement. On 4-14-13, the system wouldn't even arm and I got an automated call from ADT about fault not ready to arm issue and a number to call if the problem continued. Well, I had to call since it didn't work anymore and after paying $388 for the system after installed plus the current month and pro-rated month of service of $77.99, I was going to have it work. Service tech was going to have to come back out to repair and also the system does use your WiFi and will bring it down slowing your speed. So if you have the minimum 1.5mb internet or slower, do not get that system. Customer service was extremely rude and hateful.
Also, they wanted to charge me an hourly rate to replace the system with one that works. I told them I just wanted to cancel and I wasn't happy with them or their service. That was a whole song and dance as well with even more rude and more hateful customer service yet. They want to pick up their system and haven't refunded me the $388 they charged me and ADT corporate has given me my $77.99 already back. I was told that once they get the system back, I'll get my refund within 30 days or I can make another complaint with BBB. But BBB is a joke and nothing is really resolved with them through their process. BBB rated SafestreetsUSA with an A+ which is a joke and making BBB a bigger joke. I feel that once they pick up the system, I will never get my refund back from them and they have what they wanted and will just lie to BBB that they fulfilled their part. Stay away from this company and go with ADT directly, not retailers.
Reviewed May 22, 2013
Crazy early termination fees! I agreed to pay a fee to cancel my contract early, but not that much, 75% of the remaining balance. I didn't know about this when I signed the contract. Plus, customer service can't be worst. I spoke with at least five different people. They don't help you. They don't care about your situation or why you need to cancel it. They don't give you options. I don't recommend ADT to anybody.
Reviewed May 22, 2013
ADT requires 30 days notice to cancel service. Why? I have been a customer that pays on time for many years. A 30-day cancellation policy is totally unreasonable.
Reviewed May 21, 2013
I signed a three-year contract in 2001. I assumed that at the end of the 3 yrs., billing would stop. I just found out that ADT kept drafting my account. When I called and complained, they said I had to send a letter of cancellation. I told the rep I thought that the 3-yr. contract meant that at the end of three years, it automatically ended. I have not used the system in years; it's not even hooked up. I asked if they would give me at least $500 of the $5000 they over billed. They don't want to do that. They told me I must still send a letter of cancellation in. I don't see how they can get away with this.
Reviewed May 21, 2013
I've been with ADT since 2005. But my recent experience with them is terrible. This year, we are moving to a new house and asked them to relocate the service, but they said they need to charge $800 installation for that. We politely refused, and inquired about cancellation procedure. They said we have to pay $650 penalty to cancel which is 75% of the monthly charge for the remaining 18 months on the contract which we didn't realize exist being a customer since 2005. We decided to not cancel, but a few weeks later, still received the bill of $650. We called ADT and asked why; they said the account was cancelled and deactivated. And now if we need to reactivate, we need to sign another 3-year contract! This is really unacceptable. Guys, run away from ADT as far as you can. Don't be trapped into their contract and subpar service. They don't value and appreciate their customers!
Reviewed May 21, 2013
Be careful when trying to get out of a contract with ADT. It auto-renews for one year if you miss the end-date before cancelling. But what's worse, as I learned just a minute ago from ADT phone rep. is that your letter of cancellation automatically cancels the policy in 30 days, but you keep paying for the full year. So since I faxed them a cancellation on April 23, 2013, my service ends on May 23, despite the fact that I'm paying through August! I told the rep to just let my service run until August, but no go. She said I would have to send another cancellation letter, and it must be dated July 11th, to exactly coincide with my August 11th termination. If I send it on July 9th, my service will stop on July 9th but I will still pay through Aug 11th! That's an unreasonable request!
Reviewed May 21, 2013
My alarm is old and needs some replacement. The customer service rep set up an appointment and this person claimed that she called me and wanted to help me but could never confirm an appointment. I think if I spend my money I should be granted honest customer service. Please find someone else.
Reviewed May 21, 2013
I have not had a positive experience with ADT since the merge with Brinks. I have been dissatisfied with ADT and am awaiting the end of my contract to cancel services. I repeatedly get told different information about how/when to test my alarm system. I also receive no calls if my alarm system goes off accidentally, but I am able to correct the code quickly. Brinks would contact to ensure safety. Representatives with ADT are rude and non-supportive. I had to talk to three different departments to have three small questions raised: change to system, contract date and sales question. I would not recommend ADT to anyone.
Reviewed May 14, 2013
I wish I had read this website earlier. I have wasted an entire day off from work and hours of unnecessary and frustrating phone calls. All of this was for what we were told would be a "simple panel change" since we wanted to get rid of our land line. The tech that was sent out, replaced the panel, but left the job without correcting a problem that he created with our motion detectors! In the future, I will gladly pay more and give my hard-earned money to a smaller/local company that is honest, reliable, responsive and appreciative of customer loyalty since sadly, after 13 years with Brinks/Broadview/& now ADT, customer loyalty apparently means nothing to them.
Also I'm not sure what the tech actually did here for over 4 hours, but he sure was on the phone an awful lot during that time. It made me wonder if ADT techs are being trained while on actual job sites. Or perhaps they are doing 2 jobs for ADT at the same time? Are they fielding other tech calls or just wasting time? I don't know, but there is something very wrong there. ADT has the worst customer service I have ever encountered.
Reviewed May 12, 2013
They came in and removed all the brand new security system in the new house. Now, I am locked into their 2-year contract. They charged me 2 to 3 times a month on average. I can show you my copies of credit card auto pay statement. You have to call them multiple times, and their support people are not helpful. I would get out of the contract in a heartbeat. Don't ever use this company. We should have a class action lawsuit against it.
Reviewed May 12, 2013
I have to sell my house because of health. I contacted ADT to cancel service and was told I had to pay out contract, another year, all at once or monthly! I was told I could try to get buyers of the house to take over payments! COULD be months! Wish I had read reviews before hastily signing with them.
Reviewed May 11, 2013
I recently purchased a new home and received a phone call from an ADT rep trying to persuade me to purchase home security. I told her at the start of the conversation that I was not interested, but she insisted on telling me all about what ADT has to offer so I decided to be nice and let her give her pitch. After repeating for the fourth time that I was not interested in the service, she became very demeaning, asking questions such as, "Why is it that can't you afford this? What would your family think about you denying them home security? What price would you put on their lives?" I ended up hanging up the phone rather than yelling at this person. I couldn't believe this was her plan for trying to get a new customer.
Reviewed May 10, 2013
Warning! Terrible customer service. A rip-off. Do not buy ADT or this Protect Your Home scam. There's no communication between these companies. Do not buy this company product or accept any services. They're a big scam. Don't accept this service even for free. Once again, don't buy ADT or Protect Your Home. Get anyone else. It will save you headaches. Very poor customer service. I wish I had done my homework on this company before my alarm went off 3-5 times a week. The technician did not show up on scheduled date. Bad service all around.
Reviewed May 10, 2013
Extra charges unaccounted for. Terrible experience with this company.
Reviewed May 10, 2013
ADT Protect Your Home has given us constant headache since Thanksgiving! We cancelled right after installation when they said we owed more than our paperwork said. They promised to fix it if we would stay with them, only to have hundreds of phone calls, countless hours & frustration, having to file dispute with our bank charges, and now it is May and they finally cancelled. We are still in dispute with them over our account. Every time you call, they will tell you that they have to have someone call you back or that it is another department that can see the right part of your account. I would stay away!
Reviewed May 9, 2013
I started with ADT years ago. When I initially started, they told me it was a 3-year contract. Within a year, I decided to move with my fiance and transfer the service. What they failed to inform me of was when I transfer, it's going to renew my contract and start the 3 years over. They are very misleading and only want to sell their products and services. I had a year left on my contract and decided that I was not going to keep it. I called customer service to schedule payment arrangements to pay the balance. The rep that I spoke to notated the account and advised me that the arrangement was in the system. From past experience with their customer service, I called back a month later to confirm the arrangements in the system. They are now saying they don't offer arrangements and you have to pay the balance in full or it's going to be sent to a collection agency. They are so unprofessional and I will never recommend them to anyone!
Reviewed May 8, 2013
These scam artists get in the door with a fair offer. Once they are in your house, they try to sell you $2,500 in extra equipment and services. When I declined, the rep became agitated. I had to practically throw him out. The system almost immediately failed. The clueless repairmen have tried on two separate occasions to fix the system. It still goes off in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason. They also promised two $100 Visa cards which never arrived. The customer service reps are useless. I could not be more unhappy with this company. They are inept and more importantly, they just don't care. Avoid at all cost.
Reviewed May 6, 2013
I am a wife of a soldier and we have 2 children. While living in Minnesota, my husband was on deployment in Afghanistan, and I decided to install an alarm system with ADT. I called and spoke with them and they sold me on it with 30 days trail and one year lease, a $100.00 gift card, etc. I had them come over to install it 3/26/2012, and they gave me some papers to sign and I did. Shortly (2 weeks) after that, I had called them to cancel but they won't. They told me my 3 day of grace period was over. I have to wait and cancel after my year was up and the $100 gift card? Well, they were not sure what the terms of my contract had to do with it. When my husband returned from deployment, we moved to his posting location Fort Lewis (Joint Base Lewis McChord), Washington.
I called ADT to try to cancel but they won't. They told me I have to wait 36 months before I can cancel. I explained to them the situation that we are military families, and we can't choose to stay in Minnesota. They told me since my name was not on the orders of my husband's posting, I have to pay them the remainder of the contract. They told me they have had similar situations where the military families just pay them so they are not taken to collections and end up with a bad credit. This made me ponder on how many military wives suffer as a result of following their husbands.
This is not fair and really hurtful. Is this news-worthy to bring to attention of people, business' that claim they support military families, but really they only support the ones that are listed but not their spouses? Anywhere my husband is posted, I have to leave everything to follow him and support him in protecting our country. Help me. I don't know what to do or how to go about this. I have left messages for them. They have had me on hold for 50 minutes, etc. Help me.
Reviewed May 6, 2013
So I received a letter in the mail about a rate increase. The rate increase is for what the letter says, "In order for us to continue bringing you the level of service you deserve and to explore new ways to help you protect what matters most." Sorry to say, but the service is poor! It took ADT three months just to send out a replacement battery for my front door censor. Not only that, but they sent the wrong battery. So for me, this rate increase is to help my service? I've yet to experience good service through ADT and really don't want to pay any additional money for this service.
I had called ADT customer service and spoke to a rep. I was told that in my contract it says that they have the right to increase rates every year. I wish ADT contract would be clearer and ADT needs to be more upfront with their pricing. If I would've been told that my bill was going to change from year to year, I would've gone with another alarm company. Also when ADT put in our system, I was told I was signing a two year contract. After speaking with the ADT rep, I was told I signed a three year contract. ADT hasn't been upfront with any of the information they have given me.
Reviewed May 6, 2013
No help at all. Supposed to be an appointment. No one showed and gave us the usual runaround story. Service is not good at all. Go with someone else.
Reviewed May 6, 2013
We had ADT Pulse installed in our home in November and paid over $2,000 for the upgrades. Since that day, this system has not worked properly. After three extensive service calls wherein the problem was never fixed, they hardwired the system. Now, the system still doesn't work properly. They want to argue about removing the system and don't want to refund the money for this useless system. I will never do business with this company again and definitely don't recommend them to anyone considering a home security system. The problems have included faulty sensors, failure of sensor to recognize a door opening, multiple false alarms, multiple occasions where the system could not be armed due to sensor problems, multiple occasions where the sensors had to be bypassed to even arm the system, and more. Garbage!
Reviewed May 5, 2013
ADT customers, both current and future, you need to be aware of a few things. We recently suffered a fire at our home. We had the ADT smoke alarm security monitoring, which failed us. Our neighbors smelled smoke for an hour and a half, but were not aware of where it was coming from before they had to leave home for a while. Upon their return home, they saw the flames coming from our roof and thankfully called us and notified the fire department. We had depended on ADT for our safety and security, but their system failed. Had our neighbors not been there to alert us, I shudder to think what would have happened to us or our property. The ADT smoke alarm never alerted us that there was a problem. If the system had worked properly, we probably wouldn't have suffered very much loss at all. Here's what you need to know:
ADT's contract has a limit of liability of $500. Read the small print of their contract very carefully. When the customer relations department returned a call to me, I could hear beeping in the background. I asked them if they were recording our phone conversation. I thought if someone was recording your conversation, they were obliged to notify you in the beginning of the call. The customer relations representative answered that we were in fact on a recorded line. His first question to me was, what was the amount of our damages. The second question was, was anyone harmed. When I asked about their obligation to us, I was told, after I pressed the issue, that they have no obligation to us. He informed me that they did repair their equipment and were so kind as to not charge us for the repairs to their system.
How generous! The customer relations representative is going to send me paperwork so I can file a claim with their insurance company. Hopefully, we'll qualify for at least the $500. ADT customers need to know that there might not only be a problem with the equipment that they rely on for their safety, but also that ADT and their customer relations department are not committed to customer service, but are rather only interested in the bottom line financially for ADT. I'm really disappointed that we really mattered to ADT until we suffered a loss.
Reviewed April 30, 2013
I am moving and needed to cancel my services. Originally, when I was setting up my account, the account representative assured me that if I had to move, I will not incur an early termination fee if my new place of residence either already has an alarm system or can't get one installed. It was a rude surprise when I was told that I am expected to pay a huge fee. This company will tell you what you want to hear in order to get the contract signed. Then they will try to get as much money out of you as they can. Don't sign with them! Record all your conversations if you do because they will go back on their word. Management also doesn't care. Simply said, they are not to be trusted.
Reviewed April 29, 2013
I was not allowed to cancel my account without a notarized letter. What a scam. This is unfair and unrealistic. I paid my bill for over 10 years now. I closed down my business and have to pay $25 to a notary to cancel my alarm service. Unfair and unjust.
Reviewed April 28, 2013
I have been an ADT customer since August of 2001 and never had any problems. November 2012, I needed to upgrade my system so that I would be able to use a panic button. They quoted me a price to install a new system that would respond to a remote. They call it a key fob. We scheduled a specific time because I was still in 90-day probation period for my new job and didn't want to lose too much time. The technician was late and every hour cost me an hour pay. Then, the technician did not have the right system with him when the order was very specific. So I had to wait for him to get another. Then I was told it would cost more money than I was quoted. I was very upset but I needed it right away so I paid extra.
After it was all installed, we tested it and I made it clear that because of the way my house is made, I need one minute delay time. He argued, but because of the way my house is, I have to have a minute. He set it to a minute but did not really want to. When I set the alarm, it takes a minute to activate so I can get out the door. When I come in, I have noticed that for some reason I can't always make it to the alarm box on time and my alarm goes off and disturbs me, my neighbors, and my dogs. I kept thinking perhaps I just took a little too long, but today I just knew for a fact that it did not take me a minute to get from the outer garage door to the inside garage door. So I called customer service who has always been helpful in the past. We tested the system together and found that I had a one-minute delay going out but only 30 seconds coming in. This makes no sense.
They said a technician will have to come out to reprogram it to one minute even though I stood right here and told the guy to program it for one minute when he was here. I explained to customer service that it is obvious I wanted it set for a minute if he did reprogram it for a minute going out. How was I supposed to assume he didn't program it the same coming in? She still insists I have to pay a technician to change it. I do not understand why I have to pay another technician $210 to do what I asked the first technician to do. There is no way you can tell me this is fair. Then she says I need to disarm from outside with the remote. The remote stays by my side when I am home alone and I don't want to take it out for fear I may lose it and not have it here by my side if I need it. I did have to use it in December. The police came and arrested the person that was here. If it was in my car or on my keychain, I would not have been able to push the button for help. So I can either pay $210 to correct the tech's mistake or take my remote outside with me and risk not having it by my side in the house when I need it.
Why can't they just do what I paid for in the first place? She said it is better to have it for 30 seconds coming in because of intruders. I told her that is not their call if I know my lifestyle and the layout of my house and know I need an entire minute to get to the box. I gave her the example of if she went to hair salon and told them to dye her hair red and they dyed it black because they felt that was what would be best, even though she paid them for red. She understood then but then just stated we are going around in circles and repeated the two options, to pay $210 for a tech to come and do what I originally paid the other one to do or to take my remote outside. My remote is my lifesaver in my house. I don't want to take it outside. Tomorrow I am calling the business office and find out when my contract is up after being with them since 2001. I am going to look for a new company.
Reviewed April 24, 2013
Because of three robberies in a different town, we had no choice but to move to an affordable home and we’re able to afford to buy an ADT security system. We've had ADT for almost a year. The alarm has gone off accidentally and nobody shows up, no calls from ADT or text messages; we get email instead. But why should we check our emails to find out if someone broke into our home? We shouldn't. Anyway, I started feeling our family security was compromised somehow. We called another company (Point Security) after notifying ADT we were going to cancel. We were home and had always turned it on our ADT security system even if we were inside. The technician had to remove the ADT keypad to install the new one, and the ADT monitor went off.
We were expecting ADT to call or police to show up, but nobody showed up or called. They really don't monitor like the way they say they do. I was paying for a service that was never monitoring my home. So for another ten dollars which was worth it, Point Security provide us with a touchscreen keypad, door sensors, glass sensors, IR motion detector and two cameras with a DVR, and an awesome app that you download on your phone or laptop which you can monitor live. I feel like ADT has been the thief all along robbing us of our hard earned money. I am a disabled veteran and as a war veteran, I like to feel some sort of security. So now with our new security in place, I can sleep now with peace in mind that someone will call, show up in case of a break in, or it will get recorded. Don't purchase ADT; it seems to me that their way of security monitoring is to make sure you make your payments every month.
Reviewed April 23, 2013
After experiencing several occurrences over the last year of problems with our ADT system, we now have an ADT smoke detector that is beeping every 60 seconds. They offered to have a technician come out to fix the problem in 3 days. Yes, that's right. 3 days of this incessant chirping every 60 seconds day in and day out. After not getting any sleep last night, I called again to tell them that waiting another day and a half for a technician to come out is not acceptable! Now their solution is to disable the system completely. The reason we have the system is that our home had been broken into. That is not a solution! This morning, I spent over 1-1/2 hours on the phone with at least 10 different people. I finally threatened to call the local television station to report this situation and hope to get some relief. Only then did I get a response that someone was going to come out to repair the issue this afternoon.
While I do feel sorry for the poor people who answer the calls because there is absolutely nothing that they can do to remedy the situation, I will be looking elsewhere for another security system in the very near future. We should have read these reviews before we purchased ADT!
Reviewed April 23, 2013
The installation was great and the tech was great. I love the system. I love ADT. I can't stand these people. I have had this for almost a year and the billing never straightens itself out. ADT bills me quarterly. I pay the bill. They send me a refund check. Protect Your Home sends me a threatening letter for nonpayment. I called them and I'm transferred all over the place while they try to figure it out. This is the third billing that the exact same thing has happened. They refuse to believe that it is a problem of theirs. Do not use these people! There are millions of authorized ADT dealers. Pick another one.
Reviewed April 21, 2013
Like many others, I thought I was contracting with ADT, not Protect Your Home. They also told me my brand new builder installed security system would not work and installed their own plus charged me for additional equipment. It wasn't until equipment was installed that I was informed there was a two-year contract. When I told them to remove their stuff and get out, the tech refused. I am now counting the days until I have fulfilled my contract with Protect Your Home. It is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with. Do not use this company.
Reviewed April 21, 2013
In 2010 my home was behind in payment, but I continued to pay my ADT account. Soon my home was up for sale by my mortgagee for the balance of the loan. Tens of thousand below appraisal amount. I stopped this action and stopped paying every bill to keep my home. I worked with my mental illness counselor, who got me in touch with people in my mortgage company that re-modified my mortgage. I can barely make ends meet, but I still have my home. As soon as I quit paying my ADT, they cut my service.
Currently I have an attorney office that has apparently purchased my debt, and calls and pretends to be all kinds of characters to get my income, bills, utility cost, etc. Then I have had them threaten me in all ways including putting a lien on my home. If I had the money, I would pay. However, some week I rely on the goodness of my church to get me through. What would you do?
Reviewed April 20, 2013
ADT installed by Hotwire Systems has frequent communication failures due to low signal strength and they promised to remove and refund for installation and cease monitoring service but immediately refused to answer calls and emails. ADT refused to cease billing me for service on more than one occasion. I stopped auto draft and ADT changed billing to continue receipt of fees from my credit union. I had to have it stopped again and still had to continue request to cease service billing as system was unreliable.
ADT customer service contacted Hotwire and stated they would contact me in 24 hours and that was a month ago. I sent Hotwire another email on March 18, 2013 but there was no reply. ADT agreed, at least, to terminate service but inferred that it was contingent on Hotwire releasing me from contract. There's nothing good to say about ADT or their sales representatives in Florence, Alabama.
Reviewed April 19, 2013
My husband and I are both on active duty in the military. We are currently trying to cancel our services because we are moving to another state because of the military. First, they would not allow me to cancel my services because my spouse signed the contract (regardless of the property being in my name), not to mention that my spouse is on deployment and cannot call. Canceling will cost us $650, and they will not allow us to cancel the services even though we will no longer own or reside on the property. The only way they will waive the cancelation fee is if the buyer uses ADT. Initially, when we purchased the service, the alarm would go off for no reason (because of motion sensors, we don't even have those!) so we had to pay the police department after responding to the alarms (never knew that). We also had to pay the city to register the alarm systems. Overall, this has been nothing but a waste of my money. I'd rather buy a shotgun.
Reviewed April 18, 2013
I was an ADT customer for 12 years, paid my bills on time and was assured that if I ever moved, they would transfer service, and I thought I had a pretty good service. I am now so disappointed with them. Read below:
We decided to build a new house. There were three months where we moved in with my parents during construction. ADT told me that we would still have to pay for alarm service during this time instead of just delaying three months to the new house. We decided to still meet with the sales guy at the new construction house to see if maybe we could work out a deal with him. Since we had been a customer for so long, he said that he might be able to waive three months payments but, for the exact same service we had at our old house, our payment was going up $17 per month!
I completely understand that we would pay for new equipment for the new house, but a service charge change for the same level of service, is not okay! When we researched with other alarm companies, we found that there is a hole in the ADT alarm system. They do not handle the "smash and grab" problem with burglaries and the sales guy even admitted that they have an issue with this. Needless to say, we did not go with ADT. I even paid them the $317 I owed them that were left on the contract extension I signed two years earlier for the remaining months.
Shame on them for losing a good customer of 12 years due to their terrible business practices and treating me just like a "number". And now, I share this story every chance I can get. And another loss to ADT - I have referred two people to go to Front Point Security, our new alarm service that is great!
Reviewed April 17, 2013
I was told and promised that $99 will be waived by issuing me a credit. I was told that my conversation was recorded when I signed up. Guess what, one month later, I received the paper contract to be signed. It was nowhere on the contract. I called ADT and was told that they will review my recording. Guess what, they called me back and told me that I have to pay the $99 installation fee because there was no record of $99 installation fee would be waived in my conversation with ADT sales rep. How funny and interesting? I disputed and requested them to send the recording to me. ADT refused. Really?! I will never do business with ADT again in my life. If you want to sign up with them, ran away!
Reviewed April 17, 2013
An ADT security system and "peace of mind" sounded good... for about five minutes after they had me locked in for three years. The company who installed was called Absolute Security. I was under the impression that they were from ADT. Like buying a Ford from any dealership still gets you a Ford and Ford honors the warranty. Wrong. I realized there was a big problem in less than a week. I tried to be released but they refused. My system has never worked properly and was (according to one of the repairmen they sent out) not installed correctly. They had me purchase more equipment to "correct" one of the problems.
I had held back the final installment in the system until they had corrected the problem. Well, I tried. They took the money by writing themselves an electronic check without my permission. When contacted, they said they were sorry, they "needed the money" and would try again to fix the system (they never did). The final straw for me was when I called ADT today to have them move my system, which I had been sold as part of the sales pitch as being "moveable as long as I was under contract at no additional charge".
I had been told whatever I bought was what I would receive when and if we moved (my husband working for the Gov means this is a consideration). They informed me that they would not honor that agreement, but I could get a "discount" to purchase my system again! They also said that the offer was good only for the first year, that I should have dealt with "corporate ADT" and not a "dealer" and a bunch of other excuses. When I wrote about them on Facebook, they immediately contacted me saying they wanted to address the situation. Well, twenty mins of more frustration to be told the same thing... too bad for you! I would never recommend this company knowing how they treat you once you sign. I wish I had read up on them first. There are warnings all over if you just take the time to read. Sadly, I did not. I just wanted "peace of mind".
Reviewed April 17, 2013
We recently signed up for ADT a few months ago after several break-ins at our vacation home. Knowing that we were trying to sell our home, we were told that we could transfer the contract to the new owner of our house after it was sold. Now that the house has been sold, we are being told that we cannot transfer the contract to the new owners and must buy out the contract and remove all the new equipment. We are desperately trying to resolve this problem and would not recommend ADT based on recent experience. Obviously the sales team tells you whatever you want to hear!
Reviewed April 16, 2013
I have heard some bad things about ADT but not believing it; I decided to give it a shot anyway. I called and set up an appointment for someone to come and give us an estimate and proposal for full home security system. You would think they would jump at it since we are potential new customers! The sales rep never showed up for his scheduled appointment. After waiting for 45 minutes, I called the company to see if perhaps he got lost. After being transferred from one extension to another with no help, after the 3rd call finally, I left a message for the supervisor who did not even bother to return my call. I guess all the bad things I have heard about ADT were correct. I am glad I have learned about their poor quality of service early enough before we started!
Reviewed April 15, 2013
I was contacted on 4-11-13 by phone, from someone in the marketing department, in FL. Installers came on Fri, 04-12-13, and were professional, courteous, and neat and clean. They were also very considerate of cleaning up after the job was completed. I was quoted the $99 install charge of which I was offered a $99 gift card. I was further quoted $1/day charge, which became $47.99 + tax. I was given a contract that listed 3 pieces of equipment at an additional charge of $413. Had the sales department been honest from the beginning, I would not have cancelled. When I called to cancel, I was given another sales pitch, and he attempted to put me on a guilt trip. ADT is not the only security company, and they should be more careful in their pitch.
I have a hole in my plaster from the main panel install, and I will take care of it myself. Buyer beware. I feel that the people I dealt with, not the installers, were dishonest. So I cancelled this company within the 3-business days.
Reviewed April 12, 2013
How I wish I had read these reviews before I signed a contract with ADT. I have waited four hours two different times for a service person to come. No service person, no phone call, nothing. The second time, they finally got in touch with someone and got them here almost two hours later. They are high pressure, get it in quick and out the door. Forget talking to a real person after that! I am trying to get out of the contract but am told you have to take them to court and can't win. They are too big!
Reviewed April 11, 2013
I've been with them for 3 years. 4 months of trying to get my panel fixed… Technicians missing their appointment times, showing up and saying they were sorry but they didn't have the time to do our repair... showing up and saying they were sorry but they didn't have the right part. What a waste of my time. Cancelled.
Reviewed April 6, 2013
Just an unreal event with ADT. After a break-in some 5 years ago, living in fear, ripped off from our local police resources and insurance company limits, we choose to get ripped off again by inviting ADT into our house. It wasn’t bad enough for 3 caught fugitives to kick in our doors when we were not home and take everything, but ADT has robbed us of our funds also. Installing $800 from the start... but what about that $99 special you are running? Signing a 3-year contract that enables them to increase you at any time and binds you but not them (in which we’ve seen 2 increases in less than 14 months). Hello people, don’t be dumb like we were and sign! Now as we approach our 5th year, the system does work; it goes off because of our animals, so we leave work, lose money, and run in fear... But ADT will come out for a 25-dollar service fee on a system that is years old. It never ends with these thieves! People, run when you see ADT.
Reviewed April 4, 2013
The magnets fell off the doorways the first week of installation. The monitoring that you pay monthly for does not work. They do not come back to help because they state there are no techs in your area. The backup batteries died the first month and we were unable to order new ones from them. Worst company ever. When you call with a complaint, they just brush you off. Trying to cancel is very, very difficult. I am finally at my 3-year mark and still can't get rid of them. Had to call them every time I wanted to set the system to "away" so they could bypass a faulty door alarm.
Reviewed April 3, 2013
I'd like to share my recent experience with ADT. I had ADT systems in homes I lived in for ten years, but I will no longer be able to give them my business. I am so disappointed with a company I trusted to keep me safe not just physically but also that I could feel safe with financially. Be careful. I thought we were dealing with ADT, when in actuality ADT sent out an authorized dealer whose policies aren't clear. We ended up with an insane early cancellation fee! Why? Because there was supposedly a 3-year contract in the fine print that no one told us about. We recently got relocated for work (outside our control) and they are charging us $680 after over a year of faithful payments (on this particular account/property) because we are in a place where we can't install a new system, so the relocation discounts (i.e. signing up for a whole new contract) won't help us.
Upon initial activation of service, we paid in full for the equipment and to have it installed. We have diligently paid our monthly bill. Our question to ADT today was "Why do you need ~$650 to terminate our service? What is that money for? Is it to pay for equipment?" Can't be. Our system was pre-installed by previous owners and we paid upfront for upgrades. Was it for monthly service? Once ADT shuts down our service, there shouldn't be any charges. Was it for equipment? When I pointed out to the ADT employee on the phone that all of this had been paid in full by us already and asked why they needed over $600 from us just to turn off our service, she said "If you got a car and didn't need it, wouldn't you have to keep paying the payments on it anyway?" Does that make sense to you?
Please read the fine print when you move to sign with ADT. Beware of the 3-year contract that you will only know about if you read the fine print, the almost $1,000 you will have to pay if you are relocated outside of your control. (Heads up, I asked and this fee applies to military as well.) Also, you may think the person at your house in the shirt with the ADT logo is from ADT; you may think the contract you sign is by and for ADT because of the big ADT logo on it, but they will tell you we should have been aware that it was all an authorized lender despite all the ADT representation.
Reviewed April 3, 2013
For more than a month I have been trying to get my alarm system to work (we got broken into my business). Four or five different repairmen or salespersons have shown up and everyone has a different story of why the system does not work. They never come back to finish the work for whatever reason that I do not know and my system still does not work. I have called several times asking for help trying to get my alarm working before we get broken in again. I have 3 accounts with ADT and I am considering cancelling them and go with a different company.
Reviewed April 3, 2013
Like many others, I would expect that when someone comes into my house that they treat it with respect. Be clean, pick up after themselves and not to have an attitude when there is work to be done. When I answered the door for my scheduled appointment with ADT, the person asked if we were just arming one thing. I advised him, who never provided his name, that there were more than just one thing that needed to be armed. He shrugged his shoulders and puffed in sigh. He didn't want to perform the job that was scheduled ahead of time. He walks through the front door and starts opening closest doors before asking where the alarm system was, leaving black hand prints all over everything that was just painted white.
The alarm system is and was located next to the back door that is visual from the front door. He left the bar codes on everything and the backing that he had peeled off the devices, all over the floor. He moved the washer that is located in the basement, never put it back in its location, to get to the control box. He left screws and trash around the laundry area. For some reason, the previously placed drain pipe was moved from the drainage location on the floor and put on the flat concrete surface, which would have caused a flood if it had gone unnoticed after he left.
I was told by an ADT sales personnel that it would only cost $60 for the installation and parts, which needed to be paid at time of service. At the time of service, I was told that I had to also pay for three months in advance in addition to the installation and parts. It didn't stop there. I was told that my phone lines would be tied up at night for the next seven days. This is the worst customer experience that I have ever had. This customer service isn't only supported by ADT but USAA as well.
Reviewed April 2, 2013
I contracted with Protect Your Home ADT for an alarm system. At the time of the install, the technician gave me 4 referral codes for my family and friends, which would give me cash back and my referral cash back, which essentially would compensate them for their installation fee. I specifically asked if my parents, who already had ADT service and equipment from 20+ years ago, could utilize the codes. Without asking any questions, the tech said absolutely. Therefore, I opted to add additional equipment to my installation, which I believed would be compensated by the cash back from the referrals.
Lo and behold, my dad attempted to utilize the referrals and because he is a customer of ADT corporate and not Protect Your Home, he was not able to utilize the referral codes. When I attempted to call to clear all of this up, I was routed between Protect Your Home, ADT corporate and the local office for close to 2 hours to only be told that they would not do anything for me. In fact, the only way my parents could benefit from the referral is if they cancelled their service with ADT corporate and signed a 2-year contract with Protect Your Home. I definitely feel that this entire transaction was dishonest and the way they handled the situation made me want to cancel the service all together.
Reviewed April 1, 2013
We had a sensor go bad on our window in the garage, where we have a very rare Corvette sitting. We called the service department and was told that there is no service tech in our area and that they will get to us when they could. After 7 years of on-time payments and very poor service, I will tell everyone to use any other company than ADT.
Reviewed March 28, 2013
This company charges every little thing they can. They charged me $2,000 to install equipment then wanted to charge me $200 to move, when the salesperson who installed the equipment told me it's free of charge for moving. Great! Since I was under a 2-year contract, they charged me $705 for cancellation. Word of advise: stay away from this company. There are hidden fees!
Reviewed March 28, 2013
Be aware that if you schedule an installation appointment with ADT, they will: (1) Ask for a credit/debit card number. You will not be able to proceed with scheduling unless you do and (2) give your credit card info to a vendor who does the actual installation. Guess what happens if you cancel the installation appointment, even 8 days in advance, as I did? A $99 installation fee is immediately charged to your account. Be aware that when you cancel, that is done through a separate company affiliated with the installer.
When I called to cancel, I said I wanted to be sure I was not charged as I had never agreed to a cancellation fee. The rep for the billing company said she would "make a note" to make sure not to charge my card. But the following morning, there was a $99 charge. Moral of the story: Don't give ADT your debit card number unless you're absolutely certain you want this service. And if you cancel, be prepared to make a few calls and be shuffled around to different companies both for the cancellation and the charge reversal. If my request to have the charge reversed is not honored, I'll post with an update. I think it's important people understand how ADT operates.
Reviewed March 27, 2013
I had ADT installed in my new house, and everything seemed okay until the system (window connectors and a couple of door connectors) went bad less than 6 months having the system on doors and windows I hardly use. They told me I had to pay for the person to come out even when they know that the installation was a very bad job. I would not recommend this company to anyone. I am tired of the runaround with them. Even before a month of having the system installed, I got a bill for a false alarm but luckily the contractor that was sent out with ADT (who sound the alarm to test it) took care of the fine. I received a letter from the city stating that the alarm was not registered with the city either (after I already registered with the police department as instructed by ADT).
Now, I think the contractor should have informed me of this before the install, which he didn't. I may have to pay a fine now because of this. I wish I did more research before I had ADT installed. I would have chosen another company because they charge more than average and that is why I thought they were a better company. But I can’t wait until my contract is up so I can cancel ADT.
Reviewed March 26, 2013
We were told we would get a $100 Visa card after installation. They said they would email a code. Well, there was no email with refund code but I did get an email with a code for referring others (it would have to be a very cold day in hell). After many calls, they now tell us we have to pay $4.95 for the rebate and wait 6-8 weeks.
Reviewed March 26, 2013
Our house is on the market pending a sale. When we got the alarm, we were told we could move it. When it came down to set it up in the new home, I was told we had to buy a whole new system and pay the full price again. Also, we would be tied in for 3 yrs again. They did not start us from where we left off. When we got the contract and the work order for the new house, my name was misspelled. For 3 days, I tried to get it corrected to no avail. I told them until it was changed they could not come into my home because that was not me on that work order.
Reviewed March 22, 2013
We had been with ADT over 12 years ago. We finished their contract at that time and signed up with Brinks. Brinks, after approximately 6 years, changed to Brinks/Broadview so they could sell the home security side to ADT! I told the Brinks/Broadview guys that I got away from ADT years ago because they are unethical and get their customers by purchasing other companies and therefore their clients! I had no choice but to stay when now it was ADT through default as they purchased Broadview. I continued to stay with ADT until they started not only double billing me, but also were not able to maintain my system, answer alarms or service my CCTV cameras! Know why? Because as their practice, when they purchase other security companies, they change the original employees and make it so they either leave or are always looking for another job because ADT will cut their hours as well as their pay! Hence, what is left are untrained and totally unfamiliar with your system.
After numerous attempts to talk to anyone with ADT customer service or otherwise, I decided (after a period now of approximately 8 years of combined service with Brinks then Broadview then only through default ADT and their inability to maintain my system, which had already been updated many times through Brinks and Broadview) to send 3 letters, certified and return receipt required for which someone had to sign that they had received. I then replaced them immediately with another security company for which I actually pay a little more per month, so they cannot say I went to a less expensive plan! For now one solid year, ADT (after having no ability to service my alarm or home) have continually called, harassed and now as of today, sent a collection company's request to notify them if this is a disputed claim - for which I am no dummy.
Now I will be forced to obtain an attorney and file a formal legal complaint against them, because I have continuously and automatically been charged for security service by this other company. There is no way could have ever claimed they've monitored our home, yet this has also not stopped them from consistently (well about once every 2 weeks for a while, then maybe once a month) calling us to say they have trouble on the line! Wow! They should and do not have anything to do with our line! This company is beyond anything as unethical as I have ever come across. I also know they have been getting away with this practice, because I had a client many years ago who had also complained to me at the time about ADT they once had, who also had done the exact same thing to them. This had to be over 12 years ago by now.
I told them at the time I'd replace ADT when our contract was up and was more than pleased with Brinks. Until they became Broadview and then sold that part to ADT - the very company I knew not to do business with. Yet I still remained with them until they again were not servicing my system or cameras at all! The last straw was when there was an interruption with the electric, as happens in Florida for split seconds, but it is long enough for my cameras to sound an alarm! As I was on the phone with an ADT now, customer service person, they are telling me, "Well ma'am, I am sorry but you'll have to call back on Monday. It's Friday and we have no one who is able to help you!" I said, "Really? Do hear that? This is in our bedroom, where we sleep and we cannot sleep with this alarm going off!" He said, "Well sorry, there is no one I have available to assist you until Monday!"
Thankfully I had a cell phone number to a former Brinks employee who told me how to shut it off and reset it! Again, this is ADT. This is their common practice for many years! Most of their customers are acquired like I was, by them buying the companies; therefore getting their customers and then not able to service all these different systems and not an inexpensive one to begin with! So now a year after doing what I was required to do, or maybe not? I notified them in 3 places. They signed and they knew I was firing them as I had the right to, especially after a total of approximately 8 years with these companies.
Now since we have blocked their incessant and ridiculous calls, telling us with weeks in between, they have noticed trouble on the line?! Please! They haven't had our service or a line in a year, yet I still maintain and pay another security company the entire time from day one since replacing ADT! Stay away from this company and if you are with another company and ADT purchases them, run! Far away! They are beyond unethical and have the worst business practices I have seen yet. There needs to be a class action lawsuit against them, especially for all the customers from companies they purchased who had the same problems.
Reviewed March 22, 2013
They told me that I can't just change the address on my account. They want me to pay for a new installation and start a new 3-year contract, but they cannot just change the monitor location. I don't see anywhere in my contract that says that the contract is by location and not by person.
Reviewed March 21, 2013
I ordered ADT to be installed 8 months back, and since then I have had my alarm tripped 4, and ADT has not even called me even though they were going off for more than 30 seconds. I called in to see how I can view the times and dates they are tripped and they want to charge more to tell me. Needless to say, they didn't even contact me - our leasing office had to call me to have me come home to shut it off. Out of the 3 times I called to deal with this issue, I just kept getting thrown around to different departments because no one at ADT apparently can do their jobs as customer service representatives.
Finally I called to have ADT shut off and they wanted over 900 dollars to shut my account off. When we had it installed, the sales rep didn't mention I would have to pay 75% of the remaining commitment, even though I lease a place and can’t take it with me everywhere. I personally will never use ADT again nor refer them to anyone, due to I’m less safe having it than not having it. They don't really call you when something happens. It’s just a sales gimmick to bring in lots of money.
Reviewed March 20, 2013
I have been an ADT customer for about 20 years. Their telephone service is getting worse and worse. Last Friday, our fire sensor went off. Our cleaning lady was home and she told the person from ADT that called that there was no fire. Because the lady was Vietnamese and spoke English, the caller notified the fire department. We arrived home 2pm from shopping and the alarm kept ringing. I reset the alarm and it kept ringing every two minutes. Defective sensor! I told ADT we wanted a technician to be sent to fix alarm sensor. I begged them to do so but request fell on deaf ears. We are seniors 88 and 84. ADT representative told us to use compressed air to blow out sensor. We told her we cannot climb ladders due to arthritis. It did not help.
From 2pm to 4pm, my wife begged ADT to send a technician. Nothing! She finally called and told them to discontinue service altogether. At about 5pm, the head of technical services called and said he just got the request and would send a technician on Saturday morning. After hearing our story, he agreed ADT was negligent. At 88 years of age with arthritic knees, I had to go into the basement and try to disconnect the alarm by shutting off the main electric breaker, to no avail. Having no electricity in the house meant no heat, so I went to put the breaker on and it would not reset. We had to call in our electrician. Luckily, he came Friday evening and rewired the electric box so we had some heat and some electricity 100 watts. He had to replace the whole box because the breaker would not reset. He did this on Sunday morning for us at a big expense due to ADT's negligence.
The next day, a lady from the corporate office called us. We were out shopping. My wife returned her call. She was unavailable. My wife left our phone number. She never called again. My wife called two more times and still could not connect with this person. My next door neighbor had ADT for her alarm service and switched companies. I would advise anyone looking for an alarm service to look elsewhere. It is better to use a small local service than ADT. Most of the personnel are rude and non-caring. Their service stinks!
Reviewed March 20, 2013
This company(ies) is such a joke! It took from 11am to 9:45pm to install and the system has never been operable. They never showed up for the service call. They can't seem to get the fax to cancel the contact, after faxing it dozens of times. Customer service reps constantly hang up when questioned. Still 3 weeks later, no resolution, system inop and no contract cancellation received even with confirmations. Do not use. Do your homework! I would have been better off attempting to install on my own. My home is still not protected but they are still billing me!
Reviewed March 20, 2013
ADT is an absolute rip-off! First, they inputted my credit card number wrong. And when I thought the payment had gone through, it didn't so I haven’t been able to catch up at all in almost a year even after doubling my payments each month! I asked to cancel my service so I can catch up, and they told me it would be over $1,000 to cancel my service! Absolutely ridiculous! The service sucks anyway because if something happens in your home, they don’t even call the police right away. They call every phone number you put on the account, and then call over the intercom to make sure it’s you and not a burglar before they even contact the police! You could end up dead before anyone would arrive! Horrible service and they trap you when you sign up! I recommend nobody get this service! Absolute rip-off!
Reviewed March 19, 2013
ADT made two appointments with me in which they agreed to install a hard line for fire monitoring at my house. The first appointment, they sent a salesperson, not a technician as I requested, in response to my installation request. I had to request time off from work for that! After much aggravation, their sales rep made my second appointment for the actual installation. Two weeks later, my appointment arrived and no one showed at my house to perform the work during the allotted appointment time of 8 am to 12 noon, because god forbid that they actually give you a specific time to arrive at the house. I had to take time off from work again for that!
I called ADT to find out when my technician would arrive since my appointment time had expired. After several calls, a lot of transfers and not to mention the hold times, ADT's response was, "Ma'am, your technician is running late; however, I can get another technician out there for you between 12 pm and 5 pm." Forget that you just waited 4 hours for the last technician. You will have to wait an additional 5 hours to make up the first appointment you had. It was another wasted day!
ADT has cost me two days of work over a simple line installation and enough aggravation to last me a lifetime. ADT has no respect for your time and their customer service is atrocious! The security of my home is very important and their customer service, I believe, is a direct reflection of their monitoring service. Two days, where is ADT when you need them?!
Reviewed March 17, 2013
We moved into our house and decided to go with ADT. The salesman tried to sell us everything under the sun the company offered, even if we did not need it. The salesman suggested we try these features out, so we did. After a couple of months, we tried to downgrade because we did not need the additional features. No go! You cannot downgrade, you can only upgrade. Then we tried to cancel because we felt deceived. No go! We were locked into a 3 year contract. The salesman forgot to mention that one as well. So we are stuck with this contract and these upgrades for 3 years. The payout is 75%. ADT is a scam and their sales practices are unethical. This is surely a buyer beware!
Reviewed March 15, 2013
From 3/12/13 to 3/15/13, I received a total of 7 calls asking for John Paul **. Each time I informed the agent that: (1) he wasn’t here and; (2) to remove us off of the list. On 3/14/13, I received 4 calls and each time I informed the person that he is: (1) 21 yrs old; (2) has no job; (3) lives in my house and; (4) and I will not allow ADT to be installed in my home and again to remove us from the list. I should never have been called that many times especially after requesting to be removed from the list. When I received a call again on 3/15/13, I was told that it takes 24 hrs. Well, even with that I should have been removed from the queue so as not to get calls every 10 minutes and it started on 3/12/13. This is harassment, and one agent told me he would call back at a better time and hung up. I will be contacting the BBB and the national do not call list along with an attorney.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
I called to get a quote for an alarm system, after receiving a mail solicitation for a free system with $99 install. The initial sales person was fine and then was transferred to the manager. He was very condescending and insulting and kept trying to get my money, in order for a technician to come to my house to discuss a system. He was belligerent and tried to make me feel bad and use strong arm tactics to close the deal. He told me that the pricing he was giving me, that he couldn't hold it for me and that I needed to give him my money today to hold it. Based on my experience, I would never buy a home security system from ADT. Don't trust them at all.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
We moved. I called ADT to cancel my service at our old house. We were considering having ADT at our new house until I spoke with customer service five different times, with each being more frustrating than the last. I was informed that I had a 3-year contract and since I was canceling early, I would have to pay a huge fee to cancel (nearly $700). I checked my plan and all the papers I signed - no mention of a 3-year contract. I called my sales person - she said she didn't sell me a 3-year contract. I called customer service again to fight this. No luck. I asked what would happen if I stayed with ADT at my new house. They said, I'd have to pay the $700 and then they'd credit it to me 4 months later when my new house was built and their service was installed. I told them no and requested a cancellation. They sent me a statement/bill with the "final" buyout amount. Ah, but not so. The fine print said that the cancellation wasn't valid for another 30 days and that I'd be receiving another final letter of payment in a month. I have no idea what this will cost.
The bottom line is that ADT lied to us, deceived us, and never goes away! They keep sending bills, denying that I called, issuing confirmation numbers that the next customer service rep can't find or says it isn't valid. I hope to one day be free of this, but for now, I'm still being harassed by this company. If you are smart, you will avoid doing business with ADT. I guess at the end of the day, their slogan is true, ADT - Always There!
Reviewed March 11, 2013
I paid for full service. I am unable to get anybody, and it’s impossible to cancel. My advice to everybody is to run the other direction. They have the most effective customer avoidance system of any company around. When you need them, they are nowhere to be found.
Reviewed March 6, 2013
On August 1, 2011 at my old address, ** OKC 73142, the ADT installer assured me that if I purchased the entire home alarm system, I could take it with me if I ever decided to move. In December 2012, I did move and upon contacting ADT to change my service and equipment to my new address, ** Edmond 73012, I was told that I could not do that. An ADT sales rep came out to set up what they called a new contract. I asked him about the money I paid for the system at my old address and he had no answer for me. I pay $37.99 per month for ADT alarm monitoring and still ADT is sending me bills; the latest is for $325.25. They threatened to send me to collection agency.
Reviewed March 6, 2013
I am very upset with this company because I believe that they charged me twice for the month of January. I spoke with two people on the phone - one of them was the manager and they both could not explain clear to me why am I paying twice for January. Their explanations were so vague and confusing to the point that I decided to just pay and cancel my service as soon as my contract with them is over. I would never recommend their services to anybody!
Reviewed March 6, 2013
First I was looking only to ask prices being that we have an alarm already installed. We purchased the home with it already installed, just not currently serviced. I did not give my social security number and was very uncomfortable with the pushiness of my personal information when I was specifically looking for price quotes. I was assured that I could have someone come to the house to see what I already have and there would be no charge. I was told that I needed to give my credit card solely as procedure and that if I went with ADT, I then would be charged a $99 fee that would then apply for two months of service. I stated that I didn't understand the necessity of giving my card info, but then was assured that it would not be charged and was switched to a manager who said he would also throw in a $100 visa card if we went with them and he would include a window break alarm.
The following day, I was met with a contractor that was at my home for installation. We stated that we specifically stated we were not going to install, but were looking to have someone come to the house to see what we currently had and see what may need to be replaced and were shopping around. We asked if there was a fee for him coming out and the contractor stated that there was always a $99 fee for coming out regardless of installation or not. The manager promised me that there was no fee unless we went with ADT and then it would be applied towards two months of service. We called the customer service line to see if we had been charged and my husband was met with a very rude, disrespectful, young manager who would not allow my husband to speak.
He seemed to feel that we should have expected a charge for someone coming out since it is their norm, but I specifically asked this and was assured that we would not be charged unless we went with ADT. I called my bank while my husband was on the phone with the manager and my account has already pending payment to ADT. We will not do business with a company who cannot be honest and starts a business relationship stealing funds. I should have followed my gut from the beginning and the first request for my social security number when I simply wanted to get some basic questions answered.
Reviewed March 5, 2013
The sales rep was nice, but guess what, he turned out to be such a liar. Whatever happened to customer service? This guy came to my house and was very informative, and he told me I would get a senior discount and he would hook me up and I can pay every 3 months, and lo and behold, I got a $146.00 bill not even 3 weeks later after paying $152.00 upfront. I want a credit and I want it now. Why is there so much greed? This now generation will do anything crooked for money in their own pocket. He needs to go through training once again.
Reviewed March 5, 2013
Elderly mother was moving out of state from FL to TX. Existing alarm system was not monitored; it had not been in some time. I called old alarm co.; ADT answered old company's phone. I told them I wanted monitoring month-to-month for about 2-6 mo. while the house was up for sale. Salesman came the next day; I told him same thing. He assured us this was no problem. They could monitor existing alarm and when the house was sold, we could cancel. When I stepped out of the room, he handed Mom the contract to sign.
Service began in Dec. 2012, quarterly billing. Mom moved out 2nd week of Feb. 2013. The house just sold in the 1st week of March 2013. I called to cancel monitoring (which it turns out they can't even do since the phone is now disconnected as the house is empty, but salesman didn't mention that). Now they say Mom signed a 3-year contract; they want 75% of balance for cancellation - over $700! - for 3 mo. service. We never wanted or needed any kind of extended monitoring contract. That was made very clear to the sales rep. He verbally assured us they could do what we asked but then gave my mom something very different to sign. Apparently, the "thieves" we needed protection from were ADT themselves.
Reviewed March 4, 2013
My contract states it expired in 12/2013 but I am still being billed in March 2013. I sent a cancellation letter as they told me to do in December 2012. They cut off our service on 02/05/2013. I am still being billed. When I called, they told me that I am under contract until 03/2014! Since when? If you want ADT, make sure you want it for life!
Reviewed March 1, 2013
Like most, we assumed that when talking to the ADT rep that they actually worked for ADT. This was not the case and it was Protect Your Home. The company has a special that they tell you, you get $850 worth of free security items which is a total lie. We have an ADT system already and were told we could use that money towards additional features. When they came to the house, they told us that they could not use the existing system and that it was outdated. We have 19 wireless sensors for our entry points along with smoke and heat detectors in the house. They wanted to charge us $130 for each sensor and $275 for a smoke detector! The total bill was going to be over $2,000 just to install the equipment. Needless to say, we told them to leave and canceled the install.
After, we actually got in contact with ADT Corporate and set up another appointment. The actual ADT employee came out and went through our system and told us we have one of the higher end systems they offer. Not only that, but everything can be reused and activated, and if we wanted additional sensors, they were around $50 a piece and the smoke/heat sensors were about $100. Big difference than the ridiculous amount Protect Your Home charges! Make sure when you contact ADT to ask if they are corporate or not. We are now dealing with the fact that even though we didn't sign anything with Protect Your Home, there is a 30-day grace period from when they give you a quote before ADT Corporate can install a system. Stay away from this company. Call ADT directly.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I would give ADT a 0 star for their sales and customer services. I called ADT to inquire about their service and to have a security technician come to my home to talk to my husband and me about what we would need and the cost. I was told I needed to be pre-charged a fee of US$99+tax. I was really interested in their product and because I was told I would be easily refunded the fee to my credit card, I then agreed with it. ADT sales reps are very well-trained and persuasive. Everything sounded easy to resolve from their perspective.
As we saw the security technician here (a very polite and professional gentleman who was very informative and helpful), we decided we didn't want to sign a 3-year contract, specially after reading all the reviews about the difficulties of contract cancellation with ADT. So I called ADT and asked to receive the refund to my credit card, given that we weren't ready to sign a 3-year contract. I was told that it was canceled and I would be refunded the amount. However, I was never ever told, not by sales rep and not by consumer service rep at cancellation, that the refund would take 7 to 14 days to take place.
As I called complaining my credit card still contained the charge but no refund, only then was I informed of the 7 to 14 days (possibly 1 to 30 days) time period. Now I will have to pay my credit card bill and the fee of US$105.30 for something I canceled. I have never seen this before. Every time I have done a return or canceled a credit card transaction, it was immediately refunded to my account. I feel betrayed by persuasive sales tactics from ADT. Obviously, we will no longer consider doing business with ADT. They are totally out of question now. Beware, because other security companies offer free diagnostic visit. I should just have followed my gut feeling about this.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I had been with ADT for 8 years already with no late payments and no false alarms. I was installing a new front door and asked if they could send someone by at their convenience to put a new sensor on the door, about a five-minute deal. I also asked them to bring information on some possible upgrades. They wanted to charge me $75 just to come out, then more for the equipment. When I protested and asked to speak to a manager, the rep told me it wouldn't change anything. I was directed to a voicemail so I left a message to call back.
The rep was correct; they were going to charge me over $100 to change out a magnet sensor. I told them to hold off then called CPI. CPI had someone at my house in just over an hour to show me their equipment and plans, and had their system installed in a few more hours with no charge, more and better equipment and at a better rate. I called ADT to cancel service and this time, a different rep got very snippy. Two weeks later, a manager from the Retention Dept. called to inquire why I left and would I come back if they changed out the door sensor at no charge. So far, CPI has been great!
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2013
The system was installed almost a month and was only able to arm 5 times. If you need protection, do not use this company. This is why it’s the worst company ever. They are making you feel secure when you are not. They sell the most important service and don't care if it works or not. A direct quote from my contractor’s customer service manager, "I don't care if your system works or not. You’re in a contract." Not for long.
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2013
Hello, I have had ADT for a year. My service is still not working. I called but they sure did send me a bill for $600.00. I will be talking with the BBB. I call - they say someone will be calling me. Yeah, right. I still haven’t gotten a call.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
They took my information. I did not have a specific person assigned, so I usually dealt with people who had no dealing with my issue. I asked for a refund. Money was taken out of my account. No system was put in. No one has done any protection or installed any protection system, and due to the situation of not dealing with the same person, there has been no way to resolve this situation. They have not returned my calls. They have installed no systems of protection. They have taken my money out of my account but have delivered absolutely no service(s) whatsoever.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
An ADT salesman came out and sold me not one but two systems, one at my office and one for my home. He told me all about the features and what I would receive on 2/07/13. They showed up to install the first system today, 2/20/2013. One of the installers, obviously the one in charge as he informed me, had a lot of issues with the job and was very rude; he was complaining about the job and wanting to use my men and equipment to do some of the installation. Also he was complaining about it going to be late in the evening before he could complete it and they may have to finish it on the day they had scheduled for the second system which was a few days later.
I proceeded to tell him that the salesman (who was standing there beside him) told me they would be there two days to do that job. He said they only had one day schedule. Then he wanted to move cameras around to save him time (and did I mention he had a bad attitude the whole time). I told him that was not what I wanted and he could not use my employees or lifts to do the job. That was not part of the agreement.
I hired ADT so I would not have to do the installation myself. At that time, the salesman even acknowledged the fact that this tech had a bad attitude and was being very rude. So, at that point, I asked them to leave my property. I felt like this guy was a liability. In short, ADT has salesmen out selling goods and services they cannot deliver on!
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
The ADT alarm system went off every time when I left my house. I checked all the doors and windows are locked. I installed ADT system less than one month ago and the battery is already dead. What kind of equipment is that?! Since the battery is low, the equipment starts to beep from 8 am in the morning. I called ADT to ask someone to come to fix it. The alarm system still beeps. I waited until 6 pm; still no one was coming to fix it. I called again asking for help. ADT floor manager said, "Sorry, we don't have anyone available. The earliest time is the next day." The only thing ADT could do was to turn your system off.
I asked, "If anything happens tonight, is that ADT that is responsible for it?" ADT said no. What kind of service is that! The equipment was going beep, beep, beep for 10 hours! What do you think if that happens to your house? When they were asking for all those fees, they charged right way, and there were some hidden fees, and when something happens, you get to wait for up to 48 hours to schedule an appointment to fix. In other words, you get to wait more than 2 days. You have to pay everyday but there is no service everyday!
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2013
After being on the phone with an ADT rep for over an hour, I told him I wanted their security system. I kept asking what else I should know, what else I should ask. It was supposed to cost me $100 installation (to be refunded with prepaid Visa card), plus monthly payment of $42.99. The installer came and after a lengthy visit, looked at all my windows and doors and told me what would be the best security. Then he went outside to call his boss, which I thought was odd. When he returned, he said I'd owe over $2,500 but that could be set up in 4 easy installments. I said I'm not paying it. This extra cost was never mentioned to me on the phone or when he first came in so friendly and talkative. The price I had been quoted was only for my doors and not any windows. They had never mentioned this. I do not have a large house at all.
He called his boss again with my AARP number and took out security on the front windows and garage door, then came back in with an extra cost of only $500. I said I'm not paying it and to take the keypad out of my wall (he'd just installed it). He said he wouldn't do it, that I'd have to set up an appointment to have someone else remove the keypad and for me to sign a cancellation notice. I said I'm not putting my signature on a thing until the keypad was removed. I asked him to remove the keypad, get his belongings and to get out of my house. He refused.
After a lot of time and about 2 more phone calls to his boss, he finally did it. The company was totally deceptive to me and this is fraud to a senior citizen. They lied to me about the cost. I was also afraid that there could be small print on the cancellation notice that would require me to pay extra money. Naturally, they had charged the original $100 + tax to my credit card, but I will call and dispute the charges.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2013
We started service with ADT in March 2011. When we moved to a new home in the same neighborhood in March 2012, we transferred the service. We were told that the setup fee would be waived because we were current customers, but never informed that we were in any extended contract. We knew that we would be relocating within 18 months and would never enter a contract.
We contacted ADT in February 2013 because we will be moving again and will not need the service. We were informed that there will be a cancellation fee of over $800 because we are under a 3-year contract until March 2015. We stated that we had never signed any extended contract because we knew that we would be moving, and that we had been customers since 2011. The ADT rep said that all their services come with an automatic 3-year contract and that the contract restarts itself whenever service is transferred. She also stated that ADT was not responsible for the fact that the sales rep had not informed us of that when we purchased the system. She then requested our forwarding address (which we did not provide) and refused to cancel the auto-debit from our credit card. This resulted in my partner having to cancel the card to prevent ADT from continuing to bill us. We have now found out that there are hundreds of complaints for the same thing - if only we had researched the company beforehand. We thought that it was a reputable company, considering how well known it is. Please, please, please do not do business with ADT. We hope this saves someone the hassle we're going through.
Reviewed Feb. 13, 2013
So I've had ADT for 9 years in Arizona. I moved to Houston in May and started my services in July. I was never informed by their salesperson that I needed a permit (it's in the fine print of the contract I signed, that is what their people told me; I still haven't found it) ... I had an incident in January; police were never dispatched and guess what? No permit was ever issued! I called ADT and there was apology after apology and I was offered 4 months credit and the 50 dollar fee to be credited to my account. Here we are in February and nothing has been resolved! They want 900 dollars to terminate my contract but that's okay. I will tell the world my experience and as soon as my 2-year contract expires, I'm out forever! Watch out!
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2013
I had my house broken into. It took ADT over 30 min to get someone to the house. Then when we went to move, they wanted $99 to move and sign another 3-year contract with them at $51 a month. When I told them that I was only willing to sign a 2-year contract, they told me no; it had to be 3 years or nothing and that if I did sign that contract, it would cost me 75% of the remainder of my original contract. I am now going to have a bad score on my credit report because I refuse to sign a new contract and I will not pay for such bad service. Do not use ADT for your security system. All they want is your money. They could care less about your safety.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2013
When I signed up for an ADT monitoring system, they never told me it was for a 3-year contract. It's a scam. They tell you they will install the system for 'free' and then have you sign a contract without giving you time to read it and on the very back it has a 3-year contract that they will not let you out of. You are stuck for 3 years and even if you cancel, you are responsible.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2013
We have ADT through Protect Your Home for approximately 3 weeks now. For the last 5 nights we have had a troubled zone, we have been hung up on twice by Protect Your Home and ADT haven't been backing up their system. I have dealt with rude call takers and rude supervisors from ADT and Protect Your Home. I cannot believe that a company like ADT would allow an authorized dealer of their product to treat customer this way. We cannot cancel this system at this point since we have had it for more than 72 hours. Are you kidding me? We are stuck with this troubled system that goes off at all hours of the night. We are calling ADT and Protect Your Home daily.
We finally got a service call schedule for tomorrow, Feb. 7, but we have had to deal with this since Feb. 4 at 1:11AM. This was when it all started. I would not recommend ADT or Protect Your Home for anything. Please try a local company. I believe you would get better service. I have worked in customer service for a large, worldwide company and I know they would never deal with call takers hanging up on people and not willing to help them. They just do not want to talk to you nor listen to your problem. Look elsewhere and run from these two companies. They are trouble from the beginning.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2013
A salesperson for this company came to my home and sold a burglar alarm to my husband. When I called back questioning why the rates were so much higher than ADT, I was told that ADT has their own rates and although they are affiliated, they could not honor the rate being given by ADT which included a senior citizen discount. I contacted my daughter and we contacted their customer service department. The lady we spoke with stated that in order to cancel, we would need to fax in a cancellation request and the fax information was given. She put in a request to have the sales representative call me and he did try to have me to keep the service. I stated, along with my daughter on the line, that I no longer wanted the service and that the rates were too expensive. The representative used additional tactics to try and keep the service, but we again declined and confirmed the fax number for the cancellation with him.
On 05/14/12, on two (2) separate occasions, a cancellation letter was sent to ensure that the company was in receipt of the cancellation request. It was not until July 2012 that I realized that they failed to cancel the account as my checking account was drafted for the monthly fee. I contacted their office and advised that I had cancelled almost 60 days prior, at which time I was advised that there was no record of either of the fax request. At the time, I was unable to find the fax and the fax confirmations and had no other proof that I had requested to cancel (in writing) as I verbally told the customer service representative and the sales representative on 05/14/12. I have found the fax and fax confirmations and contacted the company's office this morning. I was told that the reason that my service was not cancelled was not due to being unable to find the fax cancellation request, but that the sales representative advised them that I wanted to keep the service.
This is absolutely false. I have not spoken with the sales representative since I requested that the service be cancelled in May 2012. For the aggravation that this company has caused, I should charge them for the false and misleading actions of their sales representative. I want all monies owed to me refunded immediately. I have paid a total of $244.73 to date for the services. I can provide you with copies of the fax confirmations to Elite requesting that it be cancelled effective immediately. I filed a BBB complaint in October 2012 in which I was advised that I would receive a refund for all monies paid by November 15, 2012. Well 77 days later, I have yet to receive my refund and each call to ADT creates but another horrible experience. I am re-filing my BBB complaint and I will try to file with whomever else regulates ADT because this is utterly ridiculous.
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2013
People, beware if you are caring for an elder, if you sign the contract, you will be responsible even in the event of death. I'm stuck paying a year and a half even though she paid the installation and was the homeowner.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2013
I have been a long term customer with Brinks/ADT of over 4 years. I feel I'm a good customer. I never missed a payment, recommended to others, etc. I contacted them to inform them that I was moving and needed to discontinue service. My initial call 5 days ago resulted in them asking for my phone # to return my call due to high volumes in the Termination department. No one ever called. I called back today and even after talking with 3 different levels including a supervisor, I was told I have to pay for 30 days even though I will not be living there. They would not even start the 30 days from 5 days when I first called claiming there was no indication on their end that I placed that call. I offered to meet them halfway on a 2-week, but still "no". Even after telling them I would not even consider using their service at my new home, there was nothing. This is a bad business decision over $16.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2013
I called into ADT for a sensor that was going bad on my patio door. I called on Friday, Jan. 25th, 2013. They did their check and said they needed to have a technician come to home. At that point, they tried to give me a dispatch date of Feb. 5th. I was not happy with that date because I am going out of town Feb 2nd. for a day and didn't want my patio door not protected. We had a break-in and this is why we got the system installed anyway. I complained and they said they don't have any sooner dates but would note the account. They called me up on 1/29/13 to tell me my ticket was open and was going to schedule Feb. 7th now.
Needless to say, that went over like a ton of bricks. They had a manager call me the same day. She said only 2 techs were in this area and 1 was off. That's not my problem. I suggested get a contractor. She stated they don't use contractors. I beg to differ because when we needed it installed, guess what? They found a contractor then! She claimed that yes, they use contractors for installs but not for repair. She is going to reach out to the local ADT people to try to get a new time. This service sucks.
I had problems the last time I needed ADT. I paid a lot of money for this system and pay a monthly premium to ADT for service. Waiting over a week for service is ridiculous. I worked at a phone company and that kind of response time is totally unacceptable.That's it... I'm very unhappy.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2013
In the summer of 2010, I contacted ADT and signed up. I was promised a rebate, which I never received. In September of 2010, my husband was severely injured and was unable to work. We started having excess medical bills. I contacted ADT. I spoke with at least 4 representative and I asked if my account could be placed on hold. At the time, my bill was $39.04 each month. I was told this was not an option and I would have to continue to pay as I had signed a 3-year contract that was unbreakable. After 2 more months, ADT was deactivated by the company.
Today, I got a call from a collection company that I owe $762.76, which is the cost of the contract. Per the collection agency and ADT, whom I also called, regardless what my financial circumstances are, I have to pay as the contract is legally binding. I do not understand that a company does not take people's financial circumstances into account and does not allow an individual to cancel (with a fee, of course, but not the full amount for a contract). Any advice that can be given would be greatly appreciated as I cannot afford to pay this.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2013
Just had ADT installed again. I posted yesterday what they did to me. Now I went to the bank and found out that the balance I owed was $211.60, so they took out $259.59. I didn't say they could take that amount. They just do as they please. You can't help from not hating this company!
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2013
Like others, ADT has seemingly duped me into a three-year plan that I had no idea existed. I have been using them for home and my small business for years, but then when I had to move my business out of state, they suddenly sent me a bill for $1,400 for the remainder of the service. Total ** and fraudulent.
Reviewed Jan. 29, 2013
I was told that when I moved, I would not have to pay any charges for moving and that I would leave my equipment there. I would not be charged for any equipment when I moved. I told them that I was selling my house and would be moving soon. Also, I was not told that I had a 3-year contract. My bad. I did not read the contract because it wasn't mentioned! So to my surprise, when I moved, the price I paid was $530.00. Sounds like a little more than nothing! How do you give them a star? When I called to talk to them, it was more like they said too bad!
Reviewed Jan. 26, 2013
Even though my house was sold and I had moved into another city, I am required to continue paying on my ADT account for another year. I also have ADT in my small business and it also is under this rule. In my opinion, the rule is unreasonable and anti-consumer. One month, maybe two, but a year? I will never use any ADT or their parent company, Tyco, again. I have already talked to ADT complaint person who says that if the new owner picks up my account, I will not have to pay. This is their consumer solution to this problem. It is not satisfactory.
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2013
I do not recommend ADT for home security. The system is faulty in that the monitoring system did not indicate when a battery was low and instead, it triggered a false alarm, sending the police to my unoccupied home when I was out of town, resulting in my being charged fees for a false alarm. When I notified ADT about the problem with the battery not signaling that it was low, ADT refused to discuss it, criticized me for not having their additional coverage for home maintenance on the system, and they billed me for a false alarm that was triggered by a low battery.
How can I know to replace a battery if the monitoring system does not signal a battery is low as it is supposed to do? I sent ADT a letter explaining the problem and rather than respond to my letter, they turned the false alarm charge over to NRC Collection Agency which has a terrible reputation for abusive practices. I discontinued my service with ADT as I could not afford to pay for false alarms triggered by low batteries in a system that does not alert the home owner that a battery is low.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
My husband and I spoke with a salesman in February 2011 about the ADT security service. Since I work contract assignments, I asked, "If I lost my job, would we be able to discontinue service?" The salesman assured us that we would have the ability to discontinue service. I was laid off November 2011. I contacted ADT, and they gave me three months free. This was a nice gesture, but I am still unemployed. I have contacted ADT customer service on 4 occasions, and each time, I am told if I discontinue service, I would be charged for the remainder of the contract. Today, I opened my mail and received a service interruption notice because I cannot pay them. I explained to them that I am on unemployment and would not be able to pay. Still, they insist that I pay the $225.82 plus the $668.54 when service is discontinued at the end of month. I took the salesman because of his knowledge and word that the service could be discontinued.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2013
I'm not usually one to go to the internet to bad mouth a company, but I think I've been patient enough when it comes to dealing with the inadequacies of this company. I was gifted this service when I purchased my new home by my aunt, and it’s been nothing but headache!
I had the umpteenth service done on my adaptor last Monday because, once again, it shorted and was saying no AC or just blacking out. A guy comes out and says, "Yes, there's a short in your line, looks like the tech put a staple through the wire. We need to replace it. This should fix the issues. Okay, done!" Nope. Good thing my husband was home because today the adaptor started to smoke and had a strong, burning rubber odor!
To top it off, he had to disconnect the adaptor with oven mitts because that's how hot it was! I called ADT and told them my issues, and they nonchalantly gave me an evening appointment. I accepted and decided to cuss them out when I was out of the range of my colleagues, only to receive a phone call 2 minutes 'til the 2-4 deadline and be told that the tech is running late and will be there between 4:00-4:30. Are you kidding me! This is ** is what I wanted to say, but I was sitting at my desk and kindly told the guy that was not going to work. He blankly said, "I will cancel the ticket and you can call back later to reschedule." I hung up!
I'm fed up with companies that don't do their jobs. They almost set my damn house on fire, and don't have the decency to come out when they schedule an appointment!
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2013
I had a contracted technician (a company called PYH) to install an ADT alarm system, which included a motion sensor that was to detect any movement and set off the alarm. Within hours of having the system installed, my home was robbed. The thief broke in through a window and went straight for my bedroom and stole thousands of dollars worth of stuff. He left my bedroom in shambles but no other room was touched, like he had been there before and knew exactly what he was looking for. The motion sensor was not installed properly and never worked; therefore, it never set off the alarm when the thief was in my home.
I think anyone who reads my story can come to the same conclusion as I did - that the ADT/PYH tech came back after purposefully not installing my alarm correctly and robbed my house. I have called ADT several times without calls back and I called the contracted installation company, PYH, where I spoke to a smug manager that couldn't care less about my accusations. My house was robbed because of ADT. It was not kept safe because of it and no one within the company seems to care to do anything about it. If you want to keep your house safe, do not waste your time or money on an ADT system. If you want to be robbed, go ahead and have a stranger into your home to case the place before coming back to rob you.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2013
I purchased four homes in February 2009. My main one had an old ADT system installed. The morning we got phone service, it started beeping. I called ADT to find out how to make it stop. They told me I'd have to pay a technician around $100 to come out and make it stop. I told them, “I bought a house with an existing service. I don't even want a service. Just tell me how to make the beeping stop.” They refused. A screwdriver, hammer, and 10 minutes of my time ended the incessant beeping :)
Fast-forward a few months. I decide to put systems on all four homes. I went with Brinks because they had a good reputation and what mattered most was they weren’t ADT. Everything was fine, and then I received a notice that Brinks was now Broadview. I figured it was just the same company, different name. I'm not sure when ADT acquired Broadview, but as soon as I realized I was making payments to ADT, I stopped. I never signed a contract with ADT. I would never sign a contract with ADT. I have been sent to collections for some ungodly amount of money, and I just don't answer the calls. This has been going on for more than a year.
One of these days, I will talk to them again and ask them to produce a contract that I signed with ADT. Not with Brinks, but with ADT. If they can produce a contract with ADT (which is impossible), then I'll pay the money they say I owe them. In the meantime, I'm going about my business as usual. In the past week though, at 1:45AM my alarm stars beeping everyday. I don't know if this is caused by ADT as an attempt to aggravate me into paying them, but we are about to have Round 2 of a screwdriver, hammer, and 10 minutes of my time.
Reviewed Jan. 19, 2013
We have ADT monitoring and system for eight years, and were recently extremely disappointed with what appears to be a glitch in their system. We were without monitoring service unknowingly for seven months due to a telephone jack failure to the system’s internal box. I was amazed to find out that the communication failure at this seldom visited vacation home was discovered by me, and we had no fire or burglar protection for that period of time. A monthly test of the system with no response back to the monitors went unnoticed for seven months. They were unable to explain to me why I was never notified or told to check the equipment. In this day of accurate computerization, it boggles my mind that system communication failure can go unnoticed for more than a month! I received no satisfaction from ADT and not even refunded the months of no monitoring. Too big to listen to the customer, go local if possible!
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
In August 2012, I saw an ad in a neighborhood newspaper for Home Security (ADT). I thought the ad was for ADT. In September 2012, I had the security system installed in my home. Adam (the installer) wore a Blue ADT t-shirt, showed me an ADT employee badge, and presented himself as an employee of ADT. Approximately 30 days after the installation, I learned that ADT only monitors my home. The company that my contract is with is Protect Your Home aka Defender Direct. I've received several letters... not invoices. The purpose of the letter states Defender Direct paid the permit fee that is charged by the city, state, or municipality in which I reside. The original letter was asking me to remit $60 for the permit fee. I called the customer service dept. for Protect Your Home and advised them - neither my city, state, or municipality charges residents a permit fee.
I stated that I was refusing to pay for this. According to the letter, Defender Direct paid the permit fee on my behalf and now I must reimburse them. The most recent letter I received indicates the permit fee is now approximately $1,127.33. I called Customer Service and asked how did the permit fee increase from the original amount of $60 to $1,127.33. I stated that I had no intention of paying either of these "bogus" charges. The customer service rep became quite belligerent with me. I'm partially to blame because I clearly didn't read the print on the ad. However, the employees of Defender Direct never once stated they were not ADT employee. The 800 # listed on all my documents indicate this is a number for ADT.
According to the Protect Your Home employee I spoke with, Protect Your Home/Defender Direct purchased my contract from ADT in November 2012 (unbeknownst to me). ADT will continue to monitor my home but my payments are to be made to Protect Your Home/Defender Direct. I asked, "How much is my monthly bill with your company?" The customer service rep repeatedly asked for my credit card # so he could process my payment of $1,127.33 (the permit fee). I replied "I'm sorry but I don't reside in a mansion." There's no way it will cost me over $1100 to protect my home. The customer service rep explained to me that my account didn't qualify for billing.
I said, "Well, without a bill, how do I know where to send my payments to and what amount?" This was where the conversation took a wrong turn. The customer service became very rude, belligerent, and downright excessively angry. I simply hung up the phone. I've contacted another company to install a security system. I wanted to make you aware of the shady business tactics of this company. I cannot believe ADT is associated with such a company.
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
Three and a half years ago, my daughter and I moved into our new home. Being a single mom, I felt the need for security so I purchased services with ADT. Bad idea! I will tell you my story in chronological order, but please read to the end because the worst comes last. The technician who came out was nice enough. We chatted about his service in the army and about his new wife. However, a couple days after the installation of my security system, I received a text message from an unknown number asking me what I was doing. I responded politely and asked who it was. They thought it was funny to act offended that I didn't know who they were and toyed with me for a bit.
After much persuasion, I finally got it out of him that it was the ADT technician! When I asked him how he got my number, he said he got it off the agreement I had signed! Like that wasn't enough, he asked me to hang out to which I replied, "You are married and I am not that kind of woman. Please don't contact me again." How safe are you supposed to feel when this kind of person has installed your security system and knows your pass codes, etc? I'm pretty sure this is a violation of my privacy. I reported this to an ADT rep and her response didn't give me the impression that they cared in the least.
After about 6 months of service, they somehow managed to deactivate my online account so I couldn't pay bills online or look at statements. I called them about this on 3 different occasions. The first rep told me that I just had to reactivate it. Nope, that didn't work. Later I called again. I told the rep the problem I was having. She told me that my account was locked, but that she had fixed the problem. Guess what? Nope. I called a third time, same scenario. I finally gave up and just went with paper billing since their auto pay is worthless. So I had no online access for 2.5 years. Their services were more annoying than helpful. Every time the power went out, they would call me (which is quite often where I live).
I had tried to change my contact information with them on multiple occasions, but they still continued to call an old cell phone number that was no longer active. So when I was cleaning out the fire place one night and accidentally sent too much dust into the air, I had no idea that the fire alarm had been tripped and the fire department was on its way! How embarrassing was that! The system itself was shoddy. It would just start beeping obnoxiously on a regular basis. I had a technician come out and "fix" the problem, but it just picked up again where it left off the following week. I disabled the system, but that didn't even fix the problem. I had to look up a way online to disable the sound on it completely. But why pay for service that you're not even using?
I finally had enough of it. I called to cancel my service in March, but apparently I was still under contract until July. I marked it on my calendar and waited until then. When July finally rolled around, I called a very nice gentleman who was very happy to cancel it for me. I continued to get junk mail from them for 6 months. I would open it occasionally to be sure. So I thought nothing of it and threw away anything I got from ADT because my service had been terminated, right? Wrong. On Monday, I opened a letter just to see what they were offering and it wasn't an offer at all! It was a seriously delinquent bill for $200!
Today I called them and politely asked the rep on the phone what it was for, thinking it was for the system they had left behind. She said it was for the services I had received from July through October (they finally canceled my account in October because of my delinquent account). I told her that I had canceled my service in July, so I should not have been receiving a bill at all. She told me there was no record of this and asked me if I would like to speak to a manager. I told her I would. When I was connected with the manager, I told him my woes. He responded with the same thing. I told him once again that I had talked to someone in July and canceled my services. He told me that if I had called in July, their system would have automatically recorded my call and made a notation on my account of the conversation.
I asked him, "So you're calling me a liar?" He condescendingly said, "I'm just saying it didn't happen." I continued to try to negotiate with him and the most I could get out of him was to reduce the bill by 50%. At this point, it was worth it just to get off the phone with him. Now that I think about it, I didn't even receive a confirmation number from him. I'm probably going to receive another bill in a month or so and have to go through this all over again, but from now on I will open every letter I receive from ADT.
My advice to anyone thinking of getting an alarm installed by a security service like ADT, just go down to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy one of their alarm systems. They'll even install it for you. You can program it to call whatever number you want and you won't ever have to worry about any of these billing issues myself and all these other reviewers have had or being stuck in a contract with a terrible company for 3 years. Not to mention, it will cost you about 1/32nd the price.
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
I have had ADT at my home and my business in Northern Virginia. My home was on the market for 8 months and once it sold, I was told by ADT that I had to continue to pay another year. No one in this market can predict if or when their house will sell. This is a policy I would have never signed up for had I understood it. I have placed a notation on my business for ADT to cancel it as soon as possible. With more break-ins coming in the future, be sure you are signing up for a reputable and honest company. This one is not.
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
I had a false alarm on Dec. 29, 2012 and when I got my bill from ADT, they charged me $1,294.00 for the alarm going off. This is crazy. I would never recommend ADT to anyone.
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
They installed the system in our home in April 2010. We moved in May 2011 and wanted to install the system in our new home. They agreed but never installed it, even after many requests. My bank account was continually charged the monthly fee of $47.99, but the system was never installed in our new home. ADT claims they cancelled the service, and I owe the balance of the 3-year contract. I have not been able to resolve this matter and will have to pay for the full three years even though we only had the service for 1 year. This is a very poor and dishonest way to do business. I am going to install a system from Home Depot for $89.00, with no monthly charges.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2013
Protect Your Home is a scam. I had no idea I wasn't working with ADT direct. Make sure you have someone from ADT corporate come to your house and get a quote first! I didn't because I was in a hurry to protect my family. Little did I know that I needed protection from the thieves I was hiring to protect me. We ended up needing to pay about $1000 to install the $199 complete system and then they never connected the two-way radio feature. When questioned, they said I would have to pay more and I would need to schedule a return visit during the week. He was a very inflexible installer and he even threatened several times to leave. He promised to send me info and never did. Hardware is all wireless and now I have sensors stuck all over my home, because they were unable to use hard wires already in place from my existing Brinks (a company ADT purchased) systems. This is classic bait and switch practice and once they have you on the hook, tough luck. Do your research and take the time to know what you're getting and who you're working with. Use anyone else, but this questionable outfit. You'll be glad you did.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2013
After 1.5 years of bumbling with wrong equipment, false alarms, incompetent installers and constant middle of the night automated calls, I can safely say that this company is out of control and no effort by Tyco will save it. If you are even thinking of installing their equipment into your house, don't! My last straw in their incompetence has a $5.01 additional charge that showed up on my auto-pay and ADT calling me at all hours of the night on my cell phone while I was traveling overseas, incurring $4.00/min charges every time they dialed my number. How stupid is the collective management team at ADT? What are they getting paid for? I don't know anyone who's been happy long term after the initial con of "free installation" to get you reeled in. Pathetic!
Reviewed Jan. 15, 2013
I was a small franchised business who in 2010 set up service with ADT for the office I was renting. The rep came out and we filled out the paperwork. Unbeknownst to me, I was signing up for a 4-year contract with them. After 6 months, I had to move the office to a new location and called them to transfer service. This was when I found out I had 3 1/2 years on my contract. I moved to the new location for another 6 months until I was forced to leave that location due to franchise conflict. I was set up for direct withdrawal from my checking account and continued to pay for the service for over a year more even though I wasn't in fact using their service.
I continued to pay them until about 3 months ago when I lost the business, my job that I was also working and my ability to pay. I called them a minimum of 10 times asking if they could forgive the remainder of my debt because I hadn't used the service and they refused. I kept getting conflicting information depending on the rep I spoke to. Some kept telling me I had to find someone to take over the service or continue paying until the contract was up. Others were telling me they needed a letter in writing which I provided for them. I just received a letter from an attorney stating that ADT is suing me for the balance plus penalties, attorney fees and interest if it is not paid in 5 days. There are many reputable alarm companies out there. This is not one of them. Stay away from them.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2013
After 10 months, my ADT Pulse alarm system failed. I called to have it serviced and was told they could only come Mon-Fri, 8AM-5PM, even though it was installed on a Saturday. I took time off of work, lost a day's pay, and the technician could not repair it. I was told I would have to reschedule and that he had been here for too long. That was October and this is now January. I quit paying them for monitoring service because my system can no longer be monitored. After explaining to the customer service rep that I was not paying for services that couldn't be rendered because of their faulty equipment, she said she would have a supervisor contact me. All I get now are collection threats! They hide behind their contracts because there is no way out without paying 75% of left over 3-year contract. That's after the $1,200.00 upfront installation charge! If you're going to be in the service industry, you need to service your customers.
Reviewed Jan. 13, 2013
I purchased the system when my first son was born, on a three year contract. We enjoyed the service. We were planning to sell this house and build another. The agent advised us that we could transfer service with no penalties or problems. With four months left on our contract, we sold our house and called ADT. I asked them to suspend our service until we got our new house built. They told us that we had up to two years to get the house finished and service established. Two months later, we received a phone call from ADT telling us unless we pay the remainder of our balance plus a $50 late penalty, we would be turned over to collections! This goes against everything they agreed to. Do not get their service or equipment! They are fraudulent and liars! I will never think of them again for any reason.
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2013
After the system was installed, the installer pulled a chair up to the phone in my kitchen, grabbed my phone, leaned back, and put his feet on my kitchen counter. I told him to take his feet off my counter. He stood up, dialed up the main office and told me as he stood very near to me to tell the office I had done a good job installing their system. I was home alone with a newborn baby and it scared the hell out of me. Of course, I told them he had done a good job. How was I to know what he would do to me at that moment or in the future, when he thought I was at home alone? It's easy to bypass their system, and he knew exactly how to do it. After that, I didn't trust anyone having anything to do with that company. I'm still as angry as I can be about it.
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2013
I am sure ADT does not care about the bad reviews they receive because they do nothing to improve their image or service. I coordinated to obtain ADT monitoring for a home I was renting following my deployment to Iraq. I was suffering from PTSD and felt the system would alleviate some of my anxiety. I went through USAA's ADT Discount program but never got the deal as ADT referred me to one of their authorized dealers. All ADT cares about is money and they do not provide quality service. Every time you move, they extend your contract rather than just move the services. Some government agency needs to stop this practice on their part and get them to stop their predatory practices. I would never use ADT again nor recommend them to anyone.
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2013
We somehow wound up on ADT's call list after a number of calls and a number of times selecting the number two to opt out of the list. My wife in frustration chose the number one to actually talk to a caller to try and get removed from the list. The call came from a center in Kirkland, WA and was answered by a person who identified himself as James. While trying to explain to James our problem, James interrupted my wife and told her, "If you want to opt out, press two, you idiot." James then hung up. I will pass on this type of service. Thank you for allowing me the option to voice my complaint and opinion.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013
I was promised a $100 Visa card, it was not received. Apparently, they send an email link that you need to chase down to receive. Okay, it's a questionable complaint.
I set the alarm, went to the lake (no phone signal), came back to discover someone had been in our garage, ADT had left a voice mail stating alarm was tripped. No action was taken. What is the value of a voice mail two days after the fact? ADT system interfered with phone and internet service. ADT was disconnected 3 months ago. There was no contact to ask why there was no communication from the alarm system. Again, where is the security in this offering? I called to cancel service, was on the phone for 30 minutes and transferred 4 times. Apparently, ADT contracts local company for installs that are not willing to terminate account. They are asking for 36 months payments. No results.
In summary - I'm willing to pay a fair price for a service. However, no service was provided and I was being held hostage for 30 additional months. I prefer to pay the $900 towards legal counsel to avoid promoting this type of poor corporate behavior. Unfortunately, I have great credit and cannot afford a hit for something so ridiculous. Yes, I understand this is a waste of time.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013
In June 2012, I called to cancel the account on our primary residence. The person gave me such a hard time that I finally agreed to suspend the service rather than outright cancel, "so you won't have a hassle if you change your mind." Today I noticed that I was again being charged on my charge card. I called to ask the charges be reversed and to reiterate that I wished to cancel. I was told I had agreed in June to "two months free service." Not true. They refused to cancel, saying they would have to speak to my husband because the account was in his name. He was not home. I hung up, found the contract dated 12/21/01, saw that it was in both our names and that I was the signatory. I have transacted every issue on this account over the years with no problem. But now trying to cancel it, they had to speak with him.
I called them back and explained that my name and signature were on the account, but they still insisted they would have to speak with him. I called back and identified myself as Ronald ** (how can they verify a person over the phone?) and now they said I would have to submit a written request. At that point, my husband came home so I gave the phone to him and after asking for our password, they agreed to cancel. I will still have to do battle over the charges since June, I fear.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013
This company is the worst experience I have had. Recently I was having problems with my alarm system at home. I called several times to report my problem and all they would tell me is that they will send someone to fix the problem and they never did. I tried calling back 2 weeks after and they tried to walk me through the problem to see if it would take care of it. It didn't. They put me on hold, so I decided to hang up and not pay them for something that was not working. I received a statement for $681.93, so I called to try to make some kind of arrangements to restart my services with them. I paid $186.34 and then I got transferred to a different operator. He told me that I had to re-sign a new contract for 3 more years and have to get on an automatic withdraw payment plan.
I asked to speak to a supervisor and got transferred to Alonso ID #**. He was the rudest and unprofessional representative, who cares for the company and does not try to work for the customer. He said, "Sorry. Go ahead and cancel. There is nothing I can help you with." I think by me being with the company for a year, I deserved to be treated differently. Sincerely, a very unhappy customer who would recommend them to no one else.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2013
After reading all the complaints on ADT (and experiencing much of the same myself), I am sure that it is a matter of time before ADT goes down. They may be a corporate giant, but they can't possibly sustain being in business with the way they treat customers. They say they tried to resolve the problem, but after many broken appointments and unsatisfactory equipment not repaired, we said forget it. Now we are being billed over $800 for cancelling the service. If they would have provided the customer service and products they said they would, we would still be ADT customers. I think ADT must know they are in trouble and they simply do not care about how they treat customers. Whatever happened to the customer being right? ADT, listen up. You will be out of business before you know it, and you won't even know what hit you because you don't even listen to your customers. There are so many other choices of companies to go with that offer far superior service. Call your failure corporate greed.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
A subcontractor installed what is a past and run job. I thought all was well but when I had to break a window to get in my house, nothing happened. I called ADT and was rudely treated. I was told I had to pay for any upgrades. They did send out a tech and he even said it was a poor job but when I filed a complaint with our Attorney General, he recanted I’m still fighting them and have to hire private security people to write up what ADT knows. They suck!
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
Three times in 3 months, the system has broken and it takes 2 weeks for a technician to be scheduled to come; and then each time, they cancel day of. Meaning I have to take work off to sit home for a 5 hour window and then have them cancel day of. Even worse, when they do come and "fix" it, it breaks a few days later (alarms go off when no window or door are open, often in the middle of the night). And when you call, there is no central manager to deal with the problem. A thief robbing my house couldn't rob me more than ADT does. I'm paying for a service that never works. I am currently on hold with them again and after I write this, I'm going to find a better company and dump ADT.

Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
I called ADT to cancel service at our home in CA 4 months ago as we were remodeling and turned off our landline. The representative talked me into not closing my account entirely but choosing a "Construction Hold”. She said they would turn it off (put my account on hold) for up to 3 months, but (and) if I chose to turn it back on, this would save me having to pay a new start charge. I agreed after confirming that it would not automatically restart as we were considering renting that home out and moving to Las Vegas.
Three months passed, and on Dec. 07, I noticed on my credit card that they charged me again? I called and asked for a refund as I had not asked for service to start. We have rented our CA home as of Dec. 01 and now live in Las Vegas. The rep I talked to confirmed that there was a note in the file that service was not to be resumed unless the customer requested that it be resumed. He apologized and promised a refund would be issued. Since then I had had multiple phone calls from ADT trying to get me to start service in Vegas. (We do have ADT system in our home here.) But as of today (Jan. 3), no refund has been applied to my credit card.
So I called again today. I held for twenty minutes and then talked to snarky Jeremy who informed me that I had no refund coming, that I did not choose a construction hold, and that I chose to use a $90.00 + credit that I had (that I was never told about until today) to pay the three hold months? He also said the service was never turned off? Why would I use my $90.00 credit to pay for three months when I did not have a landline? If I had been made aware (and I was not) that I had a credit, I would have used it toward the cost of turning the ADT back on in CA or in Vegas, not to pay three months of nothing! He transferred me to a higher-up who was equally rude. Jeremy and his superior informed me that there was not a note in the file that the service was not to be resumed unless requested by the customer? Why would the rep two weeks ago say there was a note in the file, if there was not?
I am on this account although the contract was signed by my partner, Walt. I am the first person to be called. I paid the bill for five years, etc. The last person I talked to today asked me the password on the account. I told her. Then, she said she could not even close the account now without talking to Walt! Walt was right here and told her off too. I am not even sure that the account is closed yet? I expect to be billed for another month! This whole matter makes ADT look like fools. We have already purchased two D-link IP Motion Detector Cameras for $120.00 (one-time cost), which are linked to our computer and smart phones. Our phone notifies us if anyone enters our home, and we can actually see them on our phone! With today’s smart phones, we don't need ADT. So it would be smart for them to stop being jerks to their customers.
Reviewed Jan. 2, 2013
I had an ADT system installed in April 2012. I paid for the system and have been paying for monitoring since then. The alarm was nonfunctional after two days, and they sent a tech out to repair. He fixed it for two hours, and system has never functioned since that two hours. I have made many calls to ADT with promises of refund on monies spent on system and monitoring, and I am still paying every month. I just got off the phone with them again and was told that if I cancel my service, they will bill me $850.00 for termination, for a service that has never worked. I have been trying for months to resolve this and can’t seem to get them to stop billing me and give me a refund I am entitled to for a non-working system.
Reviewed Jan. 2, 2013
I would never recommend ADT to anyone! Stay clear of this company. Your house could be burning down and they would put you on hold and an hour later, tell you that they could maybe answer your questions the next day or soon after. ADT has the worst customer service I've ever experienced and that's saying something. The fire alarm was going off in my house for over an hour while I was on hold and treated very rudely by the support teams. One lady told me it was hard for her to hear me and told me very rudely to go outside since it was kind of hard for her to hear. I live in Iowa, it's freezing literally.
After being hung up on numerous time, being put on hold for who knows how long and being told that maybe I should try calling back tomorrow during normal working hours, I was beyond frustrated. They only started listening after I threatened to call my lawyer. Then they suddenly became more amicable. I don't pay that much to be ignored while my house has alarms blaring so loud that I still have tinnitus. Once again, worst service. I'm currently looking to replace them. ADT is proof that the bigger the company doesn't mean better.
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2012
ADT is the thief! I was broken into today at 1PM, Saturday afternoon. The thieves stole a computer and house keys with the alarm remote on it. I called ADT, and no one can help you until two weeks from now. In the meantime, the thieves can deactivate their worthless alarm and come in and have us for dinner whenever they want. ADT could care less. What a joke of a security company. I will cancel first thing Monday morning. I don't care what it costs. Best thing I can do is tell my story to friends and family and all of you reading this. Don't ever sign up with ADT. They don't care about your security, just your money.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2012
I called ADT to perform a test of the system. The tech told me that they are not receiving the signal from my system. He said they will send someone to fix it, but it would take six days unless I agreed to pay overtime fees because my call is not considered an emergency call. I think this is very poor that they will charge a customer for a brand new system that they installed four months ago. We are paying for monitoring, and they are not doing it. The supervisor did not even apologize. He just said okay, as he was wanting to end the conversation. Talking to the supervisor to send a tech without me having to pay was fruitless. Very frustrating and unfair. We have a contract with them for years, and this is how they treat they customers. Monitoring should be top priority.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2012
I am yet one more of ADT's victims. After buying our first home, we looked into an alarm system. I called, got the price quote, and made the appointment. The day of the appointment arrived with a disheveled man with a cut on his face knocking on my door. He showed me his badge and asked to use my restroom as he had cut himself shaving. So never having had an alarm installed, after he returned, I let him go to work installing the equipment I thought I had ordered. After installation, he sat down with my husband and me to tell us that if we didn't install additional equipment that someone lying in wait would attack us, and that we could be killed by an intruder if we didn't install another item.
So being a family with young children and a husband who travels, I fell for it and added a few other items. He then hastily showed us how to work the alarm pad and gave us 24 hours to try it out. He then had me sign all the paperwork. Here is where I feel like a fool. I didn't read the whole contract and I let him leave with blanks on the paper. I called corporate that same day to complain about how the man tried to sell me the extra equipment and his scare tactics. We got a few dollars back, but there we go, stuck for two years or pay an early termination fee.
Well, we got our first month's bill and everything looked fine until we got charged again in January, this time for a different amount. I called and as you can see from the vast amount of complaints, it's a ridiculous mess to try and get a hold of anyone. If you ask for a supervisor, you get the "I'm the supervisor for the floor." I can't tell you how this company has made my blood boil in the conversations I have had in dealing with this company. I have to hand it to them in that they have this down. They have you as soon as you sign. Then they give the runaround until you get tired of fighting.
Billing is ridiculous. I signed up for $35.99 a month and the first bill came in fine; however, they double billed in January and then started to charge me $44.99. I called many times and they kept saying that I signed up for that. I finally got a copy of the contract that I signed and would you believe that they filled in numbers? I was shocked that they could get away with this. So I called again and got the runaround yet again. No one ever calls you back. This is forgery. I called in Feb., March, April, July and August. In August, they raised my rate to $46.99 without telling me.
This month, I called again. No one seems to have any answers as to why someone could have put in numbers without my permission or how my rate was increased. Again, customer service is no help. Half the time, they route you to ridiculous phone numbers, none of which are correct. Then you get the "I'm the floor supervisor. There is no one above me." When I asked her for her supervisor's name and number, she said there was no one above her. I implore anyone who is thinking about an alarm. Do not use ADT!
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2012
I was with ADT for over 4 years. My alarm and panic button started going off recently. These false alarms resulted in police checks and neighbor complaints. ADT refused to send anyone out to check the system until a week later. I asked to speak with the management. The management instructed me to bypass the only doors covered by the system or pay over $200 to get someone out to check my system. ADT's customer service is very poor. They said they could send a tech out for more money, but they were not available otherwise. I am cancelling my service with this company. I am currently looking at another company.
Reviewed Dec. 21, 2012
I have been with ADT for over 15 years and I can tell you that they have the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. And to get an appointment to have something fixed is totally unacceptable. It is more than three weeks out. Ridiculous! I would say go with another company, even if more money. And this company just became public. Their CEO is totally clueless as to the level of customer complaints.
Reviewed Dec. 21, 2012
I have asked this company to stop calling me. They tell me that they will remove my number and never do it. They keep calling me and harassing me with their recorded messages. They have various levels of customer service that never helps.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2012
After reading all the complaints, I just canceled with ADT on Dec. 19, 2012. Hopefully, I have no issues. They do have lousy customer service. At one time, I was trying to get alarm service for my kids, and OMG the runaround they gave me just to get price quote. They had me transferring to billing, then to sales and still they could not tell me the cost without having someone physically looking at the property. I was so frustrated I just said never mind. Stay clear of ADT Company.
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2012
False entry - It is with regret to complain about 2 of your employees working in the Westfield Crescent area in Yeovil, Somerset, that on Monday evening, 17/12/12 at 8:15pm, they arrived at my neighbor’s front door and walked into her porch way and opened her front door and walked in. When asked what they wanted, they said they were selling security home alarms. My neighbor is an old lady in her 80's. This was very frightening for her as you can imagine. Under no circumstances should they have done this. There has been a few burglaries around the area so you can imagine how scary this was for her. I expect you to send her a letter of apology today, 19/12/12. If this is not received by Monday morning 24/12/12, then you leave me with no alternative but to report your company to the police. They should not be visiting homes at that time of night when it’s dark especially of old people. The address to send the letter to is **. I expect this to be received by 24/12/12. The lady’s name to address it to is Thelma.
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2012
Zero customer service - I have been an ADT/Broadview customer for years. Over the last year, I've noticed that they don't care to spend enough money to have call centers properly staffed. If you have technical issues, good luck. You'll be on the phone forever. Of course, the sales and marketing lines are answered right away, but forget it if you have problems. Horrible. Choose any other company. Rip off.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2012
ADT has deceptive billing practices. They overcharged me and renewed my contract with them after I asked to cancel. When they could not collect the renewal fee from me, they sent me to collections where it dropped my perfect credit score and now I am being harassed by collection agencies. For a company trying to build referral business, I say you are doing it wrong.
Reviewed Dec. 13, 2012
I contacted ADT to have an alarm system installed, and a few weeks later, an alarm installer was sent to my home to install the system. At that time, I signed a contract with ADT and he installed the units on the contract. Contract price was for $199.00, and two weeks later, I got a bill from ADT for $424.00, plus my credit card was charged for the monthly fee after I had provided different bank account information for the automatic debit. I called several times and spoke to the customer service department and was told to send in a copy of the contract and that they would update the automatic debit information as well as my bill amount. I did what they asked and still this month an automatic charge was on my credit card and my bill still reflects the total $424.00 amount even though I have explained to them that only $199.00 worth of items were actually installed on my home.
The customer service is awful, and this company is ripping people off. I have never been so disgusted with a corporation. I have given them several opportunities to fix the problem and instead they continue to illegally charge my credit card and breach the contract that I have signed with their corporation. I have tried everything to get them to fix the mistake, and I get shuffled from one person to the next with no one able to help me. It has been insane. I want to pay the install price and my monthly bill as agreed, but ADT just keeps ripping me off, leaving me no choice but to stop paying all together.
Reviewed Dec. 12, 2012
I had a system installed 3 years ago by an ADT subcontractor. It never worked right from day 1. After several calls and a few tries to repair it, they could not get it fixed and wanted to keep me locked into a 3-year contract until I told them I was going to sue them in small claims court. They agreed to cancel the contract. I contacted ADT again and told them I wanted an ADT employee to install a new system. I paid the $99.00. They sent out a salesman that sold me a system that would not work in an unheated garage. Then the installer took out my old system and told us it was a 2003 model and outdated. I told him that’s impossible. I just had this system installed 2 years ago. He showed us a date on the system - 2003 mfg. date, so I got scammed by their subcontractor.
But when ADT’s employee installed, he took the old system with him after this system not working right. They told me it would cost another $35.00 more to install the new system. I agreed. They sent out a different installer and he could not get it installed. I was very mad at this point. I asked to talk to a supervisor for days. No one called me back. I called Visa to file a dispute for faulty work. I found out they put over $600.00 of charges on my card without my consent. I plan on suing for the 3 days of lost wages and all my money back and I want this junk out of my home and a cancellation of the 3-year agreement. My advice to all new ADT consumers: read the reviews and do your homework. This many people are not making up lies or stories. ADT went down the crapper with the company. I had them in my other home for years in FL and they used to be pretty good. Now I would not ever let ADT install an alarm in my dog house.
Reviewed Dec. 12, 2012
My husband called and made an appointment for ADT to install the system on Saturday. They said they would be here at 7:30. At 7:45, they called and canceled and said they could not come until Thursday. I called US Security today and they told me they also deal with ADT but could be out here tomorrow morning at 8. I told them someone was already scheduled for Thursday. They told me all I had to do was call and cancel, so I did. At 8:30 tonight, they called and said there was an error. It turns out just because I canceled, they have to wait until they close the call before they could come out and it could take up to 30 days. They already took $108 out of the account and said unless I go to another company, I would have to wait; however, they won't return my money for at least 14 days! This is bad when a security company made me feel that I'm not secured!
Reviewed Dec. 11, 2012
I invested in a home security system. The salesman had a great "pitch" and I put my complete trust in his knowledge in securing my home as it is rather large. I was to get a Buy One Get One Free smoke detector which I never got. And after installation, the tech tested the system only to tell me that I wasn't going to be able to hear the alarm go off because of where it was installed in the back part of my house and that I would need to invest in another product that would cost me another $100. I called the salesman who said he would talk to his boss and get back with me, and he never did.
I texted him a few days later, and he said he completely "dropped the bomb" and forgot me again. I asked that he have his boss contact me, and he said he would. I never got a return call from him either. So rude! I invested a lot money and trust in a company that I can't even feel secure in my home and I can't get anyone to contact me! I would never recommend anyone to this company!
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2012
My wife & I have been ADT customers for several years because ADT acquired the two previous companies that we used. When moving into a new house we transferred our contract to the new house. Recently we replaced three outside doors that had wireless door sensors. The plastic casing for the sensors could not be salvaged by the internal transmitters although they still work. However, they cannot be installed in the new doors because the plastic case is not available. The plastic transmitter case is about the size of a tube of lipstick.
ADT says I have to buy all new transmitters (plastic case and the electronic board/battery) and that they will not sell me just parts - I have to have a service call. They have tied together both parts I don't need and service I don't want. For the cost of replacing three small plastic cylinders, it will cost me about $300! I believe that this "tie-in" sale is illegal. Putting the old transmitter in a new case is easier than changing batteries in the wireless system. This is ethically wrong. ADT is too big and does not seem to care about their customers. Unless ADT provides what I need at a reasonable cost, I will never deal with them again!
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2012
I was a Broadview Security customer for years and was very happy with the service that they provided. Then ADT took over (insert scary music here). It has been absolutely terrible. I recently relocated and will be in an apartment until we buy a house in our new location. We are in the process of selling our home at the former location, and have received word from our real estate agent that the alarm is constantly beeping. I called to cancel the service so that we can show the house without interruption, and was told that we could not cancel at that time and to call back because an agent wasn't available. Huh?
The person who answered the phone couldn't cancel, even though I was passed through to the Relocation department? I forgot about it, paid two more months of service that was not in use, and then called back again to cancel. I was passed on to the Relocation department, an agent answered the phone and then promptly disconnected the call. What? I waited on hold for 10 minutes to be hung up on.
At this point I was furious. I called back, and the agent who answered said that she could help me. After 10 minutes of verifying my information, she put me on hold for another 10 minutes, and then took my number and advised that they were experiencing high call volumes, and an agent would call back to cancel my service and discuss discounts with me. I told her, "I don't care about the discounts, just cancel the service." She told me that I would have to wait to receive a call back from an agent that I am pretty positive will never call back, because they never have before. Prior to this, I never had an issue. Now, I would rather booby trap my house with dental floss to ward off intruders than deal with this asinine company. Buyer, please beware.
Reviewed Dec. 8, 2012
We had an appointment with Jant **, a salesperson of ADT in Auburn, WA. Her appointment was for 11am and she did not show or call us until 11:45 am that day. She was rude. She rescheduled for 1pm that day. She again was rude and her personality **. For long-time customers like myself, that was not right for someone to be working for ADT. They should be presentable for the company and not angry or rude. That person should go back to school for manners and learn about customer service. Thank you!
Reviewed Dec. 6, 2012
I began shopping and pricing other alarm companies, because I wasn't happy with the price that ADT gave me to switch over to wireless service. I called ADT about three weeks ago and asked for prices and also inquired about what I would need to do if I wanted to cancel. The salesperson gave me the number and said all I had to do was call. I found another alarm company with a better installation price and scheduled an install with that company. I called today to cancel my ADT service and was informed that there was a 30-day notification for cancellation. When I called originally for my quote and to ask about the procedure to cancel, I was not told that there was a 30-day cancellation required. I'm cutting off my home phone line next week, so they are basically stealing money from me - my new company is installing today, and I will have no home phone line for ADT to monitor from. I consider it fraudulent sales practice that they purposely didn't tell me about the 30-day cancellation requirement when I called and spoke to a sales rep about my service. It was obvious they were hoping they could use that as a ploy to keep me as a customer.
Reviewed Dec. 5, 2012
I wish I did this check before I signed up with these folks. I got an old outdated system (per ADT) and I have had nothing but problems. They (Protect Your Home) have been here 6-7 times trying to get this system to work and so far they can't. They don't call back and they don't show up for their appointments. I had one tech after debating with my wife on why should he come to the house to fix my system. He called up and said he was running late and would be there within the hour. He never showed. Buyer beware.
Reviewed Nov. 30, 2012
ADT withdraws payment before they even send a tech out to evaluate what is needed in a particular home. A yearly fee is calculated for what they feel your home will need. When the tech arrives, he states different and more sensors are needed, so all the extra frills are deleted and end up costing more than originally quoted. The affiliates (sub-contractors) are based in another state. When I cancelled my contract within the 72 hours, cooling off period, the installation company managers were irate. The tech came to remove the equipment and literally tore the sensors off the walls, and didn't put the furniture back, etc. I am now left with holes in the walls.
I put the remote in the box that he had left (never using it or the equipment). The tech went through the box while I was in another room and told me to empty the garbage in the box. They said the remote was not where I had put it and would happily charge me over $89 since it was lost. That is how this company is getting back their original installation fee. ADT deals in fraud, bait and switch, threatening tactics and cares nothing about the customer. The sales people will do anything to make a deal, and when they have access to your bank account, you are dead in the water. The persons at my installing company were abusive, rude, and stop at nothing to get money back when I cancelled.
Reviewed Nov. 29, 2012
My elderly mother had ADT for many years since she lived alone. About two years ago, she required 24/7 live-in care, and needing to conserve money, we cancelled the ADT service. My mother passed away last February, and we started the difficult task of emptying the house of all the contents and preparing it for sale. I called ADT and told them what I wanted to do. No problem and no mention of three-year obligations. I met the sales guy at the house and told him about my mother and my situation and what I was doing.
I only wanted the alarm until I could sell the house. He knew that. He made one call, and since all of the hardware was already there, it was a ten-minute deal. Well, a few months later, I sold the house and called to cancel. Now, I see the other side of ADT. Now, suddenly, we are all about three-year contracts and I owe hundreds of dollars for a service they knew I would never need. I begged for help since I had explained my situation to them when I reactivated the system. ADT is full of creeps who will not inform you of relevant information. They turn nasty when you need help. I paid them their money and was glad to be rid of them. Anyone who does business with ADT is in for a headache sooner or later. Shame on this company.
Reviewed Nov. 27, 2012
I signed up with an agent for a two-year contract. Now, they say I have three-year contract with them. In order for me to cancel the contract, I have to pay 90% of the remaining balance for the three-year contract. When I contacted the local ADT office who signed me up to find out what is going on, the agent was not working there anymore. The owner or manager said he would investigate and follow up with me, but never did. Now, I am stuck with paying for the service that I cannot afford. In fact, during the first one and a half years of the contract, I rarely turned on my alarm. So, watch out people. If you need to have service with ADT, make sure you sign up with the corporate office. Also, when I call the ADT customer service to ask for their copy of my contract, they said they do not have my contract on file, yet they know I have a contract with them. Isn't that something?
Reviewed Nov. 25, 2012
I should have backed out when the installer didn't have all my equipment the day of the installation (Note: ADT subcontracts their install work). A half day off from work turned in an entire day as the installer showed up at noon rather than morning and by the time he finished the work, day was over. When he left, he left about 100' of wiring hanging out of the bedroom wall and coiled up on the floor "for a quick install of the rest of the equipment." Another 2" of wiring was sticking out of the living room wall. No idea why. I had to take additional time off work for the installation of the rest of my equipment. Securing the final pieces of equipment was no easy task either as the salesman who sold me the system was no longer working for ADT, so the messages I was leaving on his phone went unheard.
Weeks later I finally got in touch with a manager who had to do investigative work to confirm that yes, I had paid for glass breakage and no it wasn't installed. The second installer finished the glass breakage install, but never filled the holes in the walls. Then the glass breakage stopped working properly. My husband took time off from work to have an installer fix it. A couple months later, the keypad system stopped working. I took more time off from work to have an installer fix it. The function to remotely turn on and off my system has never worked either. I was told it was an app for my smartphone, but it's actually a remote dial from anywhere. I still don't know - that feature cost an additional $200 and again it has never worked. After a rash of burglaries which prompted my purchase, I do not feel safe in my home and I do not feel it is secure when I leave. Big waste of money, big waste of time, big disappointment all around.
Reviewed Nov. 25, 2012
I signed up for ADT after being bombarded by mail from them just after moving into my new house in September 2011, despite my better judgment. The system was installed by a contractor (ADT does not tell you that these guys are not employed by the company until problems start showing up). Over the course of the last 14 months, the system never properly functioned, as false alarms go off on pretty much a daily basis at all points in the house. I've had them look at the problems on multiple occasions, had at least 6 different technicians come over this time, and everyone blamed the guy before him, without actually fixing the false alarm problem.
The last guy, who showed up a couple of weeks ago, said that the original system was an old model, and should have never been installed in the first place. This, after 14 months of payment, constant phone calls, a $250 overseas roaming bill due to the false alarm calls to my US phone while traveling, and an ungodly time wasted on talking to ADT personnel, being put on hold, making appointments, waiting for fixes, etc.! I'd like to know if there's an agency that regulates crooks like this, and how to contact it.
Reviewed Nov. 24, 2012
Absolutely horrible company and service. Stupid us, we signed a contract. Never, never, never ever sign a contract with this pathetic company. Alarms go off for no reason (ADT Security Services). The people are incompetent. You never speak to the same person twice, so every time you call you have to explain things over and over because they do not keep accurate records. We turned the system off after two months, but even then the alarms went off. We keep paying for a service but have none. Never never deal with this company. The best thing that can happen to the world is that ADT goes out of business!
Reviewed Nov. 24, 2012
My service never worked properly from day one. I continuously complained and was told I would be charged for tech calls. I was constantly harassed for the error codes sent to the monitoring facility. When my three-year contract was up (February 2011), I called to cancel services. They continued to pull money from my checking account. I put a block on my checking account so they couldn't do so. They changed the amount and continued to pull money out monthly - oftentimes, causing an overdraft fee. I wrote a complaint to them, requesting the cancellation and a refund for money unlawfully withdrawn from my account, but nothing was done.
Once again, I blocked the amount being pulled; once again, they upped the amount charged. I finally wrote them via certified mail. I requested a history of my account, informed them once again of my desire to cancel the account and my problem I had with the fact that my account was not canceled properly when I called them in February 2011. They replied with a bill for the amount of $238.92, and a form to fill out for my FOIA request with a fee of $30. The $238.92 is for the total amount of times I did successfully block them from billing me out of my checking - by blocking an exact amount from clearing my checking account (Plus late fees, I assume).
I was requesting the account activity to show that my alarm has not worked successfully since the beginning and that it has not even been set in over 4 years. It would send false alarms to the police when set to away, and it would send false alarms to the fire department on random. I never updated my phone number with them because of the constant harassing calls from the false alarms and error code calls! Now, my main problem is they want me to pay this past due amount that I refuse to pay, and they are going to turn over to collections. In turn, it is going to negatively affect my credit. I feel that it is immoral of them to make me pay. I completed my contract on a service and device that never worked as promised by them. I feel that they owe me a refund for any money I paid them after February of 2011. Every time I called and/or wrote at the same time contacting my bank to block the charges, I thought I was done with them.
I finally realize how ruthless they are. They have raised the rates on me 4 times. I have requested my services canceled 4 times! Finally, when I sent a certified letter threatening to take legal action, they told me it will take 30 days for the change to take effect, and that I still have to pay 1 month monitoring service! It is now November 2012 and my first cancellation attempt was February 2011 (the contracted was dated 2/6/08) so 3 years was up.
Reviewed Nov. 23, 2012
I called on 11/12 Monday and spoke to Judah and was told nothing about ADT being involved with "Protect your Home". One was doing the sales part and one was monitoring the system. To make a long story short, after making my appt. and the salesman (from Protect your Home) came to my home, he was not very pleased at me not buying everything he said we needed and when I told him that I wanted a bill sent to me every month, well, that was something else. He didn't ask me before making out the paperwork for a draft to come out of my checking acct. every month. So when I said that I wanted a bill sent out, he said, "I will have to start all over and it will be another $1.00 a month.” Well, he was so upset. I said, “Just keep it like it is.”
Well, the very next morning, $110.37 came out of my acct. This was the beginning of this ADT acct. and do you think I was going to stay with a company that does not explain anything? I asked a manager about sales tax on the monthly payment and he said, "Oh no, there is no sales tax in the state of Tennessee” and he was speaking from Protect your Home and not ADT. He was wrong, so what I am trying to say is, this company ADT or Protect your Home does not train their people well enough at all. Do not tell a customer something, especially if it is about their money, if you are not sure.
Reviewed Nov. 22, 2012
Not receiving accounts via email as requested 3 months ago - Charisma Nursing Durban has contacted your office several times to request statements online for monthly payment. I have phoned Durban, JHB, and Cape Town. To date, have not paid your account due to the fact that our request is not met. I presume ADT has enough money? Please could someone contact me so that I can sort this issue and we can make payments? I will not be liable for any interest on these payments due to lack of assistance from ADT accounts department.
Reviewed Nov. 20, 2012
Protect Your Home came to put a security system in my home on Sept 27. After having it act up continually for a week and after them replacing the system three times, they decided to remove it completely. I had to pay them upfront, but my refund is taking almost two months due to company error and it's still pending. I would never recommend this slip shod company! I have since purchased an alarm system from Guardian Alarm and am extremely happy with it.
Reviewed Nov. 20, 2012
Trying to cancel service with ADT is problematic to say the least. Go online, and there's nowhere to cancel service. So you send them an email through their site to cancel service (logged into your account). They respond requiring 30 days written notice with a fax number and alternate mailing address. Fax in the cancellation, and they conveniently "never" got it. The net result is you end up getting billed for more services. Basically, it's a scam to keep charging you for services. I would avoid ADT like the plague they are. Besides continuing to provide services and "losing" cancellation requests, it's likely that the police will not respond to the alarms anyway. (Side note, we did have one alarm case where ADT said they would call dispatch - we were not home, so for all we knew, the alarm was valid - but the police never came.)
Reviewed Nov. 19, 2012
I signed up for my fifth alarm and it will be the last. My last house alarm system I was told I should install an alarm even though I was only going to live there only 10 months. I was told I can move the alarm to my new house. So I got the alarm system. When it's time to move, I was advised that to move my alarm, I need to pay for a new set up fee which is the same price as getting a new alarm. When I called customer service, they told me they will talk to a supervisor who simply answered I need to call a different #. I called and they told me it has to go through my local office Springfield, MO.
I called Springfield, MO and they said I can cancel and pay fees. I decided I will cancel all five of my accounts, and they said, "Don't do that. Talk to our regional manager in St. Louis, MO office." I called that office looking for ** (I prefer not to use his name) and left messages. Customer service supposedly said they will email. Five days later, still nothing. I have a home that I no longer live in but still paid for an alarm. Why is this ADT company so inconsistent? All they care about is signing new contracts. I will never sign up with ADT again and will cancel all accounts if this is not fixed.
Reviewed Nov. 18, 2012
I moved from ** in March 2012 and my ADT account was transferred to the new address at ** as I was told. I kept doing payments online (March and June 2012) but the payments were posted to the old account which ADT never cancelled. When I received the first statement for the new address, I noticed no payments were posted. So, I started calling customer service to try to have them to cancel the old account and transfer any payments done after March to the new account. I stopped making payments to the new account trying to have this resolved first. And since June, I have spent hours and hours on the phone with customer service representatives that said the amount paid in the old account was going to be transferred.
On November 14, 2012, I received a letter of cancellation of service because of non-payment, that my balance is $1,614.02 because of contract cancellation policies and that my contract has been cancelled. Today, I’m home alone with my kids and no monitoring service. I do not wish to restore the contract with ADT - the service has been the worst, but I am not paying the cancellation balance they are requesting. First, because I did not cancel the contract, they did. And second, because the correct balance on my account as of November 2012 should be $473.92, less the payments made to the old account between March and June 2012.
For research purposes, I spoke with the customer service representatives Jessie, Bratt, Vicky and Madoka. I also wrote down the date 10/09/2012 at 9:43am. Also, the name of the person who did the transfers of accounts is Dulce **. Since she was the one who made my new contract and was supposed to cancel the previous one, I tried to contact her a few times to get some help from her but she never did. Her response was that she did not work on the department anymore. Please help! This is very frustrating. ADT does not have an office that I can go to try to have this resolved once and for all. Everything needs to be done by phone and after six months of trying, it has not worked.
Reviewed Nov. 17, 2012
To everyone who signs up with ADT security, here's information from me that would be helpful to anyone who will either sign up for ADT Security or look elsewhere. ADT Security has a payment policy in the contract that you and the representative that installed the equipment sign off on and that asks you which day of the month would you like your payments to be withdrawn from your bank account. The customer gives the representative the day of each month, and now you're officially set and the installation is complete (not quite). Next month comes, and you notice that no payment has been withdrawn from your account yet. So you call customer service and explain to them that no payment has been withdrawn from your account yet, and they tell you that an ADT authorized dealer has not picked up your contract yet.
Suggestion: leave that month's payment in your account according to them. (However, you may have something you need to do with it.) Next month, same scenario as last month. Next month, now you can't understand why it's taking so long. By that time, they may have found an authorized dealer that has picked up your contract. So now you say finally someone has picked up your contract and so now that's accomplished and you're on your way, except there's one more thing. Since it took them so many months to come up with a dealer to handle your contract, guess what, the months that you (the customer) didn't pay will come out your account in that month, separately, payments without notice because they (ADT) took months for them to find an authorized dealer to handle your account, plus an additional month to put you ahead, which may not be on the day of the month that you want the payment withdrawn on.
So you (the customer) are responsible because of their negligence, which is not your fault. How's that for customer service? What I'm saying to anyone who reads my comment and deciding if you sign up with ADT or not is that first payment may or may not be a guarantee that next month. However, once your contract is picked up, they'll help you bring your account current by withdrawing what you owe from your account. However, the choice is still yours. That's the experience that I had.
Reviewed Nov. 13, 2012
Well they said it would take about 6 to 8 weeks to get my $50 rebate. I still haven't gotten it after 4 months. I called them and e-mailed them; still no rebate. Then when they installed my system, I was going to write a check and he said they would take it out of my account. Two months later I wonder if I would get a late past due notice about the late installment payment. I never received a bill. Is their security like their Sales and Billing? Read the reviews before you think about dealing with this so-called company.
Reviewed Nov. 12, 2012
I originally signed up for a Brinks Home Security System, which became Broadview. I was very happy with the professionalism and customer service of this original company. Unfortunately, ADT purchased Broadview and since then, things have been horrible. After accidentally setting off the alarm in my home, ADT never called my phone, which the previous company did promptly. If they aren't monitoring my security system, what am I paying for? I recently needed to add an additional building to my policy and when I called ADT for what should have been an easy sale, they managed to interrupt me and yell at me to the point that they lost the sale and my current business with them. I will never use ADT ever again, ever.
Reviewed Nov. 11, 2012
I worked two jobs and was gone a lot, so ADT showed up one day wanting to sell a unit. She wanted peace of mind. She was promised a lot of things that was all untrue. She was told if the unit wasn't working, they would know. So they were gone in no time. After installing, the door sensors fell off. We haven't even got to use the alarm; they won’t repair it either. We just want it out, but they sent their lawyers after us. We had to pay a renewal fee and still don't have a working alarm. They prey on the emotions of people and don't keep their promises.
Reviewed Nov. 10, 2012
We installed ADT in our home complete with a fire sensing smoke detector. Our home burnt down even with alarm system, completely, and ADT threatened lawsuit if we did not pay over $600+ for the entire 2-year contract. We did have to pay the entire amount (2 years) even though home totally burnt down.
Reviewed Nov. 10, 2012
For the last 10 or 12 days, our ADT alarm goes off in the wee hours of the morning - initially 2 am or so then 1 am after the recent time change. I was told to enter cancel twice which works. I was told it was a server problem and IT said the fix will be done in 3 days. It is still going off 12 days later. It wakes me up every night and I can't get back to sleep. I am exhausted, stressed and falling asleep at work. The folks running IT at ADT should be fired. You would think that customer service would have contacted me to say they did not have a fix. So I called again and they said to enter a 3-digit code (holding the last digit until alarm beeps) which they said may or may not work. I will know tonight.
I asked if I would get a refund for the aggravation and loss of sleep. They basically told me tough luck. Their customer service department and ADT as a whole is a rotten company that does not care about its customers. I think a class action suit is in order. Here is a list of competitors: Monitronics International, Inc.; Stanley Security Solutions Inc.; Protection One, Inc.; Pvt1 = Advanced Security & Controls Inc. (privately held); Pvt2 = Bosch Security Systems, Inc. (privately held).
Reviewed Nov. 9, 2012
I started with Brinks, which got bought out by Broadview, which recently got bought out by ADT, which is where the trouble started. My motherboard died in the beginning of July. That’s right, 4 months ago. I have called repeatedly to get this fixed. I have scheduled several service calls. Twice they actually called to let me know they weren't coming, the remaining times they didn't bother. The best part is they keep charging me! They won’t refund the money, but they'll offer a downtime credit for when my service is returned. I don't know when that will be. Every time I call they are rude and dismissive, like it is my fault their equipment broke. Please warn your friends and neighbors. I am trying to get some of my money back from the credit card that I used for auto-pay. Three months at $40/month, for a broken piece of equipment.
Reviewed Nov. 5, 2012
I am an ADT Security customer. I've been one for the last 18 months. My first 12 months were fine, till the system just started going off for no reason even in the middle of the night. I called customer service, and they told me to change the batteries. That worked good for one day and then, all over again, alarm goes off for no reason, then it says garage door open and the door isn't even open or system failure, or living room failure, etc. If you call customer service, the first thing they want is to let you know, no matter what, it’s going to cost you $25.00, yet I pay $50.00/month. That doesn't matter; the first thing is it's going to at least cost you $25.00. I will say this, they better get all they can because as soon as my contract is up, they can have it, throw it in the trash, burn it or whatever they choose cause I want it out of my house. Also, just because I have to rate this with a star, I give it two thumbs down only because that is all I have - two thumbs.
Reviewed Nov. 3, 2012
After owning a $2,500 ADT home alarm system, it has been nothing but trouble and expense. Do not place this troublesome system in your home. Here's the list of problems I've had. I have had numerous false alarms which interrupt my work on human hearts - somewhat important work, huh? The keypads are designed that only an engineer or an ADT tech knows the sequences of codes to produce a desired result. Very user-unfriendly, in fact, the best you can hope is that you can arm and disarm the thing (and I also work with complex high-tech medical technology that most people only see on a PBS special). But my ADT system is the most complex thing in my life.
Imagine someone who reads ECGs and works in complex cardiology admitting that. Do you think you'll figure it out? The last straw was tonight. My granny flat system keypad started chiming at 1AM to the chagrin of my renter. ADT was able to tell me over a phone call how to shut it off since disarm code did nothing. It went off ten minutes later. A subsequent call shut it off again, but ADT wanted me to locate the battery box and power transformer now. I had to then crawl through the attic to locate the battery box, which was locked by the installer, who never gave me the key. I easily pulled the locked door open and unplugged the battery, but the pad still had power from a transformer I couldn't locate. I finally had to rip the console off the way and pull the control wires out to silence it. I am having the tech come Monday to locate this transformer and kill the system.
I will remove my console and wallboard the holes. I'm done and out $2,500 (not counting the monthly service fees). I am an ex-military Vietnam vet and overqualified on anything that shoots ammo. So I also own a dog (and shoot more than "well") several semiautomatic weapons, which are far more effective than a chirping alarm at taking down an intruder. That is what I am protecting my family with now. You can buy a lot of ammo and a few semiautomatic weapons with $2,500. Do not buy one of these POS systems. You will regret it. It's nothing but frustration, aggravation and expensive trouble. Mine is going into the landfill after Monday.
Reviewed Nov. 2, 2012
We called on numerous occasions to repair ADT’s faulty equipment installed just months prior. No one called or showed up to any of the appointments. The equipment itself kept malfunctioning and giving false alarms, to which the neighbors and police department were not too pleased with. Now that we refused to keep their service and equipment, they are charging us a cancellation fee of $775.73 for early termination. My point is this: if you give the customer something that works from the beginning and provide honest service with technicians who actually show up when asked, you don't need to put early cancellation clauses in your contract because people are happy with your service. What happens to those folks that lose their homes due to unforeseen circumstances such as financial hardship or natural disaster? I warn those who even think of using ADT. Buyer, beware!
Reviewed Nov. 1, 2012
We switched our business account to ADT, thinking that a big company would provide great service. Boy, were we wrong. The alarm system went down several times the first couple weeks. We were forced to leave our establishment un-secured overnight several times because ADT does not provide "same day service calls." They tried really hard to get our business, but after we signed a 3-year contract, everything changed. Their service department is the worst I have ever had to work with. I hate everything about this company and would never recommend it to anyone. Save your self the pain and go with anyone but ADT. After reading the contract a little closer, I realized what a bunch of crooks they really are. How can they offer a security system and not be liable for any damages if the system does not work?
Reviewed Oct. 31, 2012
I have been paying extra for a insurance offered by ADT. This was to cover all components, including batteries for wireless system. After being put on hold waiting for their tech to show up, he came around noon. He said the batteries were no longer covered and if the panel needed to be replaced, I would have to pay another $500. This company does not care about its clients. I had a top of the line ADT system that was supposed to be backed by support. When the tech didn't show up, I called and was notified that my contract had been sent to a sub-contractor? This is not the way you treat your paying and loyal customers.
Reviewed Oct. 24, 2012
In March 2012, we contacted ADT to get services transferred to our new house that we had purchased. Upon notification of our transfer, ADT sent a sales representative, Mary **, to meet with us at our new house on March 17. She produced a catalog of options for security systems and services. Mary pointed out the least expensive system and it was completely wireless. We explained that our system in our previous home was completely wired and that for peace of mind to us, we would pay the extra for a wired system. We completed the paperwork and set a date for the following weekend, March 24, to have the system installed.
On March 24 the installer, Josh **, came and installed the system. At the end of the job, Josh asked me to sign the paperwork that he had proving the job was completed and that we owed him $431.20. Before I signed, I noticed the door sensors. They were sticking out and looked hideous. That is when Josh told me that the system we had purchased was wireless. I explained to Josh that the system that we had purchased from Mary was to be a completely wired system. The sensors on the door were clearly not wired. Josh began to explain the system we purchased was only wired from the main box to the keypad and siren and all door sensors and motion detectors were wireless.
I was unsatisfied with the system and tried to contact Mary regarding this issue. Mary did not answer her phone and Josh refused to leave without payment and signature. Being pressured by Josh, I signed the paperwork so he would leave. We tried to contact Mary for several weeks before she finally called us back. When we told her of our dissatisfaction, she told us that in order to wire the system, ADT was going to charge us an additional $59.00 service call charge which we did agree to pay. She advised us at that time, that since this was going to be an extensive project, we would have to be the first appointment of the day on May 5, and that all sensors and detectors would be wired.
We agreed to be the first appointment of the day due to the fact that I had to work late that afternoon and that Paul (my husband) was leaving town that afternoon as well. On May 5, we were finally contacted by the technician, Doug **, at 12 noon where he informed us that he was wrapping up a job and that he would be heading out to our locations "shortly!" While on the phone, I questioned him about the length of the job, because I had to leave for work at 4. He said that it would be "no problem!" When Doug arrived at 2:00 pm, he advised me that he did not have enough time to completely wire our home and that we should have been scheduled as the first appointment of the day!
I explained to Doug that we were scheduled for the first call of the day and that is when his tone with me got rather aggressive. He was very bold in telling me that he had no idea why we would even want a wired system and that he has been in this business for over 20 years and he knows what he is doing. I then cut him off and asked him to leave my house. My husband and I made a decision at that point, that this was not the type of company that we wanted protecting our home anymore.
We contacted ADT's local office in Largo, Florida to cancel the service and explained what happened. We spoke with a woman who claimed to be the manager at that office. She stated that she could not cancel the contract but she would have someone from corporate/headquarters contact us. Several weeks later, we had no response from anyone with ADT. We contacted the local office again and we were given the same response as the previous call. While waiting for a response, we received several phone calls from ADT Billing department regarding our unpaid bill from our new and old location (which apparently was never cancelled after the transfer of service). ADT Billing stated that they would contact the appropriate person to cancel the contract and return a call to us. We are still waiting and keep receiving collection calls.
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2012
I am an ADT guard for the Torrance, CA office. They bragged about their great health/dental benefits and how well they take care of employees. On my first pay check I saw $15 missing and called HR. She explained it was for a 401k retirement package. I asked her to fax a copy of the document I signed requesting service and then forgot to follow up. Six months later I received a mail detailing where this money went. I called HR again and she told me I need to call the brokers and not her. I did and closed the account. One year later, there is no refund and as for ADT, there are no sick/personal days off. There’s no vacation pay. I just have a paycheck and a job. Please note if you call for an armed response, you won’t get it. ADT will con you for profit and yes, I will quit ADT as soon as I find a job.
Reviewed Oct. 22, 2012
As the owner of a NAPA Auto Parts store, we were approached by ADT for "preferred pricing". We signed a 3-year contract, paid for the equipment and installation and continued with the service for 5 years. After the 4th year, we began to hear of other security services in our area that were substantially less expensive, 50-65% less expensive! Since we had fulfilled our obligation, we called to discuss the termination process. This was in October - we originally signed our contract in August. ADT has in very small print, a clause that only allows the consumer to terminate the contract 30 days from the original date of signing. The term automatically renews for another year, and you are responsible for the entire balance. So, we had to wait until July (and make sure we sent a letter at least 30 days from the contract date) in order to terminate. We paid our last quarterly bill, and then received a partial bill for the 22 days in August. Now I'm a little angrier and threw away the bill. Now I have a letter from a collection agency. Funny, I'll pay it, but would like to warn anyone even considering ADT. We have a better service for 1/3 of the price!
Reviewed Oct. 21, 2012
Don't use Protect Your Home of South Windsor. They redid my alarm system this week and forgot the front door. Isn't that the most important? Now, I can't leave the house because they don't work weekends. They are not good at customer service needs.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2012
Numerous times over the course of 5 years we have called ADT to disable these false chimes and they continued to run us around and not officially fix the issue. They sent people out to fix it and yet it was never solved. Over the years, it became so unbearable that it begin to go off randomly and we would have to constantly go and bypass the alarm. ADT has clear records telling us how to disable it. After 5 years, we decided to have ADT fix it correctly. We called ADT to come out and demanded service regarding this issue. The man said he couldn't fix it and would schedule a vendor meet with Verizon to better assist the problem. Upon him scheduling the vendor meet, I asked who is paying for the bill. He did not respond. We never authorized this work between the two vendors (ADT and Verizon).
ADT kept sending out different people to meet with Verizon to do the same thing over and over again. This is unauthorized work. We are not responsible for this bill. ADT is an unprofessional business that does not clearly organize themselves per client. They were not able to give us a statement with detailed descriptions as to what the services were all of the days they came out to fix our problem. The problem was never solved and then they hit us with a bogus bill of $1,616.68 with no proof as to what we were being billed for. No contract was signed and no authorization was given to set up a vendor meet. ADT set up the vendor meet on their own assuming we would be responsible for the bill. They did not discuss with us what was being done or how to go about the issue.
We constantly called ADT to talk to a customer representative to better assist us with this issue and to enlighten us about what we were being billed for and each time, not one of them were able to assist us. They jerked us around from extension to extension. No one helped. ADT claimed that an unauthorized installer was sent by us; however, it was ADT who sent the installer. ADT Security Services is now sending us service interruptions - final notice. They can't tell us what was the done the day the servicemen came to fix the problem, but they can call our phone numerous times a day asking for the money we so-called owe.
Reviewed Oct. 16, 2012
Due to my financial situation, I needed to cancel my monitoring service with ADT. My contract had been fulfilled so I was no longer obligated by contract to continue my service. It took over 3 months for my service to be stopped and in the meantime had to continue paying for service. I was told in my last phone call that I would be refunded a portion of my bill, but that has yet to happen.
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2012
Be aware that no matter how long you have been an ADT alarm customer, if your service is ever disconnected twice, you can never get it turned on again. Never. This is a company policy. Ripoff.
Reviewed Oct. 12, 2012
I’ve had ADT since 1999. I had no problems in Skokie, Illinois, but I found out after my system was installed in Eugene, Oregon that ADT does not notify police, but a security service. I felt they should have revealed that upfront when I signed up. I had to have service last month for a dead battery (I am not capable of standing on ladders and changing batteries). When I called, it was a 10-day wait for a service tech to come out. When I made the appointment, I was told I would have to pay for the battery, but I was not made aware ahead of time that I had to pay a service charge of $154 for the tech to come out.
I have been paying $4 a month for a 'service contract' for service calls, but this is not covered under that contract. Since I was not told when I made the appointment that I would be charged $154 just for the tech to come out, I think ADT is way out of line with their lack of communicating charges ahead of time and other pertinent revelations. Neighbors have had 'alarm events' they have not been notified of for a half a day. I’ve been researching other security systems online, and would advise anyone just to get the cheapest. All you need is an alarm going off loudly if someone tries to enter. Skip the overpriced, under serviced companies like ADT. One more problem with my ADT and I’m switching to a service for half the price with no more services than ADT offers for its pricing.
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2012
ADT is far from consumer-friendly. First of all, in September 2009 and to my dismay when I returned home from Afghanistan, I found that ADT had installed their home security system using both of my electrical outlets leaving me without a plug in for my workbench. What was the install fee they charged me for anyway? It sure wasn’t for them to install anything. I now had to be inconvenienced with having to use an extension cord for my workbench!
Secondly, when I had a carpenter replaced my doorway, I called ADT and requested that they reinstall my contact alarm to ensure that it was operating correctly and they wanted a service charge or they would not come out. Thirdly, when the ADT sales rep came to my house this week to give me a quote on installing outside cameras on my house, he showed me the price on his worksheet but was fast to take that worksheet with him and not give me a copy. I requested and he promised to e-mail me everything he had quoted me so that I could look at it. The sales rep never sent that sheet to me nor did he ever return my calls back to him.
Lastly, being fed up and after three strikes, I called to discontinue my service with ADT. The customer service rep informed me to read my contract as there was a thirty day termination notification plus an $8.00 charge on top of that. I feel sorry for that customer service rep having to work for a turd of a company like ADT! What a crappy outfit ADT turned out to be. I would never recommend this second rate to anyone again! Two thumbs down!
Reviewed Oct. 11, 2012
We had to fire ADT Security for lack of service. Although I pay monthly for maintenance, I couldn’t get a faulty sensor replaced! On 9/5, after more than a week of messing with 2 sensors, I made an appointment to have two faulty sensors replaced. We had already replaced the batteries, checked them for being loose, kept the batteries out for 5+ minutes, etc., and they were still sending error alerts. On 9/9, the ADT tech came out. He chose to replace only 1 sensor because the 2nd one was working right now. Within 12 hours, it was sending error signals again. We made an appointment for the following week; tech cancelled at last minute. I made three more appointments, and he showed up for none of them! After over a month and five appointments later, it was still sending faulty signals, and I was still unable to secure an exterior door. I finally had to hire another alarm company so I could fully secure my home! ADT was great at taking my money - poor at providing service. To add insult to injury, I didn’t even get credited for the month of service I couldn't use!
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2012
I got this service for my brother who lived in his own house, but was severely autistic and had caregivers coming and going all the time. My brother passed away three months after the service started. There were so many issues to take care of in terms of his affairs; I just kept the auto-pay going for about 7 more months even though the house was vacant.
I then called to cancel it, but they said it was a three year contract and I could not cancel without paying the remaining two years. I noted that my brother passed away and I could send the death certificate, and that I was his conservator. They said they didn't care because the account was in my name. I told them it was not in my name - it was in his name. They said it was in my name, and I couldn't find the contract so that was that. They refused to even consider graciously terminating the account because of a death. I was transferred to 3 people and no one even gave it a moment's thought. They said once you pay for a three-year contract, you need to pay up even if you move out of the country! The main linchpin was, they said the account was under my name, so I paid out nearly $1000 for termination.
Right after the payment, I actually found the paperwork - two sheets, both with my brother listed as the person who was having the system installed. I called and asked for a refund, but I was told that the auto-pay was in my name (my brother had no bank accounts) so as far as they were concerned it was my account, and that I could have altered any paperwork I had myself. Janice actually said that to me. Can you believe the audacity? Do not use this company. Every other auto-pay in place at my brother's (Direct TV, Comcast, etc.,) terminated the account when my brother passed. ADT will chase the money to your grave.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2012
After two months, I'm still waiting for ADT to phone me. I keep getting false alarms and no one wants or can help me what I must do. It's easy to take a client's money but the after services, don't use subcontractors that can't do the job. So it's easy to say they're going to charge me extra for the false alarms. I want to cancel my ADT but can't because this is a new contract.
Reviewed Oct. 9, 2012
When I signed up for ADT, I was not informed by the telephone representative that there was a three-year contract and if I moved, I could not move the equipment. When the serviceman installed the equipment, I was asked to sign a document that verified the installation but was not told that this was a three-year contract and that I could not move the equipment. When I relocated a year later, I called ADT to arrange for relocation. I was told that the equipment must stay in the current home and that I would have to purchase new equipment (that was about $900). I refused since I felt I already owned equipment. So for the past year, I have been paying $40 per month for disconnected service.
When I called recently to complain, I was told there would be an additional $436 early termination fee even though I have had no service for 10 months and did not plan to have any in the future. After 48 minutes on the phone and being passed around to 5 different ADT service people, I settled for a $167 early termination fee. ADT clearly failed to inform me of the policy regarding not being allowed to move my purchased equipment and charging me whole the system was disconnected. I have had to pay over $600 to ADT for a period during which they provided absolutely no service. I do not consider this a reputable business. Please consider other alternatives.
Reviewed Oct. 5, 2012
My ex-husband and I just divorced. I have exclusive right of possession of the house until either the house is sold or he pays me for my half of the house. Until such time, I had an ADT security alarm. I am the sole authorized user. This morning he went to the house and had all the locks changed. When ADT called the house (they were supposed to call my cell phone and not the house), he told them that we had recently divorced and he got the house. He talked to a manager and that person put the alarm on test mode and canceled the police call. I received an email, but no phone call. This has caused great upheaval as he is now in the house and I may no longer see the money I was to get prior to him being able to get into the house as per the judge's order. I had a password and code that my ex never knew of. I thought the whole idea of having a password was so that no changes could be made without my authorization. Now I have to go to the lawyer and fight this out. I am considering suing ADT as someone who had no authorization was able disarm the system.
Reviewed Oct. 4, 2012
I have had so many issues with this organization over the past 2 years that I could write a book about how not to run a business. ADT hides behind this wall of technical legal contracts that it forces in your face every time they do any service or provide any equipment. I have over $10,000 of equipment provided by ADT that is not operating as the salesperson represented to me that it would. There is fraud, misrepresentation, and you name it, this organization has done it.
Starting from installing sensors that did work with the system, pulse system that was faulty, damaging my property to replace equipment that would not communicate, cameras that didn't perform as represented, faulty installation involving electrical work that was described by other experts as dangerous, lack of property surge protection for sensitive equipment, service techs that are not even trained on the system they installed at my house, trying to tie a pulse system to a DVR camera system that was so bad it would not come up on the computer and not having the technical expertise to tie to the internet which was completely lied about by the sales person ...
Then, I finally scrapped the DVR/camera portion to just use the pulse system. I called and ordered 2 infrared cameras. The technicians dropped the cameras off at my office, so he wouldn't have to drive out to my house which is 30 min. drive out and back which I agreed to for his convenience. I signed a piece of paper and later when I got home, the cameras in the boxes were not the cameras I asked for. And they won't take them back and replace because I signed this paper accepting them, claiming they can't get their money back on the cameras either. The cameras are ADT equipment, never taken out of the box, could be easily used again without issue and these people will not replace them with what I wanted, which is more expensive equipment. So, I do these people a favor and they screw me.
I wish there was a way to go after this company, but the bottom line is, there are good alternatives which I am learning about and I hope this organization dies from the inside out from this kind of horrible customer relations. And this doesn't even start to cover the issues of the contract, the misrepresentations, the unqualified service techs and installers. This company really deserves to be investigated on 60 min. for its horrendous tactics.
The sad thing is as bad as my experience has been, when I read some of these complaints, I can see this is a corporate culture that is built into this company to screw the consumer for a profit. So nothing I say or do is going to fix this, except for this company to just be run out of business by a better company and I will do my part to make sure that happens. I would love an attorney to contact me about my issues.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012
I referred a customer to ADT. After installation (within the 72 hour cancellation window), my customer chose to cancel. From that time, 7 days ago till now, he has had no success in contacting anyone who will acknowledge that his cancellation fax was received (even though he has two successful transmission reports from Office Depot). After countless new numbers to try and contact the "correct person", still being given the runaround, we have still no resolution to the debacle. I will not be referring my customers to ADT if this is the kind of service that is delivered! Easy in, hell to get out! Buyers beware!
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012
I called ADT to get info and quote for service. This was a poor choice. All that ADT wanted to do was collect data. Their questions were not appropriate and invasive. Also, the ADT representative could not speak clearly or in an understandable language. I called back and asked to speak to someone to complain. ADT finally located a number (5+ minutes). I called the number - it was to report impaired drivers! Frustration and aggravation were readily available; they give that away freely.
Reviewed Oct. 3, 2012
October 3, 2012 - I upgraded to a cell alarm security system yesterday. The installer asked me if I had phone service after he installed the new system. I had a dial tone and told him that. He worked a little longer and then left. I tried to call out and all I had was a busy signal. My son tried to call me last night and he said my line was busy. I still have a busy signal. I called ADT for service. They said they cannot repair the problem made by the installer until the 18th of October. That is unacceptable!
Reviewed Oct. 1, 2012
When I signed up for ADT business service, the sales person offered a $150 rebate on $1,365 installation charge and credit for 4 months of monitoring service ($85 a month). I never got either! When I called ADT billing, they told me I must call the local office. This is strange because they are “ADT Billing” and they are the one who took my money, so why can't they offer the credit “their” salesperson offered? So I tried calling the Orlando office at least 6 times. Each time I'll be forwarded to voice mail, and never did they call back! I feel like their attitude is "we got your money and good luck recovering any of it". I have both the credit and rebate offer from their rep in writing, so I am giving them one last chance before taking this to the BBB and credit card company. Really bad customer service ADT. Why do you piss customers off like that?
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2012
I have had ADT for over 5 years. Because of an error with my auto-pay, my service was cut off, and no phone calls were made to me to make me aware of this. As soon as I realized, I paid the amount in full and was led to expect the service to be turned right back on. Instead, I was told that I have to sign another 3-year contract where I would need to pay 3 years in full, regardless, if I discontinued their service. Because I had already committed to a multi-year contract before, was a great customer for over 4 years, and was never called about the auto-pay stopping, I feel strongly that I should not be made to sign another 3-year contract. ADT would not discuss this at all. The best they would do is offer up a 2-year. The principle of this situation makes me furious and not ever want to use them again. I'm shopping for alternatives. They are the worst customer service oriented companies around.
Reviewed Sept. 29, 2012
I purchased the ADT system in August 2012. I was informed by the installer that the system would cost $450 plus a monthly fee of $45. I just reviewed my credit card balance and noticed that I have been charged another $450 system charge. When I called ADT, the lady stated that I was paying the $450 in two flex charges. I told her if I knew that this system cost this much, I would have never purchased it. She tried to tell me the flex charges were stated on my contract. I have reviewed my contract and there was no mention of any flex charges. I feel I have been lied to and ripped off. Everyone get a quote from their rep before he installs anything!
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2012
We had scheduled a service call between 3:00 and 5:00 with ADT to inspect our poor phone line connection after being told by our phone company that the problem was not theirs. The problem goes away when the ADT alarm monitoring line is disconnected. This system has been in the house for about 20 years and we have been paying the monitoring fee all along. My wife and I changed our schedules to accommodate their service tech. We were told the service fee would be $158 for the first half hour and additional time would be more.
Apparently, they own the equipment and will remove it without regard to damages it may cause when the monitoring contract is cancelled. Well, if they own it they should fix it, but that's another story. We received a call at about 4:15 that the tech would not be able to make it. I asked why and was told they were on another job. I asked him if I reschedule, would he waive the first half-hour fee? No way - this person had no way to fix the problem. I asked for a management type that could possibly help find a solution. No way, they don't let you talk to someone else. I was told they would call me back. I said okay, how about in five minutes? I received a call from another person that could do nothing but offer excuses and no solutions or compensation for my time.
This company sought my business, takes my monthly fee and, although they own the equipment, want me to pay to fix it and then tell me, “Too bad, we can't fulfill our agreed upon service call,” for which I would be charged $316 an hour and was actually willing to pay. What if the guy didn't know what he was doing and it took three hours? No way. I asked for the main company (Tyco) public relations phone number (561-988-3600), called them and left a voice message to have someone call me. We'll see on this one. When people have a chance to fix a problem while they are the face of the company and don't take it, they can't wonder why they get bad reviews, postings, tweets, etc. on social media sites.
If the CEO ever reads these, I would hope he or she would be embarrassed to be running a company that is so unresponsive and that hides behind a wall of unprepared and uncaring “customer service” agents who have absolutely no motivation or tools to correct or appease customers or are even able to hand off the problem to someone who can. They inconvenienced us and then could do nothing? Really? Many times, a situation can and should be resolved quickly and easily by doing the right thing right away. Throw me a bone here - I'm reasonable. Then, maybe, they won't be written about in this way. And I'm not done.
Reviewed Sept. 26, 2012
Their billing department is totally incompetent. It took several months to transfer the service to a new occupant, and then it took several more months to get them to get the paperwork right with nobody really taking responsibility to get it to work out. Then when I paid by credit card my remaining balance, they never charged the card although they had a record of my request and card number on file. They just sent it to collections. Three months later, I tried to pay again by credit card and they charged it okay but still sent my account to collections. I will never use ADT again for anything.
Reviewed Sept. 25, 2012
I've been using ADT Home Security for many years. The original installation was a good one. We had a lightning storm that damaged all units in the security system except the wiring. I requested to have everything replaced with the same or better units. We had to wait many days before they could schedule someone to come out. The service guy came once and didn't have the parts. We waited another few weeks. He came again and installed a downgraded keypad without the touchscreen and highly informative system information I was used to. He said that's all he had and he could bring the one I wanted later. I told him, "Okay, that's fine," because we needed the security system (we've been burglarized twice).
Within a week, I realized he had messed up the programming - I remembered he had done the programming without his manual and was on the phone asking other guys how to do his job. Soon, we were having false alarms in which I entered the garage after setting the house alarm and the garage keypad was properly cleared by entering the security code and the warning beeping stopped as expected – however; the main keypad in the house started up the alarm based on motion detector in the garage. I was in the garage just a short time and reset the alarm on the garage keypad - it operated as expected with the usual sounds indicating normal operation. Of course being out in the garage, I never heard the house alarm go off and got a call in a few minutes on my cell and a visit from the police. This was repeated with variations on the same theme a number of times.
I also recalled the drama the installer put me through - and I really didn't want him back on the job talking incessantly about how technical his job is and the hours and so on while he installs the wrong unit that is his personal favorite, and getting it programmed wrong to boot. Today, I called to ask about changing the appointment and getting the correct unit installed as I had originally requested. The girl on the phone, while pleasant, had no intention of communicating to the service guy other than a note in the computer on my service request that I needed the correct unit installed and stated repeatedly that it would depend on whether the service guy happened to have that unit on his truck when he showed up. I reiterated that I would like to have the correct unit brought out on the first visit to save time. I'm a doctor and really needed to limit the time required to handle this.
I reminded her that the first guy had made two visits by not pre-planning (they should have had my unit information recorded in their files from the initial installation and considered bringing the proper equipment with them). I suggested that this would be a step toward better, less expensive service. She didn't respond to that, only reiterating that she would make a note. The call was obviously being recorded and she was obviously speaking according to scripted training. She performed perfectly while providing actually ** service. I ended by politely requesting that I speak with a supervisor. She took my number and said she would have them call me back. Based on what happened so far, I really doubt she will handle this for me. I'm now waiting another 2 weeks to avoid the guy who needs help programming his favorite unit for the next available service guy who it sounds like has no probability of bringing the correct unit.
Reviewed Sept. 24, 2012
I live in TX. The alarm goes off 12:45am. I disarm and reset it. Minutes pass and no call from ADT. Did I mention we pay to be monitored?! After several automated prompts, a pleasant agent answered and I explained the situation as well as my concern that I had not received a call. She asked me to hit *2 and informed me the zone that triggered the alarm was my phone line; I checked my landline and it was dead. Freaked out, I informed the rep the phone line was working fine earlier and if it were possible for the line to be tampered with from the outside. The rep replied "I'm not a burglar. I don't know, maybe there was an accident that took the phone line out. You should contact your local phone carrier." I asked her where she was located and she replied Roswell, GA. Did I mention I live in TX? ADT should change their name to TWT, Total Waste of Time!
Reviewed Sept. 23, 2012
Several days ago, our alarm system went off at 2:20 am indicating there was a problem with a low battery. I called the customer service number provided in Irving, Texas (I live in Sacramento, CA) that we had been provided with and was told to hit the cancel button twice. Great, it stopped. I was told it would stay off for 24 hours and that it would be October 11 before someone would be able to come out and fix it. That would have the beeping start every morning at 2:20 am. I tried calling later that day a local number with the hope of getting a little quicker service and after several hours that morning, all phone numbers I tried were being answered in other states, including Tennessee and Florida. After several calls to different numbers, someone finally told me how to disconnect the battery and that would stop the beeping and not affect the system as the battery was a backup in case the electricity went off. Great! However, at 2:20 am the beeping started again.
A call back to Irving, Texas resulted in being given two options: first, I could go buy a battery and put it in myself, even though we are paying extra every month for them to take care of it, and second, they could tell me how to disable the system until they could get a service person out on October 1. So, we would have no security system till they come out, even though we would be paying for one. Even though most of the customer service people are very nice and want to be helpful, they are very limited on what they can do. The last gentleman I talked to when I wanted to contact someone here locally for help told me he couldn't give me that number. The only two options provided by ADT not being acceptable and not wanting to be awaken in the middle of the night, I just stay up till 2:20 am when the beeping starts, hit the cancel button twice and then go to bed. I think ADT has gotten too big and too automated to provide good customer service.
Reviewed Sept. 22, 2012
Typical bait and switch. Oops, we didn't know you had CO detectors and oops, you need another zone expander; $483 unexpected expense. Oh and btw, if I didn't use their CO detectors, they rip out your old ones and leave holes in your walls. Ridiculous. Oops, don't support your natural gas detector either so we'll disconnect that. Customer service is probably the worst I've ever experienced. I spent literally over four hours on the phone with them in two days. I get different answers from different reps who are not knowledgeable or helpful. They bounce you around from person to supervisor to different departments, always on hold. One rep was helpful and we spent two hours on the phone reprogramming the names of zones. I tried to call back the next day to change one more and got nothing but the runaround and a rep who was a serious ** and refused to do anything. Oh and 20 minutes waiting and bouncing around to reach that **. The thing that irks me the most is that I had to sign a three-year commitment, and we're only two days into it. Horrible. Stay away and save yourself the hassle. BBB review next!
Reviewed Sept. 21, 2012
So I thought it would be a good idea to have a security system, but I thought wrong. First they set up appointment but no call and no show. Then, they set up another then the same thing happened. Then three appointments. Then finally, they got to my home and installed my system. They gave me my bill and it was $247 then. A couple of days later, they sent me a bill for $315 and then I looked on my ADT account that bill was $305. So, I went and looked at my bank because I did it to where it came out of my bank. They took $68 and then another $247 and I still owe the $105 and some change. Now they told me I was going to get a free install and two months free for not showing up for their app. But guess what, I'm still paying for my install and my two months so how do you figure that? I don't recommend. I should have gone with Vivid. It would have been cheaper and I would have gotten a camera. They went back on their word even though they record every time you call. They don't put nothing in their notes and they just want your money. Don't use them! Oh yeah, then they try to say it's a mail in rebate.
Reviewed Sept. 19, 2012
ADT double billed me a week apart. They billed for the first payment which was a 3-month payment but I paid a 6-month payment. A week later, they charged my account again for a 6-month payment that I did not authorize. They told me they could not immediately credit the unauthorized 6-month charge to my card. It would take approximately 7 days. I asked if ADT would pay any overdraft charges that my account may receive since they took over $300 out of my account without permission. They said that would also take 30 days to refund any extra charges to my account after it was researched by the Research department.
I told them that was unacceptable. I asked if I could speak to a manager. They put me on hold about 10 minutes. Someone came to the phone but never said if they were a manager. I asked for the unauthorized charge to be placed back into my account immediately. I was told they could not do it. I told the person on the phone that I was sure a company as large as ADT had the over $300 in the bank to immediately reimburse me. The person on the phone said no, they did not. I told the person on the phone that ADT didn't seem like a company I wanted to continue to do business with if they didn't have $300 in the bank and could not immediately refund my money. I told them to cancel my account, that they had lost me as a customer.
My contract still has approximately 9 months left. The amount for canceling early was a couple of dollars more than the unauthorized charge. I told them to keep the money of the unauthorized charge and I would pay the couple of dollars difference to no longer do business with them. I was told that even canceling my service would not take effect until 30 days from the date of cancellation. In my eyes, if you take something that doesn't belong to you, it's called stealing. The way I see it, the problem was an easy fix. It seems they didn't see it the same way. Bye bye ADT.
Reviewed Sept. 17, 2012
I had an alarm system installed about 4 months ago. I was not aware that it wasn't really ADT until I called the ADT toll-free number to inquire about a camera system for my home. At that time, I was told that my contract was with an authorized dealer for ADT, not ADT. I was then told that ADT would only be responsible for my monitoring and anything else was through the authorized dealer. On August 30, 2012, I had a new front door installed, in which both parts of the wireless door sensor had to be moved. The tape on the small sensor would not stick anymore, therefore, allowing that part to continually fall.
The following day, I didn't remember where I had put it and called just to purchase a replacement. I was told that the purchase price for (1) door sensor was $158.00! When I explained that I only needed the small piece that sticks to the frame and not the larger piece that sticks to the door, I was told that I had to replace both pieces if one was missing because they are programmed only for each other. As I explained to the person on the phone how that could not possibly be true because when the tech installed the sensor for my back door, he used the previous smaller part that was already attached to the frame and just added the larger part for the door. By this time, I was developing an attitude so I just got off the phone.
My front door sensor hadn't been operative since August 31, 2012, still hadn't come across where I put it and never heard anything for the monitoring center about (zone 1). Then on September 14, I received a call from the monitoring center and as I'm saying it's about time someone called, the agent told me that they are calling due to a signal issue they show on (zone 2)! So what happened to the monitoring of zone 1? When I inquired about zone 1, I was told that it was currently being monitored. How? When they didn't even have a clue that there wasn't a signal since August 31, 2012! If they cannot properly monitor a signal, then how can I feel safe that they'll be properly monitoring if a signal says that someone is breaking in my home?
I just stopped an ADT tech on the street and spoke to him about the small piece I needed that was said to cost $158.00. He informed me that the price was a ripoff, it only costs about $3.00 - the small piece is only a magnet and he gave me one. I called ADT/Protect Your Home back a little while ago and when I kept asking the CSR about the monitoring procedures, she got an attitude and just told me to hold on. The next person on the phone was extremely more pleasant and apologized for the monitoring issue, which I certainly appreciate but I'm still angry that even with me mentioning zone 1 to the agent that called about zone 2 on Friday, the fact still remains that my system was not properly monitored from Aug. 31 until now.
The pleasant agent whom I spoke to still didn't know about zone 1 until I mentioned it. They had the nerve to give me this outrageous amount due if I terminate the contact earlier. I don't know what I can do, but I will certainly be talking to an attorney this week to find out.
Reviewed Sept. 15, 2012
My system has not worked properly for the last 3 months. I have had several technicians come in and out of my house with no results. The latest iteration consisted in ADT missing an appointment on a Saturday, after making me wait in my house for 4 hours. This was followed by a call from a manager who informed me that if I wanted my system working, I had to wait at home for an additional 2-3 hour window on Thursday. When is this going to end? When will ADT fix my system?
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2012
We had an iPod stolen from the tech as he was all over our house and shouldn't have been. He should have only been at the two key pads. Also our system wasn't fixed until three months later. They issued a $50 gift card for the service and a $100 but you have to wait six weeks to get it and pay a certified check for $2.95. Nothing has been done about the iPod.
Reviewed Sept. 13, 2012
The salesman was very nice. I wrote a check for down payment of $329 and after 3 attempts for scheduling installation, it did not work out. They kept making appointments without asking me first. On the last try, the guy never showed up and came the next day while I was at work. I asked for cancellation. I don't want to deal with ADT and now I am waiting for my check. The billing department does not answer the phone or does not have one and I kept getting transferred to different departments. God forbid when I used them and got robbed.
Reviewed Sept. 13, 2012
On 8/22/12, Bob, an ADT salesperson, came to my home in response to my call. I explained to him that I was having issues with my car being vandalized in the alley behind my home and I wanted to purchase and have installed security cameras. We went outside and I showed him where the problem was. He suggested a place for the cameras and quoted me a price. He left and called back 15 minutes later indicating he could not give me the price he quoted; it would be higher. Bob was not knowledgeable; I requested another salesperson. The same night, I received a call from Kevin ** indicating he could be at my home in 15 minutes. He arrived; I explained, as I had to Bob, the purpose of the cameras; Kevin seemed knowledgeable. He wrote the order and phoned in my Visa debit card payment of $1,274.25 on 8/22. The installation was scheduled for the following week. The day the installation was scheduled, I phoned Kevin that morning; he assured me someone would be at my home no later than 11:00 AM. No one ever showed up.
I called ADT corporate and local Brookfield office. No one I spoke with knew why no one showed or when/if someone would. No one ever showed or called. I called and left message for Brian **. He called back the next day, apologetically and arrogantly. He offered $300 off if I would not cancel. The next morning, installation tech arrived, looked at the order, and indicated he didn’t know which camera to install because Kevin had not written it on the order. He attempted to reach Kevin and then his boss by phone. In the meantime, I explained to him, as I had the two previous ADT representatives, the purpose of the cameras and showed him the same area. The tech stated the cameras that he has will not show faces due to the distance and that I should order a more expensive camera that would provide the clear images I was seeking. He stated these are commercial cameras and are "expensive", significantly more.
Kevin came back out the following Saturday. I canceled the order and also requested by text, telephone, and email confirmation. I never received it. The following Monday, I called Kevin who stated he never canceled because he thought I would call the office myself. Frustrated, I called corporate and explained the dilemma. Then, they transferred me to a local office and I was told that the order was canceled. The original cancellation request goes back to 8/28/12. It is now September 13 and I still do not have a refund. I phoned Brian (the manager) today, and he told me I should have contacted the accounting department and he will call me back. It’s been several hours and no call back.
Reviewed Sept. 12, 2012
I would rather risk my house burglarized than deal with ADT. The salesman, Andrew, was friendly and showed off the system on a Saturday, which fit into my schedule. It was all downhill from there. They never were able to accommodate my schedule for installation, eventually made an appointment without consulting me (I had to change my schedule at the last minute). Communication with ADT and even between employees of ADT is poor to nonexistent. They spent hours at my house and only half installed the system, leaving no instructions on how to operate the panel. They left a note that the "internet was not working" even though it was.
After a second attempt, they claimed that they told me the first time that I needed to upgrade my cable modem. This is not true. They only discovered hours into the second installation that they needed me to upgrade the modem. In the meantime, I kept dealing with Andrew who no longer answered emails and did not return phone calls. I decided that these incompetents, who don't know what they are doing and don't communicate with me or each other are not trustworthy to monitor my house against burglary! Are you kidding me?! These jerks are going to be responsible to monitor my house?! No way.
I threatened and called my lawyer to assist with cancelling the half-installed system. Even though the system is not fully installed, they have already begun to bill me as if I had full service. I have been getting the phone message runaround for weeks now trying to cancel this system, and I want them to come back and uninstall what they have done. The time, effort and stress involved have been enormous and the hell is not over yet.


