ADT Reviews

In May 2011, I decided to seek out a large, reputable alarm monitoring service company and mistakenly chose ADT without adequately researching other customers experiences. The saleswoman misled me into signing a three-year contract, the terms of which were buried in the fine print and not disclosed verbally. I only found out much later, when I tried to cancel my service. A week or so later, the installation crew showed up. They complained that they weren't really that good at programming these systems. Well, they were right. After the installation, the alarm system starts beeping in the middle of the night scaring us half to death. It turned out that it's trying to find a landline telephone signal, although we installed a cellular based system. I called ADT to get a service technician out there to rectify the problem. Sure, they could come out the following Thursday! So after we suffered through several sleepless nights, with the beeping starting around 11 pm, another team of service technicians came out. They also failed to fix the problem. On the third try, they managed to actually repair the system. However this was just the beginning. Now we started getting phone calls from ADT saying that there was a problem with our alarm system. Several service appointments failed to repair the system. I suspected that the cell signal was too weak for the communications unit in our closet, and it was said so several times to ADT. This proved to be correct even though no service team even correctly diagnosed the problem.

After months of taking time off work to get incompetent service technicians trying to repair our alarm system, I finally had enough. When ADT once again called to inform me that my alarm system was not working properly, I asked to cancel my contract. The lady I spoke with said no problem, to consider it done. About six weeks later I find out that ADT is still charging my credit card $48 in monthly service charges. I call customer service and they inform me that I have to pay out the full value of my three-year contract if I want to cancel my contract. This was the first I heard of the three-year term. I proceed to write a strongly worded email to the President John Koch and the PR director **.

On September 22, I got a reply from the Customer Relations Department's John **. I explained to Mr. ** that I want ADT to let me out of my contract. He proposed that at my next scheduled service call, ADT would get one and only one more chance to repair the system. If they would fail to do so, he would refund all installation and monthly service charges to date and cancel our contract. I agreed.

On September 29, I again took time off work to go meet the service technicians at my house. The appointment window is from 3 to 5 pm. Nobody showed up or called, in spite of me requesting that they call my cell phone before the appointment to confirm. No shows were quite common, so I was not very surprised at this.

On September 30, John ** claimed that the service technician showed up at 2:36 pm, but was denied entry by my wife saying we didn't need service. My wife was at work at the time as I was. Besides, 2:36 pm was outside the scheduled window, so I requested that Mr. ** honor the agreement made and refund me my money. He said he was going to look into it and call me back that afternoon. He never called. I called him several times and left messages as well as email him. He never contacted me.

On October 3, I again called John. He didn't answer the phone so I left a message. Then I wrote an email to him, Koch, and the PR director, stating that I will start reviewing ADT service and complain to the Better Business Bureau. Now John ** finally called back, only to change his story to say that the service technician was there not at 2:36 pm, but at 2:58 pm! I maintained that was outside of the window. He then went on to say that he was on site for five minutes, thus hitting the window. However, I never got a knock on the door or a phone call inside the window. John refused to refund me the money, a total of $458.

In the summer, I decided to switch to the pulse system--biggest mistake ever. When they did the install, they replaced the box and it was totally gone. Once again, a tech would come out and fix it but I would have the same issues the next day. At this point, I was frustrated and I decided to cancel with ADT. I did so over the phone and no one said that it would take 30 days to cancel.

I finally talked to a local rep and she credited me back a few months of monitoring since it was not working. I then was told that I needed to fax a letter to her stating all the issues and that I was cancelling with ADT. I did this on 9/1. I thought it was all taken care of. Now, I am so pissed that I decided to dispute the pulse install on my credit card for $500. I got the money back on my credit card and the company said that my case was closed.

On 9/27, I get a bill in the mail for the $500 and monitoring fees for October. I am beyond pissed now. I called and they told me that I was on a 3-year contract and it would be $1,900 to get out of the contract. I told them that I am not paying for something that does not work. I had no choice but to have them try to fix it once again.

I called last night and they did confirm that I have a major issue with my box. Then, I was informed that no work order can be generated when my account is passed due. I told the account account services I am not paying for something that does not work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The alarm kept going off, which was aggravating the neighbors who kept calling the police. I finally dismantled the speaker to avoid the constant noise that was disturbing my neighbors and called ADT with specific instruction not to call the police anymore.

Well, all went fine when I spoke to the representative on the phone. They apologized for the inconvenience and took my payment of $126.00. However, after making that payment, the rep said he needed to transfer me to another person to reactivate my service. Still I am okay, my patience is still in good standing. Then a new rep got on the phone and told me that they canceled my contract (which I only had 6 months left on) and now I need to also pay three more months service and sign a new three-year contract.

I was informed that regardless of the circumstances and their website problems, they have the right to cancel at any time. Then he told me that this is a kind measure they are offering to ensure that we remain a valued customer. So in all, I payed my bill of $126.00 just to be told that I had been canceled. Did I forgot to mention I was also informed that my bill had a tacked on cancellation fee of $300.00 plus, on top of the $126.00? I was told I have to pay that within three months. Then as a valued customer, they offered me a new contract that would cost me a total of $1560.00 plus first three months payments due up top, all caused by their website issues. All in all, I do not recommend ADT to anyone. They will scam you out of your money and treat you like you have no common sense and like you have no choice in the matter. I feel that my family has fallen victim to this company who advertises to "keep your family safe" and "values their customers".

Once ADT got hold of my address and phone number, they never stopped harassing me for 5 years; days, nights, weekends, and even holidays to sign up with ADT. That kind of horrific sales made me run as far away from ADT as possible.

I even had to file BBB complaints and also with consumer affairs; but it did not stop ADT. Since ADT knew I filed complaints against ADT, they became even more hostile and aggressive. My only reason to change phone numbers is because of ADT. However, ADT knocked at my doors instead. I had such difficulties getting rid of ADT. Unfortunately, I could not move until now.

What a nightmare I had with ADT! I would never recommend ADT to anyone.

Beginning in May, I began to have a false alarm go off on a regular basis. The worst time of all is in the middle of the night scaring me, waking me up and compromising my sleep. When I set the alarm, 95% of the time it won't let me set it without bypassing an area which defeats the security purpose. To try to get one night’s uninterrupted sleep, I decided to not set the alarm and I get 3 beeps and ADT calling 3 times a day.

The technicians have been sent out with no solutions. I continue with this headache and paying for security for a defective system and ADT says there is nothing more they can do.

This is a horrible system.

2) BUSINESS ACCOUNT - This facility was discovered robbed on 05 Jun 11 (along with several other business on the avenue). Neither the perimeter alarm nor the motion unit detected the robbers. We contacted ADT everyday for the following two weeks to come out and repair the unit. No one showed. I told them to cancel my account until the alarm was repaired. I understand from Chris (**) that there are no notes on the account regarding the robbery or repeated requests to service the account. This is outrageous, and it confirms the incompetence of ADT.

3) HOME ACCOUNT - On Tuesday, 20 Sept 11, my son set off our home alarm. None of our contact numbers were called. However, when I called to cancel the account this afternoon, I had to confirm both my number and my husband's contact cell number, and they were both on the account. Lastly, the police did stop by about three and a half hours later.

ADT is clearly too incompetent to maintain the security services for both our home and business. I have been a loyal client of ADT for over 14 years, even trusting them enough to do a recent installation in my home.

We tried to explain to John, the representative, to cancel our account. He continually just tried to beat around the bush. What does it take to cancel this account? After much confrontation, John said we had to answer some questions, we said OK. John then tried to talk to us about testing the equipment again. We told him we wanted this account cancelled again. And John quit trying to talk about the equipment and said he needed the password. We said, "Fine, why didn't you just ask for the password at first, instead of talking about testing the equipment?". We gave John the password and he said that is what he needed. We said why didn't he just ask for it? John said he would enter this into their system. He said they would send us a statement of a bill of $160! We said no, we cancelled in May of 2011 because we had no service to our home and the bill was fully paid in May 2011.

We do not owe any amount. They would not allow my wife to talk to them about the account they just continually called our home and harassed us. What does it take to cancel this account?

In 2011 we had to close that business because of lack of business. We informed ADT and received confirmation. Then 4 months later we received a threatening notice from a lawyer to pay more than $1200 within 5 days! We had not heard anything in 4 months and then suddenly this. Apparently, the "packing-slip" type of form the ADT representative had me sign had some very small lettering, stating I was signing into a new 5-year contract. This while their service rep told me on several occasions that everything stayed the same.

This is pure entrapment, especially since he wrote RELO in large letters on top of the packing-slip. I contacted the ADT Customer Relations Team Leader who had handled the case with the Better Business Bureau, who offered me to "settle" for $500. He wiggled and wiggled and was hiding about all kinds of formalities, but basically still demanding a year and a half worth of service for nothing. Not only extremely bad business, but also borderline criminal. Be aware of what you sign. They will give you the impression it's just a packing-slip for work done, but you will sign a contract with letters so small you can not even read them without special glasses.

I started with Broadview and now with the takeover it seems I am nothing but a bother to ADT. The customer service lacks any sort of professionalism and education. When I called to upgrade my system, the call goes through ADT and on three separate times, the ADT person acted confused and put out that I was originally from Broadview. They stated they will connect me to the right number but never offer to give it to me so I don't bother them any longer.

I wanted to upgrade my alarm system before my husband went out of town. I thought with great hope and obviously too high expectations that they would be able to get it in within the next two weeks. Shame on me, I am a current customer (not important) and add that I am a Broadview customer (really not important). They would not be able to get there until 4-5 weeks later.

Today, I found out that ADT ran an inquiry on my credit history without my authorization. Because I am doing refinance on my mortgage, it delayed my mortgage closing time. I just can't believe how ADT can inquire credit history without authorization.

One day we noticed the internal home functions were not working. When we contacted ADT, we were told we did not own the equipment; they could not help us, unless we signed up for service again. They then went on to tell us that a code was sent out by ADT over the phone line rendering our equipment useless. We paid more than $1200.00 (not including a one-year advance payment for monitoring) during the purchase and installation process, and we thought we were buying equipment, with no clear indication we weren't during the sales and installation pitch.

ADT in my opinion has sub-par monitoring service and deceptive sales practices. In addition, they mislead you as a customer by phone, and in the end hi-jack your alarm equipment via phone patch in an effort to strong arm you into a new service contract with them. If ADT wants to pick up their garbage, come and get it. Barring a resolution from ADT, I will never sign up or recommend ADT. I would rather warn people of their thuggery. Steer clear of ADT. There are more practical and cost effective home security solutions out there.

When I called for service, the soonest that they could get here, for only the $25.00 trip fee (warranty is only 90 days), was a week. But if I wanted emergency service, I could pay $304 for the first hour and $95 for each additional hour with "no upper limit". I made 2 calls to the service department. I was basically told: "That’s all we can offer. And if you do not authorize the emergency service charge, we will not send anyone out.” If you use ADT, make sure you test their hardware very frequently as it seems to be very "failure prone". And anticipate at least a week to get any problem corrected. Furthermore, do not believe that the "asap" telephone number for service means anything but alphabet letters.

Today he came back and would not leave again and came to the window again. My husband went to the door and recognized him as the guy who took our sign and he admitted it tonight. He disturbed our piece and is an arrogant degenerate. He is a thief. Then, he came back by and threw a hard liquor bottle in our yard. I cannot believe the level of inappropriate behavior of this ADT salesman. Also, he lied to our neighbor in an attempt to sell them an alarm system by telling them we had been robbed.

We will never buy any service or product from their company and will actively advise others the same. Do not buy ADT.

Sometimes, when they call me, I pick up and they offer me a free home security system and when I tell them that I don't own a home, they hang up on me. (Not very nice if you want someone to buy your product). I have also told them not to call me ever again and they say that they will take me off their list and it will take a few weeks for my number not to show up. That doesn't make any sense to me. If you take a number off of a list, then it shouldn't be on the list anymore; therefore, it wouldn't get called. I don't get that at all.

Also, I get calls from other home security system companies, trying to give me free in-home security systems. Why are these people trying this hard to put a home security system in my home? I do not want it and I never will, yet they keep calling. I am beginning to think that this is a way for people to spy on me in my home and they keep trying and saying that it's free so I would eventually buy into it. I won't have my privacy invaded by anyone. I am a human just like everyone else and no one has a right to do that, or even harass me by calling my phone everyday. I want it to stop. I have tried everything but they won't stop calling me.

I told them I just want to cancel my account and get out of the contract. On their website, which you can find at this url: http://www.safeco-security.com/safeco-about.asp, they clearly state: "ADT Money-Back Service Guarantee: Refunds the system installation prices and pays all monitoring fees if the homeowner isn't satisfied within six months of installation. Hassle-Free."

I am still in my six months and have tried to cancel twice. Both times, they told me I cannot cancel and that the website is incorrect. They say that you can only cancel if they cannot fix the problem! Otherwise, you can pay 75% of the remaining contract and get out that way.

I just want to warn everyone to stay clear of this company as they are dishonest, have very poor service, very unprofessional installation techs and will all-around screw you over. Oh by the way, when I got a new phone number, I called to update it and that is when I found out that my ADT system has been tied to my old address for the past four months and ADT corporate told me that the authorized dealer had messed everything up and I need to contact them. Upon contacting them, they said I need to contact ADT direct. I had to call ADT back, get a supervisor and get on a three-way call with Safeco so that ADT could tell them that they do own my contract and have to handle my issues.

In short, stay away from them. I'd be happy to share more details with anyone wondering or experiencing the same problems.

2 years later, I tried to cancel and was informed that there is a 3-year contract requirement. I told the customer service representative that I specifically asked the question about contracts and was told that there wasn't one. She told me that ADT is not responsible for what their sales people say or don't say.

Really, because it's your company and your company's reputation. Then, a few days later, my alarm started setting itself on its own and going off. Finally, the panic button went off and wouldn't shut off. I was in the process of unplugging the alarm and taking out the battery, when ADT phoned to see if everything was alright. I told them what was going on. I told them I called the previous day to report the problem and was instructed to power down the system for 2 minutes and that everything would be fixed. Of course it wasn't.

So after giving my pass code and telling the customer service representative that everything was fine, they proceeded to send the police to my house. Then they called me back over a dozen times.

I was furious over the harassment. ADT is anything but professional and are just a rip-off company. They don't take responsibility for their employees! I am frustrated with the company and the service.

The system now works but is so complicated we cannot get it to work. The call center, first technician, and General Manager Craig Taylor all assured me that the motion detector with its new technology can be left armed with windows open. They even don't install window sensors because the motion detector is enough coverage. The experienced 30 year veteran Technician Kirk assured me that if I was to do that, we would have lots of false alarms. So now, we have paid extra for motion detector that cannot operate while the windows are open on a hot day. The control panel is so complicated, and we still cannot get the system to work all the time. They still refuse to uninstall the system.

Now I understand, when you schedule with ADT, you get either a morning schedule, between 8:00 - 12:00 or afternoon schedule, between 12:00 - 5:00. When the second technician came and left, we realized that not all of the alarm was working. We called, set up another appointment. The third technician came, made the changes and left. After he left, we realized that he disconnected some other area of the alarm. We called, set up another appointment. The fourth technician came out and corrected the problem, but now we realize that he, too, disconnected another part of the alarm. This is our 5th appointment. We should have left the system as it was and never attempted to have any changes made. When I called this last time, the customer service person tried to blame it on the system, stating that you never know when an area can go out. This area she is referring to, was one of the new changes we had installed within the last 60 days. We hardly doubt that it would have gone out this quickly, since we have had the system over 15 years and this area she was referring to had never had a problem before ADT's technicians touched it.

We moved into a rented home. Our landlord previously had an ADT alarm system in the house. She contacted ADT to have the security system removed but ADT convinced her to leave it and have ADT install a new one in her new home. The ADT alarm beeped every time we entered our home, and then continued beeping every few minutes. Our landlord gave us the code to disarm it but It wouldn't stay disarmed. It turned itself on again with the incessant beeping. It was night after night of disarming the system again and again, and getting no sleep.

We phoned ADT. We explained that ADT had insisted that our landlord leave it behind and that it wouldn't stop beeping despite all efforts to silence it. ADT's customer service representative thought our problem was amusing, even funny! He explained that the unit beeped because it was no longer connected to ADT. ADT knew the equipment would relentlessly pester us until it was removed, reconnected or destroyed and they took no responsibility whatsoever for the aggravating situation they forced us into. Even our landlord was unable to get ADT resolve our situation.

When we suggested destroying the equipment, the service representative encouraged us to do so saying that the unit no longer belonged to our landlord and it no longer belonged to ADT. No one owns it so ADT felt no responsibility to service or remove the equipment. We were told to disconnect the battery to stop the beeping but we explained that the unit required a security code by an ADT technician to get the battery or the mounting screws. Then, he said that if we weren't able to disconnect the battery, we could just let it run down, which could take a long time

We rammed tissue into the speakers, wrapped it with towels and ripped out the speakers. However, everything we did just made things worse. Now, it was literally screaming in deafening decibels. Finally, I pried it off the wall, at which point, it became plain that the battery would never run down because it required cutting wires in the wall. Weeks later, ADT invited us to activate the system left behind, the one that they knew would make life absolute hell until re-activated or destroyed.

In our opinion, ADT doesn't care about anyone but its bottom line. Apparently, their equipment isn't worth the cost of a service call to remove it. Why trust a company that cares nothing about inconvenience it inflicts on the public?

What kind of company is this for security service? First, they give you first available appointments 4 days out which is ridiculous for a security company. You get better service for cable. Second, the technicians charge $120/hour which is unbelievable for a service technician, especially one that instead of fixing your problem, causes an incident that could have burned your house down. It is impossible to get through to someone with authority to credit your account for mistakes made by their company.

Don't go with this company if you actually want your home to be safe. They don't even call you if your battery runs out and your system shuts down. You have to tell them you want that option. The worst company ever.

When it's all said and done, I still owe them for service through November! Why the hell can you not call and cancel right away?

While he was at our house, he started to fill out pages of paperwork and informed us that he had just started with ADT. He said that the paperwork had to be perfect or they would not accept it. He asked us to just sign a few papers and he would complete the rest later with the help from his supervisor. And because it was a lot of paperwork, he just summarized what the document said and pointed us where to sign. After signing the papers, we let him leave so we could get to making dinner and taking care of our animals. But we were never given a copy of the contract to review.

He came back several days later to do the installation with a relative. It turned out to be a complete disaster as it took a very long time and they did not seem to know what they were doing. They neglected to put a sensor in one of the windows we have on the ground level and they cut a hole in the wall and installed the control box in one spot. We had told them not to as we were planning on tearing down that wall.

Shortly after installation, we encountered problems with the system for it went off by itself. I spent so much time calling the technicians trying to get it fixed but I finally gave up and just stopped setting it.

It had been over a year and in March of 2011, we decided to cancel the contract. I called ADT but was told that we could not cancel because we had signed a three-year contract. I informed the customer service person that it was a one year contract but she said that they only sell three year contracts. We had to call back for the next two months to get them to cancel. Because of this, we had to switch bank accounts just so the electronic payment would not go through.

I have spoken to FTC and to the Attorney General regarding this and will be filing complaints with both agencies; I’ll do the same to Better Business Bureau.

We were never late on our monthly bill as it was taken directly out of our checking account and we kept our service for over a year. Upon canceling, ADT is trying to charge a termination fee which we do not owe. Both the Attorney General's office and the FTC have told me that under the FTC, Federal Regulations at 16 C.F.R. Part 429, “the seller must provide a copy of a completed contract at the sale” which was not done. We were not given any contract to review when the salesman left our home. We therefore contend that we fulfilled our one-year contract as we understood it.

We feel that ADT used deceptive sales practices by preying on new homeowners who they know are working, busy moving, setting up new homes, etc. The ADT representative led us to believe that we signed up for just a one-year contract and now that we are canceling, they are charging us $500 for the termination fee. We feel that they violated the FTC laws so we do not owe them any more of our hard-earned money.

We called Secure Watch, who could no longer find any listing for services. They told us to call ADT. However, ADT could not find us listed as receiving services as well but said that only my husband (since I had told them the "account" was under his name) could cancel the contract (that they could not find a record of) and stop automatic drafts. Therefore, ADT is continuing to take payments out of our bank account even though they cannot find a contract for them to do so. Please note that we did not receive security services for a great part of our contractual period because of constant system failures.

I asked her to send a technician out. She said, "I can get a technician out to you on 8/23/11". I was flabbergasted and told her that was unacceptable. She replied that she could have a scheduling manager call me. I told her that would be great as I'm not planning to be awoken all night long for the next 8 days!

I notified my husband, who is currently away on business on what occurred. He checked with me later in the morning to see if I'd heard from ADT and I told him no. He called and was assured our service call had been placed on an elevated status. My husband called me at 5:32 PM to ask if anyone had called. The answer is no.

My husband called ADT again and this time was told, “No, we can't get a technician there before 8/23/11.” Okay, fine, if I could yank the thing out of the ceiling myself I would do it and I would smash it into a million little pieces and mail it back to ADT. But, alas, I can't reach the silly thing. I have a maintenance service plan with ADT – for all the good it's doing me.

At this point, I am resigned to no sleep for the next 8 days. As soon as ADT gets out here, they will be coming to remove all equipment as I will be going with a new company as soon as I can. ADT – the no service company!

On 7/1/11, I called to confirm that my service had been terminated. I was told my email was never received. Found out that I was given the wrong email address.

I promptly emailed the cancellation to the new email address I was given. I was assured that it would go through. When I called about a week later, I was told my email was never received. When I read back the email address I was given the second time, I was told that it was wrong – again. By now, ADT had taken another payment.

I emailed my cancellation a third time to a different email address from the first two. I was assured on the phone that my account was canceled and that my email was merely perfunctory. When I called to confirm that my account has finally been canceled, I am told that my email was never received and my account is still active.

At this point, I asked to talk to a supervisor. All he could do was make excuses and frustrate me to no end. When I stated that I want my money refunded immediately, I was told that was not the policy (I had asked for my refund on the previous phone call and was again assured that it was put in the system). When I complained that ADT should be bending backwards to make me feel better after the circus I've been through, I was told that, as a business owner, I should appreciate their policies. Quite rudely I may say!

I answered that if I had screwed up with my customers the way that ADT had been screwing up with me, I would move heaven and earth to make that person happy. The supervisor blew me off like I was not worth his time.

I am horrified at the service I have received from ADT. At every step of the way, I have been misinformed, treated badly, and had money literally stolen from my account.

Today, I received a letter from ADT dated 8/9/11 stating that my monthly rate was going up! I don't know how it is that ADT is able to stay in business with their atrocious customer service and apparent "immovable and unyielding" policies.

I want my money back! I've been trying to cancel my account since 6/22/11 and today is 8/15/11. Can someone please take responsibility and do not only the right thing, but what should have been done months ago – cancel my ** account and give me back my money immediately!

Terrible customer service. I will never do business with ADT again and I will be sure to continue to post negative and scathing reviews until I get my refund.

Thanks in advance for your acknowledgment to this email in advance.

Linda **

The complaint: The wire are exposed, right? So I called up ADT and asked if it would be possible for them to get a tech to attach a box to cover their wire. They came up with some excuse saying that because it wasn't their tech that took out the box, they can do nothing about it. So I asked if I was supposed to just let the wires hang like that and if they even provide a box covering for families who have a new ADT system installed. The receptionist said that they usually provide one. I asked, "Well why can't you do that for us? Your tech never left us with a box covering" and she just kept making excuses.

Honestly, this is the second major complaint about their customer service. They're supposed to be helpful but really ADT is out to get your money and screw you over.

When I called to inquire about the upgrade, I was told there would be a $155 charge per window. Well, obviously, I felt that was a bit steep as I had at least five windows that I wanted this feature on. You do the math. When I expressed that I felt that this was a bit costly, especially considering the length of time I've patronized business with them, I was told that was the charge.

After much persistence on my part, they referred me to a customer loyalty representative. They did work with me. They offered the first three for free and half on the other two. That equals $150 for all five windows.

Two days prior to the scheduled date for the installer to come out, I decided to add an additional motion detector. I gave them a call and they quoted me $170. When I ask if they could work with me on that charge, again stressing 21 years of business with them, they wouldn't budge.

The next day I had another system installed from a reputable security company. The install included wireless cell feature, all windows equipped with the breakage sensors, cameras, two motion detectors, and the wireless remote controls. Not to mention some other features that ADT do not currently offer. The only out-of-pocket expense I incurred was the monthly monitoring fee. All mentioned above was free.

I called ADT to cancel the upgrade and my service with them and they were willing to bend a little more. However, I still had to cough up $155. That included only the five window sensors and the additional motion detector. The new security company secured all windows.

Here's my point. It's really sad when a customer remain loyal to a company for so many years and when you reach out for help the only thing they're concerned about is what they can get out of you, dollar wise. As the largest security company in the nation, their focus is solely on profit rather than good old fashion customer service values.

Customers, beware if the time ever came for an upgrade to your security through ADT.

Both companies knew when this sale was in the works, that the ADT systems are different from the Broadview/Brinks systems. Yet ADT still has not, 18 months later (August 2011), trained a workforce to service the 1.3 million systems they purchased. And owners are barred from even doing a simple thing like changing the batteries in a wireless system! But when one calls either the national or local offices to have this done, the only response is, "We will get to it when we have a technician trained to do it."

It is obvious that TYCO and ADT bought Broadview only with an eye to the profits 1.3 million monthly monitoring payments would bring into the company, in terms of revenue, and could give a ** about providing quality service. They even touted Broadview's customer loyalty and "low attrition rates" (a quote from Naren Gursahaney, President of ADT Worldwide). Assuming, I guess, that we former Broadview customers could be counted on to take any crap they dished out.

Stay away from ADT – unless you are fond of spending your hard-earned dollars in return for dismal customer care.

I called and emailed asking for someone to install a second panel, but the tech was very argumentative over the phone and didn't want to even make the effort to drive over and do what ADT reps had promised (which was to install a second panel).

Ten minutes later, he called me back and said that they (ADT) didn't have an address for us! (They hold the contract), I provided him with the address. Fifty-two minutes later, I had arrived at the site. Eight minutes later, the police showed up. I then asked the officer how long ago did you receive the call? His response was eight minutes ago. So, it took ADT one hour and 15 minutes approximately to even contact the police.

I spoke with Dave, the manager on site, at 2:05am. He transferred me over to customer relations which was closed. Extremely irate that no one from ADT was available to me for over one hour after an alarm event, I have lost all faith and confidence in this company.

After 16 years with ADT, I have now switched to Time Warner Home Security effective on August 4, 2011.

On Sunday, after speaking with a next door friend, at her advice I reported the theft to the local police. I also phoned ADT on Sunday to check on my alarm system, as I still could not figure out what append to my laptop. ADT informed me that one of my sensors was not working correctly, and they set-up an ADT technician appointment. The technician came and replaced the sensor batteries. After a test, he left my home. A couple of weeks go by, and I phoned ADT on Sunday of July 19, 2011, to request assistance with a completed ADT alarm test. It is to ensure that all components were working correctly. The ADT representative questioned as to why I was concerned of my system. I advised Sarah that my home had been recently broken into; I had ADT do a recent replacement of batteries for the sensors, but the ADT technician did not address the window tabs. I need to be sure all components are working correctly. Sarah (ADT monitoring person) then gave me some information about ADT contacting me on June 23, 2011 about an alarm event. I informed her I had no alarm event on the June 23, and that a representative had been doing some test after replacing batteries.

Sarah next shared with me that my account had been taken out of monitoring services on June 15, 2011, and placed back in monitoring service on June 17, 2011. I asked her to confirm that dates, as I could not believe what I was hearing. She confirmed the dates listed above. She also informed me that I could view this in my online account for altered history. I had some issue of logging in, but once I did, I noticed that the history for June 15, 2011 was not available. I was told that it’s on a one month history viewable for end users. So, I check my online utility to view the history of my stolen computer, and found that the last time I had it in active session and IP for my home was on June 16, 2011. Damn, this is getting more and crazier by the minute now.

I called ADT customer representative to get some understanding of all this crap. I was told that my ADT billing account was disconnected by ADT due human error. Next, I was told that I have an extended contract period of three (3 years), as a result of the ADT human error of disconnecting my billing account). Next, I have a break in, in which I did not put the puzzle together, but the break-in happened during the period of my ADT account monitoring was placed out of service. Who disconnected my ADT? ADT has yet to let me know about this. Yes, I want an attorney. I need an attorney to help me legally tackle these incompetents.

We got duped and we want it cancelled.

I filed a complaint and they gave me a number to call, which I did. A very nice gentleman answered. He says billing will send a bill for System ($600); and he can cue in the command to convert System to local. We even discussed payment options not to pay the $600 in one shot. He said it takes 24-48 hours for System to change. 3 days later, nothing changes. I called and a woman tells me he sent the order to the wrong department. It is in his e-mail at work there. He gave me the wrong information; $600 has to be paid upfront and even then, it will take another 48 hours before System is live locally.

However, on or around June 14, 2010, it was my understanding that ADT Security Services either bought out Broadway Security or joined forces with them. Nevertheless, I became very concerned about all these changes going on in rapid succession, so I called ADT for service on March 15, 2011 and was given the assurance that all is well with my system. Since then, on more than three occasions, my home-alarm system was inadvertently activated and to my surprise, no one from ADT contacted me to find out if all was well in my home. Mind you, both Brinks and Broadview Security never failed to respond to any alarm coming out of my home.

On or around June 13, 2011, I called ADT and requested service. It was quite a surprise to learn from the person I spoke with that ADT was not receiving any signal from my system indicating something was wrong. I was shocked to hear this considering all along I was paying for a false sense of security; thank God I was fortunate nothing seriously went wrong in my home.

According to the person at ADT, he will have a technician at my home on June 17, 2011. This was a disaster. Unfortunately, I didn't get his name because I was so confused the way he was carrying on. He demanded to look in my bedroom where I have my computer and when I questioned as to why he needed to do that, he became very angry and said I need to look at other service providers I'm currently using, but when I objected and told him it's not right for him to titivate with other utility company equipment, but this made him more angry and he told me that he's got other customers waiting on him for service. At this point, I became scared and asked him to leave my home.

I immediately called ADT and spoke with someone proclaiming to be a supervisor. I figured he would listen to my ordeal, but he told me it's common practice for their technicians to behave in that manner. I immediately requested to have my services disconnected, but the supervisor told me I needed to call back during regular business hours. On June 25, 2011 at 3:28 p.m., I spoke to Tanya on 1-800 number who reminded me to call between Mondays - Friday between 8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. to cancel my contract. On June 27, 2011, I spoke to Lynda at 8:32 a.m. who gave me a new number to call. Tara answered the phone and then switch me over to Laveda at around 9:50 a.m. who said she's a supervisor.

According to Laveda, I'm in a contract with ADT which runs through September 29, 2012. I told her that this was totally unfair especially all that I went through with this unreliable service and I want a company that I can trust and rely on, so I'm leaving ADT without any regrets. I was told by Laveda that I will have to pay the remaining balance of $29.95 per month through September 29, 2012. I could understand that I'm liable for some kind of penalty. For example, consider the length of time I'm with its predecessor at $36.37 per month then to $29.95 with fourteen months remaining on the contract, a difference of $6.42 multiplied by fourteen equates to $89.88. Lastly, I've had no upgrades since the inception of the contract with Brinks, so I don't even understand why I had to be tied in to a new contract.

I requested a copy of my original paperwork, and it took five months to receive it. Upon receipt of the paperwork, I informed the company that my password had been fraudulently changed without my permission. The company did its investigation and saw that much of my information that I provided had been fraudulently changed or altered by someone from their company.

The presidential team contacted me and at first offered a 21 credit, and then offered a one year free monitoring. The problem is that I had already paid over a year, and then stopped because I could not access my account. I was placed into collections by the company and told that there was nothing else that I could do. I am still in collections due to their error, and am still being told that there is nothing that can be done.

I have lost monies dealing with this company. I have also been denied credit because I am in the credit bureau because of a fraudulent action on their part. My son has had to spend gas money to fax off another request form, as well as monies for the fax. I have had additional medical bills because I have been so stressed out that I am in collections because of fraudulent activity by the company.

When the new company came out to set up my service, they could not reset the "installer code" on my hardware. We called ADT and they refused to either give me the code or reset it. They have hijacked my hardware, rendering it useless unless I remain an ADT customer. The new company tried several of the "standard" panel codes, but none of them worked.

In order for me to switch to a new company, I must purchase all new equipment. This should be an illegal practice. That equipment belongs to me and ADT has basically stolen it by installing their own code and refusing to let me use my own equipment with a different vendor!

I informed him that I had to take my children to practice at 5:50pm and would not be back until 8:00pm. He informed me that I would have to reschedule the visit. I was pissed! I called the customer service line and rescheduled the appointment with a promise that I would be given the first appointment in the morning at 8am. I took the appointment; and it is now 9:30am and there was no sign of the tech yet.

I called the customer service line again and was told that the tech had two people ahead of me and would possibly be there at 11:30am, but could not make any guarantee because a job they have listed for an hour could take 5, like what had happened the previous day. ADT has no respect for the customer's time and does not seem to care that I have had to take off two days from work without pay. I am losing almost $200.00 by missing work.

When I asked them what type of compensation I would be getting for the no-show, he stated that they do not provide any because they made no guarantee that I would receive service; and because I told the tech he could not come at 6:00pm, that I cancelled the service call. ADT is nothing but a bunch of people reading off of index cards that say, "I understand you are frustrated...(insert name)." I have been with them for 11 years when it was Brinks; and the customer service was great!

June 2011 we replaced Qwest phone service with Comcast high speed VOIP system. Problem was back. Unable to get both to work at same time (voice and alarm). Since ADT was unwilling to give us any guarantee that anything would work after paying $140/hour for their service contractor to visit us, we canceled. They said that was fine, they would charge us $175 to cancel. Since the system has not worked for 3 years, I thought I was being pretty generous to simply offer to walk away instead of demanding a refund.

They told me that they were going to charge us $135 and they were going to send it by bill so that we could not reverse the charge on the credit card. We offered to tell our story on every website under heaven. They implied that they do not care about bad press or unhappy customers; they can find more suckers where they found us. If ADT ** up your phone line every time the system calls them, then they cannot call you back and will not send the police when you need them. What use is that? We were charged over $500 to get a non-working system working, and it never did. Now we are being charged $135 to cancel a service we did not receive.

Several months after the installation, I received a phone call saying that I had to pay a permit fee. I am certain the sales man I spoke to originally said that they would cover all permits. I told the person who repeatedly called me at work that I was told I did not have to pay this permit fee. After several calls, I asked to have the system removed and a full refund to which I was told that I would still have to pay out the 3 year contract. I asked to speak to a manger who immediately told me that the permit was already pulled and that I did not need to pay it. I asked him why I was harassed to pay this fee to which he simply apologized and assured me it would not happened again. Earlier this week (end of May), I got another call at work telling me I have to pay the permit fee. I told the person that I already spoke to a manager to which she said that the Manager said that now I had to pay the permit fee.

I wrote ADT directly but four days later, I still have not heard back from them. I can only assume that they approve of Protect Your Home's unethical behavior and deceptive sales strategies. Yesterday I received a letter from ADT/Protect Your Home with a collection notices saying that I am overdue on my payment.

I was so upset that I spoke to two managers, Bob and then James. They were very rude and told me that it's too bad and that this is what I get. Well, they left me speechless. I called to see if they'd pay for the holes put in my wall, and they said, "No. We aren't going to sugarcoat it. If you had listened to the recording, you would have known exactly what you were getting." Also, James asked me to listen to the recording again, and it did not say anything about a 3-year contract. I wouldn't have these thieves in my home for security under no reason. They are stealing you blind. I canceled the service right then and there, and James hung the phone up on me.

We agreed and the agent, Eric, came to the home and completed the account setup. The agent advised me that nothing with the codes had changed and now, my name was the main account and the balance should be transferred within 24 hours--the two months' credits will follow. Now, we are receiving collection calls from Appeal regarding the previous balance that was on my husband Shawndell **'s account. I explained everything that took place and what we were advised. The agent stated that the person who came out was there to try and collect the balance and not to setup a new account. Now, I am in a three-year contract with no credits applied and my husband still has a balance due on the previous account. We are still receiving calls and have reached out to ADT but this issue is still not resolved.

On 4/11/11, the installer came to the store. He started installing their DVR box and told us that he can't figure out how our old system had been set up. Something about it being wireless and running through a modem, but that he will try his best to make it work with the new DVR. After all the installation was done, he told us that the 4 cameras that we have were not compatible with their DVR. Therefore, we would need to get new cameras. Mr. ** said he will bring a camera to test out, so the installer left the job half complete because the 4 cameras were not working. Mr. Norris returned with the new camera about 4 days later. Mr. Norris came back with a camera and showed us the image, which was not what we expected or needed for our system.

My boss told him that it was not what we need and if we can just switch back to our old system. He proceeded to tell him "okay, I will call on Monday to set up a day to switch it back". A couple of days passed and no call from Mr. Norris. When we finally got a hold of him, he told us that he spoke to his manager Chris ** and as per their conversation, we need to speak to him about a refund. John also told us that it wasn't good, but that on his personal opinion, he thinks we are entitled to a refund. He wished he could help us out, but it was out of his hands and it was up to his manager who is by this point, not returning any phone calls after numerous messages were left on his answering machine.

The manager Chris finally called us back. After an hour on the phone, explaining to him that the only reason we called ADT to begin with was for them to make the 4 cameras run in real time, not delayed. He continued to say "at the end of the day, the job was done and it is what was down on the contract". We have to finish paying for the rest of the unit since it's now ours and that it is out of their hands if our 4 cameras are not working because they are not compatible with their DVR. Though he can sell us the 4 cameras at a "discounted" price. If the installer would have done his job right prior to the installation, he should have known that the cameras were not going to work with their DVR. He should have informed us and we would have denied installation. But he told us that after the installation was complete. They are now calling it a job complete because the DVR was installed. The job they were contacted for was never completed because the 4 cameras are now not working, therefore, not providing security for our employees or customers. At the end, we have gone from having 4 security cameras that provided protection for both our employees and customers but was 5 seconds delay, to having 4 that don't work.

You can install your own effective system. I would suggest you keep any valuables in one of those heavy steel gun lockers that you can buy in sporting goods stores. Bolt the locker to your wall and floor. You can bolt them so that the door only opens about 6" into an adjacent wall, enough room to lock and unlock it and still access the contents. The 6" restriction should be enough to prevent a thief from manipulating with a crowbar into the door.

There are many state-of-the-art, battery operated loud screeching alarms available, for $25 or less. Go to eBay and look up "battery alarm system." Some of them come with an auxiliary speaker which you can run a wire to the speaker and outside your home under the overhang of your roof. So the neighborhood will be alerted. They will call the police. Don't expect ADT Security Systems to do it.

On March 6, 2011, I got a call stating there was a trouble alarm at my old location. I called ADT to inform them that my service should have been cut off. The service rep stated that I missed my billed cycle. My billing cycle started on the 23th of each month. Therefore,my service would not be cut off until March 23,2011. I told ADT I was not paying for service at a location where I was not living any more. The service rep stated that it's ADT's policy that they do not do prorates.

So I am being billed for 29 days of service because I missed the billing cycle by one day. The service rep also stated that I was lucky because ADT could charge me up until July because I signed a five year contract. I told them I was not paying for service after the cut off time. I haven't received my final bill yet. Please follow up. If you need any other info let me know. This is a rip off consumers need to know.

We moved the business to a high-rise office in a Bank of America building so we no longer needed ADT. I phoned them to get the procedure for cancellation. We faxed them the details with a 30-day notice. Okay, so far. Then, out of the blue, I started getting calls from their collection agency in New York. The collection woman said that we owed ADT $1,900 for early termination. My contract (which ADT themselves provided a copy) read that I can cancel after the initial five years and that it auto renews annual thereafter. For the life of me, I cannot determine how they came up with that figure. The collection woman just kept saying that we terminated after the contract was renewed.

Our five years was up in February 2010. I cancelled in September 2010. The collection woman said that to avoid any penalties, I had to have cancelled the contract 30 days before February 2010 and that once the contract was renewed, I was stuck. I told her that I was not clairvoyant and had no idea that the company was moving. (Partly because we were robbed three times in as many months). She just kept yelling at me that I had to cancel before the contract was renewed.

I said that the contract clearly states that once the five years has been met, the contract would renew annually. The policy goes on to state that if we cancelled after the policy was renewed, we were liable for 90% of the remaining duration of the contract. So, if it renewed in February 2010, and I cancelled in September 2010, wouldn't I just owe 90% of October - January? The collection woman basically said that I was stupid and that we'd let a judge decide on what to do with me! "Fine by me," I said. I'm not afraid of their scare tactics. I can read English perfectly well, thank you!

The technician came on December 1st, told me everything looked good, installed a new panel, explained to me how the panel worked and left. The next day, I found that my first floor windows and garage door were not monitored. I called the center immediately and the technician called me back. He stated that that part of the system was wireless and that it would be additional, and for further details, I would have to speak with my salesman. I asked why he did not explain this to me when he was here, and explained that I was upset that he left my house without the alarm. After many phone calls by the sales associate, sales manager and regional office, I have not been able to come to a resolution with my current issue. The only recourse I am left to is to cancel my service.

Please find the attached copy of the sales contract. As per contract, note that the garage door and kitchen windows are itemized. They were never hooked up and my house has never been fully secured. Please reimburse the initial set up fee, first month monitoring fee and any other fees associated with this void contract. I have already been in contact with my credit card company. I have advised them of the situation and told them to stop all payments. Thank you for your time. Please feel free to contact me to resolve this matter.

(1) Lost time at work for installation. I took time off from work and stayed home 4 times for the installation of a security system which was never installed. Two times the technician did not show up and I was not informed. (2) Delays in follow up and installation. (3) Phone calls and emails to the district manager were not returned in several instances. (4) Service installation was scheduled and either the technician didn’t show up or the technician left. (5) I was told that the equipment promised under the contract would not be delivered at the price quoted and as the technician did not show up for the installation, I was then informed that I either accept another piece of equipment or pay additional money.

I moved to my new residence and contacted ADT in mid October to get a quotation and have a security system installed. I also informed the sales person that I was thinking of an alarm system for my business so if this experience worked well, I would give ADT more of my business. ADT gave me a written quotation on 10/26 (he didn’t show up for one appointment but finally we had an appointment and quotation when he came over on 10/26). Sales person was Tyvone **.

The installation was scheduled for 11/23/2010. I was given a window from 8 am until 12 noon and took the day off from work, technician was Greg **, on 11/23 (Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving). He told me that the package I had bought was not appropriate due to the position of the phone jacks in my house. He suggested that I get a cell phone system which would cost more money ($150 difference plus $9 per month extra free). I said that I would go with the cell system and make the change in my order only if he could install the system without any further delay since I wanted to have the system installed. If there was to be a delay to procure and schedule the cell system, then I would like for him to install the original system (with the landlines). He made a few calls and promised that he would return on 11/25 in the afternoon. I took the day off and waited for the technician the entire day. He didn’t show up. I tried calling but got no response. The week of November 29th, I called the sales person Tyvone a few times. He called me back on Wednesday, 11/31, and said that he didn’t know anything about the technician not showing up and he didn’t see that an installation was scheduled for 11/25 at my house. Apparently, the technician had lied to me.

Tyvone then called me on Friday 12/2 at 5pm saying the installation would occur on 12/6/10 (Monday) in the morning. I had no advance notice to schedule the day off, but was desperate to have the system installed. So I took the morning off. On Monday, 12/6/2010, the technician showed up but didn’t have the intercom system that was part of my order. He started the installation of the rest of the security system but left without completing the installation. He left all his paperwork in the house and also some equipment. This was my third day off work and still I had no alarm system. I then reached out to the district manager, Rick **. Rick said that he was sorry about my experience and promised to take care of the installation and ensure that it was done right. He asked me to email him and call him directly if I had any questions.

The installation was scheduled for 12/14/2010. I emailed Rick ** a few times and also left several messages. He never called me back. On the scheduled installation date of Tuesday 12/14/2010, the technician did not show up. I had taken the morning off from work (my 4th day off). I called Rick ** and also Tyvone. I was informed by Tyvone that there was a problem -- ADT could not install the talk/see/listen intercom system since the price quoted in the contract was for the wrong system (talk/listen intercom). It was 10:30 am. I had already been waiting for 2 hours and the technician had not shown up, and I felt that I was being forced to either pay more money or install an intercom system that I didn’t want. I was totally fed up and had no faith in what anyone was saying to me. I called up Ackermann Security on the same day. The sales person showed up on the same day in the evening and has scheduled the installation for next week.

I feel lied to, cheated and am emotionally distressed! I feel threatened, fearing that they could send an intruder at my home in my absence or whatever to get even because of they way they sounded and acted on the phone with me. I am worried now and don't know how to handle this situation!

Being a customer for 15 yrs, I thought this would not be a problem. They told me they would send someone 149.00 plus 40.00 per hour while they were here. They offer a free system advertised in our newspaper every week to new customers for 99.00. So I will have to cancel ADT and then I will call them and have them reinstall a new system for 99.00. Does this make sense? I have talked to supervisors and they say they understand but to have someone come out for a loyal customer is still 149.00 plus 40.00 for each 1/2 hour.

What? Are you kidding me! They continue to call my mom directly and then since they say they've called her and got no response, they call those listed next on the list. Dah! She is deaf, so obviously she is not going to answer the phone! Hello! Can you hear me now! My mom has already told them that they have to go through TDD Relay (711) to get a hold of her. Still to this day, they do not! When I suggested that they text her, I was told that they do not text people. So, how would you get a hold of your deaf customer when an alarm is going off?

Also, if they get a hold of everyone on the list and leave voice mails, ADT's job is done. What kind of security is that? The operators in the monitoring area do not like you questioning them, are very rude and have often hung up on me! I urge folks, who are deaf, to call and complain! This company does not have your security or best interest at hand! What is a customer paying for the sign in the front yard and some misc. stickers?

Thanks but no thanks! We will take our business elsewhere and will look into legal representation! I urge folks to find another security company that is not affiliated with ADT. Disgusted with ADT security! My mother's security is not their first priority. Their priority is getting as much money from you as they can!

I demanded for a tech to come out and no one called. On Nov. 10, I had another call regarding a burglar event. On Nov. 11, I received a call from the dealer and was offered for a tech to come out, again and a refund for 2 months of monitoring. I explained that the offer was not acceptable at this point and that they could do better. My family and I have been inconvenienced and I have invested a lot of money in a company that has not held up their end whatsoever. Their customer service, response time and equipment is poor! ADT also has responsibility in this and choose to play the blame game. I wouldn't be opposed to the dealer coming to pick up their equipment, cancel our contract and give me a 100% refund so that I can go with someone who can handle the business.

Today, the phones are not working at all again, both of my numbers ** and **. I have been continually called by ADT telling me something was wrong with my system due to the telephone, and vice versa, the telephone company tells me that it has been ADT. But yet with the terrible service, I have continually paid my bills and have asked them to give me some credit and they have refused. I am so mad that if I do not hear from both companies, I will file a complaint and also hire me an attorney to proceed with a law suit. I would appreciate hearing from someone right now if you can get through.

My dad took off work to meet them and they said they had no record of our appointment and didn't send anyone until 2pm. The tech said not only did the system fail but the ADT subcontractor that installed it, installed his own equipment and not ADT. They said they would install a new system on Nov 2, 2010, almost 2 weeks after the break in. During that time, we are expected to pay for service even with the system not working and that mean I had no smoke detectors or anything for 2 weeks because they are all tied in. They never installed a new system. The tech showed up another 6 hours late on Nov 2nd and they replaced the same box again. I am force to pay a $1,000 deductible on my homeowners insurance to get my stuff replaced that was stolen in the robbery.

I think ADT allows (or maybe promotes) this kind of scam done by their sales reps because they are not helpful on the phone and even if you try to contact to Corporate Customer Relations Consultants in Florida. As a result, we were not aware of a 5 year contract and the signing was like a bait-and-switch deal. After experiencing this with ADT, I personally persuaded the company I work to switch their alarm systems in 3 different locations to other security company (which offered significant discounts though, and free setup). Everything fine for now but ADT problem still not solved. Interestingly the early termination fee they want us to pay is the sum of remaining 4 years.

I was told that the alarm could be moved and installed in my new home and I could continue my contract. On January 19, 2010, the Tampa office sent an installer to my house. I took the day off from work. The installer arrived very late in the day. The installer suggested I buy the wireless system and said it would be easier to move and he would not have to drive into my walls. Knowing it would probably be moving the system, and knowing it would be easier on the installer, I decided to pay the difference to have the wireless system installed.

The system was installed on the 19th, and all was good, so I thought. On 4/23/10, I was laid off from my job and decided that it was time to go ahead and move. I called ADT to see what the process was for uninstalling my system, so that I was prepared when my house sold. The ADT customer support lady said that the alarm was to stay with the house, that I would have to purchase a new alarm for my new home, and if I didn't, I would have to pay a $900 plus fee for breaking the contract. If I bought a new alarm for my new home, I would have to sign up and start my 3-year contract up all over, but if I could convince the new owners of my home to sign up for 3 years, then I would be out of my contract.

I was shocked, since I thought I had bought my system, and was told by ADT that I would move it. Again, also, at install, the installer said I could move it. I would have bought the wired version, if ADT had been upfront and told me that I was not purchasing the equipment. I would not have paid more for equipment that I did not own and could not reuse. The buyers of my house said that they did not want to make a contract with ADT and did not want the alarm.

I called the Tampa ADT to ask them to come remove their equipment. They said there would be a $150 charge for removal and they wanted me to leave the alarm there for the new owners. I tried to convince ADT that the new owners did not want it and it is their equipment, much to my anger, and that they need to come remove it. ADT would not, so we disconnected it ourselves, including all parts and drove to Tampa to return the system. I had the Tampa office give me a receipt. I called ADT several times to express my anger at being lied to from the beginning, to no avail.

After I moved, I received a call from a sales person asking if I was ready to have an ADT alarm installed in my new home. Of course by then I did not want anything to do with ADT. I explained my situation and he said he would mark it down in my file. About 2 weeks later, I received a call from ADT saying that they could not get a reading on my alarm system. I told them that my alarm had been removed over a month ago. I was surprised it took them that long to notice that there was no signal coming from my alarm alerting them to a problem.

I called the Tampa installer, who originally installed my system, to complain and asked if there was anything he could do. He said since I took it on myself and uninstalled the system myself, and already contacted ADT. there was nothing he could do. He said he could have removed it for me to take with me, but it was too late. He said I'm on my own and in his words he said that he is just a "pee on." I told him that I want this matter to go to a class action suit. He got mad and said I was just going to get him in trouble. We hung up. I paid the $900+ break of contract fee. I sincerely hope that someone will step up and take situations like mine into a class action lawsuit against ADT. Consumers need to be protected from ADT.

As this company has misrepresented itself to me, I want a full and complete refund and any amount that I might have incurred by my bank for being short of funds due the this .I spoke with Erica, employee # **, and was assured that I would get a full refund. But since then I spoke to another agent and he said that no money was taken from my account. When I confronted him with the proof, he said that it would take 30 days or longer to get my refund. I am completely unsatisfied by the deceitful behavior this company chose to use against me.

Cancel account. Unsatisfactory. Well, I am disabled and live on a fixed income and these people lied and took money out of my account. And now I am facing the possibility of insufficient funds from my bank which I surely cannot afford.

As this company has misrepresented itself to me, I want a full and complete refund, and any amount that I might have incurred by my bank for being short of funds due to this. I spoke with Erica employee # ** and was assured that I would get a full refund, but since then I spoke to another agent and he said that no money was taken from my acct. but when I confronted him with the proof, he said that it would take 30 days or longer to get my refund. I am completely unsatisfied by this deceitful behavior this company chose to use against me.

The technician that was dispatched had replaced the sensor after checking for faulty wiring on 08/18/2010. A couple of days later we had the same problem monitor beeping continuous. This time however, the customer service technician told me that it is not possible to log in remotely and I had to shut down the system completely.

The dispatched technician found that the board itself was bad on 08/27/2010 and he had to order the part. He spent 3 hours trying to find out what is wrong. I took a day off from work knowing ADT technician will come and fix the issue.

After a week, on Friday 09/03/2010, a technician came for the third time in a month to install the new board and after he left we had the same problem. The system is off since 09/03/2010 when it worked 2 hours on that day. This time my husband took a day off from work. For the last couple of weeks we have been trying, unsuccessfully, to cancel our contract per ADT customer satisfaction guarantee customer can break contract within the first 6 months of service if services rendered are not satisfactory. What's worse is that ADT deplorable customer service representatives from the billing department that keep referring us to Alert Security Services of St. Augustine FL each time we try to call. It's important to point out that we've called that number - (904) 829 5359 - numerous times - leave a voicemail, to no avail because no one returns our call. On the two occasions somebody answered, once the CSR assured us that the manager will call us next day first thing in the morning, and the other time that we got the Daytona office and were told to call back after lunch. Nobody called us back.

We are completely dissatisfied with ADT service and we are cancelling it. We've tried three times to fix the issue. We took two days off from work and nothing was resolved. I have written a letter to Mr. John Kock, ADT President and ADT Billing explaining all the facts and asking to cancel ADT service as of 09/03/2010. We have attached a copy of the Police report on 08/15/2010 and ADT Money-Back Service Guarantee certificate received where it states: "Full Instalation and Monitor Refund - Refunds the installation and pays all monitoring fees if, after we have attempted to resolve your concerns, you are not satisfied within six months of installation. "On 10/07/2010 we have received an ADT Invoice with charges for technician two trips fee of $53.50. This is outrageous due the fact that technician was not able to fix the issue 3 times and we took 2 days off from work.

What they didn't tell me was that my account automatically renewed and that I was 3 months shy of the renewal date and I owed an early termination fee. Further, they wrote off my balance and sold my information to a collection agency who sent me forceful letters to pay or else. I called the rep from the collection agency and he was so sympathetic that he said he would close my account with their company. Today, I get another collection notice from another agency to pay up. Let me say that I am so angry with ADT that even if I could pay them, I wouldn't. Their hidden clauses and the way they do business is horrible. I do not recommend ADT to anyone and hope this is read by many. I have been taken to collections and this has affected my credit score.

ADT gives a false sense of security with this product. For the grace of God, they did not kill my wife. If you can give answers and referrals, it will be of great help. A lot of people do not have a cell phone. Thank you very much.

It turns out the contract is not transferable. When you read the contract it does not state it is not transferable nor does it state it is. It talks about cancellation penalties. Because my daughter was told it was transferable, she paid to have it reinstalled in two different residences believing she needed to in order to fulfill the contract. She has now relocated back to DFW due to a divorce and new employment to get back here.

She has been told the three years started over again when she transferred it to her last apartment in San Antonio in February of 2010 and to cancel she has to pay 75% of the remaining term of the three-year contract to the tune of $707. Twice she moved the service with the understanding there was only one three-year contract--the original, not two more--that the three years started over with each new address.

This information needs to be supplied in a clear, straightforward way. I was told by a phone representative at ADT that you can not trust what their sales reps say--you have to read the contract. After rereading the contract, indeed the transfer issue is not addressed in any fashion. People need to be told in writing that each new address is a new three-year term.

When I asked the rep to add this maintenance agreement, he said "$5" per month which I agreed. I asked when will I get this added to my account, he said after he get the document signed. I even asked why cannot they just send me in email or fax which is much easier and they could save one person's life. He was just saying "yes" like the ad for "Peggy". The "Stay" functionality doesn't work. ADT is a rip off. Please don't sign into that. It's a 3 year contract and if you cancel it's $379.

At noon, no one showed up. I waited for 20-25 minutes and no one showed up. So, I called Tiffany, the head consultant of the two young ladies that sold us the system. I had to leave a voice mail. I waited another 20-25 minutes and called again. She was very nice, and said she was sorry. She would make a call and call me right back. She did so and said that there was another mix up and they had me scheduled for 3 pm. I was disappointed, but told them that 3 pm would be okay.

She said that someone named Stephen would be calling me because they had the same problem the day before. Within 10 minutes, Stephen did call and said that he was sorry but they had booked the appointment with him for 3 pm. He said that he was free and he could come then. I told him that was fine and he was there within 15-20 minutes. When he came in, we went over the order form that he had and it did not match what we were told when we purchased it. He very nicely asked if he could see the forms I had. After looking over it, they did not match. While talking, he said that our situation at home would not work because we have a 132 lb. St. Bernard that has freedom in the house while we are away. The system we were sold would not work. Also, the system they sold us was only for two windows and we were told it was for the whole house.

Stephen called his boss and he agreed with him. Stephen then called the consultant and explained that to her. She said that she did not know that, and gave the phone to her team leader, Brandon. He was trying to get us to go ahead and take the system and I told him no because if the system was not going to meet our need, why would we want it? He tried to get us to buy more and we could work it out by getting two windows at a time. He continued, and I told him that I would talk to my husband when he came home.

Then, we decided not to do the system since it would not give us what we were sold, and would not meet our needs. We got the name of his boss and phone number, and called him and told him that we wanted our check back and the paperwork that had our information on it. He said that he was not sure he could do it because it had already been sent to TN. My husband kept calling him to find out about our check and paperwork to cancel, and we did not get any answers. And the last word was that he would contact me and I did not hear from him.

I called him the next morning and he said that it had been sent to TN. I told him that I was calling to report all of this to ADT. I am copying the cancellation notice as we speak and I am getting it off in the mail before my three days stated to cancel. If they do business like this, I am not sure they would do what they said so I have to make sure that my end of the contract is correct.

I know friends that have ADT and it is a great monitoring system. I do not like the way SecureWatch conducts their business. They need to teach these consultants what alarm system goes with what the house needs. I know that my situation with a big dog is rare, but it makes me think how many other people have thought that they were buying one system and got another. And yes, we asked questions, and they were answered. Thank goodness the installer knows what he was doing; the rest of the team needs to follow his example.

I have requested that all the sensors be replaced; this was also the recommendation of two of the engineers who came to my house. ADT has stated that they will only replace one sensor. I have disrupted my weekend plans on at least 5 occasions to wait for an engineer.

I called ADT and they said that someone in accounting forgot to cancel the account and the monthly fees were still being billed. Needless to say, I never received a bill from them, a letter or a phone call. They claim they tried to call me but the number was disconnected. When I spoke to the customer service rep back in March or April, I gave her my current address, telephone number in Florida and she assured me everything would be fine. Wrong.

ADT has since talked to Mr. ** from Apelles and told them ADT has made a mistake, but said he would wait for someone to send them something in writing. I also asked for a letter of apology from ADT and I wanted it to include that they have notified the collection agency that they made a mistake and Mr. ** said he could not send a letter but would said a bill with a zero balance. This is so ridiculous and also annoying that I cannot get a letter even though I did everything right.

I had to check on my credit by getting a credit report. I was sick to my stomach all day and an extreme headache as I have never had a collection agency knocking on my door and have a excellent credit rating and I am in the process of closing on a home and hope this does not ruin my closing.

Now my system is down again and they are saying I will have to pay 25.00 service fee for them to come out and put new batteries in the parts they just sold me in July 2010? I don't understand how a company like ADT Security Systems can be allowed to stay in business ripping off customers the way they are doing. They were to schedule someone to come out and fix my system either after 5:00 or on a Saturday, but I was informed they have none. Well, now I am stuck with a system that doesn't work and a 49.00 payment a month for what? I stay by myself and really need a reliable security system! I can't use my system at night so I am not getting very much sleep! And I should not have to pay for something that is not working! Lemon Law should effect these companies too!

The sales rep claimed to be an ADT representative. The shirt said "ADT" and all the paperwork says "ADT," including contract installation agreement and warranty. The phone number on all paperwork was the 800 number for ADT. I had no reason to think that this was not an ADT representative. When the installer came out, they did not finish installation. They claimed that they were not sent with everything and they would come back. They never did.

Then I received my credit card bill in less than one month with a charge to ADT with ADT's 800 number on it for $50. When I called the number, I was told that the representative was not from ADT and that ADT uses local dealerships to sell and this person was from some company called Secure Watch. The free time periods or price agreements/contracts made were with Secure Watch not ADT and that ADT would not honor the agreement. If I cancel my contract, ADT would charge me a fee for 3 years of monitoring and report negatively on my credit report.

Again, all contracts and contact given by representative was for ADT and billing is coming from ADT. If this is as they claim and my contract is with another company, then how can ADT be billing me or charging me a fee for canceling?

Of course, when they finally tracked down the number for Secure Watch, I was told that they are ADT dealers. I am confused. If they are an authorized ADT dealer, how does ADT get out of honoring the contract?

Of course, Secure Watch says the person over my sale is no longer with the company so they can not verify any agreements. I would think that my copy of the paperwork would be verification but they will not accept this. I have been told on every attempt to resolve this, that a manager would call me back but they never do. The representative will not connect you through to one.

Meanwhile, I am still paying the $50 a month fee. My husband is not working and I can not afford this. The only solution I can see is to cancel the credit card or have the charge blocked by the card company. I am afraid to have a negative report against my credit so they have you stuck.

It seems to me that ADT is committing fraud and hiding behind a 3rd party company as a loop hole. Something that was only supposed to cost $150 installation for 1 year and free to cancel is now to cost over $1900.

As of 8/13/10, the fire alarm panel remains "illegal" even though ADT Security Services has sent several ADT representatives and technicians to inspect and correct the issues, only to find out that the panel cannot be repaired. In addition, the paperwork which ADT Security Services Inc. were supposed to file is still incomplete, therefore, our agency continues to receive violations and we have been back and forth to court at least two times a year since 2005. Contact has been made with Mr. ** from ADT as well as several supervisors over him, only to get the runaround and unfulfilled promises. As of 8/13/10, we have exhausted all options in attempts to address and rectify this situation.

When I asked for and spoke to a manager, he told me it is my fault because I did not do my 30-day system checks per contract so ADT has no record of when my system stopped working. They refuse to pay me a dime for all of the 3 years I have paid for no connection to the main ADT base system. Anything could've happened in my home with regards to vandalism and they would not have had a clue.

After one year, the property went on the market and we vacated the property. I contacted ADT to let them know and they cancelled the service. But after two months, I was still being charged. I called up ADT and was told that it was cancellation charges of $1,556.22. I told them that there was a mistake and I contacted the head office and explained what happened. They told me they would be in contact with me. I did not hear back till I received a letter from a collection agency. I was very upset, so I called the sales person and he remembered our conversation and said he would look up the telephone records and contact me back. Nothing happened.

So then I called Josh, manager of the local office in Aurora, and he told me mistakes happen and that he would waive the fee. I then hear back from the collection office saying that head office were going to pursue the written contract and had lost the telephone records and so they wanted $943.43. I explained that it was not my fault that they had lost the telephone records and I was not willing or could afford to pay this fee. I was then told by Josh that he would call me on Friday to resolve the matter. It is now Monday. I can not get hold of him. I talked to collection agency and he said he was told, too, that he would hear on Friday, but has not heard. I am at the end of what to do next. I am very upset I do not have this money. I would have never agreed to a five-year contract without knowing I could get out of it. I have done all the calling with little results and need help. Please advice.

I have everything I own in my apartment because I couldn't afford a storage space due to being a disabled veteran with no income. I am constantly worried about losing everything. I also am disabled and my apartment is unsecured so if someone breaks in I cannot defend myself and no one would be notified. I'm developing all kinds of stress related problems due to this. I desperately need help to either get my money back from ADT so I can purchase a new Alarm system from a company with a better record of customer service with residential customers.

I eventually turned the alarm off (after several minutes) and immediately made a call to the ADT monitoring service to inquire about why I had not received a response. I was not able to get through to the monitoring service because I was placed on hold for several minutes. I tried again in the morning to see if the inability to access the monitoring service was due to a "fluke". Once again, I was unable to access the monitoring service because I was placed on hold.

I have three major issues. One, the monitoring service did not respond when my alarm was triggered. I eventually reached customer service and they sent a technician to the house. The technician was unable to determine the cause for the alarm failure. They noted that their records indicated that the alarm signal did in fact make it to the monitoring service, but the signal only activated for 3 seconds before it was turned off. I know for a fact that the alarm actually went off for several minutes while I checked the entire house. Even allowing for 35 seconds for the signal to reach the monitoring service, the monitoring service should have received a signal for significantly longer than 3 seconds. The alarm was activated for several minutes. My second problem is that I attempted to reach out to ADT monitoring service when I did not receive a response, and I was placed on hold. This occurred on two separate occasions. For a business that receives a monthly fee to provide emergency monitoring, this is inappropriate.

My third problem is that I requested to exercise the "6-month money back guarantee" that I received with my contract materials. I was denied the ability to end my contract due to my dissatisfaction with the service. The contract materials and 6-month money back guarantee materials presented to me state that I can receive a money back guarantee within six months of initiation of service if ADT attempts to resolve my issue and I am still not satisfied. The ADT technician was unable to determine a cause for my alarm monitoring failure. Thus, the issue was not resolved. At the time of the technician visit, the technician reported that the system had no defects.

So, presumably, my problem is intermittent. Though I am paying a monthly fee and a large installation charge, I have absolutely no guarantees that my service will reliably respond to an emergency. When I contacted the ADT representatives and requested to terminate my contract due to dissatisfaction with the service, they informed me that I am not authorized to terminate the contract. Their rationale is that since they cannot identify the problem with the system, they have no responsibility to provide a remedy or relieve me of my contract.

Aside from the system failure, I am also dissatisfied with the fact that I have been unable to access the monitoring service on two occasions. If I am paying a monthly monitoring fee, I feel that it is inappropriate to be placed on hold in an emergency situation or during an alarm event. The representative told me that my concerns were unjustified. The representative claimed that ADT does not have a responsibility to ensure that its customers can access the monitoring service without being placed on hold. They state that they cannot control call volume and will not guarantee access to the monitoring service. I am dissatisfied with this level of access and protection afforded by the monitoring service. I feel that I should be able to reliably access the monitoring system if I need it. I was unable to do this on two separate occasions. This is the second basis of my request to terminate the service. I was told that dissatisfaction of this nature was insufficient to be relieved of my contract.

I signed a two year contract where I essentially agreed to pay an installation fee and monthly monitoring charge for two years. In exchange, ADT agrees to offer monitoring service and alarm system support for the contract period. I have paid all of the fees in a timely manner. ADT on the other hand, has failed to provide adequate monitoring service or remedy my problem so that I can receive reliable monitoring coverage. I feel that ADT's 6-month money back guarantee is not being appropriately honored. Thus, I have a problem with the advertising materials that were given to me when I signed my contract. When I signed my contract, I was provided with a certificate that guarantees my money back. The certificate agrees to provide a refund of monitoring and installation services if the following conditions are met: 1) ADT attempts to resolve the issue. 2) The customer is not satisfied. 3) The dissatisfaction occurs within 6 months of starting the service.

I feel that I have met all three conditions. I have given ADT an opportunity to resolve the issue with the alarm system. The technicians cannot find a problem with the system, thus they have not resolved the problem. I cannot rely on this alarm system to reliably afford the appropriate level of protection. I know from my experience that my system is not functioning properly, because the monitoring service did not respond when the alarm went off for a long period of time. Thus, I remain dissatisfied with the alarm system itself. I am also dissatisfied with the monitoring service, since I was unable to access them on my own (using my phone) on two separate occasions due to being placed on hold. This is not appropriate for a service that provides emergency monitoring.

All three of these issues occurred within approximately one month of having ADT service. Thus, all three conditions of the money back guarantee have been met, yet ADT will not honor the 6-month money back guarantee. I have paid between $500 and $600 for installation of an alarm system that is not working. I am also being held to a 2-year contract for another 22 months of monitoring service that I cannot reliably access when needed. If I cancel the service, I will be charged 75% of the monthly charges. If I refuse to pay these charges, my credit will be impacted (I have never had any credit issues at all). I am an active duty Army officer who is separated from my husband, who is also on active duty and stationed in another state. I am pregnant and have a toddler in the house. Despite paying the charges to ADT, I cannot reliably protect my family.

Two weeks later I received a bill from ADT for $56.42 for the end of June/July service. We started calling the Rep. Devin and left messages. We eventually called Elite directly. They told us that they would get Devin to call us. When he finally called, he was now telling us that the monitoring rate was $43.99. He was trying to tell us that this is what he told us. I told him why would I switch from a company that I have been with for 11 years and paying less for ADT. He then tried to tell us that the promotional was only for 3 years and he would give us $1,600 to compensate the rate difference. I told him he was full of it and called Elite. I spoke with Brittney. She wanted me to send her a copy of my signed contract. I did. I didn't hear anything back for days. I called Elite. They told me a supervisor would get back to me.

I waited 2 more days. I called ADT and spoke with a Jerrid in Accounting. I told him my story and he conferenced in Elite. We spoke with an Alex in accounts. He told me that he has a copy of the contract in which the amount of $43.99 was on it. I asked him for a copy of the contract. He said he would send it. Two days later I called Elite and spoke with Brittney. She informed me that her supervisor told her that she was going to cancel our contract. I told her I wanted it in writing. I received a letter stating that our contract was canceled by Elite and that they would come out and pick up their equipment. Two days later, I received the cancel letter.

Six days later, I received a letter from Elite with the copy of my contract. In it it shows amounts of money to be paid that is different from my original contract. Two weeks have passed and the ADT system is still in my house. I went online to see the status of my account with ADT. It showed still active and a bill for August to be paid. On 7/30/2010, I called ADT and spoke with Christina/Accounts. She told me that ADT has not received a notice of cancellation. She took down the information and was forwarding a notice of complaint to Elite. She was also questioning the notice of cancellation.

ADT can bill me for cancellation of service before the three year contract is up since Elite is not fessing up to two different contracts nor canceling my account. Money is being directly removed from my account for monitoring service. How many other people did the Elite rep. scammed? On 7/30/2010, I went back to Monitronics, which means I am paying for two alarm companies until ADT cancels my account. When ADT removes their equipment I will have holes from their equipment now.

When I called ADT back and talked to a manager, she told me that was human error and it happens. I am a single female living alone and if someone had hurt me this morning I would still be lying there waiting for help. The point of paying $45 per month for an alarm is so that help shows up when it goes off. I want out of my contact so I can switch to another company but ADT said there is nothing they can do. I just have to hope that next time the operator gives the wrong address to the police! Don't use ADT, their monitoring service and customer service are bad. I don't feel comfortable using ADT's services and would like to cancel my contract so I can use another company that will actually show up when the alarm goes off.

ADT in Gainesville and the Accounting Office in Jacksonville make it very clear that you should never believe their Sales Representatives when you purchase a system. You should take your home security contract to an Attorney to decipher the fine print. From my conversation with ADT, there is absolutely no one up the chain of command who will stand behind what the Sales Representative said at the time of the sale. Scam is the word of ADT - simple as that. There seems to be nothing credible in what any of the ADT Associates say or do except send out the bill.

She still had me sign the contract knowing full well it was 3 years. Yes, I hadn't read the contract...but something as pertinent as that should have been stated knowing I was only here for a year. I have just tried to cancel, and was informed that I have 2 years left on my contract, which I have to pay. On asking to speak to a manager, they agreed to give me 50% off. I reluctantly agreed, as I leave the country in a month's time, and am unable to fight it. The sales reps need to be more upfront/honest, especially when dealing with rental customers.

I signed the agreement given to me, believing it would have the quoted price verbally given to me. At a closer look I was charged for one remote, but was not told it would be extra and had a higher monthly fee than was quoted to me. On the day of install the installer was there at approx. 0900 and did not leave until nearly 1300 (1 pm). I asked on more than one occasion if the install would be finished before 1200 since I had to be at work at 1300. The install was not complete before 1200.

As a result I was late for work and the installer was not able to complete the work. The installer had to return the next morning to register the cell unit because they were not able to do it that day. On the way to work I called the representative that scheduled my install to express my unpleasant experience and the discrepancy between the verbal and written quote. I never got a call back from that representative. When I went to cancel my current home security system; they offered me a better price and I stated I would consider the offer to find out if I could still get out of the contract. I called ADT and asked when the 3-day grace period started.

The representative put me on hold to verify the time frame. When the representative came back on the line they stated the 3-day grace period was from the day of installation. So I asked if there would be any sort of installation fee and she stated no. I just needed to send a letter of cancellation and was given the fax number. With the completely unsatisfactory service and lack of response of the representative about the quoted price, I decided to cancel service.

I later got a bill stating that I owed over $900 for cancelling my service agreement too early after I had my original company reinstall my equipment. I immediately called the company and they referred me to the "local" company. I was told by the local company that the representative was wrong. I asked to speak with the manager and was told I would get a phone call from him. I asked for his name and number. I called the manager and left a message on the manager's voice mail and I never received a call from the manager. I was given a call from the person who had stated that the 3-day grace period was from the day of installation to apologize to me and offer me the price that was quoted verbally to me of $34.99/month and reinstate my account and I would not get charged the penalty and installation fee of over $900.

They have sent my account to a collection agency and threatened to negatively impact my credit. According to them, it was my responsibility to test their system monthly to ensure it was working properly. When I pay for a service, I expect the service provider to ensure their system is working or at least let me know if there is a problem, which they did not do.

A call into ADT complaint department said that "Protect Your Home is our biggest customer but we receive the most complaints from them". Protect Your Home told me that I would be able to change my security code online, which was an important option for me to have. They assured me that I could not only do that, but also do it through an iPhone app.

Well, the technician arrives and he says that is not possible. The poor guy, who is a just a salesman/installer, traveled 3 hours to get to my house and he tells me he will get a bad review for not having completed install at his company. Protect Your Home wasted my time, 2+ hrs on the phone plus 2-day wait for service call, in addition to the time of the installer who wasted his time, gas, and he gets a bad review. The look on his face made my girlfriend cry. It is despicable what they put him and us through.

My refund will be held for 2 weeks. My time, I lost offer on competitor service. Installer lost time, gas money and received bad review by default for not hooking service up at the house before departure.

So I called another alarm company. They came out immediately, and fixed the problem. No more false alarms, so it is now repaired. I called ADT and cancelled with ADT and went with the company who had so quickly responded to my needs. Now ADT say I owe for the balance of the unused contract. Had they fixed it in a timely manner I could have stayed with them. The police station was getting tired of having to come out for a false alarm and I was embarrassed to have them come. Will I have to pay this canceled contract?

I had good credit 800 score which is ruined by ADT and its cohorts. The cost to me is thousand of money. I'm 73 with bad heart and this aggravation affected my health. I have the paper trail to prove my case.

Since the thieves tried to gain entry to my home through the bulkhead door to my basement, I wanted to increase my security system by installing one or more motion sensors in the basement. Since we are using Honeywell/Ademco 5890 PIR wireless motion sensor in the upstairs, I wanted to install the same equipment in the basement. I called ADT to inquire about installation of the additional sensor(s), which I assumed I could install myself. The ADT representative I spoke with told me that an ADT service technician would need to visit my home to perform the installation at a cost of $96 for the first 30 minutes and $35 for each 15 minutes thereafter ($166 per hour), plus $175 for each motion sensor.

I informed the rep that I had two sensors (which I purchased for $30 each on eBay), and since they are wireless, I only needed someone at ADT to talk me through the enrollment process so the new sensors will work correctly with my existing alarm system. She proceeded to tell me, in a frustrated and condescending voice, that even though the sensors are wireless, the technician would still need to come to my home to drill holes in my wall and run a wire from each sensor back to the alarm panel. I explained to her that I am familiar with the sensors, having read the user guide on the Honeywell/Ademco web site, which communicates with the panel via an FM transmitter and there are no wires to connect to the sensor, even if I wanted to connect a wire. She told me on several occasions that I didn’t understand, and reiterated what shed told me previously about the technician coming to my home to perform the installation.

I was optimistic about ADT and its services until this conversation with their representative which left me thinking that this rep is either unknowledgeable about the equipment or is trying to deceive me into believing a technician needs to visit my home at a cost to me of $166 per hour. As a result of this experience, and all the negative things I've read about ADT, I'm not going to sign that monitoring agreement ADT sent me in the mail. At $34.99 per month, ADT is among the highest-priced monitoring service available and should not need to gouge its customers for unnecessary service visits. Further, given that ADT did not provide any equipment, I see no reason to commit to a 2-year service contract with steep penalties for early termination.

I scheduled a service call, and the technician came on the wrong day. I rescheduled, and the technician never showed up. I then called ADT Corporate HQ, and no one called me back. I followed up with ADT Corporate and escalated to your customer relations department and spoke to Eric who was very good. He told me that he would have someone call me from Gaylord Security and gave me 2 months of free service for all of the hassle.

$245 to pay for the wireless system/downgrade

I'm appalled at ADT/Gaylord Security and the way they treat their customers. We aren't and haven't been happy with our security system, and they want to charge us over $300 to have their service work. There is no termination option, because the cost is too excessive. Instead, I have to continue to pay a rate of $45/month for a service that we have no confidence in.

One office had a convicted level 3 sex offender working for them. ADT does business with everyone. Banks, CEOs, federal judges, US Marshalls, FBI, CIA. Does anyone care? Time for a class action lawsuit to get ADT to straighten out.

I asked of we could contact together the 1-800 number that I had where the installation agreement was reached and they stated that was not their job. At that point, the following day I contacted the installation department myself and immediately they agreed that "yes, being a USAA member, everything that was promised was indeed the truth". They contacted the consumer affairs department at ADT and I spoke to Charles. He was completely helpful and advised that he was on the situation and a refund would be on its way. He gave me his supervisor's name of Jennifer and a phone number to reach them. One week later and 11 phone calls with not one return phone call, still no refund. At that point, I did some internet research and found that the President of ADT is a Mr. John Koch. So I wrote him and email, and magically, I started receiving responses.

At this point, this is the first time Antone at ADT had contacted me. Doug ** has now become my contact. He has started processing my original credit that I was promised over two weeks ago. He states that it will take 5-7 business days for that to hit my account. Attempting to resolve the huge overdraft charges that have resulted has become another nightmare. ADT has had me fax my personal bank statement to them on four separate occasions now. They state they are trying to prove that it is indeed them that has caused my personal bill paying account to go into a tail spin. After all that ADT has put me through, now my personal banker has had to be in contact with them on three separate occasions, send them even more items of my personal information to just to attempt to receive what ADT has admitted to causing in the first place.

Now, Doug is asking if I would just like my ADT account credited for the nightmare instead of a complete refund. As of today, June 11, 2010, I have received no refunds of any kind. No compensation for the over billing or overdraft charges. No reimbursement for the unauthorized charges in the first place. Nothing at all. $850.00 in overcharges and overdrafts. Not to mention, the more than 20 plus hours on the phone and at the bank just trying to get this resolved.

I called back and went through the process of attempting to have my number removed. As I have done that several times in the past, I don't have faith that the system works. Apparently the requests to have one's number removed from ADT's system go into a black hole, and are nothing more than a routine they have to provide by law.

ADT, stop calling me. I have security systems in both of my homes and will never, ever use your services due to the rudeness of your reps, and obvious inability to get the message across to you. If I receive one more call from ADT, I will file a complaint with the FL AG's office and possibly sue for clear violations of multiple laws.

I was shocked that the man actually said those words to me and told him that I demanded to speak to his supervisor at which point I was again told to quit my barking and to "shut up". For the second time, I demanded to speak to his supervisor by saying "Get me on the line with your supervisor" when the employee retorted with, "You want to get it on with my supervisor?" I was also told to "shut up you Caucasian **" at which point I said "I do not even believe this" and hung up on the employee. I am livid. ADT managed to assault me through the phone lines. A company who's mission is to protect my home and the homes of others assaulted me in my own house.

I searched for a number to call online and managed to get through to an agent who listened briefly to my experience and then put me on hold for over 10 minutes. The "supervisor" who answered my call was condescending and arrogant, responding to my call by saying "I understand you think you received a call from an ADT representative?" I did and do not "think" I received a call, I did. The male employee and his co-workers could be heard in the background pitching ADT protection. This supervisor was not the least bit interested in listening to what I had to say and quickly put me through to another office for complaints where all I could do was leave a message about what transpired this afternoon.

I employ anyone who reads this experience to pass this on to other people and to friends, family, coworkers who put their trust in ADT if their own employees are the offenders, how do they propose to protect you and give you a sense of security? Cancel your contracts for you own well being.

Last week, I was having some electrical upgrades done and called ADT to let them know that I was going to shut off the electricity. They asked for my password and I could not remember it. I called Deborah that day to get the password and she stated that she would be in the office that afternoon and would get back to me. She never called. The upgrade was done with out ADT system being put on test. After a call back message to her she did call, several days later. Last Tuesday, my backup battery alarm went off during the night. ADT contacted us telling us that they were aware of the alarm.

We contacted ADT and were told from the consumer services that when we upgraded last, we did not get a new backup battery or security box and that it was our responsibility to replace the backup battery. I called Deborah on 5/1/10 and told her about the conversion. She stated that the service people do not know what they are doing and that we did purchase a new security box and backup battery. She said that she would be in the office that afternoon and that she would look at our account and call me back. At that point, we would set up an appointment to have a tech come to my house and replace the backup battery. It is now 5/03/10 and she has not made any effort to contact me. The customer service of our sales person is very poor. She wants referrals but when we have issues. Then, it's a different story. We have to call and call. Very disappointed in the customer service of ADT.

I contacted them again and followed their requirements as requested. I called to ask them how much I needed to pay them because I had not heard from them and I was getting phone calls about my account being past due (recorded messages that ask me to wait for a rep) and I thought it was right to send them monies for the amount owed. They then sent me a bill for over $1,000.00 for the cost of the 5 years!

I tried again to contact them and when I tried to explain and get someone on the phone that was a decision maker. I was just talked over. So I sent the bill and contract to our attorneys. They sent a letter to them explaining the situation and all we got back was another bill, with no regard to the 3 year agreement. In order to proceed, I have to have our attorneys send another letter and possibly go to court which will, more than likely cost more than the $1,000 dollars owed. We are a small business and this $1,000.00 + hurt us a lot and it’s because they will not talk to us or agreement they have in place. We need help.

When I complained, he appeased my tenant by offering him some grocery discounts! After a year of this and my tenant's lease was ending, I kept calling him to get the unwanted feature removed. His voice mail says, "You have reached Daniel..." It is definitely his voice. I left him 4 voice mails, and he ignored them all. Finally, I left him one saying I would post my opinion of him on the internet. Do not work with this guy! He is very slick.

PS, I am a senior citizen with plenty of medical conditions. I would like to at least feel safe and secure in my home without worrying about my safety at home. The stress from these incidents makes my blood pressure and my blood sugar level unstable. I am uncomfortable with this discomfort at home knowing I am not protected. Please help me get this resolved asap. Thank you.

Now, they are asking us to pay $200 to upgrade our device so that it can be monitored and also an additional $12 per month (on top of the $35+) to continue our service properly with them. I told them "absolutely not". I am at fault for not testing the alarm with the company (as stated in the fine print of the contract) but I still feel cheated. They know their products and I trusted them to help us. In all the 5 yrs, not once did they bother to make a call to us to ask us to test the system. I have been paying $35 per month for the last 8 years and 5 of which we didn't get any form of monitoring from them. They were not willing to take any responsibility for their lack of ownership. I do not want this to happen to any ADT consumers. I feel that ADT has a responsibility to their clients to help ensure that their products are working as well. Maybe not monthly but not 5 years!

I received a letter from ADT acknowledging receipt of my letter, and advising me that there might be additional charges. I did not respond. ADT, in spite of my cancellation letter, presented a demand to my bank, which mistakenly accepted their demand because it was for an amount that was different from the previous amounts.

The bank rescinded the action, and it was a short time later that I received a bill from ADT. There was no comment. I returned the bill with a notation that the account was closed on 2/5/10. Yesterday (4/10/10), I received a bill for $535.04 which included an "Effective Cancel Date of 4/01/2010" along with a threat that they would turn the matter over to a collection agency if the bill was not paid in a timely fashion. Naturally, I have no intention of paying this ridiculous demand, especially since they unilaterally breached our contract.

Incidentally, when their salesman first visited my home, I balked at the lengthy 3-year term contained in the contract. His remark was, "Well, look at it this way, they won't be able to change the monthly payment for three years." Since it was part of the sales pitch, I believe the change in the monthly payment was a breach on their part. I have spoken to a friend who is an attorney (I used to be a paralegal), and he assures me that ADT would lose this case if it were brought to court. I am now 73-years-old, and I do not wish to carry it that far, but I am prepared with all of my paperwork in the event they decide to pursue this matter. The dry wall where their equipment was installed had to be repaired and patched. It will cost approximately $50 to have someone do the repairs.

After completion of the work the next month, I received a bill from ADT for $780 plus tax for repair services. I called ADT to question charges, they said I was responsible for the charges. I then asked the representative, "If you are gonna charge a customer for repair charges wouldn't the customer has to be notified and agree to the charges" because at this point my contract was over in the next few months.

I would have opted to pay the ETF, which would have been cheaper than repair charges for your equipment. She said no, we don't have to advise you and if you want to dispute you need to call the district office. I called the district office and they said they were sorry but the charges are valid and told me to have a good day. They are now reporting it to a credit bureau for charges I didn't authorize.

When I called customer service, I was told that's their policy and I would have to wait 30 days for my refund. When I explained that wasn't good enough and I had been promised that nothing would be charged in the first place, he told me to read my brochure (which I didn't have. I'd spoken to someone on the phone) and I would have to wait 30 days like everyone else. That's when I asked for a supervisor and the call got really bad. I spent 20 minutes on the phone with the customer service rep telling me that a supervisor was not available but they would call me back. When I said I wanted to hold, he told me that this wasn't a supervisor issue and they were going to tell me the same thing he had already explained. By the end of my phone call with him, he was threatening to "disconnect the call" if I couldn't realize that I didn't need to speak to a supervisor. I finally got the supervisor who said she would escalate the refund (that should not have been charged in the first place)! I hate ADT's customer service and salesman and cannot understand how they are still in business!

I contacted ADT five days after the fire and a supervisor advised me that the system still showed to be working properly when the complete house and all of their equipments were destroyed and there was no power or phone lines to the structure. Ask yourself what you would do if you lost everything and you will know how we feel. I lost our $500,000 home and personal stuff that can't be replaced.

I was not told at the time of the agreement that I would have to put money out to receive this Visa Gift Card. They requested that the $4.95 be sent either by money order or cashiers check. I feel that this is misleading and also now, reduces the Visa Gift Card amount to $95 plus the cost of the money order or cashiers check. I spoke with a customer rep at Protect Your Home named Vanessa and she said that this is how the company handles the gift card. I also spoke with Justin, a customer relations rep and he also advised me that Protect Your Home could not do anything to help me with this issue. He however did state that they are trying to bring the issue of gift cards in house.

I realize that this is not a large amount of money, but feel that the consumer should be made aware of this at the time the agreement for the service is made. I am also disabled and to have to make a trip to purchase a money order or cashiers check. This is not an easy task for me. I would like for Protect Your Home as well as ADT to inform the consumer of what I feel is misleading on the cost of validating the certificate.Your help is appreciated.

They called our home at least 3 times per week telling us we owe for their add on statement. Thanks God our contract is us soon and we will cancel this night mare. Our alarm service was out of order for over 4 months and we never heard from them. We refuse to pay their add on billing statement and they call 3 times per week. Tell me this is good customer service. All we can say is beware of ADT, the greedy so called alarm servive.

I was informed that the number we were calling could not process vacation vouchers (although they did on the last time we called) and they "transferred" us, which equated to putting us on hold for 30 minutes and then the line cutting out. I called back two more times with a similar result. On my fourth attempt, I was told that the woman I was speaking with was the most senior manager that anyone could speak with and that she reported "directly to the CEO."

When asked to confirm her title, it was customer service associate. When asked what company we were calling, she confirmed that it was not Ramada, but Carnival Cruise Lines. I asked her to stay on the line while transferring me to the proper department and she claimed that her phone system did not allow for that. When I offered to patch her in using two-way on my phone, she refused. When I asked for the direct dial to the department they had been trying to transfer me to, she said that there was none. I did finally get an extension out of her.

Of course, when we dialed this 1-800 number, it rang but no one ever picked up. We are 100% convinced that this is a scam and we are concerned about identity theft and the loss of value we thought we were getting as part of the ADT purchase.

ADT sent me a letter stating "sorry, we failed you" but said they had no liability. Read the small print in their contracts which I did not even have or they could not find. This company monitors fire on your home but should they be asleep or negligent, too bad. Oops, my bad. They will say to you and eventually try to blame you for fire. My entire home burned with all I had over 50 years. ADT let me down. My cat burned and I had to give all my Koi Fish away which I had raised mostly from babies up to 8 to 10 years in age. I had almost 30 fish in a 3000 gallon pond.

When I first was contacted by the agent, I was informed that additional sensors would be about $45 per sensor. The actual cost was $140 for the service call, plus $25 per area, plus the cost of the sensor. During my sales pitch, I was never offered a repair contract for the system. To my surprise, my system has failed several times on the garage door sensor. I haven't had this system for a year yet. To repair the system, they want $140 for the visit plus $25 for the part that is plastic, plus their time for the technician.

I have never seen a company that has fleeced the public like this one. They have more hidden charges than any other company I've come into contact with. Don't bother calling the 800 number. They will tell you to call the local dealer and they don't have the power to change anything. They use a lot of contractors and place the blame on them to keep their scam going. I have never seen such a business as this. Beware of them. Do not buy their product. You will be sorry.

In the end, ADT said that the carbon monoxide detectors were near the end of their useful lives and needed replacement and that is why they are beeping. I told my friend to go ahead and schedule the appointment for the repair with ADT even though ADT said the price of the service call would be $145.00, plus at least another $140.00 for replacement of the two detectors (note that I consider those costs outrageous).

When called for an appointment, ADT told the friend who works on the house for me that they could only give him a 4 or 5-hour window when they could show up. I would, of course, be paying my friend to sit and wait for ADT for up to 5 hours. My friend asked ADT if they could simply have their repair person call him when they were in route (as he could easily be at my place within 15 minutes). ADT said that they do not and will not do that. I then called ADT and they told me that they could only provide a 1 hour slot if we accepted a first morning call between 8AM and 9AM. Those are hours that my friend (who works a night shift is generally asleep).

Net result, I told ADT to stick it and will be canceling both my Oregon and Utah accounts with ADT this Monday after I am able to locate a company such as Brinks or someone else who can promise better service. Oh, by the way, during my conversation with ADT, I asked if they could run a test (which they have done in the past) to verify my alarm components, such as fire and burglar, are working properly. They refused to do so and said they can't do that. Basically, tell everyone you know to never do business with ADT.

Anyway, we had a pipe burst a month ago while we were away, and the water collected throughout the house, and the steam circulated throughout our entire home. Mold was everywhere. The fire department estimated that it had been going on for over three weeks, with temperatures up to 190 degrees in the sports room. Not one time did the alarm go off. The pipe that burst was right next to a sensor in our sports memorabilia room! We lost over a hundred thousand dollars worth of memorabilia; Babe Ruth autographs, Joe Dimaggio, Ty Cobb, and many, many items that will never be replaced, not to mention our house is now down to the bare studs. The worry now is mold, and nothing from ADT.

My husband has been on disability for the past year and a half and although I have been slightly late with my payments, I have always called ADT's billing department to tell them when my payments would be expected. On 12/18/09, I was invoiced $105 which was my quarterly payment. This is the only amount that was due to them.

Tonight, I received a call from the "home office" stating I owed them $60 and that they had terminated my service. No warning, no letters, no calls prior to the one this evening. I then called their 800# billing department and spoke to a manager (Lisa) who said my service was terminated because "they had made numerous calls and no one could reach me" along with the statement that letters had been sent regarding the termination. All lies! Funny how the "home office" could make one phone call and reach me this evening to tell me my service was cancelled. I still do not understand how in this day and age, a major company like ADT would cancel a very long-time customer over a $60 bill that wasn't even 30 days late?

To that, I say "good riddance! After reading the numerous online complaints about ADT that outnumber other monitoring services by 20 to 1, I can only hope homeowners do their research before signing up with a company who has zero value for their customers. I will also be asking my 3 family members who signed up (on my recommendation) with Wells Fargo back in 1985 to terminate their relationship with ADT due to the unscrupulous way they do business.

I called them today and was on hold for 15 minutes until a customer service picked up the call and left me on hold. Finally someone answered, and I requested to cancel my service, because I'm moving to an apartment next month. I was told that they don't own my contract and that I need to call the dealer. Now I'm confused. All along I thought I had a contract with ADT. When I called the dealer, I had to wait for 15 minutes for someone to pick up. And after explaining my situation, I was told that I had no choice but to finish the contract.

I've had this system for over 8 years. Even if it is in the so-called contract, what if I had checked it on Monday and it was out on Saturday, whose fault is it then? The thing is this system is a rip off. The so-called ambush alerts are no more than a watch fob that cost me $90 each and are absolutely useless. The ADT lady told me they only work in the house anyway not in the driveway as I was told. Also, they informed me if the phone lines were cut or the power goes out, the system is useless. Another lie I was told when it was hooked up. They can't even tell me when the so-called dead battery even went dead, so no telling how long the system was down and me thinking it was working okay. They never called and I never saw or heard anything as to anything being wrong.

I called them on January 9th, 2009 and demanded they end my contract since my system had been dead for almost a year anyway. They told me I still had to pay my monthly payments even though the system wasn't working. They have now turned me into a collection agency to bug me for the money or ruin my credit. The credit guy also told me even if I pay the owed amount for this year, my contract would automatically roll over and there was nothing I could do. Of course, an argument ensued and we've had words. I don't think I should have to pay this. As a matter of fact, I think with the whole system being a lie and them telling me I was covered and the system down, they should pay me what I've paid over the years thinking they had my back and it was all a lie.

ADT also proceeded to tell me that my system was put in before their new cell system, another reason my old one won't work if the phone lines are cut. Mine is an outdated system. They do not tell people this and they also don't inform their old customers of the new system since it would then inform the old of how their system never was any good. I've desperately looked for someone to help me with this but I see by this website that many, many people have had the same problems as me with this scam of a business. Isn't there anything we can do? If nothing else but to inform the public? I now tell everyone I know of how useless this company is and how bad their product is at protecting people's property. It's absolutely worthless.

I've sent a report into the state BBB and also local BBB here in Indiana to try and get the word out. Is there anyone that can help me not only to find an answer but also to stop them from ruining my credit? When this first started last fall, ADT told me they would drop it if Defender would. Of course, Defender isn't, so now the collection service is involved. I've not seen a contract in years and can't get anyone to send it to me so that I can re-read it. No one will talk to me on the phone since they've turned it into collections. Could you please help me with this or give me a lawyer's name to contact for this matter? Thank you so much.

Although I have concerns with the ADT contract in general (for it was not clearly explained to me in the first place), my recent experience has been upsetting to say the least. Ever since I have begun working with your office, we have found the customer service to be mediocre at best. The sales representative told us that ADT would transfer my services for free and then he quoted a $1,000+ installation fee. This is a true bait and switch tactic and is extremely insulting and unprofessional. While I am grateful the sales representative was able to come up with an installation that was less than that, this business particle is clearly designed to take advantage of the consumer. In addition, the lack of communication with the billing side of ADT has been unacceptable.

My original account was never closed out like I was told it would be by the sales representative. In the meantime, I have been receiving daily calls from ADT, on my cell phone, which has now become clear case of harassment. I was told by the sales representative that he would take care of transferring everything over from my previous home to my new home and as of earlier today, this has not been done. I have sent numerous emails to him asking for this to be taken care of and he continued to say that it was, as I continued to get collections calls. I finally contacted the billing department of ADT directly and they told me they had no notes or record of hearing from him or your office. I will never recommend your services to a friend or associate and am going to refer this case to my legal counsel. I hope that by bringing this to your attention, someone else will not have to go through the same issues as I have when moving their service and working with your office.

I had waited all day Saturday for the first appointment and lost an entire day waiting for ADT. The supervisor agreed and stated the tech would arrive Saturday between 8am-9am. On Saturday (12/12/09), I waited for the tech to show. Finally, I called at 8:45/ 8:50 to ask if the tech was coming. I spoke with a CS rep who told me no specific time was noted. I explained the issues from the past week and she put me on hold and I was then transferred. The next CS rep told me the tech would arrive before 9:30am. I stated he needs to arrive before or at 9:30am; otherwise, I will not be at home.

As I am walking out my door to go to another appointment at 10am, the tech arrives. I explained it’s too late, I have another appointment scheduled; and by this time, I am livid with ADT. I am now including the time over the phone into 4 to 5 weeks with ADT. I called ADT on the following Monday (12/14/09) to cancel my service. I spoke with a lady who talked me into keeping the service and provided two months of free service. ADT scheduled yet another appointment on Saturday the 19th between 7am-9am. I received a call early that morning stating the tech called off but another tech would be available between 3pm-5pm. I agreed and waited. The tech arrived in the time stated and checked the system. He diagnosed the problem as being a highly sensitive door monitor. He re-adjusted the monitor and his words were your problem is fixed.

I left about 30 minutes later. I armed the alarm thinking all is OK. Approximately an hour later, I received a phone call that my home alarm is going off. Note the tech had left only an hour before. I called ADT and asked what’s going on! The CS rep stated I would get an ETA call because they were sending the tech out again. At this point I decided to cancel the service. ADT has no appreciation/respect for customers and their time. The tech seems to be very knowledgeable, yet I noticed he didn’t check all of the sensors or monitors. This ordeal has been highly frustrating; and to top it off, ADT is billing me for early cancellation. I am cancelling the service because of their inability to schedule techs and their inability to properly diagnose and fix my problem.

Today, I called to change my mobile numbers. I was told by the person on the phone at 800-238-2727 my system hasn't been monitored and was cancelled from October of this year. I have bank statements to show payments. After I became upset, the ADT employee quickly told me he made a mistake and I'm being monitored and everything is up to date. I then hung up the phone and set my alarm system off purposely. I never got a call at home or on the cell phones that the alarm was going off and this was after two minutes of activation. I want all my funds returned to me. ADT is unsafe and dangerous if real protection is needed. They have put my family at risk from day one. I called from my cell and asked to speak to a supervisor. I talked to Monique who knew absolutely nothing about what was going on and about my past problems or the account. I have had enough.

Two different installers from a company called Defender Security have come out and said it's fine. Then, I set it off a few days later to test it, and nothing! I tried to find out who Defender Security is and their number goes to a company called Protect Your Home Security. I don't know who I am really dealing with. I am getting my attorney involved. I don't know what's going to happen but I know I am not safe or secure using ADT. With ADT, burglars and thieves really have no reason to be concerned! ADT claims to be the leading security monitoring company in the US. If I could go back and redo it, I would just install a system and monitor it myself!

The unit was put in on Sept. 23. I was told that the monitoring fee would be $49.00 by the tech. When I explained to the installer the price that I was given, I was told this was the price Protect Your Home of Springfield Va. charged. I asked about a senior citizen discount. Only if I was a member of AARP could I get a $2.00 discount (with much reservation after this second misrepresentation from a rep of ADT). I was somewhat confused by the brief instructions I was given, along with a copy of my contract (for 3 years) and the instruction booklet to read. I made a point to write on the contract that my billing date had to be after the 15th of each month since I am on S.S. I was told that would be fine. I was also told that the unit was working correctly and that it was being monitored. I slept well that night thinking I was protected.

On Thursday (Sept. 24), an alarm went off awakening me. It said that the ad (battery backup) was on working. I called ADT. I was walked through the steps to check the unit and told that the unit was protecting my home. On Friday (Sept. 25), I set the alarm and went to visit with a friend. I was gone over a night. I returned on Saturday (Sept. 26) to find that the unit was not working at all; most of all, that someone had entered my apartment while I was away. I was informed the unit had no dial tone at this time. I called ADT to report this and asked about the monitoring of the system - if an alarm had gone off and why had I not been alerted! I was then informed that the unit had never been monitored; also, that a tech would need to come and check the unit. I was told that the earliest anyone could get out to fix the problem would be Oct. 8!

I canceled the service. I was told that a “not” would be placed that I had in my records... But I would need to call back on Monday (Sept. 28) to cancel. I then called my bank to find that ADT had taken not only the installation fee but also a monitoring fee of $53.00! On Sept. 28, I called ADT and explained that I was again canceling their service. I was asked why. After I explained for the 100th time, I was told that it would take between 14 to thirty days for them to refund my money. And someone would be out on Sept. 29 to remove the unit. They had the tech sign a statement that he had the unit and left my home. On Wednesday (Sept. 30), my first bill of $63.00 came from ADT. For what, I had no idea.

I called ADT on Oct. 16 to see why I had no refund. I called ADT on Oct. 31 and still I had no refund. I was then told that it would take 30 working days, not to count weekends. The installation money ($99.00) was returned to my bank account on Nov. 5 but not the monitoring fee. I called ADT again and was told that it would be taken care of and not to pay any attention to the bill. I was also told that it sometimes took a while before the equipment was logged back in and that is why it took so long to refund. I called ADT on Nov. 14 again to ask why the monitoring money had not been replaced in my account. I was placed on hold. Once again, it was explained that it would take up to 30 days before I would get my money back. I explained the situation again but was told that I would have to wait. That was the best they could do.

Today (Dec. 2) I checked my mail, only to find that I have a bill from ADT for $42.11 due 12/17/09 but no refund. And $41.11 was taken out of my checking account on Oct. 17, 2009 - seventeen (17) days after canceling. When I called today to ask why, I was placed on hold for ten minutes. I hung up and called back, only to be placed on hold again for another 10 minutes. I called back a third time. I explained to Sydney who answered the phone that I was not upset with her personally but with ADT's practices. I was given a supervisor, Ms. Toby, who checked with Cali @ Protect Your Home in Springfield, Va. She verified that the equipment was restocked and I was due a refund. I was informed that there would be no more withdrawals from my account after today. I would get the refund I am due ($92.18). But, it will take thirty (30) days! I really don't feel it should take three (3) months to get a refund for anything. Where is my money?

They are still drafting my checking account and we keep getting the runaround from them on how to cancel service. We have no way of getting the new passcode from them to cancel service. Now, they just drafted my checking account again and sent me a bill for $1.00 more than the original contract. Please help us. I have read numerous complaints on the internet regarding ADT with people going through exactly the same runaround as us. The account is my husband’s name. Please contact me as soon as possible at **.

It is not even six months and we wanted full refund as advertised in their website because we are not getting any service, but they deny saying we have signed a three-year contract. The customer service representatives are rude and they say we have to keep paying for the rest of the 36 months. The credit card company says they cannot block the payment, but we can file a dispute. I see that this is becoming a pattern with ADT from the other complaints on this forum. They make easy money without providing a service, but making the consumers sign a contract. I want to cancel the service ASAP. Please help. We are wasting $38.41 every month. I have been on the phone for more than three hours this morning, but there’s no resolution for the problem.

Two weeks ago, we received a display that said FC, so again we called the ADT phone center that tested our alarm over the phone. They indicated they had not gotten a signal and, in fact, have not been receiving a signal for some time. I asked how that could be since ADT has continued to bill me like clockwork for the past year without notifying me that they were not receiving a signal. The phone center representative stated that we should have called for a manual test. Why would I call for a manual test if there were no indication up until the FC display that there was something wrong with our system? Today, an ADT technician came to our home and as soon as he learned we had Verizon FiOS, he indicated that FiOS is not compatible with your system. I was shocked when I heard this because, as stated, I notified ADT in 2008 that we had FiOS installed and they led us to believe that it was the door sensor that was malfunctioning, not a system compatibility issue.

Today, when the technician left, I called and asked to speak to a manager in ADT's customer service area and spoke with Albert. Albert indicated that ADT's system has not been registering a signal from my home for the previous 12 months and that was as far back as their system keeps records. I was flabbergasted that ADT's system is able to bill customers each month for a service they are not providing and when I asked about that, Albert basically placed the responsibility on me saying I signed a contract stating I would test my system each month. I challenge the ethics of that position of taking a customer’s money each month and placing the burden on them to figure out their system is not communicating with theirs. Again, my system was chirping when set, so I did not believe there was a problem. I am further flabbergasted that for something as important as home security, ADT does not take a more proactive role in reporting communication malfunctions to its customers.

While I was very happy when I was notified that ADT had purchased our contract due to my familiarity with its service, I can say I have only negative things to say about the service and the integrity of the company. I don’t believe a business who is interested in good customer service would continue to bill for services not rendered. Their customer notification system should be every bit as good as their billing system that takes my money every month. When I pointed out to Albert that my brother has a system with a different monitoring company that notifies him if it is not working adequately, Albert stated I could have that service also for an additional fee. That would be on top the additional $200 I was quoted to pay for back up cellular service since our systems aren’t compatible. My only other option, according to Albert, was to cancel service. I ask you, how would you feel if you have paid for a service for over a year which you haven’t received only to be told you need to pay more money to have it work correctly?

I feel the technician who came to our home in July of 2008 did not adequately check our system. If there was a compatibility issue, it should have been discovered at that time since the technician was the expert, not me. When I was comparing my brother’s service to ADT, Albert talked about ADT's four phone centers. If ADT was not receiving a signal from our home, what good are four phone centers to me? I am paying for four centers that I am not receiving service from. I find it hard to believe that ADT would treat a customer in this manner.

Albert offered no other remedies but to charge for additional equipment or cancel my service. I find it hard to believe that ADT is that inflexible in dealing with a customer that it cannot prove that it provided the service for which it charged each month. In reading the “Commitment to Your Customers” and ADT's “Mission Statement” from its website, I can find nothing that resembles the treatment I received today. ADT's mission statement is as follows: “To be the leading security systems, services, and solutions provider in the world. We plan to achieve this by exceeding customers' expectations through superior service delivery, world class talent and applied technological innovation, making ADT the most profitable business in the Tyco portfolio.” In my experience, ADT does not in fact value its customers and only deflects any responsibility it has in dealing with customer service issues.

In April, my grandson was born very sick and lived at the hospital so I was at the hospital everyday after I got off work. My grandson died in July and as I was home now, I decided to test my alarm system. I was informed by ADT that I had not had communication with ADT since February. They told me I was supposed to test the alarm weekly. Now with a baby sick in the hospital and trying to work, how the hell was I supposed to test my alarm weekly which I should have done after the lousy service I was getting with ADT. I asked the agent then why was I not notified because after all, I have been paying ADT for alarm service that I did not get. The agent said unless I had fire alarm protection, they would not contact me which is crap because when I had Comcast, they would call me when I lost communication. ADT said it was a problem with Qwest so here I go getting Qwest out to see what the problem is with communication to the ADT.

I have had Qwest out to my house 9 times. I have an interference on the phone line that either prevents me from using the phone or it states the line is in use. An ADT employee told me the alarm panel was the problem. I was told I needed a filter for the alarm, so I got that. Again, I paid ADT another $25 to have them come out and still no signal to ADT and the same problems with the phone. In September, I went into the hospital for surgery. I was informed by my kids that the police came knocking at my door at 2:30 am and they found two men in my backyard trying to look in my windows. They told the police they lived here. My kids told the police they did not know who these guys were and so they took one to jail and wrote the other a ticket for trespassing. I came home the next day and tested the alarm. Once again, no signal to ADT!

I scheduled to have Qwest and ADT out at the same time to have this corrected once and for all. The ADT tech called me outside and showed me a line that visibly ran from the top of the roof to the phone box. This line is actually exposed, cut and dangling from the roof. Now does that sound smart to have an alarm wire that hangs outside of the house so that anyone who gets into the yard can cut it? The tech said there were actually two phone lines running to the alarm that were active and said he would use the other line and leave the one hanging outside as a dead line. ADT charged me another $25 and left. The Qwest tech said I am going to have a chronic problem tech out so he could actually be able to spend the day if needed to troubleshoot all day if needed.

Qwest sent a chronic problem tech to my home which happened to be a former employee of ADT. This person said they cannot find why I am getting the static or the line in use message but told me when I get it, disconnect the alarm from the line and see if it goes away or clears the line. He also asked if he could see the alarm and where it was hooked up. I showed him the cut line and the alarm panel. He informed me that this line was hooked up in such a way that I did not have line seizure and if someone broke into my home and took the phone off the hook, there would be no communication with ADT. So therefore, they would be able to have access to my home without the police being notified. He also laughed at the way this alarm was hooked up and at the line that was visibly cut and hanging from the house. He informed me he would write up his employees for wiring the alarm in this manner.

He had me call ADT and see if the line would seize and lo and behold, no seizure to the line. This person offered to come out when ADT was here to make sure the panel is working properly and to make sure it was wired correctly to work with Qwest. I still have a lot of work ahead of me to ensure the safety of my family and house. Don't ever use ADT. I still have a year left on my contract and am paying for the worst service I have ever had from a company that claims to protect your family and home. I would not recommend ADT to secure a dog house.

After checking with my bank, I saw that my money had already been withdrawn not only for the installation of over $103.00, but for another $54.00 monitoring fee. And nothing had been installed! They had already taken my money and I had nothing. With less than 24 hours of having the system in my home, the alarm went off (September 24) stating that I had no back-up protection. After speaking with one of the technicians and running a test on the system, I was told that the unit was safe and working, which also turned out not to be true. After going away from my home for 24 hours (returning September 26), I came back to find that my home had been entered, but most of all I had no dial tone, battery back or protection. I called to cancel the service at that time and requested a full refund, only to be told that because it was Saturday, I needed to wait until Monday, September 28, to cancel because it could not be done at that time.

When I called on the 28th, I was asked a lot of questions. I was told that it would be 7 to 14 days for my refund. But the thing that troubles me the most is that, still after 30 days (and several conversations with their agents), the money which was collected from my account has not been returned to my accounts of today, October 31, 2009. Each time I request my refund, I am given an excuse and another date as to when my money would be refunded. I am given a runaround. My next move is to go to the BBB and to ** to post a complaint against your company policies. I want only what belongs to me!

Eventually after talking to numerous ADT people over the phone, I would just have to look it up on the internet and download it myself. During this time we had been having numerous problems with our phones and internet connection. After having our phone company come out and check it out, they discovered that ADT had not wired the system up properly to our phone lines and it was causing interference. ADT basically responded that we had no way to prove it was them even though once the telephone company redid it, everything was okay. Also, our alarm has gone off on two occasions once the fire and once from the door and there were no calls or response from authorities.

This leads me to believe that we are not really getting the service at all. After getting nowhere with ADT, I said I wanted to cancel because of these issues and the fact that I had never received the rebate I was told in writing I would get and their response was not only do you not get any refund but you owe us for 75% of 3 years of service. This sure seems like a scam to me and I don't know if we will need to get an attorney or not in order to resolve this as I don't want them turning this over to a collection agency as they have threatened to do.

According to Tony **, if ADT fails to connect their system using the landline phone, they would provide a wireless service with no charge. For both, they were not able to connect their system to the landline phone. While the payment is correct for one ($ 34.99), they have charged for the wireless service for the other. They would not correct this additional charge of $13.00, and forced us to pay the overcharge without correcting their error. Whenever I got the invoice with the wrong amount, I called the ADT sales representative, Tony **, but he never answered or returned my calls.

Regarding this payment, ADT always started to contact us during the office hours, while we were away from home. They demanded to pay the balance without correcting the overcharge. But on 8/25/09 when we were able to answer, the call got cut while the ADT personnel transferred it to their local office. We were waiting for the call on that day, but ADT never called. On 9/11/09 we sent an email to ADT but they never responded, although the website states that they would respond within 48 hours. Still, I did not get the response for the certified mail dated 29th of September. I wonder if ADT would ever respond to an emergency.

However, when ADT technician broke the power line in my kitchen, Tony promised to reimburse the workman's charge to get that repaired but he was not to be found at least to submit the claim. It was a nightmare to get them to change the location of the box which ADT technician fixed in a public area at **. The remaining holes on the wall would tell you all. They never cleaned up their messes. As instructed by Tony, I emailed the complaint to him, so he would forward it to the right person regarding these unethical services.

I want to get out of this contract but they need 75% of the payments for 5 years. God help me. ADT is the worst, and please, God, make them go out of business for these crimes!

The sales representative was nice, as was the other ADT staff member who accompanied him to my house. The gentleman informed me that if I was not satisfied with the installation or the service, I would be able to cancel the contract within six months of the installation. The fine print on the contract stipulates that the previous sentence is true only after ADT has attempted to resolve the source of the dissatisfaction to no avail. I signed the two-year agreement (USAA members do not have to be bound by the normal three-year agreement), acknowledging that the total installation cost of $1,428 would be divided into three equal monthly installments to be charged to my credit card. I also acknowledged on the contract that the monthly monitoring fee of $42.29 plus tax would be automatically deducted from my credit card as well. I supplied the sales rep with my Visa debit card for my checking account.

The installation of my system occurred on September 21. When the installer arrived, the first thing he said was, "The sales rep probably didn't tell you this, but if I hard wire your window and door sensors, it's not going to look good. There will be wires and probably tape sticking out. Now, if you want me to do that, I will, but I highly recommend that you go with wireless sensors." He then told me that with the wireless sensors would be an upgrade fee of $125. I told him to go for it. I asked him about the cost of an additional outdoor siren. He told me that it would cost an additional $175 but he did not have the siren in his van. It would have to be installed at a later date. The installer told me that if I went ahead and made payment for both of the upgrades, I would not incur any mileage/trip charges when the outdoor horn was installed. So, I gave him a check for $300. After he left, I remembered that I was probably eligible for a discount on the upgrades due to being a USAA member.

I called the USAA/ADT line and told the rep about the situation. She confirmed that, indeed, I should have only paid $265.50. She recommended that I call my sales rep and let him know. I called my sales rep and informed him about the wireless upgrade and the addition of the outdoor horn. I asked him if there was any real difference in having the sensors hard wired vs. wireless. His response was that the installers would rather do the wireless because it means they can get done faster. He also told me that he would make sure that my account was credited $34.50, the amount of the USAA discount. At this point, I was somewhere between amused and slightly nervous about the disconnect between sales and installers, as I started thinking about the plethora of negative reviews I had read about ADT online. Remember, my mindset was that if USAA recommends them, they must be okay. I also kept in mind that bad news travels faster and more often than does good news. I figured that for every poor review I read, there must certainly be thousands armed with ADT who pay their bills each month, do not have a break-in, and are content.

On September 24, I noticed while reviewing my online checking account that $300 had been deducted. I was not surprised about the debit, but I was surprised that there was no check number attached and that the transaction was listed as POS, which is how the debit card transactions read. Remember, it was a check for $300 that I gave the installer for the upgrades. It was also on September 24 that a different installer arrived to install the outdoor siren. It took him less than 30 minutes, as the wiring had already been taken care of. On September 28, while once again reviewing my checking account, I noticed two pending transactions from ADT Security. The first was no surprise. It was a debit of $476.04, which was the first of three monthly installation charges. The second charge, however, was a surprise. It was for $92.39. I spoke with two billing specialists at ADT who told me that they could see the charge on my account, but they had no idea what it was for. I then called my sales rep who told me that he wasn't sure what it was for.

I then called the USAA/ADT line, and the person I spoke with put me through to someone in the Little Rock, Arkansas office (I live in El Dorado, AR) who informed me that the $92.39 was for the first two months of the monitoring service. My sales rep called me back to tell me he had found out what the charge was for. I told him that I already knew, and that it would have been nice if he had shared that information with me. Fortunately, I had the funds in my checking account to cover the charge. The sales rep told me he had never heard of ADT billing (and automatically debiting) for the first two months at once. At this point, amusement gave way to nervousness and anxiety of the unknown. My mind resumed pondering all of the negative ADT reviews online regarding questionable billing practices, homes not actually being professionally monitored, lying salesmen, and shoddy installation. The following events absolutely incensed me and began yesterday (September 30, 2009) morning.

I was examining my checking account online yet again, and there was a negative balance. I thought I would throw up. I knew before I even clicked on the transaction detail link that it was ADT Security. Sure enough, ADT deducted $265.50 from my account, leaving me in the red with no access to funds and an impending $27 charge from my bank to cover the transaction. So, rather than credit me $34.50, they took an additional $265.50. I called the ADT billing department and spoke with a gentleman who looked at my account and saw that the $265.50 had been deducted from my debit card. He stated that he would process a credit in the same amount back to my debit card account. I asked how long it would be before the funds were replaced. He told me it would be two or three business days. When I asked him how I would provide groceries for my family with no available money in my checking account, he almost seemed concerned.

Five minutes after hanging up, I decided to call back and attempt to cancel my account. I spoke with the most uncaring female customer service representative I have ever encountered. I told her that I wanted to cancel my account. She replied that it would be impossible. I told her that the sales rep sat in my living room and told me that if I was unsatisfied within six months, I would be able to cancel the contract. She stated that the cancellation had to occur within three days. She then decided to lecture me that the six month provision was only applicable if the dissatisfaction pertained to either the installation or the monitoring service and if ADT had attempted to resolve the problem unsuccessfully. When I asked whose fault it was that ADT billing deducted the money from my account, she replied, "Your sales rep. He sold you the system, didn't he?"

I hung up furious this time and decided to reread my contract. She was almost right. The contract does not specify dissatisfaction with the monitoring service. It only reads service. I certainly include responsible billing practices as an important part of the service. With regard to ADT's resolution of the problem, the only resolution I had been offered by the billing specialists I spoke with was tantamount to you're **. I then, by God, had the right to cancel my contract. I next called the USAA/ADT line. The lady I spoke with immediately put me through to a mid-level manager at ADT in Little Rock. She said she had no idea of why this billing fiasco had occurred. However, she was sympathetic and stated that she could understand my frustration. She wanted to know if there was any way that they could rectify the billing issue and if I would consider giving them another chance. I told her that I had contracted with them for a service that was supposed to make me feel secure and that now, I feel less secure because I couldn't trust them with access to my Visa debit card account.

How could I be sure that the next time they would not take $500 or $1,000 or more (I do have that much in my account for about 30 minutes every two weeks)? I told her that I was also concerned that there is a $300 check I wrote to ADT on 9/21/09 that had not yet posted. She confirmed that this was true. I was emphatic that the contract would not be upheld and that I would be due a refund minus some reasonable expenses for the installer's time and mileage from Pine Bluff to El Dorado. She told me that she would be getting back with me later in the day after she had discussed how to proceed with others in her office. Today, I spoke with the gentleman who I believe to be the head of Operations for the Little Rock office. He sincerely apologized for the billing issues and explained that the installer should not have accepted a check and how their automated billing system caused the problems. He stated that he understood that I wanted to be done with ADT.

I knew what his first offer would be. He suggested that we could terminate the contract with no early cancellation fee since I owned the equipment. I reminded him that I did not own the equipment, as I had only made one of three monthly installments. I told him that I had a feeling that what he thought was fair and reasonable was probably a long way from what I considered to be fair and reasonable. He said, "What do you mean fair and reasonable?" I responded that I would gladly give up $350 to compensate for the installer's travel and time and 11 days of monitoring service but I want all the hardware removed and a refund of the remaining $783 from the $1,133 that was deducted from my account. He neither affirmed, haggled, nor declined. He said that he needed some time to verify the initial $300 deduction on September 24. He also informed me that a hold on my debit card was in effect, meaning that no more deductions would be allowed. I told him that I took care of it on my end too, by canceling the debit card and by stopping payment on the $300 check that was out there somewhere.

He told me that it would be about 15 or 20 business days before any refund could be processed. About two hours later, the same gentleman called me back and said that he saw where the $300 came out of my account. Though I'm thinking, "Duh, why do you think I'm so upset," I am no longer shocked by anything. To his credit and my appreciation, this guy is smooth. He told me that I would be refunded the entire amount minus a prorated monitoring fee for the 10 or 11 days the service is (was) active. Someone would be in touch with me on Monday for the removal of my system and he would touch base with me as well. He also acknowledged that this was entirely their fault. I was, once again, already expecting the last thing he said, and that was that because I canceled my check card, it would take even longer for me to get my refund.

They will have to process the refund to the canceled check card, wait for it to bounce back, and then initiate a check to me. I had already decided that I could tolerate that more than I could tolerate more unauthorized money coming out of my account in case they became more unscrupulous or if they could not get a handle on their billing processes. The bottom line is, if he follows through on what he says he and the Little Rock office will have done right by me. I wouldn't trust the corporate ADT billing department as far as I could throw them, however. As soon as this system is removed, I am having one installed by Electronic Alarms, a local company in El Dorado with monitoring done by a company in Little Rock.

I signed my two business locations. However, within 6 months, the Billing department was incapable and irritated me to no end. I cancelled. They charged me the rest of contract life. I called the 800 number and they explained to me that the "6-month money back guarantee" only applies to technical problems. I was infuriated and called Wes and demanded an answer. He told me that the same information he provided to me about the "6-month back guarantee" was provided by his manager (his manager at the time was now no longer with ADT). He also told me that he didn't expect for this to come back because no one has actually taken advantage of the guarantee before. So Wes and his manager were hoping for me to not have problems so this would come back to haunt them, but it did.

Wes contacted his manager now (a new manager since I signed). His manager, Dave, contacted me. He expressed that he wanted to deal with this internally before I go to Better Business Bureau. After waiting for a month, still there was no answer to my dispute. Instead, I got a phone call from a collection attorney. First, they falsely advertised to get me to sign. Second, they purposely postponed my process and then stiffed me with a collection attempt. This company is not good. I can't believe the unethical ways of this company. Ever heard of any one charging the remaining of the contract if terminated early? If that is the case, then why don't they just not allow early termination? And why do big companies like ADT send out employees and lie to get customers to sign? English is not my first language so understanding the fine print is hard enough. I trusted Wes and he and his company cheated me. I will now contact BBB and then a private attorney if needed.

I called several times trying to reschedule and I had no assistance. Finally, I got to speak to the salesman who came to my house and we had given the payment for the contract. He said he was going to refund our money back. That thing never happened and he doesn't even return our calls. Very upset with ADT customer service. I don't know what to do to get my money back. It happened a month ago and nobody from their office has ever contacted us regarding this matter.