Alert 360 Reviews

The very first thing that I did not like was that I am a renter. My sales guy said I would be getting a phone call from someone to verify my information and that I was to tell that person I owned the home. I do not like lying and I felt pressure to do so just to protect my home. Next thing, anytime I’ve had to call the customer service center, they have been extremely rude and responded in a way that made it seem I was inconveniencing them by calling. I called to see if someone would come out to move my panel as my refrigerator was blocking it and they said it would cost $120. That is insane. I pay $66 a month for what? So many other companies are better priced or you can even get your own and set it up with NO monthly fee. That is precisely what I want to do because....

The most recent incident was that I had to get a new WiFi router due to doing virtual school and working from home. I spent an hour getting my doorbell camera to work. Then I moved on to my driveway camera and I kept getting errors so it referred me to the customer service center. As usual the person I spoke to was rude. She also informed me I BROKE my warranty by “changing my WiFi password” like... how is that a thing? It’s literally something people should do regularly to SECURE their internet yet it breaches my warranty of SECURING my home?!

They said they would come out to fix it for $120 again which makes me extremely upset since literally all they are going to do is hit a button on the camera. Really not ok with the entire situation and now I have no surveillance on my driveway. Oh yeah and my doorbell that I fixed myself, won’t save my videos anymore. Icing on the cake. I want out of my contract and I can’t because I would have to pay almost 2 years worth of $66/month and I’m on unemployment due to COVID. Basically, if you are thinking of getting a security system, RUN from Alert 360. FAST.

They sent the debt to a collector. Sending fake debts to collectors is fraud. It also is damaging my credit. I have called them 6 times in the last 2 days and they promise that they will return my call and handle the situation. Of course they haven't. I have no faith that they intend to do what they say. They put me on hold and bounce me from one department to another and every question or request I make must be answered by a different department than the one I am speaking with. I have seen on this website that many other people have had similar experiences and some have said they are looking into a class action suit. There is a reason they have a 1.5 star review. Selling fake debts is a white collar crime and should be reported here: **.

I then got transferred with my job with 21 months left on my contract. I tried to cancel but found out I could not. I have been able to cancel a contract with other alarm monitoring companies if moving to a new location. So I tried to transfer my service to the new location. Alert 360 would not let me transfer my contract instead trying to get me into a new, more expensive contract. SO THEY WOULD NOT HONOR THEIR SIDE OF THE CONTRACT BUT WANTED ME TO HONOR MINE! They do not care about their customers, only money. I would suggest going with someone else for your alarm monitoring. There are other companies that are similar in pricing and more reputable.

If you plan to use these companies services you are forewarned that you'd better put a lot of family members on the account in the event you need to address any issues. I'm upset, I'm concerned for the rest of the clients who may have a similar experience. If you don't have backup with other decision makers, you'd better call them and get that done. They are F- in my book!

THE CAMERAS DO NOT WORK. That's right. Half the time they're down. One, two, all of them. The right one, the left one, no rhyme or reason, just down, down, down. You need them to monitor a door? Forget about it. You want to be able to surveil your property? Too darn bad! Their debit equipment will work like clockwork every single month, but their hardware in your home? Be prepared for it to fail at least 30% of the time. AT LEAST.

THE SOFTWARE IS SO KLUGE, IT'S LIKE LOOKING AT THE CODE THAT RAN NETSCAPE IN 90s. This won't mean a ton to many, but for those in the know, it's both laughable and DEAD ON. What this means for you as the end user? To be kluge (cloo-gee) is to be so in-elegant as to render a product or a situation D-O-O-M-E-D. Much like the aforementioned Netscape reference! ;D It means that what you're hoping to use will high volumes of latency (move slow!), will refresh with all the speed of a slurtle (the byproduct of a slug and a turtle!), and will -- at moments of great importance!! -- totally crap out! That's the technical term for being rendered totally useless. So, ultimately, it's got problems.

PLUS, and HERE IS THE REAL KICKER, IT'S NOT SAFE. A little more than a year into using this service, my husband and I suddenly noticed that the code we'd chosen had been overwritten when we tried to deactivate the nights' prior settings, and the alarm kept going off without deactivating. We entered our normal code a dozen times, then finally had to call the company. They explained that someone had logged on late to our account the night before (at 11:30pm-ish), and had changed our pass code! We hadn't done it, but they kept insisting that we had. That we had and that they'd never experienced that problem before! The code that was chosen wasn't one we'd ever used or would have ever used for anything! So, I know it wasn't us!

Not only that, but the system should have a policy in place wherein if something like that happens, you're informed. An email blast should be auto-generated (like with any other service!) that tells you a code has been changed, and that if it wasn't you who'd done it, you should contact service for assistance! No such policy exists! So, if hackers do get into your account (and, again, you can refer the "kluge" content of this review to see the "quality" of the code for the system!), you'd never know it! Not before it was way, way, way too late!

Finally, and several people have mentioned it, but it bears repeating: THIS COMPANY PRACTICES DECEPTIVE CONTRACT LAW. After you sign your name on the dotted, I defy you to find your actual printed contract. And since you have no ability to do so, these people can make whatever you signed say whatever it is they want to.

THEY KEEP SAYING THAT THEY'RE THE COMPANY WITH NO SECRETS, and yet they auto-renew your contract, they extend contract lengths, they make promises to fulfill service obligations (whether it's finding you a way to help you move or it's actually keeping their equipment operational!) and they fail more times than they are successful. Just trust me when I say, to do business with these people is to do yourself a great disservice.

For those trying to cancel, I recommend the following--

1.) Write a letter specifying that you want to cancel no later than the SECOND your current contract expires. That you WILL NOT RENEW, that you WILL NOT CONTINUE TO DO BUSINESS WITH THEM, and that failure to cancel your contract will result in a lawsuit.

2.) Go to the post office. Send a certified copy to the company and send another certified copy to yourself. Do not open your certified copy, but do keep it for the future. Send an email to their "cares" email address notifying them that you have sent a certified copy to both and that upon that final date, if your service is not terminated, you will press charges.

3.) Contact your credit card company (if you pay through them. If you do not, I recommend switching it out!) to let them know that you have been trying to cancel with them in every legal way possible. Inform them that they practice predatory behaviors and that you have sent them certified cancellations. Ask them to protect your interest should Alert 360, Alarm.com, Fort Knox (or any of their other subsidiaries) fail to meet those demands.

4.) Use social media to shame these people into better business practices or complete social ruin. There is still no better advertising than word-of-mouth, and I promise you that by speaking out on Facebook, Twitter, places like ConsumerAffairs, etc., we can prevent the next poor sucker looking to keep their family safe from getting taken advantage of by the people who should be providing their security. =P

I found housing and the home was already equipped with a security system. Alert 360 was blowing my phone up asking when they were going to be putting in the system. I told them that we already had a system to which they said I need to pay over $1400 or they would take me to collections. Sadly my husband did not beat the cancer diagnosis and he died in Sept of 2019. Alert 360 has sent me to a collection agency. This is not an ethical company.

After months of back and forth, they did offer an unrealistic solution of arming a couple locations but for the same monthly price and no cameras. What is the point of a security system if the entire house isn’t armed. We declined their “solution”. I reached out to the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint. During this time Alert360 did respond to our complaint with the same solution. As soon as we stopped replying to the BBB, we started receiving invoices for the monthly amount even though we were not receiving service.

This has been a nightmare. They have turned us in to collections for around $1400. My husband called yesterday and was treated very unprofessionally. The only response the collection agent had was if we weren’t going to pay in full or get a lawyer then she didn’t want to hear from us. I wish so much that we wouldn’t have signed a contract with them. We didn’t know we were going to get transferred when we signed the initial agreement. The company my husband works for shutdown so we had no choice but to move where they sent us.

Yesterday, February 2nd, my alarm alerted that the window was opening. The sensor had fallen off the top of its adjoining sensor where it had been placed triggering the alarm as someone attempted to make entry. My screen was pried off and foot prints were in the dirt. This is not the worst part. When I looked in the panel at the sensors security all showed active. When I dug deeper I found a secondary screen which showed one of my 11 year old daughter's bedroom window sensors was inactive. I feel like we were targeted for a break in or much much worse. No sensors were bypassed on the bypass screen and no alerts were given to bypass any sensors. No calls were made to ask if we wished to bypass any sensors. Please be very careful when choosing your alarm company. I was home alone with my children when this happened.

Edith **

We signed up for this service and that we were tired from the military moved to Texas. The Customer service Rep assured us that we can get out of the contract if we did not like it. We called a few days afterwards to let them know how horrible the service was and that we was having problems with the security system. The computer system is drained by the cameras. The cameras are old and outdated. The service sucks. The cameras are always down. If someone broke into your house you would have no protection at all with the service.

I have been with ADT for over 15 years. I decided to try something different moving to Texas after retiring from the military. When I tell you was the worst mistake I ever could’ve made Leave and ADT I promise you once I leave and get out of this contract I’m headed for the hills. ADT here at home. I’m still sitting here waiting and it’s been over a week for someone to call me back. I have zero faith in anyone from this company will call back. They’re here to take your money into rip you off as a consumer. The cameras don’t work. The system sucks. I hit twice, someone tried to get into my home, I called these people to let them know that the system was not working at the time. The police could do absolutely nothing.

The fact that I got a CRAPPY system from this company makes me want to find someone to And hold them accountable for the product that they’re pushing out consumers. Again my purpose is to shed light to other consumers that you do not fall for the same thing I fell for. Stay away from Alert360 Fort Knox. I don’t care what they’re calling yourself for us don’t known as a Alert360 Fort Knox. They are a perfect company to rip you off and try and lock you into a 36 month contract. They tell you a good wait to get out is go and find some other sucker and get them to sign up for their service and you can get out of your contract. Why would I Want to have someone going through the same thing that I’m going through.

Instead of providing bad service in a crappy system they need to upgrade and fix their system in their service. Consumers will stay if they have a good product. If the product is bad consumers like me to run for the hills. Right now I’m still paying my bill but I’m really at the point I’m about to start why pay for something you’re not getting instead of them ripping me off they were robbing me. Highway robbery. Please beware of this company.

Original Review: Oct. 24, 2019

This company is a fraud and a scam. After purchasing our home, Justin ** came out to our house about purchasing a security system. Everything that came out of his mouth was a lie. He told us we could save like 30% on our homeowners insurance...that was a lie. After the installer came and installed the system, he told us we’d save about 5% but the reps always tell people it’s more. He said he was going to give us the first 3 months free...that was a lie and when my husband called about the payments coming out, he gave us a bs reason about it and after saying he would cut us a check for what was taken, gave us another bs reason why he couldn’t.

He NEVER told my husband they were going to run his credit. He said our fire alarm would be monitored as well, so imagine my surprise when our fire alarm went off for about an hour and we never got a phone call or no fire trucks ever showed up to our house. I complained about the services and someone said they would contact us but never did. There was ALWAYS an issue with our cameras. So, why would we continue to pay for a service we were falsely signed up for and a service we weren’t receiving? Now they want to send it to collections because we refuse to pay for a service we weren’t receiving. This company is the worse.

Original Review: Oct. 23, 2019

STAY AWAY. I have been with them for 5.5 yrs. They would not let me keep my existing rate and contract term on a new home. I was told I had to renew for 36 months at a higher rate. No outside the box thinking.

Original Review: Aug. 19, 2019

I'm disappointed with this company. While I was a customer the service provided was satisfactory. In Oct of 2018 I called to cancel my service and after checking my account almost 10 months later I found I was still being charged for service even though I didn't have a contract. The reply was nothing was ever received in writing. During this time I was in the middle of a move and cannot recall if the notification was sent or not. The issue I have is they are aware if the system is unable to be monitored and no attempt was made to contact me to resolve the issue. There was no active phone line at the service address so monitoring was impossible. I understand accepting payment when service is provided but it seems sketchy to knowingly take payment when you know you are unable to provide the service.

After calling it was also discovered that my contact info had been incorrectly saved on my account. Also there was no supervisor available to take my call to try and resolve this matter. In other similar situations the response was, "We were able to see that your system was being used so you benefited from our service." Well in my case the system was not being used for over 10 months. Until this point I was a very satisfied customer for over 6 yrs. I'm waiting to see if they value their customers and do the right thing.

I telephoned Central Security after the second alarm for the glass break sensor went off and they told me that I had a warranty that trip charges would not be applicable. NOT TRUE. Two weeks ago I got a "Control Radio" alert failure. Called Central and tech support said they knew about the problem in the area and that the alert would go away and the control panel would reset itself. It did. This past Friday at 7:04 they had a yellow code for the Houston area and that this was most likely the problem. However, he later said he believed the problem was with the console. He told me that I was to pay $25 for someone to come out and check the system. I told him that I had several discussions before regarding the trip charge where I was told it was not applicable. He said he would send someone out at no cost and will have his CEO contact me.

The CEO was a customer service person. Told me that the tech person had no right to tell me that he would send a tech out at no charge. All of this is being recorded. I asked her to send me a email confirming her claim that going from now I would have to pay a trip charge even with warranty. By the way, the contract said "may" not "will or shall". She emailed a copy of the contract without any comments. The contract does not support her claims. I intend to send a copy to the State of Texas Board of Private Investigators & Private Security Agencies and Attorney General direct for further investigation. The contract after reading more closely does not allow for cancellation after 30 days of installation even if their default equipment fails and they provide no monitoring services.

MY advice to anyone is STAY AWAY from any alarm company looking to lock you into a 3 yr agreement .They also autorenew contracts if you don't give them written notice as described in little letters hidden in their contracts. If they were a reputable company they would not need 3 yr or more agreement contracts. Check out all the complaints against this company on BBB, Consumer Affairs etc. Please do your homework before signing anything with this company.

Today, I received and self installed my new Ring alarm system, and made a phone call to Alert 360 (Central Security) to cancel my service. I was transferred to their (CEO Care) department at which time I was told I had to put the cancellation in writing and pay for another 30 days due to a 30 day notice policy. This is not what I was told two years ago when I was out of contract. These folks are liars. They are just trying to get me for another 30 days of service that I am not using.

Well, the latest issue we have is due to lightening at least we assume; however, we called for service and was told we would have to pay $124 for something, an additional $79 per hour to the tech, and depending on what's needed we would have to pay to replace equipment. Now the system went completely out, not one time did or have we received any message from Central via phone but they did send out an email. We reached out to Central who told us that there wasn't anything they could do to help and that we would still be bound by the contract for monitoring services. Central does not value the security of its customers. WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN.

Move forward 5 - 6 months and I realize my account is still active and they are requesting back-pay. When I called, I advice them I will not pay for services not rendered when I had all exterior entry points replaced and no security service was provided. I also had a call from the NOC when I advised them their alarms were because there were no longer any connection points and that I had requested cancellation Oct., 2018. This company continues to call daily, they continue to leave messages daily even after I have told them to cancel and no I will not provide for back-pay. Now, Central Security 360 is calling out daily to my “in case of emergency POC” whom no longer lives in the area and is not a responsible party to my previous contract with them.

They have turned to being nasty aggressive, pushing contract renewals, re-installment of security system after I have stated several times NO - CANCEL THE ACCOUNT AND THERE WILL NOT BE ANY BACK-PAY. My next move is calling my attorney for next actions against this predatory and unwanted, forceful sales tactic.

Their answer was for the building owner to put it in their name. The building is for sale and the owner hates this service. This company transferred a commercial location bill to my husband's personal account and disconnected my service. My account is on auto draft so there should be no reason for my business to affect my home. They billed me 1,118.60 for service I don’t have. Additionally, I have moved the business once and home once and instead of transferring the contract the only way we could keep the alarm is by starting a new contract.

I moved from the house over a year ago as well. I have been billed over 3000 for an alarm that I cancelled 4 years ago. I called customer service and was told that I needed to send another cancellation form so I did, I also stopped payment through my bank, I still have not heard from Alert 360 but they are fighting the cancellation of the payment and are trying to collect fees on me for cancelling the payments. I can't say in any way that this is a good company.

Guess what? I never received anything...no confirmation or any follow up call. Now, I just got hit again with a $57 charge for a month of monitoring which is ridiculous considering all of the other offers that I have right now. I have been a loyal customer for YEARS! I have more than paid for this equipment. Either get this taken care before April 15th, 2019 or consider me a former customer. I will close my account and go with a company that appreciates its long time customers.

Original: I have been with CSG through 3 homes and over 6 years. I took them with me when I moved and I always signed a new agreement. I have been in this home for 3 years and have paid through the original 24 month agreement by 7 months and I decided I would call them to reduce that high monthly rate. They are only willing to knock off about $10/month but also want me to sign another 24-36 month agreement with them. There are MANY choices out there with much better offers. I thought they would be a little more willing to keep me as a customer but after seeing how they value me, I will shop for a new system and drop them. By the way, I have had them out numerous times for repairs and I have two issues now that have to be repaired which is also why I have continued to pay for a warranty on this equipment. At the very worst, I will probably have to sign another contract but I will definitely get a better rate PLUS new equipment that works!!!

After making this clear we were told there was a two year option since we would not be changing the equipment. My wife started the new contract. We found out when we called to let them know we were moving Central Security (now Alert 360) were demanding payment to close out a three year contract, over $640. After this dishonest behavior I tried to negotiate a lower price. Five calls later with several people from the "CEO's" office the buy out was reduced to $415.

Out of curiosity I called back as a new customer. I gave them the new home address. I explained that the equipment was already in the house and explained we would only be there for a year to a year and a half. I asked if there was a one year contract option, the agent said yes with a $149 start up fee. Then I told him I was an existing customer and asked if I could transfer my service for the $149 and start a new contract for one year. Same thing right? And I expected to be treated better as an existing customer. WRONG. He said I would have to pay the $415 dollars then sign another three year contract that I told him I did not want. I told him this practice of burning bridges behind them with their clients is a bad business move. He did say he would play the tape of the conversation for his supervisor.

They knew it was not working. They told me they had attempted to call me. I certainly did not receive messages from them. Why wait 4 years to send a letter if you could not reach me? They called me today and I was at work and could not answer. They did not leave a message. I returned the missed call. I asked them if they could repair the damage they caused when they installed the system. I was told it was my property and they are not responsible. My experience with this company has been horrific from start to finish.

They keep making excuses and want me to jump through hurdles to get that credit. My monthly charges equal more than that for two months and I've been with them for four years... That's roughly $2800 I already paid them, and I'm asking for $100.00. I was provided with the instructions on how to cancel my service, which I followed. My last payment should be next month and it better be, but I am concerned after reading the previous reviews. With competitive do-it-yourself systems and vendors out there... I really don't know how they will stay in business... Changing your name does not fool anyone.

I have sent emails and have made multiple hour long phone calls to stop getting billed. The latest bill had me being charged TWICE on my personal home, and once on one of the addresses from the duplex, and a mere 1 month credit for the other address. I just want to make the security system nightmare end and receive credit on my account for 5 months of service that I was billed after the account was cancelled. I just sent a very lengthy letter, with bill disputes highlighted and copies of all emails that I have sent regarding this issue. My phone number is ** and one of the duplex addresses is **. I see where some other complaints have been addressed and I want mine to be addressed as well.

I called Royal Security and was transferred to a Central Security Group representative who informed me that my service was not cancelled and actually auto renewed without my permission. I find this to be a very dishonest company who should inform me of this beforehand. I also don’t understand why I was never notified the month prior to this renewal, even if I was informed prior (which I wasn’t). Things happen. It’s life. Your company may not know this or not but a friendly reminder isn’t hard to send especially to paying customers. Being sidelined by a unexpected bill is however very hard to accept especially after being told that it would definitely cancel.

I spoke to James ID: ** who wasn’t much help. James seemed irritated that I wanted to calmly discuss how your company was continuing to in a nice way screw me over. He barely wanted to provide his name or badge and declined to give his last name but insisted I give mines which to me is another disturbing scenario but we won’t dig into that because the problem at hand is There was no apology and or no direct answer to my how to cancel your services which was my main concern/question.

I would like this service cancelled and cancelled immediately. Price gouging and or nonexistent explanation of payment for goods is pretty against the law. Furthermore after my review is made public in hopes that this would prevent future customers from experiencing this inconvenient hardship which I have had to encounter in the amount of $300.

I was told I shouldn't have been offered service since I wasn't the homeowner and my options are. 1. Have the new landlord take over services. 2. Have the new tenant take over services. 3. Pay for a service I am unable to use for the remainder of the contract. 4. Pay off the contract because of false information I was given. WOW! Horrible customer service especially for a system I have had numerous technicians come out for over the span of 18 months. Next stop, my attorney's office. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced this all because the sales rep wanted to make a quick commission. I fully intend to file a lawsuit. Thanks Central Security Group!

I called today and asked to cancel in 2 months from now since I will sell the house and have to relocate with my job, but it seems somehow I have to pay for 1 year and send them mails or faxes with a request of cancellation... Really? Can't you just do it over the phone? This is 21st Century people!!! Stay away guys, this is the biggest scam in history of contracts. Who in the right mind allows these scammers to get away with this? Where is consumer protection? I guess is a free for all... And guess who's the prey? Me & You reading this.

No matter what the cause, the account still has 7 months to run, they're happy to turn it off, but we'll still be charged... unless of course I get whoever buys the house to take over the account and sign a new contract. It's pretty clear that even if Dad had survived the first 3 years, it would have auto renewed and we'd be in the same spot. Paying for services that we're not getting. I read over the contract and it's true that at the very bottom of the second column on the 3rd page of the contract titled "Service and Installation agreement" it says that this contract is binding on your heirs and estate. It's in print about size 6. I'm sure my Dad didn't read it. It's too small for old folks to see. This company may get a good rating by the BBB, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Selling a 3-year, auto renewal contract to elderly folks and making it binding even if they die is just a ripoff.

I call and was told they couldn't find my email requesting cancellation, my call was transferred to a supervisor who then placed me on hold. Rep comes back on the line and says, "We found your cancellation letter so we will go ahead and send you a refund via US Postal Service". Ok sounds great... NOT. It is now March 21, 2018. I call wanting to know status of refund check and was told they didn't know how I wanted the refund... I was told it would be mailed they said, "No we see the credit. We just need to know how you want it refunded". Anyways this company is HORRIBLE. Customer service is HORRIBLE. I wouldn't recommend not even to my enemy.

I have spent in excess of 30+ hours calling in the evening and trying to get some assistance to get the darn thing working. This is so annoying, I got this system because my husband is a Hospice patient, a WWII Veteran, and a Documented Original Tuskegee Airman. I want them out of my home. In additional to this non-functional system, they suggested I spend an additional 1,000.00 in excess cost to make it operational. Big joke we are out of the money, a low class system that does not work, and a local Manager who is an absolute **. He sets the standards! Isn't that something that gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. If you have any suggestions on how to get rid of this trashy company, please let me know. They should not be allowed to practice business, not even "Dog Catchers". At least I respect them.

Original Review: Sept. 20, 2017

I would not recommend Central Security Group to any friends or family members. If you're interested in a security system, make sure you choose a company that does not force you into a contract or a renewal of a contract. I've been a Central Security Group customer for over 3+ years and recently had to relocate to San Antonio for a job opportunity. I called to cancel my services and was transferred to the Office of the CEO. The representative made it seem like everything would be taken care of; I would just need to provide my home's new contact information. After being reassured, I continued to get billed on my credit card. I called back and they said I would be forced to pay for 20+ months of services, even though I don't live at the home anymore. I asked if I could transfer my services (what most other utilities do) and they stated I would have to start a whole new contract if I wanted to use their services - meaning I'd have two contracts with them.

Loyalty to this company means nothing. Again, a customer for over 3+ years and now they're treating my terribly. I just received a call from another representative and he stated, "this is why we record all of our phone conversations" so they can cover their bases. He was unable to respond when I asked him why I was told by the representative "that everything would be taken care of". I learned my lesson with this company; I should have done more research online in finding a security monitoring company with good customer service.

Now fast forward 7 months of which I have continued to pay monthly for service I am not using. I call these companies and am advised since I am in my second year of my contract (1 month into second year) the fee to install the alarm system I am still under contract for is $275.00 or they can waive the fee if I agree to sign a new three year contract or cancel my service for $650.00. If I am unhappy with this service as it is this company has the bright idea of remedying the situation by allowing me to continue to be their customer for 3 additional years. NO that is not going to be acceptable. Who in their right mind would agree to something like this. Not to mention the system I did have was horrible and did not work properly while I had it installed. Now I am forced to find a new alarm company for my new home, pay that payment while I continue to pay the remainder of these 11 months left in my contract.

I would never recommend this company to anyone currently searching for alarm service. Also I would recommend people read these reviews because they all appear to be true. How can so many people have similar experiences, if I had done my homework I would have never chosen this company for the security of my home and family. This is truly a company focused on making money at any cost and does not care about customer service. This company will lose a customer that would have been a customer for years.

My husband was diagnosed with a liver disease 2 months ago. I called CGS asking what needs to be done because we have to move back north to live with my son, due to my husband's disease. She told me we were in a 3 year contract (which no one told us about). She said the only way we can get out of the contract is to sell it to a friend or have the new homeowners take over our contract. Otherwise we will have to continue paying the bill. Which the house has been sold and no one wants the system. It is not our fault they do not have service up north! It is not our fault my husband is sick and we have to move!

I am very organized and keep all my paperwork in files in a filing cabinet. I pulled the documents for CGS. The contract was not signed. It was the handwritten one the tech left with white (original he took) and pink and yellow copies left for us (carbon copies). Nothing was signed! The only other piece of paper I have is the "parts list" that my husband signed. So my husband calls to ask for a copy of the contract. I received it via email and in the mail. Wow! His signature and Initials were electronically stamped all over this contract. We never signed these papers or anything on an electronic device. Every signature on this paper is enclosed in a half box type deal and is exactly identical! Which is very obvious they copied it! I don't know where they got it but it's all over this piece of paper! They digitally copied it to the contract.

Yesterday a man showed up who is LOCAL (CGS is not local) wanting to buy out our CGS contract and start with him on a 2 year contract but since we are moving we declined. We have also contacted BBB (Better Business Bureau) and a lawyer. T-Mobile waived my contract years ago when I moved because they didn't service that area. But CGS says I will have to continue to pay their bill if I move??? This company is out for your money and not your well being!

Constant false alarms, system going off in the middle of the night, Central Security can tell there are problems with your system from their homebase, yet have no intent of notifying you or repairing the system. This would cost them resources. Their main objective is your monthly payment rolling in consistently. You call, you take off work, you let repair guys into your home - no one understands how to get your system working correctly. You decide you've given them ample opportunities to make things right. It's time to cancel the service and take your business elsewhere. This is where the stress doubles. They refuse to take a 'verbal' cancellation via phone. They mention you have months on your contract left to honor - you never signed a renewal contract???

You have to snail mail or email a cancellation form. Fear not, they will deny ever receiving the letter and form of cancellation you sent. They will also not acknowledge your emailed version of the same cancellation form. This is a pattern clearly seen in all internet review sections... Months go by, you are still denied any notification of cancellation. You are still 'locked' into some contract that doesn't exist - no one can automatically renew you into yearly contracts without written notification or consent. Now they want months of balances paid, for a service you don't use and clearly don't want. What a nightmare. What a scam. What a waste of your time and resources.

Read other reviews, this is clearly a business model for Central Security Group. Trick homeowners into signing a contract that gives them fine print power and refusal of your cancellation. Continue to pull in revenue from unsatisfied customers to prop up a failing business. I hope this review helps other homeowners from getting locked into any type of agreement with this company. You've been warned.

One day I get an email telling me they tried contacting me but had been unsuccessful. I did not receive ANYTHING. I call to speak with someone about my contact information they had on file. They had all of the correct information. They were trying to transfer me to the department that handles estates but they said they were "busy" and would send them my information to call me within the hour. Never received a call. I call them back and I'm told the same thing. They're "busy." This is the only company I am still having to deal with. I lost my grandmother in April and my mother at the beginning of June. Out of handling both estates, this company is the last one I'm trying to get taken care of... but they are making it impossible. I highly recommend to avoid Central Security because their customer service is horrendous.

I had an appointment for 06/10/17, 8-5 NO WINDOW. Got to be home ALL day!!! Called and rescheduled for 06/15, 5-7pm. At 7:02 called to find out the appointment was changed to 06/20. NO NOTIFICATION WAS MADE THAT THE CHANGE HAPPENED!!! REALLY!!! To try and appease me, we will send the tech on call for an "ASAP" call. Tech calls at 8:45 pm to say another hour!!! You have got to be kidding!!! I am pissed and fed up!!! You do not want me to call in after sending the email!! You have a supervisor call me ASAP to rectify this as I am satisfied!!!

When technician came to install he only installed 7 sensors due to the fact that he was short one. He did not install the motion sensor in the living room because he stated Alarm would be constantly going off because of the dogs and it would be a big problem. The cameras were not installed because apparently it was an extra cost when that's what I agreed with the vendor that came and wireless remote control was not in order form per technician.

Well I of course followed up with CSG group and they stated the cameras were not part of the plan we had discussed (when we clearly did!), then the issue with my dogs was that they are not 80 pounds each but together they are over 80 lbs. Mind you I have a chihuahua and a small Shih tzu. Wireless remote control was not given because it was only for elderly people and I would have to pay an extra fee for that. This was barely the 2nd day of having this system and I was very unhappy.

And so on the third day as I was told by the salesman and per the contract we signed that I can cancel with NO COST within the following 3 days of signing contract. So I called at 7 pm on a Friday Since I was told they close until 10 and had no luck getting through to them. Left message same day w/ technical support and lady said to fax contract with date and just to follow up with call on Monday. I did and they said they received it but will charge me a little over 200 dollars to take out equipment if not over $1000 to keep it. I talked to a so called manager and she laughed when I told her I was upset and did NOTHING to help or explain why I was being charged $200 when it did not say anything in contract and was never told this info. Very unhappy! People do not get this security system! They are just after your money and well the rest of the reviews on them should speak for themselves.

Original Review: May 30, 2017

Central security group is nothing but con artists and thieves. Deceptive practices and sketchy contracts. If you value your money whatsoever please do not get in bed with this company, and recommend anyone who is looking for an alarm system provider to stay away as well. I can't say anything that hasn't already been stated in the numerous 1 star reviews below. Shortly after my 3 year contract ended I ended up having to move out of my house into an apartment, the complex won't allow security systems (obviously) so I called to cancel my service. I was told that I automatically enrolled for a 1 year contract and would not be allowed out without paying a 475$ cancellation fee. DO NOT USE CSG.

Original Review: May 1, 2017

THIS IS A TERRIBLE COMPANY! My father-in-law died in Oct. 2016. I have been trying to cancel service. They told me to send a letter, death certificate and all necessary paperwork, which I did. Today I received a bill for each month of last year. When I called I was told the account was cancelled but they would still keep billing because it was under contract. But not to worry because it only bills "his estate". Well, we are his estate now. I asked to talk to a supervisor who confirmed they will keep billing because he had a contract with them in March 2016 for 2 years. I told her that I was pretty sure that contracts end when people die. But she said no. She said she doesn't care who I complain to, and if it is the BBB, the company's A+ rating will remain unchanged. My recommendation is to not use this company!

I asked the copy of the agreement and they promptly sent it. There is a mention of the automatic renewal of the contract. But the clause is not described anywhere in the agreement. According to my lawyer the contract is void if the clause is not clearly described. I am going after them. I recommend everybody who had similar problems with this company to get a legal opinion on their contracts. Looks like there are many victims of this CSG's dubious ways of doing business.

Original Review: Jan. 11, 2017

We used Guardian Security Systems, Inc. for our home security service from October 20, 2007 until we moved to a new state in December 2016 due to a job change. In August of 2016, we had signed an Alarm Agreement Addendum extending the terms of our original 2007 contract for 36 months. We thought this meant that we could still terminate with 30 days if needed and no one told us differently. We unexpectedly had to move due to a job change in December 2016 and gave 30 days notice of the cancellation in writing. We heard nothing back until we were billed for January 2017.

When I called to inquire about the charge, I was informed that because we signed an addendum rather than a renewal we will have to pay $35.89 every month until July 2019 (nearly $1200.00!!!) despite the fact that we used and paid for their services on a monthly basis for NINE YEARS prior. This is how the Company treats long term customers, RUN RUN RUN!!! Don't sign a contract and certainly don't renew or sign an addendum.

Original Review: Nov. 27, 2016

I have been with this company 3yrs. Every year I try to go month to month but they always renew my contract. They never upgrade my system, but always renew my contract. They company that charge less than what I am paying with more advance technology. I would like this company to give a month to month as I have requested on multiple occasions.

Original Review: Sept. 29, 2016

I signed up for Central Security Group in December 2012. The salesperson did not explain to me that I needed to terminate services exactly 90 days before the 3-year anniversary. I assumed that this was a normal company where one simply gives written notice after the required 3-year contract. In May 2016, after ensuring that I had completed 3 years, I sent two (2) letters to the main office and the billing address, notifying the company that I would no longer require their services. I also requested them to stop withdrawing funds from my bank account.

The funds withdrawal stopped after about a month or so, but then I started receiving invoices. I called and spoke to their billing department and was notified that since I did not call to cancel services around September 2015, giving 90 days notice, I had automatically been entered into an additional one year contract!! Why one (1) year, not month to month or something similar, I cannot tell. Therefore, I would have to pay the outstanding amount from the date they stopped withdrawing funds from my account, until December 2016! The company's automatic one-year renewal would be similar to telling a tenant that failed to give the required notice, but who did not sign a new tenancy agreement, that they had automatically been enrolled into another complete YEAR, and were obligated to continue paying rent for the new year!! No other company has such deceptive practices.

Most companies do not hide shady clauses (such as automatic one-year extensions) within all the paperwork that one signs at the initial contract signing. Not cable companies, not magazine subscriptions, not utility companies... The representatives at the billing department are impolite and keep repeating that "You signed the automatic renewal clause and if you want, we can forward to you a copy of this, just to remind you that you owe for the entire year!!"

Here is a reproduction of the clause: "THE MONITORING TERMS I am signing a ___ (3) year monitoring agreement with Central Security Group-Nationwide, Inc. (CSG). There is an automatic renewal clause, which may be canceled with notice. I am responsible for the payments described in the monitoring agreement. I am the owner of the home or business described in the monitoring agreement. I understand that Central Security Group-Nationwide, Inc. is not an insurer and that the agreement limits CSG liability."

In short, sentence that is BURIED on the top of the second page of the Alarm Monitoring Agreement, where the sales person (not the customer) inserts the number of years of monitoring, is the clause notifying a customer of the automatic renewal. No details as to "how to go about canceling this renewal are provided, nor the fact that the automatic renewal is for a complete 12 months!!! IT WOULD BE MORE HELPFUL IF THIS SENTENCE WAS PLACED RIGHT next to the customer's signature!!

I would not recommend this company to ANYBODY based solely on their deceptive practices of auto-renewing their contracts for one full year. I paid for half a year after my obligatory 3-year period and I am still required to pay for the remaining 6 months. The company did not have the courtesy of notifying me of this strange clause at the time that I sent them written notice that I was canceling services and stopping the automatic bank withdrawal, yet they have my email, telephone, and address contact information. I will therefore be forced to continue paying Central Security Group for the remainder of the year, while at the same time paying the new company that I signed up with. This is an unfair and terrible way to conduct business.

My husband went to go talk to the neighbors to make sure the water didn't damage anything. They notified him that they had called the number on the security signs to notify them and ask them to call us. We had received no call. About 3 days later we received a from CSG notifying us of the call our neighbors made. I was like "Yeah. Thanks that was a few days ago." I'm glad it wasn't something serious. I knew around August 2016 my contract should be up because it was a 2 year contract. I was at AT&T looking into their security system. I called to make sure my contract was up and was told it was not up 'til August 2017. I said "How is that I had a 2 year contract and it's been about 2 years." I said I know we haven't signed another contract. I never even heard from the sales guy since. She said she had to transfer me to someone else.

I spoke to someone else and they informed me that there is a clause in the contract that states that you have to cancel your service 30 days prior to the end of the contract or the contract will automatically renew. That does not even sound legal. I just happened to be with my sister and grandparents who also have CSG. They knew nothing about that either. My sister said she just knew about the letter but only because the guy asked her to write a letter when he switched her over from Monitronics to CSG but not about the 30 days. I said "What if I cancel anyway." He told me I would have to pay a $450 cancellation fee. I asked for a copy of my contract and something in writing stating the fee. He told me he can email me the contract but not a letter regarding the cancellation fee. He said I would need to request a final bill after the cancellation.

I said "Why do I need to request a bill? If I owe the money shouldn't you automatically bill me for it?" He said no I had to request it. I don't understand that. I don't know if it's just another way to get over on its customers by adding fees or what. He asked why we were cancelling and I told him we were not happy with the service and was being offered a better package elsewhere. I told him about what happened with the sprinkler incident and he apologized. He also told me they price matched. I told him with AT&T they are offering me 9 sensors, an outdoor camera and a push button door lock for my front door all for pretty much the same price I pay you guys for and all I have are 3 motion sensors. All he said was "OH". We then talked to the manager and still got nowhere.

After reading all these complaints on here I see the problem is much larger than I thought and would give them negative stars if possible. They are so shady and because my family members had no idea about the 30 day letter for cancellation I know it's not just something I missed. I will be posting this also on social media and Yelp. Go with a better company not a bunch of crooks trying to get over on you.

Fast forward about a week and we get a call one night that the alarm at our old address was going off and they wanted to know if everything was ok. We explained that we no longer lived there and had filled out all the paperwork to move and cancel the service at the old house. We spoke to everyone all the way up to the CEO's office and they couldn't find any paperwork saying we were cancelling and would be billed for the 2 addresses. In the meantime we got a call from our realtor asking for our code because the buyers of the old house couldn't get the alarm to shut off. My husband goes to find all the paperwork and there it all is saying that we were moving and cancelling and all the stuff that was supposed to be happening.

He calls right back to let them know he has it and the tech's name that came to our house and it just happens to be 9:01 and no one is there anymore even though my husband was promised an email right away with a new cancellation letter. He tried to tell the lady on the phone that he just spoke with them 2 minutes ago and she kept telling him "Sir, no one is in the office anymore." This company is ridiculous when it comes to keeping track of anything or just really lacks training in the lower levels. We are beyond fed up after tonight and find it ridiculous that we have to pay anything extra when we did everything right on our end. We should not be punished because they lost paperwork.

Original Review: Sept. 2, 2016

I signed a contract with Central Security Group on July 12, 2013 for security monitoring for a 3 year period. On September 2, 2016 I called them to cancel my service and they advised me that my contract had an automatic renewal of an entire year so I had 10 months left of my contract. On their contract it states NO SECRETS. This is not true because it does not outline what automatic renewal means. There is also no contact, i.e. email, mail or phone call, letting you know that your contract is being automatically renewed. I believe this is bad business and have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

Original Review: Aug. 27, 2016

A sales rep sold me on a different company then came back to have me fix some paperwork, and I ended up with 2 monitoring companies. After getting the initial company to drop my account, since their link to me had been cut off and they hadn't noticed, I was with Central Security for a year and half or so. Call to disconnect service since I'm moving, and come to find out that shady second contract was for 5 years with no cancellation option! When talking to their customer service, all the way up to the CEO's office, their only concern was if their contract could be enforced. Never mind the integrity of their tactics getting into my home.

Even after all this and talking with countless people from this company, they still charged my account. I went to the bank and they are going to charge back this money and stop them from continue doing so. Just take the cancellation contract and show them you cancelled. Some agency should investigate this company and I will not stop until I see them shut down. They don't have an order number on any of my paperwork or on the contract.

Original Review: July 26, 2016

WARNING!! Do not employ Central Security Group - Nationwide Incorporated to be your home security service. The equipment doesn't work; therefore, you will pay for services you're not receiving. You would be far better off just to take your hard earned $$$ money and watch it flush down the toilet drain, than to pay this company that doesn't provide the security service it claims to provide.

After providing a one month cancellation notice after our three year monitoring agreement, we were called and told that we were on an annual renewal contract (year-to-year) and we will be paying them for the next 10 months even though they will be happy to turn off our service. The contract is written in such a deceptive way, that an average well educated individual would not comprehend this clause. As a matter of fact the front is probably size 6 (six). As for my family, we see no other option but to seek the help of legal services.

First of all it was not expected them to take 22 days to tell me that I have to resend the notice again. When I was reached I was not anywhere near my office and could not send them another one as I was on vacation. Upon arriving back to the business I sent them another notice and the service was not cancelled after 120 days from the original notice sent. I called the CSG to resolve the issue but representative was very adamant about their 30 days notice. I kept explaining that the notice was sent on timely manner but CSG took 22 days to respond back and by the time I sent them another notice I was well into the next billing cycle. And 30 days from then force me into another billing cycle. So they charged me for 3 unused month of services. Whatever you do please do not sign up with CSG.

They refused to admit that they had put their customer base at risk since in the past they had trained them that even if you disabled the alarm with a code they would still call. Even on the two occasions that we had alarms that were not accidents on our part we turned off the alarm as quickly as possible in order to be able to hear a telephone conversation and - more importantly - hear an intruder in the home if one was present. Under the new policy even if it were a legitimate alarm, once we turned it off (within 30 seconds) we would have gotten no response from CSG.

The other excuse they gave was that it is highly unlikely that if the homeowner turns the alarm off within 30 seconds that there is really an intrusion or other emergency. I reminded that we have had monitored alarm service for over 30 years (14 years with CSG) and never had an actual intrusion - nor has anyone in any neighborhood we lived in - but we were willing to pay them $39.99/ month on the extremely small chance we would. I have since contacted a number of alarm companies in our area and NONE have a similar policy. All respond whether or not the homeowner turns the alarm off. Needless to say we will be changing alarm services as quickly as possible. Luckily we had already negotiated a non-renewable contract with CSG several years ago.

I called customer service and they were nasty. The first person I spoke to said I had a 90 day window and that I could send a cancellation notice via email. Then she transferred me to another department which told me a different story. They were nasty and rude. They told me that their policy is auto renewals no exceptions. I will contact every department that I have to make this unfair practice stop. I will contact the better business bureau, the FTC, and local regulators. I will also share my story with all of social media so that people know not to buy their security system.

What came next was a big surprise! I was told that they don't provide service at my location and that I would have to cancel the contract and pay for contract cancellation. I told them that I want to keep their service but it's not my fault that they cannot provide me the service. I also asked them why was I told that this a nationwide service and can transfer it when I relocate. The lady had no answer and simply said that she was sorry for the wrong information given to me at the time sale. They also informed me that even if they had provided service at my new location, I would be responsible for paying the cost for transfer and installation at the new location. Well, never again. Please keep away from them!

It is not fair to the customer to expect them to remember two years after the signing of an agreement that they must call to cancel the agreement. If the agreement was for two years it should be canceled after two years. I know of no other business where a customer signs a two year contract that is automatically extended an additional year unless a customer cancels. Most contracts that are extended beyond the original two years are extended month to month. At minimum, the company should be required to contact you to inform you that an agreement you signed two years ago is nearing completion and they should ask you if you would like to renew your contract. Central Security is involved in duplicitous billing and contract. Although the contract says, you must call to cancel doesn't make it fair or honest.

Original Review: May 19, 2016

There needs to be an option to give zero stars, because that is what Central Security deserves. Their policy is to auto-renew your contract after your contract ends, without telling you. We signed a 2-year contract with a different security company. When we moved to a new house, they transferred our service (which was still under the original contract) to the new house with no issue. Then the company was bought out by Central Security so our contract was transferred to them. We received no notification when our contract term was up, but continued to be charged monthly for security, so we assumed we were now receiving security service on a monthly basis.

We are now moving again, so when we called to have security service transferred to our new house, they said they had auto-renewed our contract without telling us, and that daring to move to a different house constitutes us terminating the contract. So we have to pay $330 as an early termination fee. My mistake, I thought it was illegal to put someone under a contract without telling them or having them sign anything. If you need security on your house, use a company that charges month-to-month.

Original Review: May 13, 2016

The only company on Earth that renews contracts without any form of written communication. Just passed the end of my three year contract and was told I'd be billed for another 10 months upon attempting to cancel. I had a health issue occur ON THE DAY of the renewal and these people are trying to charge me an additional $400 with no notification whatsoever of a contract renewal. I will make it my mission in life to make sure this doesn't happen to others. Be sure to contact your state's division of Labor & Licensing Regulation - hit them where it hurts - go after the contractors that sell these sleazy contracts and poor business practices. The FTC is also very interested in these types of billing scam - there are explicit instructions about which state and federal regulators to contact on FTC.gov.

"This addendum extends the terms of the contract for 12 months from the date of the addendum (9-14-2015). Swap board and add cell radio (GSM), make compatible to T.C. 2.0 (Honeywell's Total Connect service), add wireless receiver @ $267.00. For installation of the equipment set forth above, Subscriber will pay to CSG the sum of $0.00, payable $0.00 now and $0.00, upon completion of the work. In addition, Subscriber shall pay to CSG the additional monthly service fee of $22.00, payable on the same terms as the services fee in the Agreement for the remaining of the term of the Agreement and any renewal thereof, in accordance with all the terms and provisions of the Agreement. The total additional services fee that you will pay to CSG is $264.00."

I signed the one-year contract and paid for 6 months of service. On 3/10/16 I received a bill for $711.77 for one year of service from 3/1/16 - 2/28/17. That equates to $59.31/mo. I called CSG and stated that I would send them a check for $264.00 for the one year of service beginning 3/1/16. CSG billing insisted I owed them $711.77 to cover the installation charges and monthly fees. I pointed out that the contract stated "$0.00" for the installation and equipment, and I reminded them that the only reason I went with CSG was because there was no charge for the installation and equipment, knowing that my monthly rate would be higher ($22.00 instead of $13.95.) CSG kept calling me asking for "the balance on my account" so I wrote them a letter dated 3/9/16 asking for a copy of any other contractual information I am missing.

They never did, but they keep calling me asking for the balance. I will only pay them what I am contractually obligated to pay. I am glad I paid them by check instead of by credit card. Once they have your credit card information they can bill you what they want and then you have to settle the dispute with your credit card company. Bottom line: Hold CSG to what the contract says and pay by check, not credit card. I will not renew with CSG when my contract is up. I wish my old company hadn't "sold out" to CSG.

Original Review: May 6, 2016

I called Central Security on Mar 4 to request an immediate cancellation of my services. They stated I needed to send them a request, email being sufficient, to document the request. On March 4th I sent a request for immediate cancellation and requested a response from them that they received my email. They sent a confirmation email on March 4th. My desire was to cancel before the next month's auto draft, which occurs on the 6th of the month.

I assumed all was ok, but a check of my bank records showed they had billed me on March 6th and April 6th. When I called, they stated my email came in on the sixth of March, too late to cancel the billing, and in any case there is a 30 day period before a cancellation takes effect. Their statement that the email came in on the 6th is in direct conflict with the dates on my email and their return confirmation email. In addition to billing me on March 6th, their calculation of 30 days apparently carried my actual draft cancellation beyond the April 6th auto draft.

I have no idea how they do the math as the 6th of March which they stated for the cancellation request, plus 30 days, is less than April 6th. The net effect of their billing practices is that I was billed for two months of services beyond my written cancellation request. I believe these practices are intentional on their part, to pull as many funds as possible from a customer before losing them. It is extremely underhanded and deceptive.

Original Review: April 20, 2016

I frequently get moved by my company and after having a break-in and an ex-bf assaulting me last summer I invested in a security system installed by Smith Monitoring an affiliate of Central Security Group... 7 months later I'm being relocated and among the confusion of why my contract still had me on a plan with video cameras (that were never installed), having the install technician roll up in his personal vehicle vs. a marked company vehicle & getting different stories/pricing by each rep when I called in about what I needed to do to move my service... They gave out my account information to a male that called in asking about my account!! Now for background it was my realtor trying to get the story of what needed to happen for the move to try to help take something off my plate but I did NOT ask him to call and was not surprised the first time they turned him down since his name was not in the account.

Two days later he called me stating he called again and that they had given him the date of my contract, what I pay and what I needed to do for move... I was FURIOUS they gave my account information to a male not named on the account and WITHOUT my verbal password - 16 days later they are not helping me cancel my account without charging me the remaining months in my contract. Do I feel like I trust them? No! One comment was even 'this is above my pay-grade' when I asked why they hadn't followed up with me regarding them giving my information out... I'll be filing a complaint with the BBB and blasting any social media site I can to warn potential customers of their practices. Would you feel safe with an alarm monitoring company letting an unauthorized user get into your account?? What if it was my ex and he called in to cancel the alarm???

We asked, how about when we are not at home? Aren't you suppose to call us or the police to see if our house is safe. No reply. Then she said they are not obligated to call us every time. So, we asked for our service to be terminated. We asked for them to come get their equipment, we told them not to withdraw any money from our account, but they charged us anyway and caused our account to go negative. They are still wanting us to pay for a service they never provided. Rude! Rude! People!

Regardless, I went on to ask how they expect people to remember these small details +2 yrs after signing the contract. The lady wasn't budging so I asked for a manager. I went on to explain the whole story to the manager and she acted as if they were actually doing me a favor. She said that they were losing money and that they could actually get more from me because I was contractually obligated to do so for the remainder of the contract. Wow! At this point I'm boiling and she went on to say that she bet I received fantastic service since the time I had signed up. Haha, full of themselves much?! How ironic that I'm sitting here receiving terrible customer service as she tells me how great she assumes it has been over the last couple years.

I corrected her and said that actually I didn't receive any service from them because we never had any alarm issues. They just collected a monthly paycheck and once again they want another one for doing absolutely nothing. In the end she just said "sorry, we can't do anything for you". How's that for fantastic customer service. I said, "that just shows what type of company you are that you're more worried about scamming someone out of an extra $36 than potentially having a repeat customer in the future." Not only will I never use them again but I will let everyone I know, not to use this company and their shady practices!

They changed their bank draft description on my account from "GUARD/CSGNATIONW" to "CSG/GUARDIANALRM" in an attempt to conceal their identity when they drafted my account in September. I spent hours trying to find a phone number for "Guardian Alarm" here in the Austin area to no avail. Of course, I couldn't find their contract and none of their equipment was labeled with a company name, phone number or web URL address to enable easy access. So, I just started calling security companies until I found Central Security Group who confirmed my account information. Once I was connected to a live person I got the same diatribe as other angry and frustrated consumers such as I have well documented on this web site.

End story is I could buy out the contract for $595.27 which is the remaining 9 months of the 1 year auto renewal contract term. I was furious and they finally agreed to knock it down to $300. So, I'm all in to this security monitoring company to the tune of $2,143.08 for 39 months of worthless service. As a senior citizen with lots of time on my hands, I expect to fully dedicate my time for the next few weeks/months to letting as many people as I can know about this money grab scheme they continue to propagate on the unsuspecting consumers across the Southern United States.

Original Review: Nov. 2, 2015

I cancelled via phone (went with ATT). They accepted cancellation. Sent note on copy of billing (they kept billing for 1 yr in advance). Equipment was disconnected but they kept billing for year. I sent copies of disconnect notice. They reduced bill to $100+ charging me for 3 mos when it should be a fraction of that. Tried to call corporate to speak to executive but call keeps being intercepted. TROLLS won't leave me alone. Called a friend of mine and discussed my account with him!!! Unbelievable!!! Avoid them like the plague!!!

Not very clear wording either! And of course the salesman doesn't point this out to you at any time. The customer care dept. gal was rude as heck! So in other words I can't switch to a more reliable security company which would also be cheaper without paying another 8 months of service for a total of $ 279.60. Also, had issues with alarm service going off but them not calling to let us know the alarm had went off. The modem had to be reset. Luckily it was us that had set it off and not a robber otherwise I would have been SOL. Don't use Central Security Group as they are a bunch of ripoff artists! Oh, and after install I had a ring and a bracelet missing that were in my closet close to the alarm box, think the installer stole them. Stay away from this company!

Call Central and was advised them I wanted to cancel the service and why. Like a light switch her tone changed and she got nasty with me advising me that the contract auto renewed and I was on the hook for another year. "I fulfilled my 3 year agreement so I should be done" I told her which got me zero. I spoke to a supervisor and got the same nasty tone and a big "Nope can't help you". Well, so here we are. Horrible company, poor customer service and I will never use them again. Now I will spend a few hours leaving review and if I can stop one person from signing up I did good. Oh by the way Central, good luck deducting anything else from my bank account, haha.

While I was hold for half an hour, I looked up the reviews on this site and it provided so much insight, and apparently I'm not the only one this bad business practice has happened too. I ultimately told the rep that it was unheard of that a customer is not able to cancel their account, and that my account was going to be cancelled, it just depended if they wanted to do it the easy way or the hard way, where I cancel my checking account where they make automatic withdrawals. Either way they aren't going to get their money for a service that I no longer wish to have. The rep told me it was not possible, and I asked to speak to a supervisor.

After being on hold longer, she came back and said the supervisor was busy, but I could pay $100 to be released. Again, I was firm in my response that I wasn't paying a $100 to cancel my account and that I was writing a review and filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as we spoke. She put me on hold and came back and finally said if I sent a letter or email by September (in 5 days) that they would take September as the last payment. This company is shady, my advice is to be firm and keep requesting to speak with a supervisor. Hopefully, they honor this verbal agreement and cancel my account. I'm sending an email and also putting a certified letter in the mail today.

We are furious then they tell you takes them 3 years to recoup their money on their equipment... So I have 18 mo left, no intention to keep them after that time. So lied again, not 3 years for recoup because they would have to install in our new place when it is ready. I am writing letters to go on my file for all major credit bureaus and not paying them another dime. They are rip off artists. Spreading this all over social medias too. Tired of their unethical **. We cancelled or tried to the minute we got offer and learned they did not want system.

Original Review: July 17, 2015

I called to cancel our alarm monitoring service with Central Security Group and they said that we cannot cancel until NEXT MARCH! It is currently July! I said that we found monitoring with Smith-Thompson for $16.00 a month and wanted to go with them, since our current bill with CSG is $50.00 a month. The customer service agent said that we could cancel our monitoring, but that they would continue to bill us our monthly billing price until March. Also, if we do not remember to call in on March 1st, before the contract renews, we are locked in with them for another year. WTF? This is the worst company EVER! They tell you "no contract" when you sign up with them and then they get you locked in from year to year. What they really mean is that there's no "long term" contract. I want to cancel my service. They won't let me. This is ridiculous. DO NOT GO WITH CENTRAL SECURITY!!

I would like to hear from someone at upper management at Central Security Group to please explain to me what exactly their business model is and if they truly understand the grave severity of the situation. There are some very serious legal implications here. For those who might be researching Central Security Group, please do your due diligence.

Well, the rep told me on the phone that the only way for us to get out of our current contract (which had auto-renewed and now we are in for another 9 months) was to buy ANOTHER 3 YEAR CONTRACT. I talked to him for about 15 minutes, trying to explain how that's not going to work, nor is that even possible. Finally he says that we can sign up for 1 year only, but that we'd have to pay $200 for them to come activate the equipment that's already here in the new house. I was getting nowhere with him.

I call customer support, who says that they can definitely transfer the service. Really? Yes, she says, all you have to do is sign up for a new contract and have them activate the equipment... That's not a transfer, that's a new contract. It became clear that the cheapest way to get away from this company was to pay them for nothing. Pay until the contract runs out OR pay for another year plus $200 to activate equipment that works fine (the previous owner had equipment).

If you're planning to go with this company, be sure you know what their policies are when moving. They will try to get another 3 years out of you or hundreds of dollars to switch on existing equipment. Customer service line is useless, agents didn't seem to understand that signing up for a new contract is not the same as transferring service.

Since then, I have received harassing phone calls at my place of work, on family members phones, and now on friends personal mobiles. We gave no contacts as references so I am not sure how they have friends mobile numbers, but they do and have called them regarding my old account. This is extreme harassment. I have talked on the phone to discuss a few times with no apparent resolution aside from their business objective. I have resorted to only written communication (email) as I plan on taking legal action if the harassment persists. I highly recommend to stay away from this company.

When we moved, I researched security firms, and these complaints are why they lost our business. We are with a local company that has a good reputation, and unlike CSG, is honest. So, we will pay their money through November, but also let everyone know to avoid these unethical, slimy "businessmen". IF you go with this company, cross out the "automatic renewal" on the contract. There is simply no reason for this clause, except for them to make unearned money. May they all rot...

I contacted them to fix the previous amounts and was told the account numbers were okay and could go through. Now I received a bill showing that my monthly bills are going through but STILL a balance forward from the earlier bills that THEY could not process. And because the balance forward showed up, they charge me a $5 late fee for the months missed! I was told to cancel would cost me $2,134.

The new buyers agreed to carry out our remaining 9 months, however I was told that they would not just be able to carry out our remaining 9 months, but they would also have to sign a contract when the sales rep comes out to re-activate the system and it depends on the sales rep and whether they want the new people to sign a 1 or 3 year contract!!! What??? Up to the sales rep, who does that???

I asked to speak with a supervisor at this point, and when the girl answered the phone she answered it "Office of CEO", however, this was NOT a CEO office, because she knew nothing and had to keep putting me on hold to "try" to get answers to my questions. Needless, to say nothing got accomplished. I got on their website and looked at the company reviews and they were horrible and most had the same complaints about how the "sneak" in extra time on your contract and that just because your original contract expires that it doesn't mean you are not under contract anymore, because they automatically renew your contract for a year, if you do not give them a 30 day notice to end your service at the end of your contract!! Don't get caught in their scam!!!

Original Review: Jan. 27, 2015

This is a horrible company with no integrity. They ripped me off for $250 and continue to bill me even though they are fully aware that they do not monitor my alarm. When I tried to call to straighten it out, they hung up on me, put me on hold and never came back to my call several times, and then they told me the whole thing was straightened out and that they would let me out of the contract without charging me anymore. Then, they made automatic withdrawals from my account after the service was cancelled. And now they have completely reversed what they told me and send me bills in the mail.

They offered to buy me out of my contract to get me to switch services then struck me with a $250 bill. Instead, they continue to bill me and have threatened to put a judgment on my credit. I wish I was making this up but it is 100% true. As a former customer, my opinion is that this company has no integrity (kind of important for a security company) and has business practices that border on fraud. BEWARE!

After my repair I started to get these phone calls from CS about there wasn't a communication. I decided to chalk this up to the fact that my home phone where I had a basic land line also blew out and I hadn't replaced it being that I don't normally use the line and I have my cell and wife's cell as a backup number to call. After a couple of weeks I finally broke down and got new phone and decided to upgrade my home phone from a basic land line to a digital line with my service provider. No new equipment was installed and I was told that the only way a digital line would affect my alarm is if the alarm itself isn't digital and that would be an alarm from say the 80s.

So I called CS to finally get to the bottom of these communication problems that I am having at home and was told that I would need a technician to be sent out. So the Tech came in, he spliced a telephone cord or whatever and it was communicating. Now here it is a month or two later I am headed out on a trip and I am getting a call from CS telling me that my alarm is yet again communicating. I had previously paid $89 for a tech to come out and fix that. So what is the problem now? CS told me I would have to have another tech come out to look at it. I wasn't able to deal with it at the time as I was headed out of town. However when I returned days later, I decided that it was best that I change companies. I called CS and explained that I no longer wanted to continue with them past my contract period.

And when the agent asked me why, I laid before him the story as I am telling it now. He then transferred me to a sort of customer retention person who I then explained the story to, she was a very sweet girl however I think that customer retention is just about retaining and not satisfaction. She offered to waive the repair bill only if I signed a contract renewal (retention) and then informed me that I would have to have another tech come out. She explained that the reason that I was initially charged the $89 in the first place was because I had changed my home phone and that was not under the warranty of the contract. Now I am not the smartest person in the world, but I can't imagine that it requires a tremendous amount of effort on ones behalf to change a telephone number under an account. The tech told me that the communication error was due to a small connection that needed to be made to so that all of the telephone jacks are in sync.

So in my opinion, there are a couple things wrong. A) Nobody really knows why they charged me $89. B) I think the $89 should have been because of the tech patching my landline but if that is the case it's still broken because I am still getting the communication error. C) If the $89 was a result of me changing my phone number on my account then I should have left a long time ago because I was being nickeled and dimed because I changed my number.

So I informed the young lady that I would not like to accept her offer because as I stated before if I get refunded now to continue on service there is still another tech that will have to come out for the same issue and at that point I will be paying him $89. I then offered her a suggestion that maybe instead of an all or nothing scenario, she should suggest to her higher ups that they compromise and offer to split the cost since I am leaving. This way the customer feels like it isn't all about a $. I have in the past been wrong and thought the grass was greener on the other side and have come back to vendors that I have left that didn't leave a bad impression upon me. I can honestly say that CS is not one of them.

I waited and decided that I would do it right after the contracted ended. I got busy and forgot to send the letter! I called yesterday to get the fax number I needed to send it to, and the girl I spoke to was rude and offensive, I just wanted the fax number and they won’t give you any information without you giving them all your information and secret word. She told me that I had to put it all in writing and I said I already had it all down and that I just needed the fax number. I told her that my contract was done Oct. 31st and I wanted out of the contract, she was so ugly when she said that the contract was not over until Oct 31, 2015. I explained that when I called a couple months ago, the girl I spoke to told me that I had to wait until the contract was up before I could cancel, she said “I don’t know why they told you that but we can lower the price for the next year for you.” I told her I didn't want a lower price I wanted to cancel the service. I explained that not two weeks after the service was put in we started having issues, she told me that I should have called.

I explained that every time they had a code of some kind that when the people called me I told them that we had been having issues, NO ONE EVER offered a tech to come out to fix anything!!! We finally decided that we just wouldn't arm it, and then we wouldn't have any issues. I got another call from the service and they said that they were showing low battery, I said I don’t even know where the battery goes, I was told where I could go buy one and if I called back then I was home and close to the equipment, they would help me through the process! I knew that day that my unit was never going to work and that I would just wait out the time and cancel at the end of the term!

Now when I called yesterday I got so angry that I ended up hanging up on the person I was speaking and called back after I had cooled down, the girl that answered the phone helped me a lot. When she said that the fact that I wanted to cancel the service was actually in the notes from when I called on Aug. 14th 2014 then in fact it was already in writing, and documented on their own system!!! No one can call and ask any questions, because you have to have my secret word, and no one knows this except for me, not even my husband knows what it was! So it was positively me that requested that the service be canceled. Holding a customer hostage to a clause buried deep in a contract is absurd!

I explained to her that about 2 weeks after we got the POS there had been something wrong with it; she let me talk to a lead, ISIS, who was every bit as ill-mannered as the first girl I spoke to! These people are felons, in the last year they had 365 complaints with the BBB and still have a A+ rating, how can that be??? That is a complaint a day, just with the people that think to send a complaint.

After we sold our house, I called Central Security to cancel our service. I wanted to start fresh with a new company in our new house. After waiting for over 20 minutes, I finally got ahold of someone. They told me that I still had 7 months left on my contract, so we would need to transfer our service to our new house and they would give us a credit for the time in between when we would be without service. When I asked how that could be, because I didn't remember renewing anything for the past 6 years, they told me that the contract automatically renews every year! That is just absurd to me! So, I then asked what it would cost to just cancel, because I didn't want to do business with a company like that. They said over $400!!

I told the lady that we would go ahead and transfer our service over to the new house. She then told me that we would have to pay for the month in between, when we were without service, and we would receive a credit only after we transferred. I said, "So you are charging me for a service I'm not even using?!?" She said, "Well, we will credit you later". NOT good business!!!

I then told her I wanted to go ahead and put in my notice to cancel service at the end of our annual contract, so it wouldn't renew on me. She then told me, well, the technician won't install equipment for just 7 months of service. How can that be? I am still under contract with them! I am still a paying customer, and have been for over 6 years, so I deserve the service that I am requesting and paying for!!! The lady simply said, "I'm sorry, you will need to take that up with the technician when he calls you." Well, you bet I will! At the very first chance we get, I will be canceling our service, and it can't come soon enough!! STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY!!!

Get a call again, 2 days later, same problem, battery back up weak. Attempt to explain to them what just happened and they send another tech out with a new cell phone back up because they are supposedly "upgrading". Whatever!?!?! While trying to schedule and clarify the problems to try and correct it in one shot, I cannot get in contact with anyone in account services!!!! Needless to say, I have not had alarm services since I have moved in to my new house, and I have been paying the bill!! But they are sure to get into contact with me when my credit card will not go through.... So.... I told them, they will get correct credit card information when my system is up and running correctly.

DO NOT use CSG as your alarm monitoring company!!!! If any service or contractor uses them, or is connected to them in anyway, don't say no. Say NO!!!! and walk away, quickly!!!

After my initial 5 months service, I needed to move to a new home. They told me that moving my service to a new location will not cost me anything. This was a total lie. They charged me the lump sum of the 7 months (rest of the first year of contract) plus still charging every month for the same period. I understand that it is their policy but the problem is that they never told me that and they misled me to believe that lump sum was good for 7 months in the new location. Now I end up paying double payments for each month for 7 months. I had the option to leave my service at the old location and transfer the service to the new owner. But their offer for the free move sounded acceptable to me and I chose that option. Unfortunately, since they thought they can also get the new owner sign a new contract, they simply lied to me to keep my existing contract with a free move option.

When you call them about getting a new service, you are directly connected to a sales person right away with no wait time. However, the minimum hold time for any other issue is 20-25 minutes. If they say they will call you back, do not believe them. They will not call. I had ADT for 6 years with a slightly higher price but the customer service and the response time were excellent. I wish I never switched to Central Security for a few bucks cheaper service. Do not consider Central Security for any of their services. You will really regret it in long term.

I have even heard of people doing this the way they say to and they still do not stop their service and continue sending them billing. DO NOT EVER DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. You will be sorry if you do. WORST COMPANY I have ever seen in my life. I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM EVER AGAIN.

The four complaints are:

4. They will keep charging and charging. For those of you that have exiting contracts you also have another worry.

If you do not believe check out Yelp or better Check out the complaints at the BBB Tulsa Oklahoma. You can check about anywhere and this company stands out for complaints. My bad luck that I met them. The reasons for my original complaints follow (note the quotation marks around adjectives are just for self protection).

I am a senior and was just out of the hospital for my fourth knee replacement in my left leg when the CSG salesman came by my house. I was on a walker and on pain killers. I remember that day well I was happy at buying a new house and was not sure I needed this service. I asked can it just not wait and I got the usual about the need to do it now. In my house, ‘about security, about family’.

No that is not the end of the story. About two years of making payments with my only experience being a false alarm in the middle of one night, I had an electrician come over to look at my air conditioner. At the time he noticed something strange about the installation. I later had this again reviewed by a former Naval air engineer and he found the installation ‘apparently’ shoddy and ‘possibly’ potential danger.

I then told CSG March 10, 2014 that I wanted out. I did not want my money back. I just wanted out feeling at least that I would have corrected a potential danger. I sent several emails to the appropriate email address. Several. No response other than a reply saying that my email had been received. I then to make sure that I had not made a mistake in communication checked my sent mail and found that my original messages had disappeared. I then sent a second several emails but this time copying the body of the message onto a word document. Still no response. I then called and found that I needed a password to talk to them about my own account. No information would satisfy even the way that it was paid. They said that I had to send in a signed request to have a new email. Well this process took another two months and two letters scanned and with signature. I have copies of both having learned that messages seemed to disappear.

Once having that I was able to talk to a customer service person; sometime in May. I told them my situation. I want out and I don’t want to pay for the months that had ensued in finally getting to talk to them about my situation. They said that they would call back. They did with the collector of theirs saying that I would have to pay accrued amount to get out otherwise they are going to send it to the collectors. No response to either of my complaints. In short, they never responded at any time over a five month period to my two major complaints: 1) sold under duress, and 2) ‘apparent’ shoddy installation as verified by a navy air engineer.

I have heard that if you send a detailed letter rather than email to the customer relations department, companies may respond better. I did so with all details including a list of several complaint websites as well the State Attorney General, the Aging and Disabilities Division, and the Better Business Bureau that I would complain to if there was no equitable reasonable resolution. After all I am not asking my money back for my complaints only that we just part amicably. As usual, there was no response.

My final thoughts I almost believe that Central Security Group has become a collection agency for its old accounts because of possibly losing business to the new competitor SimpliSafe (I am not a customer or employee of this company) which would be about a third of what they cost to me (which was about $20 more per month that their competitors at the time). It is now possibly a shell company losing customers to all the complaints losing customers to cheaper services. Question will they still be there to provide service if you enter into a contract and those that have contracts will they be there.

Additional Information. I tried to find this company on the Oklahoma Secretary of State’s Search Corporate Entities and could not find it. There are no customer reviews on Central Security Group in the Tulsa Better Business Bureau. 328 complaints all to do with billing and product. Check this out before you here about the serious high tech service. The complaints are as serious as mine or worse.

Who tells a consumer to allow a bill to go into collections? I also don't understand that the consumer is bound to a 3 year contract without options. I chose not to continue my service with them because there were incidents that my alarm went off and I didn't receive a call or follow up. Everytime we opened the shower in the morning the alarm would go off because of the installation. I spoke to multiple people and they were rude and not for the consumer...I will not recommend them to no one...horrible experience and now money is taken out of my household to a company that I am not using...The guy going door to door was deceptive and explained they were better than ADT...that is a total joke...never use them...never.

I have been giving 3 different emails to cancel in writing and none of them work. Tabatha operator ** gave me the last one and since then when calling in no one will answer. NEVER EVER will do business with this group again. They will have to take me to court because I am cancelling the auto pay with my bank.

For the past three weeks, we have been getting the runaround from Central Security Group. Either they don't return our phone calls at all or they give us the same canned script: We are not an insurance company, We are not liable, There's nothing we can do. We are a good-standing customer of Central Security Group who has not only paid our bill in full, on time for 2 years but has also referred business to them. We understand they aren't an insurance company and cannot prevent break-ins but the bottom line is that we have wasted an awful lot of money on a service (a working alarm system) that was not provided to us. We may as well have been throwing our monthly payment out with the garbage for the past 2 years. We will be switching to a new provider as soon as our contract is up, and telling everyone we know to choose another provider ASAP as well.

Because my home was sold to an investment group, they have no desire to pay for a monitoring for their future tenants, and CSG will only allow transfer to the home owner, only if THEY agree to a 1-year contract, plus an eighty-dollar transfer fee. I'm now responsible to buy-out the remaining contract, that I was forcibly renewed into without any notification ('til I needed to cancel).

In December, my husband called to cancel the contract and we also wrote on the bill that we wished to cancel the service. They ignored the cancellation and continued to send bills. I (his wife) called and spoke to someone in customer service explaining that my husband had called to cancel last month and we were still receiving a bill and we had filed for bankruptcy. She acknowledged the call and said it would be taken care of. We did not receive any other bills until June stating that we owe three months of service and a late charge. My husband wrote a letter of cancellation again. We received a phone call from Jason today saying that we are under another contract for a year and that we are not allowed to cancel until October of this year.

January 25th, I sent an email regarding the cancellation and sent back the payment invoice stub to say remove the charges as the system was not working and we are not going to pay the bill as I had called and canceled on January 8. So there should not have been a bill. February 9, 2011, I called and Shannon said he was putting in a service order and someone would call 1-2 business days. Nothing. Numerous phone calls to this company regarding service and no customer service. Tyree was on the phone today, March 16, 2011, from the billing and asking for payment. I again told him that this is not being paid since we had no system working. We did have a contract agreement dated, 4/27/2007, a three-year monitoring agreement with an extended warranty included, that would be 4/27/2010. By no means have they kept their agreement, so as I see it, the contract is null and void.

I also spoke with Jason on March 16, 2011. He said the cancellation had to be in writing and not by phone by April 1. I had already put it in writing back in January with the bill stub. There is no way that the customer service has been satisfactory. I just find this unbelievable that they want to collect on services that were not rendered or satisfied. So to this date, I have not paid them as I find it appalling that not one representative would see this as a problem that needs to be addressed. I have also sent them a letter almost exactly to what I have written to you. They should have it in their files. Is there anything you can do to help in this situation?