Guardian Protection

Whenever I have an alarm, they're on top of it. They’re always there when I need them. Their response time is excellent. When I have an alarm, they call me within 10 seconds. That's the most important thing to me. They also don't bother me with unwanted things or try to push extra things on me randomly, like with calls. If I had any type of suggestion, it might be a little bit more awareness with the product, possibly having an ability to update this system after a period of years. I recommended them to my brother, who lives in the area. He ended up going with them as well.

The installer was very good. He set it up. We had to do some troubleshooting because I was supposed to get a Ring and a doorbell. It’s their camera system for the doorbell. But we found out I didn't have a very good internet connection, so I knew I had to change that. When I got it changed and I called them, they came out, no problem and hooked it up for me. I can't complain at all about Guardian.

I like the way their setup is. It transmits in two different ways. It transmits by landline and cellular, so that if my phone line is cut, I still got cellular backup. In the old days before cellular, you only had landline. They've been very attentive whenever I call them on customer service. Also, when I've called them, I like that they're consistently asking me for my ID. Like, “What's your password?” to make sure you are the person calling in is who you really are.

They've also answered my questions. That's how I found out how this alarm worked. I wasn't too worried about burglar as long as I'm here, but I was worried about the fire department responding.‘Cause where I live, if you get an alarm and the fire department gets an alarm, and even though you call in with a passcode, the fire department still sends a rig to verify. I found out that when it's a low battery alarm, they will just send a text message or they’ll call the house. So, they make contact to let you know we had a problem. They don't automatically send the fire department, which I liked because it's not an act of fire alarm.

The equipment has been decent. However, we've had little issues here and there. Once you buy the equipment, it's your equipment. And even if the equipment fails, you still have to pay to have Guardian come out to do a service call. They charge you a bit extra for an upgraded level of service so that you only have to pay for the service call. For example, we had a control panel that went south and I didn't have to pay for a new control panel, but I had to pay 25 bucks to have them come out and fix it or replace it. One time we needed to add sensors so they brought out more and calibrated them. Guardian is a professional outfit. I trust them and their products.

But I had some new stuff put in because my smoke detector wasn’t hooked up to the system and it kept beeping. I’ve got vaulted ceilings here and it’s right at the top. I’d had to get a ladder that was 15-foot tall in order to get up there. And I had changed it once, a couple years ago, but a little bit younger then and I did not feel like climbing up ladders. So, I had called Guardian, had them put in a new smoke detector which is hooked up to my panel, and it’s at a place where if the battery needs to be changed, I can just get on a stool and take it off.

But they also put in a carbon dioxide checker too. And they put that where if there was carbon monoxide in the house from my heater or something, it would show up. And I’ve never had a problem with carbon monoxide, but you cannot take a chance. So, I had them put it in. It was expensive, but I could afford it. I knew it was gonna cost me because they told me ahead of time what it was gonna cost, which was okay. When they put the system in, they didn’t charge me anything. It was one of those advertisement things where they come around all the time. All you have to do is pay the first payments and that is it, which is fine.

So, now, if something happens where I got smoke and it sets the alarm off, I can go to the panel and put my code in and have the thing shut off because I have had smoke in here one time. I had oil in a cast-iron frying pan and I was curing it, so I had it on fire under it. And I forgot about it and went to the bedroom, and I was talking to my wife. So, all of a sudden, the siren goes off and I came running in there and the house was full of smoke. I then went ahead and opened the doors and everything else and tried to shut the thing off. It took me a couple of times before there was no smoke.

I called up Protection 1 and told them, “I just had a little problem with smoke on my stove.” My wife said, “Everything’s taken care of. Please, don’t send anybody out.” The fire department come over, however, and parked out in front of my house, and I told them what happened. Overall, Guardian has been good. If I’ve had something wrong, they’d come out and fix it. Also, the guy who did the installation did a good job and he took care of business. He was very pleasant to talk to as well.

Then I got a bill for $185 for something he spent less than three minutes in the house, and that pissed me off. I called up and then someone said they'd lower it to 105. That was what I had to pay for three minutes in the house and doing absolutely nothing because he couldn't do anything. I'll be with Guardian for five years next year, and I’ve never had any other problems with them and the bill still bothered me.

1. Contract - length of contract and how contract terms are communicated

2. Relocation policies

3. Early termination policies and renewal policies

4. Overall Costs

If you would like to know why I bring these points out please continue to read. First, the contract. I’m in a sales position and do B2B sales so I’m accustomed to contracts. Dates in the contracts are clearly seen and completely communicated. Guardian has several checkboxes for a consumer to accept - like I certify I will be home during installation, I’m the homeowner, and other non-contract like language - but then has a box for this is a 60-month term. That may be fine if you are okay with 60 months but if you are not they will still slide this paperwork in and that is deceitful. Second, relocation services - if you relocate to an area or home/apartment that can not take the services and you still have time on your contract. You will have to pay the rest of the contract out - plus early termination penalties.

Third, early termination penalties/renewal. I find these appalling and they do differ per State - as Guardian Protection Services will use to the full their advantage at a per State level. First ETP (Early Termination Penalties). So in a 60-month contract at month 58 I call and want to cancel - I’m willing to pay the $90 for the two months and walk away. No, that does not work their early termination penalties we’re over $1000.00! Next, renewal - in some States it can auto-renew for 12 months or more, and some it auto-renews for 30 days - check your State. This means you have to call in exactly 30 days before your contract expires.

Fourth, final on my list is costs. A 4G LTE connection - the type that Guardian gets costs under $5/Month. The hardware that Guardian Protection Services installs is likewise very inexpensive (and I might add we had a very bad install - the motherboard - battery, etc. is just hanging not fastened to anything). All of that is $45/Month for a base security system - two keypads - three doors - two glass breaks - smoke detectors - carbon monoxide detector - that’s it. I have 12 windows on the lower levels that have nothing. In calling in to cancel they said they could take off $5/Month. Check them out on Glassdoor as well - how do their employees like what they do and the company they work for? Stay away from this company if you can - they don’t care about you - why should you care about doing business with them?

My mother and I got the system at the same time and they put two different types on the garage doors. The system is saying that the doors are closed and they're locked, but it's also saying that it's not connecting. Then, it says it may be the battery. When I called once before about it, I even sent pictures and Guardian was supposed to get back with me. They never contacted me again to let me know what kind of battery I was supposed to change. I've spoken with them since and they said it’s showing on their side that the batteries are working. This past week, the system said the right garage door was bypassed because it wasn't working properly or the battery was dead.