ADT Employee Offers Advice Re: Contract, Testing, Billing

READ YOUR CONTRACT. Some states are different, but a standard monitoring agreement is three years. It also states what IS covered by a maintenance agreement and what isn't. It makes NO difference what your salesperson told you, the contract is always right. Salespersons that work for ADT are generally pretty knowledgable, but you can never train a person for EVERY scenario, so, naturally, mistakes are sometimes made.

TEST YOUR SYSTEM FREQUENTLY!!! I cannot stress to you enough how important this is. What you pay monthly/quarterly/annually is for the monitoring center to be ready to receive alarm signals. It has nothing to do with whether or not your alarm is functioning correctly. Anytime you have a power surge, power outage, or phone work performed, you run the risk of a communication failure. Contrary to popular belief, the only way ADT (or any other monitoring center) knows there is a problem with your alarm, is if you arm the system religiously, and test the system at least monthly. THE ALARM SYSTEM DIALS OUT ONLY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. There is no 24 hr "magic link". The alarm needs an active ANALOG phone service to dial out in case of an emergency.

"What happens if someone cuts the phone line?" you might ask. The answer is simple. Your alarm will not communicate with the monitoring center. That is precisely the reason we offer and strongly recommend a cellular backup. That is a "cell phone" of sorts, that will communicate alarm signal data to the monitoring center, just like the analog line in case of a phone outage, or phone line tampering. Actually, ADT installs them as a primary communicator in residences which choose to cancel their home phone or use an internet based phone service such as Vonage, etc.

Some of the complaints on this board state that "ADT never monitored my alarm system". That is untrue. For an account to be brought online, ALL points/zones must be received by the monitoring center. This is achieved by the installer setting the alarm and "tripping" all zones on the alarm. After all signals are received, he or she gets a confirmation number from the monitoring center. Later this is verified by the installer's supervisor, the ADT data department, and the monitoring center, again. It IS NOT POSSIBLE for an ADT INSTALLED security system to have "never been monitored". It usually means that the customer hasn't tested the system after having phone line work done or has switched phone providers.

Takeovers/Resales. If YOU did not purchase the alarm system FROM ADT CORPORATE or are not the original purchaser, do not expect the alarm system to work flawlessly upon reactivation. If it was an ADT installed system and you purchase the house, ADT probably has NO IDEA why the original homeowner cancelled service. Is it because it suffered lightning damage and was giving them intermittant problems? Is it an old, outdated system? Point being, ADT is just reactivating YOUR equipment. There is not warranty. YOU did not purchase a system from ADT. You purchased a system from the original homeowner.

I have heard that ADT operators "hang up" on callers. I have never experienced this firsthand, but I do know that if you are on the phone with ADT and the alarm needs to dial out, (which is bound to happen if you are on the phone with them, there is probably an alarm or a service issue that you are hoping to get resolved over the phone) the alarm system takes over the phone line to call the monitoring center's computers. That will "hang up on you" for sure. Best thing I can tell you, is to call from your cell phone.

Billing Issues/Cancellations. If you are under contract, cancelling is probably out of the question. You may have only paid $700 for the system, but ADT has FAR MORE than that invested in the equipment and installation. ADT is large enough to be able to install state of the art equipment, at a fraction of the cost of other alarm companies, but you will have to pay monitoring for a few years. It is not unlike cell phone companies. You only pay $300 for a $600 phone, but you sign an agreement for cell service. There has been a lot said about the billing practices and the cancellation process. You have to remember, this is a SECURITY COMPANY. ADT has to make sure you are who you say you are. If you give the wrong password, or account number, you are not going to be able to make any changes to your account, including credits to your account if you are due any. Cancellations are different altogether. In most cases, you are going to have to send a certified letter AND speak with billing (with the correct password and account number, etc) before the account is cancelled. Again, ADT has to make sure you aren't someone that got ahold of the right information and cancelled the account, just to break in without fear of getting caught.

There is a direct correlation between the level of security you received, and the amount you spent on the security system. If you have a 2,000 square foot home, do you really think that a $400 system with two door contacts and one motion is going to be sufficient? ADT is going to provide the level of protection YOU wanted. If you have a break in, and get cleaned out, ADT is not going to honor their guarantee if you didn't purchase an adequate amount of security. Do yourself a favor and purchase a quality security system with an adequate level of protection. It is better than looking back and wishing you would have.

Security systems do not last forever. 12-15 years is about all you should trust a security system. Just because you arm it everyday, and even test it frequently, does not mean you should trust it with your family's lives. It is electronics, you know. Also, it is all about staying one step ahead of the bad guys. Technology changes in the alarm industry as fast as the computer industry. Parts aren't made for systems older than 10 years old (usually). Luckily, ADT has an upgrade program for existing ADT customers. So to the people that say "They should just replace my keypad, it is only 10 years old" it is not that simple. Your keypad may be shot, but the whole system may not be available anymore, hence the $282 upgrade fee. Well worth the money considering it is about $1,200 worth of parts and labor. And we are talking about the security of you and your family.

Service problems are a common occurence in today's day and age. Not only with ADT, but with any company. Appointments get missed, for any number of reasons. Usually it is because someone has complained enough to get "bumped up". Well, when that happens, someone else gets "bumped" OFF. When it comes to security, EVERY service call is an EMERGENCY, even the low batteries. When the technician arrives, realize it is NOT HIS or HER FAULT. He or she is just going to whatever address they are told to go to. Plus, if you don't treat them with respect, they can just leave. Service charges are not the tech's/operator's/installer's fault. If you don't have the maintenance agreement, you are going to pay service charges. It is not fair that a tech has to charge a little old lady on a fixed income to repair her alarm system, and you chew a$$ until you are able to get a service call for free to reconnect your new $6,000 mahogany front doors. Doesn't make sense that that poor lady has to skimp on groceries for a month just to feel safe in the inner city, and you get to buy another bottle of cognac for your full bar inside a home in a gated community.

ADT is almost 10 times larger than any other security company, so anything less than 10 times the amount of complaints is actually quite good, although most complaints are not the fault of ADT. They usually end up under one of the catagories above. BUT, all people make mistakes, even people at ADT. The Department of Defense, Federal Marshalls/Federal Judges, and over 90% of Fortune 500 companies use ADT equipment. ADT has been around for over 140 years. American District Telegraph was the original name. ADT is the only alarm company to have "line swing", meaning, if there was a catastrophic failure at a monitoring center, you would still be safe. ADT will not miss a single alarm call, they all get rerouted to another monitoring center. Federal background checks are performed on employees, monitoring centers are locked down like Fort Knox. There is a reason the goverment trusts ADT with their accounts.