ADT Review: Billing Issues, ADT Tries To Make Amends.

On September 16, 2009, someone removed the flood lights from the front of my house and shattered the globes and lights on my front porch. Nervous of the prospect that these events may be the precursor to my home being burglarized, I solicited two bids for the installation of a home security system and monitoring service the very next day. The first bid came from a local company who would be unable to install the system for at least two weeks. The second bid was from ADT, as they are recommended by my insurance company, USAA.

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

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

After he left, I remembered that I was probably eligible for a discount on the upgrades due to being a USAA member. I called the USAA/ADT line and told the rep about the situation. She confirmed that, indeed, I should have only paid $265.50. She recommended that I call my sales rep and let him know. I called my sales rep and informed him about the wireless upgrade and the addition of the outdoor horn. I asked him if there was any real difference in having the sensors hard wired vs. wireless. His response was that the installers would rather do the wireless because it means they can get done faster. He also told me that he would make sure that my account was credited $34.50, the amount of the USAA discount.

At this point, I was somewhere between amused and slightly nervous about the disconnect between sales and installers, as I started thinking about the plethora of negative reviews I had read about ADT online. Remember, my mindset was that if USAA recommends them, they must be ok. I also kept in mind that bad news travels faster and more often than does good news. I figured that for every poor review I read, there must certainly be thousands armed with ADT who pay their bills each month, do not have a break-in, and are content.

On September 24, I noticed while reviewing my online checking account that $300 had been deducted. I was not surprised about the debit, but I was surprised that there was no check number attached and that the transaction was listed as POS, which is how the debit card transactions read. Remember, it was a check for $300 that I gave the installer for the upgrades. It was also on September 24 that a different installer arrived to install the outdoor siren. It took him less than 30 minutes, as the wiring had already been taken care of.

On September 28, while once again reviewing my checking account, I noticed two pending transactions from ADT Security. The first was no surprise. It was a debit of $476.04, which was the first of three monthly installation charges. The second charge, however, was a surprise. It was for $92.39. I spoke with two billing specialists at ADT who told me that they could see the charge on my account, but they had no idea what it was for. I then called my sales rep who told me that he wasn't sure what it was for. I then called the USAA/ADT line, and the person I spoke with put me through to someone in the Little Rock, Arkansas office (I live in El Dorado, AR) who informed me that the $92.39 was for the first two months of the monitoring service. My sales rep called me back to tell me he had found out what the charge was for. I told him that I already knew, and that it would have been nice if he had shared that information with me. Fortunately, I had the funds in my checking account to cover the charge. The sales rep told me he had never heard of ADT billing [and automatically debiting] for the first two months at once.

At this point amusement gave way to nervousness and anxiety of the unknown. My mind resumed pondering all of the negative ADT reviews online regarding questionable billing practices, homes not actually being professionally monitored, lying salesmen, and shoddy installation.

The following events absolutely incensed me and began yesterday (September 30, 2009) morning. I was examining my checking account online yet again, and there was a negative balance. I thought I would throw up. I knew before I even clicked on the transaction detail link that it was ADT Security. Sure enough, ADT deducted $265.50 from my account, leaving me in the red with no access to funds and an impending $27.00 charge from my bank to cover the transaction. So, rather than credit me $34.50, they took an additional $265.50.

I called the ADT billing department and spoke with a gentleman who looked at my account and saw that the $265.50 had been deducted from my debit card. He stated that he would process a credit in the same amount back to my debit card account. I asked how long it would be before the funds were replaced. He told me it would be two or three business days. When I asked him how I would provide groceries for my family with no available money in my checking account, he almost seemed concerned.

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

I hung up furious this time and decided to reread my contract. She was almost right. The contract does not specify dissatisfaction with the 'monitoring' service. It only reads 'service'. I certainly include responsible billing practices as an important part of the 'service'. With regard to ADT's resolution of the problem, the only resolution I had been offered by the billing specialists I spoke with was tantamount to "You're ****ed." I then, by God, had the right to cancel my contract.

I next called the USAA/ADT line. The lady I spoke with immediately put me through to a mid-level manager at ADT in Little Rock. She said she had no idea of why this billing fiasco had occurred. However, she was sympathetic and stated that she could understand my frustration. She wanted to know if there was any way that if they could rectify the billing issue I would consider giving them another chance. I told her that I had contracted with them for a service that was supposed to make me feel secure and that now, I feel less secure because I can't trust them with access to my Visa debit card account. How could I be sure that the next time they would not take $500 or $1,000 or more? (I do have that much in my account for about 30 minutes every two weeks.) I told her that I was also concerned that there is a $300 check I wrote to ADT on 9/21/09 that had not yet posted. She confirmed that this was true. I was emphatic that the contract would not be upheld and that I would be due a refund minus some reasonable expenses for the installers' time and mileage from Pine Bluff to El Dorado. She told me that she would be getting back with me later in the day after she had discussed how to proceed with others in her office.

Today I spoke with the gentleman who I believe to be the head of operations for the Little Rock office. He sincerely apologized for the billing issues and explained that the installer should not have accepted a check and how their automated billing system caused the problems. He stated that he understood that I wanted to be done with ADT. I knew what his first offer would be. He suggested that we could terminate the contract with no early cancellation fee since I owned the equipment. I reminded him that I did not own the equipment, as I had only made one of three monthly installments. I told him that I had a feeling that what he thought was fair and reasonable was probably a long way from what I considered to be fair and reasonable. He said, "What do you mean fair and reasonable?" I responded that I would gladly give up $350 to compensate for the installers' travel and time and 11 days of monitoring service, but I want all the hardware removed and a refund of the remaining $783 from the $1,133 that was deducted from my account. He neither affirmed, haggled, nor declined. He said that he needed some time to verify the initial $300 deduction on September 24. He also informed me that a hold on my debit card was in effect, meaning that no more deductions would be allowed. I told him that I took care of it on my end too, by canceling the debit card and by stopping payment on the $300 check that's out there somewhere. He told me that it would be about 15 or 20 business days before any refund could be processed.

About two hours later the same gentleman called me back and said that he saw where the $300 came out of my account. Though I'm thinking, "Duh, why do you think I'm so upset?" I am no longer shocked by anything. To his credit and my appreciation, this guy is smooth. He told me that I will be refunded the entire amount minus a prorated monitoring fee for the 10 or 11 days the service is (was) active. Someone will be in touch with me on Monday for the removal of my system and he will touch base with me as well. He also acknowledged that this was entirely their fault. I was, once again, already expecting the last thing he said, and that was that because I canceled my check card, it will take even longer for me to get my refund. They will have to process the refund to the canceled check card, wait for it to bounce back, and then initiate a check to me. I had already decided that I could tolerate that more than I could tolerate more unauthorized money coming out of my account in case they became more unscrupulous or if they could not get a handle on their billing processes.

The bottom line is that (if he follows through on what he says) he and the Little Rock office will have done right by me. I wouldn't trust the corporate ADT billing department as far as I could throw them, however.

As soon as this system is removed, I am having one installed by Electronic Alarms, a local company in El Dorado with monitoring done by a company in Little Rock. I will update these comments in the near future, based on the follow-up of the Man in Little Rock.

Update: (Added Oct 7/09):

The gentleman at the ADT office in Little Rock has continued to demonstrate customer-service savvy with regard to his empathy for my situation. He called me back on Monday, October 5 to let me know that my refund has been turned over to ADT corporate Account Services for processing. He also informed me that "D" would be contacting me to schedule the removal of the hardware from my home later that day. As I write this, it is just before midnight on Tuesday the 6th. I have not heard from "D" or anyone else regarding scheduling the removal.

I tested my alarms at different entry points on consecutive days on the 5th and the 6th of this month. The sirens screamed immediately until I disabled the alarm at the keypad. I did not receive a call from the monitoring service on either occasion, so I am fairly confident that my home is not being monitored. Hopefully, this means that the gentleman in Little Rock has truly intervened in the continued accumulation of monitoring fees. My FICO score is cautious.

On a positive note, when the alarms sound, it's like a Public Enemy concert both inside and outside my house. If I can't get to my .45 quickly, I guarantee that my neighbor across the street whose confederate flag hung from November last year until the end of February will go Chuck Norris on anyone who is brave enough to proceed inside.

I will provide relevant updates to this situation as to the appropriate refund of my $1,100 and the assurances of the man in Little Rock.

Update: (Added Oct 14/09):

The saga continues.

Today is Friday, October 9, 2009. An ADT technician named Matt arrived at my home this afternoon to remove all of the ADT hardware from home, including four door sensors, eleven window sensors, the control unit, cellular backup unit, keypad, one smoke detector, and both sirens. I did not realize until a few moments ago that he forgot the "key chain" remote for arming and disarming the system. After reading the final bill from ADT I just got for $576.09, I imagine that the left-behind remote will probably either delay my refund or cost me another three or four hundred dollars.

So, to recap, despite assurance from the Operations Manager in Little Rock that I was due a refund of most of the $800 I have invested in the ADT system which was removed from my home today and the $300 they have stolen from my Visa check card account, I received a final bill from ADT requesting that I remit $576.09 or risk having the matter turned over to a collection agency.

My wife opened the final bill before I came home from work. She told me that she called ADT Account Services to ask why we were receiving this bill. She said that the person she spoke with said that it appeared to be the final installation charge. My wife asked the rep why we would be obligated to pay an installation bill for a system that had been removed. She said the rep told her, "This is the national billing office in Florida. I don't know what's going on there locally."

The bottom line is that the right hand has no idea what the left hand is up to. I sincerely believe that the people out of the ADT office in Little Rock (the ones who were responsible for selling and installing the security system) have conducted themselves honorably and professionally. Unfortunately, there were two small kinks in the chain that were their responsibility. I am referring to the installer asking for and receiving a check from me for the upgrades and me not being given the USAA discount of $34.50 for the upgrades right off the bat. These two kinks created a wrongful billing freight train from Corporate ADT that I pray will soon slow down.

It is obvious that there are major flaws in the ADT corporate system that do not allow for mistakes. I am sure that had I not been offered and accepted the upgrades, there would not have been any problem. However, mistakes happen. And when they happen, the right thing to do is for the company to proceed with caution and keep the customer first. This is undoubtedly not the way that ADT operates, as evidenced by the responses I got from the billing department when I first complained and this final bill on the desk in front of me. Don't put the customer first. GET THE MONEY!!! Then, if the screw-up was on our end, let the local office take the heat and hold on to the refund to the last possible second.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I bet that there are millions of people satisfied with ADT. I bet that they signed their contracts, their systems were installed, and they pay their bills each month. But there is something very wrong with a company that NEEDS for Sales and Installation to proceed with zero margin for error in order for the customer to not get screwed in the end. I would still be an ADT customer if I had been shown an ounce of empathy by either of the first two billing people I spoke with when they wrongfully overdrew my checking account. "I sure am sorry this happened to you. We'll get this fixed as soon as possible and take care of your overdraft fees." That would have soothed my anger. How hard is that to teach? Obviously, they are taught that the customer is only interested in getting over on them. Make sure the customer knows that ADT won't tolerate his evil ways.

To Bobby and his team at the ADT office in Little Rock, as far as I'm concerned, you have handled yourselves with a high level of integrity. Thank you. I imagine that you noted on my account somewhere that I should not receive a final installation bill. I'm sure it was ignored by Corporate Billing in the interest of getting the money first and asking questions later.

I remain hopeful that I will get my money back after they've had a chance to invest it for a while.