Review For: ADT Security Services/ Defender Security
This ADT customer review has been submitted anonymously by a present or former ADT burglar alarms client. Please note that ADT uses a sub-dealer program, which usually means that a local company will install and service your alarm, and ADT will monitor it. So a review listed here may not be for or against corporate ADT, but a completely independent local dealer. If you submit a review, please indicate whether the review is regarding ADT corporate, or the local company who installed your system.
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Here's my ADT horror story. I sincerely hope potential customers will read this and decide NOT to buy an ADT alarm system. I was lied to, cheated, and even had money illegally debited from my account by ADT. I tried to be brief, but the story is just so incredible:
October 2007 I began inquiring about purchasing an ADT alarm system. I called ADT (the toll-free number listed on their website) and scheduled a time for a sales representative to come to my home. The sales rep visited my home a week or two later. I explained that one primary concern was that I would be moving within a year or two. He recommended that I purchase a wireless system with cellular back-up. He stated that such a system would be moved by ADT at no cost if and when I moved and my contract would just transfer over to my new residence.
November 2007 I called ADT to purchase the system that the sales rep had described when he came to my house. A technician came out and installed the system. The system worked well and I had no initial trouble with it.
July 16, 2008 Sure enough, I found out I was moving so I called ADT to have my alarm system moved to my new home. I was told by Diane, a rep at ADT, that my contract was not transferable and that if I moved and canceled it, I would be charged a hefty cancellation fee. I explained what I had been told at the time I bought the system and she escalated my call. Diane called back later that day and said that they tried to research my call and no information could be found. Recommended I submit a written complaint to the corporate office in Boca Raton, FL.
July 2008 Called corporate headquarters and spoke with Robert ******* who said he would research the matter. He called me back on July 22nd and said that if I wanted the equipment moved, I would have to pay labor costs. However, my contract could not be canceled and I would also have to pay a cancellation fee and then re-sign a NEW three-year contract. He stated that it was "highly unusual" to move equipment to a new location. Call was then escalated to Lester, the DC-area regional sales manager. He basically confirmed that nothing could be done and that if I moved the equipment I would have to pay a penalty for canceling the original contract. Lester told me that Robert at corporate would have to authorize any changes with my contract and waiving any fees for labor. A few days later I hear back from Robert who says that it's actually their billing/retention department that could waive these fees but they will not release me from the contract. He agreed to look into this and get back to me.
August 2008 I finally hear back from Robert and his "bottom line" was that the equipment cannot be moved. He stated that it was not possible to move the equipment and the only thing they could offer me is a "deal" on a new system. However, I would have to sign a new contract and either pay to get out of the old one or continue it for the next 2 years. I declined the offer and resolved to just run out the 2-year contract while renting out my home.
October 2008 I get a call from ADT that my alarm system was not working (I was no longer living in the home). I scheduled a service call for November 10th.
November 10th, 2008 Technician comes out. He states that an entire component in the system needs to be replaced and will have to order the necessary parts. He states that he will order the parts and then call to schedule another time to fix the system once the parts have arrived.
November 14th, 2008 I get a call from the technician on my cell phone at 8:00 PM at night stating that he is at my house and there to fix the system. I explain to him that he never set up an appointment with me and cannot just show up and expect me to be there. He tells me to call ADT and schedule a time to have the system fixed.
Late November 2008 I schedule an appointment and the technician never shows up. We schedule another appointment for early December 2008.
December 2008 ADT technician never shows up. Another appointment scheduled for January 20th, 2009.
January 20th, 2009 The appointment is scheduled and no one ever shows up. After waiting around for several hours, we call ADT and they tell us that they had to cancel the appointment because they didn't have the necessary parts to fix the system. Another appointment is scheduled for January 23rd, 2009.
January 23rd, 2009 A technician shows up at 10:00 PM, several hours after the time-window we were given. He starts to work on the system, but then says he cannot complete the job because he doesn't have all the necessary parts.
January 24th, 2009 We make several calls to ADT to try and get the situation resolved. ADT rep tells me that I will get a call back once the parts have arrived. I ask if I am being charged my monthly monitoring fee and they assure me that I will not be charged until the issue is resolved.
February 2009 No word from ADT, but they keep charging me for my monthly monitoring fee. I make 3 calls but never receive a concrete response about whether the parts have in fact arrived.
March 5th, 2009 I speak with 'Alex' in technical support. He states that the parts have arrived and he will work on scheduling an appointment. I also call ADT's corporate offices on this day and speak with Tim. He states that he will work to ensure my issues are resolved. He assures me that I will be credited back for all the monthly monitoring fees I had been paying when not receiving service.
March 6th, 2009 Tim tells me that they cannot determine what my refund amount will be. He agrees to call Ted ******, the local manager, and have him be present at the time my alarm is repaired, which we schedule for Tuesday March 10th.
March 9th, 2009 Tim calls and confirms my appointment with the technician on March 10th. I ask for Ted's number, but Tim states that if I have any trouble I should call him instead.
March 10th, 2009 ADT service person arrives at 5:00 PM. Issue is fixed within 45 minutes. I'm told that the problem was a defective SIM card. Ted never shows up. I leave a message for him. He calls me back around 6:30 PM and states that ADT can only offer me a credit of one months service for my trouble. I tell him that this is not acceptable and that I want to be refunded for every month that I have been without service. He finally agrees to file the paperwork for 6 months worth of refund ($264 total).
March 11th, 2009 I get a call from Ted. He states that I will be refunded $269.44 and that the refund will be issued to my checking account within 7 days.
March 20th, 2009 I did not receive any refund.
March 23, 2009 Still no refund. I leave a voicemail for Ted. I call Tim but find out that he no longer works for ADT. I speak with Corinthian who agrees to look into the matter. He calls me back later that day and says that refunds usually take about 30 days.
March 24th, 2009 I get a call from Bonnie ***** who is the head of the corporate resolution team (904-565-8164). She states that the paperwork for my refund was never submitted and that she will look into the matter and call me back. Corinthian calls later in the day and states that he talked with Ted but Ted never followed up with a response. At 3:00 PM, I called Bonnie and left a voicemail. At 6:39 PM I speak with Bonnie who states that the only way to get a refund issued would be to start the process all over again. She stated that it would take about 2-3 weeks. She agrees to send me an email confirming the amount of money I was to be credited. She apologized and confirmed that Ted "dropped the ball" and didn't do what he should have to get my refund issued.
March 27th, 2009 I am on vacation and go online via my Blackberry to check my checking account. I see that my account has a DEBIT from ADT in the amount of $269.44. I call Bonnie and explain to her what happened and she agrees to look into it. I call my bank and they confirm that the money had, in fact, been deducted from my account. I file a fraud charge and send a bank representative my email from Bonnie showing that I should have been credited those funds. Bonnie calls me back and apologizes profusely, stating that there was a "mix up". She states that she would get it corrected. However, my bank tells me that the money had been debited and that I basically didn't have access to those funds until the issue was resolved. The issue is finally resolved several days later.
October 2009 I get an online survey in an email from ADT. I fill it out, recounting my experiences with the company. I note that I would never in a million years use ADT ever again and that I active dissuade people from using ADT.
October 29th, 2009 I get a call from Kelly ******* at the Springfield office to follow up on my survey results. He tries to offer me a "deal" and states that Lester at his office never received my complaint. He states that the alarm systems can in fact be moved and that should have been done to begin with. He asks if I want to move my system and continue my service. I decline. I told him that the only thing I would be doing was canceling my ADT service as soon as my contract expires.
Any one of these things alone I could have overlooked as a simple mistake. However, in totality, they just seem to indicate that ADT has no qualms about using shady sales tactics and the company has a poor approach to general customer service. I will never again use ADT and I highly discourage anyone else from using this service. While the service itself has some value, I do not think that the service is worth it when you consider the time spent dealing with such horrible customer service.
October 2007 I began inquiring about purchasing an ADT alarm system. I called ADT (the toll-free number listed on their website) and scheduled a time for a sales representative to come to my home. The sales rep visited my home a week or two later. I explained that one primary concern was that I would be moving within a year or two. He recommended that I purchase a wireless system with cellular back-up. He stated that such a system would be moved by ADT at no cost if and when I moved and my contract would just transfer over to my new residence.
November 2007 I called ADT to purchase the system that the sales rep had described when he came to my house. A technician came out and installed the system. The system worked well and I had no initial trouble with it.
July 16, 2008 Sure enough, I found out I was moving so I called ADT to have my alarm system moved to my new home. I was told by Diane, a rep at ADT, that my contract was not transferable and that if I moved and canceled it, I would be charged a hefty cancellation fee. I explained what I had been told at the time I bought the system and she escalated my call. Diane called back later that day and said that they tried to research my call and no information could be found. Recommended I submit a written complaint to the corporate office in Boca Raton, FL.
July 2008 Called corporate headquarters and spoke with Robert ******* who said he would research the matter. He called me back on July 22nd and said that if I wanted the equipment moved, I would have to pay labor costs. However, my contract could not be canceled and I would also have to pay a cancellation fee and then re-sign a NEW three-year contract. He stated that it was "highly unusual" to move equipment to a new location. Call was then escalated to Lester, the DC-area regional sales manager. He basically confirmed that nothing could be done and that if I moved the equipment I would have to pay a penalty for canceling the original contract. Lester told me that Robert at corporate would have to authorize any changes with my contract and waiving any fees for labor. A few days later I hear back from Robert who says that it's actually their billing/retention department that could waive these fees but they will not release me from the contract. He agreed to look into this and get back to me.
August 2008 I finally hear back from Robert and his "bottom line" was that the equipment cannot be moved. He stated that it was not possible to move the equipment and the only thing they could offer me is a "deal" on a new system. However, I would have to sign a new contract and either pay to get out of the old one or continue it for the next 2 years. I declined the offer and resolved to just run out the 2-year contract while renting out my home.
October 2008 I get a call from ADT that my alarm system was not working (I was no longer living in the home). I scheduled a service call for November 10th.
November 10th, 2008 Technician comes out. He states that an entire component in the system needs to be replaced and will have to order the necessary parts. He states that he will order the parts and then call to schedule another time to fix the system once the parts have arrived.
November 14th, 2008 I get a call from the technician on my cell phone at 8:00 PM at night stating that he is at my house and there to fix the system. I explain to him that he never set up an appointment with me and cannot just show up and expect me to be there. He tells me to call ADT and schedule a time to have the system fixed.
Late November 2008 I schedule an appointment and the technician never shows up. We schedule another appointment for early December 2008.
December 2008 ADT technician never shows up. Another appointment scheduled for January 20th, 2009.
January 20th, 2009 The appointment is scheduled and no one ever shows up. After waiting around for several hours, we call ADT and they tell us that they had to cancel the appointment because they didn't have the necessary parts to fix the system. Another appointment is scheduled for January 23rd, 2009.
January 23rd, 2009 A technician shows up at 10:00 PM, several hours after the time-window we were given. He starts to work on the system, but then says he cannot complete the job because he doesn't have all the necessary parts.
January 24th, 2009 We make several calls to ADT to try and get the situation resolved. ADT rep tells me that I will get a call back once the parts have arrived. I ask if I am being charged my monthly monitoring fee and they assure me that I will not be charged until the issue is resolved.
February 2009 No word from ADT, but they keep charging me for my monthly monitoring fee. I make 3 calls but never receive a concrete response about whether the parts have in fact arrived.
March 5th, 2009 I speak with 'Alex' in technical support. He states that the parts have arrived and he will work on scheduling an appointment. I also call ADT's corporate offices on this day and speak with Tim. He states that he will work to ensure my issues are resolved. He assures me that I will be credited back for all the monthly monitoring fees I had been paying when not receiving service.
March 6th, 2009 Tim tells me that they cannot determine what my refund amount will be. He agrees to call Ted ******, the local manager, and have him be present at the time my alarm is repaired, which we schedule for Tuesday March 10th.
March 9th, 2009 Tim calls and confirms my appointment with the technician on March 10th. I ask for Ted's number, but Tim states that if I have any trouble I should call him instead.
March 10th, 2009 ADT service person arrives at 5:00 PM. Issue is fixed within 45 minutes. I'm told that the problem was a defective SIM card. Ted never shows up. I leave a message for him. He calls me back around 6:30 PM and states that ADT can only offer me a credit of one months service for my trouble. I tell him that this is not acceptable and that I want to be refunded for every month that I have been without service. He finally agrees to file the paperwork for 6 months worth of refund ($264 total).
March 11th, 2009 I get a call from Ted. He states that I will be refunded $269.44 and that the refund will be issued to my checking account within 7 days.
March 20th, 2009 I did not receive any refund.
March 23, 2009 Still no refund. I leave a voicemail for Ted. I call Tim but find out that he no longer works for ADT. I speak with Corinthian who agrees to look into the matter. He calls me back later that day and says that refunds usually take about 30 days.
March 24th, 2009 I get a call from Bonnie ***** who is the head of the corporate resolution team (904-565-8164). She states that the paperwork for my refund was never submitted and that she will look into the matter and call me back. Corinthian calls later in the day and states that he talked with Ted but Ted never followed up with a response. At 3:00 PM, I called Bonnie and left a voicemail. At 6:39 PM I speak with Bonnie who states that the only way to get a refund issued would be to start the process all over again. She stated that it would take about 2-3 weeks. She agrees to send me an email confirming the amount of money I was to be credited. She apologized and confirmed that Ted "dropped the ball" and didn't do what he should have to get my refund issued.
March 27th, 2009 I am on vacation and go online via my Blackberry to check my checking account. I see that my account has a DEBIT from ADT in the amount of $269.44. I call Bonnie and explain to her what happened and she agrees to look into it. I call my bank and they confirm that the money had, in fact, been deducted from my account. I file a fraud charge and send a bank representative my email from Bonnie showing that I should have been credited those funds. Bonnie calls me back and apologizes profusely, stating that there was a "mix up". She states that she would get it corrected. However, my bank tells me that the money had been debited and that I basically didn't have access to those funds until the issue was resolved. The issue is finally resolved several days later.
October 2009 I get an online survey in an email from ADT. I fill it out, recounting my experiences with the company. I note that I would never in a million years use ADT ever again and that I active dissuade people from using ADT.
October 29th, 2009 I get a call from Kelly ******* at the Springfield office to follow up on my survey results. He tries to offer me a "deal" and states that Lester at his office never received my complaint. He states that the alarm systems can in fact be moved and that should have been done to begin with. He asks if I want to move my system and continue my service. I decline. I told him that the only thing I would be doing was canceling my ADT service as soon as my contract expires.
Any one of these things alone I could have overlooked as a simple mistake. However, in totality, they just seem to indicate that ADT has no qualms about using shady sales tactics and the company has a poor approach to general customer service. I will never again use ADT and I highly discourage anyone else from using this service. While the service itself has some value, I do not think that the service is worth it when you consider the time spent dealing with such horrible customer service.