VALLEY ALARM

I’ve had a nightmare, ongoing experience with Valley Alarm/Armet. We originally inherited an Armet contract when we bought our home seven years ago, and recently needed to expand service to a new ADU. In the last 13 months, we’ve had problems with everything—scheduling, customer service, equipment knowledge, and installation. A sales rep proposed securing both ADU doors, adding motion sensors, and a wireless keypad for $1,700. Mid-installation, the technician said we needed an extra $200 wireless component that was never mentioned. By the end of the visit, he revealed the sales rep had miscounted the zones on our 32-zone panel, so one door would remain unsecured. We also learned the proposal didn’t include a siren, so there’d be no sonic deterrent. The sales rep returned and said we now needed a 64-zone panel, a siren, and maybe window sensors. He verbally quoted $200 labor + $200 parts, but the written estimate came back at $1,800 on top of the $1,900 we already paid. When I asked for an itemized breakdown, they refused, citing a “policy” against itemizing. I got a competing quote from ADT, who matched our monthly rate and offered keypad replacements, a panel upgrade, a siren, and securing the door and three windows for far less. After some back-and-forth—and near threats that leaving would breach our contract—Armet/Valley agreed to match the price. I signed a new proposal. Then it took three weeks for them to schedule a technician… who never showed. When I called, the receptionist literally said “oh sh*t!” because they had accidentally deleted our appointment instead of an internal meeting. They sent someone three days later. That technician spent eight hours at our home, only to tell us the wireless siren in the ADU didn’t work. He had already drilled into our brand-new walls before testing compatibility, so now we have damage. He also left our entire system misprogrammed—every motion sensor was set as a window sensor—so the alarm auto-triggered when someone walked by. We discovered this at 11pm when the siren blasted, waking our baby and toddler. Dispatch never called because the system wasn’t connected. They later claimed to have found a compatible siren in New York, but when the tech arrived, that one was incompatible too. No one had bothered to check compatibility beforehand. When he left, one of our keypads wasn’t connected to the panel and required yet another visit. At first, the company admitted the contract was nullified because they couldn’t supply the motion sensor; they said we’d owe nothing further and wouldn’t be charged, especially given the wall damage. I thought they were finally doing the right thing—until four months later when I received a bill charging us for all parts, including the motion sensor we never received. Their rep then claimed the “nothing further is due” email only applied to monthly charges, not parts, and said we still owed for the nonexistent motion sensor because of the “time spent researching” a part they couldn’t find. They eventually removed the sensor from the bill. I agreed to pay the rest but refused to delete my Yelp review, and then got no response to multiple emails. Months later, a third-party debt collector contacted us, billing $2,000 for all parts plus three years of contract charges, despite the company previously releasing us from the contract. If you’re considering protecting your home, do NOT use Valley Alarm or Armet. They’ve shown fundamental failures in customer service, expertise, scheduling, and basic competence. We've since switched to ADT and have been incredibly satisfied with their updated technology, customer service, and pricing.

I have been using Valley Alarm for many years.  They came to my house to reinstall my window sensors after I had all my windows replaced by a contractor.  I needed service quickly because contractors were going to paint my window trim.  They came out the same day I called them.  The installation of the sensors went smoothly.  The installer from Valley Alarm was able to do the job quickly and professionally saving time and money for the installation. Valley Alarm has always been responsive and gets the job done.   I  can recommend Valley Alarm for anyone needing installation  and repair of their system.

Installed incorrectly.  Didn't respond to service request.  Continued to fraudulently bill my checking account after my account was cancelled.  Submitted a false report to a credit reporting service and had bill collectors call me to collect a bill they made up.