CASTLEGATE

Since the install we have had a few glitches which calling either CastleGate or the monitoring service they use, Monitronics, handled the matter. However, over the Christmas holidays our alarm went off two nights in a row at about 3-4am. After about 10 minutes we managed to disarm the alarm the first night, only to later find out ourselves that one of the window contacts had faulted. It seemed clear and we reset the alarm. The next day we left to fly east for Christmas and that very night the alarm went off again. Luckily we had a friend staying at our home, who was a bit shaken, but managed to call us to help reset the night alarm. However, this time I called Monitronics to figure out what was happening at 4 am. They could not find us in their system. The next morning I tried again and they still could not find us in the system, so I called CastleGate. I explained the emergency as we were out of town for the holidays and crime has increased in our neighborhood, so it was very important to get this straightened out. I called at 7:30 am, 11:45am and again at 3pm, and never received a call back. The next day I called again, asking to speak with Hal, the owner, to no avail. I called back again and sternly requested to speak with anyone who could possibly help me as it was an emergency situation. John had left CastleGate over a year ago and was no longer with the firm. I spoke with someone who described himself as Hal's co-worker. He tried to look up our account and could not seem to find an answer. He could not confirm our account with the monitoring company or our contract with CastleGate. Since I was out of town, I had no access to my paperwork. We went without any type of alarm monitoring through the rest of the week. Now that I have my contract I have tried repeatedly to contact Hal and I have yet to receive a call back from anyone. Thankfully we had no break ins over the holidays, but who knows how long we have been setting our alarm with a false sense of security. I would not recommend this company to anyone - be very wary of the lack of response and poor management.