ADT Security Services Inc - Westwood

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Our alarm hasn't worked since Feburary.  The snow caused damage to a side door and it disarmed the entire system.  Yesterday an ADT technician was scheduled to come out and  they cancelled via voicemail on the day of the service.  After taking the afternoon off from work - for the 5 hour window ADT provided - the tech left a message saying they wouldn't be out.  When my husband tried to call back they put him on hold for an hour.  I called today to cancel our ADT service.  After confirming that I am the homeowner and our home password ADT refused to cancel our service.  They said that my husband would have to call.  After checking the date on the calendar to make sure I am still living in 2015 I informed the woman that my identity had already been confirmed and it is actually my American Express account which is billed.  She told me that she understood how frustrating it is but that she is also a wife and she knows that sometimes it's the husband who has to be called....  We are asking ADT to stop billing us and for a refund from Feb through September billing.  
*****FyI - for all of you looking for a home security system ** back when our system worked ** the one time our alarm did go off they called the police and never notified us.  When I called ADT they said that it was not their policy to keep trying a homeowner until they get a response.  They only leave a message on our home voice mail.  That should be good in the event of a home invasion..

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UPDATE TO REVIEW...

The 'F' grade review I submitted earlier is attached after this update. I'm upgrading it to a 'B' After that review, I was contacted by ADT headquarters, where the poor grade had been noticed. My contact there arranged for a higher-level person to do a walk-though to determine what could be done. That happened quickly, and after the walk-though he agreed with my own conclusion that two wireless sounders could and should be added to the system. He wrote up a work order and set a date. The installer arrived on time but the work order hadn't specified that this was a 'wireless' system, so no sounders were on his truck, or in stock. We set up another, later date and he scheduled himself for the job as he was now familiar with the situation. On that later date however, a different installer arrived, again without the correct sounders, and unfortunately unfamiliar with DCS wireless systems. I had the name of the first installer and the two phoned each other to decide how to handle the situation. They came up with a plan where the second one would go to pick up the parts and the original installer would come immediately he had finished his current job. About an hour later the parts and the correct installer were here. The simple fix was made.

I was dismayed by the omission of 'wireless' in the write-up of the work order as that caused two useless trips. I was impressed with the two installers though, as they showed initiative in arranging to get the job done despite the unnecessary obstacles. The ineffective salesperson whom I had difficulty with in the early part of the project apparently is no longer with ADT, and my project had simply been closed. However, I believe the underlying problem is that ADT does not give proper support to the wireless DCS systems that are installed by separate ADT-authorized sales companies.  I feel that the best grade I can give is 'B'. I have had almost 6 months of bother with this project, but at last it seems to be completed satisfactorily.

ORIGINAL REVIEW BEFORE UPDATE...

The work by ADT was an addition to an existing system installed by Protect Your Home. The current project with ADT is incomplete and appears to be going nowhere. The work being reviewed here was to add one extra motion sensor in the basement and one smoke/heat sensor in the unfinished attic. I should mention that the monitoring provided by ADT seems fine.
The original system was installed just over 2 years ago by Protect Your Home and was advertised as an ADT system but was actually a wireless DCS system. Protect Your Home said that no permit was required and pushed to have the system installed the day we first called. They wouldn?t send a salesman, only an installer. We now know that the system is only monitored by ADT. DCS and ADT were once part of the same company. Since they split up ADT still monitors DCS systems but has been hopeless regarding the system additions being described here. Had we known beforehand, we would have gone with a completely different company. We intend to switch to American Alarm as soon as our 3-year contract expires. I have read on other reviews that ADT will deactivate our system completely if we did that, so no one else could monitor it, even though we purchased it ourselves!
An ADT salesman came to discuss the additional work in November. He hadn?t expected a DCS system but did find the two sensors we requested on ADT?s product list and wrote up the job. It would require a fire inspection. We requested a Tuesday or Thursday installation, which was noted. We heard nothing for a week and I emailed the salesman. He said installation had been set up for a Wednesday and said he would change the date. He didn?t. I received an automated call the night before the original date and had difficulty reaching anyone at ADT to reschedule it myself.
The installer added the two components but had to call someone to find out how to set up changes to our DCS system.
Things went downhill as soon as the fire inspection took place. A representative from ADT and from the fire department attended. I was not given the ADT representative?s name. The inspection failed! Additional sounders on the main floors were required because only the smoke alarm that detected a fire would sound. The alarm in the unfinished attic was not up to code as it would go off if the attic became too hot in the summer.
Since then, despite many attempts, I have had no action from ADT. I have repeatedly contacted the salesman, but all he has suggested is to upgrade to a completely new ADT system.
My research shows that our DCS system allows two additional sounders to be installed, which I am willing to purchase from ADT. Also, the smoke alarm in an unfinished attic might not be necessary and could be removed. I provided this information to the salesman. He apologizes, acknowledges concern, but there is no action. He has promised to call me by phone at specific times, but I was kept waiting and no call came. He finally called late on a Sunday, apparently from home, but seemed in poor spirits and agreed when I pointed out that ADT does not appear to provide sales incentives or support for DCS systems even though they have the ADT logo on them, and that ADT is too large to coordinate cases such as mine. He said that the permit remains open for a year and that ADT is currently in violation. This provides little comfort for me.
I emailed the salesman summarizing this last call, and listed the two actions that I had believed would fix the problem. I never heard from him again. I've been extremely patient and helpful in order to bring this to a satisfactory conclusion. However, it seems that the salesman would prefer me to simply go away. Meanwhile the project remains open.
Last year, I read several negative reviews of ADT on Angie?s List that got a response from a particular ADT customer support person, but the reviewers reported that it made no difference.

Alarm system was installed in 1993.  We've been generally happy with the system but the rate has more than doubled from $20 to now over $40 per month.  We rarely turn it on and wanted to discontinue monitoring and use the system just as a local alarm.  When you try to cancel, they tell you that they will send a code and deprogram the system so that it will no longer function. 
Having had the system for more than 20 years and having paid ADT thousands of dollars in monitoring fees, I feel like I should be able to keep the system and use it as I choose.  Their decision to basically sabotage the alarm system so that it will no longer work if you don't want to pay for monitoring anymore basically amounts to extortion.
The much touted homeowners insurance savings amounts to a few dollars a year.
Anyway, as I said the system is ok (though state of the art around 1990) and their monitoring service has been adequate, but know going in that you will have to pay the monitoring fees for life.

They are very responsive. My experience has been good with them. They have a good price.

unknown

They did a great job.

When I called ADT they were really prompt. It was easy to get someone out here to give me an estimate. In fact, it was easy to get everything. I have dealt with them in the past and I like them a lot.

I have been using them for many years. They are adequate and they had a pretty complete sensor system.
I would continue to use them if I have to.

ADT is good and they respond quickly. They were professional, they knew what they were doing, they were quick, and they did the job well. I would recommend ADT to friends and family.

They are all around Massachusetts.  My husband was actually here with them and I wasn't here.  He said that the guy was really nice and that he did the job in a timely manner.  He did the best he could to give us a break on the service.  He didn't try to put in more equipment than what was needed.  He gave us an adequate coverage as apposed to going over the top.  He said that the guy really did a good job because we can barely notice the sensors and stuff in the house.  We called them on a Monday and it took them a week and a half to come out as they were busy.  They could have come right out.  If one wants something done right away, they wouldn't call them, but I thought that they did a good job.  Their prices are great.  The guy was here when he said he was going to be here.  He was really nice and professional.                 

Sorry! I went into all the details above! (It was to "protect" my late father's house while it was on the market and vacant...)

We were awakened at 4:00 am on a Monday morning by a beeping-loud enough to wake us, but clearly not an alarm, because it was intermittent (about every 3-5 minutes). It often takes us a while to figure out which of the many smoke alarms is beeping-we finally identified that it was the CO2 monitor. That is hard-wired (no battery), so we couldn't turn it off by ourselves. Unsure whether there was a CO2 concern or just a loose wire, we called ADT-they couldn't send anyone out until Tuesday-not Monday, Tuesday. The person on the phone talked us through a reset option that shut off the beeping (luckily, it worked, or we wouldn't have gotten any sleep the next night). On Tuesday (4-hour timeframe given for arrival), the repair person arrived and replaced the CO2 monitor - he said they need to be replaced every 4-5 years, and now the company is putting a sticker on them indicating the date of replacement (they didn't bother to tell us this when the system was installed). The job took about 30 minutes, and I helped with testing and provided a ladder.

There is something wrong with the front door contact, the panel beeps very loudly telling me that there is a problem. It goes off when you shut the door, sometimes on it's own, in the middle of the night, etc. You can turn it off by putting in your code but then it goes off again, sometimes immediately, sometimes several minutes later, etc. It's really wonderful when it happens at 4 a.m. and you can't get it to turn off. I had an appointment with ADT to fix it. It took weeks to get the appointment. I waited from 12-5 one day and they never came. When I called they said that the appointment was never confirmed which is ridiculous, I don't think I made up that time and day for them to come. I asked for another appointment and they give me one 3 weeks later. That is absolutely ridiculous for an alarm that goes off constantly. I have called managers every day for a week and no one will return my call. I still have 2 weeks to go before my appointment. I wonder if they'll show up.

I am very disappointed with ADT's customer service. Fortunately, I haven't had to use it very often, but when I did use it, it's was abysmal. The window of time to wait for a service person is five hours. I stayed home the entire time, and called after about 90 minutes to see if they had a more exact estimate. They said they could provide that, put me on hold for 15 minutes (I counted), and then said they were incapable of providing that information. After 5 hours and 15 minutes, no one showed up, and I called and asked what was going on. The service person was running late and couldn't make it (I don't know if they ever would have called me or not!). I asked them to waive the $25 service fee to make up for the inconvenience, and they said they definitely would. Then, when the service person did come out (the next day), he said that the fee was not waived and I had to pay it. I called again and was put on hold for a long time, and was generally treated without much respect.

I have to say that while we are continuing to use ADT, they don t call quickly after the alarm goes off. I just don t think they are very responsive and I would like them to improve on that slightly. I have never used anyone else though so I don t know if I can give them a terrible grade. All alarm services may in fact operate this same way. I almost don't feel knowledgeable enough to say all that much about them. I'd say they could improve on their responsiveness and I would certainly be happy if they would do that. For the time being, we will continue to use them. I just don't think I can recommend them really to others as a result of their lack of response time.

We actually really like this company for alarm service monitoring. I know they are larger, but we have found them to be more responsive and personal than we probably assumed they would be I guess since they are larger. I mean, our alarm has gone off falsely a few times now and every time its like a matter of seconds before they call to see what's going on so we definitely feel like they're keeping up with their end of the bargain.

Up until several years ago, I never would have thought about having an alarm service, but now that I do I am glad I have it. I think it gives me a piece of mind that if I needed help, it would be available. I can say I know my alarm service company is highly responsive because I have set off my system by accident now at least twice and within what seemed to be seconds, my phone was ringing. They certainly seem to waste no time.

We are satisfied with our alarm company, I would say. They seem to be very responsive if we have a false alarm and that s pretty much what you want in an alarm company, so we have no complaints. They charge what everyone else does, too, so we can't really complain about what we pay either.

ADT is fine. I really can't say I have compared them to many other companies but I also can't say I have ever had a problem with them at all. They do what they are supposed to and our alarm works, so I give them all high marks right now.

ADT is okay. I would call them average. I can't really give them any glowing reports, but I also can't really say anything too terribly negative about them I guess. I think they are your typical company that is the middle of the line type of place. For the time being, I will stick with them but I am also open to looking into other alarm companies to be honest.

I have been using this company for quite some time now and they are very good. They do not bother me. They just kind of do their thing and we have always kind of felt like we are not going to leave them because they don't mess up or make mistakes. They just do their thing and never give us any problems. We are totally satisfied with them.

At some point it seemed like the price changed slightly. They did go with the original price. It didn't take them long. It was very well done. They did great work. They sales department is very nice. Very trustworthy and solid.

ADT has never treated me poorly. I am satisfied with the care I receive from this company. I always feel valued and like I am taken care of in a timely fashion.