ADT Security Services Inc - Edison

I called to complain that the alarm time was off by about an hour.  In the past, the system was off typically by 20-30 minutes when it would happen.  I have read online that their systems and many others can be hacked.  Their only explanation was that there must have been a power failure.  Well, it was a nice sunny day and neither my microwave nor my oven clock were off.  I don't trust the system.  I would have replaced the system a long time ago if I could decide what to do next.

unknown

ATTN: ADT ALAN D. FERBER, PRESIDENT RESIDENTIAL BUSINESS UNIT ADT LLC,  BOCA RATON, FL
DEAR MR FERBER, IVE BEEN AN ADT CUSTOMER FOR OVER 7 YEARS. I MOVED INTO ANOTHER HOME AT THE END OF LAST MONTH AND CALLED ADT TO CONTINUE MY SERVICES, THEY AGREED TO INSTALL NEW EQUIPMENT AT MY NEW LOCATION AND ALSO AGREED TO KEEP THE PRICE THE SAME AS I HAD BEEN PAYING. MY PRICE OVER THE PAST YEARS WAS $80.25 FOR THREE MONTHS SERVICE. THEY ADVISED THAT I SHOULD SIGN THE CONTRACT AND CALL THEM TO GET A GRANDFATHERED REDUCTION AFTER THE INSTALLATION. THE CONTRACT WAS FOR $89.95. FOR THREE MONTHS($29.98 PER MONTH) OR $3.20 PER MONTH OVER THE AGREED AMOUNT. ADT SENT ME AN INITIAL BILL FOR $104.84 FOR TWO MONTHS ($52.42 PER MONTH) AND I CALLED TODAY TO GET THE GRANDFATHERED AGREEMENT.  NICK AT ADT TOLD ME HE COULD NOT CHANGE THE PRICE AND ALSO THAT THE $104.84 BILL WAS A MISTAKE?   HELLO !!! ???, AND I ONLY HAD TO PAY $59.90 FOR TWO MONTHS, WHICH WAS A REDUCTION ?  THEN HE SAID THAT WAS A MISTAKE ALSO AND THAT I NEEDED TO TALK TO THE INSTALLER TO GET MY GRANDFATHERED PRICE AND HE CONNECTED ME TO CHAR # 13990 WHO SAID THAT ONLY ADT COULD GRANT ME THE GRANDFATHERED PRICE AND THAT SHE DID NOT WORK FOR ADT (LIKE NICK) BUT WORKED FOR DEFENDERS PROTECT NOT ADT AND SHE COULD NOT ISSUE AN ADJUSTMENT FOR ANOTHER COMPANIES BILL. I ASKED FOR A SUPERVISOR AND GOT KEVIN THE MANAGER, WHO SAID THAT DEFENDERS WAS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ADT CREDITS, ONLY THEIR CONTRACT AMOUNTS AND THAT HE WOULD CONNECT ME TO AN ADT MANAGER, SO I SPOKE TO DAVE MILIBELLO (NOT A VERY PLEASANT PERSON)  (PHONE # 866-561-0952) AT ADT WHO SAID HE WOULD NOT ISSUE A CREDIT AND THAT THE CONTRACT WAS WITH DEFENDER FOR THE FIRST 90 DAYS OF THE 3 YEAR CONTRACT AND THAT ADT WOULD THEN TAKE OVER BUT HE WOULD NOT REDUCE A CONTRACT THAT WAS WRITTEN BY ANOTHER COMPANY. PERIOD. I  CALLED KEVIN AT DEFENDER, WHO AGAIN SAID THAT THEY WOULD RESEARCH IT AND GET BACK TO ME. SO I SAID THAT I WOULD PAY THE $80.25 BUT NO MORE FOR THE SERVICE AND WARRANTY FOR 90 DAYS.  THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM HAVING YOUR NAME AND SIGNS ON MY PROPERTY FOR A CONTRACT WITH DEFENDER, AND HAVING YOUR CUSTOMERS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO COMPANIES IN A DISPUTE. I NEED TO GO TO SOMEBODY TO GET THIS RESOLVED. WAITING FOR YOUR RESPONSE, STILL WAITING 10-12-2015

unknown

When you call them you have to listen to a lot of options and this and that.  The service wasn’t good enough.  They are not offering any viable options.

I have been with them for over a year, having switched from Guardian.  ADT takes your money, gives you equipment that does work well, but I could be dead on the floor for three days before they'd notice.  I have set off the alarm on a number of occasions and NEVER had a phone call from them about it.  It's been over a year, and not once have they called me.  Guardian would call me within about ten seconds after the alarm went off.  ADT sent out a survey to customers, and one of the questions rated whether ADT really cares after they get you to sign on, and my answer was a resounding "NO!"  I did not hear anything back after the survey either.
They do have good customer service if YOU call them, and the equipment does work well, but if I ever had an emergency, I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in their response time.  Case in point.  I called 9-1-1, rather than using their medical button because I knew ADT would call me and then call for an ambulance.  Why two steps when someone needs medical attention?  Those lost minutes could kill someone.  The same is true for any time you set it off, panic alarm, fire, medical.  THEN they call you before they call for help.  If I can call for help, I won't be doing it through them.  I worry about the fire alarm going off when I'm out of reach of the house and the house burning down with my pets in it before they call the fire department--on the chance they can't reach me.  Guardian would automatically send help for fire, medical, panic, or police--not call you to make sure you really need help, then call the proper authorities.  It's not an efficient system they use.
The big test will be when I move.  I've bought equipment that they say I can take with me.  We'll see how much I get to take with me.

The system works fine, but their customer service is abominable.  We had a robbery in which my purse and keys were stolen, including the key fob that disarms the alarm.  I could not get them to schedule us until five days after the robbery.  Then they called because their agent got sick, and insisted that they bump me for the next few weeks.  I tried to tell them this was an emergency, that our home was not safe and any second a crook could disable our alarm and break in.  They were extremely rude and insensitive, insisting they could not make us a priority, and if I really wanted someone to come out, they would charge us extra.  It seemed ironic, that this is a company designed to keep people safe, yet in a time of danger, they could care less for the safety of their so called "valued customers" (we have been paying them each month for the past three years).  It took an hour on hold to be connected to a supervisor, who was finally able to correct the situation.

My husband and I were looking for outdoor surveillance cameras and decided to go with ADT, our existing security company.  A salesman came out to the house the end of November and quoted us a price of $2760 for the new equipment (to be paid over three subsequent months) and a monthly cost of $50.39 (up from $31.99).  Install was supposed to be completed 12/5/13.  Well, they showed up and worked all day, but did not complete the install.  We had to wait another week, 12/12/13, for completion.  On this day, they did not show up until after 12:30 pm, citing an office meeting as the reason.  Needless to say, the install was not completed and the two technicians left without giving us a completion date and leaving us without any alarm that night.  They assured us, however, that they could not come the next day.  Lo and behold, next morning we get a garbled message from the salesman.  I called him back and found out the techs were coming that day to complete the job.   They were at our home all day, finally completing the install, not leaving until after 7 pm.    Now the real fun began.  I checked my credit card statement and found that we had been billed $893.34 on 12/9/13 for the first of the three installments, this was prior to the completion of the work.  I didn't call about that, but check a few days later to find we had been billed another $893.34 on 12/13/13 and $31.99 (the cost of the original alarm monitoring).  Now I call the company and am told that I had to call Broadview Security and cancel my old account and I should have my husband do this because they wouldn't talk to me since the alarm was in his name.  My husband called the number they gave me and it was disconnected (of course, the company no longer existed, ADT had purchased them).  So, we call ADT again and are told that two new accounts were created without cancelling the old one.  We were assured this would be corrected and we would be credited the $893.34 since we had a contract stating three payments over three subsequent months.  OK, hang up.  Next day I check my credit card statement and find more charges, no credits and when all was said and done, we were now billed almost $6000 for a $2760 job.  Now I call the salesman (the third time, actually) and he finally answers the phone and tells me he will get his office girl involved because she was good with straightening out billing problems.  Wondering why they would need someone like this, I explain the whole situation and she assures me that she will have all the charges reversed and start over.  Oh yeah, I forgot, while all this was going on, we received a paper bill for $1027.80 - couldn't even figure out what that was for.  The office girl tells me to give it a week for all the charges to be fixed.  Guess what, another charge was added on , bringing the grand total billed to approximately $6800.
Next thing you know, we cannot get online to access our PULSE account so I place another call and find out that I discontinued my service.  Now, I don't even know if I have alarm coverage.  Next call to ADT, I get put on hold for over ten minutes before I was disconnected.  As this is so very frustrating, I waited another day before calling again and was told they couldn't help me if I wasn't at home but that it didn't "look" like I had service.  That evening at home it took another 35-45 minutes to get someone on the phone who could actually get us back on line.
So, what have I learned from all of this?  Not to be so quick to give an existing provider more business, that's for sure.  Through all of this, the only bright spot was the two installation techs who worked their butts off in extreme cold to get our new equipment installed.  Unfortunately, the job was not a one day install but that was the salesman's fault, the same salesman who washed his hands of us after he made the sale.  I still have not gotten a call from him to see if the billing situation has been resolved.  And we have gotten credit for all but the first installment of our payment (as well as two more paper bills), even though I was promised EVERYTHING would be credited and then billing would start over.  
Am I looking for a new company to monitor our equipment, you bet I am.  We signed a two year contract, but ADT did not keep up their end of the agreement, why should I?

This is an ADT Authorized Dealer, not actually ADT. It's not ADT's equipment and they are not the ones installing the service. ADT is only the monitoring company. The real company is called Protect Your Home. It went awful.  I found out today that I own the equipment and it is only warranted for 90 days.  If something goes wrong after 90 days I have to buy all new equipment.  I spoke with 8 different reps but no one will give me anythign in writing, although I was originally told there was a lifetime warranty.  None of the things I was promised were covered. They try to harrass you into buying additional items and their equipment is inferior.

First let me start by saying we have been customers with ADT for over 5 years. Recently we moved to another state and then the problems really begun.
In our old home we had a very extensive system, motion detectors, glass breaking sensors, contacts on every door and window, panic button, key fobs, the works. We were about to move, so I contacted ADT to ask what to do. They informed me that taking our "old" systems (5 years old) could not be done, even though it was wireless, because it could not communicate with their new system. So, with pain in our hearts and wallet, we left everything in our old home. The sales person assured me that the new system would be just as good.
How wrong can someone be! On the day of installation, the installation guy brought over 1 (!) motion detector, 1 key fob and 3 door contacts. He informed me happily that he would have had NO problem with hooking up older contacts, motion detectors etc. He had no extra parts and told me to contact ADT for whatever other parts I wanted. I called them immediately, told them I was absolutely not happy, they put  me through to the person who sold me the system, who simply stated: "that's what you wanted". After a short discussion, I was fuming mad, he told the installation guy to go ahead and install what it was we wanted. The installation guy informed him that he didn't have the parts to do so and that they needed to be ordered. The sales guy ended up yelling at the installation guy... Very professional. And of course we would have to pay the bill (full price, yup). We agreed, because we want home security, right? After the basic installation we waited for 10 days to hear from ADT. Nothing...
I called them after 10 days again, asking what kept them so long. It was like I had never called before!!! To set the second installation date I had to be transferred (we are just a call center) and got caught in a phone loop (please hold, I'll put you through to ...) After talking to 6 (!) people, I had had it! ADT had to go!
I hung up, called another customer service number, got transferred another 2 times and finally got to a person who was willing to send someone over to come and remove this whole joke of a system.
ADT? Never again! If this is how they deal with customers calling, how do they handle real emergency calls? (BTW: I can tell you from our old system: they'll send an email... I was traveling in Europe, the alarm went off and instead of calling or sending the police, they sent an email... 2 days later!!!)

Problem fixed by a great knowledgeable and wise repair technician named Joseph (Joey).

They came out and installed the alarm system free for me.  Once during some construction in the basement I accidently cut the wires and they said that they would come fix it for around $ 200.  I thought I could have someone else install the same for free instead of paying them for fixing their own system.  It did not make sense to me that they would charge such a high fee to fix a wire.  They did not realize they could lose me as a customer as I could get someone come out and install the same alarm system for free and to me that was not very professional.  While using them however I did not have any problems and the alarm did not go off.  The person who came out to install the system was fine and since I have a lot of pets I could not do a motion detector.  They were really the first company that came up with an alternative for a motion detector.

My alarm has been out of service since power was restored following Hurricane Sandy. When I called ADT they (1st week of november) they said they could not send anyone out to check my system until DECEMBER 11, almost 6 weeks later!!! I have been without an alarm sinse then. Yesterday, 12/3, I called them to see if it were possibel to get someone out to the house before 12/11. They suggested I use emergency service. An agent said called me at 6pm and scheduled the appointment for that night. She said she would call back with a window of when I could ex[pect the tech to arrive. She never called. 3 Hours later I called ADT and explained the situation. Apparently, nothing was scheduled and no one was coming. This new agent contacted a tech and I was told they would arrive in 45 minutes. 

The tech arrived at about 10pm and brought my system back to life. 

It appears that ADT has personnel on hand to service your equipment if you want to pay a premium however, if you you are on a service plan, as I am, don't expect them to go out of thier way to help you.

 I was originally with Brinks, then they were sold to broadview which was then sold to ADT. The Brinks rep warned me about ADT quality and service when I first got the alarm installed and said that Brinks was the better company. While I cannot comment on ADT equipment, I can say that he was spot on about ADT customer service. It is not best in class.

We just use them because they are one of the biggest here. We are not all that satisfied and pleased with them and would say that they are average. They say they’ll give the manual but they don’t even give it and we have to download it online. That is absolutely atrocious. But I do know that we live in a row home and the neighbors alarm went off one time and the cops came. We signed this agreement where we are supposed to test it weekly or something like that which is completely unpractical. The manual doesn’t give clear instructions how to do the test. I could never figure it out so I called the central office and the guy just asked me to just set the thing off. The smoke detectors are very sensitive. As long as the system works I’d like to see if I can get someone cheaper. In terms of signing up originally it was complicated because they had some clauses and things like that. I don’t really have a basis of comparison so I can’t comment on their price. I guess they are responsive because when we call them they answer.

My experience has not been favorable. I called them about surveillance services and they never did install it or get back to me about it. They didn't do what I asked them to do. They were punctual when they installed the alarm.

They're not the best, and they're not the worst.  They're ok and it works.  We've used them 3 years ago.  We chose them for price and the system they proposed.  It's never false alarmed.  I did have some problems that I had to fix.

There was a small problem with the system. No other company would've dealt with this. Joseph came out immediately and took care of the issue. He is a great businessman and knows how to keep and respect a customer. He came out and did this without any hassle at all. No other company would've dealt with this problem; they would've given me the run-around. I appreciate Joseph and will be calling him should I need any further assistance!

good

It went very well. The rep was punctual and helpful. The installer was professional, careful and did a very nice job both technically and aesthetically. When I lost the rep's business card, I tried to call their home office and the home office was very disorganized with trying to get me in touch with him. But otherwise, I am quite satisfied.

They were quick and efficient and cleaned up after themselves well.

unknown

The installers came out and explained that I already had window monitors. The installers were very professional and did an excellent job. They immediately knew which salesperson tried to sell me monitors I already had. Clearly, I was not the first to experience this from Mr. Alper. I contact Mr. Alper's supervisor who argued with me and tried to convince me that I just imaged what happened. I informed ADT Corporate who investiagetd the matter and was quite responseive and concerned.

They explained everything when they put in the system. I have used them at various places for fifteen years. I have never had a problem and that is why I went with them. They give me a call if I have an alarm. I have always been satisfied with them. I had one programming issue. I talked to the technician. It took us ten minutes to figure it out and it was no big deal. They showed up the the time they said and they were professional.

They were very mindful of the house. They didn't make a mess. They explained how everything worked to me. They showed up exactly at the time that they were supposed to show up.

They were great because they were timely and responsive and did way beyond what they needed and were here for three days and did everything they needed to. I would recommend them.