Hawk Security Services

We have been with this company for over a year and have had terrible customer service every time we’ve had to call. We are constantly having to sit on hold, be told we’ll get a call back and never getting that call. Or being told the person we tech can not help us with the issues we’ve had! We finally switched to a new company and after leaving 3 messages requesting call backs in the corporate number in the last week I finally get someone to answer only to be told I have to call a different number! Now I was on hold for over 20 minutes and then they took forever to find our account, put me on hold for 10 minutes more then came back saying they couldn't go over the buy out or cancel for me it has to be you! Then she basically called me a liar saying they have no record of us calling and not getting responses or you giving me permission to handle the account! This is why we are leaving!

All windows and doors on my home were already hard wired for monitoring. They just hooked it all into their equipment and monitoring panel. The original two panels were located in inconvenient spots. The sales rep assured me that it would be no problem to remove them and install new panel in better location. The installer Daniel that came decided he would rather do it his way and put the new panel where one of the old ones were. It took some back and forth including getting my sales rep on the phone to get him to install it where we had previously discussed. For some reason the installer didn't check everything before he left. Later that day I went to look over everything and realized one of the window sensors didn't work. I specified how I wanted entry delays set on the doors and it took multiple false alarms here before I realized that had not been programmed correctly either. To add insult to injury, the original installer told me my password wasn't set per the contract so it would be my last name by default. It took a visit from a police officer one night after a false alarm on the improperly-set entry door delay to find out that wasn't accurate either. After several phone calls I finally figured out that it indeed was set up per the contract. Leads me to assume the installer fed me that false information in retaliation for not wanting to set it up the easiest way for him. Took a different installer coming out on a second appointment to get it all right. For the install fee I paid I expect it to be done right the first time. On the second visit, the installer was kind enough to say, "There will be no charge for this visit." Friend of mine in time used Vivint. Free install and they got it done right hassle-free the first time.

I use them currently and they did an upgrade for us on or around December 18th, 2016.  The upgrade was free but monthly is $54.99.  They offer monitoring with your cell phone with remote setting of alarm and setting of the smoke detectors.  The initial time that they came out to do the upgrade the technician wasn't qualified to do the smoke detectors, I had to call them to set it up and they should have called me. 

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Failed to show up for appointment despite having 5-hour window to do so. Placed on hold repeatedly for long periods of time.  Finally gave up and switching services.

Instillation went fine.  Then Hawk's billing department said I was a liar and did not have a camera installed in June but had it installed in December.  Then they are saying I haven't paid my bill since January 1st.  I have receipts from emails and bank statements showing I have not missed any payments but they keep arguing with me and saying I am not paying my bill.  They are threatening to cancel me which I wish they would do.  To cancel with them one must pay the entire contract off and not a cancellation fee. 
I would not recommend this company to any one due to their billing department.  I have written proof and they say I don't. 
Please do not do business with Hawk Security.  You will regret it.

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Not sure if THIS ADT is the parent ADT .. but overall ADT has done nothing but unsatisfactory work and not  on time.

Both times I was told 8am to 12pm.  Both times, they failed this four hour time frame

ADT operators were unprofessional and told me that they couldn't help  me.   The service tech was at another customer

The reason for the 2nd service call is the first service techs messed the system up so bad that the system called Dallas Police and I was charged $100 for false alarms.  I was in the house and the alarm never went off. ADT's tech accidently called them

On hold for  more than 20 minutes for a supervisor only to be told that a supervisor would call me back in a day or two.

Don't Use ADT.  Use Smith Thompson for future alarms

We have had service with Hawk for several years over two residences. It is specifically within the last year that we have had all our problems with the company. We moved in our new home in 09/2013. We had Hawk activate our security system that was installed by our home builder. The activation went good. Everyone that Hawk sent out seemed professional. We have no complaints with that side of their business. Here are our complaints:
1) Roughly 9 to 10 months ago, we had our back door zone go off at 2:00 am. The odd thing was that it was completely closed and we even tried to pull on the door to make sure it was all the way closed. So we are still unsure if someone tried to sneak in during the middle of the night. The problem is that Hawk never called.  There was strike 1. We had to call them instead.
2) Within a month or two after the back door instance, our kids had opened our front door and set the alarm off by accident. We received a call from Hawk. Here's the problem here. They NEVER asked for a passcode or challenged us to verify that we were the residents. I could have been a burglar and they would never have known. They were ok with just getting a verbal "everything is ok." This is instance 1 of not being challenged. After I thought about it, it dawned on me that they didn't ask so I called them back. They assured me that they would verify going forward. Wrong!
3) About 2 weeks ago, our kids set the garage door zone off. They are 10 and 9 and don't think to look at the alarm pad first before opening a door early in the morning. Anyways, on this instance we get a call from Hawk. Great right?????  WRONG! It's an automated call (no live person) prompting to answer yes or no if we would like to cancel the alarm signal. What the heck? So I'm thinking if I was a burglar, would I be honest and say no so the police could be dispatched or would I answer yes so I could continue robbing the place or doing worse to the family that lives there? I called Hawk back that same day and explained that my family had enough with the lack of monitoring. I informed them if they were going to use computers to check on the well-being of families, that we would not be doing business with them. I was once again insured that they would have a live person call and we would be challenged for the passcode.
4) Well here we are today and this time I set the alarm off by trying to get out the door too quickly going to work. My wife stated she would handle the call with Hawk when they called. I was so sure that they would call and challenge her on the passcode since we had had so many instances over this topic. I was sadly wrong. Hawk called and simply asked, "is everything ok?" My wife replied yes and waited for them to challenge her. They did not. My wife asked if they were going to and the representative stated, "we don't need to at this point." What in the world?
Folks, I strongly encourage you to look into this if you have Hawk. Their current monitoring service is not doing it's job. It's setting families up for theft or worse. I can assure you that when word of this gets out, who do you think thieves are going to target? If you don't believe me, test your system yourself and see how they handle the response.
When you expect a company to oversee your life's possessions, this is not what you expect. I have in the meantime contacted several other providers from the reviews on Angie's List and will be cancelling with Hawk and picking up one of them.
FYI - the provider we are choosing stated they have had 3 calls today alone from people that were upset with the automated response that Hawk is using.
I tried calling Hawk to inquire about the procedure for cancelling and also inform them that we were upset with the lack of monitoring and I was hung up on. I never said anything that should have prompted that. In the meantime, I called back and had to ask for someone from the resolution department call me back. It's been several hours and I still have not heard from anyone.

Update:I spoke with a Marilyn last night from Hawk. She assured me that from this point forward, we would be challenged for our passcode. If we don't get challenged for our passcode at any time, they would allow us to cancel our contract with no strings attached. We will be testing this over the next couple of weeks. Also, one of the other companies had informed us they use a duress passcode as standard practice. Hawk never discussed this with us. I inquired and Marily said yes we could definitely set one up.

11/17/2014 - After my initial Angie's List post, I was contacted by Hawk Security who reversed the charge they failed to mention to me previously.  While a service call fee is typical, the gentleman who called me back stated that I should have been told about the charge and that it shouldn't have been a surprise.  He apologized for the misunderstanding and was much more professional and friendly than the tech who visited my home for the installation.

Also since my last post I have another sensor that is failing.  I must point out that the security system was initially installed by my builder and then taken over by Hawk Security when they took over my monitoring service.  However, this will provide me another opportunity to evaluate the professionalism of their handling of the service call.  I will update this review a final time after my sensor is fixed to provide the most accurate representation of my overall service experience with Hawk. 

So far, the lack of friendliness and professionalism on behalf of the tech for my 10/27/14 appointment seems to be abnormal for Hawk.  Everyone I've dealt with except for that technician has been extremely professional and accommodating.

They're good than anyone else. I would recommend them. They aren't outstanding but they aren't poor either.

After I got my alarm system installed I realized that I paid way too much. I signed a contract either two or three year contract and it was set on automatic pay, and they raised rates. They raised the rate, so I called them. He said, "In the contract it says that we can raise the rates and we won't tell you". But, they adjusted my rate back to what's the original amount was supposed to be. That's just kind of sneaky and fishy. That was the main reason why I didn't go back with them. I just disliked their what I would call deceptive practices. They sent my rate back to the original amount but they never refunded the month they overcharged me.

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The experience was good and it took them about three hours. They did what they were supposed to do.

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Installation went as planned and scheduled.

Salesman was on time and came to our house on a Saturday to accommodate my schedule. He answered ALL of our questions and was very knowledgable. I am very satisfied with our decision to contract with Hawk. The installation was neat and we have had no issues with the system since installation.

They have been fantastic. They have been very attentive. If the alarm goes off, the call immediately us or if they don’t reach us, they call the secondary contact. They have been very good.

The monitoring has been as expected. I have tested the system a couple times over the years. The price is reasonable, but there are better prices out there. 
The issue came, when I was ready to add more equipment to the existing security system and switch monitoring companies. It had been more than 3 years, and I assumed my contract obligations had been completed. When I called to find out when the month ended so I could end my service, I was informed that my contract automatically renewed for another year, because I didn't end it on the specific date after 3 years.
When I asked why this was done, I was informed that this was so my home would always be monitored. Now, considering they only have invested a initial service call for 1.5 hours, a small daughter board on my alarm system board and a red LED, I would estimate they have less than $200 invested in my system. It seems incredibly aggressive to renew a 3 year initial contract for another whole year. It would make more sense to be able to go month to month after the initial contract. Imagine if your cell phone company did this after your 2 year contract had ended, how would you feel about that?
It would seem that they would send out a salesman when I got close to the end of my contract, or give me a call and try and see if i wanted an upgrade or renewal. Instead, they have chosen forced 1 year renewals.
To this end, I won't be doing anymore business with this company when my 4 years is up with them.

I have never had to use them to come out. I have used them for over three years. I feel that my family is greatly protected in case of an emergency. I feel good about the leaving the house if we go on vacation too. It is a great peice of mind having this system in my house.

The overall experience is excellent. They do great. The price is great. They are responsive, punctual, and professional. I will continue to use this company.

It was good actually, we were quite pleased.  We added it to an additional building and there was a little bit of confusion on the building and they sent us a refund check that we didn't know we had coming, so it was fine.

My disappointment with them was that when the installer came he asked if the salesman had been to my home and he had not. I was told by them when the installation was done that nothing under 40 pounds would set the alarm off buy my 6 pound dog set the alarm off and someone else had to come and fix the system. The first guy did not do a test on the system after he did the installation.

I haven't had any issues with Hawk Security and they are fine. They were clean and neat. They got it done at a cost that worked with my budget. I was very unhappy with the current one I had so it worked out well. I could get stuff cheaper but I like their effort. I haven't had any issues with their quality. I can't even talk about their responsiveness because I haven't had to contact them; actually, they contacted me.