As we know, the Internet of Things – or the connection of all our connected devices – is here to stay. So it should come as no surprise that a number of companies are showcasing products that create a central hub connecting consumer devices to one another, creating a secure, smart home atmosphere. [More]
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Feds: ADT Paid “Independent” Experts To Shill For Pulse Security System
By 3.6.14
When you see a so-called expert on the Today Show talking up a product, you might reasonably assume that this expert is giving you an honest opinion that hasn’t been tainted by cash or gifts. Alas, not every company is up front about the fact that they paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their product mentioned on TV by not-exactly-independent experts. [More]
Police Don’t Respond To Car Dealership Break-In Because Of $45 Permit Fee
By 3.5.14
If you spend the money to put in an alarm system on your home or business, make sure you check with your local police and fire departments to make sure there isn’t some sort of fee and/or permit required. Otherwise, you could be like the Kansas City car dealer who watched a break-in attempt live on his phone while police ignored the alarm. [More]
ADT’s Nightly 1 A.M. Wakeup Alarm Is Getting Tiresome
By 11.6.12
Reader Skruff gets a wakeup call every day, and he really, really does not appreciate it. It’s not on his phone: oh, no. It’s his ADT alarm system. Every day, it goes off at 1 A.M. Could be worse: it was 2 A.M. before Daylight Savings Time began. [More]
Thanks To Consumerist, Customer Wins Game Of ETF Chicken With ADT
By 9.12.12
You may remember reader Matthew, who a few weeks ago was playing chicken with alarm company ADT over having to pay an early termination fee for moving. After we posted his story, an ADT representative showed up and posted a comment, which got the ball rolling on an actual solution for him. They refunded him for the months that he had been paying for service that his local ADT salesman wasn’t willing to provide him. [More]
Nobody Wins When You Play ETF Chicken With ADT
By 8.23.12
UPDATE: Matthew won. When Matthew signed up for home alarm system service from ADT, he was promised that he would have no problem moving his service to a new home when he moved. So he signed a two-year contract. No problem! Until at his new home, he had to deal with a new salesman. One who insisted that he would need all new equipment (of course) at the new place even though what he had at his old place is almost new. Months later, he’s playing chicken with ADT. If he stops paying his bill, he’ll be hit with an early termination fee and have to pay for the equipment. If ADT lets him install his existing equipment and actually use the service he’s paying for, the salesman will look weak or something. Nobody can win this game. [More]
How Did Telemarketers End Up With Number That Was Changed To Avoid Telemarketers?
By 4.10.12
A man in California was so fed up with unwanted telemarketing calls (which may be a redundancy) that he finally gave in and changed his number to one that was completely unlisted. Little did he know his actions would only lead to end up on a list of newly changed numbers that was sold to telemarketers. [More]
4-Minute Phone Call Saves ADT Customer $100 Per Year
By 3.9.12
Aishel is an ADT home security system customer. When he received a letter in the mail that the company was increasing his monthly bill slightly, he decided that this change made him feel quite insecure in the wallet. He called up ADT to see whether they could waive the increase for him. Of course they could: and how would he like a $6 decrease in his monthly bill while he was at it? [More]
New ADT Sales Tactic: Cold-Call People, Frighten Them
By 8.26.11
An ADT salesman had devised (or was at least using) a brilliant tactic: cold-call people and ask them how their ADT systems were working. If they said, “I don’t have ADT,” try to sell them one. What a great idea! How could it possibly go wrong? I mean, other than making people believe that they’ve just been cold-called by a burglar looking for alarm-less homes. [More]
Don't Let A Salesperson Tell You What The Contract Says: Read It
By 6.30.11
Joy comes to us with a cautionary tale. Don’t let pushy salespeople talk you into signing a contract that you haven’t read. Rushing you through signing a contract is a sign of possible trouble ahead. She learned this when she had the ADT alarm system already installed in her house switched on. The salesperson rushed her through a lengthy contract, telling her what each part supposedly said and claiming that she could totally cancel within thirty days without having to pay any kind of early termination fee. Spoiler alert: this was not actually true. [More]
Police Reports Contradict ADT Rep's Warnings Of Local Break-Ins
By 12.30.10
Sarah says that last night an ADT sales rep came to her door trying to sell her an alarm system. He said that there were two break-ins “last week” and that whenever these occur ADT sends out a rep to “give away” two “free” alarm systems. [More]
Selling Alarm Systems After Murders: Helpful Or Opportunist?
By 11.4.09
About a month ago, a mother and daughter were chosen at random and brutally attacked in their home in small-town New Hampshire. The daughter survived, but the mother did not. And within days of this tragedy, ADT sales reps began going door-to-door to sell alarm systems.
ADT: Sign Up Or Thieves Will Kill Your Dogs With Oven Cleaner
By 7.19.09
Leo thought that letting his two dogs greet an approaching ADT salesman would be enough of a hint that he didn’t want their security services. Nope! The well-trained salesman sensitively barked: “You know what they are doing to dogs now, don’t you? They’re spraying oven-cleaner into their face, killing them in 20 seconds!”
