Buyer Beware!

I have been absolutely floored by the service problems I have had with ADT (the home security company). A few weeks ago, I had an alarm event in the middle of the night. The alarm was triggered and ran for several minutes while I carefully checked the house to determine what had triggered the alarm. ADT DID NOT RESPOND!!!!

Since ADT did not respond or even give me a courtesy call, I attempted to contact the monitoring service. I could not get through and was placed on hold for a long time. The next morning I thought surely everything was a fluke, and I attempted to contact the monitoring service and was placed on hold AGAIN.

When I finally got through, they sent a technician out to my house to determine why the signal did not work. He could not identify a problem and said everything was working fine.

I have requested that my contract with ADT be terminated on the grounds that the equipment is unreliable (the signal did not go through when the alarm was triggered) and also because the monitoring service is unreliable (I was unable to reach them on two occasions). I thought that surely I would be allowed to end my contract since ADT was not providing the monitoring service that I am paying a monthly premium for. I was wrong.

ADT's position is that since they cannot identify the problem that caused the failure in my alarm system, they have no responsibility to do anything else. They also hold the position that they are not responsible if their customers cannot access the monitoring service because they cannot control call volume (personally, I would consider this a staffing issue that should be addressed...)

At any rate, if you are considering ADT or if you have this service, please be aware that the monitoring you may be receiving may not be reliable. Also be aware that if you need to access the monitoring service because you are having an alarm event, you may not be able to get through. And, despite the monthly premium you pay, ADT will be unwilling to refund your money if they drop the ball on your monitoring.

Most customers will never need ADT's monitoring service and will thus never really know whether the service is reliable or not. My experience tells me that the service is NOT reliable. Please be aware of this fact if you have ADT or are considering purchasing this lousy service. Invest in a dog or a cell phone...you stand a much better chance at resting safer at night.