Here is my experience with this company:
- Expert came out, explained what we should get, quoted us, set up the system. Great to deal with.
- Alarm system worked pretty good and they always called quickly if the actual alarm went off which was very reassuring.
- If you have to cancel before your "term" is up - in this case because I sold the house - you have to pay a huge buyout fee, several times what the equipment is worth.
- When you cancel, nobody will ask you about moving the system to your new house or make any attempt at customer retention. I felt that they just want to take the cancellation fee and run.
- They would not disconnect the service until I signed and returned a cancellation request form, which I was not able to do as I was nowhere near any type of office, though I e-mailed them several times from my phone explaining this. This meant that the alarm was still connected when the new owners took the house. It was outrageous and completely lacking in common sense.
Based on my experience, the service up front was good but the cancellation experience left me with a pretty bad impression. I would not recommend them. I would consider using this service again if I was reassured that they had brought their business practices into the current century. If you do go with this company, do not sign any type of contract or financing plan. Just pay for the equipment up front (verify what it's worth too before agreeing to it) and negotiate a significantly lower monitoring fee on a month to month basis. If they wouldn't go for that I'm sure there are better options available locally.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,200.00
- Company Response
It is unfortunate this customer did not post his/her name as we are unable to look into the account specifically, however, United Alarm is a home security company, it is of utmost importance to have any cancellation or changes to an account in writing not just over the telephone. Cancelling security monitoring service is not like cancelling your telephone or cable.
When customers sell their property while still under contract, they are given several options; transfer the contract to the new owners, take the system with them if possible, sign up for a new system at their new home or buy out the remaining time of their contract at 87% of what is owing. No company is going to put in equipment for free, install it for free and then let someone walk away from it. The option to purchase equipment up front is an option, but this customer chose to lease it from us and signed a contract for a specified period of time.
We are sorry to hear the customer's experience with regard to cancellation was a less than great experience. Customer service is always United Alarm's top priority.