Apex alarm called an offered me a 60 mo contact for a free alarm system in exchange for displaying his co's sign on my lawn all I had to do was pay the $ 40.00 mo rental fee . Thanks for the warning Buyer beware !!!
This scenario was "word for word"

A guy from APX alarms came to my house today and presented this scenario... Nice guy, but his pushiness to "sign up today" gave this scam away. Frustrating.

I have recently started to use a cd from www.deterrentsounds.com. It has prerecorded household sounds, and my flat really sounds occupied when the cd is playing. Good if you are away on vacation, or weekend escape, or even if you leave your home during the day for several hours.

My mom recently got an alarm system through APX and we've been happy with the product. The rep wasn't pushy and had my mom contacted me for approval. 2 way voice works well and the installation was fine. We've had a few incidents where we thought there may have a burglarly issue and the company immediately contacted my mom, me, and my brother along the emergency contact lane. We've had two technical issues that were resolved by the tech support the company offered. For a system with 2 way voice, cellular backup, we are getting a very competitive rate and great service compared to other companies we have researched. I doubt honeywell, a well known company, would have APX distribute their merchandise if were not competitive or a quality product. Just food for thought.

I fell for APX's scam. They came late (after 8 pm) to the door and my "scammer senses" were tingling, but the smooth talker fooled me. The customer no service is horrible. Technical service, is that what they call it they don't do anything technical and there isn't any service. They want to charge you $35 to come out and repair a problem that could have been prevented if installation was done correctly.
To get out of a contract, you have to either pay out your contract, (over $2,0000) or get someone you know to take over your contract. How can you ask a friend or family member take over a contract or a product you don't want, and keep a friend?

Dear Satisfied Customer from Washington, DC:

To call a spade a spade, it seems that you work for APX. How many people do you know defend their mother's alarm system company in an unsolicited manner? It seems very salesman like, mentioning the cellular backup, "honeywell, a well known company" and talking about the non-pushy salesman. Any normal person doesn't refer to the "thing where they talk to you when there is a problem" as 2 way voice, that is a technical word.

Maybe I am wrong, but it seems that writing the comment at almost 3am and with all of the other sales-like talk, you probably work for the company. Maybe you had a close sale who looked up some consumer reviews and didn't like what they saw. Perhaps.

Best of luck though...

No actually, We do have the APX system here in our home. It works fine and hasn't given us any headaches. I am not a sales person and actually a doctor in the medical profession so pardon my french.

I am telling you like it is. You can choose to purchase or not and go with ADT or Brinks. I have no ill will towards either product. I am simply stating that the alarm system we have works just great.

Satisfied customer from DC who gave my mom the ok to purchase.

Thanks

We just had the APX Alarm system installed in our home; we are cancelling Brinks (our contract ends soon), and I am very skeptical about this new APX system. We were enticed by the idea of a wireless system and the "intercom" on the keypad, and I am curious to see if the system, and customer service, is going to follow through. Several things seem strange about the sales rep and the technicians, including the door-to-door sales and immediate installation, and the technicians were here for over two hours having trouble installing the new system. Also, there was no company vehicle, which is odd. The sales rep was not specific about the monthly charge and he did not tell us about the 90.00 activation fee until just before we gave him our check card. So we'll have to see what happens!! I hope it turns out that the APX products and service is excellent.

We purchased a APEX system about 13 months ago. (we prev. had ADT for over 15 years) APEX (which I had never heard of) was going door to door in our sub. As a seasoned sales rep, trainer and manager of sales, I was quite alarmed (if I may -smiles) with their sales tactics. They used the names of other neighbors to gain trust and offered referal discounts. I cut thru the poor technique and told them to come back in a hour. I went online... checked the BBB, called some neighbors and decided to hear the rest of their pitch and compare what they offered to what I had. I phoned ADT and they could not come close to the price and options, so I decided to give it a try.

I will say that we closely oversaw our installation, making sure that everything was exactly what we expected. After the installation we made sure that we tested the system, including the call center response while the installers were still in our home and again the next day, after they were gone.

So far, we are still pleased with our choice. Aprox 10 neighbors purchased systems and to my knowledge all but 1 are happy and kept their system. The one that removed his one day after installation was very frightened by his APEX sales persons exaggerated scare pitch. He was so unhappy with the APEX installation that had them remove the system and had the most expensive ADT system installed, just for some peace of mind -at
3 times the APEX install price. ouch.

One of our neighbors bought a system through Platinum Products & I have an appointment with them. Their pitch is alarmingly similar to the above - free GE system with the 2 way voice. The system my neighbor got was pretty basic coverage of the entrances, but it appears there is no way anyone could come or go without triggering a door, window or the panning sensor (can't think of name). Their monitoring is $40/month for 60 months. The salesman was acting like they were giving free systems to a select few in hopes of slling to neighbors. I am leery of that approach.

One thing that is giving me pause is the mandatory 'light' credit check where they say they obtain only the credit score. They say this is necessary to ensure their free equipment is in the hands of spmeone who will fulfill the contract, but I have problems around giving out my SSN. When I recently bought my Prius, the Toyota dealership insisted I give them my SSN for a credit check even though I paid for the car with my American Express Card. I did that just to earn cash back & paid off the card within a few days. I refused the SSN & they finally caved.

My neighbor raves at the attention he has gotten, about the installer checking back to make sure he is happy, but after reading the abouve, I wonder if he did that just to get an excellent reference toward more sales.

Has anyone heard of this outfit or have advice?

Thank you,
Gloria

Come on, there is no such thing as "we can hear an intruder" through our two way. It seems as if the elderly and lower income individuals are taken away with much awe with these people. If you APX lovers look at your keypad, you will realize that it is a "1 point system" meaning that the control panel, keypad and most importantly siren are all in the one keypad. How can they hear someone actually breaking in (obviously if you accidentally set it off, I am sure they can hear you) if the siren is blasting right in the operators ears? Why is a company trying to listen to see what is going on when they should be contacting the police? Think about it, valuable time wasted in both police and medical situations.

BTW, the two way voice was with Protection One over 10 years ago and that keypad has the appearance of one of Brinks older keypads during the 1980s. Just to let you know it isn't new technology as they claim.

ADT basically lied to us. They swore up and down that
our 2 cats, weighing a total of 22 lbs would not set off a motion sensor that was set to 40 lbs. Well, our second false alarm in 2 months happened this morning. They made me wait all day for a tech to come "fix" the motion sensor, and it turns out all he could do was put in a new motion sensor in case the first was malfunctioning (for a fee), or take the motion sensor out completely. When I contacted ADT, they said they were very sorry the sales rep told me the cats would not set it off even though, as the customer service person told me, cats are a major problem for them and a main source of false alarms, but they couldn't promise they would let us out of our 3 year contract just because of what the sales rep told us. Long story short, don't believe what the sales reps tell you. Your pets can and will set the alarm off, and you'll be the one stuck with the police fees (not to mention the embarrassment of having 3 cops show up to your house). Oh, and alarm systems are not like in those nice commercials. From the time the system goes off, it takes about 45 minutes for the cops to actually arrive at your house, and thats when ADT actually knows which county you live in (they were calling the wrong county for us). My advice: get a dog.

Went thru the time and hassel of sales pitches.
Finally decided on ADT. Price was fair, installation was very good. Both salesman and installer know their product. Remote on/off fob is great. Highly recommend their service.

I recently got the apx alarm, but before I got it installed I set off my ADT alarm to see if they would respond. They didn't call and the police never came. I called ADT to see if they received any signal on their end. They said everything looked fine. Come to find out I wasn't being monitored for the last couple years because I had switched my phone services from Verizon to CableVision. ADT never told me I needed a Cell Unit then wanted to charge me over $300 for the extra equipment I needed. I cancelled right away & took the cell unit free from APX.

I have ADT for my home security. In December I had my home broken into 3 times in a 24 hour period while I was away. Immediately I wanted to blame ADT. After I calmed down and took a look at the situation, I realized it wasn't ADT that failed me; it was the local PD that failed to respond in a timely manner. My friend who lives 30 min across town made it to the house before they did. Each time she drove from her place to mine. An alarm monitoring service can only do so much.

I had APX come to my house. They gave me the same script as everyone else except one line. I quote, “We are only giving this deal to customers that sign up for this program, so we ask that you don't share these rates with your neighbors". I decided that I would stay with ADT.

Things to keep in mind:
1. Test your system every 6 months
2. Update any changes to your contact information
3. Ensure you system has back-ups, Battery power, phone, wireless.
4. Ensure you have a close friend or relative to check your home in the event of an alarm and you are away.
5. Most important, keep your insurance current and have a detailed home inventory.

Dear People,
I have recently purchased an alarm system from a door to door salesman like the others i've heard about, but it was with Stone Security through Monitronics. Sure they gave the same sales approach, but they have proven to give a much better value than Protection One, which was my previous system. Two of my neighbors, one having Brinks and the other ADT also purchased the system. They have given similar praise to the new company. It was only for 36 months, and the equipment was not rented, it was $99 for everything, and $40 a month for monitoring. There was no hidden fees, no fine print. When we asked our company for an upgrade to the "two way voice", they quoted over $300 for the upgrade plus installation. Also, my nephew recently bought a system and asked them for the most recently updated system, and they sold him the old system, not the "two way voice". In order to get that, he would have had to pay much more up front, as well as monthly. I'm not saying that nib companies are bad, but I have heard horror stories from neighbors and friends, including fraud and theft. I gave Stone and Monitronics a chance, and they have stood by their promises and prices.
-Happy Customer
Jason N.

Ok I have been selling alarm systems for 3 years now. I have done the Door to Door summer sales and the year round sales. I have sent out flyers, made phone calls but door to door is the best way to generate customers. I have sold for APX. They are not a bad company. I no longer work for them but it’s not because they treated me bad.

Most Door to Door alarm reps are college kids trying to pay for school. A lot of Pre-Med, Med students and other health related students use this job to pay for school. All are trained not to say they are with Honeywell or GE. They use GE and Honeywell equipment just like how Verizon uses LG and Blackberry phones.

The reason why they use the Advertising pitch is to get you to listen to them. Ill break the sale step by step for you all.
1. You put the sign in the front yard for advertising
2. They install an alarm system in your house at no cost. (Equipment and install)
3. You pay a $99 activation to set up the account (they sometimes have the ability to waive, but not always)
4. You pay from $35-55 a month for monitoring (depending on where you live and how much equipment they install in the house)
5. The equipment is yours you don’t rent it.
6. You sign a 3-5 year agreement. To get free equipment you have to sign the agreement. If you don’t want a contract then you can’t expect free equipment.
7. That day or the next they install it.
8. By law in most states you have 3 days to cancel it and not get stuck in the agreement.
9. The Rep makes anywhere from $125-$500 on the deal. The tech makes $65-125 to install it.

The reason why they might seem pushy is because they are 100% on commission. YOU ARE THE HOME OWNER, BE SMART. Listen to the guy/girl when they come to your house. Don’t be scared. If you want to protect your house and you don’t have $2000 for equipment then this is the best way to go. YOU PAY $50 bucks for cable and that does nothing for you. But when someone offers you an alarm for $40 bucks a month that comes with life time warranty and a free move, you run and hide.

Most of them are good wholesome guys looking to pay for school and take care of their families.

APX Alarm set up close to 200,000 American families in the summer of 2008. Other companies like Platinum, Icon, Pinnacle, and others had similar numbers. IT SEEMS TO ME IF SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO SCAM SOMEONE THEY WOULDNT DO IT IN THOSE NUMBERS.
Just be a smart consumer and be nice to them. It’s a hard job. Offer them water. It can get hot out there.
Anyone that has questions can E-mail me at myfreealarm@yahoo.com
Have a good one! I don’t accept hate mail :)

(I do not promote one company over another; I just know it’s not a scam. I know a little bit about each company because I have research them all. Be a wise consumer and compare.)
I got screwed over by car sales man when I got my Honda, does that mean all the other car sales men at Honda or all the other dealers are bad. NO! Just that one guy. It was my fault. I wasn’t smart.

Set up the system for the wife while working out of state. Since then she's moved here and we put the house on market. Can't find a way out of contract.

Biggest shocker! Can't cancel auto payment from my credit union account. My cu tells me to ask APX to cancel, that cu can't do it. BE WARNED. Your credit card company or bank may not tell you that you have relinquised control of your account. This is the only auto payment that I got set up and I am so glad that I resisted all my other bills request for that "easy and secure" auto payment crap.

I had signed a monitoring contract with a local company back in 1998, and just went to cancel it due to relocation. That's when I learned that the contract auto-renews for 3 years each time!

The current company that has my contract is:
Alarm Center
1400 N. Providence Road
Suite 305
Media, PA

They wanted me to take their monitoring service to my new residence (which may not even HAVE a system installed) or have the new owners (whom I have not met) take it over.

The bottom line: I still have 18 months remaining before I can cancel a ten year old contract! I would have had to know in May of 2007 that I was moving at the end of 2008!

It will cost me $360 to get out of this scam. I asked Alarm Center to send me the bill as I was cancelling the contract with prejudice.

Carefully examine your monitoring contract immediately and make plans to dump those that are designed to rip you off. I personally will never use such services again and I will always recommend again them.

The alarm system was installed and had multiple equipment issues. I called the monitoring contractor, Monitronics several times for service and no service was every provided. I contacted First Defense, Inc. to describe the problems I was having with their security equipment. First Defense, Inc. stated they would send a service tech to my house; no service tech came to service my equipment. The faulty equipment at this point had resulted in over three false alarms with associated fees. I called the local police department to notify them that the alarm system was faulty and I was trying to resolve the issues with First Defense, Inc. I then contacted first defense again and notified them I no longer feel comfortable with their security system in my house, due to the lack of service and faulty equipment. I stated I wanted the equipment removed immediately from my house and the Alarm agreement to be voided due to First Defense Security, Inc. defaulting on providing me with service technicians and a functioning system. First Defense Security, Inc. finally removed the faulty equipment and I sent Monitronics a letter notifying them I was canceling my account. I recently received a phone a call from First Defense Security, Inc., which, I was told I would be responsible for paying the contract amount and would be sent to collection. I guess I am confused why I am responsible for paying out a contract when the company has defaulted in their commitment to providing me (their customers ) with the best available equipment, service and monitoring for their homes and businesses.

I want a functioning security system in my house and now that First Defense, Inc. is refusing to terminate the existing contract I can not sign another contract with another home security system provider. I am requesting First Defense, Inc. to terminate our existing security system agreement so that I can move-on and seek out a new home security system provider.

I need immediate action taken in order to get new security system in place for the protection of my home and family. Please understand, I attempted multiple times to correct the issues with the system and was given no response from First Defense, Inc.

So, I'm thinking about getting an alarm system. Any suggestions? Are they worth the money? What should I be looking for?

But, alarms only alerts you that someone has already entered you home,suggestions show you should beef up your hardware, and this prevents entry, i have a product i bought from a site @ http://www.steeldoorarmor.com and it work fine, it protects someone from kicking in my door. i live in a high crime area and i'm always looking for way to protect my home.

okay i want to take the time to address any concerns anyone has about apx, i work for apx alarm, were based out of Provo, Utah. the company has been around for 20 years, and reciently have recieved the j.d power and associates award for best call center customer experience, what everyone seems to be referring to is our summer program, which i agree has its faults, but the people incharge have achnoledged this and are requiring all summer sales people to go through extensive training on all product knoledge, and procedures, requiring them to sign on the dotted line, to say we have given them all the info they need. if issues arrise obviously we as apx will do what we can to take care of it, however the technicians and salespeople will be recieving no pay for that particular install, and other various repremandations, to ensure YOU as the customer are satisfyed,

if you have questions about your system, or comments feel free to email me, i take all the time i need in a day to respond to all of my email.
colton.wadley@apxalarm.com

It is not uncommon for your everyday thief to find new ways to break into your home. I learned the hard way that thieves sometimes look for unsuspecting homes during the day and not at night. The reason, which makes sense, is because people are normally at work during the day time and sleeping at home during the night. Therefore the chances of having a clean get away is higher. So this should give families even more of a reason make sure their homes are secure during the day.

I worked for APX Home Security in the St.Louis,Missouri market. They do not have the proper licensing for the city or county to be installing new systems and taking over old ones. Both areas do require permits in order to do this properly. I did bring it up to management and they told me it was the customers responsibilty to get this. The only problem is you have to be a licensed person in order to obtain the permit and the common person is not. Please check your local government before going with a company in non-compliance.

Hmmm, after reading all this,I think I'll get better hardware and a dog!

They all suck! Brinks is the worse. Stay away or you will remember my warning. Find a local guy who does quality installs. Self monitor the system and get loud sirens. Sometimes the sign and gear is enough to kepp them away, just don't get involved with brimks, they are the biggest lying scammers I ever ran across.

Anyone have any experience seeking legal counsel to get out of their alarm contract?

Here I am 5 months into my contract and Pinnacle Security won't answer my calls or fix their broken equipment.

I recently signed a contract with ADT. 5 days after the contract was signed and 2 days before the scheduled installion, the representative calls me to say that they wont be able to fullfil the contract at the agreed installation price of $1,800. He said the price was too low and his mangager wont sign it unless the price is raised by $400 to $2,200. I am not a contract expert but this was way after the 3 day cancellation period allowed. If I an get out of it why can they. The representative says I don't have a binding contract because his manager hasn't sign it. Is this acurate. Can ADT representatives go around and complete contracts and later say they are not binding. I believe I have a binding contract and will be seeking legal action to enforce the contract. Any advice will be helpful. Thank you.

We are stuck in the APX alarm contract and have been since Sept 2008. Every month they tell us they are drafting our account and then we get a letter to say that it was rejected. I called in 5 times to tell them they had wrong info in their system for us and no one would listen until today when a cust support rep agreed that they had put our CHECK number at the end of the account number. Wow! Now they want to charge us for 5 months service in one lump sum...we are currently working that one out....cuz I'm not paying it. No one there would listen to us or admit that it could possibly be there problem. Very unhappy with them at this point.

We have an ADT system. Admittedly, I didn't shop around much. Went with it b/c of the USAA deal/discounted monthly monitoring fee. Overall I think it's fine but here are my gripes.
- I pay to have a land line (my regular phone line is voip) for alarm to call but for some reason, it takes a FULL MINUTE for them to "receive" the call. I don't thing this make sense. Add to it that they have a list of calls (home, my cell, husband's cell) and it's many more minutes before they notify police. No wonder bold thieves in the area continue to loot with the alarm going off
- They didn't fully explain modes to me (stay, away, night). Hence I don't have an active night mode which I would like (and now I'll need to pay to have someone come out and activate it)
- If you've never had an alarm system, talk to someone who has and get their advice. There are a lot of things I didn't think through about how I want it set up. Wish I had better thought out what to do during day when I'm at home or nights alone. The stay mode (which we use at night) shuts off enough areas that I still feel vulnerable. I could use away mode to arm sensors on main floor, but it beeps loudly for a minute - can't really activate when the kiddos are sleeping.

I want a security system and I don't want a system I have to pay a monthly fee for.....I've been looking at these DIY systems and they seem pretty straight forward and easy to install. My problem is that there are so many brands that I'm confused on which one would be the best. Has anyone purchased one of these and have you had any problems?

Does anyone have an opinion about Brinks home security?

I’ve been asked many times over the years, “Why can’t I install my security system?” I’d answer, “yes you can, but it does take some knowledge of electronics, electrical wiring and computers in most cases.” I got asked that question again just yesterday so I went digging into and looking at some of the security systems available to the general public.

Security companies buy their components from a wholesaler. These wholesale distributors do not sell to the public because most states require a state license to install security systems. More manufacturers are now offering their products directly to the public via the internet. My opinion is that you might spend more money having a professional install your system, but it’s the best option you have. What kind of a price tag would you put on protecting your family or business? So you must ask yourself, is it worth taking the chance on a “self installed” security system.

Be that as it may, YES you can install your own system. I did have a lot of fun looking up systems and companies on the internet. Let me state, I DO NOT recommend the average person to install their own system.

There is a website called, Home Security Store that gives a good place for the do it yourselfer. They give a lot of options in many catagories. Here again, I am not endorsing them but they do give you several different companies to get information from.

Before trying to decide what system you are about to install first determine what you want it to do. Some of the questions are:

* Do you want the system monitored by a professional “central station.”
* Check out the central stations that might monitor your system. Is it UL approved? Is it one person
or are there many persons on duty 24/7? Can they receive signals from the security system you are
to install. Some security systems will only call their particular monitoring station.
* Do you want video surviellance? If so is it important to have “night vision.”?
* Do you want to be able to access your system remotely anywhere?
* Do you want a DVR (ditital video recorder) that saves and records all happenings to be reviewed at
a later date?
* Is the system going to blend in with the decor of where it is to be installed?
* Do you need to get permission from a landlord or historic society before you can install it?
* Do you need to get a permit from a city or management group? Some cities require a permit and
can fine you heavily if the police or fire department are dispatched to your home and you do not
have your system registered with them.
* Is the system user friendly? If a system is hard to operate most likely you will never use it.
* Is there weather or temperature conditions to be met? Some components have to be housed in
weather housings to operate under certain conditions.
* What distances will the devices transmit their siganals to what ever receiver it is programed into?
* What height must a device be installed at? Too high of a ceiling or too far of a distance may mean
the device will not cover the area you want to secure.

Before installing your own system contact your local Police department. They will be glad to give all the information you will need.

Ray Jagoda
Electronic Security Industry Analylist

Like many of the posters here, I work for an electronic security company. The advice I always give people is this:
1. Ask for and check on references.
2. Talk to local police. Although they can't officially recommend one company, they can tell you which companies' calls they trust and which are chronic false dispatches.
3. GET A GUARANTEE. Any reputable company will stand behind their system with a full guarantee that covers performance, equipment and labor, emergency service and false alarm fines. Most important, never sign a contract without a six-month money back satisfaction guarantee.
4. Ask about their valid dispatch rate. Most companies have a false alarm rate in the 95-98% range. This is totally unacceptable.
5. Ask about their operator to account ratio. Many companies have one person "watching" 10,000 accounts. You want something more in the 1:2,000 range (at the most).

Do your research and you'll get a great return on your investment in security.

Wireless alarm systems are good alternatives to the hard-wire installations described in the other comments. Systems from companies like LaserShield or Ingrid are less expensive and have reliable monitoring. Systems from www.lasershielddirect.com can be monitored over regular phones, VoIP phones or Cellular service.

I work for a Medium Alarm Company in San Diego County. Just going off of what I've picked up from working in the office, part of what you pay for in monitoring a system is a daily (often hourly) time test which sends a reverse signal to a telephone line. This way if you switch telephone providers, the monitoring station will be able to let your security company know that they need to call you.

It is likely, however, that ADT would get a message from their monitoring center that a phone line no longer worked, then go ahead and drop-the-ball and never call you.

Hi,

I am new house buyer. This is my first house.

If anyone has used the secutiry sysems like X10, which you get the similar equipment to install and calls to 4 phone numbers and then if the alarm is there u can listen in the phone line or call the police if you think it is real emergency. I think ADT/and other companies do the same.

Any suggetstions?? any advice

thanks in advance,
Ram

I just had an ADP security system installed, All doors and most windows are on wireless sensors. The system has a backup battery w/transformer, it has a voice entry panel. Does anyone have any experince with their dog getting nervous and wanting to stay out of the house after the system was installed? It seems my dog is flipping out. I called the company to ask if they have had any problems with some dogs being sensitive to the radio waive frequencies. They said NEVER.

does anyone have FrontPoint Security? What do you think?

Just I would like to know, which company is the best, I live in Atlanta, Georgia.
Could somebody, help me?
Thank you.
Pia

We are trying to decide between Brinks and ADT security systems. Does anyone have any personal experience with these two companies?

I live in Northcentral Illinois. I've read all the comments about ADT and Brinks. I'm considering PerMar Security Systems. They seem to be well represented in the Midwest States. Has anyone done business with or have a comment about them? Thanks!

I have been looking to purchase a security system and did a lot of research allong the way. The list of comments by Ray Jagoda above is a good start.

One comment about the X-10 technology.
The X-10 communicstion with lighting is soso at best.
One alarm company would not install using it.

I got quotes from 3 differnt companies and found out an item that was confirmed by all 3, VOIP can be a problem.

Phone lines: VOIP from services like Vonage have problems with alarm systems. Two companies would not even quote installations using them. The cable company in my area (Cox Communications)is accepatable all 3 vendors would work with it. One quote included a GSM cell phone monitoring system as standard.

Other monitoring: I found a significant difference when I wanted to add fire/smoke and water detectors to my installation. I had a flood from a broken water valve last year. Only one company was monitoring the whole installation (security, fire,water) without additional fees. The other two add significant add on fees.

A recomendation from a high end company was to use only wired motion detectors. These could be more powerful/sensitive than battery operated units. Not sure of this but when asking the company proposing the wireless units he would not deny this.

I decided on a HAI home automation system that is also an alarm system. It is overkill but I want to access from the internet while traveling and the system I selected had a built in ethernet port to attach to a port on my router. I then have software to control the unit from the internet. The connection is secured. Additionally the system can turn off my water main on sensing a water leak.

I live in North Seattle and need to install a new security system. Cost and ease of use are important. Can anyone tell me how to find the best solution?

CR has previously rated internet service providers. Why has CR not rated home security system providers?

Please do not take any legal advice from anonymous yahoo! posters, even if they say they are familiar with the situation. If you believe the company is violating the contract with these charges, then by all means pursue it if you want to... consult a lawyer if you need / want to. But don't let anyone here tell you what you "at the very least" should be able to do. Any person actually competent to give you advice on this matter would not do so, as it would be be a gross violation of professional responsibility standards. And even if they were willing to violate those standards, you have not provided enough information to make any sort of reasonable assessment. Thus, anyone even pretending to be able to advise you is unqualified and simply trying to be an "armchair lawyer," so to speak. Please. Don't depend on any substantive advice on this matter. Good luck.

I also had them installed the APX system in my home today and with the same deal. (Free system if I put let them put a sign in my front yard). But they explained to me that the activation fee is also free. And that if I don't want to connect with the police or fire department then the whole system is free. It's just been this evening when that happened, and now I'm researching about it and I'm begining to worry about the "scams" that others are talking about. What should I do? Should I just cancel it right away to make sure nothing is happened? Because I read about people having to pay $2000 afterward and have to stuck with the contract for 3 to 5 years!
please give me some comment on this.
max_le14@yahoo.com

I do agree that it is worth considering to really examine security companies . But I think that
az security system know how important it is to protect the most important assets in your life: your home and your family.

Wondering whether any one has used Protection one services in San Diego for home security and whether they are happy/not happy with it. thanks for info

These blogs are interesting but what I am looking for when I come to Consumer Reports is a comparison report on Security Systems. How does ADT compare to the others? Is it worth the money? Is it more trouble than it is worth?

Recently I moved into a new home located in Cumming, GA and I need a suggestion on home security system. My new home is pre-wired for security system but I have no idea which company provides the best service in this area. I spoke to ADT and Ackerman, ADT has free equipment installation but their service charge is $35.99 with 3 years contract and Ackerman said equipment will cost me around $1500 if I include all windows and doors and their service charge will be $18.95 with regular land line and $28.95 with radio service. Basically I am looking for a reliable company who can provide me a service for reasonable price. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thank you very much for your earliest response

Smith Thompson Security is the best. I already had the alarm system when the house was built, so Smith Thompson came out, installed a cellular communicator (I had to put down a $190 deposit on the unit) and they only charge me $17.95 a month for monitoring service with NO CONTRACT !!! I pay by the year, so they give me a month free each renewal. These folks are friendly and very easy to deal with. They are based in Plano, Texas.

I work for a compnay that competes with apex. Several items that need to be understood here are left out by the media and complaints. Before a system is installed the individual receiving the alarm does a recorded call where they are asked specifically. Do you understand you are signing a new 36/60 month contract with apex? In reference to the Two-way voice system it is much better than the regular digital system that 99% of alarm companies install. When the alarm is triggered a live rep. comes over an intercom to verify if an intruder is in the house. Burglars dont answer house phones. Well on most systems the alram company will call the house first. Then emergency contacts. Set your alarm off and see how long it takes before police respond. Two way voice, Quicker response. Monitoring fees are not even close to as high as other companies. adt brinks twice as much. for all the ignorant people posting. Do some research before you open your mouth

I work for apx. these sites are ruining legitimate slaes for some of my families ive protected. most people just read the 1 line that is on the google page and assume there is a hundred dissatisfied customers. If u take a second and read these you will find:
there is only six actuall customers on here that wrote in and only 2 are complaints. the rest are POSITVE testimonials of happy customers who had a young man like myself protect there home, LIKELY at a very affordable rate. Recently APX has been awarded OUTSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE from JD POWER. Plenty of companys out there most with similar prices and offers. Only apx has the highest Rated customer service. Thats who is actually moniitoring your system. Not even ADT has monitoring even CLOSE to comparing to the caliber of service you get from APX. ALSO if you read you will see there is APX customers on here who use to be with other companys who were GLAD to switch to APX based on saving money and better service. Thanks

APX canvassed our neighborhood this past weekend. When they first knocked on my door, I was a little apprehensive. I'm in sales though so I let them go through their presentation without slamming the door in their face. My wife and I have been considering getting an Alarm system (she had one in her old house and felt safer with one when she was home alone) so I thought it would be good to consider.

The two guys were very courteous, answered all questions completely and didn't appear to be hiding anything. They also "forgot" to explain the $99 one time activation fee, but offered to split that into three payments. They also offered us two weeks to try it out risk free. I asked them to come back after I had a chance to talk to my wife about it. They came back and went through everything again for my Wife's benefit. She (having had an alarm system before) asked good questions and they answered them fully.

The terms were free system (3 doors, 1 motion detector, 1 glass breakage detector, 2 key fobs, alarm pad with 2 way and cellular backup) 39 month contract at $44.99 per month. They offered a two week trial, but that would have ended when we were out of town so I asked them if they could make it 17 days and they agreed - no problem.

They did use all of the usual door to door tactics (your neighbors Julie and Tom are customers...etc.) but I looked through that at the system, terms, and costs, etc.

The installers were professional and did a great job of explaining how to use the system.

It's only been 24 hours, but it has worked perfectly so far (we have 2 cats and they did not set off the motion sensor), the key fob is a great feature and everything has been as described. If we don't like it, they'll take it out inside of the 17 days. Since everything is wireless, they can pull it out in about 15 minutes.

I have filed with the better business bureau about APX (they have a D- rating by the way). There was total dishonesty by my salesman. With the recent recession, my wife was out of work. I told the salesman (name withheld as we may be going to court) that we could try it, but that we may not be able to handle the bill if my overtime was cut. He told us that it was no problem - we could cancel it if we needed. Well, that was completely a lie. Secondly, the guy offered to give us a personal check from him for the first month's bill (which he conveniently forgot before he left). He also told me they were accredited with the BBB - THEY ARE NOT! Their customer service must be trained at the same place as their salesmen. I tried to cancel my service and they told me they couldn't. After the "refer a friend" was offered to me, and of course I told them I wouldn't refer their service to anyone after the scam, they basically said "we have you in the contract and we're not letting you out." The sales rep told me that "we have you recorded agreeing to everything." During the installation, the speed he was telling me things before and during the call to their HQ should've set off my scam alarm - but my wife wanted some protection while she's home at night with the baby so I pushed off my feelings. Basically, these guys took delight at scamming someone into a contract that they can't afford.

I will post again later to let you know about the outcome of my case.

Not Happy in PA

We signed on with APX in 2006 for a free 2-way voice system at $44/mo. and a 3 year obligation. Except by us a few times, it has never been triggered. This year the account changed to CastleRock. We did not want to renew but got trapped by the automatic renewal clause for another year. It needs to be outlawed. Legislative assistants monitoring the pulse of exploited citizenry please take note: help us by drafting legislation against this practice. There is no prior courtesy notification from the service provider. The clause, "common in the industry," requires at least a 30 day written request mailed or faxed prior to the anniversary date to cancel. No exceptions. Payment in perpetuity is possible. I suggest sending your cancelation request as soon as your system is satisfactorily functioning. I guarantee a timely courtesy note will arrive from the provider. We've sent our cancellation and look ahead to 11 months more of the unwanted expense of service... and perhaps participation in a future class-action.

Like others that have posted on here, we too (Navy Family)were scammed by Apx/Sai/CastleRock.
The smooth talking salesmen even managed to give us an excuse for the part of the contract where it said, anything said prior to this contract is null and Void.
We eventually had to sell our house due to retirement and we were told that we could transfer our system over to the new occupants that were buying our home in Va. A verbal agreement was made with the new owners and info was exchanged.
Due to bounced checks and countless emails we ended up paying on the security system for the rest of the contract even though we were not the home owners, that was for another 18 months.
Apx/Sai/CastleRock were unhelpful with the whole situation.
No phone call or advance notice of renewal was sent to us and they renewed the contract for another year, which is ridiculous because we have not lived in that house for two years. Its a very stressful situation to have people calling you everyday to tell you that you have to pay for a service that you don't even use.
We have started gathering our "evidence" just in case we go to court which is looking to be very soon. Copies of the phone bill with the countless phone calls that were made to us, (only 16 in the past two weeks so maybe they are getting a clue)copies of bounced checks, emails etc, anything that will say that they were in the wrong.
Will update on anything that we find out.

I've had ADT security and fire alarms for several years. I accidentally opened the door before disarming the alarm once. No one called from ADT to see if I was okay. I have 2 pets. They are the reason I got the fire detection system but I can't depend on ADT to keep them or me safe.

Had the same scenario, hard sell tactics, don't tell your neighbors, I have a marketing budget to cover the installation. But the next day my house was robbed, and I have to believe the APX guys are somehow involved. They even came back to try to sell and I'm thinking this guy has to know where my laptop is. Then the following day a friend 3 blocks over was robbed, and I know the APX guys were in the neighborhood again. They even said we'll have techs in the area installing so don't be alarmed if you hear alarms going off. Buyer beware, these door-to-door types are just casing the area, looking for easy targets. Tell them you have a system and a dog.

For you who are saying the companies are great - if your companies are so great, then why do you need an automatic renewal clause that is for 1 year or more in the contract? Why don't the companies send a reminder, giving the customer the choice to opt-out in time? Why don't the companies put a place on their website so a customer could submit the written cancelation?

Why? Because security companies are more interested in SCREWING their customers than actually providing quality service.

Thanks to the internet, Filing complaints with your state AG, and with the FTC is easier than ever. Please people, send in your complaints. The home security industry needs an enima.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about the enima comment Chris.

We had a terrible experience with Protection One. To make a long story short, we were burgled and the alarm go off because the sensor on the door they exited through was not connected up. Protection One agreed that the sensor wasn't connected up but told us that we had not peformed a monthly test to make sure the system was working (as buried in the contract and never brought to our attention by the salesman who later admitted he didn't know about it himself). We took it up with BBB and after a year or so of letters back and forth they closed the case. Our suspicion, dare I say it, is that the BBB local to Protection One's HQ did not act independently and Protection One got away with it. It left a bitter taste in the mouth, hence this comment.

I signed a contract with a Brinks reprehensive on April 24, 2006. I paid $249 down and $30.00 a month for 4 1/2 years. I called to cancel my alarm on July 22, 2010 with them due to me fulfilling my obligation with my contract.
When I called to cancel, Broadview Associate transferred to Customer Loyalty where I was offered many different offers to stay with the company. I called back a day later and cancelled my alarm/monitoring service. The woman I spoke to was very nice and stated my last monitoring would be on July 26, because that would be the last day of the billing cycle.
On July 26, around 8pm I received a phone call from Broadview/Brinks with a man asking me to punch in a code to my alarm system to discontinue monitoring. I punched in the code 8760 and the call disconnected after a long beep on my key pad. Later that night I tried to set the alarm so I could use the door chimes, etc. My key pad did not work! I opened the doors and nothing was working.
I spoke to my husband who is currently station in Afghanistan and he was outranged and demanded me to call back and ask why our system in our home no longer works.
I called Broadview/Brinks at 10:00am on July 27, 2010; spoke to Reggie and explained the problem with the alarm not working. Mr. Reggie informed me when you cancel your monitoring your whole system will be deactivated (not functional) and you cannot use it at all unless you pay to have the system changed to a local system (you have to purchase the system from Brinks/Broadview for $500 and whatever parts you might need in order to change it so it only works in your home) or sign up again for monitoring.
I was transferred to Customer Loyalty again; spoke to a Shquilta who was none helpful and rude. I then ask to speak to a supervisor and spoke to a Peter. I explain to Peter I disagree with the alarm in my home not working due to it not being monitored anymore by his company. I felt that I purchased this alarm equipment due to paying $1560 over the last 4 ½ years and the equipment should still be working even if was not being monitored by his company. Mr. Peter informed me, I own nothing. The equipment in my home belongs to Broadview/Brinks. If I want the equipment to work in my home as a local alarm then I need to purchase the equipment and pay insulation to convert the operating box over to local system. The cost of purchasing the alarm from Brinks/Broadview will be $500.00 and whatever else I might need (like installation).
I was never at anytime informed until now Brinks still owned the equipment in my home. I was under the notion by fulfilling my obligation I would own the equipment due to the amount of money I paid out. I asked Mr. Peter if his company would be so kindly to come out and remove their equipment that they still own and make sure to fill the holes in my walls due to their equipment being uninstalled. Mr. Peter informed me there would also be a charge for them to come out and remove their equipment, however, they will not be responsible for filling in any holes or damaged left to my home.
I asked Mr. Peter if I decide to go with another alarm company. Mr. Peter made sure I was aware this alarm system would not work with any other alarm system. I asked Mr. Peter what shall we do with your equipment when the other company comes to install their equipment. I refuse to be responsible for your equipment I no longer want. Mr. Peter informed me that I will not be asked for the equipment back and the new company can remove and throw it out.
I then went through this whole situation again with Mr. Peter explain where I did not understand their companies rules. Mr. Peter tried to inform me on the contract I and my husband signed it states in BIG BOLD BLACK LETTERS THAT BRINKS OWN ALL EQUIPMENT. All I know is that on my contract that I have in my hand does not state that Brinks will own all equipment after fulfilling my obligation and the system will be none workable after monitoring is discontinued with the company. My contract says I will pay $29.99 a months for 4 years and deducted out of my checking account.
Mr. Peter suggested when he has a contract he fulfills his obligation. I told Mr. Peter to pull up my account because I more than fulfilled my obligation with the contract I signed. Mr. Peter then reoffered to activate my alarm with them updating my equipment by paying an additional fee and signing another three contract.
Is Mr. Peter for real I rather open up all my windows, put a sign in my front yard for all the thieves and thugs to see, so they can come in, and take everything I own before giving this company more of my business or money?
I have had two other alarm companies at previous duty stations and after fulfilling my contract with them the equipment was ours and continue to work without sending out a monitoring signal to their company. I highly recommend Broadview/Brinks policies should be review and clarified for future customers. I personally feel stolen from and believe Brinks/Broadview is still trying to sucker more money out of me. This is unacceptable and needs to be made right! I want the equipment in my home to work regardless if sending out a monitoring signal.

I just gave one of their salesmen the boot from my front door. This is the second time that they've been to my home within the last two months trying to get me to sign up for their product and advertise their sign on my property. Although this young man had stopped by at a reasonable time of 10 am his predecessor had done so at night while my wife and I were preparing dinner for our family.

The first salesman has the APX salesman M.O., and that's to give you the impression that crime is going up in the neighborhood; that everyone else among you are getting the system installed (if you don't get it then you'll be an easy target for thieves because they won't see the APX sign); and that you've got to commit to the service now before the free offer is gone. Let me state that in all my years as a home owner that I've never had to deal with a door-to-door salesman but after getting scammed years ago in my youth I'm incredibly wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. When dealing with the first salesman I allowed him to say his piece but when he wanted to step inside my home to perform a security assessment I had enough. I emphatically stated that it sounds like a fine product but we're not interested. He was courteous and left to speak with my neighbor.

So when the second salesman, who just left my property, stopped by I did not want my time wasted so I just curtly stated that I already told a previous salesman that we're not interested and never will be. Before closing my door I also clearly stated that his company should remove my address from their list of homes to visit. Just as my door was about to close I hear the salesman call me a jackass. In his defense I was rude enough to deserve the rebuttal, but as a salesman offering a service that's a comment that you say in your head.

On my street I've noticed one neighbor has their sign up. Most of my neighbors are retirees so I'm afraid that they will easily succumb to the aggressive sales tactics that APX uses. Are they aggressive as in threatening? No. They are aggressive in how they present themselves as clean cut, professional security experts with a practiced sales pitch and wanting to enter your home to provide an assessment. They are aggressive in that they are offering a limited time product with a finite number of customers who'll benefit from the free install.

APX must understand this. If this is a desired product then it is the consumer who will dictate the market as they themselves actively seek out security services.