Complaint Review: ASG Security

I have read all of the comments made both about ASG and by ASG.  I went through the initial contract with my Dad & Mom as they are wanting to put a system in their home.  To the consumers that have complained, you must not have read the contract including the fine print.  To you I say, take the blame for your mis-actions!  To ASG I say that you should be ashamed of yourselves for making contracts that have this clause in it and for also making the font so small it has to be read with a pair of surgical magnifying loops!

I spoke to our local rep here in Wilmington, NC and he was able to strike the auto-renew clause from the contract BEFORE WE SIGNED IT!

There is also section 11 which as worded states that all of the installed equipment is owned by ASG and not the consumer.  That is unless on the front of the contract that it is an "Outright Purchase" upon payment of the initial equipment and install fee.  I did have to obligate for 36 months of monitering which is at a rate similar to other local alarm companies.  The renew term after that is month to month.  Our agent initialed the modification as did my Dad.

If during the time of the contract you sell your home, yes you are obligated to fullfill the remainder of the contract.  But at 36 months that comes to a total of just over $1400.oo.  If you add that to the sale price of the home and tell the buyer that they have monitering until such date, issued resolved.

ASG seems to have a good system and monitering but you do have to understand the contract.  Never take anyone's word for anything in a business dealing.  Remember if it is not in writing, it does not exist.  I hope that this helps.

I am just curious about the one year contract auto renewal.  I have been with ASG for over 6 years now.  I missed my March 2013 renewal date in order to cancel.  I was told that I would have to wait until 3 years from March because it is on the contract.  I asked for them to mail me the contract but never received it.

After reading from Mr Rose's comment, that the company contract should be auto-renewed for one year?  I need to find out how to terminate my contract.  Mr Rose, can you please reply to this?

Thank you. 

I hired ASG security for a fire Alarm. First thing they did was pad the amount for the town permit by $125. Next they scheduled apppointments and came at different times when I was'nt home. They billed for maintenance which clearly was stated to be included in the contract. Although the contract had a set price for 5 years, after 1 year they began to increase the price. Their customer service reps are stupid, petulant and nasty. PLEASE DO NOT INVOLVEYOURSELF WITH ASG, YOU WILL BE SORRY, I AM.

My sister has ASG and is happy with them. I called her and she said that it is written on the contract in the very first paragraph on the front page that it auto renews after three years and that all writing is the same size.. It seems that the person complaining here did not read what they were signing and is now blaming the company.

I have another security company that I am happy with and I read the contract just now which also says it auto renews after 5 years. I did not realize it was a 5 year contract but I can't be angry at the company or say they ripped me off if I did not take the time to read the contract.

It appears that there was no deceipt here, just a failure to accept the responsibility for signing something that this person did not read. A sales person does not have to tell me to read a contract I am signing nor accept blame if I don't.

I am a business and I would be out of business if I signed contracts without reading the. My advice is, take responsibility for a bad decision and from now on read everything before you sign it. Though no one should have to tell anyone that.

This particular report stuck out to me because I see the yard signin my sisters yard and I wanted to call her and see if she knew about this clause. Her exact words were, I read my contract before signing it, that person should have too.

Have any of you ever thought about mailing, faxing or emailing your cancellation letter to this company. These procedures are not new and only specific to this company or industry. Any and all contracts that have an option of termination have certain criteria that must be abided by from gym memberships to cell phone service. Contracts are how the company backs themselves to make sure that they get the money that you owe them. Read your contracts. It can't get any simpler that than. If you are old enough to sign a contract then you are old enough to know what a contract involves.

And in regards to ASG Security, you can sign the paperwork to cancel your service at the end of your initial terms at the very same time that you sign to start the services. Its a "notice of cancellation" and it is part of your package that you get at the time of install or you can just hand write a notice to terminate at the end of the contract and send it with the install tech.

I've been trying to cancel contracts which involved no equipment of ASG's. In fact, it is for fire alarm monitoring and service. They purchased another company and now provide horrible service. The company they acquired used 5 year self renewing contracts and ASG wants to be paid in full for termination (even though they don't provide acceptable service). If they can't get life safety done properly I would never trust them with security.

Bill Rose, I challenge you to honor these types of statements. "We would be willing to release this customer from the current term they are under, but I do not have the ability to contact the customer directly since those details are not available to me via this report."

The accounts are for 168 Beacon Street Boston and 168 Marlborough Street Boston.

I am an Installer/Service Technician for the company. I am one of the individuals who goes over unsigned agreements with clients at the time of install/service. I go over said documents and point out this is information that should be retained and kept with other vital documents. It is a contract for services you are agreeing to pay for.

I believe if you were to shop around ASG's pricing on services provided within your given region you will find our pricing for products/services are quite competetive within our industry. I am astounded at some of the pricing on monitoring and equipment deals customers have negotiated with sale representatives from our company.

I am one of the faces you would deal with or perhaps have already. I have no personal bone to pick with anyone here; but I must point out that the first rebuttal on this page is pretty concise and to the point. I and my fellow employee's do not look to go out of our way to separate you from your wallets and we go through great lengths to provide you with a positive outlook of our company. With that said... There are situations and circumstances beyond our control that are/were in place before it makes it to our local office levels or your homes. I know my efforts to provide clients with the absolute best service/information I can provide. I even leave my contact information with the clients I have done work for. Not because my company asks me to, because they dont require me to; But because I am the best person qualified within the company to provide clients with technical and operational uses of the systems installed.

There is a technological explosion going on within our industry to combat the VOIP craze that has caused limitations to a select few clients. These are unfortunate isolated incidents not caused BY ASG; but for the wants or needs of clients who in their defense do not know, understand, or made aware of the ramifications of their actions.

I am on the frontline and see the faces listen to the stories. I know what cable companies say, I know how much/or little their own technicians understand their services. If you want security you wont find many providers of our caliber. I would ask you to see all the angles before you pass said judgements.

Don't I *wish* the auto-renew was only for ONE year, as VP Rose states!  My contract states that the agreement is auto-renewed "for periods of two (2) years each."  Did Rose have it wrong or has ASG gotten even greedier and changed their policy since he wrote that?  Hmmmm....

Of course, I missed the 30 day window by about two months, so now I'm stuck with 22 months of a contract for a house I'm about to no longer own.  Yes, they offer you the ability to transfer it to your new home.  Not applicable in my situation.  Yes, they offer that it can be transferred to the new owners.  Give me a break!  Why would the new owners want to assume this crock of a contract?  Especially when they can shop around and get a *much* lower introductory rate from someone else?!

Before using ASG I know other monitoring companies just rolled you to a month-to-month situation once your initial term is up.  Maybe none do that now.  (Have they ALL gotten so greedy?)  In any case, the policy of auto-renewing for TWO years without so much as a letter being sent to you to inform of you that the change is about to occur is just ridiculous.  Like someone is supposed to remember about that three years later!  I have a hard time remembering to take care of certain things three WEEKS later!  Had I received a letter, I guarantee I would've cancelled.  Of course, they make that difficult for you too.  Must be a written letter.

So back to my original question...Did VP Rose get it wrong or has ASG gotten even greedier??

My home was newly built in 2005 and I have paid full money to my builder to install the home security system. ASG just used the same system to monitor. I have specifically asked the sales rep - whether I will get a reminder for my renewal after the 3 years and he said - 'Yes'. I spoke to other security systems companies and I can give you the name of the security company also - they don't have anything like auto renewal of 1 year after 3 years. I have never received any information or notice that my contract is up and auto renewed for another additional 1 year. Any way, please provide me your contact information and I will discuss further as you stated in your reply.

In general ASG Security provides new residential installations at either no-cost, or at a greatly reduced installation charge. While the initial term of the monitoring agreement (three-years) includes no additional charge for the discounted installation, it is a critical component of completing the sale payback i.e., investment in providing a free or discounted system to the customer. If this initial term in not completed by the customer, ASG Security would actually be losing money, and could therefore not continue to provide a free or nearly free high-quality, commercial grade security system. The auto-renewal provision (one-year renewal), which is included in all security companys agreements is a requirement by the companys insurance underwriters who provide insurance coverage for the companys as well as provisions for the customer should something go wrong with regards to the monitoring services provided. We would be willing to release this customer from the current term they are under, but I do not have the ability to contact the customer directly since those details are not available to me via this report.

The customer Agreement meets all Federal and State regulations, and the auto-renewal clause is an acceptable clause, specifically in Texas is allowable under current Texas law. The initial agreement term and auto-renew provision is located in the first pharagraph of the terms and conditions.

ASG does offer alternative monitoring methods whereby a customer does not require a standard phone line, but since this service utilizes the cellular network, there are additional charges for this service. Again, we would be willing to offer a discount if the customer would like to establish this enhanced service.

Did you read the contract before you signed it? You must not have because you agreed to THEIR terms in June 2005 yet never knew their contract had an automatic renewal provision. You'd also be aware that they had a condition stating it is your responsibility to maintain a functioning land line phone service. 

I spent many years in the security industry, and while I am the first one to defend a customer when they receive shoddy equipment/service I am the last one to agree with the "oh poor me I didn't read what I signed so I shouldn't be responsible" complaint.

For something to qualify as a scam it has to deliver apples when the order promised oranges, or just not deliver at all.

Apparently ASG delivered the security system, and provided monitoring as promised.
Your sudden dislike for the terms and conditions of the contract that YOU signed does not mean ASG is a scam. It means you are willy nilly when contracts are involved and when things don't go your way you blame the other guy. It doesn't sound as if you're being very realistic about what transpired.

Maybe you will learn a lesson and start reading before signing.
Don't sign contracts that you disagree with, and if you do sign a contract don't malign the other party if it's you that doesn't understand the conditions.

Your complaint might cost that company to lose business when they have done nothing wrong.