CrimeBusters Of America, LLC Bait and Switch Sales Practices and Failure to honor contractual agreements Tempe Arizona
Crimebusters signed a contract to install an alarm system in my home for ADT. The system is a retrofit to an existing system. Part of the system was to be wired and part of it wireless.
Part of the existing system is wired for which was installed six years ago before a remodel that replaced windows and doors. CrimeBusters is now indicated they do not want the job as requested and agreed in the contract and would prefer to update the entire home with a wireless system to avoid the labor costs of updated the existing wired portion of the home. But they would also like to double the price of the contract or increase the monthly monitoring cost by $10/month in order to offset the cost of wireless equipment.
Essentially, they not only do not want to install the wired system that was agreed to in the contract because they want to avoid the labor cost of it, they want to increase the cost of the wireless system for which they wish to install for their convenience.
This is a classic bait and switch sales practice. They send out a sales rep who gets a contract signed, and then try to increase the price.
Jasonb
phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Valley Of The Sun
Peoria,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Clearly confused!
#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, March 13, 2008
As a former employee of CrimeBusters of America, I can tell you that they are one of the most respected security company's in the business.
When a Security Consultant signs a customer up for service, there are many things to consider. In this particular case is sounds as if the consumer had a pre-existing hardwired system in place and wanted to utilize it with the addition of some wireless pieces. The wireless pieces were probably added because of the remodel with the addition of windows and doors which would not have any sensors. Also after a remodel, it may not be possible to add hardwired sensors to the new windows and doors.
Not all existing systems can be converted to be used with a different monitoring service. If the existing system was not compatible with ADT it can not be used, PERIOD.
The Security Consultant is not trained to recognize all of the different types of equipment, however, the installation techs are. If the tech arrived and found that the system was not compatible, the only option is to replace the entire system.
Now, ADT pays a dealer a certain amount of money to install a system including equipment and includes a 3 year monitoring agreement for say $34.99 per month. If the consumer needs more equipment than is included in the basic package the only two options are to pay for the additional equipment or to raise the cost of the monthly monitoring to maybe $44.99 which in effect is similar to financing the additional equipment cost over the 36 month agreement. When a consumer does not have the desire or the means to pay $300 or $400 for the equipment up front they often choose to raise the monthly monitoring cost.
This has nothing to do with bait and switch and if the consumer were to check with any of the competition he would find the same practice with most company's. Some companies (Brink's Home Security for example) will not adjust the monthly monitoring at all and will only allow you to pay for the additional cost of the equipment up front. Having worked for Brink's also, I would run into situations where the consumer did not want to pay for additional equipment up front.
A good question for Jason is "why did you leave the company that installed the system in the first place"? Did you buy the home and the system was already in place?
I hope this sheds some light on the situation and removes a smear of an otherwise impeccable record. This company is as squeaky clean as it gets.