Please be aware! In the Federal Hill area of South Baltimore a young man identified himself as Rep: Cameron Carlson to my husband yesturday and asked if we had ADT. He was according to my husband pitching his company while slamming ADT. My husband told him he would speak w/ me & get back to him. He later asked me if I had ever heard of the 2nd largest security system in the country? I told him it sounded fishy but when I got a chance I will research & let him know if we would switch as we have an outdated alarm but still decent & fully functional w/ ADT already. Today I got a knock on my door around 2pm which I opened the 2nd floor window to answer as we do live in the city & I do not as a rule allow any strangers into nor will I open a door for anyone simply because they have I.D. My husband has been a Police Officer since 1984. This can be a very violent City & I am not a volunteer victim. He told me that "he would upgrade my entire existing system *free of charge & I would pay only around $49.50/month for monitoring. I explained that my husband was not home but gave his cell and asked him to call him around 6pm on his cell. I then looked at the "Contract" he had collected my husband's full name, address & phone number AND he had already written a contract stating the following - GO! Control & Siren 1@ $699.00 subtotal $699.00, but no charge to us, 6 door/window @ $60.00/each but again no charge, "hand written Glass Break 1 @$200.00; subtotal 1@$200 & no charge for total price, as well as 1 warranty hand written again for a price & subtotal of $200 but zero total price to us. Also throw in a $198 Installation Charge, $198 subtotal & o total price. So, the total price before any monthly monitoring was $1657.00, the subtotal was $1657.00. Yet the proce is somehow zero. Per my conversation w/ him totay EVERYTHING WAS FREE BUT MONITORING... FOR A LOCKED IN, IRON CLAD & 42 MONTHS!!! NO WAY. I don't even know them nor have I ever heard of them yet I was actually going to be bullied into this? NOTHING felt right. Why a contract w/ just a conversation? Why the 4 trips in only 2 days yet no calls (althow he told my husband he was Morman & perhaps they have rules about cell phones I am not aware of?) Had this been handed to an elderly person to sighn they probably would and I have a very hard time as being in sales for 15 years myself with ANY company that slams their competitor, announces they are the 2nd largest Co in the US & goes door to door soo aggressively. He told me another story today. Absolutely zero charge for all of the above & we only pay for instullation as our alarm is "so out of date". Instead of calling my husband's cellphone at 6pm he stopped by & we didn't answer the door he returned again at 8pm and again we didn't answer the door. BEWARE of ANY COMPANY THAT LOCKS YOU INTO A 42 MONTH CONTRACT! Sells by slamming a compeditor, or changes any part of any oral or written agreement on 2nd visit. The choice is yours. I DECLINE! Too Pushy & this young man talks fast & could easily get a signature from an elderly or not well educated person just by talking about things that are simply not true. Or degrade your current equiptment as opposed to telling me why theirs can help fulfill my needs better. I have a terrible feeling that there will be many homes w/ new alarm systems they My husband asked him if he worked for ADT & he hesitated bit then said no. Positive experiences equal positive companies that do not slam or claim to be an affilliate of the competition. 4 trips to my home in 2 days is DESPIRATE. Thankfully we are not. BEWARE!!! I am quite certain he will be back again tomorrow.... Don't Sighn anything ever unless your comfortable & take the time to actually read it or have it explained to you. This is a contract, not "just some notes". Be aware Baltimore!!!
Keaton
United States of America#2UPDATE Employee
Fri, June 29, 2012
As an employee of the customer service department at vivint, I can't exactly clarify all of the 'shady' dealings of the sales associate in question, i can attest to two things, however;
1. Our wireless Go! panels are not disabled by being broken or smashed upon an actual break in. I'm not surprised that the ADT employee who posted before me would think that, and i do not wish to cause any confrontation for misrepresenting our product, but i would just like to clarify, because obviously the safety and security of your home and family is vivint's top priority. So it should be known that upon any attempt to smash or tamper with the system internally a dispatch signal is AUTOMATICALLY sent immediately.
2. It is my individual opinion that Vivint customer service is the best in the business. The trainers and supervisors are all extremely proactive and skilled, and all of the customer service reps are knowledgeable and professional. If you are having trouble with a system or with a sales professional, give us a call and we are more than happy to sort out any kind of issues that you are having.
AliCent
West Palm Beach,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, May 26, 2012
To the author: If you want an equipment upgrade call corporate up and ask for an upgrade, if you want it for free just resign for another 3 year term (still less than the 42 month with vivint, and you'll still pay less a month in monitoring)... If you're concerned about someone cutting or tampering with the home phone line (which isn't exactly a common scenario, I'm sure your husband can attest to that) then add a $9 a month cellguard which is a tamper-proof phone line for the alarm.
I completely agree that it's sleazy to badmouth another company to try to get business... I work for ADT so I obviously am biased, but I think it's safe to say that we are the best security company in the US (and I'm sure you feel the same way Mrs. Author since you have been a loyal customer for years). It's not just Vivint door-knockers that are like that though, it's all alarm companies that door knock, they all say the craziest stuff to get in the door. My supervisor won't higher anyone who comes from door knocking because he says you can't trust them and that they're worse than car salesmen.
@Cameron: Your system is what's called a "self-contained unit" which is a control panel (brain of the system) and keypad in one, if someone were to break in and smash the keypad, rip it off the wall, etc the entire system will go down. That's why I try to stay away from selling our pulse system.I'm sorry that your name came up on here because I'm sure you had no ill intentions, and even though I've never had to do door knocking I can only assume how hard that must be (I'd never want to do it). I actually commend you for being honest when asked if you worked for ADT because I've had several customers over the past few weeks that were told by a vivint rep that they bought ADT and if they wanted to continue monitoring they have to sign the paperwork with them to "add them to the monitoring stations" so I thank you for being honest.
cameronc801
Provo,#4REBUTTAL Individual responds
Fri, May 25, 2012
My name is Cameron Carlson and I am the individual who is mentioned in the above report. The first concern mentioned is that I was slamming their current provider ADT. The only concern with their current ADT system is that it is connected through the phone line, with that being the case a criminal could cut the phone line and the system would not be able to call the monitoring station or the police.
The next concern was that she would not have to pay for any of the new equipment including the GO control panel. This equipment is the new wireless cellular model in addition to the panel I was also able to include several new window sensors for the house. The equipment is normally expensive but as you mentioned the total was zero dollars. The installation cost for the system is normally 198.00 but we are also able to waive that fee if the customer can be flexible with the installation time. This was all explained to the husband during my initial visit. The only cost that they would have to pay to get this system is the 49.99 monitoring fee. nothing else. The monitoring contract has an initial term of 42 months this was circled on the contract. Every alarm has an initial contract period that ranges from 2-5 years. its similar to a cell phone or cable in that regard.
After I spoke with the wife the next day around 2 in the afternoon. she told me everything sounded good and I should Call her husband to finish up the paper work later in the evening. I still needed to have them sign the contract and collect the paperwork before it could be installed. I was currently in the process of attempting to contact several of their neighbors so After several failed attempts to reach the husband on his cell phone and several messages. I knocked on their door a few times as I passed by. This was the last day I was going to be in that neighborhood and I did not want to leave you hanging.
the only change that occurred to the deal I was offering on my second visit was that i offered to cover the cost of additional sensors if they needed them.
Because I was unable to get a hold of them I instead gave to system to a neighbor down the street. He is a really nice guy who works as an IT guy for BGE. not an elderly person. He lives only a few houses west of you on the same street. If you give me a call I can tell you exactly who he is and I'm sure he wouldn't mind meeting you seeing as your neighbors and all.
anyways to the author of this complaint, Ill admit I'm a little bit offended by your post, but I understand that you weren't there during the initial meeting I had with your husband so I'm sure some of it was pretty confusing hearing it all second hand. If you have any other concerns post them here and I'll get back to you. or you can give me a call if you still have my number.
Not Happy in Baltimore
Baltimore,#5Author of original report
Thu, May 17, 2012
This is a 42 month locked in system that is yours & after you die you still pay! Now going door to door in South Baltimore. Slam your door on Cameron & his crew! Don't be their next victim!!!!!!!!!!!!