I was originally a Brinks customers and was very happy. Today, however, I found out that ADT policy for canceling alarms has changed in a manner that creates a huge security hole that puts families at great risk. When your alarm goes off and they have to place a second call to your cell phone in order to reach you, they will now take your word that everything is OK and cancel the alarm without requesting your password. They claim that they still request it if you answer their initial call to the home phone, but they assume that whoever answers your cell is you. Doesn't everyone see the problem with this? So, I called them back and asked to speak to a supervisor. He confirmed that this is their policy, and that he can't change company policy. He said there is no one for me to talk to who can. Then I explained that, with this policy, a robber need only hold you at gunpoint, not answer the home phone when they call, then answer your cell himself and tell them everything is fine. The alarm is then cancelled, with no password and no call to the police. The supervisor told me he couldn't respond to hypotheticals. Well, this is a recipe for disaster. I understand if they want to allow customers to opt out of cell phone password verification (not really), but by making this the default and requiring cell password verification only on an opt-in basis, this gives criminals a lot of assurance that no password will be required during ADT's second call to most homes. Having had my home burglarized in the past, I don't really know why I bother with their service now. And anyone who has ever done security consulting or disaster preparedness knows that planning for the hypotheticals is standard protocol, particularly ones this obvious. I'm also offended that they changed this procedure on the former Brinks customers without telling us, leaving thousands of us unknowingly at risk. read more

I can say one nice thing about ADT: their installers are amazing. They did an excellent job installing cameras, door sensors and windows sensors without making the house look like a fortress. The installers were professional, courteous, and seemingly belong to a different company from the rest of the organization. Their sales operation, however, borders on the unethical. Our salesman sent us multiple contracts, because after I checked on the first two, they didn't reflect what we'd agreed. (No window sensors were included in the first contract.) They would not mail a contract: the salesman always had to come meet us for lunch, meaning that we had limited time to review each iteration of the contract. And today, I find that he checked the box for annual, rather than monthly, payments--not what we'd agreed, but we didn't catch it on the final contract. As for their Pulse system, you can assemble better yourself out of several systems that you can buy off Amazon. Although the system supposedly uses its own wifi network, it ties into your personal wireless router. However, the connection is flaky: any time your router reboots, the Pulse system fails to reconnect unless you physically power the Pulse router off and back on. Thus, if you go away for any degree of time, expect the Pulse to work only until there is a power outage or your router power cycles--even if your wireless network comes back on and is functioning perfectly. Our house has a Nest, a Wally and a Dropcam--all of which are more reliable than the ADT Pulse. Because who in their right mind would expect a security system to function without routine maintenance while you're away? read more

If I could give ZERO STARS I would. 5 hours late to an appointment. Then said they wouldn't replace a faulty window sensor (even if I paid ) unless I signed up for 3 years again. No thanks .....I wouldn't take the service for free now. read more

ADT used to be good, but their customer service is terrible. No calls, even in emergencies, are answered in less than 3 1/2 minutes. A non-emergency call to customer service takes 5 to 8 minutes for an answer, and 30 minutes of hold to resolve issues. Their in home service people have limits on the time they can stay, so right in the middle of fixing something for me, the repairman told me he had to leave to get to the next call because he had been at my house the 2 hour maximum. So much for caring about the customer. read more

I have been with ADT over 20 years and spent thousands of dollars buying my equipment. I have paid to have it removed by ADT and paid them to reinstall it in my last 2 new homes I purchased. I'm moving again and now they are trying to steal my equipment I paid full price for and say it's theirs and not mine. I have spoken to 4 or more representatives and a supervisor who have all given me false & misleading information. It's even documented that I own my equipment. Then they threatened me by saying unless I rent all new equipment they will not monitor it if they take it down & move it like they have done twice before and have reinstalled it. They have used lies, threats & intimidation. They conveniently have no one available to meet with me from their main office in Gaithersburg. They have are crooked and are trying to steal my equipment. This ADT in Maryland has by far turned into the worst company that I have ever dealt with. Do yourself a huge favor if you live in Maryland and do not use ADT, definitely choose another alarm company. read more

I have been an ADT customer going on 10 years now. For the most part I have never needed to interact with them much. I had them for 4 years at my first house. My only dealings with them were during the first install which was quick and fast and when I sold my house I contacted them to have my contract moved to my new house. I was able to have a sales person quote me a system over the phone that gave me the coverage I was looking for at a fair price. He did try to upsale me on features but I didn't think they were needed at that time. I was able to get an install date a week later, which was the day after I settled on my house. The installer was on time and worked very quickly. The install was trouble free. I think the technician was here for a total for 2 hours. This was a wireless system with 4 doors, and 10 windows. I have had this system installed for just about 6 years now without an issue other then needing to replace the batteries in the door sensors due to age and use I am guessing. I have only had one false alarm during the whole time I have had this current system. My wife was baking a cheesecake and water splashed out in the oven and filled the whole house with more smoke then I have ever seen. It triggered the smoked detector on the third floor with sent the panel screaming. I rushed to silence the panel but ADT was already on the phone asking if this was an actual emergency, I told them it was an accident and she stopped the Fire Department dispatch. I am now looking for some upgrades to the system. I was looking around at other Alarm vendors to see what my options were. Not that I don't have faith in ADT but I like to see what people are saying. I was sad to see they only had one review with one star. Maybe I am the exception but I have had no issues with them as a company. I will be contacting them again today to talk about upgrade options. If I encounter any negatives I will be sure to updates if things have turned sour over the years. read more

I can't tell you how happy I am with ADT and it keeps getting better. I am a residential customer. The really good customer service began when getting my system installed in my newest residence in 2011. The lady who installed it was so kind! In fact, after she left I thought something was wrong and the following day she made a special trip to my home to explain things to me. Next, after a year I received a bill with an annual increase. I called ADT and due to an illness I explained that I could not afford it. Not only did the representative not increase my bill she reduced it. I really wished I had written in to ADT about these incredibly kind people. Tonight I called because I noticed that my bill was due today. It's after 9pm and I was concerned about a late fee. First, I was shocked that billing was even open on Sunday after 9, next the representative said that there is no late fee unless you are 30 days late! By the way, ADT never ran my credit so I'm not sure what the one guy is talking about. When I got sick I lost everything and my credit is horrible and ADT still took a chance on me. I haven't been late once. The only reason I didn't give them 5 stars was for the long 3 year contract. I'm in a rental situation now so if I only rent for two years when I move again they try and set you up with another 3 year contract (you don't just have one year remaining on your contract like you think). Thankfully we will have lived here for 3 years so we won't have to worry about that! Thanks ADT! I must truly be impressed because I never have given a business a 4 star review! read more

The last technician sent to upgrade my system was very good. Accidentally, one of the window sensors was not entered into my upgraded system. So they send a technician today to enter the sensor who is NOT familiar with this new system. He's now trying the best he can to enter the sensor. But how can you all be so incompetent as to not send someone trained up on the system I have in my house? The one-star is for today, four stars is for the last technician who by the way, moved one of my house keys to a door in my house and did not put it back where he found it. I finally reached him on his cell at 9:50pm since I was worried I lost the key. He still gets four stars because he was excellent and a very nice guy. But what's up with you people? You have a lock on our area and if you didn't you'd be out of business. That makes these reviews meaningless since people can't shop elsewhere. The only good news for your location is that it looks like other ADT locations in the area are rated even lower than you are. read more

Worst company ever. Our system started beeping every day at 3pm and the trouble light is on. Called ADT to get someone to come out and they said they didn't have any late evening appointments anytime soon. Wait? Your equipment is malfunctioning and you expect me to take a day off so you can fix it? I got a better idea, how about if I find another company. Would not recommend them to anyone! read more

Early termination fees are 100% of the full cost of monitoring for the remainder of the 3 years! I wasn't told about a 3 year commitment. I'm a renter on a 2 year lease and getting screwed out of $453. read more

So not only are they trying to force me into a long term contract for this dinosaur alarm that came with the house that I purchased. But the customer service reps are not professional, over talk you, do not listen, and aren't helpful at all. I wouldn't mind activating the alarm but what's not an option is a long term contract for an alarm that's a decade old. Purchasing new equipment isn't going to happen because they seem to think that when consumers purchase equipment that they still OWN it. I requested the programmer code and the rep insisted that the only way they would give it to me is if I signed a contract. Trickery! You can't help but think of the level a service a company will provide to you when they force you into contracts. NO equipment, Just monitoring, and they want me to commit to it for 5 years.... not happening. If they are going to hold codes hostage because they want you to be forced to do business with them that only leads me to believe that I will be as unhappy as each yelper who has had ADT here with subpar service from ADT. Each time I call.. there's no supervisor available. read more

The worst possible treatment. It is difficult to find the words to describe how horribly ADT treated us after lightening hit the phone line that went to our control panel. After our system went down ( BTW ADT has no immediate way of knowing that your system is down until they do a "monthly check") I called ADT and they sent someone out in about 3 days to look at it. The technician told me I needed a new panel, but he could not fix it - I had to speak with sales. Here starts my saga. it took months to see a sales rep. I was assigned to one guy to would keep telling me things that didn't materialize. I told him I was happy to pay for a new panel - can we just send someone out to replace it? No I have to sit with a sales rep. So after unsuccessfully trying to deal with him, and calling ADT again and again to try to get someone to sell me a new panel and - at least getting credited for a month with no service- I was assigned another guy so did the favor of meeting me in my office and telling me I cannot get a panel without signing up for another 3 year contract. He told me it was just like a cell phone company. I told him I've broken phones before and just bought a new phone - not a new contract - but they get paid on Recurring Monthly Revenue and the contracts - not equipment. So it's all about the money. Why didn't someone just tell me this is the first place rather than wasting my time to make me sit with someone. So we said fine - we'll cancel and pay out the remaining contract. - I called ADT to cancel in September - they were sympathetic and gave me a credit on certain things and a total payout amount that they were to charge to my husband's credit card. Unfortunately they didn't cancel or charge the amount - they kept charging the recurring monthly amount. We called to find out why - they said the account hadn't been canceled so now I had to pay a different, larger amount to cancel the account. At this point I don't care - I will pay whatever to make them go away ( I am leaving out how many exhausting conversations happened in the middle to create this attitude) We promptly pay the total amount they provide in an invoice to us. We receive a letter confirming our cancellation. Then, 3 weeks later, we receive a call from a collection agency stating we owe them $79.91. We cannot figure out were this amount came from or how it could go to collections. The collections company has no information so I call ADT. I am told by the billing people that I should have paid an amount that was different from the "Total Balance Due" amount on the bill because " We asked for a refund, we gave the refund - but you still owe that money to us" . I thought I was not hearing her correctly and asked "how can you give me a refund of a particular amount, but I still owe it to you?" She said " It's like if you owed us $50 and asked if we could refund it to you, and we do, you still owe the $50". This makes so little sense that I question my own logic or understanding of the word "refund". So I ask - so why did you refund it then - was it a loan? " No its not a loan". "So why do I still owe a refunded amount to you?" I speak to a supervisor - Leon - who decides to research my case and does get back to me the same day and says that they should have never issued the refund to me. This at least makes more sense than the $50 explanation. So I ask - "and how would I have known this?" to which he replies - " you couldn't' "and then I ask "and then why would it go to collections before anyone has notified me?" He said he didn't know - but now to resolve I have to deal with the collections agency. I explained that now of course ADT has done harm to my credit, for deciding, without notifying me that they were rescinding a refund they gave to me in writing. Clearly they don't care about me - but I did ask that they review my call and that hopefully they don't do this to anyone else in the future. Sadly - it is likely that they will. I can only advise that people avoid ADT like the plague for residential services. read more

Wow...the other comments are totally true. On hold for 24 minutes and counting--this is ridiculous. I've never waited this long...not even calling airlines. HUGE mistake using ADT. read more

Terrible customer service. No regard for what the customer says, instead each tech I have spoken to is argumentative and the priority is definitely not keeping the customer happy. Finally cancelled my service, but there was no record made, and I was billed for the period anyways. After 3 phone calls I was told that I would have to pay or they would send the account to a collections agency. On top of that, I was threatened that if I ever chose to come back to ADT, I would first have to pay the contested bill. Adding insult to injury is clearly all that this company is good for. Will absolutely never be using ADT again. read more

We upgraded our system and tech was scheduled to arrive on Saturday/ 6/20/15 between noon-5pm. Tech showed up 45 minutes early. While not horrible, we weren't really expecting him yet. It's a good thing he showed up early because he didn't have the correct alarm system we purchased. Was gone for 2 hours to pick it up. He was there until after 4pm and still didn't get everything completed. He didn't bring the alarm remote and didn't have the outdoor camera. He said he would come back today (6/23/15) between 8am-noon, but most likely between 9:30am-10:00am. Never showed. Never called. At 1:15PM I call ADT and have to reschedule for Friday! So need to take more time off from work! And the best they can do for the aggravation? 1 free month of monitoring? That's maybe 1 hour of my time. Big whoop. So if you're reading this and haven't installed an alarm system yet, don't bother with ADT! It's not worth your time and aggravation it will require. Other than that, no complaints! read more

I honestly do not know how this company stays in business. Dealing with their customer service has been a complete nightmare. They are rude and blatantly dishonest. Truly a disgrace of a business. read more

The ADT security services are the worst I can see now unfortunately I signed the fucking paper but if somebody seen the message please look for an other company especially the representative name Shina when he came to you house he is really nice and he can tell you anything you want to hear he promised to you everything including that after one year will be different on you account but after 5 days that I signed the contract they offered untill today less than $30 per month and guess what I'm paying $55 per month I call him after a year And I asked him to reduced the bill and his answer was what you going to do if you want ended you contract you have to pay $1100 and you will be free or you can pay $500 a year and you have $50 credit a year isn't worth look for a other companies are cheap than this shit company they didn't help you at all not one can help you. read more

I have recently bought a house with an existing ADT Security system and hired ADT to install additional equipment, primarily external cameras. I was promised the work would be completed before I moved in (late October). In reality it took about two months. Duirng this time I never knew when work would be done, or people would arrive. I have interacted with sales, installation techs, scheduling call centers and billing people. None seem to communicate with the others, so the sales person can promise anything, but the installers' managers do not seem aware of what has been promised. The call center that telephones to schedule work do not know what work needs to be done or what has been accomplished. And the billing people are completely unaware if the work has been completed. The billing people act as if they are a collection agency calling a deadbeat customer, not even aware if the work has been completed, or when. My only positive experience has been the actual quality of the installation work in my house, which appears first rate. Overall, ADT seems to be a very badly managed company with a few good people who try to actually do good work for customers, but are continually sabotaged by their own bureaucracy. I intend to switch to a different company as soon as my contract allows. read more

I worked with this office of ADT during a recent move to a new business address. The sales rep sold me a lock and keypad and I was told they would send someone in 2 weeks to install our system prior to us moving into the new location. On the day they were scheduled, I called my sales rep to find out about the timing of the installation. I was told that they had to reschedule due to the complexity of the system we were ordering. The earliest they could send someone would be another 2 weeks. Irritated, but left optionless, I finally agreed. The day of the next appointment I receive a phone call and am told that they will not be able to install my system on that day. They explain that one of the parts needed is out of stock and I will have to reschedule. I am livid at this point. They have had 4 weeks notice of this installation and are not able to install because you do not have a part I need?!? Again, frustrated but optionless, I agree to the new appointment. However, I'm angry again when I find out that they expect me to wait another 4 weeks for installation. (Again) due to the complexity of the type of lock I want, the earliest they can get the team that installs those will be in 4 weeks. On the day of my next appointment, an installation rep finally comes out. We are discussing where the lock will be placed and how it will operate. Quickly, it becomes obvious that we are discussing two different items. After realizing what type of lock I had purchased, he informs me that the sales rep has sold me a product that they are not authorized to sell any longer. The installation rep had been planning to install an intercom system and not the lock I had purchased. So, I basically waited for 2 months to be told that ADT sold me a product that they were not licensed to install. I was told that due to the situation, I would receive a full refund. Two weeks later, I still had not received my refund. I called the sales rep who tells me he will check into it and call me back. After I do not hear from him, I call him back about a week later. He informs me that on his end, he can see where they have issued my credit, but that's all the information he has. He instructs me to call his supervisor to find out what happened to my refund. I call the supervisor 3 times without a response or a return phone call. I called the main ADT number and was told they did not see a record of my purchase in their system and I would need to contact that branch of ADT directly. I ask for the number to that branch (on my contract the only number I was given was the cell phone number of the sales rep, who by the way, has stopped answering my calls), and am told by the representative that they do not have access to these businesses in their system. He explained that I should do a web search to try to obtain this information. I cannot express the aggravation I am feeling at this point. It's been more than 3 months, I do not have the lock I paid for and have been unable to get a refund. If you are considering working with ADT (especially the Boston Blvd office), I would highly advise against it. I have not seen a less professional group of people in a long time. The sales rep I worked with was clearly uninformed about the products he was selling. The communication between the local offices and the larger corporate office was nonexistent. Every person I speak to refers me to speak with someone else, often without really knowing who that should be. Please don't waste your time! read more

Had a problem with the keypad and one of the doors. A tech (Dakota) came to the house two days later, on time. He quickly diagnosed the problem, explained it to me and fixed it. He was courteous and professional. I have been a customer since 2003 and have always been treated respectfully and gotten good service. read more

Had something come up missing, (stolen) I forgot how to work the DVR recorder so I called the help desk and they walked me thru it step by step. We were able to give the police the video. They were very helpful in this situation. thank you read more

These poor employees at ADT. They cannot think for themselves, and are hamstrung by an absurd policy. I had Brinks/ADT for over 20 years. I sold my house in Silver Spring in June 2010. I called in advance to have service cancelled for the remainder of the month. They could not do that, they said, because the original signor of the contract, my husband who is DECEASED, would have to cancel. So, I sent them the death certificate, per their request. I drove X-country, only to receive much later 2 more invoices for monitoring service. I called them to remind them that the house was sold, I no longer own it, have no control over the settings of the system, and the service cancelled, and a death certificate provided, which they acknowledged. BUT - if order to really- really, REALLY cancel the service - I had to send a notarized letter stating such, with copies of a valid ID. Huh? In this day of id theft, wasn't this excessive? Well, says ADT Supervisor, it can just die a natural death, too. They will continue to bill my dead husband, and eventually it can go to collections, but that the service was cutoff. Fast forward to October. The alarm goes off. I am in California, the new owners are in Maryland, and no one can turn the alarm off, all because the orignial signor of the contract is DEAD and cannot authorize cancellation of service. Poor ADT employees. They probably fear for their jobs in this economy. Does anyone there think independentaly and rationally? Won't anyone please turn off the ear-splitting alarm for the new owners? I gave them the code, and a death certificate. Nope. No one can help them. Meanwhile, my dead husband's credit is ruined because he won't pay the bill. Imagine that. Idiots!!!! read more

So frustrated with ADT. I've been a customer with them (initially with Brinks) for 7 years. After a power outage something happened with the system and it won't work and they said it would be $154 for the first thirty minutes for someone to service it and $27 for each additional thirty minutes!! Seriously?? Without even a guarantee they can fix it, without any hardware costs, who knows how much it would be. So of course we start shopping around with someone else, find a deal where they have ZERO charge for a conversion of our system. So we call back to cancel and they tell us they'll do the service free of charge if only we hadn't signed up with another company already. AS IF IT WERE MY FAULT. some people might appreciate this price match stuff, but I hate it and it's annoying and a waste of my time. If they can offer something like that, just tell me up front and then maybe you can garner some customer loyalty. To make matters worse, they're still charging us for another month because they need thirty days notice of cancellation. So we're paying for thirty days of NOTHING. When I point this out to the guy, you know his response? (Well, you decided to sign up with another company). As if it's my fault now. I hate these companies that just try to gouge you for every cent you have. Frustrated customer, jumping ship. read more

I wish I had checked with yelp before I signed a contract with ADT. They subcontracted the installation of my security system to Protect Your Home. The technician damaged the cover on my security panel in my garage. He left it on the ground bent and creased preventing its use. I called 3 times with my complaint. I find that ADT rarely follows up with customer complaints, are often rude to customers on the phone. I found this years ago when we had a contract with them and blame myself for being so stupid as to use them again. In the end they informed me , after my numerous calls and explanations that the contractor was responsible for damage to my house and I needed to fill out a claim form with 3 estimates for my panel cover..like I am going to find 3 companies to replace this cover that was installed when house was built? And if you are stil thinking of signing with ADT so you can get that free VISA card for 100$.. Think again ..that will be credited to your installation. If they offer you a second one you will have to download an application to a 3 rd party, pay for shipping and handling with a money order or cashiers check and I am still waiting for it...I know it's in the mail! But I won't hold my breath! read more

I wish I could update this review for the better, but alas, the comedy of errors continues. After a week of not hearing back from the agent that visited our house, and not receiving a quote, we called customer service to complain. We spoke to a very nice woman who took our information, and said a manger would call us back in 48 hours to rectify the situation and that we would get the quote we asked for. We were never called back by a manager, and now two weeks later, we still have not received that call nor did we ever get that quote. Funny enough, however, my husband has been barraged by calls from ADT salespeople. We have since chosen another provider, and he keeps telling the salespeople from ADT that we made another choice and that we were not happy with ADT and to not call us anymore. However, they still persistently call my husband. And then, to top it all off, we got a call from an agent today who had apparently come by our house for an appointment that we never made. What is this craziness? Who is running this business? I'd be terrified to trust these people with my security if they can't even provide us with a quote, get a manager to call us back, take us off their call list, and show up for appointments we never made. Seriously. If I could give it less than one star I would! read more

ADT has provided services to us since March of 1994. In the 18 years we have been a customer with them we have had only 2 problems --- NOT A BAD RECORD. I just had an issue with a motion detector and Joyce, my customer service rep, was so efficient and helpful. Of course the issue was my own inadequacy, despite that fact she gave me information and held my hand through the testing. I love ADT and highly recommend them for your security system needs. I have never had an issue of bad service, even when we travel and set the system we feel secure knowing that our home is protected and ADT will watch over our property. We call in advance to let them know where we will be with special instructions and they have always been receptive. Yes, our system is old but it's like a Timex watch, takes a licking but keeps on ticking. Can't say that about much these days but you can about ADT. Thank you, thank you, thank you. read more