(Source: By Gitte Laasby , Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (MCT) – Marcos Villarreal had just moved into a West Allis neighborhood and his girlfriend was a little skittish about some of the people hanging out in the area, so when a salesman from Security One showed up offering a discount on a monitored alarm system, the deal sounded pretty good.
“They said, ‘Since you’re on a corner, it’ll be about 20-25 bucks a month. You just let us stick a sign up and advertise,’ ” Villarreal said. “It was double that when the bill came. I went ahead and canceled a week or two later. . . .
“A month or two later, I noticed they were still charging my credit card. So I canceled the card on them. Then they sent me a bill for about four grand.”
Since then, collectors have been calling him to pay his contract in full.
Contracts that cost thousands of dollars to cancel. Overly aggressive salespeople. Systems that malfunction. Overcharging.
Those are some of the complaints that the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau has received about private alarm companies in the past year. As vacation season hits full stride, the organization warns residents to take a close look at the contract and research the reputation of the business before they sign up.
In Villarreal’s case, he later discovered that the contract he signed gave him only the federally required minimum of three days to cancel the contract and that the cancellation must be made in writing.
“They must have calculated that you ain’t going to make it,” he said. “Just shoddy business practice.”
Companies are allowed to charge customers a fee to cancel their contracts or require that customers pay the full amount, as long as it’s clearly stated in the signed contract.
In the past year, from July 1, 2011, to July 1, 2012, the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau has received 44 complaints about alarm companies from residents, including Villarreal. That’s down from 51 the year before.
Many of the complaints in the past year echo what Villarreal experienced – companies that don’t honor the discounts their salespeople promise, and salespeople who say contracts can be canceled at any time but don’t mention fees of thousands of dollars to get out of the agreement early.
Susan Bach, a spokeswoman for the Better Business Bureau, said that when the organization complained to Security One on Villarreal’s behalf, the company told them to call the collection agency. Villarreal said he tried that and got nowhere. The BBB asked again, but got the same reply. The matter was closed as unresolved. The lack of response has contributed to Security One International’s F rating with the business bureau.
The business did not respond to a reporter’s request for comment.
Customers had the most complaints to the Better Business Bureau – 13 – about another security system company, Vivint Inc., which has 5,600 customers in Wisconsin. The complaints varied from overly aggressive salespeople to overcharging and malfunctioning equipment.
Spokeswoman Lisa Davis said the company has resolved all of those complaints. She said the company also asks its sales reps to make sure before customers sign up that they know how much they’ll pay monthly for the system and how long the contract will last.
Some alarm systems can automatically control people’s thermostats, which the companies say can help consumers save on energy, but those systems may cost extra monitoring fees. Other systems also offer medical alerts – a feature that may appeal to elderly residents who live alone. But according to the complaints, some elderly residents felt pressured into signing up because of the sellers’ aggressive sales techniques.
“We’ve had definite results helping people when they’ve had issues with equipment and stuff,” Bach said. “There were some instances where it was an elderly person who signed the contract, perhaps the person filing a complaint on their behalf feeling like they were taken advantage of. If there was some deception or they were given false promises or deceived in some way, we were able to help in those cases, as well.”
Verify seller’s claims
A home security system may help people save on their home insurance rates, but residents should not fall for a salesperson’s claims that the homeowner might save a certain amount on home insurance, Bach said.
“Exaggerated claims like that are pretty common for salespeople to make,” Bach said. “When they say something like that, these are things they’d want to independently check.”
Davis said Vivint tracks complaints about its sales representatives and fires those who get three complaints filed about them.
Still, as a former customer of a security firm, Villarreal urges caution.
“Read the contract,” he said. “Don’t put your name on anything you’re not absolutely sure about. . . . Before you know it, you’ll owe somebody three to four grand you don’t have.”
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Alarm company complaints in state
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Before you sign up
Make sure you need the service. Get multiple bids.
Know the answer to key questions: What would be your total monthly cost, all fees and charges included? How, when and at what cost can you cancel your contract? Does your contract renew automatically?
Research the company. Check the business’ rating on the Better Business Bureau website and search the Internet to find out any problems with the company. You can also call your local police department to ask if it has had any problems with the company.
Don’t believe anyone who indicates that police will automatically respond if your alarm goes off. Systems that notify police of unverified alarms are illegal in Milwaukee.
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Once you sign up
Monitor what you’re being charged to make sure it’s in accordance with your contract. If you were overcharged, contact the company. If you charged the services to your credit (not debit) card, you can contact your credit card company within 60 days to have the charges reversed.
If the equipment never worked or is faulty, don’t pay. Contact the company.
If the problem’s not solved, you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
If you want to cancel your contract, do so in writing and make sure your letter is postmarked before midnight the third day after you sign up, or 30 days before your contract ends.
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To file a complaint
Contact the Better Business Bureau at complaint.bbb.org or by phone, (414) 847-6000 or (800) 273-1002.
Contact the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection at or by phone, (800) 422-7128.
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©2012 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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