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protect america alarm and monitoring - want to cancel
We sold our home in June of 2018 and have been trying to cancel the Protect American contract since then. We were told there is a three year contract, however, it is difficult to believe that there is no clause to cancel for a home sale. Our new home already had an alarm built in so we have been paying Protect America monthly for nothing. The first time we were told we need to cancel three months prior to the renewal date. I tried to call today which is about two months prior and was told I need to call back again 30 days prior to cancel. They won't just schedule the cancellation or send me any paperwork so that I can fill it out now to ensure it is cancelled. I asked to speak to the cancellation department and was told that I could not be forwarded to them unless it was 30 days prior. This is just bad business practices as I am sure they are hoping you miss the 30 days and are stuck with their contract for another three years. I have seen MANY complaints and know that I am not the only one having these issues. I have even continued to pay for an alarm I don't even have for 16 months, a total of $501.76 and am trying to cancel a contract for a system that I do not use, it should not be this difficult.
trying to cancel, thought it was canceled now after 9 years they are trying to get 159.00
My service with them started around nine years ago, we closed the business and they repeatedly took out the 29.95 a month bill even after we sent them a certified letter. I finally had to put a stop payment on the draft now after all these years they hire a company from Dallas Texas to not only call us but have also attached my wife's credit because somehow her Social security number was on it but it was in my name and I actually signed it!
Please help!
home security equipment and monitoring
Company forces contract signing and sends equipment which does not work in home. Begins a 30-day 'clock" after which contract cannot be cancelled from date they SIP versus date you receive bad equipment. Promise to send better equipment but clock still running despite promises to contrary. Second batch of equipment arrives and no better than first. Promise a 3rd set of equipment better still and initiate shipping process. Don't let you leave contract now until third batch arrives. Third batch arrives and still faulty gets installed with driving 1 inch holes in wall. By now, 30 days window from date of original shipping closed and company insists earlier promises to "stop the clock while they try to get equipment to work" was not a valid response and that "their hands are totally tied" and you are locked into the 350 bad equipment purchase as well as a 40 dollar am month commitment for the next few years. TOTAL and UTTER SCAM.
Is Protect America legit?
Protect America earns a trustworthiness rating of 100%
Highly recommended, but caution will not hurt.
We found clear and detailed contact information for Protect America. The company provides a physical address, 2 phone numbers, and 2 emails, as well as 4 social media accounts. This demonstrates a commitment to customer service and transparency, which is a positive sign for building trust with customers.
Protect America has claimed the domain name for protectamerica.com for a long time, which suggests that the website is established and has a history of being in operation. This is a positive sign, as it indicates that the website has been around for a while and may have a reputation to maintain.
Several positive reviews for Protect America have been found on various review sites. While this may be a good sign, it is important to approach these reviews with caution and consider the possibility of fake or biased reviews.
We looked up Protect America and found that the website is receiving a high amount of traffic. This could be a sign of a popular and trustworthy website, but it is still important to exercise caution and verify the legitimacy of the site before sharing any personal or financial information
Protectamerica.com appears to have online shopping features, it's important to know that the platform supports an extensive range of payment methods, making it convenient and easy to complete your transaction. The payment procedure on the website is also relatively simple and straightforward, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for buyers.
Protectamerica.com regularly updates its policies to reflect changes in laws, regulations. These policies are easy to find and understand, and they are written in plain language that is accessible to all customers. This helps customers understand what they are agreeing to and what to expect from Protect America.
However ComplaintsBoard has detected that:
- Protect America's website has revealed that it is not properly optimized for search engines. This could be a red flag indicating that the company is attempting to hide its activities from the public.
- Protect America protects their ownership data, a common and legal practice. However, from our perspective, this lack of transparency can impede trust and accountability, which are essential for establishing a credible and respected business entity.
- Protectamerica.com appears to have online shopping features, it's important to know that the platform supports an extensive range of payment methods, making it convenient and easy to complete your transaction. The payment procedure on the website is also relatively simple and straightforward, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience for buyers.
Did not honor agreement
Entered into an agreement in August 2013 for a home security system and monthly monitoring. During installation it was determined we had a faulty sensor. I was told by the technician would be shipped to replace the faulty one. As of April 2015, we had still not received the sensor, this is a violation of the agreement as Protect America was to provide all of the equipment per the agreement. Furthermore during April 2014, our system activated for an unknown amount of time, and we were never notified. When this was brought to Protect Americas attention, the blame was brought back to me (the consumer). They stated the consumer is required to test the system monthly in order to ensure it works. Even if I test the system today and it activates tomorrow with no notification does that still mean I am at fault? I was paying $54 a month for a so called "monitoring" fee, that was suppose to protect my house and family, but due to these issues I ceased payment in December of 2014. I have given Protect America additional opportunities after December 2014 and they have still failed to provide adequate services and customer service. They can also not show me evidence they shipped a replacement sensor in 2013. This company has violated the agreement but has pushed blame on me for "not calling when I didn't receive the sensor", once again they ensured me one would be sent and if never was, but as normal they push the blame off on to me. If I can't trust this company enough to get a sensor replaced then am I suppose to trust them to protect my house and family? I believe not.
I will steer any one I know away from their service
I just sold my home and transferred the security service to the new home owner. However, because the paper work was not received until the 6th of October, I am still paying the entirety of this months bill. I do not expect to be reimbursed for the 6 days of the month before they received the transfer papers, but would expect the new client would be responsible for the remainder of the month and I would be reimbursed what I have paid. I was told by several representatives that they did not care that I was not enjoying the use of their service I was still responsible for the payment until the end of the month.
Not only is this terrible customer service, I believe it borders on illegal. I am a real estate investor and was planning on securing my other properties with GE Protect America; however, not only will I be surely using another company, I will steer any one I know away from their service.
Questionable business practices
This company operates with a questionable ethics code and skirts within grey areas of the law with their contract language. I have never had a company make me feel as though I’m held hostage like this one does.
In 2007 I signed a 3 year contract with ‘Protect America, Inc”. In 2010 I moved and no longer needed the system and attempted to cancel the contract. At that time I was told that my contract would not expire for 6 more months. Early in 2011 I requested to cancel the service again I was told that I had to honor the terms of the contact and that it had not expired. In late August 2011 I changed banks and did not provide Protect America, Inc with a new form of payment. This time they were very quick to call me, again we went through the supervisor and “special” cancellation department and requested a manager. I am told that their contract has an automatic roll over clause in it and they are within their rights to bill me, take me to collections etc. . The only way to cancel this service once you have it is to cancel with a very small window of dates. Oddly they did offer to cancel my contract if I would pay them through the end of the year. Funny that feels a lot like blackmail to me.
Now it’s worth noting that the alarm system has not been hooked up for two years and not once did they contact me to find out why the system was not reporting in. Two years of service that I didn’t use and didn’t sign up for equates to roughly $800 this company has taken from me for service that was not provided.
Do yourself a favor if you are considering a purchase from this company please do your research first and type “Protect America, Inc. complaints” into your favorite search engine.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Bait and switch!
Protect America sells home security systems that appear to be inexpensive and protect your house.
The truth is that the system they promote is deeply flawed and gives you little protection unless you upgrade to a much higher cost system. They tell you that their alarm box can call out to a monitoring site with a wireless phone that is battery operated. Only after you sign a contract do you find out that the system you bought only uses your land line and the call does not go out for 15 seconds after they have broken in.
All a person breaking in has to do is unplug your alarm system or cut the phone line and the police are never notified. When I found out that my house was not really protected, a Protect America representative told me that the sound from the alarm would scare most people away and that a call to the police was not really necessary. Protect America is a bad company.
This company should be called ripoff america. Their contract and tactics are matched by
no one anywhere! I have been trying to cancel service for months and lied to repeatedly!
These people call me at work! On my cell phone...It has to be against the law. It is harrasment
in the worst way possible! Beware and stay awy!
You will get better use of your money if you pile it up in the middle of the street and set fire to it
Thinking of getting a home security system? Think Protect America is a good deal? Think again! Then RUN! In 2006 I prepaid a 3 yr contract for a security system. The equipment failed several times and new sensors were sent. They also failed. The equipment is junk - pure and simple - junk that they push by using the trusted G.E. name (G.E. is my next stop!). When I asked to speak to a supervisor, she told me she didn't have one. After I informed her that everyone answers to someone unless she was the owner of Protect America, she said she would have a manager call me. He sent me more replacement connectors and, as you can guess, they fell off too. I finally gave up and last summer I called to cancel my contract and the rep told me that the cancellation penalties would be more costly than if I just let the contract run it's course. Now it seems the contract did run its course and was expired in February. Tonight I received a call from a serv rep telling me I have a $69 balance and that my contract was NOT canceled. It was renewed! I never received any notification from them. At first the rep told me there wasn't a supervisor I could speak to. As a former call center employee I know that when there are reps on the phones any reputable company has supervisors on the floor. So I went to their online chat site, the rep 'Jaime' said there was a manager who would call me. The manager, 'Bradley' called and was not very helpful. He just kept saying that their contract says they renew automatically (something I don't recall seeing on their contract.) I explained all the problems I had with their equipment, and told Bradley that I spoke with a rep last summer and she led me to believe my contract would just 'run it's course'. He said it was not enough; I was supposed to send a letter. The rep who said no refund or cancellation and suggested I just let the contract run it's course never mentioned that little point. I feel as if I was ambushed by and find the practice of auto renewal without notice somewhat questionable. This is a huge RIP OFF! The reps lie and tell callers there are no supervisors and only after raising a big stink will they get to speak to a manager. Unfortunately, the so called managers are not very skilled in customer relations either. All they do is repeat the same nonsense and try to not only keep your money, but also enforce that questionable auto-renew without so much as a notice that your contract is ending. They count on the customer losing track at some point during the contract of a few years. Not only would I not recommend this shady company to anyone - I would say RUN as fast as you can! You will get better use of your money if you pile it up in the middle of the street and set fire to it!
Scam
Thinking of getting a home security system? Think Protect America is a good deal? Think again! Then RUN! In 2006 I prepaid a 3 yr contract for a security system. The equipment failed several times and new sensors were sent. They also failed. The equipment is junk - pure and simple - junk that they push by using the trusted G.E. name (G.E. is my next stop!). When I asked to speak to a supervisor, she told me she didn't have one. After I informed her that everyone answers to someone unless she was the owner of Protect America, she said she would have a manager call me. He sent me more replacement connectors and, as you can guess, they fell off too. I finally gave up and last summer I called to cancel my contract and the rep told me that the cancellation penalties would be more costly than if I just let the contract run it's course. Now it seems the contract did run its course and was expired in February. Tonight I received a call from a serv rep telling me I have a $69 balance and that my contract was NOT canceled. It was renewed! I never received any notification from them. At first the rep told me there wasn't a supervisor I could speak to. As a former call center employee I know that when there are reps on the phones any reputable company has supervisors on the floor. So I went to their online chat site, the rep 'Jaime' said there was a manager who would call me. The manager, 'Bradley' called and was not very helpful. He just kept saying that their contract says they renew automatically (something I don't recall seeing on their contract.) I explained all the problems I had with their equipment, and told Bradley that I spoke with a rep last summer and she led me to believe my contract would just 'run it's course'. He said it was not enough; I was supposed to send a letter. The rep who said no refund or cancellation and suggested I just let the contract run it's course never mentioned that little point. I feel as if I was ambushed by and find the practice of auto renewal without notice somewhat questionable. This is a huge RIP OFF! The reps lie and tell callers there are no supervisors and only after raising a big stink will they get to speak to a manager. Unfortunately, the so called managers are not very skilled in customer relations either. All they do is repeat the same nonsense and try to not only keep your money, but also enforce that questionable auto-renew without so much as a notice that your contract is ending. They count on the customer losing track at some point during the contract of a few years. Not only would I not recommend this shady company to anyone - I would say RUN as fast as you can! You will get better use of your money if you pile it up in the middle of the street and set fire to it!
illegal renewal program
Notice to all protect america customers who were a victim of their How to get your money back. illegal automatic renewal program... Protect america is located in texas an per texas state law HB 1702. Protect America MUST send written notice not more than 90 days nor less than 15 days before they charge you with an automatic renewals. After I informed protect america of this and that I would file charges against them they returned all my money. Most states have these laws too under "automatic renewal of contracts." Just google your states laws and you can us that as ammo against the illegal practice of protect america.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Ugly restocking fee, ugly product
Know this before you order the system. The "look" is pretty hideous. The control box looks like an enormous, white, 1980s answering machine. Do you really want this sitting by your primary door? The door triggers are also large and obtrusive and white. If you have dark door frames they will stick out like sore thumbs. I took it out of the box, realized I couldn't live with the aesthetics and immediately called to cancel. As I was inside of 7 days, this was allowed, however, I am being charged $80 for a "restocking" fee. (That's $80 for someone to take it back out of the box.) Yes, that was in the fine-print box that they ask you to stop and read during their pressure sales call, but that only makes it slightly less odious.
i have been looking into this company to replace my current security system. although you are one of maybe five other complaints that aren't about protect americas service contract, this was your own fault. you obviously had a chance to see the unit on the website before you bought it, you should have also looked at its technical specs to see how big it was.
as for the restocking fee, i used to manage a distribution center for a car audio manufacturer. they are not simply charging you 80 dollars to take it back out of the box and get some cash out of you. that 80 dollars includes shipping it back to them, once its been delivered back to home base, it has to be scanned in by an employee and taken out of the box, then it has to be tested by another employee to make sure that you or the delivery service did not break it, then another employee has to scan it back into inventory and put it where it belongs.
think about it like this, shipping for something is usually 20-40 dollars, i'm going to high ball and say it cast 40 dollars to ship it. then three employees who al get paid 10 dollars an hour or less have to handle the contents of the package. that restocking fee is paying for the work that has to be done to RESTOCK what you didn't want.
Borderline Fraudulant Co.
I tried for 8 months to stop my service. Always a different excuse as to why not. Contract not up or auto renew, or cannnot cancel on phone or by email . Asked for a signed renewal and they sent me basically a
made up sheet of paper with no signature. I finally got a signed receipt from the mail service that the cancellation was received. Told them and they got mad because I got one. They sent a bad report to the credit beaurea and sent a letter to some of my lenders and credit accounts. Do not use this company...THERE SHOULD BE A LAWER THAT WOULD TAKE ON OUR CASE AS A CLASS ACTION, and do away with the company.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I would love to join the class action lawsuit
email me brandonragland24@gmail.com
I would also like to join the class action law suit against protect America.
Jvrwest@gmail.com
I would also like to join the class action law suit zetro4@yahoo.com
I would also like to join any class action lawsuits.
Linarezd@hotmail.com
Would also like to join any law suits against this thieves! Please email me crissypot@yahoo.com .
I have a copy of my email to cancel service, and I paid the required final payment for last 60 days. Now one year later, they are saying I didn’t cancel and must pay 85 more to stop service. I My contract was over two years before I left. How can you make things up and continue to charge people? My husband is a 100% disabled vet and doesn’t need this stress! I would like to join a class action lawsuit!
We are interested in joining any law suits againt this company. False advertisement, failure to respond to alarm and have you read the contract. They do not even guarantee anyone will respond to an alarm. Let’s put them out of business.
Highly interested in joining a class action suit against these criminals at Protect America. Please email me at kmpoe@sbcglobal.net. I live in Cypress, TX.
Need a list of people interested in a class action suit. Please contact me at pdouglas37912@gmail.com. Thanks
Phyllis Douglas
I am willing to join this class action lawsuit. We called in Oct. 2016 to cancel my service since we were not satisfied w/ their faulty equipment ( faulty Velcro, always falling ), creating a false alarm & we also found a better alarm system. They told is that we need to finish our contract til March 2017 w/c we did. Then they still tried to bill us til June 2017 because accordg. to them we should call last march to cancel again otherwise they will be force to charge month to month. This is ridiculous . Why are we paying for a service that wasn't there in the first place. Of course, they can tell from their side that we are no longer in their system. They emailed me a contract that we can't even remember getting it or even doing an electronic sign on it. They just typed our names on it bec. On the email they sent us we can erase our names on it, the cursor is at the signature section. It is not a hard copy of the email if ever we signed one. To make the story short, they will send the last 3 months balance at collection agency w/c will ruin our credit. Hence, we would like to join a class action lawsuit if there's one on going. Please ed mail me. Thanks. jvleg70@gmail.com.
I had the same issue with trying to cancel my service. The equipment never worked properly, kept going off randomly and I disconnected it and never even had it online. When the year was up I tried to cancel my service. They refused to accept cancellation. I tried to report them to the Better Business people but was not successful in my complaint because they just deluged them with emails. I finally got them to accept cancellation but they projected the service to end four months later than my letter and are billing me for those four months. Then they sent me new equipment and called me daily telling me I had to set up this new equipment. This is a scam service and there should be something done about it. I've lost hundreds of dollars to these people. Please please contact me if you have any information about this.
Ann
metaforgirl@yahoo.com
I have the same issue...would like to be involved in any class action against Protect America. Let me know if you hear anything (brenda@laworkshop.com).
Cancelling contract within 72 hours
December 8, 2009.
I changed my mind about the purchase of a security system from Protect America. I had buyer’s remorse. I expect to be out-of-town for an extended period (10 days) during the holidays. Currently, I have security from my current provider and I know how this service work. Though I was impressed with their offer; I just didn’t want to deal with any circumstance that could arise while I was away and the uncertainty of having to deal from long distance with a new service. Unfortunately, they could not understand this. I was going to move my service; now, I’m unsure of Protect America's service with so much difficulty upfront.
On December 7, 2009 I called customer service to request cancellation of the order for an alarm system placed on Saturday, December 5, 2009. On December 7th, I called Protect America’s customer service department about 2:30 p.m. to have the order suspended for shipment. Initially the person told me that they could stop the shipment but put me on hold and did not come back. I called back and was told I would be transferred to the appropriate department to have them stop the order. I was on hold for a lengthy period and hung up and called back. Again I was placed me on hold for an additional 50 + minutes. I called once again and was told that I would have to talk to my salesman, Al Haskett, to cancel the order and that he would not be in until 5:00 p.m. I was given an opportunity to have a representative from the salesman department call me back since their wait times were so long. I agreed to have the sales department call. I immediately emailed the salesman to stop the order as well. I did receive a call back I believe it was around 4:30 p.m. but was told that a supervisor would call me back.
I did receive a call this morning from quality control. I indicated that I wanted to cancel. They wanted me to delay the order until the first of the year. I told her I want to cancel the order completely. Then she told me that the order had been shipped on the morning of the 7th. Also, that they could reroute the shipment but I would be charged a restocking fee of $79 if I cancelled. I told the representative to cancel the shipment and also that if they did charge me I would never do business with them again.
Please advise, if am I within my rights to cancel. Am I obligated to pay? Protect America has my bank information. The price for the service installation is $192.85 (first and last months, equipment and shipping). Their restocking fee is $79. What should I do to dispute the matter? Should I contact my bank?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Protect American Alarm Service is the worse mistake I made as a homeowner. I would never recommend them to anyone. Save yourself from the nightmare. I don't know how they have not been shut down as scammers. Terrible company!
Terrible company
Protect America, Inc is a security system company. They suppose to protect you but watch out if you didn't read their contract carefully you will get trapped! In my case I got a 2 years contract and I moved 4 monthes before the contract is up. I called them for termination and I faxed a cancellation letter to them. They asking for written cancellation 60 days before otheraise they will automatically renew your contract for another year. My contract is up to 10/12/2008 and I called them on 9/3/2008 to confirm my cancellation, guess what they said they never receive the fax so I need to keep the contract for another year cause they renew it for me already. Can anyone of you imagine that you are going to pay for something not existed. And we never use it since June 2008. I believe I am not the only one, because when you compare the price they are the cheapest, there must be a lot of people like me. We the victom should get together to fight this kind of company.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I have three months left on my three year contract with Protect America, I recently had the City i live in $70.00 dollars for false alarms due to faulty sensors provided by protect america. when i contacted the co. about the problem they suggested i give them a cell phone # to call me when I"m not home so i can tell them not to call the police?: if i"m not home how do i know it"s a false alarm?/. so i ask the co. to release me from the contract and they said they would with a charge = to the three monthly charges left on the contract. In my opinion the co. is terrible toward customer focus and in any dealings with them buyer beware
More complaints here ...
http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/unbiased-protect-america-customer-reviews.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/protect_america.html
http://scottelkin.com/family/protect-america-home-security/
http://www.measuredup.com/company/Protect-America-Inc.-1662/Reviews/Consumer-Complaint-1
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=47224
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=27246
http://www.complaints.com/2006/july/25/Protect_America_Home_Security_system_3442.htm
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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070320100303AAnXxKl
http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/protect-america-review-cont-034.html
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http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/461889/protect_america_home_alarm_security.html
make sure you read page two also
http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/burglar-alarm-systems-dealers-monitoring-and-svc/protect-america-in-round-rock-tx-44024#ratingdetails
1039 complaints filed against business at the Better Business Bureau
http://knol.google.com/k/russell-grodack/door-to-door-alarm-system-sales-scams/2nfqynhlqfjzp/2#
Here is a link for feedback that supposedly goes straight to the CEO!
http://www.protectamerica.com/pa/feedback
Here is the link for your state licensing information ... contact them too!
http://www.protectamerica.com/pa/license/protect-america-licenses
Don't forget to file complaints by email and you can copy paste everything. It makes it easier on you. If you signed up online file with
http://www.ic3.gov/
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
The BBB only takes complaints and makes recommendations. Complaints need to be made with the Attorney General and the IC3; the Governor ... whoever ...just copy and paste ... send it everywhere ... if you see someone recommending them; send this list of complaints! Let them know that there is way too many complaints; and over 1000 at the BBB stands for something. The BBB has started taking and logging complaints even on businesses that aren't members; so it is a good place to check.
Scam charges
Protect America security company sold us a home security kit and sent a different kit than they had sold us. We sent it back and because they had laughed at us on the phone when we wanted to talk to an employee who would help us we wanted to cancel the service that we hadn't had the chance to use! They charged us a cancellation fee when they had specifically stated it could be returned if it was unopened. We can never get a manager on the phone. Whatever you do, don't get caught in this fraud of a business! They also sent our credit card numbers and social security numbers through the mail when they aren't supposed to have that information at the company, the PCI compliance laws prohibit them from keeping that information!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
After having Protect America for five years and never calling for a repair . They said they would only come out if I signed a new contract. When I wouldn't go along with this the would not come. I canceled them and now my credit is harmed by their collection agency which are crooks also.
Do not waste your time with this high pressure infantile sales team. They have a script they read you they could care a less about your safety. God forbid they get your Phone#...they will call you until you beg to get taken off. Rude and Pushy.
Do not use this company! they are scam artists. they are nice until you buy the product. i tried to return my alarm and they refused to cancel my 3 year contract and they charged me a restocking fee although i was promised otherwise.
terrible experience is more then a year that I'm trying to cancel, I fax 3 times, phone 4 times last year and everything was supposed to be canceled. It was not and I have just been told then I'm stucked with the contract for another year.
It's always amusing when employees of a company go onto a review site and then criticize the negative reviewers for that company. Seems to happen a lot in the home security industry. Wonder if employees make commissions on that, too...
FYI, if you take a look at the BBB complaints for Protect America, most are for the functionality of the system (600+ complaints), not for the contract terms.
this is old, but i've been looking into a newer security system for my new home and looked into protect america. it seems that the majority of the complaints about the company are all about the agreement contract you sign. i don't know how you were raised or how experienced you are with such documents, but i know to read the contract before i sign. had you and the rest of the people who feel the need to vent online fully went over the contract you would have known what you were in for. at that point you would have been able to decide not to continue with the purchase.
had you chosen to continue with the transaction, but fully read the contract you would have known the cancellation procedures required to prevent a renewal. if you followed the contract word for word to cancel instead of taking a strangers word for it, you would have had 100% undeniable evidence and a full proof argument against the company. you shouldn't jump to conclusions and call a company a fraud because you didn't do your research.
as to credit card numbers and socials through the mail, i do plenty of shopping online and have done much research on pci compliance. pci compliance basically states that a business that stores sensitive information like that, has to have sufficient security for their networks to insure that no one can just sneak in via internet connection and steal that info. it also states that they have to do everything in their power to insure limited exposure to that info, meaning only a few people at the company have access to it. pci also only has one condition that applies to call centers like protect america, and that condition is that the companies are no longer able to keep recordings that contain that info.
i can only say negative things about you saying that "they aren't supposed to have that information at the company". how do you think they charge your account or cards for payment? how do you think they do it every month automatically? do you think the company sends your cc info to some massive 3rd party center dedicated to billing and keeping your information from the people you willingly gave it to in the first place? and my biggest question, if you honestly think that the company who is SELLING you a service is not supposed to have your CC or bank account info, why on earth would you give it to them?
you clearly got into an agreement that you had no business making because you are clueless. sorry if i offend you, but i cant help but be irritated by most consumers sheer stupidity.
cheaters NOT TO BE TRUSTED ...They charged me a cancellation of $598.00 which at this point I'm in the process of doing because in the long run I'll be happier knowing that I WILL NEVER EVER HAVE A BOGUS BILLING FROM THEM AGAIN ...Please beware of sales rep "liars" ...!
I had the same problem with them, and also got stuck with the equipment, they would not tell me an address to return the equipment to, they kept transferring to different people. They are not helpful at all. I guess this is how they make their money. Now they are sending us to debt collections.
Unethical sales
They asked me to produce unethical sales. They would take advantage of anyone they could. Customers, employees and took full advantage of the elderly. This company is someone you never want to do business with. Their product is cheap. They have the worse customer service I have ever seen in my life. They do not care about their customers or their customer complaints. Management laughs at the amount of complaints they have with the Better business Bureau. They do not earn consumer report award, they pay for it. They take away money from employees checks and come up with lame excuses as to why that happened. This is constantly happens. They scream and mistreat their employees if they refuse to lie like they want. Their goal is to take as much money up front as possible and lock you into a contract.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
More complaints here ...
http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/unbiased-protect-america-customer-reviews.html
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/protect_america.html
http://scottelkin.com/family/protect-america-home-security/
http://www.measuredup.com/company/Protect-America-Inc.-1662/Reviews/Consumer-Complaint-1
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=47224
http://www.my3cents.com/showReview.cgi?id=27246
http://www.complaints.com/2006/july/25/Protect_America_Home_Security_system_3442.htm
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http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070320100303AAnXxKl
http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/protect-america-review-cont-034.html
/URL removed/
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/461889/protect_america_home_alarm_security.html
make sure you read page two also
http://www.bbb.org/central-texas/business-reviews/burglar-alarm-systems-dealers-monitoring-and-svc/protect-america-in-round-rock-tx-44024#ratingdetails
1039 complaints filed against business at the Better Business Bureau
http://knol.google.com/k/russell-grodack/door-to-door-alarm-system-sales-scams/2nfqynhlqfjzp/2#
Here is a link for feedback that supposedly goes straight to the CEO!
http://www.protectamerica.com/pa/feedback
Here is the link for your state licensing information ... contact them too!
http://www.protectamerica.com/pa/license/protect-america-licenses
Don't forget to file complaints by email and you can copy paste everything. It makes it easier on you. If you signed up online file with
http://www.ic3.gov/
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
The BBB only takes complaints and makes recommendations. Complaints need to be made with the Attorney General and the IC3; the Governor ... whoever ...just copy and paste ... send it everywhere ... if you see someone recommending them; send this list of complaints! Let them know that there is way too many complaints; and over 1000 at the BBB stands for something. The BBB has started taking and logging complaints even on businesses that aren't members; so it is a good place to check.
Scam!
Thinking of getting a home security system? Think Protect America is a good deal? Think again! Then RUN!
In 2006 I prepaid a 3 yr contract for a security system. The equipment failed several times and new sensors were sent. They also failed. The equipment is junk - pure and simple - junk that they push by using the trusted G.E. name (G.E. is my next stop!). When I asked to speak to a supervisor, she told me she didn't have one. After I informed her that everyone answers to someone unless she was the owner of Protect America, she said she would have a manager call me. He sent me more replacement connectors and, as you can guess, they fell off too.
I finally gave up and last summer I called to cancel my contract and the rep told me that the cancellation penalties would be more costly than if I just let the contract run it's course. Now it seems the contract did run its course and was expired in February. Tonight I received a call from a serv rep telling me I have a $69 balance and that my contract was NOT canceled. It was renewed! I never received any notification from them. At first the rep told me there wasn't a supervisor I could speak to. As a former call center employee I know that when there are reps on the phones any reputable company has supervisors on the floor.
So I went to their online chat site, the rep "Jaime" said there was a manager who would call me. The manager, "Bradley" called and was not very helpful. He just kept saying that their contract says they renew automatically (something I don't recall seeing on their contract.) I explained all the problems I had with their equipment, and told Bradley that I spoke with a rep last summer and she led me to believe my contract would just "run it's course". He said it was not enough; I was supposed to send a letter. The rep who said no refund or cancellation and suggested I just let the contract run it's course never mentioned that little point.
I feel as if I was ambushed by and find the practice of auto renewal without notice somewhat questionable. This is a huge RIP OFF! The reps lie and tell callers there are no supervisors and only after raising a big stink will they get to speak to a manager. Unfortunately, the so called managers are not very skilled in customer relations either. All they do is repeat the same nonsense and try to not only keep your money, but also enforce that questionable auto-renew without so much as a notice that your contract is ending. They count on the customer losing track at some point during the contract of a few years.
Not only would I not recommend this shady company to anyone - I would say RUN as fast as you can! You will get better use of your money if you pile it up in the middle of the street and set fire to it!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Thieves
I like many others was fooled by Protect America. I signed up with them for the 3 year contract. I have luckily managed to cancel 60 days before the 3 years expired. In that period of the time 2 of the security sensors failed. So I called Protect America to replace them per their contract. They refused! They would replace the for free only if I signed up for another 3 years! What a rip off and bad customer relationship.
I managed to buy sensors by myself and tried to install them. This was some months after the contract expired. I have found out that they encoded special code into the alarm control panel so I was not able to add-replace additional sensors. When I called them they refused to give me the code! So it was like when you lease a car and after you pay the car off you will not get the keys to the car from dealership. You own the hardware, but you can not do anything with it.
DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM!
Their (ITI GE) alarm is worthless. It caused many false alarms and I ended up to pay police department for the false alarms, caused by their equipment.
Finally I was able to contact GE and they told me how to reset the unit to the factory default. I did it and finally I was able to set-up the alarm system by myself without thieves from Protect America.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
My system doesn't work EVER! It fails all of the time, and when they state they will have someone call to fix the "under warranty" system, they never do. They couldn't even get their payment system worked out! They wouldn't take credit cards because of some kind of transition, then they wanted an automatic draft ... I told them no way ...not unless they fixed everything ... Now I just tell them no way! They had their chance!
I had someone tell me I could get out of the contract and now they are saying that I can't; the flip back and forth; and have no clue what is going on!
So I faxed and emailed them the same information that I am not paying for DEFECTIVE equipment, and a system that is not being monitored!
Everyone needs to file a complaint here if they contacted these people online!
http://www.ic3.gov
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
fraud
I got a medic alert system from Protect America on repeated reassurances over the phone from their salesman that their system worked with magicjack ( which I recommend ) with my computer. It turns out that there isn't a medic alert that will work with magicjack, according to their own tech that called me and other sourses. They've refused to refund my money...
Read full review of Protect America and 1 commentScam
This company has a nice scam going! They offer you equipment at no charge, if you agree to a 3 year contract. The salesperson tells you that you can cancel after 3 years, and the equipment is yours. I've been a loyal customer of Protect America for over 5 years.
When you agree to the contractual obligation, there is no mention of a renewal clause, which is automatic and clandestine, for 1 year periods at a time at the end of the initial 3 year contract. To cancel this service you must send in writing or email a cancellation at least 60 days before the contract expires. If you cancel 59 days before the expiration, they tell you that you are responsible and will be billed for another year. Keep in mind that you must be able to prove to them that they received a written cancellation note, which means a certified letter or the like.
THIS IS A TRUE SCAM. I really think the company is not in the alarm monitoring business as much as it is in the extortion business. I really feel sorry for the senior citizens who want alarms in their houses, and may be shammed by Protect America.
The fact that this company, who uses our great nations name in its own, would bully honest hard working people into paying for their service sighting a small clause that they didn't initially discuss and after the initial 3 year contractual commitment is met, is truly appalling! Especially when you consider the dire economical situation this country is in with hundreds of families losing their income every day.
This type of auto-renewal policy has been deemed illegal in many states like New York (see ADT's settlement with its NY contract holder), and it is only a matter of time until other states adopt similar policies.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
thank you for this posting. I am going through the same thing. They are scammers. I have s system that doesn't work and all I get is the run around from them.
My system doesn't work EVER! It fails all of the time, and when they state they will have someone call to fix the "under warranty" system, they never do. They couldn't even get their payment system worked out! They wouldn't take credit cards because of some kind of transition, then they wanted an automatic draft ... I told them no way ...not unless they fixed everything ... Now I just tell them no way! They had their chance!
I had someone tell me I could get out of the contract and now they are saying that I can't; the flip back and forth; and have no clue what is going on!
So I faxed and emailed them the same information that I am not paying for DEFECTIVE equipment, and a system that is not being monitored!
Everyone needs to file a complaint here if they contacted these people online!
http://www.ic3.gov
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
ps. I have already sent in TWO cancellations! And they are still ignoring them. It is going to take more than that to stop these thieves!
Hi,
I just read your post and realize that there are so many victims out there after I myself become their victim. I have paid them $34.90/mo for three years without a single late payment now they nail me with the automatic renewal scam. I never receive any notice from them but I sent them cancellation letter 30 days before the expiration. They require 60 days in advance. I do not know how to start a class action but I am trying to contact all the victims and hope that some one will come out with an idea to deal with them.
Stay away from this company. They will lie to you just to gain your business then will treat you like crap. find something better. They charge you for services that doesn't work and their equipment is horrible. you are better off getting a dog than using this company.
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Overview of Protect America complaint handling
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Protect America contacts
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Protect America phone numbers+1 (800) 951-5111+1 (800) 951-5111Click up if you have successfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5111 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5111 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5111 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5111 phone number+1 (800) 951-5190+1 (800) 951-5190Click up if you have successfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5190 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5190 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5190 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached Protect America by calling +1 (800) 951-5190 phone number
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Protect America emailssupport@protectamerica.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportandrew@protectamerica.com94%Confidence score: 94%webmaster@protectamerica.com84%Confidence score: 84%itinfo@protectamerica.com82%Confidence score: 82%support
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Protect America address3800 Quick Hill Road, Building 1-100, Austin, Texas, 78728, United States
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Protect America social media
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