NWATX – This is an official response from FrontPoint Security. Please accept our apology for any confusion related to your monitoring agreement. We would be happy to work with you to resolve the matter and encourage you to contact a Customer Service Manager at 877-602-5276 so we can address your concerns.

In addition, we would like to emphasize the following points:

We offer up to a 2-year suspension for customers who deploy overseas with the U.S. Military, State Department, or other government services. We are proud to serve those who serve our country and believe we’re a leader in the industry in this area. Our policy towards those who move abroad with private companies is based on our experience that these customers typically receive compensation from their employers to assist them in terminating long term agreements.

All of our customers receive our equipment at a significant discount. We are able to do this because of our customers’ commitment to honor a 1, 2, or 3-year monitoring agreement.

We make every effort to be clear about the length of our agreements. The length, the monthly price, and the early termination fees are disclosed in our monitoring agreement (which we provide electronically and in written form). Additionally, we discuss these on the phone at the time of sale and again when you call to activate service.

Unlike most alarm companies, we allow and encourages customers who move anywhere in the U.S. or Canada to move the system and continue to receive service at the new location at no additional charge. Customers can also transfer the account to the future residents of the home or to anyone else anywhere in the entire United States or Canada.

Again, we would be happy to work with you to resolve your concerns and look forward to speaking with you.

I am not the originator of the complaint. I am retired from the Army and know the requirement to deploy overseas when directed; it in unavoidable during a military career. I can appreciate the fact that FrontPoint acknowledges and makes special considerations for military and government deployments. (Note that military deployments with family members are typically three-year assignments, not just two years.) Kudos to FrontPoint for this consideration.

That being said, I now work for an international company and it is quite possible I could be offered a career enhancing move overseas. Does FrontPoint similarly work with non-governmental companies when you make a job change for an overseas assignment?

Great question, FirstFreedom76, and thank you for your service! We do try to make special considerations for military and government personnel in these situations, but we currently do not offer a suspension to individuals who move abroad for private companies.

We do attempt to provide flexibility by offering 1-year monitoring agreements, which some customers select because they know they may be transferred abroad. However, most customers opt for the 3-year option so they can receive the significant upfront discount. This large discount is why FrontPoint depends so much on the customer’s completion of the 3-year agreement.

We also provide flexibility by allowing customers to move their system anywhere in the entire U.S. and Canada at no charge, an offer which no other alarm company we are aware of can match! Finally, if none of these options work, our system could even be transferred to a family member or friend.

Hope that answers your question.

This is crazy. I think I have a very good comparison with this situation and we all are familiar with. I would like to compare such security companies with Wireless Service providers. Even the cell phone companies which gives the smart phones for free which are typically in $400-$500 range has the early termination fees of typically $175 with 2 years commitment. The cell phone plans are also in the range of $40.

Based on the Frontpoint Security website, the "significant" discount is only $300 for the commitment of 3 years (not 2 years). So charging for 80% of remaining contract of $750 seems way high and kind of cheating. It is way higher than they should charge. What they can ask maximum is the discount given to the customer. Also, most of the companies are the authorized dealer of the security equipment makers such as GE or Honeywell. So their dealer cost of the equipments is generally much lower than what they charge to customers. So they already made profit or in worst case break even when they sell the service with equipments to customers.

I think they generally get away with saying it's a "norm" in security industry.

But I beg to differ with this. If it's a sort of legal cheating (with contract), they should not continue doing because everyone is doing.

If Frontpoint really wants to be a leader in security industry, they have to "win" customers hearts. I know sometimes the "business" model won't allow to do this but I am sure it will really make a lot of difference and set them apart way up in customer loyalty and retention.

I think it's an ideal situation and let's see when these companies really think for customers and indirectly increase their bottom line by winning customer by trust then "acquire" them using wrong tactics. The federal government and consumer protection agencies should have laws against such tactics.

There are some companies started doing this such as SimpliSafe, Inc and I truly believe the trend will continue.

Note: I honestly declare that I am in no way related to SimpliSafe or FrontPoint and do not have any kind of relation with any of them. I started looking at security for my home but still searching for the right company that also look for consumer interest.

Thanks for your thoughts, ConsumerMarketing101. There is much food for thought and discussion here, and we’d like to share our perspective -

The comparison of wireless service to monitored home alarm services, or even one alarm company to another, requires a hard look. First, wireless companies are generating a service, where incremental traffic costs very little. Alarm companies, on the other hand, either pay a third party a monthly fee to monitor each customer account (or have their own monitoring center, but there is still a significant cost). In addition, there are monthly wireless costs for the safer cellular systems that we sell – and FrontPoint offers service across the entire US and Canada on the GSM digital network. It costs us more to do it this way, but we think it’s the right way. So, we are paying our monitoring partner (who we think is the best in the industry, as one of a handful that is even allowed to monitor commercial fire systems in New York City), plus our cellular partner, Alarm.com – and it was Alarm.com who actually developed the safer and smarter approach to home security that FrontPoint provides, including the patented “Crash & Smash” protection that is unique to Alarm.com. So, it’s really an apples-to-oranges comparison.

As for the equipment, FrontPoint sells GE’s full line of wireless home security products – but at a minimal markup (we challenge anyone to find the same products for less). The products are UL-listed and CP-01 compliant (an industry standard for false alarm reduction) – and are also attractive because they are non-proprietary. That means that if you don’t like FrontPoint and want another alarm company to take over the service, you are free to do so at the end of your contract term. You are not “stuck” with FrontPoint, since you own the equipment. As for the discount on the equipment, FrontPoint is the only full service alarm company in the US (and this includes nationwide alarm company licensing, which I suggest you look into with any of our competitors) that is 100% wireless, and includes the GSM radio with every system. All the other “real” alarm companies charge extra for this device, and charge a higher monthly fee for the safer cellular monitoring. In other words, FrontPoint is not making money on the equipment: just the opposite, FrontPoint’s loss on the initial order is actually more than the $300 you mention. In fact, it’s easy to find traditional alarm companies advertising a lesser system as an “$850 value” – which we think is a stretch. FrontPoint also offers contract flexibility (1, 2, and 3-year terms) for those customers who want a shorter term – and is unique among the “real” alarm companies in doing so.

When it comes to customer reviews and loyalty, we are proud of the overwhelmingly positive reviews that we have earned, and even more so for the very high customer retention. FrontPoint is viewed as a breath of fresh air by an increasing number of customers – and we would certainly invite you to take advantage of our 30-day risk-free trial, and see what you think. We hope you’ll give us a try.

I am as well a consumer. But people get so involved with wanting a quick set up they do not read their contracts. You have to ask questions when setting up service anywhere these days.

Ask about the details of each contract term, eraly termination and so on. They said it is transferable. Try and sell the term to someone. I am sure someone will be willing to accept the contract and get the equipment for free afterwards. How about the people moving in the residence after you move out.

Look at all of the options and details before you sign.

One other comment... At least Front Point is responding and offering solutions. Get Protect America to do that!

I have just signed onto a 3-year agreement for my late father's unoccupied house. While I do not know if I will keep the house, I was fully aware of early termination fees and shorter contracts. This is not fine print: most of the security companies I looked at offer those choices, and are up-front about early termination fees. FrontPoint's Ed King was pretty clear about this.

However, I also think it will be a good selling point to offer the remainder of the FrontPoint security system contract to a potential buyer, and we can haggle over the price of a contract buy-out or I won't mind paying the less-than-$500/yr. for the remainder if that's the only issue on a several hundred thousand dollar home sale. Additionally, a buyer may get some comfort in knowing that the house has been protected for a number of years.

I never heard of FrontPoint before today, but their standard cellular technology costs less than what ADT charges for a land-line system, and the same ADT hardware plus installation would cost $275 more. Video security monitoring systems on the near horizon rely on cellular technology, so I hope to be able to expand this system in the future.

As an aside, I have cancelled my ADT appointment for next week. Maybe FrontPoint will annoy me down the line and I'll add another comment here, but in this matter I think FrontPoint has been shooting straight.

Well, as promised, I am weighing in again because FrontPoint has annoyed me--within 1 week!

I understood that I was to receive the keychain controller as part of the set-up, but when none arrived I was told that it would be an additional $29.95. There was a song-and-dance that went with it, kind of like FP_Kevin's comments, above, but the keychain controller is pretty important to me because of the time constraints of entering and exiting the house. I feel cheated and will continue to be reminded that I was cheated every time I set the alarm.

I think that part of the "fine print" issue referenced in the original complaint is that the buyer has to provide an electronic signature to the purchase agreement while the sales rep is on the phone, so it is difficult to both read and think about the contract while somebody is waiting. I certainly would have noticed that the keychain controller was not listed if I had given the contract my usual scrutiny, since I used to write this kind of contract all the time. (For example, when refinancing my mortgage last week, I made the banker change the agreement at least 6 times because of sometimes minor discrepancies because I knew I only had that 1 chance for the deal to be right.)

FYI: I installed the equipment without a hitch and received good telephone instructions on using it. However, I guess I'd better read the fine print about cancelling the contract within 30 days.

"I'd" is not profanity in previous comment--"'d" somehow got inserted between the "I" and the "d" instead of an apostrophe.

The fact that FrontPoint is actively responding to these complaints is a breath of fresh air. They also seem to make reasonable points that make me think that customer service is really a priority with them. I am leaning towards ordering based on how well reviewed this company is.

Thanks for your comments, Jazz01. We appreciate the opportunity to speak to your concerns -we take all customer concerns seriously when they do occur, and do our best to keep them as infrequent as possible.

First off, we are glad to hear that the installation went well, and that your interaction with the Support Team was good - those are important facts to us, since we put a lot of time into the "easy install" aspect of the system design, and also into hiring and training the right people here at FrontPoint!

As for the keychain, my apologies that you did not receive the keychain you expected. There may have been a misunderstanding in the placement of your order. We’d love the opportunity to correct this if possible. If you call the Support number (877) 602-5276 and ask for a Support Manager, we will take of your request, at no charge to you. From a system design standpoint, many other alarm companies take a "one-size-fits-some" approach: we're different, since every system we sell is customized for your home, and how you will use the system. The only device that comes with every FrontPoint alarm system is the control panel. While just about every system does include at least one keychain remote, each sensor or device has to be added to the order, and nothing (except the control panel) is "assumed" in the order. Not sure what happened here, and we certainly apologize for the misunderstanding: we would happily explore this further, so please contact us. We would rather you be a happy and satisfied FrontPoint customer!

On the matter of the contract, sounds as if you did a great job on your home refinancing - well done. We actually do not require our customers to sign the agreement while on the phone with us: you may review the agreement at your leisure, and sign when you like. At some point the order will cancel automatically if the contract is not signed, but that takes a week or more to happen. One of the benefits of buying from FrontPoint is that we offer a 30-day risk-free trial, and the system may be returned for a full refund, for any reason. And that's for ANY reason. We even pay shipping both ways. Some customers use this period as the opportunity to review the agreement, and if there is some clause they cannot live with, then they just return the system. While I cannot recall a time when this has happened do not remember this happening (since we use a standard alarm agreement that combines the best features of many others), it is always available to you within 30 days from when your receive your system.

Thanks again for this opportunity, and we will do our best to keep earning your business.

I have Frontpoint Security, and as an attorney, I'd say think before you enter into any agreement. I have no problem with their cancellation policy. After all, it wasn't like it was hiding the fact that there will be penalty with early terminatoin. The only complaints that I would have is that it does not have 24-hour customer support and Frontpoint is a bit slow in responding to problems from customers. When there is a problem other than someone breaking into your house, you will have to wait until the next business day. My unit was having a problem and could not be set that night but no one could help me at the call center because that wasn't their job. So I had to wait without a functioning alarm system until the next day. It turned out my unit was defective and it had to ship me a new unit (it took 3 nights and 2 calls to customer support to figure this out). The whole process from the date we identified the problem to me getting a new unit took a week. Which isn't bad, but not good either considering that it didn't offer me credit for the week without a working unit and Frontpoint could have shipped the unit overnight. But it did not. Which is disappointing. Overall, I grade it a B-. Now, if I had a break in during that week without the unit and my family was hurt... Frontpoint should think about eating the $10 to ship the unit overnight in the future, that is the right thing to do.

Thanks for your comment. First, we want to make it clear that FrontPoint takes customer service very seriously. We not only recognize that security is of utmost importance to our customers, but we also recognize that as a next-generation company making our mark in an established industry, we depend on the satisfaction of our customers and their word-of-mouth referrals. We believe this is evidenced by our responsiveness to our customer’s inquiries, and even to the comments our customers post online—happily these reviews are almost all excellent.

Currently, FrontPoint Support does not cover the full 24 hour span (although our monitoring is of course 24/7), but we believe that the combination of the quality and professionalism of our Support Team and the responsiveness our customers receive during our operating hours represents, overall, an exceedingly satisfactory customer experience. We believe that our customer satisfaction surveys and online reviews posted by our customers substantiate our efforts.

However, we also understand we can always improve. In your case, our Support staff made a rare decision to replace the control panel, likely because they were unable to fully identify the cause of your issue. It is likely that as part of our standard supervisory process, a manager reviewed your situation and offered you a credit for the time you were without service. Finally, expanded Support and Sales hours form an integral part of our plan to continue to provide world class service as we grow.

Frontpoint is the WORST! There sales department does a great job getting you signed up but their customer service department is the WORST. New / Potential customers get promised the moon but once you are all signed up and locked into an agreement with them WATCH OUT!

What was your experience exactly Wassle? Thanks.

So, back to my experience. After getting my new control box, things still didn't work right -- the box still told me doors and windows were open when they were not. So, back I go calling customer service. Unfortunately, it was after hours and on a holiday weekend which meant I had to wait two days before I spoke to anyone. Then once again they had to ship me something as a fix. And once again, it took a week before it arrived. The new fix seemed to cure the problem but my issue with them is why it took so long to get it fixed? Two weeks is an eternity if you live in a bad neighborhood -- which I don't -- but what if I did? I had no problem with the actual customer service department. All the individuals who I have ever come in contact with were very polite and helpful. It's the work process that is flawed and needs to be looked at.

Thanks to you both for your comments. As we have said in response to previous posts, every opportunity we have to learn and improve is appreciated. No alarm company is perfect, and it appears (from the general review status of the nationwide companies) that sub-par performance is a common occurrence from some of the more recognized names in this industry. Happily, FrontPoint continues to experience overwhelmingly great reviews, because there are so many customers who have positive experiences - and so few who have had anything less. Bat as we have also said, no company is perfect.

Wassle: We take every customer concern seriously, as both an opportunity to make a customer happy, and also to improve our own services. We sincerely make every effort to ensure that our sales and Support teams are providing consistent and honest information about our product and services. Can you please elaborate on your experience? We would like to know more so that we can look into your particular situation. Thank you.

Speedsamurai: Thanks for your follow up. We are glad that you have found our Support team to be polite and helpful. We expect the team to be both at all times! We realize, though, that polite and helpful may not necessarily solve the problem. It also comes down to making specific decisions for each situation. In your case, a decision to ship via Express Air likely should have been made based on your geographic location. Our Support team does have guidelines related to when such expedited shipping should be used, and we will certainly follow up internally to review this process. We apologize for this mistake and thank you for your feedback.

Having read these complaints and the responses from Frontline, I still made the decision to go with this company. I will be checking everything thoroughly so I will see if there are any problems early on. I bought a large older home and while the immediate neighborhood appears to be quiet, and has been reported by neighbors to be a decent community, I do know that crime can happen anywhere. I have experienced two burglaries while living in Atlanta and I do not want to ever go through that again. I did do a lot of research during the past year, and I am hopeful that my experiences with this particular company will be a positive one. I did go over the contract with the agent while on the phone and online, making sure that his statements to me were reflected in the contract. As we all know, contracts can be quite wordy and come clauses are often not as clear as we would like them to be, so I made every effort to make sure that what was promised is indeed what I contracted for. I paid extra for the keyfob, and glass break sensors, as they were not on the itemized quote that was given me, but I made sure to ask about them rather than assume they would be included. Buyers always need to thoroghly check all of the details before signing that bottom line.

OOPS..made two typos in the above that I missed...Frontpoint is what I should have said...sorry dogs' Frontline came immediately to mind, and I didn't even notice.
Alos I mean to say 'some' clauses, that than 'come' clauses..