Thinking about getting an ADT home alarm system? Here are 5 things to consider before you sign a contract with them.
ADT Requires A Long Term Contract
Did you know that if you decide to have ADT protect your home and family, you'll have to sign a contract. The contract locks you up for 3 years. During this time, if you're unhappy you won't be able to cancel. Contracts never benefit customers. They only benefit the company, as it locks you up.
High Monthly Prices
ADT typically charges anywhere from $30/month up to $60/month for monitoring. Other companies charge significantly less. Do you get anything enhanced with ADT for the price? No. It's the same basic types of monitoring. Be aware of monthly pricing, as it adds up over time. Higher monthly prices could equal thousands more spent over time.
Can Raise Prices During Contract
You agree to paying $30/month for monitoring. Read the ADT contract. In the contract is a clause that they can raise rates while you're under contract. That means next year that $30/month may become $35/month. Avoid any company that can raise prices, as they usually will.
Uses Dealers, Which Means Accounts Are Sold
Remember that Sales Rep you met when you were thinking of going with ADT? There's a good chance that Rep was actually a dealer. A dealer is an independent third party individual. They are affiliated with ADT through their dealer program. The dealer gets the customer to sign a contract with ADT. The dealer then sells the contrac to ADT. That means from that point forward, ADT installs and services the system. The dealer gets paid. So going forward any issues are dealt with not by the person who made the promises to you, but ADT corporate. This means that often the dealer says whatever it takes to make the sale. This could lead to false promises and empty results.
Huge Company - You're 1 in 8,000,000
ADT has 8 million customers. When companies get this big, it's hard to give every customer the attention they deserve. Huge companies mean thousands of staff members, long wait times and things falling through the cracks. Think you're going to get the same Technician over the phone who helped you troubleshoot your last issue? Not going to happen. Plus, often in companies this big, issues get lost in the shuffle. Huge companies also mean huge overhead. Significant infrastructure and staffing costs lots of money. These costs fall to the customers, which means high monitoring rates and hidden charges. Be aware of this before you agree to any contract.
