ADT messed up big time… anyone else have horror stories?

Seeking Advice
1

Hey everyone,

I wanted to share my awful experience with ADT to warn anyone thinking about using them. I run a small business, and I trusted them to keep my place secure. Instead, they’ve been nothing but a nightmare. Here’s the mess they caused:

They took over $7,000 but still claimed I didn’t pay

In March 2024, I paid $7,136.40 using cashier’s checks during installation. They processed the checks on the spot and said everything was good to go. But then:

  • They took $754.95 from my personal debit card without authorization.
  • A few weeks later, they accused me of not paying and claimed the cashier’s checks were “bad” or bounced. This is impossible because these were bank-issued checks.

Lies and cover-ups

Nothing got resolved until I went straight to their CEO. After that, I accidentally got an internal email that wasn’t meant for me. It said we “stole their system” and weren’t paying. Of course, they tried to recall the email, but I already had screenshots.

Once I threatened legal action, they magically “found” the payment. No apology. Instead, they said it was my fault for not writing my account number on the checks—even though I have proof that I did.

They broke the contract and put us at risk

They told me I’m locked into a 36-month contract and have to pay thousands to get out of it. They also shut off our system, claiming we didn’t pay for monitoring—this after I paid a year in advance.

During the time our system was off, we had a glass break alert at the business. ADT didn’t notify us because they’d already shut down our account. We only found out about the break-in when we got there. For a cannabis business in a risky area, this could’ve been disastrous.

ADT is a joke

Here’s what they did wrong:

  • Took money without authorization
  • Lied about payments and accused us of theft
  • Shut off our system, leaving us vulnerable
  • Blamed us for their mistakes instead of taking responsibility

I’m done with them. We’re getting ready to take legal action, but I wanted to post this here to see if anyone else has had similar issues.

If you’ve got an ADT horror story, please share it. Companies like this need to be held accountable.

2

ADT has a terrible reputation. Everyone I know in the security business avoids them.

3

Let us know how the legal action goes. Stories like this make me so angry.

4

You should switch to a local alarm company. You might need to replace the panel and communicator, but they’ll probably give you better service and faster support. Most of your existing devices should still work.

5

ADT tried to scam my elderly parents by claiming they signed up for something they didn’t. They preyed on their memory lapses.

6

I work in a field that requires even stricter security than yours, and no one I deal with uses ADT. Their service and response times are so bad that they’ve endangered lives. If you can get out of your contract, go with a local company that has a nearby response center. It’ll cost more, but it’s worth it.

7

I hope you win in court. I didn’t have issues like this, but I never liked dealing with ADT. Good luck.

8

I wish I read posts like this before signing up with ADT last year. Now I’m stuck for a while…

9

They took a $7,000 issue to the CEO? That’s surprising.

10

Everett said:
They took a $7,000 issue to the CEO? That’s surprising.

No, I got the CEO’s email and added him to the chain myself.

11

@EricJoel3
Not a dealer company as far as I know. We contacted ADT directly and their vans had ADT logos. Because we’re a cannabis business, we can’t use debit or credit cards for payments, so we had to use a cashier’s check. They were supposed to process it as ACH. Still, this is no excuse for how they handled it.