Done with ADT after almost 2 decades

General Security Topics and Discussions
1

After nearly 16 years, I’m officially done with ADT and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. They’ve been charging my parents almost $100 a month for an outdated system from the early 2000s. My parents rarely had issues until recently, when the alarm started going off at night. Turns out the system was on low battery and a motion sensor wasn’t working.

We called ADT for help, and while the rep was nice, her solutions didn’t work. Then she tried setting up a virtual tour—how does that fix a low battery or a broken sensor? They wanted $55 to send someone out. I asked why, and that’s when she explained my parents only “rent” the equipment, meaning they’ve been paying nearly $100 a month without actually owning it!

I was shocked—they’ve spent almost $1,200 a year on this for years. Even worse, ADT has been raising their rate by $5 each year, and recently hiked it by $8. We’re canceling and switching to what I use, which is just $47 a month for both equipment and monitoring. I expect canceling to be a headache too. Feels like loyalty means nothing to ADT.

2

Then she said it would cost nearly $55 for someone to come out and look at the system.

This is incredibly short-sighted on their part. They’re charging your parents $100 a month, yet can’t cover one service call? They’re losing a long-term customer over $55!

3

@Vance
Exactly. My parents would’ve kept paying if they’d just sent someone out. I didn’t even realize they were paying that much until they told me.

4

Sallybee said:
@Vance
The real cost of a service call is more than $55, especially if it’s contracted out. But ADT is notorious for predatory pricing. Supporting a local alarm company is usually better.

True, but saving $55 cost them $100 a month in lost revenue. Small local companies are a great alternative, especially if they install reliable, non-proprietary systems.

5

@Vance
For $100 a month, I’d give free service calls whenever! I usually charge $40 a month and $50 if they want warranty coverage. $100 is absurd.

6

So, your parents paid ADT almost $19,000 over 16 years and they still only ‘rent’ the equipment? That’s just crazy!

7

Quentin said:
So, your parents paid ADT almost $19,000 over 16 years and they still only ‘rent’ the equipment? That’s just crazy!

It wasn’t $100 at first, but over the years, yes, it’s added up to a lot. I was shocked they don’t own it by now.

8

@Ernest
Watch out—they might try to charge you for missing equipment when you cancel, even if it’s old and worthless.

9

Adam said:
@Ernest
Watch out—they might try to charge you for missing equipment when you cancel, even if it’s old and worthless.

Thanks for the heads-up. When I canceled ADT, they didn’t ask for the equipment back, but I’ll be careful.

10

Reading this while my mom is on yet another call with ADT. They’re really tough to work with.

11

Cancelling was almost impossible—they ignored my calls on the cancellation line but answered right away on sales. I finally told them I was moving.

12

George said:
Cancelling was almost impossible—they ignored my calls on the cancellation line but answered right away on sales. I finally told them I was moving.

Haha, I’ll probably need to try something like that. Thanks for the tip!

13

Let us know how the cancellation process goes.

14

Malik said:
Let us know how the cancellation process goes.

Will do! Not expecting it to be easy.

15

I got them down to $25 a month by saying it was too much. They didn’t even want the equipment back.

16

EvansBrown130 said:
I got them down to $25 a month by saying it was too much. They didn’t even want the equipment back.

That’s low! I’ll suggest that to my parents. Thanks!

17

If they own the equipment, they should cover repairs. Not right for them to charge for repairs on equipment that isn’t even owned.

18

Bennett said:
If they own the equipment, they should cover repairs. Not right for them to charge for repairs on equipment that isn’t even owned.

Exactly! They’ve been paying so long that it should be covered.

19

After my contract ended, ADT tried charging my account months later. They even sent it to collections when I blocked the payment. Went to court, and they had a fake contract showing extra time. Luckily, I had my copy.

20

@Jocelyn
Wow, that’s wild. Glad you won in court. They really try everything to keep charging.