This is without a doubt, the worst company I have ever dealt with. I regret getting this system put in my home 100%. A false alarm charge is made by the Police Service if they are dispatched to your home. The rate varies by region and in my town, the rate is $150 per false alarm. When my alarm was installed in my home (by a technician who was in a very obvious rush) he explained to me that Alarm Force required a $150 deposit in the case of a false alarm which they would then use to pay the Police Service. I paid my deposit and they cashed the cheque. I had a motion sensor installed but was assured that even though I have a cat, the sensor could be set so that nothing over 50 lbs could set it off, so she could roam the house free when the alarm was on without us having to worry about her setting it off. Two weeks later I took my son to daycare and got a call from a neighbour (NOT Alarm Force) that the Police were at my house. I went straight home and the officer and I went through my home to see what the issue could be. After we determined that it must have been a false alarm, he left and I called Alarm Force to talk to them about next steps. I was transferred to at least 4 different people within the Customer "Care" centre and Technical Department. No one seemed to know what they were talking about so I was sent back and forth for over 30 minutes. I was told that once a technician came out to see if the motion sensor unit was working properly, he would determine who would take responsibility for the false alarm and ultimately who was responsible for the $150 to the Police. The technician came out the next day and replaced the unit (If it wasn't malfunctioning, why replace it????) and determined that the cat couldn't have set it off since it was apparently set up properly the first time. He told me that Alarm Force would be financially responsible for the false alarm. Unfortunately, he wrote a bunch of vague details on the sheet he had me sign and told me straight out that he was writing 'Alarm set up properly' just so "The tech who installed it wouldn't get in any trouble". I have been on the phone twice for over 30 minutes now with different Customer "Care" and technical department representatives who have told me over and over and over (they love to repeat themselves) that Alarm Force doesn't take responsibility for False Alarms. Not ONE person has been able to logically explain to me why I should pay $150 for an alarm that was triggered by faulty equipment. Their representatives talk in circles, they're rude and they obviously have no regard for any of their customers. Not ONE has been willing to take any responsibility on behalf of this company which I feel is taking insane advantage. And to top it all off, I have received and INVOICE for an ADDITIONAL $150 from Alarm Force which they said I have to pay as another deposit or they won't dispatch the Police to my home in the case of an alarm. For a company who is supposed to make you feel safe, I have never felt less so. I would never EVER recommend them to anyone under any circumstance.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $300.00
- Company Response
Hi Hayley,
I would like to look into this for you as no customer should get charged for a false alarm as a result of an equipment malfunction. If this is the case we can come to a quick resolution of this issue and get you back to feeling safe and comfortable with AlarmForce. I will also pass on your experience to the managers of the tech support and customer care departments so they can investigate and ensure they deliver better service to every customer. Please e-mail Matt at MDept@alarmforce.com with the subject 'Homestars' and your full name and phone number so we can look into this. Thanks and have a great day,
Matt