This is one of the many companies selling in-home alarm systems that are supposed to help the elderly and disabled summon help in an emergency. Some of these systems work better than others; all of them are expensive and, in many cases, the contract terms are objectionable. For example, LifeAlert customers tell us that the company holds them to the three-year contract even if the elderly individual dies before the term is up.
A few recent complaints ...
Jack of Tampa FL (05/07/07)
I answered an ad to be an independent contractor for Life Alert and have witnessed first-hand how they operate. First off there is no computer system to track who has been called and from what office...this is why you see so many complaints of people being called every day. The office is just a bunch of cubicles (50 or so per office) with regular telephones on each desk. No computer tracking of calls what so ever.
There is no written do not call policy given to any contractors. Leads are distributed to several call centers and the people that call consumers are not employed by the company...though they go into company owned call centers each day to receive company generated leads. Consumer's personal information is distributed to several employee office managers who then distribute the leads to the non-employee contractors. Over time multiple contractors will call the same consumers over and over. Again, there is no way to know how often a consumer is called and by which contractor. If someone asks to be taken off the call list, Life Alert relies on an independent contractor to complete a card and put it in a bin. Some contractors do but most just tear up the card and toss in the garbage.
They charge a desk fee each week that the contractor pays but they do not allow contractors to work from home or in their own offices and not pay this fee. Read between the lines...you don't have to come into the office to work, but if you don't you aren't allowed to be a contractor for Life Alert, at least in the Tampa office. So you have LA the company taking personal information from consumers, then passing this info to non-employees who are paid up to 450 a sale.
Some contractors make thousands of dollars a day selling the most expensive systems at 79.95 per month and never mention there is a basic plan that starts at 39.95 (it only pays 220 commission). To be fair to LA all consumers who subscribe to the service are welcomed by an employee who verifies that what the contractor said was understood by the consumer...and though I read about them burying the 3 year commitment...I never witnessed it. Other than that the complaints posted here are very accurate and accepted as fair practice by LA.
Louann of Andrews, TX April 17, 2007
Louann of Andrews TX (04/17/07) My 71 year old mother called Life Alert's 1-800 number to get information. She was concerned about summoning for help with her declining health. The salesperson managed to get my mother to give her many family members phone numbers and my mother's birthdate. She kept pushing my mother to give her my mother's credit card number. My mother refused. The salesperson then persisted to try to get my mother.
Many elderly don't know that once you give the credit card or bank account information that is a verbal contract and they can charge you immediately. Luckily, my mother told the woman no that my daughter will call you with that information.
I always research everything. Fortunately, I found this website and read about other people's experiences. That sent bells and whistles off in my mind. I then checked the Better Business Bureau website and saw that Life Alert had 54 complaints made against them in 36 months.
I called the saleswoman and told her to shred all the information my mother had given her and that we were going to do more research before we made a decision. She started in with her sales pitch telling me that there were only two resputable companies and the other company was a franchize and were not allowed to be on the AARP site. She kept talking and talking and I politely listened. Then I repeated that we wanted all the information shredded and for Life Alert Employees not to call and harrass my mother about this sale.
Judith of Waukegan, IL April 10, 2007
Judith of Waukegan IL (04/10/07) I gave Life Alert the required written letter, that I wanted to cancel, and I was told I had to wait six months from the date of my letter. I asked them not to debit my credit card, but they did after I returned the equipment on time. The bank said I should have cancelled my account, but I have other debits and Life Alert promised to return my money and not debit the account again. Now they are saying it will take 15 to 20 days to get a bank credit!!!!
Denise of Ewing, NJ April 4, 2007
Denise of Ewing NJ (04/04/07) Approximately a month ago I received in the mail an assortment of advertisements, one of which was for Life Alert. My parents, who are both in their 80's, have been having a lot of health problems recently, and I had been considering getting some sort of an alarm for them which would call 911 for my mother, if necessary, since my father suffers from dementia, so I filled out the coupon requesting further information and mailed it back. The form asked for my address and phone number, which I supplied, but I also specified please do not call on the form. About a week later I received some literature, but after looking it over, I decided that it was not what I had in mind for my parents, so I discarded it.
On my lunch hour today, I went to my parents, and was awaiting a telephone call from my father's doctor. When the phone rang, and I answered it, it was a male salesperson from Life Alert, but I did not get his name. Apparently he had called my home, and my husband gave him my mother's number, so that he could reach me there. I explained that I was waiting for a call from my father's doctor and couldn't tie up the phone, and asked him to call me this evening, after 6:00, and I would be glad to discuss the product with him. He asked if he should call me back at my parent's number, and I said no, that I would be at home, and he should phone me there. He agreed and we hung up.
After getting home from work, I was expecting his call, but it never came. Instead, I got a telephone call from my mother around 7:30, telling me that she had ordered the Life Alert services, as I had wanted, and she hoped that I was pleased about it. When I asked her to explain, she said that this salesperson had called her, and told her all about the Life Alert System. After his sales pitch, this salesperson told her that he had just spoken to me, and that I had given him her number so that he could get additional information from her about her and my father's medical conditions and medications, since I had told him that I wanted her to purchase their services. He quoted her a price of 299 per year, and 49.95 a month.
She thought it was expensive, but felt that if I thought she should have it for their protection, then she should get it. She then gave him her credit card information, after which he asked for all sorts of personal information, including details of their medical conditions and medications. Not only did I not tell this salesperson that I wanted my mother to order this service, but I had explicitly told him NOT to call me at my mother's, since I would not be there. Also, I had never even spoken to him about the product, so what he told my mother was a blatant lie in order to get her credit card number! My mother had the incoming telephone number on her Caller ID, so I promptly went over there and proceeded to call the company to cancel the order. I actually called twice, and spoke to 2 different people, who both told me that there was no record of any of their salespeople telephoning either myself or my mother, therefore there was no order for them to cancel.
Still concerned, I then proceeded to call her credit card company, and inquired as to whether or not any charges had been put on her credit card from Life Alert. I found it very interesting that even though the company had no record of anyone having spoken to either one of us, there had already been a charge placed on her account for the 299 yearly fee, plus another charge for the first month of service. At this point, I notified the credit card company that she had been a victim of fraud by this company, since she had been blatantly given false information in order for them to secure a sale. They connected me with their fraud department, and I was forced to cancel her credit card, and have them send her a new card with a different account number, in order for her to not be responsible for these charges.
Needless to say, I was livid! I then called the Life Alert Company back, and asked them to explain WHY there were charges to her Visa card for their service, if no one had spoken with her, as they had previously stated. At this point, they miraculously found the order in their computer. The telephone operator stated that my mother did indeed order their service, since she had voluntarily given them her credit card number, and that they would be billing her account. At this point, I completely lost it, and informed them that their sales person had lied to her and that they had committed fraud because of the untrue statements that were made to her, and that I had contacted the Fraud Department of her credit card company and reported them. I also told them that her credit card had been cancelled, and that no money would be forthcoming, so if they sent the product to her, it would be returned to them, unopened, at their expense.
They finally agreed to cancel the order and remove the hold which was placed on her account for their payment. I find it absolutely reprehensible that any company would deliberately lie to or mislead an elderly person, who is in ill health, simply to line their pockets and make a sale, and I certainly would not recommend to anyone a company whose employees resort to this sort of behavior. I am also very glad that I cancelled her credit card, before any serious financial damage had been done. Hopefully, this will be the end of it, but if not, I will be further looking into any legal recourse that we may have against this company, and I would certainly not recommend anyone doing business with them!
This whole episode caused my mother to become extremely upset, and there were fraudulent charges of t 299+ placed on her credit card, which have yet to be removed.
Joanne of New Lebanon, NY March 16, 2007
Joanne of New Lebanon NY (03/16/07) Refuses to cancel service as requested 4 months ago.Expects me to pay for time since cancellation request and KEEP paying!Call me EVERY day at least twice a day,which I no longer answer. Send bills thru mail EVERY week. Now,they are calling my 80 year-old mom, whom I bought the service for, and are harrassing her constantly. She gets VERY upset. Yesterday, they called my mother again and told her to tell ME that they would PERSECUTE me for the rest of my life.
My mom said, Do you mean Prosecute? The caller said, NO, LADY, I mean PERSECUTE, you know what THAT means? These people are sick and frightening,and I believe they need to be investigated, fined and put OUT of business!
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