Protect America

Scott of Monmouth junction, NJ July 1, 2009

I signed a three year contract with this company back in April, 2006, I still have the note from my conversation with the Sales department, they told me that after the three year contract is over, I will be billed Monthly and that I could cancel anytime after the 3 year contract is over. A Few Weeks ago I called Protect America to cancel, and to my surprise, they told me that I had to mail in a written cancelation letter 60 days prior to the end of my contract, they also told me that my contract automatically renewed for one year, All of this was new to me, It is a complete scam, I tried calling them again to cancel, I was really nice to them on the phone, and they proceeded to leave me on Hold for over an hour, after I had explained to them what I was told three years ago by one of their employees, I never signed anything, I did it all online. I tried calling the same person back and they never answered or called me back, I finally got a call from them a few days ago, and they were asking for my payment of 34, they had no record of me calling a few weeks ago.

Annette of Springfield, OH June 21, 2009

I entered into a security system agreement 3 years ago, we were never able to complete the installation of the equipment so that it worked, they would not let me out of the contract, I was told I had 30 days to decide and return the product if I was unsatisfied. Well when I tried to return the system they refused and held me to the 3 yr contract.

So this month was the 3yr anniversary, so I contacted them to cancel the account, I was then informed that I needed to send a cancellation letter no later that March 3, 2009, so they automatically renewed the account for another year. There are notes on this account, they have never done any monitoring of our house there system never was turned on, in fact it is sitting in the box that it was shipped in.

Kristina of Baltimore, MD May 19, 2009

I ordered the home alarm system in the beginning of April. From the day the ordered it, my phone began ringing off the hook from Protect America sales and install department. I got at least 4 phone calls a day from the company up until today (May 19th). I constantly tell them to stop calling me, but they say there is no record of anyone calling. I am waiting for my phone bills and I am even thinking about filing a harrassment claim against them. In addition, the system that I got was "broke" after 2 weeks of attempting to install it.

It took 3 weeks for them to send me antoher until (so over 6 weeks because it took a week for the first package to come). Not only did I get billed for the time that my system was installed, the day that I installed they informed me that they couldn't contact the police or fire department in the event that the alarm is triggered because I need a permit from the city that I live in. They told me that they "forgot" to send it to me with the original packaging and that it costs 20 per year and that they were going to mail me the form. AND- to make matters even better- the sales rep tried to upsell me and tagged on an additional 5 a month to have the monitor set up through my broadband (which it was set up through my phone anyway), and my tech said that they would refund my money.

The money was never refunded (an additional 15 to date plus the fact that I paid for almost two months of service before I had my unit installed- and even though it is installed now, the police can't even be notified!) They are still charging my card at a broadband rate. Their customer service department is very unprofessional, unfriendly, and unhelpful.

The rep that I spoke to about all of the phone calls said that she doesn't know what to tell me, she doesn't believe that they are calling me because there are no notes in the system. I am really disappointed that I did not do my research on this company before I signed at 3 year contract.

Shelly of Terry, MS May 14, 2009

In or around Sept. of last year I contacted PA(Protect America) because I was looking for a cheaper company to take over my current ADT system. I contacted them at which point I was told I could try out the system for 30 days with no obligation. After receiving my system some 10 to 12 days later and preparing to install it I then found an issue that was either caused by shipping or from there packing at which point I was told my there tech person they would ship me a new unit and have me RMA that defective unit back.

After several weeks of calling and telling there tech people the same thing over and over about the new RMA unit that I never received they keep insisting that I install the unit I had. I walked through the same process over with a different person about 9 times until it got to the point I was no longer taking calls but requesting a full refund of my money. I recently received a letter I was being turned over to a collection agency at which point I am witting you this message. I still have the original unit pulse all the upgrades I purchased with the defective unit and would like nothing more than to return it in the original package with a full refund of my money.

E. of Austin , TX May 1, 2009

I am a previous employer of Protect Amreica. A lot of people make complaints about this company which is rediculous. The number one complaint is about the auto-renewal. If you people would actually read your agreement then you would know that is does automatically renew if you dont send in your cancellation letter. You are able to send in you letter of cancellation the same day to sign your initial agreement and it will still be valid. You can send it in anywhere from the first day of your agreement and within 60 days of the 3rd year. If only people would read the agreement.

Also, as apart of your agreement you are suppose to call in MONTHLY to check your systems to make sure they are working correctly to keep your warranty valid. They could look in the history and see that you haven't called in and deny your warranty for replacement parts. I recommend everyone to call Protect America and ask for a copy of your agreement to be mailed to you so that you can read it, and to call in MONTHLY to do a test on your systems.

Again READ YOUR AGREEMENTS PEOPLE. Dont sign anything without looking over the agreement. I worked in the cancellation department and everytime I asked the customer if they read the agreement they said "No, who reads agreement?"

Isabel of Montgomery, AL April 28, 2009

In 2005 I prepaid a 3 yr contract for a security system. The equipment failed several times and new sensors were sent. They also failed. I finally gave up and last summer I called to cancel my contract and the rep told me that the cancellation penalties would be more costly than if I just let the contract run it's course.

Now it seems the contract did run its course and was expired in February. Tonight I received a call from a serv rep telling me I have a 69 balance and that my contract was NOT cancelled. It was renewed! I never received any notification from them. At first the rep told me there wasn't a supervisor I could speak to. When I went to their online chat site, the rep "Jaime" said there was a manager who would call me.

The manager, "Bradley" called and was not very helpful. He just kept saying that their contract says they renew automatically, something I don't recall seeing on their contract. I explained all the problems I had with their equipment, and told Bradley that I spoke with a rep last summer and she led me to believe my contract would just "run it's course". He said it was not enough; I was supposed to send a letter. I feel as if I was ambushed by and find the practice of auto renewal without notic somewhat questionable.

Teresa of Hurricane, WV April 18, 2009

My husband and I purchased Protect America at our residence for the discount you recieve on your homeowners insurance and of course for the protection. this was in 2006. in 2007 we sold our home purchased a new one and contacted Protect America to see hwat our obligations were. We explanined to them at that point that we were nolonger residing at the residence to which the service was provided and that we would only pay to what we were obligated.

Unfortunatley Protect America doesn't practice the fine art of logging in phone calls made by the customer. When we had ened the contractual obligations, we again called them (keep in mind that the new owner of our old home has been enjoying free service at our expense). They then proceeded to tell us that they needed written confirm ation which we provided as if this wasn't insult to injury in the first place, Protect America decided to tell us after we had sent the written confirmation that it had to be mailed in 59 days before end of contract.

I don't know how these people sleep at night. This company should be investigated by the better business bureu, these practies has to fall under some kind unlawful business tort. Only that they keep taking money that does not belong to them. Theives and knaves.

Jan of Bellflower, CA April 14, 2009

I signed up for the service. The company sent me used equipment. I asked for new. The operator told me that we needed to get it set up and they would then send me new pieces if it didn't work. Once it was set up, I cannot get any help. I keep getting told someone will call back. They don't. The system beeps in the middle of the night and keeps my household awake. I have disconnected the system and contacted the company to cancel my service on their web site. I was told via an on line chat with Jackie that I cold cancel my account in 10/2010. She would have a manager call me. No one has called.

I have a useless alarm system that I am paying for monthly for two years. Please help.

Mary of Burkburnett, TX April 5, 2009

I should have known the company was cheesy. I received a flyer in the mail and called them about their services. The fees seemed reasonable and the pictures of the equipment in the flyer looked to be a quality product. I thought it was rather odd that the only way they would do business was through automatic debit from my checking account, but since the monthly fees seemed to be minimal I decided it was reasonable. When the equipment arrived, it looked nothing like the flyer. The door and window sensors were small plastic pieces secured by a sticker on the back! Then I had to set up the system myself yet was still charged a set up fee.

When I later complained that the stickers kept falling off they sent me new stickers! These still did not hold. A few times when the alarm went off, they did not call me to check if everything was alright nor did a courtesy police officer arrive. I then realized that we were never really connected to the police through our phone line nor did it seem, was Protect America actually monitoring their systems. When I tried to cancel the service after a few months, they told me this was impossible until the contract was up unless I wanted to pay a 175 fee. I told them I did not believe this was fair to pay for faulty services. They told me they could not send someone to work the system, but that I could work with them over the phone to set it up.

This still never worked. I decided to wait for the contract to end. When my husband then called them to cancel, they told him it was less than the 60 day notification they required and that we would have to pay for another year. He then told them the same thing I had previously, that they expected us to continue paying for a service that we were not getting. When my husband told them he would stop payments, they threatened that they would continue to bill us and put our account through collections. After looking closely through their nearly 5 page, small print, contract, we found the 60 day notice clause. My husband verbally told them to make a not in our account that we would most certainly be cancelling this service by Aug. They insisted that doing so would mean nothing without a written notice.

We decided to wait and will mail the cancellation notice in August 2009 (just a bit longer than 60 days prior to the contract renewal). However, after seeing that although some people have sent them written notification, the company has conveninetly lost those notices, I think maybe we should make certain they get it by sending cancellation letters every week for the next few months. Anything to make it more inconvenient for them as they have us. How inconvenient do you think it might be if ALL of their clients sent them cancellation notices every week as well?

This company is a consumer leech. Their sole focus is to steal your money for a service that is never provided. They have no business ethics and should not be allowed to continue in business. They should be held accountable for their distasteful practices. No business should be allowed to continue when their sole purpose is to extort money from innocent and honest citizens who actually work for a living. As far as we are concerned, Protect American has stolen over 1500 from us and wants us to pay them even more to cancel a service we've never received! In essence, they are forcing us to pay them so they don't send us to collections...this is extortion. What would happen if all their customers suddenly stopped paying them in protest? Sending all the accounts to collections would surely cause a stir and gain attention. Wouldn't it? Then maybe something would be done about them to protect other consumers. I've never heard of such disgusting business practices (aside from AIG).

Annom of Austin, TX April 4, 2009

I could not yet have an opportunity to become a customer of Protect America yet, even if I wanted to! The pushiness and rudeness of the sales person, sounded like a young male, was beyond belief. After picking up a promotional card in the mail, I called Protect America to inquire about this company 's new wireless security system for the first time. I did not have time to look into or compare with any other alarm systems or companies out there.

It took me only a few minutes to get the basic features of the promoted Wireless GE Security System on the phone, before the young sales man began to press me to sign up immediately! I said Id better discuss this first with my wife. The sales person immediately scoffed at me as not able to make a decision on such a good deal. Then I also mentioned to him that I did not have time to check on other alarm systems and do some comparisons. The sales person immediately flew into an outrage, scolding me that I only used my wife as an excuse and was actually trying to search for better deals! I said it was true that I had both intentions and I did not think that was wrong.

Click--the sales person hung up on me. I could not believe any company's representative would behave so unreasonable and rude to their potential customers. At the time, before I had chance to read any of the online reviews of this company, either my wife or I was not sure if this rude behavior was only one person's bad manner or a reflection of the company's products or their service. After reading several web pages, Im afraid that this persons behavior was not at all accidental. It seems to fit into a pattern of rudeness and bad service other consumers have complained. I would never do any business with such a company.

Custom Search

AUTOMOTIVE
• Dealers
• Manufacturers
• Service
• Extended Warranties
• Lemon Laws
• Recalls
• Tires
• Transporters

FAMILY
• Aging
• Children, Parenting
• Recalls
• Dating
• Education
• Entertainment
• Pets
• Weddings

FINANCE
• Annuities
• Banks
• Credit Cards
• Debt Collection
• Debt Counseling
• Insurance
• Investing
• Loans
• Mortgages
• Payday Loans
• Student Loans
• Tax Prep

HEALTH
• Doctors
• Drugs, Pharmacies
• Health Clubs
• Hearing Care
• Hospitals
• Nursing Homes
• Nutrition, Diets
• Vision Care
• Weight Loss

HOMEOWNERS & RENTERS
• Appliances
• Cookware
• Furniture
• Home Improvements
• Lawn & Garden
• Movers
• Pools & Spas
• Realtors, Rental Agents
• Recalls
• Utilities

ELECTRONICS
• Cable TV/DBS
• Cameras
• Cell Phones
• Computers
• Home Electronics
• Internet Access
• Local Phone Service
• Long Distance
• VoIP

SHOPPING
• In-Home
• Online
• Retail Stores
• Sporting Goods
• Supermarkets
• Telemarketers

TRAVEL
• Airlines
• Bus Lines
• Car Rental
• Cruises
• Hotels
• Travel Agents
• Trains

RESOURCES
• Class Actions
• Complaint Form
• Small Claims Guide
• Lemon Laws

CONSUMER NEWS
• Latest News
• Automotive
• Telecom
• Financial
• Health
• Homeowners
• Scams
• Seniors
• Travel
• More ...

RECALLS
• Automotive
• Children's Products
• Drugs
• Food
• Household Products
• Sporting Goods

ABOUT US
• FAQ
• Privacy Policy
• Advertise With Us
• Newsroom
• Syndication
• Terms of Use

Terms of Use Your use of this site constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use

Advertisements on this site are placed and controlled by outside advertising networks. ConsumerAffairs.com does not evaluate or endorse the products and services advertised. See the FAQ for more information.

Company Response Welcome If complaints about your company appear on our site, we welcome your response. Please see the Response Form for more information.

For more information, see the FAQ and privacy policy. The information on this Web site is general in nature and is not intended as a substitute for competent legal advice. ConsumerAffairs.com Inc. makes no representation as to the accuracy of the information herein provided and assumes no liability for any damages or loss arising from the use thereof.