Complain about a product or service

Protect America

John of Selma, NC November 14, 2008

John of Selma NC (11/14/08)
The company refuses to cancel an Automatically Renewed contract even though I emailed the billing department to do so. The system has not been in use for more than six months due to having no confidence in it after two plus years of problems with interference and failures. Even so, I continued to pay the monitoring fee until the end of the initial contract term. At which point I requested cancellation. I have been told that I can not cancel because of not advising them in writing 60 days in advance of the contract term.

I spoke to a CSR back in September and advised her that I wanted to cancel at the end of the term and she made no mention of the 60 day notification. As a consumer, I don't feel this type of practice is fair and there should be no automatic renewal on a service contract that one supposedly can't cancel.

The damage will be to my credit if I don't pay the ransom like monthly fee. I was advised quite quickly that if I refuse to pay the contract in full, that it will show up negatively on my credit report which I take quite seriously.

Ana of Siler City, NC November 3, 2008

Ana of Siler City NC (11/03/08)
We started our service with Protect America on October 31, 2005 and had nothing but problems from the start. Sensors constantly had to be replaced, communication error messages have to be cancelled at least once or twice a day for almost 3 weeks - Police was dispatched to our house 3 times due to faulty equipment! It took them 3 weeks to send a tech and we had to pay US150.00 on the spot. We have been completely dissatisfied with Protect America and it's customer service We tried to cancel our service in August 2007. We were told then that we had to wait the full 3 year contract term to cancel. We told the service representative then that we would fulfill our 3 year contract, but were sure to state how unhappy we were with the product and that we were only continuing the service to satisfy the terms of our 3-year contract, the terms which were never clearly expressed to us.

On October 1, 2008, 30 days in advance of our 3-year contract term, we called to cancel our service again. However, we were told that because we didnt notify Protect America in writing 60 days in advance of our contract term that Protect America will be taking our money for another year for a service were not happy with and for a service we told Protect America that we had expressed our wish to cancel back in August 2007 and had asked for a note to be placed on the acccount to NOT RENEW IT!

We were told by a representative to submit the letter by fax to expedite the process and that he would arrange for the cancellation. That was done and 5 days latter we called to confirm, only to be advised that the letter was processed and that our service would be cancelled as of OCTOBER 31st , 2009! The only other option given was to pay US150.00 and they would cancel the contract AS A COURTESY. We were left with no alternative other than ordering American Express not to accept the charges and filing a complaint with BBB.

Toni of Durham, NC August 19, 2008

Toni of Durham NC (08/19/08)
I've been trying to cancel my Protect America account for years. I finally took the advice of another poster and mentioned contacting the Better Business Bureau. I immediately received a response saying that my account would be cancelled and that no more fees or charges would be applied to my account.

After reading all the horror stories online, I still intend to contact the BBB. Even though the issue is now resolved for me, I can't stand to think about all the other people that are getting screwed.

I've had 30 drafted from my bank account every month for the past five years even though I only used their service for about 3 months.

Christa of Mcdonough, GA August 1, 2008

Christa of Mcdonough GA (08/01/08)
I contacted Protect America to cancel one of my home security accounts (I have two--one is rental property). My tenants for the rental property use their cell phones only--therefore the alarm system was of no use. I was informed by several Protect America reps that the policy that I was attempting to cancel automatically renewed itself for one year after my three year contract. They further explained that the automatic renewal is standard unless 60 days prior to the contract expiration a cancellation notice is submitted to Protect America. This policy is absurd. Protect America does not attempt to notify its customers of their three year expiration (which you would think that this courtesy would be extended to customers of 3 years or more). The 60 day clause is very misleading and arbitrary. Not only are the loosing one account but two as I have submitted my cancellation notice far in advance for the discontinuation of both of my accounts. They seem to not care that they are loosing good customers. Where is there integrity?

Stacy of College Station, TX August 1, 2008

Stacy of College Station TX (08/01/08)
We started our service with Protect America on September 2, 2005 and had nothing but problems from the start. Sensors constantly had to be replaced, communication error messages have to be cancelled at least once or twice a month, and weve been completely dissatisfied with Protect America.

We were so unhappy with Protect Americas product and grew so tired of constantly having to deal with this inferior product that we tried to cancel our service in January of 2006. We were told then that we had to wait the full 3 year contract term to cancel. We told the service representative then that wed fulfill our 3 year contract, but were sure to state how unhappy we were with the product and that we were only continuing the service to satisfy the terms of our 3-year contract, the terms which were never clearly expressed to us.

Today, on August 1, 2008, 30 days in advance of our 3-year contract term, we called to cancel our service again. However, we were told that because we didnt notify Protect America in writing 60 days in advance of our contract term that Protect America will be taking our money for another year for a service were not happy with and for a service we told Protect America that we wanted to cancel only 4 months into this contract. WE HAVE NEVER BEEN SATISFIED WITH PROTECT AMERICAS PRODUCT! Apparently, customer service is not a priority with this company. The only priority seems to be duping people out of their money.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

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. 

Copyright © 2003-2009 ConsumerAffairs.com Inc.  All Rights Reserved.    The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission.