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Protect America
Posted on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 1:01pm CDT by b8acc46b
Company: Protect America
Category: Other
Protect America, Inc.
5100 N. IH-35, Suite B
Round Rock, TX 78681
I had a recent episode with a company called Protect America, an alarm
monitoring service with whom I have been a loyal customer for over 4
years. I purchased the service in 2003, after my home was burglarized.
Unfortunately, the industry in which I am employed has been slow for the
past few months. I decided it was time to start cutting back on my
monthly bills to help support my family. I cancelled my home phone, cut
back my internet service to basic service, cancelled my satellite TV, and
cancelled my alarm monitoring service.
All the companies I contacted were fairly easy to deal with — except one:
Protect America. These corporate criminals use legal binding contracts to
trap customers into keeping their service. After using their service for
over 4 years, I had a legitimate reason for cancelling. I simply can’t
afford it.
The customer service representative offered to give me a lower rate of
$29.95 a month. Well, this was still significantly higher than the $17.95
a month offered by The Alarm Store, so I kindly declined the offer, and
asked that she simply cancel the service. She then referred me to section
2 of the agreement, which I signed over 4 years ago. The agreement
clearly states:
The initial terms of this Agreement shall be 2 years, starting on the
first day of the month that Company or its Authorized Dealer installs and
connects the Equipment. This Agreement will automatically continue for
successive two-year renewal terms unless the Customer or Company gives
written notice of cancellation to the other at least 60 days prior to the
end of any initial or renewal term hereof.
There it is in black and white. I’m stuck paying $45.00 a month for
service I don’t even want for the next 18 months. That’s $810 I could be
using to buy groceries for my family. Well, being the kind-hearted people
they are, they offered to cancel the account after I pay a fee of $253.
That’s $253 I could be using to buy groceries for my family.
Sadly, I signed the stupid agreement without knowing that 4 years down the
line I would need that extra money to feed my family. So, I agreed to pay
the $253 and walk away from the contract. Let this be a lesson to all the
other consumers in the world looking to secure their homes. Signing a
contract with Protect America is no different from allowing a criminal to
walk into your house and steal cash from your home. Save yourself some
money and headaches by signing up with a reputable monitoring service.
--
administrator - Objurgate.net
1 Comment
1be66506, 2009-08-02, 12:05AM CDT
We had the same thing but with a different company. Appears that most if not all alarm companies have this in small print. We moved to another house in a gated neighborhood so felt we didnt need to pay for a second security system. our options were to have our renters in the old home take over the payments, transfer the system to our new home with fees attached or pay a large sum to discontinue. We paid the large sum and learned a lesson!
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