ADT home security how to go about purchasing?

[pmoa]

Im in the market for a home security system. I have looked into ADT and Slomin's Shield in the Baltimore area. Do they offer better deals from other websites?

Right now the package I am looking at is 499 to install and 34.99 a month for service. Can I get a better deal elsewhere or are prices on these pretty stagnant?

 

[kranky]

Don't know about pricing, but you better read your contract very carefully before you sign.

Those contracts typically will be for a 3-year deal, and you can't cancel early. In fact, if you move in a year, you still have to pay the rest of the contract. And when the 3-year deal is up, you will have a very small window of time to cancel or it will automatically renew for another year.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: kranky
Don't know about pricing, but you better read your contract very carefully before you sign.

Those contracts typically will be for a 3-year deal, and you can't cancel early. In fact, if you move in a year, you still have to pay the rest of the contract. And when the 3-year deal is up, you will have a very small window of time to cancel or it will automatically renew for another year.

Precisely. Do a search for home security forums and start reading up. The general gist of things is:

The install is usually crap and leaves a ton of weak spots.
The sensors used are of the lowest possible quality.
There is a lot of variation between the contractors, so some suck and some are great.
The contracts screw you in every possible way.

 

[MagicConch]

I had a horrible experience with ADT and cancelling their service was a nightmare. They kept billing me and billing me; I eventually had to get a letter from a lawyer to have them cease charging me after I quit.

 

[FoBoT]

don't pay more than $25 for monitoring

 

[pmoa]

I figure that ALL companies are going to be like this.

 

[pmoa]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
don't pay more than $25 for monitoring

I havent seen any company that will offer less than 34.99

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

look into NextAlarm. $10 a month.

 

[FoBoT]

http://clarkhoward.com/topics/burglar_alarms.html

 

[pmoa]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
http://clarkhoward.com/topics/burglar_alarms.html

hmmmm interesting. So does that mean I can call ADT and ask for all of this?

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

NextAlarm


Why pay over twice as much?

 

[pontifex]

my parents got ADT. I dpn't think they did any research at all. They (surprisingly) didn't ask me about it, but they did (unsurprisngly) ask me to help them figure out how it works, because I'm the computer guy and this thing is like a computer :roll: .


i have no idea how they ordered it or anything though.

 

[boomerang]

http://www.watchlight.com

$10 a month. I've been with them over a year and am very happy with their monitoring.

You're not going to get a good deal going with an outfit like ADT.

I had mine installed over 15 years ago by a local installer. Everything is hard-wired. I haven't had to replace a single sensor, switch or contact. My control panel and keypads are made by DSC.

DSC

 

[boomerang]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
https://nextalarm.com/index.jsp">NextAlarm</a>


Why pay over twice as much?

Bad linkage.

 

[SmoochyTX]

Just don't go with ADT. They are worse than AOL and most cell phone companies combined when it comes to customer service and support.

 

[pmoa]

I decided to go with nextalarm. I bought all of my equipment from their recommended site and it came out to about 400 bucks shipped and 15 months of free monitoring of burglary and fire. Then there is no contract to sign and 8.95 a month for one year pre-paid. They will also not hold you to the one-year and you can cancel anytime and they will refund you the pro-rated amount.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: pmoa
I decided to go with nextalarm. I bought all of my equipment from their recommended site and it came out to about 400 bucks shipped and 15 months of free monitoring of burglary and fire. Then there is no contract to sign and 8.95 a month for one year pre-paid. They will also not hold you to the one-year and you can cancel anytime and they will refund you the pro-rated amount.

:thumbsup:

 

[ZOOYUKA]

Originally posted by: SmoochyTX
Just don't go with ADT. They are worse than AOL and most cell phone companies combined when it comes to customer service and support.

QFT

 

[jpeyton]

Call 1-800-IMA-PUSY to order ADT.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: pmoa
I decided to go with nextalarm. I bought all of my equipment from their recommended site and it came out to about 400 bucks shipped and 15 months of free monitoring of burglary and fire. Then there is no contract to sign and 8.95 a month for one year pre-paid. They will also not hold you to the one-year and you can cancel anytime and they will refund you the pro-rated amount.

now that sounds a whole shit load better than what ADT was offering :thumbsup: