Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  25/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  ACCT NUMBER: ********* -Continuously get billed monthly when alarm was never installed since April 2022. -Billing non-alarm monitoring fee - 24 hour alarm monitoring service monthly fee (alarm was never installed in the house) -Scheduled an appointment previously for a technician to come install the alarm (did not show up on the day, waited at home for 4 hours then I get a call after 4.5 hours from technician saying he is not showing) -Called to speak to the manager (company said someone will contact me but never did regarding the point above) -

  Business response

  08/06/2023

  We were not able to install the system as the technician was late for the appointment.  Since the system was not installed, we have deleted the invoice for the outstanding balance.  We offered to reschedule the installation appointment but the customer declined.  The account has been closed down.

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I recently purchased a home which has a Grand Alarms alarm system in it. Grand Alarms never provided the master, installer, or dealer code for the alarm system to the old homeowner. I have requested these codes from Grand Alarms and repeatedly been promised that they will give them to me-I just have to wait for a call back. I have been waiting for roughly six weeks and made several follow up attempts.

  Business response

  19/08/2022

  We have contacted Mr. ******* for a quote to activate the alarm service. Mr. ******* is not interested and not ready to pay and activate for the alarm service.

  Customer response

  06/09/2022

  Grand Alarms' response is misleading and wrong. Grand Alarms has installed the system and withheld all programming codes. It has promised to provide them and then never followed through. It has said it could offer the alarm service, but requires a three year contract, which makes no sense given how it is demonstrating itself to not be a trustworthy or reliable organization.
  
  Grand Alarms does not own the hardware **** ** ** *** ******* ******. It should simply release the codes as it has promised to do.

  Business response

  07/09/2022

  The previous homeowner is leasing the alarm system with Grand Alarms and the alarm system is owned by Grand Alarms. We are happy to provide the alarm service if Mr. ******* is ready to sign the alarm agreement and pay for the monthly service.

  Customer response

  19/09/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because it is unclear to me what the conclusion is that Grand Alarms is proposing. 
  

  Grand Alarms seems to assert that its contract with the prior owner required the owner to either return the equipment at issue or pay a fee at the end of the contract term. The equipment is in my house, and has been sold to me, so it was clearly not returned. However, Grand Alarms has never asserted that the prior owner never paid the associated fee or that Grand Alarms did not waive the fee.
  

  If Grand Alarms can clarify it’s position with supporting documentation, then we can hopefully move forward towards a resolution.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  Customer response

  19/09/2022

  Thank you very much for your email. The equipment at the heart of this dispute is a fixture (being permanently affixed to the structure of the house) and is not excepted in the purchase agreement.

  
  

  In any event, I am quite certain this is not equipment that is subject to a lease (which likely is why Grand Alarms is not providing documentation that it is, nor did they suggest a lease applied in their initial response). I also think if there was a lease issue, Grand Alarms would have been asking me to pay the lease amounts, but they have made no such request. 

  
  

  For context, before reaching out to BBB, I contacted Grand Alarms directly. I asked them first what the cost would be to start the service with them and they said that a 3 year contract would apply, no exceptions. I was not interested in that so I called back and asked them to provide the codes to the system so I could use it without their monitoring service. Initially, they said that they would send a technician to reset the system, and would call back to schedule the appointment. They never called back. When I followed up, they said they would just tell me the codes and would call back to get them. Again, they never called back. When I followed up again they again promised the codes, but said they have been backed up and so it would just take time for me to get the call. 

  
  

  The response Grand Alarms provided omits all of that, and only says that I refused to sign up with them.

  
  

  Hopefully this is helpful to you.

  
  

  All the best,

  ****

  
  

  Business response

  30/11/2022

  The equipment is on the lease agreement with the previous owner.  In the agreement to purchase the home, this equipment should have been listed as chattel.  If it wasn’t, that is the fault of the previous owner and their real estate lawyer.  It is their responsibility to pay the fees to either remove the equipment or keep the equipment to stay on the premises.  Please reach out to your real estate lawyer to get this resolve.  This is not something that we can help because you are not our customer and the fact that this is Grand Alarms equipment not being returned.

  Customer response

  30/11/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because the lease agreement previously provided by Grand Alarms does not establish that the terms of the lease were breached and that the equipment is still under lease. According to the agreement, if the equipment was not returned at the end of the contract period, a fee was to be paid by the previous owner. Grand Alarms has not asserted nor established that the fee was not waived nor that it was not paid. Furthermore, no evidence has been provided that shows Grand Alarms has the right to withhold the codes for the equipment. According to the agreement provided, the only remedy to Grand Alarms at the end of a contract is for a fee to be paid to Grand Alarms by the previous owner - if that fee was not waived and was not paid, nothing entitled Grand Alarms to withhold the code. It’s sole remedy is to seek to recover the fee from the previous owner.

  If Grand Alarms feels it has not been paid the moneys it is owed by its customer, it should deal with that customer through the normal course. It has no right to withhold the system codes, especially in light of several previous promises to both unlock the system and provide the codes.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩