Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted Ackerman Security, requested Technician because my Keypads were beeping. The Ackerman Representative stated they were previously ADT & indicated I needed New Touchscreen Keypad's, which were installed. $99 (Installation) & $49.99 ((Monthly Service).I discovered I was being billed for both **************************** Security Systems, I contacted Ackerman to question the service, discovered Ackerman misled me to purchase equipment I didnt need. I requested Ackerman Security terminate service & reimbursement me for the reinstalling of ADT ******************* that they removed..Ackerman Installation Fee was: $99.99 Ackerman Monthly charge was: $49.9 ADT Cost Incurred to reinstall ADT *******************: $1028.62 I was mislead by Ackerman Security..

  Business response

  10/14/2024

  Mr. ****** called us on August 3rd, explaining that he had experienced a power outage and that his system wasnt functioning properly. We took his message and had one of our technicians follow up with him.

  
  On August 5th, Mr. ****** called again to follow up on his previous call. During this conversation, we informed him that his account had been transferred to *** and that he was now an ADT customer. I have provided this call for your review, and it seemed to me that Mr. ****** understood the information.

  
  We offered Mr. ****** the option to return to Ackerman with a welcome-back package. Throughout the call, we clearly stated that switching back would require a new keypad. Mr. ****** expressed that he definitely wanted two keypads. We explained the $99 upfront charge and the new monthly rate of $49.99. At no point did Mr. ****** seem confused by this information.

  
  On August 22nd, Mr. ****** called regarding an installation appointment. He mentioned that he didnt want an upgrade and questioned why the technician was coming. We clarified that the appointment was for an install/upgrade, requiring a new keypad, but we could reuse any compatible sensors or devices. Before ending the call, Mr. ****** confirmed that he understood.

  
  On August 23rd, we contacted Mr. ****** to request that he unfreeze his credit so we could verify his eligibility for the promotion, which included new equipment and system installation.

  
  Mr. ****** called on August 28th to confirm that the system upgrade had been completed and was working well. However, he expressed concern about still receiving bills from ADT, in addition to ours. We provided him with **** contact information, explaining that we had no involvement with his agreement with them and that he would need to resolve the issue with ADT directly.

  
  Later that day, Mr. ****** called to cancel his service, claiming he had been given misleading information and wanted to terminate the agreement.
  We promptly terminated his account, scheduled a technician to remove the installed equipment, and refunded his initial payment. Mr. ****** was upset because he had discarded the old equipment and keypad, assuming he no longer needed them.

  
  We believe we should not be responsible for replacing the equipment Mr. ****** discarded.

  
  We clearly communicated, on multiple occasions, that we were a different company from his previous alarm provider. While we properly conveyed all the details, it seems Mr. ****** may have been confused or misunderstood the situation.

• Initial Complaint

  06/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Im another Ackerman customer (20+ years) whose account was purchased by ADT. After a recent bad storm event my security system continued to give off false alarms at various zones. I contacted ADT to schedule a service appointment only to be advised they do not service the Ackerman panel and I would have to upgrade to an ADT panel going forward. They also noted in their system the brand panel was Napco and its not, its Aulua. In speaking with the sales person, S.A. To install two panels would cost me roughly $700 and my monthly monitoring fee would increase to $50. While I scheduled an appointment to have an installer appointment I have not agreed nor signed the contract. After reading similar complaints with BBB, I stand with the 120k Ackerman customers who are facing the same challenges with ADT. On today, 6/18/23, I contacted ADT to cancel the appointment and to advise I will not proceed with the change, I could not contact anyone. Apparently, the sales rep ******** my account listing it as a new account blocking me from contacting anyone but the sales department, which is closed. What if I had an emergency?

  Business response

  08/30/2024

  Our Response:
  We are sorry to hear about this situation. We also regret the delay in our response. We had incorrect information listed on our BBB profile and didnt receive this complaint. This is not an excuse, as its our responsibility, but we wanted to explain the delay.
  
  In July 2022, Guardian of Georgia sold the branding rights to the Ackerman Security brand to ***************************** the company I now work for. After selling the Ackerman brand, Guardian of Georgia declared bankruptcy. Unfortunately, during all these business changes, it looks like you were lost in the cracks, and for that, Im sorry.
  
  ********************************* acquired the brand in July 2022, we didnt acquire or assume any responsibility or obligation with existing customers. The customers were sold to ADT the month before we purchased the brand. The company you were in an agreement with (Guardian of Georgia D/B/A Ackerman Security) sold your account to ADT.
  Starting in July 2022, we began selling new customer accounts under the ********************** name. Again, the situation isnt good, and I understand your frustration, but this complaint is directed at the wrong company.
  
  We would ask that the BBB adjust our business rating and accreditation accordingly.
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The sign at the top of the street says NO SOLICITING. A door-to-door salesman showed up on my doorstep today asking if I was the new homeowner talking about something promotional. What does NO SOLICITING MEAN TO YOUR COMPANY? How would your company even know if I'm a new homeowner or not. That is stalking!!!!!!!!! CEASE AND DESIST!!!!!!

  Business response

  08/14/2024

  We are sorry to hear that someone representing Ackerman Security knocked on your door. We also regret the delay in our response. We had incorrect information listed on our BBB profile and didnt receive this complaint promptly. This is not an excuse, as its our responsibility, but we wanted to explain the delay.
  
  Please know that we train all our sales representatives to respect local guidelines and requests, and that signs requesting no solicitation should be respected. Do you happen to know the name of the representative you met? I ask because its possible the person who knocked on your door was impersonating an Ackerman employee to gain credibility.
  
  A recent article from Atlanta News First, published in April, highlights that many door-to-door sales representatives mislead customers, even by misrepresenting who they are partnered with.
  
  We have no way to verify who the individual was at your doorstep. What I can assure you is that our business practices and agent training advise all our representatives to avoid homes with no soliciting signs.
  
  We will request that the BBB adjust our business rating and accreditation accordingly.

  Customer response

  08/14/2024

   
  Complaint: 19981189
  
  I am rejecting this response because: youre asking me questions about an incident that probably happened over a year ago. no admittance in your response as to whether you send people door to door. stop sending people door to door. it's inappropriate. just like theres a do not call list, people dont want cold knocks either.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been trying to login to my Ackerman Security Account. The site is no longer available/the window comes up that it is not a secure site.How can I get information about the sale/bankruptcy of Ackerman Security Company?I still pay for their services yet I received NO notification of the company sale and customer transfer to Intrusion Protection ********************** (IPS) acquires Ackerman Security (July 2022).Who do I now contact for customer service?

  Business response

  08/30/2024

  Our Response:
  We are sorry to hear about this situation. We also regret the delay in our response. We had incorrect information listed on our BBB profile and didnt receive this complaint. This is not an excuse, as its our responsibility, but we wanted to explain the delay.
  
  As you mentioned, in July 2022, Guardian of Georgia sold the branding rights to the Ackerman Security brand to ***************************** the company I now work for.
  Before selling the Ackerman brand name, the previous owner, Guardian of Georgia, sold all active alarm accounts to ADT and declared bankruptcy within two months. Unfortunately, during these business changes, it seems you were overlooked, and for that, Im sorry.
  
  ********************************* acquired the Ackerman brand in July 2022, we didnt assume any responsibility or obligation for existing customers. All existing ********************** customers were sold to ADT. The company you were in an agreement with (Guardian of Georgia D/B/A Ackerman Security) sold your account to ADT.
  
  As part of the sale terms of customers to ADT, mandatory correspondence was sent to all current customers via email and **** mail. These correspondence attempts were made by both Guardian of Georgia and ADT.
  
  Im sorry that you were unaware about this transaction. I understand your frustration, but this complaint is directed at the wrong company.
  
  We would ask that the BBB adjust our business rating and accreditation accordingly.
  
  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  ////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  
  Thank you,

   

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Ackerman Security was acquired by ADT Security. I cancelled my service with Ackerman/ADT in July 2021 (I have the email) - they continued to bill me for the next 16 months at ~$30/mo. I just now found this out on my AMEX since AMEX contacted me and asked if I am continuing ADT's service since I had cancelled them last year. NO ONE AT ACKERMAN/ADT CAN HELP ME. I spent an entire work morning trying to remedy this. I keep getting patched to someone else - who incidentally cannot help me OR I get disconnected entirely. AMEX has stopped the ******** from Ackerman BUT I want to recoup the $30/mo for the last 16 months.

  Business response

  12/11/2022

  This customer has a service contract with the following company:
  
  Ackerman Security
  3567 ********** Suite 250

  ********, ** 30092

  ************
  
  ADT only monitors this account. Please forward this on to the correct company.

  
  

  Business response

  12/14/2022

  Hello ********************,

  I'm sorry to hear about your experiences while trying to get your concerns resolved. Unfortunately, the previous owners of Ackerman- Guardian of Georgia sold most of their customers to ADT and filed for bankruptcy. I currently work for the new owners of the Ackerman brand, and we did not acquire any past customers, so we cannot offer any solution to your complaint. 

  All the best,

  ******************

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On May 19th, 2022 Ackerman Security sent a technician out to consult and price a new Honeywell Home security panel for my house. The technician quoted a current offer for existing customers of $199 for the panel upgrade. I agreed to it. A few weeks later the panel was installed. ADT Home Security bought Ackerman and proceeded to send me a bill for $1047. When I called them and spent a long time and extensive investigation into what these mystery charges were they had no answer.Upon an additional call they finally found some paperwork from Ackerman that had charged me the full price for the panel instead of the agreed upon price. This was infuriating, after arguing my case to a supervisor, he was able to actually find PROOF that the Ackerman technician had quoted me $199. However they refused to send me the statement of proof nor honor the original agreement. I am fighting this until the bitter end and need help. I'm quite sure I'm not the only former Ackerman customer who they are attempting to s**** over. They have PROOF that our agreement was originally for $199 and ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF that I agreed to anything else.

  Business response

  09/29/2022

  Hello,

  I am sorry to hear about this experience. Unfortunately, you have contacted the wrong company; we acquired the Ackerman security brand in July 2022, which is how we received this complaint. The old Ackerman is no longer in business. On June 28th, Ackerman Security (GOG) may have transitioned your security service and support to ADT. If you are not a previous Ackerman customer, we can assist you with new service by calling **************

  Warmest Regards,

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We canceled our Ackerman account for our old home at ********************************************************************* on March 21 2021.We sold the home in March 2021 and no longer live there. Beginning9/23/2021, Ackerman Security Systems began again charging our credit card monthly through 8/23/2022. The total ******** for the inactiveaccount are $615.09 over 12 different charges.We made Ackerman aware of this on September 8, 2022, and asked them to confirm our account was canceled, stop any future ******** and refund the $615.09.After several weeks Ackerman Office Manager ************* responded with the following;9/20/22 - "I can update you on the conclusion of a refund. As a good-faith effort, I was able to get half of the requested amount approved for a refund on our behalf""I understand, ************, that you would like a full refund. As I stated previously, we are not the company thattook any money from you. However, under theextenuatingcircumstances, we have agreedto help you by providing you with some solution to a problem we are notliable. I encourageyou to seek support from **************** or anyone who can help you recover your money. Unfortunately, we are not the company for that. I wish youall the best. "9/22/22 ". The refund was not honored when declining our offer" "As I previously mentioned, we had no role in the payments drafted as we aren't liable for any contracts held with the previous owners. I believe we were going above and beyond to help with this matter we didn't cause. At this point, we must remove ourselves from this matter and let the responsible parties be held accountable for their wrongdoings if any. "We said we did not want a partial refund, and she has since denied the half refund offer completely.We have called numerous times and emailed with no help or offer to make the situationright.

  Business response

  09/23/2022

  As stated in all the evidence attached by ************, we have communicated that we are not responsible for any charges drafted by the Guardian of Georgia, previous owners of Ackerman security. We attempted in a reasonable effort to assist before being threatened with an attorney. There are no further actions required of us. At this time, we request that this complaint be removed as we are not the company responsible. 
  Thank you,

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We have been an ackerman security customer for a number of years. Recently, they handed over monitoring to ADT. ADT has the billing address of my account listed as Ackerman Security and Ackerman security is who shows up on my credit card bill. ADT claims that they are only monitoring the system and that Ackerman handles the billing (and issues) and servicing. Ackerman claims they have nothing to do with my account, it was all sold/transferred to ADT. No one can answer any questions about my bills. I have called both companies multiple times in the last few weeks trying to resolve a billing and service question. Most of the time the calls to ackerman get transferred to ADT. When I do get ahold of Ackerman's call system they offer to call back and never do. The companies keep giving me 'new better numbers' to call but they all route to the same call centers. It is rare that I get a human on the phone and when I do they always seem to pass it off to the other company. I have spent hours on the phone on hold and talking to people and no one seems to have access to my account. One of the customer service representatives told me the only way to get this resolved was by contacting the company on ********* Other than contacting the BBB, the only thing I can think of is to challenge the credit card bill because no one at either company can help me resolve this.

  Business response

  09/19/2022

  Hello,

  I am sorry to hear about the experience you have been going through. Unfortunately, the Ackerman brand is under new ownership, and we cannot assist with this complaint. However, we are responding in good faith as we are not the responsible party. 
  All the best,
  

  
  

  Customer response

  09/19/2022

   
  Complaint: 18024193
  
  I am rejecting this response because: As of September 17, 2022 there are two monthly charges on my credit card for Ackerman Security.  If they are no longer providing services, why are there charges on my credit card for this company?  If they are no longer providing service to me then they owe me a refund for this charge and back charges for the time period for which they claim they are no longer providing services.  Is the date, June 28th?

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* Ackerman

  Business response

  09/21/2022

  I am sorry to hear about this experience. Unfortunately, you have contacted the wrong company; we acquired the Ackerman security brand in July 2022, which is how we received this complaint. The previous owners of the company is guardian of georgia, they would be responsible for any billing that took place before and after the acquisition. 

  All the best,

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I maintain that Ackerman Security Systems violated the ************************ Act because of fraud, deception, and unfair business practices, and the ****** Act because of false advertising. Upon my request, on July 6, 2022, *******************, an Ackerman agent, visited me and told me that they now work with ***. I signed a contract with *** for the monitoring of my system. ************** told me that the equipment would cost $2394.00 and asked if I wanted to pay cash or to use a credit card. I said I would use a credit card, with the assumption that I would receive some communication from them in order to give them my credit card information. I chose July 9, 2022, for the installation date. ************** placed an Ackerman sign in my front yard. The *** contract shows the dealer business name as Live Smart Automation, not Ackerman. On July 9, an agent allegedly installed all the equipment I needed in about ten minutes. I later called *** when my alarm went off twice, but no windows or doors were open. They told me to call Ackerman, which I thought I did, using the phone number they had given me. On August 5, a technician named ******-***************** from ******************** Services (not Ackerman or Live Smart Automation) came to my home. He told me that no new wiring had been installed because my house was pre-wired. He said that all wiring in that area is faulty. He even showed me one of the non-functioning sensors. I'm still afraid to alarm the system. I don't know what equipment I'm being charged for! On July 9, I received email documents from ************** Company showing that they opened a $7,000 line of credit with a balance of $2394.00 in my name. I never signed or returned those documents. I recently received an incomplete credit card authorization document I signed but did not have a copy of. I thought I would be allowed to add my credit card information to it. I have opened a dispute with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax regarding these fraudulent charges.

  Business response

  09/13/2022

  Hello,

  We apologize that our service did not satisfy your expectations. We set a high standard for ourselves, and we are genuinely sorry to hear that the measure was not met in your interaction with our business. Your happiness is our number one priority. Therefore, I requested that our Sales Manager research your account and contact you within 24 hours to address your concerns.

  Warmest Regard,
  Ackerman security of Livsmart

  Customer response

  09/13/2022

   
  Complaint: 18015940
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I cannot accept their response until they review my complaint and contact me within 24 hours as they promise in their response.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  Hello ***************,

  I tried reaching you today, and I would like to address all of your concerns. My name is *******, and I work for the New Ackerman of Livsmart, owned by Intrusion protection systems. Ackerman of Livsmart has not committed fraud, depiction, or unfair business practices. However, I understand how one can be confused, and I apologize that it was not made clear to you by your representative. Ackerman of livsmart is an authorized dealer for ADT, meaning we sell, install and service your equipment while ADT monitors your home. Lastly, I want to address your financing, you were approved for a line of credit for up to $7,000, and we have no control over the amounts Aqua agrees to. However, your equipment cost was $2394.00, which is reflected in your signed contract with them on 7/9/2022 and that is your financed amount. I have also attached your signed alarm contract specifying your monthly fee, equipment list, and cost. I hope this information was helpful and provides a clear understanding of your services. If your in need of a service appointment due to the system not working please reach out to us. 
  Thank you for being Ackerman Security Customer!
  *******

   

  Customer response

  09/14/2022

   
  Complaint: 18015940
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  The Aqua Finance documents attached to Ackerman's response are docu-signed.  They are the same documents that Aqua Finance emailed to me and I NEVER signed them either by hand or by docu-sign. This is just another example of this company's deceptive practices.  The other document attached is the one I did sign for ADT to monitor my service, which they do and I pay them monthly for their service.
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have been trying to cancel my account with Ackerman for the last 2 months. They transfer me to a line for cancellation where nobody ever answers. If you leave a number at the line no one ever calls back. They keep charging me every month.

  Business response

  09/12/2022

  Hello,

  As of June 28th, Ackerman transitioned your security service and support to ADT. As a result, we do not have any access to your account. However, after communicating with ADT we were informed that ADT will cancel your contract-monitored Ackerman account request within 48hrs. 
  Warmest Regards,

  Customer response

  09/12/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  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. ↩