ComplaintsforSmith Thompson Home Security

• Initial Complaint

  04/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date Transaction: April 13 (2 Celina, TX properties) and April 14 (1 Frisco, TX property) Amount Paid: $59 + Tax for each property Business commitment to me: Agreed to do pest control treatment inside and outside of the home including along all interior baseboards Nature of dispute: Dissatisfied that company did not treat the interior of the home as advertised and that was verbally relayed to me. Was expecting the entire interior to be sprayed along all baseboards, around door and window crevices, instead technician spent about 5 minutes and only sprayed the corners of interior baseboards. Some of the baseboards were 15 to 25 feet long. Called Company to complain while technician was still in the home. Company Response: Contact Customer Service at Smith Thompson (XXX) XXX-XXXX, was transferred to Mark the Supervisor. Explained to him my dissatisfaction with the service and complained that treatment was not as advertised or explained to me. First he lied and told me it was just a spot treatment (how do you spot treat for pest control beats me and nowhere in any advertisement or paperwork does it say that), then despite what I was promised he explained that the chemical manufacturer's specification says only to treat the corners. When I asked for proof of both these ridiculous claims he couldn't answer or provide proof and instead offered to refund 1 of these service fees of $59+tax. Claimed he had 40 years in "Pest Control" and nobody sprays along the baseboards. I explained I myself have owned and had pest control services and I've never had a service that did not include it. Still dissatisfied I reluctantly accepted. 20 minutes later he called me back saying the company will not be processing a refund. no reason but just that he was over-ridden. This is utter nonsense and companies and people like him should be held accountable to provide their services as advertised and not use false advertising to dupe their customers.

  Business response

  05/20/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/04/19) */ We don not advertise any services that are dangerous, irresponsible, and illegal. We follow all manufacturer directions to the letter if the law, which is exactly what we are supposed to do...by Texas law in fact. Anything otherwise is against the Texas Department of Agriculture laws, and if the customer has really owned a pest control company as he claims in the past, he would know this. There may have been a time in the past with certain older blends of chemicals, that the entire length of the baseboard could have been treated, but we know of no such treatments currently, and if there is, we don't use them, as the modern blends work excellent. Spot treating of baseboards every so many feet is exactly what the manufacturer states, and if sometimes in rental properties, the houses are so disgusting filthy, that a treatment must be done quarterly or even monthly to stay ahead of the pests. Otherwise, in a normal home, we have never had a complaint. So until the laws and directions change, this is how we will treat a home. We did exactly what we advertise and will continue to do so. This is nothing more than an attempt to get us to come back out and over spray a property (for free of course), something we see often unfortunately.

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 3/11/2022, I received a final invoice from Smith Thompson Security in the amount of $73.40. After an email exchange with their billing department, I'd like to dispute this charge based on customer loyalty and good will. I've been a faithful, long-term customer of Smith Thompson Security for over 14 years and have always paid my account in full, one year at a time. I was not aware of the 30-days notice provision to cancel because of this. I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of acknowledgement or recognition as a loyal customer to remove this charge from my account. One of the reasons I chose to use Smith Thompson Security for each property I've lived in and referred friends and family is because of their reputation for doing the right thing by their customers. I'm dismayed at the way I've been treated and will happily take my business elsewhere as there are several competitors in the market.

  Business response

  06/06/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/17) */ Yes, they were great customers. We just don't understand why people just don't pick up the phone (or email us) and let us know they would like to cancel! Just like (we hope) they would do any other utility, like power, water, cable, etc. Why would we be any different? We don't just cancel someones service at the stroke of midnight on the day their billing cycle runs out. This would be reckless and dangerous (security, fire alarm, etc.) The customer could be out of town, etc, so we keep the service active until we hear otherwise, just like most companies would. Apparently, they disregarded a few notices we sent, which is unfortunately the 'new way' of cancelling service these days. Being a loyal customer really has nothing to do with this. And frankly, no one here treated them with any disrespect, as we listened to all of the phone conversation recordings. This is nothing more than a case of someone not paying attention to our notices and not having the common courtesy of just picking up the phone and calling us. And then they to straight to their keyboard and attempt to damage our reputation over something that was not even remotely our fault. We always "do the right thing by our customers"....we would just like for them to treat us with a little respect as well. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/03/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Unlike utility companies where you pay for service on a monthly basis, we have always paid one year at a time, so that's an unfair comparison. Additionally, a security system is not considered a critical service as is water or electricity. A better comparison would be phone or cable, where disconnection would happen based on non-payment. I'd like to hear the supposed phone conversations that took place, as there were none. It sounds like the person responding to this claim is not taking this seriously which is disappointing and as a customer, I'm being stereotyped based on the company's previous experiences. Happy to jump on a call so we can resolve this once and for all.

• Initial Complaint

  02/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Had alarm service with ***** ******** for over 8 years and was paying yearly. Per the agreement, I was to pay the invoice within 30 days of invoice. The company continued to charge me for months past the 30 days after which I stopped using the alarm company. Since I was paying yearly, I was paying for the service on a yearly term and not monthly. Agreement does not state that the company will continue to charge reoccurring monthly charges. Invoices do not state that the alarm company will continue to add reoccurring monthly charges to account. Company continued to charge me for months past the end of the yearly service agreement when it was clear that I was not paying after the initial invoice, company should have stopped service and not have continued to charge me for months not used.

  Business response

  03/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/02/16) */ The customer called into our office and was upset that we continued to invoice him for service. The customer had elected to pay our annual option (which is voluntary, not required) in which he always received a free month by doing so. We don't have a yearly contract, we don't any length of time contracts for that matter, never have in 43 years. We are month to month but we have always required customers to at least notify us that they are cancelling, a simple matter of a phone call, email, or letter. The did none of these, he simply ignored out invoices, which continue (as well as the monitoring service of course) until we are told otherwise. Any utility service or most any company will continue their service for a period of time. We would never cut off monitoring service to anyone at the stroke of midnight when a payment term had technically ended. This would reckless and frankly very dangerous in our business. We only ask for the customer to simply let us know, a simple, courteous request we think. Ignoring the invoices and late notices is not the thing to do! We also showed the customer the agreement he signed as well as our invoices that clearly state, you must cancel the service in order to stop the billing. Also, if anyone elects to pay the annual option with the free month, and they cancel service during this term, we always happily refund any unused portion of payment made. It also needs to be noted here, that the customer screamed and cursed at our reps when we explained all of this to them. This is all recorded of course, and we will post the audio clip on any reviews, so that the public can hear what actually happened, as well as this ridiculous behavior over such a simple thing. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/02/17) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The agreement does state the customer must cancel service. The agreement also states that payment must be received within 30 days...it was not, the company should have ONLY billed me for the 30 days not paid and not the 5 months. During this time, I also did not get any courtesy reminder or calls relating to the issue. The service agreement also states that the service is a "Monitored Alarm"....how can the company say they were monitoring it if the alarm was totally disconnected? A true and reputable company would contact the customer and ask about troubleshooting and alerting me that the "monitored alarm" was not working correct. Canceling a contract is one thing, NOT providing a service which they agreed to provide is the root of this issue. Additionally, no where in their invoices does it state that monthly reoccurring charges will continue to be accrued, this leaves an open "argument" for the company to fraudulently continue to bill the customer without them knowing like in this case. As for the harsh tone, yes, the CS rep was condescending to me and would cut me off in conversation. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/02/18) */ We don't know what the customer means by 'totally disconnected' as no alarm company can tell if a system is 'disconnected' on their end. We provide monitoring of a system if it were to go off and continue to provide monitoring until we are told to cancel as per our agreement. And if the system had a problem on the customer end, they would simply call in and tell us this and we would repair it. We do this all the time. The bottom line is, the customer simply failed to call in and cancel service, that's all, no reason to overanalyze this. People call in and cancel every day, just like the electric service or any other utility.

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