The great Brinks home security rip off – A Protection Racket? July 5, 2008
Posted by hungryteapot in Random Ramblings.Tags: Brinks Home Security, Brinks Home Security Rip Off, Brinks Home Security Sucks, Brinks Rip Off, Brinks Three Year Contract, Home Security, Home Security Rip Off, I Hate Brinks Home Security, Rip Off, Scam
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When we moved into our house there was a monitored security system installed by Brinks Home Security, we decided that since the system is already there, we would get it activated, this was a mistake – do not, I repeat, DO NOT ever enter into any business agreement with this company, they will rip you off.
This month, we decided that we no longer want this service and called to cancel. It turns out that we are locked into a three year contract with no option to cancel, there are also all sorts of unfair clauses written into the small print of the contract that nobody mentioned before we signed, including a clause that says that we are not allowed to take them to court (yeah right!). It seems to me that a lot of these clauses may be unconscionable and I am looking in to taking up the matter in small claims court. I will keep you up to date with the progress.
It seems that there is nobody to protect us from having our money stolen by the very people who are protecting us from it.
If anyone else has had similar problems with this company, I’d love to hear from you.
EDIT: A lot of commentators have pointed out that the contract pays for the alarm system and installation, however the alarm was already installed when we moved into the house and no installation needed to be done, therefore how can this justify us being locked into a contract? This also does not justify the unforgivable evergreen clause.
What a nightmare. I’m sorry this happened to you. Providing security for families’ homes is very personal and requires a lot of trust … however that trust must be earned. I encourage anyone considering a home burglar alarm to not accept anything less than a six month satisfaction guarantee. This allows the home owner to know that the company really does provide the service and security that they claim to deliver.
It’s for this very reason, I wouldn’t buy a home security system first but a cheap home security yard sign. The 3 year contract requirement just isn’t worth it, especially with all of the horror stories I’ve read online about bad customer service and poor installation from these large companies.
The Brinks scam: And their proud of it..
The salesman comes to your house and tells you what you want to hear. We told him that we were relocating in a few months and he told us that Brinks would move us for free! He just wanted to us to sign the deal. I hesitated but when he called to office and they confirmed it, I signed the contract. Three months later we were relocated by my wifes company, when I called Brinks, they said I did not qualify for the move (must have six months at address) and the equipment that I purchased (Wireless) was not included in their move program. I told them to have the salesman call me (they never have) and told me that I would have to pay even though I have no alarm. Ready to go to court! Help
there is no scam!! As a consumer you are responsible for your actions if you sign a contract you are liable. Most contracts have a 3 day cancel period. You have enough time to go over it with a fine tooth comb. If a sales person is telling you something that is not in the contract have them put it in writing. Stop being so quick to call foul play when its you that is at fault.
edit – my page has been visited by Brinks several times since I posted this article and I suspect that this comment is from a Brinks employee… This is an unfair contract, it is as simple as that… Even if there is a minimum term, there should be a way to pay a fee to get out of it. The worst thing about these contracts is that they automatically lock you in to another minimum term when the contract expires if you don’t cancel in writing thirty days before the contract is due to expire. Seems to me that if they are a good company, they don’t need to strongarm people into staying with them, they can just provide a good service.
Brinks Sucks. I can’t say it enough. The technicians have no idea what they are doing. They screwed up my phone system every time they came out. I lost confidence very quickly.
I did sign a 3 year contract and I am responsible for that. However, the contract is an agreement between two parties. I feel strongly that Brinks Sucks is not living up to their end of the contract. They are incompetent and unable to provide the quality service they promote.
There is nobody available to speak with regarding these issues. The Brinks Sucks phone reps are not allowed to release you from your contract. They can cancel your service, but you are accountable for the balance of the 3 year contract.
In order to begin a formal dispute, I need to cancel first and then write a letter detailing my issues. It’s obvious that Brinks Sucks is very good at complicating customer service. The prior comment about cancelling in writing before your contract automatically rolls over to another 3 year contract is a great example.
The great question commented above, If their service is good enough, then no contract would be required. I have no contracts for other home services like internet, dish and phone. I can cancel whenever I please.
To be clear, Brinks is not breaking any laws here. They have clever attorneys and are operating by the book. Brinks is simply not living up to the spirit of their promoted image. That’s why Brinks Sucks.
I hope my opinion here helps others make better informed decisions.
Brinks Sucks
BrinksSucks
Brinks Contracts Suck
Brinks Technicians Suck
Brinks service sucks
Brinks alarms suck
Brinks company sucks
Well, I’m with ADT and I love a good bashing of a competitor – but the bottom line is, you signed a contract that you didn’t read. That makes you a moron, I’m afraid.
Doesn’t make you unique – unfortunately….just another consumer that would rather get to their online poker game than protect their family’s interests – but I digress….
What happened to Honor and Personal Accountability in this country?? Too many people want shit handed to them like this is some kind of welfare state. Man up and meet your responsibilities! Read shit before you sign. It’s pretty simple stuff.
[shrugs]
Thanks Mr ADT man. I could expect as much from someone in the same business. Your forceful salesmen don’t make it easy for you to stand there and read all the fine print. Just because something is in a contract, it doesn’t make it right.
Sod off and go and con some other innocent person!
Sheesh.. is there a yank version of Watchdog??! Seems to me that these Brinks people (and maybe ADT) would be run out of town if there was.
Also ‘moron’ is a really rubbish insult… surely there’s better…
We had Brinks in California. One of the features of the service was that they would move our service and equipment to our new location for free. When we decided to move to Washington four years latter, I contacted Brinks and was informed that they did not service my new area. However, in the course of the past three years, I have found a great number of my neighbors have had Brinks for years! And, I even recently found that a newly constructed home in my area also has Brinks! I feel that they just didn’t wish to provide free equipment and installation to my new home. I would never recommend Brinks to anyone!
[...] – bookmarked by 4 members originally found by churchresearch on 2008-09-17 The great Brinks home security rip off – A Protection Racket? [...]
I just cancelled Brinks today after moving to a new house. Was never told about the 3 year contract by the sales guy. The system was preinstalled so it’s counterintuative that theres a contract for connecting it to a phone line provided by the phone company which I pay for separately.
We were at a rental for 2 years and moved when the owner put that house up for sale, now I have to pay an additional year for brinks to do nothing.
I guess Brinks had better slip those 3 year contracts in or I bet a lot of people would cancel early when they realize it’s a waste of money. And yeah it’s our fault for not getting out a magnifying glass for every piece of mail or document that is shoved in front of us. We don’t need to work a job or have family time when there’s legal jargon that needs to be read and contracts that need to be analyzed! AND WERE ALL MORONS!!!! Anytime someone gets sold by people trained specifically to sell, lets laugh at them and call them MORONS! And after all, contracts are what’s really important right? Not providing a service or making the customer happy. Emphasis on TRAPPING the customer! You’re right, Brinks LOVER! And we can all see you’re not biased.
By the way, how is the economy doing? Anyone figure out why it’s broken yet? How much money are we throwing away? What costs more – the rest of your contract or legal fees? Are either of them useful in any way to anyone of us? Thank you Brinks. Thank you thank you thank you – for all the nothing.
We are trying to cancel with Brinks before our automatic renewal. They said we must fax or mail written notice to them to cancel when we called. So we faxed a notice notifying cancellation. Did not hear from them. We emailed them to see if they got the notice, no response. Now we called again, and they say they can initiate the cancellation procedure over the phone. That we will receive a letter confirming cancellation. Now I don’t know which is true. But whatever it is, I guess I have to call everyday until I get a confirmation of some kind that it is officially canceled before I believe it is canceled. Although you are suppose to notify them 30 days before hand, I say make it 60 days. Give your self an extra month of hassle blanket time.
I would send them a letter by certified mail, then they can’t say they never received it.
Brinks sucks, period. I am in the same trap as every one else. I called to cancel my service and the “customer service” person told me my account expired in December 30th, 2008 and that I had to call the DAY of in order to cancel. I put a reminder in my Outlook calendar 8 months in advance…insane, but whatever. I called on an unrelated matter and asked again to confirm my account expired in December. “No, it expired in August and has been automatically renewed” – I was furious. Canceled the credit card they used to bill me on and will gladly accept the hit to my credit rating and NEVER PAY THEM A DIME. Brinks sucks, period.
Brinks is the worse. I was able to read the fine print during the disaster install. It was scary and not presented to me during the sales scam. In Florida we have 3 days to cancel any contracts. I did and they ate it all. I still have the system in my house. Never paid them a dime because they destroyed my house and never came back to fix it. Everyone working for the local Brinks was fired too. They are pros at hiding from upset customers. They cover themselves with fine print and corp names better then anyone I have run across. Yes they own the gear in my house but they will never see it again. I tore out the panel and control s, installed another brand and I am using the wiring and sensors they installed. They never got $ from me and I fixed most of the damage myself.
The only recourse is to go with another provider as soon as the contract ends. They will tell you that you can’t do that for some reason but YOU CAN!. As soon as the first month passes that they can’t steal any of your money, YOU WIN.
They are as bad as it gets!!! Just google them “brinks scams” there is lots of reading there.
HOPEFULLY you would pay for their service with a credit card. credit cards usually have a 30-day return policy and the ability to cancel integrated into their policy. if Brinks refuses to allow you to cancel, you should be able to call your credit card company and have them refund and fix any ongoing payments that brinks think you owe them.
I would not havae expected that from Brinks. Be glad you didn’t sign up with Protect America. Their contract is consumer entrapment. Look them up in the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Complaints, the Rip Off web site. It’s nightmare after nightmare and I’m a part of it.
It’s the last contract I will sign without having someone else read it first. The company looked and sounded so legitimate. The last thing I expected was for an American business to be so under handed. It all sounded so great. Check this out: http://www.protectamerica.com/agreement/includes/mon_agreement.php?homesite=true&TB_iframe=true&width=780&height=550
I didn’t use Brinks but I used World Wide Security and finished the contract in 2002 now seven years latter I have a debt collector after me and already they have a court order out for me to pay the 5 years of no service that I auto renewed for even though I finished the contract and moved. I never received a bill or anything and the letters from these attorneys always seem to turn up late for me to do anything.
Brinks indeed stinks. My system has not worked right from day one and have had over 10 service calls to fix it. Sadly it still doesnt work. Now I am waiting for some wireless part to arrive so they can install it and charge me more per month for it. Buyer beware!!!
I agree with everyone here. If you are thinking of getting an alarm, Do Not Get Brinks. I cancelled my home phone and can not use their service, but they will not let me out of the 3 year contract. I told them I could meet them half-way, but they were not interested. I said ‘I guess I’ll see you in collections.’ Any future creditors that see a bad mark from an alarm company on your credit report should automatically disregard it.
Funny.. I work for brinks and my alarm works fine…
Good for you!
Another issue about dealing with Brinks….they install their “Special Brinks Keypad” along with the control panel that are proprietary to them and cannot be reprogrammed for different service….that means even after you fulfill your 3 year term and want to make a change, its going to cost you to change out that control panel and keypad. Make sure to go with a company that puts in a system that can be reprogrammed, it can save you money in the long run!
[...] on May 26, 2009. Filed under: Uncategorized | Here’s a link to some other unfortunate indviduals who made the mistake of choosing Brinks Home [...]
An Alarm System is only as good as the technicians who install it. Get a shady/lazy installer? Well then yeah you’re gonna have many problems. I have worked for ADT and Brinks and let me give a few recommendations in my opinon:
Stay AWAY from wireless. If a company tries telling you that they’ll give you a free upgrade to wireless, insist they make the system 100% wired. Then you don’t have to worry about signal problems, changing batteries, and ugly devices. Which do you think a lazy salesperson or installer would choose…. 1 hour installation wireless system that any monkey can install or 8-10 hour installed wired system? It is Up to You which you ultimately get.
Brinks and ADT both have corporate branches and dealer branches. It doesn’t matter which you go with either one could have bad installers.
In my opinion ADT sucks… buying out the small mom and pop alarm companies just to make them the largest, while giving customers terrible customer service, and “constantly raising rates”. If you are having problems with Brinks…. make sure you get to talk to someone other than a Branch or Dealer manager. Do this and you will be taken care of. As far as the 3 year contract goes…. If you’ve ever looked into getting an alarm system, everyone has a contract. Heck ADT is sliding in 5 year contracts now.
If a Brinks Sales Rep never brought forward the 3 year term then that is bad. However, how could you ever expect to get a $500-$700 system with labor installed for $99 and not be in a contract for a term of service. Companies would go broke with people getting alarm systems installed and then canceling soon after and keeping the alarm. Still it comes back to the consumer reading and understanding contracts before they sign.
Brinks move policy…. Have the system at least a year and get the Basic Premium System installed for Free and get 50% off additional equipment. If you move into a new home and you get told that sorry we don’t service that area, “try a different zip code”, or ask someone who has a Brinks Sign in there yard who they got it from. If all else fails look in the phone book and online and find a dealer close to your area.
Now I know you’re gonna make judgement on me because lets face it “I don’t think Brinks Sucks, and in fact, I believe Brinks is the best multi state alarm company around.
I will say that people should stay clear of ADT “Another Dumb Technician / Always Done Twice”. No joke, they send out the flunkies to install, get the account on, then within days customers are pissed and then they send out technicians to fix the system and make it work. There dealers don’t even have to use a certain brand or quality of system. They can install whatever. At least Brinks only has a set product line that can be installed.
Whatever the case may be:
Make sure your system is 100% wired, stay clear of wireless.
Make sure they send a technician to install and not an installer.
If the company says they can’t wire your house, find someone else. 10 years ago, wireless wasn’t used hardly at all. Companies took pride in installing long lasting, dependable alarm systems. Even ADT did before they were bought by TYCO which by the way seems to me was the beginning of their downfall.
Any home can be wired, just depends on how skilled the technician is that is installing. There are many tricks of the trade the can be used to make anything possible. Just make sure you force it, because otherwise you’ll have a wireless system that only took them 1 hour to install and will only last 6-12 months before you start having problems, verses a “properly installed” wired system that can run 7-10 years without a hitch with the exception of changing the master control backup battery, which even at 10 years could still be good enough for 4-6 hours of backup power.
Trust Brinks, read the fine print, and know what type of system should be installed, and if something isn’t to your liking? Call someone from their head office and get the problems resolved… and forget about ADT, Protection One, and Monitronics…. Yuck!
brinks locked my system, i was behind on my bill, called and shut iy off
really never used it much, miss the door chime, would love to know how too activate it,
BRINKS IS AS DISHONEST AS IT GETS. There contract is written to make you think you are only paying for one year of service. They even have you intitial the amount each month, HOWEVER, they do not take that to the next reasonable step which is to calculate that over 36 months so each customer can see what the actual cost is over the 3 yrs. They are extremely deceptive and dishonest including the saleswoman, Diane in my area that never told me this nor explained that it was a 3 year contract. The sales pitch was clever to say the least. The small print in the rest of the contract states it is a 3 year contract. While the lawyers are clever for BRINKS, the reality is companies like this are being run by SCUM and people who are a bigger threat to my middle class way of life than any terrorist from abroad. Here we are trying to protect our businesses and homes from thieves. WHO ARE THE REAL THIEVES? Perverted system and dissapointing to say the least. Transparency is really lacking in this company. BEWARE…………..
I work for a small security company in Georgia. Many of the issues raised about Brinks and ADT are accurate. The problem you run into (as consumers) is that these companies play to the ‘deal’ part of your personality. And I have run into this with many customesr that call us ‘after the fact’. They get their alarm system for $99, but fail to read the contract for term of service (generally three yeasr) and what they are paying for in monitoring. Usually, when you figure the monitoring fee over the period of the contract the customer has acutally paid what the equipment would have cost if they had bought it up front. But, here we go back to ‘I want a deal’ or ‘I can’t afford that much’. I have even read one companies contract that stated that during the term of the contract if the end user failed to pay out the term that they (the alarm company) had they right to remove the equipment from the premises and were not responsible for damages incurred during the removal process!!! That’s why I tell all customers up front, 1) Yes, it is expensive, however, after the initial insatll and you pay the bill the alarm system is yours. 2) the contract you are signing is for monitoring only for a period of three years. 3) You, can cancel the contract at any time, however you are liable for the term of the contract (as with any contract a consumer would sign) 4) after the initial term of the contract you may cancel at anytime with 45 days notice via mail, email or fax. 5) and lastly, if you decide to use another alarm company after your initial contract, we will default the master code and provide it to the customer or new installer.
First let me say I was a tech now a Manager for a Local Alarm Company and not one of those autorized dealers. We have a contract but it is from month to month for legal stuff and you are requested to let us know 30 days in advance to cancel service. So all companys have some form of
monitoring contracts. We sell you a system that can be reprogramed
but we lock it for protection if you decided to cancel we will unlock at
your request because it is your system. What most of you people did is
get a free system with 24 to 39 dollars a month monitoring. We charge 17 dollars a month so as you can see the system you had installed was not
free. I have people complain to me about these companys and all the
problems of not getting service or being able to cancel service until 3 years
is up. I always ask them why did you go with that company they say the
initial cost was cheaper. Well yeah if you sign a 3 year contract that auto
renews. Someone once said if you want cheap will give you cheap but it
want be good and if you want good will give you good but it will cost the
good price. So I agree that companies like Brinks (now Broadview) ADT
and Monitronics. You should avoid these companys most of the contracts
state the equipment belongs to them so you never own it thats why they
can make it where you can’t reprogram them to go to another monitoring
station.
Ask around about you local companies that monitor the systems they install.
Ok, I agree BRINKS now Broadview Security is not the best company to deal with at all! Poor Customer Service and flawed technical support follow up.
So let’s start a class action against these scum bags!
Brinks (Broadview) was the much better deal for equipment, monthly fee, and salesperson vs ADT.
The ADT woman arrived in a rusty pick-up with a mystery person riding shotgun and sat in my driveway the entire time. Had NO idea of the fees and services and wrote estimates for me on a yellow pad of paper.
After that experience, I was going to pass entirely. Broadview was 100% better. No problem with the install. Called immediately on the first accidental trip of the system.
Yes, over 3 years I will pay them 100s and 100s of dollars, but that will pay back all of the equipment and the 6 hours on install….that man worked hard for “free”. To get a tech to your house for 6 hours would be 100s alone, never mind the equipment.
You get what you pay for….if you expect all of that for free or $99 you are dreaming.
Brad (school adminstrator, not Broadview sales)
Brinks totally sucks… I picked up their monitoring for two months, but after shopping around I called them to cancel… just like a bad used car salesman in a cheap suit they offered to lower their price! Funny, if you don’t ask they are happy taking everyone to the cleaners. They asked me to sign a contract and I kindly explained that I never sign a contract when I get nothing in return. (The system was already in the house when I moved in.) They tried to insist that the equipment was theirs, but I explained they should call the guy I bought the house from since the entire property and everything in it was sold to me. They even had some dumb technician show up and say he was at my place to remove the system. I explained that he needed to leave my property or get his ass shot off. I pulled their propietary board and put in a nice little system from the internet. Thanks for all the other hardware Brinks idiots. Now I pay $9 a month to have it monitored by a good honest company. Simple capitalism, I hope demand for that crap company makes them wither and die a slow death. Long live real capitalism and smart consumers. Read EVERYTHING and NEVER TRUST Security System SALESPEOPLE, they are POND SCUM!
Broadview/Brinks most recent scam. After all the foreclosures, we received a message flashing on our keypad and called the number. I was told that we needed a new battery. After researching purchasing and installing one on my own, I decided it was more cost effective to have them come out. I paid the money and they did the work. Strike one! Last week, two months after changing our phone service, another flashing message. I call again and am told that they are not connected to our new phone (same number different carrier). Cost: $90.00 per hour. I make an appointment and the tech comes out and “connects” everything. I’m prepared to pay the $90.00 but he says I can sign up for a $5.00 a month plan that will protect me from any other service call charges. I bite. Strike two! If anyone else has had any similar situations, let me know. I think they are scamming people to make up for the lost revenue due to foreclosures. I’m waiting for the next message or others who have received these keypad messages. Since they have computer access to your keypad, they can tell you anything. I DON’T TRUST THEM!!!
Even after completing three years of contract period, I did not own the equipment. They also disabled it to be used without monitoring. I asked them to take it out of my house so I can install another one. BRINKS SUCKS. NEVER GO TO BRINKS.
Does anyone know, which make and model they use for home security systems?