Alarm Force
Reviews and Complaints

We had Alarmforce install service in prior home and then sold home. We asked Alarmforce to come out and transfer system; they did not and they said to leave it and the new owners would be offered the service. The new owners did not want the service and disposed of the equipment; Alarmforce then billed me $ 600 for equipment so I cancelled service in person and paid the $ 600.
They then billed me and indicated I must continue the service to the end of the agreed term even though they had previously agreed if I paid the $ 600 they would cancel the contract. In fact the installer who came to close out account wrote clearly on the service work order "service cancelled Paid in full" on the work order. Alarmforce continue months after this occured to take $ 28.95 from my bank account. My bank tells me I must close my Bank account to cancel the direct debit from Alarm Force. I have contacted Alarmforce and they refused to cancel. Alarmforce has a perpetual payment plan with zero service. Do not opt for this one!

I AM NOT an employee of complaintboard! This is my story about Alarmforce. When I got to work this morning I had a message on my phone. The message was from Alarmforce saying they had an alarm at such & such address & were dispatching authorities. I don't use Alarmforce, had never even heard of them! They had called the wrong number. I did call them & was transferred to customer service which wasn't available for another 1/2 hour. I have since called & they are going to check on the address. Why don't I feel secure in knowing this? I have an alarm system & would be very angry to know that they had called a wrong number. I've checked other complaint sites & the consensus is the same. Stay away from Alarmforce.

I need your help, PLEASE !
*
I happen to have 2 properties in Raleigh, North Carolina
*
I am going through a BITTER divorce, so I left my house located on 1323 Shine Water Lane, Raleigh NC 27614 and I moved to another property located on 2632 Vega Court, Raleigh NC 27614.
*
I had AlarmForce installed on 1323 Shine Water Lane, Raleigh NC 27614
*
When I moved out, after 9 months or so, I called AlarmForce to also install the security system on 2632 Vega Court, Raleigh NC 27614
*
The new installation on the new address was problematic. The garage door sensor would not "chime" when the door was open and the technician had to come back twice to fix it after I spent several hours calling them and trying to move the "2-way box" to different locations around the house, "PER THEIR INSTRUCTIONS"
*
The problem is that AlarmForce sent the technician, Jeff Gray, to the wrong house to repair the newly installed alarm. This Happened on October 6th. AlarmForce has this documented and they admit to it.
*
My wife has a protective order (restraining order) on me and she filed a law-suit for trespassing and trying to gain access to the house.
*
This cost me $2, 109 in legal expenses and I had to take 2 days off of work. This case got continued because the AlarmForce contractor refused to come voluntarily to court and I had to spend $609 to have him legally subpoenaed.
*
Their technician, Jeff Gray (phone number: [protected]) was actually subpoenaed and he went to court on December 21st 2011 as a witness and he testified in court that he went to the WRONG house.
*
AlarmForce CAUSED this problem to me and they refuse to reimburse me. They need to take responsibility for the problems they cause to their customers. It is a very simple issue.
*
They do business right here in Raleigh, NC, but their company is in Canada.
Please file my complaint on my behalf immediately.

Their customer service address is:
675 Garyray Drive, Toronto, Ontario M9L1R2
I am user number 643147
Their Phone number is [protected]. Their website is http://www.alarmforce.com/

My Name is Flavio Almeida [protected]. My address is 1323 Shining Water Lane, Raleigh, NC 27614

Thank You !

Being a new home owner I rushed into getting an alarm system, my choice was Alarm Force (big mistake). First of all the technician didn’t explain the workings of the system thoroughly, and the vapid crude design made me wonder was this system worth the money. Within four days I called to cancel the service. A representative told me he would make a note of my cancellation and a tech would call me back, a full day went by without a call from Alarm Force. I called back the next day and was questioned by a manger by the name of Matt as to why I wasn’t satisfied. I told Matt the reason for my dissatisfaction was due to the empty design (no keychain, and lack of options). Matt asked me to reconsider stating “they are the cheapest on the market” at $35mo, Matt seemed not to understand that cheaper is not always better. Matt also forgot one critical rule, the customers decision is theirs, honor it! After a bunch of nonsense caucusing and I do mean nonsense Matt told me I would be given a $135 refund within two weeks, when my $135 check failed to show up on the third week I called Alarm Force. This time someone by the name of Shawn answered the phone and told me the check was still being processed and running behind schedule, and that I should see “something” the next week. Being patient (as I work and make money) I waited till the following week and gave Alarm Force another call, this time I was told it would be six weeks, at this point I became suspicious. Once again being patient I have waited seven weeks with still no refund, I called Alarm Force on 2/3/2012 and was put on hold. The representative told me she would have to send out another check due to something happening to the first one, preposterous. This company seems to be made up of sleazy salesmen with shady business practices.

I thought that the public should know specifics of my conversation with this company. I recently heard advertising for Alarm Force so decided to call them in order to get more information. Little did I know how informative the conversation was going to be. I thought that I would put it in bullet form for ease of reading.

-Their headquarters are in Canada. Canada.
-They sell you the system over the phone. They know nothing about your home and the equipment you may need. It’s one package … that’s it.
-When asked if they can send a representative out for a consultation they declined.
-In all of their advertising they talk about how they have two-way technology at a fraction of the price that other companies charge. This is not the case. The reason why they advertise that the rate is only $25.00 is because it comes with minimal and substandard equipment.
-In their pitch they say, “Equipment is not going to save you, monitoring will”. I agree with that statement, however, no amount of monitoring will safe you if your homes doesn’t have adequate coverage.
-Their system comes with only two “contacts” and one motion detector which they claim will completely protect your home.
-They discourage purchasing other equipment, referencing it as unneeded. I got the feeling that the reason they do not want you to purchase the additional equipment is because that will raise the price so much that they then will not be at a fraction of the cost of other companies.
-The kicker in all of this is that their system is one of those all-in-one units that “has a pull cord going from the unit to an outlet where you would plug it in”. I’m not sure what everyone knows about security systems, but this is some serious Mickey Mouse technology.
-Speaking about technology … they also advertise they have line-cut technology. What they won’t tell you is that their line-cut technology does not work in unison with their two-way technology, leaving their technology in the stone age.
-What their line cut technology seems to be is a back-up communication source known as a radio … a piece of equipment that every security company out there has.
-After asking extensive questions, I learned that the two-way technology that they have only works with a phone line, and will not ever work with their line-cut technology.
-They subcontract all of their work. Literally, the guy on the phone said that they will call one of their contractors up to install the system.

If you want a good laugh, call this company but under no circumstances should you choose them to protect your home and family. Based on my conversations with four or five other companies out there, I’d suggest choosing ADT or Safe Touch. Heck, I might as well write a review on them too while I’m at it.

We were using alarm force since 2006 and used for 4 years. Service was terrible. We moved to VOIP based telephone in Decemeber 31, 2010 and Alarm force equipment was not working there after. When we called the customer service they want us to start a new contract for another 3 years, + higher fees and so on. The equipment was not working for weeks. We told them to cancell the service. And when we cancelled the service, they do not want to cancell it. they drag us for 5 months and keep giving threatening calls and Letters and created a fear if we dont pay fabricated bills " approximately 300 $" God only knows how they managed to make such a huge bill after cancellation of the service . There was a one month advance payment in there hand when we cancelled the service. Instead of returning one month charge and sending us an apology, they fabricated a smart 300 $ bill and threatened us - "will send us to collection agency".

They are not a customer focussed company. they are only thinking about how to make money. If they were genuine we were more than happy to pay even for as many days when the service was not working and they asked for. If they would have send a technician to our house I would have renewed the contract. When we asked for a technician they need 50 $ for the technican.

Also during the contract once our sensor got broken, and they charged 50 $ for the Sensor...
If there is a late payment due to changes in Credit card info and forgot to inform them: Immediately a penalty
Totally a crooked company, not thinking about the customer. Only trapping the customers.

Moral of the story: You install alarm force to protect yourself from thiefs. In the end you realise they are the biggest thief. King of thiefs. Running a kingdom of modern day thiefs based on consumer fears, security feelings, complicated consumer contracts and trapping theories.

Alarm Force is a joke also they are so horrible to deal with. They still are charging me for services already cancelled in June 2010. I also had been trying the pay them for equipment not found (Three times they have not taken the payment; also they lost my money order even after it was signed by registered mail.)

I had to get a posed box to get them to stop the harassing letters at my home. I went to the better business bureau to get a refund for amount I paid for from June to November (which I was not using the service at all.) My credit has been tainted because of this god *** company.

They are still charging me for my cancelled service.

DO NOT GIVE anything personal like Credit card numbers or bank information they will still use it to there advantage which is against the Canadian Privacy laws.

So take all information off there system so they will not steel your money.

Beware of this company. It is great at the beginning but terrible at the end.

If it continues I will be putting a legal action on this company.

We had our system installed on jan 21rst 2011.We we're told to call in and ask on what dates they could take out the payments so... My husband called in on jan 28 2011 and asked them for the 15th of every month.Customer service calls back on jan 31rst 2011, telling my husband that they couldnt on the date we asked for because there wasnt enough time to change the date that they needed 5 buissness days to have the date we wanted, so that they were gonna pass it on the 1rst of fed instead of the 15th.THEY CALLED ME 1 DAY BEFORE IT HAD TO PASS. So what happended it BOUNCED in my account . I called customer service and they t old me that i had tp provr it to them that basiclly they didnt believe me as if i was lyiing . I waas so upset and insulted that i asked to speak to a su[ervisor so...they passed me to AVRIL GOLDEN...So she tells me the same thing so i said i was insulted that there asking me to proove it...So i send a copy of my bank statment .I get a call back the day after from miss AVRIL GOLDEN telling me that they cancelled my services because i wouldnt be able to pay 28$ amonth...ANOTHER INSULT...IM PUTTING A COMPLAINT TOWARDS THIS PERSON FOR THE INSULTS SHE DID TOWARDS ME.

I owned a small business and contracted the services of this company in 1997. I always payed monthly fees on time for equipment and monitoring services. In 2008 business was not doing well and we had to shut down the facility monitored by alarm force. On November 2008, we called this company to cancel the service. They told us that we could not cancel because there was a contract that that expired until 2011. I never signed such a contract and I asked them to see it. They never demonstrated that I signed or authorized such contract. The company continued to charge my bank account until I stopped the automatic charges a year latter. The company charged my account more than 300 dollars, despite my cancellation of the service. Now Alarm Force says that I owe them more than 700 dollars for monitoring a place that does not exist. Every time
we call, they are disrespectful or they do not return the calls. Despite our explanation and the lack of a signature or authorization of contract, they now send the account to a collection agency. My wife received a harassing call from the collection agency. Now I can see how this company is claiming to be profitable to the financial world; they are harassing loyal customers and using unethical means to extract money without providing services. These suspicious and unacceptable business practices must stop!

This is the first time in my 36 years on this earth that I have ever been so disgusted with a company that I have taken the time to figure out how to post a poor review and WARN people what they are dealing with. The system their technicians installed had issues from day 1. After multiple phone conversations with IT to troubleshoot issues (and many after hold times as much as 15-20 minutes long), as well as 3 service calls where I had to take time off work to meet with the service tech, it was finally determined that the system had "interference". I was point blank informed by the last technician that the system never should have been installed as it was, as the distance from the keypad and the main box was too far. Anyway...after hours...and I mean HOURS of discussing the issue with IT, then the customer NO SERVICE representatives and finally the manager, we concluded it best to have the system removed, and that they would then refund the money I had spent on the original equipment purchase ($200 +/-). The system was removed from my home, and 2 MONTHS LATER I STILL HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY REFUND! After about a month I called and spoke with the customer NO SERVICE representative and she stated that they had not yet received the equipment back...to which I replied...and this is my "fault" HOW - it is YOUR technician? Her defense: that "they have no control over how long it takes for equipment to ship through customs" (can we say BUY AMERICAN), and that until it was received, my refund couldn't be processed. What was then determined was that THEIR installer hadn't even sent the equipment back yet. I "suggested" that she call them and verify they had the equipment so that they could issue my refund, which she refused to do. Additionally...they did not cancel my automatic deduction, which she said she couldn't cancel until they received my equipment back...anyone else find this ABSURD and UNETHICAL? After too much blood pressure elevation, I asked to talk with the manager and have spoken to him on MULTIPLE occasions. "Supposedly" the check for the equipment is in the mail (two months later)...BUT my check for "reimbursement" of my AFT deduction is "being processed and should be sent in the next 4-8 weeks". If you are looking for a complete lack of Customer Service, lack of common sense, poor business model, faulty installation and an absolute HEADACHE - you have found your company. If not...CONSUMER BEWARE.

I've been in the customer service industry for over 20 years; first in hospitality then in Sales with 3M Canada for 16 years. The encounter with your company has been by far the most outstanding experience I’ve ever had. After sending in my inquiry on line, off your website, I received a call from Victor Kaushal, two minutes later. This astounded me and was delighted as Victor continued to make my day.

He was extremely professional and knowledgeable, and in five minutes indentified and met all my needs. He booked an installer, quoted me the incredible price of under $30 a month, reassuring me this was my best option for home security and protection. I was sold after only five minutes, I was left feeling entirely looked after and amazed. He assessed my situation from top to bottom, even adding in to my amazement, the option of pressing my key fob buttons to be “escorted” to answer the door if I was unsure who was on the other side – I laughed saying it was just like having a husband, but with none of the issues! My system was installed the very next day and want to write to tell you how utterly pleased I am. Robert Hepburn was on time, very thorough and listened to all my concerns customizing my application to meet my needs.

Wow... My thanks - you and your company have dazzled me.

- Larisa in Canada

I just thought that everyone should know that alarmforce, particulary Joel Matlin used my friends image on their website for advertising without his permission, now they are being sued and think they dont owe him anything, but records show their profit skyrocketed during this period .Please give me your opions of this matter .thanks

I sure wish I read this before taking over an existing alarm system in a house I purchased. Received inadequate training on system, so everytime I came home, alarm would go off. Was able to turn it off, and never turned it back on again - as was unable to ever be properly trained, and literature left behind, did not explain properly. Tried to cancel contract, as period was up, but they wouldn't pick up equipment. I had to send it back to them using a form that they would send me. Never received this. Then my credit card expired, but no problem, they must have just kept putting in numbers, until they got the new expiry date, as they sure kept billing me.

Finally I sold my house, and moved, and cancelled once again. Still wouldn't pick up equipment for service that had never been used, but sure had no problem continuing to bill for service that had been cancelled. Finally changed my credit card, for other reasons, and then was finally able to stop paying for service that was never ever used, and contract period was up years before.

Not sure if anyone knows this, but they do not send out statements. Just keep billing credit card, and billing it. Do not want to alert customers of these charges or when the contract is up. Only see charges being deducted on card. No other company that I am aware of, doesn't issue monthly statements. Not even sure if this is legal?

Once equipment was returned at my expense, they then sent me to collections, for a product that was never used, was cancelled in fact. These issues do not matter...as what do they care that I am going to tell everyone that I know never ever to use this company. Bottom line is customer service is unknown to this company, but they sure are good at making up charges. Only company I have ever dealt with that has ever treated me this bad. To top it all off, they are now threatening my credit record, instead of doing the honourable thing and treating me with decency and thanking me for paying for years for service that was never used!

We had gotten Alarmforce installed in2006..and ofcourse got stuck in three year contract with awful service.
The batteries out of all sensors ran out within few months of installation.
When I relocated they charged to come down and setup.and put one motion sensor, in the hallway at such an angle that it never detected the living room motion.it would only sense if someone came in front of it...
I had planned to change the phone company to go with Voip being cheaper ..come to find out Alarmforce is not compatible..few months later they upgraded to digital but wanted me to pay $159 for the upgrade..and would not even give the option of getting out of the contract...when I refused to pay I was told"if your phone line gets cut we r not responsible..we wont get the signal" leaving me no choice.
Finally I am done witht he contract, so glad to get out.but i had to mail all the equipment back before the 15th of the month, , otherwise they charge for the next month..Apparently it takes them 60 days to process cancellation..ridiculous I say..I mailed mine on 20th, they still charged my card.when I called, the representative was rude..and all she had to say was "it shoud have been here on the 15 so we will charge your card."
Very Upsetting..I would definitely not recommend it to anyone..horrible service.

First of all their equipment is trash secondly they are not a real security company don't get fooled go with companies like ADT or Brinks and be very careful not to sign any thing unless you read the fine print. Heres my experiance with thek I signed the original contract for 3 years well just after the 3 years I have then service the alarm system because it was being activated for no reason. Here is the scam I paid cash for the service call the asked me to sign the work order acknowledgeing that the work was done turns out that work order was an agreement to extend the contract for a further 3 years. When I tried to get out of this they were very rude told me to bad you signed a contract I sent all their equipment back told them I wasn't going to pay them another dime. I now have ADT THANK GOD areal security company. Now I found out that they kept billing me for the 3 years even after I sent their equipment back they provided me with no service as i"m with ADT now! Guess what now I have the collection agencys calling and they put that against my credit burea. So please tell all your friends and family to stay away from Alarm Force.

I had Alarm Force system and did 3 yr contract. I wanted to end the service early as i was moving so sent my system back early. Several months later Alarm Force states they never received everything. So I am being billed $291.36 and was sent to collections. I pay all my bills and have excellent credit. This is harrassment.

I do not recommend Alarm Force at all.

Also, I am filing a compliant with BBB and Market Place.

We had our new AlarmForce system installed in July 2008. My wife was home during the installation and I had left instructions as to where I wanted the sensors located. On top of basic package we 'purchased' 2 additional smoke detectors, 1 glass break sensor and 1 door contact for a total of $361.20. (I put that in quotations because we really do not own anything.)

The installer insisted on placing the motion sensor BEHIND AN INTERIOR DOOR which, if left open, would render the system useless. He came back and moved it (damaging our wall) to another location. In this position, the system could not be armed if our wood stove was hot! I finally moved the sensor myself (damaging the wall again - the guy used tape and screws) and have not had another issue.

In October, the system said that there was a 'low sensor battery'. That's right, in three months a set of two lithium batteries had went dead in the glass break sensor. Then in December, the same error crops up again! The issue is that the system does not tell you which sensors are faulty! We did a test and three sensors did not report in! MORE lithium batteries down the tubes!

Just this past month, I took a terrible coughing fit near the glass break sensor and set off the alarm! That wasn't the bad part. I waited patiently by the AlarmForce box for the operator to come over the speaker. After a few minutes, I figured that they were not going to respond and went to brush my teeth. I had time to get to the bathroom and start brushing before I heard someone!

Our latest AlarmForce pain came when our credit card company canceled our card in a security investigation. I remembered to call our heating oil supplier, phone company, cellphone provider, etc. but forgot to call AlarmForce. TWO DAYS LATER they mailed out a $21 SERVICE FEE notice because of the card being declined! Let me stress that they did not call us at all, just mailed out the bill. I called to explain the situation and was met with a very harsh attitude by their representative. After 20 minutes, I was able to have the fee reversed.

The trouble is, I cannot get out of their service contract. Thirty months at $25 come to $750 that I just cannot throw away. I will have to live with their poor response and inadequate equipment for the foreseeable future.