An acquaintance shared the following story: Her elderly mother lives alone in a city neighborhood. Her neighbors are of similar age. Answering a knock at her door, our senior mom is presented with startling (and possibly exaggerated) statistics related to home burglaries, assurance that others in her neighborhood had taken advantage of this offer/opportunity and within an hour, a home alarm system was sold by that age old “door-to-door sales” strategy. By 9 pm that same night, an alarm system has been installed and now our senior has signed a contract for five years of service, received the alarm system, AND the alarm code was set by the technician (who may or may not have been an actual employee of the alarm service company).
By the time mom shared the story with her daughter, they realized that (a) by having the equipment installed immediately (a result of high pressure sales tactics), they in essence waived the right to cancel within three days1, (b) our senior mom had not planned to live in the residence for five more years and (c) while the equipment was free, the monthly plan and any related costs to register the alarm with the local law enforcement made the alarm system a questionable expense for someone on a limited income.
A quick review of BBB complaints (28 in ’09 and 87 in ’08) shows the most common complaints filed by Marylander’s regarding door-to-door sales are:
- Free equipment (questionable quality, sales practices to up-sell the product, bait/switch), but monthly monitoring fees ranging $500 - $2000 per year that are, according to consumers, ineffectively or vaguely explained.
- High pressure sales tactics to those most vulnerable or the use of fear and guilt strategies such as “you want to protect your family don’t you” – hey, who doesn’t?
- Five year contracts without caveats for those who are only renting or leasing a home or for any life altering conditions such as sale of home, unexpected transfers/moves, or loss of income. In other words – a once you’ve signed the contract, you are generally obligated to its terms so it must be terms you can live with!
- Automatic renewal of contract
BBB received consumer stories of door-to-door sales reps wearing a logo on their shirt of a well known security company only to find the contract written under the name of a much lesser known (and probably based on these sales tactics, a much less reputable/dependable company). And one of my favorites? The salesman whose pitch is so good that the homeowner believes he/she is upgrading their current system only to discover that a new system by a different manufacturer AND monitoring company has been installed. The homeowner is now paying a monthly service fee for a system that is no longer in the home and paying for two separate services each month!
What’s the “warning bell” on security system sales? They are absolute necessities for many residences and most businesses. There are very good reputable companies out there (check bbb.org BEFORE you sign an agreement). The biggest problem is actually US – the consumer! We succumb to high pressure sales and deals that really are too good to be true. And most importantly, we don’t read the contract, we make quick decisions without investigating, comparing prices and considering our long term needs.
If you ARE considering an in-home security system, here are a couple of quick facts to consider:
- Don’t agree to immediate installation to give yourself time to consider the investment, to do some comparison shopping, and to check up on the company.
- The company and its sales reps should be registered with Maryland State Police so get background information and confirm they are legit!
- Read the contract; make sure any verbal promises, commitments, or guarantees are in writing; and, make sure you can live with the terms/conditions related to length of time of the contract.
- Follow to the letter instructions on canceling when the contract period expires or you’ll find yourself in another billing cycle that could be, another five years!
Well, that’s my alarming news for the week! Check out a business you can trust at bbb.org and visit our ABC2 Video Directory which lists your BBB’s accredited businesses who are ready to work for you!
1 Maryland Door-to-Door Sales Act provides consumers a three (3) day period that they may rescind/cancel a contract if that contract is signed within the confines of the home.