Contracts not Customer Service and reliability used to keep customers.
In 2019 I upgraded my Mother to Brinks in 2019 Because they offered features such as video, app access and a more user friendly system. I did this mostly because I was no longer living there and it would give me access to monitor and assist her without having to be at the home. At first everything seemed fine. In 2022 we moved the account to her name to get a lower rate from $49 to $29.99. at this time it seemed her contract was extended an additional 5 years. I thought it was only a 2 to 3 years contract but according to the agents I've been speaking to that's not the case. If everything continued to work fine this wouldn't be an issue. However when I switched they did a take over using much of the existing sensors. We had issues with window sensors failing and unlike or previous company there was a charge to replace them. We were told there was a change and they no longer provide replacement sensors. We had some extra sensors from before so we used them instead. When the smoke alarm (that they installed) failed; we were told that it wasn't under warranty and they wanted to charge us for the sensor and to have a tech come out. After multiple calls we were able to get it changed. This also was an experience because after being told it would be now charge the tech informed us there will be one. So again multiple calls were made to get the charge removed. At the same time the panel used to arm and monitor the system started failing. Informed them about that and was told the tech would also address it when he came for the smoke alarm. When dispatch he was only given an allotted time to address the smoke detector not the panel after reviewing the issue he said it would need to be replaced. Surprise surprise it was also no longer under warranty and there would be a charge. It slowly began failing more and at this point you can see the screen to arm or disarm the system or check for any updates. This resulted in the alarm going off 2 days ago and my mother being unable to disarm it from the home. She was a called by the Monitoring Team and when told about the issue transferred to the Tech support Team that was closed at the time. Fortunately I also received the alarm notifications and was able to turn it off remotely. With all the issues my mother finally got fed up and wanted to disconnect. I reached out in here behalf and this is when I was advised that she was under contract till 2027. As I said before I was unaware that she was still under contract because it's been 6 years and so was she. We searched to find it but could find no information on our contract anywhere. I spoke to an agent asked for a copy so I could review it. After waiting about 15 minutes I called back and spoke to a different agent and was then told it could take 24hrs to receive it. This being the case I asked about the details of the contract. It was at this time I found out the contracts were for 5 years and was extended when she got a lower rate in 2022. The contract is how I feel they keep there customers. I'm still waiting to review the contract. If the information provided by the second agent is correct that would mean to break it would cost me $700. The price may be worth it because I don't feel I can trust my mother's safety to a company I no longer trust. I feel there business practices are deceiving and would warn everyone to stay away.