Like many of the reports that I have read, I too have been screwed by Monitronics. After not having used our alarm for the entire 2-yr contractual period which ended July of my wife and I were very much looking forward to getting rid of the $33.85/mo charge that we hated paying.
After looking through our contract and reviewing the billing statement we were unsure on how to cancel. So we decided to phone the company and seek the proper steps in cancellation. The representative that my wife spoke with (In May-2 months prior) said to simply write a letter stating that we wanted the contract to be cancelled at the end of our 2-yr contract period and that this letter could be sent in with our final payment. So we did it, and thought that everything was dandy.
Low and behold we get a bill early July. Thinking that there must be a good explanation we called in. Nope... Turns out that whoever we spoke with in May gave us the wrong information. We were informed that our letter went to the bank and that they "didn't care about our contract", and "they simply just threw it away". Of course we argued about what we were told and to no end we were simply told that we were in the wrong, the contract was already into the 1-yr renewal and there was nothing that could be done.
She asked if we had recorded the individuals name we spoke with, or if we had sent in the cancellation letter certified... Nope. Why would we? We weren't told. I have never had to do this with a contract before, so maybe I'm naive, still... Why couldn't they originally tell us this info.? We would have never had a problem with any of it. The rep. Said she would mail out a copy that would be highlighted showing us what information we should have found. Still didnt' change the fact of what they told us on the phone in the first place! We asked for a manager/supervisor and were told that they'd get back to us. What a joke... What kind of company doesn't have a person of higher authority immediately available to discuss an issues with the account.
Well... 3 days later we finally spoke with one... And it did us not a bit of good. I can't tell the difference in speaking with a rep. Or mangager... They all feed you the same bullshit! Not even a sliver of sensible customer service in their bones! Even when we had the copy of the mailed contract in front of us explaining that the areas they highlighted (Paragraph 3,17 and 21) were totally misleading and insufficient in direction; they didn't care. It's as if we were talking to a wall. "I'm sorry sir, but I can understand your frustration" and "I'm sorry sir, but the contract is in the 1-yr renewal and there is nothing that can be done". That is their two favorite lines. I bet they hand this out to new employees as a handy guide on how to screw the customer. What an absolute freakin' joke!
Needless to say talking with them got us absolutely nowhere! We have since sent in a letter to a supposed manager Linda Banks explaining the situation, but I highly doubt that she will resolve it.
I refuse to pay them. Unlike some of the people that have made reports also we sent in a check for our bill rather then have it automatically deducted from our account... Thank god! So we will be sent to collections, but we really don't give a damn. Monotronics will never, ever, ever see a penny of it! We own our home, our cars, don't use credit cards so we could care less about the ding they try to put on our credit history.
We have since filed reports with the Better Business Bureau, State Attorney General, Federal Trade Commission, and we are looking into filing a report with the SEC as well as any other consumer sites that will give them a bad name. We will do our damdest to give them a bad name. I do not have the desire to seek legal action, because I think the effort would be useless.
Hopefully word will spread and this company will soon be a thing of the past. I really doubt that, but I can guarantee that they lost a few customers of the sheisty service with me.
Good luck to all who have been screwed... We feel your anger.
Mr. & Mrs. Johnson
Portland, Oregon
U.S.A.
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