ADT security, electricity and internet or better monitoring security system in katy?

[kreeyax]

Originally Posted by dudecrazy555

How much do you guys pay for ur home security?

$17/month with Smith Thompson

[Rip808]

I second the above posters comment. ADT wanted me to sign a 5-year contract..are you serious?? $45 is a rip-off BIG TIME.

[jasonamd]

Might want to read some of the reviews about Smith's customer service before deciding to go with them. They are definitely cheap and as long as you don't have to contact them for anything you will probably be okay. I have no experience with them and was thinking about going with them (currently paying $45 with ADT) and asked my neighbor how they were since I noticed they had the sign in their yard. They are actually switching to ADT because of the horrible customer service experience they recently had with Smith.

I was willing to deal with not being able to make any changes or do anything online with Smith for the lower rate, but now not so sure.

The reason companies such as ADT lock you into a contract is the same reason cell phone companies do...they give you a discount or free equipment and installation. A ADT system was installed in our house as part of the build process which means we paid for it. I never had to sign a contract with ADT for their service since the system was already installed and paid for.

[johnsmith]

Can you share what horrible customer service experience they recently had with Smith.

Originally Posted by jasonamd

Might want to read some of the reviews about Smith's customer service before deciding to go with them. They are definitely cheap and as long as you don't have to contact them for anything you will probably be okay. I have no experience with them and was thinking about going with them (currently paying $45 with ADT) and asked my neighbor how they were since I noticed they had the sign in their yard. They are actually switching to ADT because of the horrible customer service experience they recently had with Smith.

I was willing to deal with not being able to make any changes or do anything online with Smith for the lower rate, but now not so sure.

The reason companies such as ADT lock you into a contract is the same reason cell phone companies do...they give you a discount or free equipment and installation. A ADT system was installed in our house as part of the build process which means we paid for it. I never had to sign a contract with ADT for their service since the system was already installed and paid for.

[Even Further]

I've had good service with Smith Thompson. Pay once a year, 11 months cost for 12 service months. If the alarm goes off, they call. I price shopped for a cellular based system when I first installed one. They were way less then the other companies per month. Paying for the system up front was worth it in my case.

[jasonamd]

Originally Posted by johnsmith

Can you share what horrible customer service experience they recently had with Smith.

He said he came home one afternoon to their alarm going off. Turns out one of the kids didn't close the back door completely and lock it and the wind blew it open at some point. They never received a phone call from Smith. He called and asked them about it and they said they never got notification that the alarm had gone off. They offered to send a technician out for a $50 fee to look at it. Technician arrived and said that the cell module wasn't getting a signal from their system to place the call because their system was incompatible with the cell module (which smith Thompson installed) and that they could replace the entire security system with theirs with the same features for $450 and then it would work. When asked if that means it hadnt been working for the past 2 years either the tech replied probably not and proceeded to leave. They called Smith and and asked why it wasn't determined their system wasn't compatible when it was installed he was basically told it was up to him to test the system after it was installed to make sure it worked and it wasn't their problem. They could pay the $450 to install a new system or go find someone else.

He said the tech never tested anything. Just looked at the ADT panel and the cell module and made the incompatible determination. He complained about that to the person on the phone and was told if that's what the tech said then that's what the problem is and asked when to schedule install of their system. He said he didn't want it and the Smith person hung up.

[lhafer]

Many many people in my neighborhood use Smith Thompson and are happy with them, have received great customer service, etc.

We had ADT and cancelled it after a year because we had several instances of false alarms and never received any word from them. No phone call, no sending the police to check it out, nothing. Had to call them every time, on,y to find they knew nothing of the tripped alarms. Every.time.

[longhorn96]

I have to admit my initial installers left me with a poor first impression of Smith Thompson (they were in a huge rush, and they left in such a hurry they didn't even realize one of the glassbreak sensors they installed was defective--indicated by a persistent code displaying on our main panel). They also did not want to take time to answer our questions.

BUT I did call to complain the very next business day, spoke to a very sympathetic service rep, and was offered another appointment at no charge with a different technician, and he definitely made things right in my book. He replaced the defective sensor, retested the system, and spent nearly an hour showing us the ins and outs of our system and answering all of our questions. When my relatives needed a security monitoring service a few months later, I told them to request the same tech, and they have had no issues.

So the service (like with most companies) does depend on who you get, but since Smith Thompson made a successful effort to redeem themselves with me after that first bad experience, I have no problems staying with them.