Someone Knocks on your Door – Should you be Alarmed?
You should at least be alert. Especially if that someone knocking on your door turns out to be a less-than-truthful sales representative from a residential alarm company.
They are usually well-dressed, well-spoken, and well-determined to get you to sign up for their alarm system – right there and then even if it means using deceitful sales tactics to do so.
Not all sales representatives use deceptive measures in order to convince you to buy their products; however, the ones to look out for usually use false claims such as:
- They work for or are associated with All-Guard and they need to update your system. All-Guard employees always carry valid ID, please call us at 800.255.4273 if you need additional verification
- All-Guard has gone out of business or has been purchased by another alarm company and they are here to switch you over to your new provider. Please call us immediately at 800.255.4273 if you have any doubts whatsoever
- They need to ‘check’ your keypad only to let you know that your system is outdated and more than likely doesn’t work in an emergency. Oftentimes, they can’t give you a direct answer as to what exactly makes your system outdated
- All-Guard doesn’t offer interactive services such as live cameras in your home, home automation to let you control your lighting and temperature settings, as well as the ability to arm and disarm your alarm system remotely and receive email and text alerts. These are features that we offer all of our customers. If you wish to learn more about our interactive home automation features, please call us at 800.255.4273
- Your system is vulnerable to tampering and can be easily disabled
- They are from an alarm product manufacturer. Manufacturers do not sell direct to consumers and they don’t allow door-to-door sales representative to use their company logos
- You need to sign the contract today in order to take advantage of their offer
- You don’t need to contact All-Guard in order to cancel your current service; they will do it for you. Only you can legally cancel your monitoring agreement with us and you may end up with two agreements
Security Sales and Integrations, one of the most respected publications in the security industry, recently published this article of a Vivint Sales Rep Accused of Misleading Elderly Woman into updating her security system.
All-Guard, as well as most legitimate alarm companies, is a member of the Electronic Security Association (www.esaweb.org), and as such we adhere to their Code of Ethics of not “engaging in deceptive, unlawful, or unethical business practices”.
There are several alarm industry sites that offer valuable information:
- Better Business Bureau ( www.bbb.org). All-Guard currently has an A+ rating
- Electronic Security Associate (www.esaweb.org)
- California Alarm Association ( www.caaonline.org)
- License Search for Alarm Company (www2.dca.ca.gov)
- License Search for Alarm Company Employee (www2.dca.ca.gov)
Don’t fall victim to these deceitful sales practices – you could easily end up with an expensive long-term agreement, no local service department, and an improperly installed system with sub-par equipment that could fail you when you need it the most.