Alarms went off after door-to-door salesman came calling
Posted on September 16th, 2008 – 12:15 PMBy James Shiffer
Warren Leininger has lived in his south Minneapolis home since 1949. He and Ruth, his wife of 63 years, were happy with their security system until a salesman for APX Alarm showed up on their doorstep on a July afternoon. Since then, Leininger regrets that he didn’t just send the guy on his way. His three-day experiment with a new security system could cost him $350 or more, not to mention the time he’s spent calling a company for a refund that never seemed to come.
The security system salesman who showed up on July 30 had such a convincing pitch, Leininger recalled. Even if a burglar cut your telephone lines, the wireless system would still work. Leininger said he was interested. The salesman was still there, and the contract still unsigned, when the technician arrived and went to work, disconnecting the old security system and installing the new one. Even though it was late in the afternoon, the $49.99 fee for the first month’s service was charged to Leininger’s credit card that same day.
“It was a fast sell, very smooth,” Leininger said. “They really use psychology and everything.”
Instructions for operating the system consisted of a single page headed “Cheat Sheet,” Leininger said. They changed the secret alarm code and the APX Alarm reps went on their way.
But when the Leiningers tried to deactivate the alarm after coming home, the code wouldn’t stop it. The police showed up for the false alarm. Then it happened again. The Leiningers had had a previous false alarm. City policy calls for a $100 charge for the second alarm, $200 for the third, and so on.
Leininger turned off the alarm and faxed a cancellation notice to the company on Aug. 1. A former banker who’s an educated consumer, he knew that he had a three-day clock to get his money back. He used the company’s fax number provided with the cancellation form. But when he called APX Alarm, which is based in Provo, Utah, the agent said he didn’t have a record of it. He faxed it again. By the following Monday, though, he was still worried, so he sent a certified letter to the company canceling his service.
He also paid for his previous security service to make a service call ($99) to reinstall the system (cost still unknown). As of last week, APX Alarm still hadn’t refunded the $49.99 Leininger paid, despite numerous calls on his part to Utah. Last week, he filed a consumer complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office.
This week, I spoke to Stuart Dean, a spokesman for APX Alarm. My inquiry immediately “elevated” Leininger’s complaint, so by the end of the day Monday, a VP for APX Alarm was telling Leininger that he would get the charge removed from his account. On Tuesday afternoon, Leininger said, the VP told him he would get a check in the mail for $350 for his troubles.
“That makes me feel better,” Leininger said. “I went through really a lot of problems with them.”
In the summer, APX Alarm has 2,200 to 2,500 sales reps going door to door nationwide, Dean said. They’re typically college students working summer jobs and paid on commission, he said.
Dean told me that the company has a “terrific customer service and support staff” for its half-million customers nationwide. When told that Leininger doesn’t have that same impression, he said, “Gosh, I know we’re extremely proactive on those type of issues.”
Earlier this year, the Minneapolis police Fifth Precinct sent out a public advisory after getting a number of complaints about the aggressive tactics of door-to-door alarm sellers, including APX Alarm reps, said Amy Lavender, a crime prevention specialist with the Minneapolis police. The advisory offered tips to avoid buying substandard security systems and warnings about the city’s false alarm fines.
Residents can also ask to see a door-to-door peddler’s city soliciting license. A sample of the Minneapolis license is visible here.
UPDATE: Warren Leininger told me that he received a check from APX Alarm for $350 on Thursday.
51 Responses to “Alarms went off after door-to-door salesman came calling”
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September 16th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Something like these guys came through our Longfellow neighborhood. Not sure if it was APX. We sent him packing. Offered ‘free’ system, for just the posting of the sign. Very slick types. Nothing is free. And who are you, and why do you want to look around my home? Anyway, none of us hard asses bit, but I’m sure some poor soul was lured in.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
These guys are working door-to-door in St. Paul too. They came to my house twice last week and they do use scare tactics to try to convince you that your system isn’t secure (even though they have no idea what your system is). I called my current security company to ask if these guys represented them, and they told me in no certain terms to not let them in the house and call the cops to get their licences checked. These APX salesmen are all short-timers brought in from out of state.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
A few years ago I had a Security Alarm salesman come to my door telling me how great their system was and they could install it right away. He then told me how a few neighbors already signed up(baloney) and I was pressed to agree right away. I asked him for a brochure which he couldn’t provide. The final straw was him giving me the line “Don’t you want to protect your family?” as though a burglar(which is what alarms are usually attended for) come into your home when you are there..
I sent him on his way and guess what, family still is protected…
September 16th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Im a former Cities resident that now lives outside of Cincinnati. These clowns came to my mothers house and did the hard sell. I was there and kept asking questions, and the salesman got mad at me saying “He must be stealing things out of your house, why is he so worried about you being protected by us?” Against my advice my mom bought the system and now that the power is out in the area, the thing doesnt work at all. Im telling her to get rid of the thing.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Where’s the story here? Bad customer service (in this case) is much different than fraud. The alarm went off and the cops came….isn’t this how its supposed to work?
Obviously the ’sales’ people did a poor job installing the system and the corp. customer service was poor but its not like these folks got fleeced.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
APX also came to my door in July, with the same offer of a “great deal just for posting the sign”. And like all the others, this deal was only good if I signed up then and there. I told him that I needed to discuss it with my husband, and could he come back tomorrow? “Oh, no, this offer is only good if you sign right now.” Ok - see ya! (And I’ll stick with my 2 Beagles security!)
September 16th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Yeah, they were working our Crystal neighborhood with the same scam. I, unfortunately, have a neighbor who loves this stuff so we get stuck with the, “Hey, we’re just across the street at soandso’s so if you put up this sign we’ll give you a FREE system.”
Folks, all you have to do is ask to see their solictor’s license… off they go then. DO NOT LET THEM IN YOUR HOUSE EVER.
I just wish Crystal would put a decent solicitation ordinance in place.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
If you have a good product to sell,
you don’t need deceptive tactics to sell it. These guys are bad news. They hit you now with a three year contract if you buy a system. It was only two years when I bought mine. They defend their company as having many satisfied customers, but the number of complaints about them says something else. Just a bit of advice from one of their customers, don’t buy!
September 16th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
They call my house EVERY NIGHT, sometimes twice! But thanks to caller ID I don’t pick up. It’s still annoying because my number is on the “do not call” list.
September 16th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I had the alarm system installed by APX and am very happy with it. I previously had ADT, and had many problems, not the least of which was no system for 6 months (unbeknownst to me). The new system is working fine, and when I had to call for service because somehow my internet service had been interrupted, someone came to repair it right away at no charge. I know there are many charlatans out there, but I don’t think APX is one of them.