Action 9: Salespeople trick customers into home security contracts

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Watch out for home security companies trying to trick you into signing a contract with them when you already have a home security system.

How it works

A salesperson sees your security sign in your yard and either calls or knocks on your door. They claim they work for a local company your current company contracts with to provide you better service. Then they say you must sign papers before they can assist you. These salespeople are not affiliated with your company and the paperwork they want you to sign is actually a contract with their company. If you sign the paperwork, you get locked into two contracts, which can last for several years. In some cases, they tear out your company's security system and don't install their own, leaving you with two contracts and no security system.

Local scam 

When Emily Sigmon moved into a Statesville home five years ago, she hired ADT right away.

"Just for that peace of mind, it was more important to me than just about anything," she said.

Now that she’s nine months pregnant she was glad when someone called her and told her that he worked with ADT and wanted to do a check-up on her service.

"Why would I second-guess anything?" Sigmon said.

She said he knew her name, address and phone number. She said it was scary that he had these personal details.

It turns out that the man worked for a different company, Safe Home Security, which has nothing to do with ADT.

But  Sigmon said he had already tricked her into signing paperwork, which she later realized had locked her into a 5-year contract with that company.

"I mean, [he] just, lied straight out," she said.

She said Safe Home employees tore out ADT's system, and she doesn't think they replaced it with their own. She is paying for two companies and may have no home security service.

Isn't it illegal?

It is illegal for salespeople to lie about the company they work for. But it is hard for the customer to prove what the salesperson really said to them.

Reward for evidence 

The biggest home security company in the country, ADT, is now offering a $5,000 reward to people who blow the whistle on their own company.

"We're offering a reward to people that can bring us evidence that companies are actually training their salespeople how to use these deceptive sales practices," ADT's head lawyer, David Bleisch, said.

ADT has spent the last three to four years suing companies that trick its customers. The company said it has won several million each year from lawsuits. ADT has about 300,000 customers in the Carolinas.

ADT officials said they will help customers who are tricked but can't guarantee that everyone will get out of their ADT contracts because:

• ADT doesn't want other customers who just want out of their contracts pretending to be victims
• Customers are more likely to tell authorities what happened if they still have two contracts
• ADT still has a valid contract with those customers and it's not fair for ADT to lose that business

Protect yourself

If someone contacts you:

• Ask for his or her ID
• Check with your company to see if this is legitimate
• Don't sign anything without reading it thoroughly
• Remember, legally, you always have three days to cancel a contract

If a salesperson has already tricked you:

• You can sue. Small claims court is typically less costly. But, you'd still have to prove the salesperson lied.
• File a police report. The salesperson may have committed fraud.
• Tell the Attorney General's office. The office tracks these complaints, and if it sees a pattern involving a certain company it may go after the business in court on behalf of multiple victims.

Click here to read the BBB listing on Safe Home Security.

WSOC