ADT has taken rapper Flo Rida to court for failing to pay for a $58,000 security system the company installed. Photo via Flickr (Beyond The Barricade Photography)
Don’t you just burn up when customers fail to pay for the security systems that your company’s salespeople, customer service reps and technicians took the time and effort to sell, schedule and install? To be honest, it makes my blood boil — and I don’t even sell or install security systems!
So, when I came across a recent tweet from @FSN_Ryan, I was instantly annoyed. The tweet read:
“ADT SUES RAPPER FLO RIDA FOR FAILURE TO MAKE PAYMENTS.”
(ASIDE: I’ve been a pretty big fan of social media as of late. If you don’t believe me, check out my social media marketing feature in the September 2012 issue, as well as my three-part social networking blog series. Yes, I realize this is a shameless plug. END OF ASIDE.)
I followed the tweet’s link, which took me to a story posted on kovideo.net. The story mentioned that back in 2009, ADT installed a $58,000 security system at rapper Flo Rida’s mansion. Included in the system were “countless amounts of sensors, smoke detectors and 27 security cameras.”
ADT has presented a copy of the contract to court officials, which shows that Flo Rida’s manager, Lee Prince, signed it. The company maintains that it received the initial deposit of $19, 366.66; however, the remaining amount of $38,733 has yet to be paid. Now, ADT is asking for the amount of unpaid services as well as interest. This brings the remaining total to $47,134.40.
For his part, Flo Rida (né Tramar Dillard) claims that he never authorized ADT to install the security system. Further, he maintains that because his manager signed the contract, Prince is fully responsible for paying the bill. From my understanding, the court hasn’t made a decision on this case yet.
I guess only time will tell whether Flo Rida or his manager is really at fault but one thing is for certain — ADT has not been paid for its services. That doesn’t sit well with me. To be fair, I know there are two sides to every story, and I’ve only received bits and pieces about this alleged incident. However, from the sound of it, there were no problems with the system, so why does ADT — or any security company that has experienced a similar situation for that matter — have to scratch and claw its way to get paid for the service they provided? That’s so not cool.
My question to you, readers, is how do you handle incidents when your client — celebrity or not — fails to pay up? It’s one thing to have to write off a basic residential system but what about more extensive and/or expensive systems like the one depicted above? You can list your answers in the comments section below.
Ashley Willis | Associate Editor