Authorized ADT Dealer Allegedly Scams Elderly Man in Hawaii
The Harimoto family didn’t realize they were scammed until they received two bills in the mail: one from their original provider and one from ADT.
ADT said it would cost $1,700 to cancel the new contract.
PEARL CITY, Hawaii – According to local resident Gayle Harimoto, a door-to-door salesperson claiming to be with ADT lied to her 89-year-old father in order to get him to sign up for services.
“He said that Monitronics was in trouble, that was the service we had, and that ADT would be taking over the Monitronics accounts,” she told Hawaii News Now. “I didn’t think anything about it because he was working off a list so I thought it was legitimate.”
Turns out the salesman was not actually from ADT but another company, Safe Home Control, an authorized ADT dealer.
Harimoto’s family didn’t realize there was an issue until the day they received two bills. One from the original provider, Monitronics (now known as Moni) and the other from their new provider ADT.
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After being told by Moni that her new service was a scam, she reached out to ADT who told her it would cost $1,700 to cancel the new contract.
Instead, Harimoto filed a police report, contacted the city’s Department of the Prosecuting Attorney and filed complaints with the state’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau.
“A lot of times this happens between competitive companies that are looking for more market share,” says BBB Director of Marketing and Communications Jason Kama.
Eventually ADT told her they will cancel the account free of charge.
The summer is notoriously known as ‘door-knocking season’. ADT recently organized a press conference to warn consumers about the onset of the summer door-to-door home security sales.
The best solution when someone knocks on your door is to remain vigilant. Always ask for proper identification and never be pressured into signing a contract on the spot.
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About the Author
Steve Karantzoulidis, Web/Senior Editor
Steven A. Karantzoulidis is the Web Editor for Security Sales & Integration. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Communication and has a background in Film, A/V and Social Media.
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