Slomins complaints

["Everywhere Man" <alarminstall@xxxxxxx>]

I was posting this reply to the newsgroup but I screwed up and emailed
it.


Robert L Bass wrote:
> >I think the trouble in the first place is the
> > customer suspects he is getting poor
> > customer service or value for the dollar
> > he is spending with his current provider
> > for some reason....
>
> He may be right.  Following are a few quotes from other folks about Slomins.  Decide for yourself.
>
> "june262004
> Member since 5/05
> 6821 total posts
> Name:
> Kristin
> Re: Security Systems...
> We have Protection One. No complaints. We signed with Slomins and cancelled cause they failed to mention the 5 year Lein they put on
> your house" <

Which is why they got in hot water in CT about 10 years ago. They never
mention it. Did you forget that Blumenthal took them to the woodshed
over this?

>
>
> "Diana1215
> Member since 10/05
> 3170 total posts
> Name:
> Diana
> Re: Security Systems...
> I had a Slomins guy come to give us a quote on an Alarm System....I was soooooo turned off on the salesman I couldn't wait for him
> to get out of my house..."
>
> The above are from:
> http://www.lifamilies.com/chat/topic.aspx?&P=1&ID=23004#P319373 <

This has been said about salespeople from every company, and is the one
complaint I take with a grain of salt. Some customers get turned off by
appearance, ethnicity, age, body language, etc.
I suffered from a vocal cord disorder (not laryngitis) which made my
voice very low and hoarse. It was at a whisper level. When I would talk
to people I had to strain to be heard and sometimes it would seem like
I was yelling but I was only trying to get the words out. I always
tried to explain this to customers upfront but some of them still
accused me of talking in a nasty tone to them. I don't talk nasty to
customers, and I don't allow my employees to do it either, but my voice
made it seem otherwise.
Remember the lady from ADI who accused me of yelling at her that you
talked about so frequently? I still have occassional bouts with this.

No matter what I tell the person on the listening end they still think
I'm yelling. It's for that reason that I take the customer being turned
off by a sales rep lightly.

>
>
> "Slomins Alarm Systems
>
> Senior Scam DVD
> DVD helps seniors avoid telemarketing scams. Order now!
> www.consumeraffairs.org/dvds/
>
>
> "Wayne of New Castle DE (07/06/06)
> I disconnected my landline phone in May 2005. We were not aware that this would stop the signal from going to the monitoring center.
> In November 2005, the alarm went off twice due to a bad wind storm. We were then informed that the system was searching for a
> landline. So we thought our home was being monitored but it was not. Slomin's never contacted us to tell us there was a problem and
> that they were not receiving a signal from our home.
> So I called Verizon and installed a new landline phone service. Slomin's then told me that the system was still not working and that
> I needed to pay for a service call of $79.00 per hour to have the service fixed. I then asked to be disconnected from the security
> system and they told me to do it in writing. Which I did in December 2005. Then they sent me a bill for $1257.25 for a disconnection
> fee. I told them they could come get the equipment from my home but they never came to get it. So now they are suing me for the
> money which I feel they are the ones that broke the contract first by not contacting me when they were not receiving a signal.
> Slomin is suing me and I can't afford to pay for something especially when I am receiving nothing in return." <

A stupid customer meets a stupid company. The monitoring agreement
clearly states that it's the customer's responsibility to maintain a
working land line. Where Slomins drops the ball is by escalating the
issue into a collection item because of a $79.00 service fee. Piss poor
customer service but the customer is just as responsible for not
reading what he signs.

>
> This came from:
> http://consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/slomins.html
>
>
> "Another favorite word among marketers is "free," even when it's not entirely accurate, reader Leo Powelstock of Oradell points out.
> Powelstock, a former president of the Better Business Bureau for Bergen, Passaic and Rockland Counties was alarmed by a recent
> newspaper ad for The Slomin's Shield in which key information "is conspicuous by its absence."
> "How much does our advanced home security system cost you?" the ad asks in large, boldface type. "It's FREE!" it answers itself, in
> even larger type.
> But it's not free. The small type near the bottom of the ad tells consumers that a five-year monitoring agreement is required.
> And what does that cost? It doesn't say, so I called the toll-free number. The customer service rep said she wasn't sure - her job
> appeared to be to gather information to arrange a call from the company's sales rep - but, after checking with a supervisor, came up
> with $25.45 per month if you sign a five-year agreement.
> Do the math, and you find the "free" system will cost $1,527."
> From:
> http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNzgmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2NDU5ODImeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5 <

Bad example by a former BBB chapter president. If he wanted to attack
Slomin's "free" system all he needed to do was READ the Slomins
contract. The Slomins system is NOT free. They sell it for $1179.00 but
if you sign up for 5 years of monitoring they waive the sale price. If
you default then they hit you for the balance of the monitoring
contract PLUS 60% of the sale price, legal fees, and late fees.

Slomins is a joke of an alarm company BUT their contract is still a
legally binding contract. The OP signed a legally binding contract and
your advice to him would have breached that contract so he very well
could have ended up on the wrong side of another $79.00 service
debacle.
That's why I said you should know the facts before you give advice. It
wasn't the usual banter we expect from each other. I was serious in
telling you that your advice would cause this man harm. Slomins comes
across as a company that just looks for reasons to enter litigation
with it's customer base and following your advice would have given them
the excuse they need.

I can provide you with hundreds of more customer complaints on Slomins,
ADT, Brinks, Monitronics, Protection One, and Protect America, but why
would you be so interested in seeing them?