Reliance Protectron and their bullying practices

I have had this alarm service for 8 years. I initially signed a 3 year contract, and they installed various alarm hardware parts for free. At the end of that term, I signed for yet another 3 year contract, which included more alarm hardware parts to be installed for free. I completed that term as well.

Someone then called me about arranging to meet to sign a contract again, as the term was up. I told him I would now pay month to month, as there was no reason for me to sign a contract again. He told me that wasn’t allowed. After much back and forth between us, he convinced me to sign again, but I told him I would sign but for one year only, as we were just starting to look for a new house. He said he would send the papers out in the mail, I should sign and send them back.

Well, I never got any papers in the mail, and never heard from anyone again in the two years since. Imagine my surprise when, because we were now moving into our new house, I phoned to cancel our service and was told I had to buy out the remainder of a 3 year contract!

I told them I had never signed a contract, but they argued that I had VERBALLY agreed to it over the phone and that was as good as a signature. They had recorded the call, proof of my agreement, so I had no choice but to pay up. I knew I hadn’t agreed to 3 years, and told them so. All arguments fell on deaf ears, and I finally told them to produce the tape so I could hear it. I was sure that once the conversation was heard, they would not be able to charge me for a contract that did not exist.

No tape was ever produced, but I received a bill for $146.76, for contract cancellation.  This was less than the remainder of the contract, but I have no idea how they arrived at this number. A mere 40 days after getting that bill, I started to receive calls and letters from a collection agency. Reliance Protectron themselves never contacted me again. Now in fear that this mess would be a mark against my credit rating, but against my better judgment, I paid the bill.

I am still in shock over the whole thing. How Reliance Protectron treats their long term customers is appalling. I was not someone trying to get out of their initial 3 year contract. I understand the necessity behind chasing down someone who does that. In that situation, the company needs to recover the costs associated with the hardware and installation. Heck, I can even understand that if someone has signed a 3 year contract that they should have to pay a cancellation fee if they wish to end that contract early. But I was not in either of these situations. Instead, this company has lied about a contract that does not exist to get that last cent out of my pocket. I was a long term customer who had paid their bill every single month without fail for years, and this is my reward.

Years and years ago, I had my garage broken into and stuff stolen.  I did not feel as victimized then as I do now. I truly feel like I have been robbed. They lie about nonexistent contracts and they use fear by threatening your credit rating to get you to pay bills that are completely unwarranted. They should be ashamed of themselves for using these tactics against hardworking, honest people.

The internet is full of complaints against these guys, and now I add my own story. I want everyone to know how crooked this company is. Avoid Reliance Protectron and all their subsidiaries- Vivint, Voxcom, Liberty Security, Titan Alarm, etc ... (it’s worth your time to make sure the alarm company you are considering is not affiliated with Reliance Protectron) – at all costs. They will not be the company I choose for my new home, and I plan to spread the word.

We've moved...and I should be happy, right?

     The house is brand spanking new. No one has ever slept in it, ate in it, or used the bathrooms except us. There is not a mark on any wall, floor or ceiling. The appliances were hand-picked by us to suit our needs exactly. They are beautiful, pristine, and completely unused by anyone but us.

    The neighborhood is brand spanking new. One small street with a handful of houses on it. The second day there, we saw a moose 50 yards away, and have continued to see it at least once a week. There are deer and coyotes everywhere. It's quiet at night. It would be quiet all day, except for construction noises around the corner. People say 'hi', and 'good morning' to us with big smiles, as they exit their own pristine new houses. They seem happy, but I wonder if they are.

    Because... I'm not. Which is the weirdest thing in the world.  I should be... I know I should be. I'm not missing the old house. Thank god we are gone from there. I am glad to be close to my sister and the inlaws now. We've seen both more times since being here than all of last year. I should feel priviledged, I DO feel priviledged. Very few people in my family have owned a brand new house. Some will never own a house, period. Yet.... yet I want to lay down, hide my head, and cry.

    I feel more distant from SO in this house, and I can't figure out why. It's leading to feelings of loneliness which I can't explain. Not like, buyer's remorse depression, but like, I am alone in the world. I feel like...I am back in the military, when I lived in the Q in my own little room. It's hard to explain, even to myself.

      Hopefully it will go away. Far away. So I can appreciate this time in my life.

Baby Blues

     The receptionist here at work is out today, sick. I was sick a week ago, as was some other people in the office, so I know there is a bad flu going around. Well, you only have to read the newspaper to know that. Tonnes of articles about hospitals being overrun, when exactly you should go to the hospital, and debates about the usefulness of the flu shot. It's not really what I wanted to talk about, except for the bit of irking I feel that I now have to help with the phones for today. That is left over feelings from the last receptionist, who was sick constantly - or I should say, took sick days constantly. The current receptionist can't help it if she's sick, I know that, especially with a flu raging through the office.

    But she's also pregnant. And this is what I want to talk about. Not about the fact that it only took her two months to get pregnant after coming back from her last maternity leave. That's a whole subject for another day. But, about how she announced that, if she were to get the flu, how she was going to suffer so much worse than any of the rest of us, because, you know... she pregnant and can't take anything. Not a single aspirin or tylenol.

     I really need someone to explain this to me, because I don't understand why you have to suffer so much to have a kid these days. Okay, no booze, no smoking, I understand, mostly. There are studies that show booze affects a fetus's brain, and smoking affects a baby's birth weight, among other things. I won't dwell on the fact that me and all my brothers and sisters were born under these adverse conditions and have all turned out fine. I was born with a weight of almost 9 pounds. I would hate to think what my poor mother would have went through if she hadn't of smoked.

     But...suffering through a flu or a cold when you don't have to just doesn't make sense to me. Is it even smart? If you have a flu with a high fever, and you don't take anything to help reduce that fever, isn't that dangerous for you and the baby? How high does a fever have to be before the baby is affected? And also, when the baby is born, and it gets a cold or flu with a fever, are you going to never give it anything to reduce that fever? Silly me, but that sounds like a trip to the hospital for sure. You can't mess around with fevers in babies. This I know.

    I imagine, as well, without being able to take anything, her absence from work is going to be even longer. I got the flu on Jan 6th, and still feel like I'm operating in a fog. I did nothing all weekend but sleep. Just don't have the energy for anything else. And that's with taking pills to ease the symptoms.

     Good luck to her, I say... and I am so glad I am not pregnant in this day and age - I would be breaking all the rules. I would be one of those women being chastised by Molly Dogooder in the Drug store, when caught reaching for a bottle of cough syrup. "I'm calling Child Services on you!".