Friday Frustrations

I haven't done a "Friday Frustrations" post in a long time. But this one is too good not to share! 

Here's the backstory. In 1986, our house was broken into when we were on vacation. After that happened, we had a security system installed by a small, family-owned business. Fast Forward 35 years--that company was sold to a large, multi-million dollar company.

Before I launch into the problem, you need to know that we do not use our security system---ever!! Not even when we're on vacation. We had some problems with that years ago. That's a whole 'nother story! We keep the monitoring service because we also have fire protection. That works whether you are using the security side or not. It's not expensive--about $25.00 a month. 

The "new" company wanted to upgrade our old system--for free. I'm not stupid. I knew they would try to upsell something while they were here.  It goes downhill from there. Here is my final email to this "new" company when they sent me this question:

Mrs. Eads,

Last we spoke, you said you did not want an upgrade unless it was less than $200. The service department is sending us a message that you would indeed like to upgrade to a "smarter" system. Is this correct?

My response:

This is the biggest mess I’ve ever been involved in. It is absolutely ridiculous!

Let’s just start all over again.

1. You contacted me—I don’t even know how long ago it was now—well over a year. You said we needed to have our system updated at no cost to us.

2. We had a working system when your people came out on April 12, 2022. They disconnected it and as it turns out, broke something. They didn't tell us that, but said that our equipment was too old and needed to be upgraded and that someone would contact us.

3. Months go by and no one contacted us. In the meantime, I continued to pay the bill because I thought we still had fire coverage.

4. I started calling again and was assured over and over that someone would be in touch. Finally, someone came out on September 30, 2022. 

5. Jody, you called sometime after that and said that you would talk to your supervisor on our behalf about some consideration on the upgrade since we’ve been customers for over 30 years. 

6. In the meantime we have been told by so many people that someone would call over and over again. And, no one ever did.

7. When I received another bill, it reminded me that I’ve been left hanging for more than 7 months. I ignored the bill and decided that I was done with your company.

8. Then, the company had the audacity to contact me for lack of payment! That’s what got the ball rolling again. They wanted me to pay for something I didn't have!

9. Finally, I was sent some sort of contract for $200 to UPGRADE our system—that’s the exact amount I told you that I would be willing to pay. Here is what I thought I was getting—which was listed in the contract that I signed (copied directly from said contract):

Upgrade

Zone Expander 3 

Keypad 1 

Control Panel 1 

Keypad 1

8. I might not know what all that meant, but OF COURSE, I expected an UPGRADE—since it was stated as such IN the document you sent me!!

9. Someone called and set up an appointment for my upgrade.

10. When the guy came out, he said that he couldn’t do the upgrade because I needed new equipment. Basically, I was going to be charged $200 TO PUT MY SYSTEM BACK THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE YOU ALL MESSED WITH IT!

11. I refused. That man said that he’d get with his supervisor and someone would get back to me the very next day. I told him that I had heard that a dozen times before. He assured me…and that was nearly 2 weeks ago. 

12. Now you send me this email. I am trying to find out WHAT IT IS GOING TO COST US TO GET A WORKING SYSTEM! We absolutely are NOT paying thousands. I’m not even sure I want to do business with your company at all! At this point, I am trying to give you the opportunity to make this right!! 

Jody, you are correct. I do want an upgrade as long as it isn’t more than $200. How am I wrong to expect that that’s what I signed to get!!! It’s your contract!!!

This is so frustrating to be treated like this after 30+ years of doing business with you!

*******************************

Okay, so that's where it stood for a couple days. Then I got this:

Good Evening Mrs. Eads,

 

I appreciate your patience while we worked on rectifying the situation for you. It’s unfortunate that your system was too old for the cellular upgrade. Either way you would have had to upgrade despite the new communicator shorting out the old board. It was our best shot at trying to combat your original cellular radio going off line.

 

The typical price for upgrading the panel, new cellular radio, 3 zone expanders and 2 keypads and installation would have been north of $2,500. I gave Jody authorization for the discounted price of $200 since you’ve been a customer for 30+ years—as an appreciation.

 

This brings your system back on and is up to date. While it may not be a fancy touchscreen it is by no means outdated. You even have the option to add the phone app for a small monthly addition if you’d like to remotely arm/disarm and keep tabs on your system.

 

You’re right that this took longer than it should have and I will take full responsibility for that. The best I can do is replace those parts that Jody had sold you for $200. We can look into doing a completely wireless system with a fancy touchscreen, but can’t do it for $200, especially in this economy. 

 

We do appreciate your business and hope that you continue to let *** be your service provider. Please let me know how you’d like to proceed.

***********************************

Finally! Success! So I AM getting my $2500+ upgrade for $200! I don't need a touch screen for something I rarely use. 

Hmmm, after all this, maybe we need to start using the darn thing!!

So dang frustrating. And then there is our pond...never mind, another story for another day!!!