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This is one of the many companies selling in-home alarm systems that are supposed to help the elderly and disabled summon help in an emergency. Some of these systems work better than others; all of them are expensive and, in many cases, the contract terms are objectionable. For example, LifeAlert customers tell us that the company holds them to the three-year contract even if the elderly individual dies before the term is up.
A few recent complaints ...
Rhonda of Henderson NV (10/03/08)
I have read many of the stories you have on your website. After having Life Alert for over 6 years, I must say it is the best investment I have ever made. Life Alert has saved my life on 3 separate occasions. Yes that is right! I would not be alive if not for the wonderful people at Life Alert. They have always been nothing but nice and courteous to me. Im sorry if someone else had a different experience, but I must say I think Life Alert is the best and I know my daughter feels much better because i have it also.
Charles of Tucson AZ (08/08/08)
In August of 2006, I signed up my mother,who lives in Lockport, N.Y. to receive a Life Alert System i.e. a Master Unit, Smoke Detector and CO Detector. The unit was installed in my mother's apartment and started making the monthly payment os $59.00 per month. I was not aware of the Programming, Processing & Shipping cost of $298.00! I had the payments set up as auto pay out of my N.Y. Debit card. Two months ago, my mother informed me that she was no longer in need of the system and wanted me to cancell it. She further stated that she was not sure the system even worked!
I called Life Alert to cancell her service. I did make payments for two years in the amount of $59.95. After a conversation with one of the Life Alert people, I was informed that I could not cancell the contract because I agreed to a 3 year deal. I do not recall any such converstion about a 3 year committment. Life Alert refused my request to cancell the agreement and insisted that I would be required to pay the full amount. I cancelled my credit card immediately. Then I got a phone message from Life Alert with a name and extension to call. I tried three times to get in contact with this person and each time my call was re-routed to the welome greeting.
Three days ago my mother informed me that someone from Life Alert had also called her. She also attempted to get in touch but encounterd the same situation as I did. My mother is 89 years old and she does not need their harassment calls; nor do I for that matter. I am not seeking any kind of financial redress at this point. I want the so called contract cancelled and I refuse to make any more monthly payments to Life Alert. Two years of payments is enough.
Bonnie of Thomasville NC (07/19/08)
My father fell this morning and pushed his pendant. It did not work. I just happened to find him and he did not break anything. I picked him up myself. I called the machine in the house and they told me they were sorry it did not work and they would send me a new one next Tuesday.
This is Saturday and I asked what I am supposed to do until then. Their answer was I don't know we cannot get you a new one until Tuesday because we are in California. There should be some way or a more local office to send something so necessary. I guesss I have to spend every minute there now until a new one comes!
Ally of Roslyn Heights NY (05/12/08)
An update to my complaint of 05/02/08...It may have been coincidence, but the day after my last comment was posted I received a call from John, VP of Life Alert, who had pulled up my mother's records and noticed she had been a faithful, and for the most part, very happy customer for the past 11 years. John was terrific, stepped up to the plate and did the right thing. He saw my mother's system was very very old. He apologized for the misrepresentation of the customer service people on the phone (Ami in California, who told me that a technician coming to the house for a faulty box from Life Alert is something the customer would have to pay for ), and sent out a service man free of charge promptly to install a brand new system at no cost to my mother. Something that should have been long ago.
But I was quite pleased with his willingness to set things right with promptness and courtesy. Although Life Alert my be more expensive than others, my mother has been quite pleased with their service for the past decade until this last incident. Our decision, because of John, is to continue with Life Alert for the foreseeable future.
Ally of Roslyn Heights NY (05/02/08)
The burgler alarm portion of the box tripped off in the middle of the night three times, summoning the police to my 90 year old mother's house (at 3 AM) and scaring the daylights out of her. Life Alert's Senior Supervisor, Ami, says that the company's policy is to charge THE CUSTOMER to come out and service faulty parts on Life Alert's system. (This on top of the monthly $49 fee.)
As of this moment, I have replaced the batteries on my mother's system for the third night in a row. This while we research getting her a new system. Customer service with LifeAlert is atrocious. It is worth any amount of money to find an alternate solution. SAVE YOURSELF HEADACHES AND HEARTACHES, DO NOT GIVE THIS COMPANY YOUR BUSINESS. Life Alert preys on the elderly. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Ally of Roslyn Heights NY (05/02/08)
The burgler alarm portion of the box tripped off in the middle of the night three times, summoning the police to my 90 year old mother's house (at 3 AM) and scaring the daylights out of her. Life Alert's Senior Supervisor, Ami, says that the company's policy is to charge THE CUSTOMER to come out and service faulty parts on Life Alert's system. (This on top of the monthly $49 fee.) Customer service with this company is atrocious. It is worth any amount of money for us at this point to find an alternate solution. SAVE YOURSELF HEADACHES AND HEARTACHES, DO NOT GIVE THIS COMPANY YOUR BUSINESS. Life Alert preys on the elderly. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Melissa of Sammamish WA (03/30/08)
Ridiculous and horrible customer sales and smarmy behavior. Insulting, fear tactics. We had my parents send the units and the unsigned contract back immediately. The unit was NEVER installed. Life Alert continues to send them a bill asking for $347. On Feb 8th, 2008 Life Alert told us that the acct had been closed with nothing owed, yet last week my parents received another bill (end of March 2008). We want this stopped!
Undue stress to my elderly parents that they owe something that they do not. Concern that Life Alert would elevate their unethical practice and threaten credit standing.
Victoria of Jonesborough TN (03/26/08)
I am so thankful for your website. Not for the fact as a complainer but for the fact that I'm a consumer and most recently have wondered and comtemplated calling Life Alert. After reading the many complaints about the Life alert services, products and the atrocious customer service, I decided against inquiring about their services. My sweet mother-in-law is 89 years old. Within the last several months, her legs have grown weak causing her to fall. Once she falls, she can not get up. I have purchased a walker for her, so that she may get around without fear of falling. I know that she might fall even with a walker. She has a cell phone so that she can contact us if the need arises. I just really wished there was a RELIABLE service one could count on. For any senior to be left vulnerable for more than several minutes is a crime. Thank you so much for your valuable service
Joseph of Kailua HI (03/21/08)
This Company is not much better, if at all, then a telemarketing scam. I asked for a brochure over the internet and instead got a call from a high pressure salesman. He refused to give me any written information (I'll see if my supervisor will authorize it) or information about the product and was more anxious to get my credit card number than anything else. He called four times after I told him verbally and by email not to call again. I think this is a senior rip off scam.
Brian of Sacramento CA (03/06/08)
I feel this company took advantage of my mother who lives by herself at age 85 and is under medication. She was sold a security system with Life Alert, which she already has. My mother has know idea how this system works, how to active it or to explain to any family members how to use it. Even though she signed a three-year contract, we feel this is unfair.
I have asked the company to remove the system, and even though he was willing to cancel the 75% of total due, for $475 he would complete the transaction. But at no charge to us he was willing to add upgrades.This company is taking advantage of this situation and should remove their equipment and cancel the services. It's the morally right thing to do.
This has caused emotional duress to my mother.
Melissa of Humble TX (12/13/07)
DO NOT BUY LIFE ALERT. My husband and I went to the store and came back to my mother-in-law flat on her back just outside her patio door. She fell right after we left. No ambulance, no police, no fire dept. After calling to cancel the contract at 800-338-9090 press 5 for Contracts Dept. I got the run around. First I was told the supervisor, Patty, was not there. I persisted to speak to someone. After four people, Alana, Alissa, Rami and Glen, Patty came on the phone. I explained I needed to return the equipment, it didn't work. Not only did she hang up on me but I got phrases like, "I'm not your friend," and "You are making a bigger deal out of this then what it is." It takes a lot for me to get mad but I got mad. Not only that my mother-in-law, but also my very close friend's life is no big deal sent me into a rage. They would not cancel the contract. They REFUSED to give me the address to return the unit, that doesn't work. I was berated continuously. Then hung up on again. Thanks to this site I am so glad it wasn't me, IT WAS THEM! I just hope upon hope this comment helps someone from making a big mistake.
No positive response from the emergency response unit OR customer service.
The company responds:
In an effort to contact Melissa of Humble, TX to try to look into her mother in law's incident and resolve her concerns appropriately, we have searched our customer base in the Humble, Tx area for any mention of Melissa or a subscriber in that area with similiar circumstances but to no avail.
We welcome having the opportunity to look into this incident if Melissa could contact us directly by email at johnb@lifealert.com to help us identify our subscriber.
We are committed to making certain that any concern about our service or personnel is addressed immediatly on our subscriber's behalf. We take very seriously any circumstances where our employees do not demonstrate our committment to helping our customer or their family.
Please contact us.
Life Alert
John M. Brady
Vice President
Personal Emergency Response
johnb@lifealert.com
Katherine of Third Lake IL (11/28/07)
I called Life Alert on behalf of my mother-in-law who was interested in a emergency service. I had seen the web page www.lifealert.com, and called the number there to get a free brouchure. Less than a week later my mother-in-law got a high pressure sales call from Lonnie Kay at Life Alert. She never got the brouchure. My mother-in-law was surprised at the cost and does not make large purchases of this sort with out discussing it with me. She called me rather disturbed with the nature of the call. I called back the next day at the number Lonnie had provided and asked why they had called before we had even seen the promised literature. She was very rude to me, when I asked to speak to a supervisor she told me to call back. When I did that the unnamed supervisor started to defend this rep by name before I even told him whom we had spoken with. They were using high pressure sales techniques on a vulnerable senior citizen they claim to be wanting to help.
The call recieved was disturbing to my mother-in-law because she did not like the high pressure and the sales rep assuming that she was committing to the transaction. She had been tired at the end of a long day, and the lady kept her on the phone a long time trying to get the sale. By the end she needed to get her oxygen on because she was winded from the long conversation.
Greg of Waterford VA (10/02/07)
My Mom, 84 with Parkinsons, bought one of these worthless devices at $450. and signed up for the service to the tune of $49.95. a month. One time when she was having problems with it she called me in tears (the only other time I remember my Mother crying was the night my Father died) because she just got off the phone with tech support. The guy she spoke to was rude, impatient, and told her she was stupid? because she didnt understand what he meant when he told her to check the RJ11 connecter? (phone jack) on the rear of the unit. He then told her to go get someone who knows what they are doing? to help her. Needless to say I called and read them the riot act, not that I thought it would make a difference. The supervisor I spoke to sounded as if he couldnt have cared less and pretty much agreed that someone who knows what they are doing should have called. Unfortunately my Mom did not cancel the service as a result.
The icing on the cake was Tuesday (9/18/07) when my Mother slipped and fell down her steps which resulted in 5 stitches in her head and a broken neck. She pressed the button and nothing happened. Fortunately she was on her way to answer the door when she fell. The person at the door heard her hit the floor and called 911 on her cell phone.
I have checked with the 911 call center and the only call received to respond to that address was from the cell phone of the woman at the door who called.
My Mother is on Coumadin, a blood thinner, which resulted in blood loss severe enough to require 2 units of blood to raise her hematocrit count to an acceptable level. I truly believe she would have bled to death had the woman at the door not been there and called 911. It just drives me nuts to think how much faith she put in this worthless thing. The first thing she would do when she walked in her door was put the sender unit on!!
I called and spoke to Life Alert? 2 days later, as expected they pretty much took a who cares? attitude.
After being transferred to about 6 different people I was told that my mother had not regularly tested? the system, therefore its tough luck that it didnt work!
If she had not tested the unit how would she have known it wasnt working the time she called tech support when they were so rude to her? She also stated to me that another time when she pressed the test? button she was informed by the person that responded you dont need to do that?.
Life Alert Responds:
We at Life Alert take our life safety mission very seriously. Upon learning of Greg's mother's circumstances, we have spoken to her upon her return from the hospital stay that resulted from her fall on 9/18/07. It is unfortunate that we did not have the opportunity to help her on that day as we did not receive any emergency signal but we are pleased to find that she is doing better. We have made certain that her account is adjusted for the appropriate service period and we have apologized for any inconvienence we may have caused her or her son as they researched the accident.
John M. Brady
Eva of Sacramento CA (09/06/07)
My close friend Clifford passed away on 5/14/07. On 7/25/07, I was contacted at home by Chris from Life Alert, in regards to some equipment that they wanted back, it was supposed to look like an answering machine. I told him that I was unaware of any equipment or knowledge of it and Cliff never mentioned anything to me. There were many people stealing things from Cliff's apartment as soon as they learned of his passing. A few people living close by had keys to the apartment and were stealing things out of it before I was able to have the apartment change the locks, TWO DAYS after Cliff's passing. This not only was a hard time since Cliffy just passed away, but as you can imagine the scavengers living around the apartment were not making matters any better. Chris said to fax him the death certificate and he would see about closing the account out. I faxed a cover letter with copy of death certificate to Chris on 7/26/07 as requested. I sought legal counsel on 5/16/07, [just to note I was named the executor in the will, but was never formally sworn in] the attorney I consulted told me I am not responsible for any of Clifford's bills or personal property. I was just a good friend and I told Cliffy I would handle his affairs after he passed.
I received message from Jeremy, rep from Life Alert (9/5/07) was left on my answering machine at work to call him back about Clifford's account, and that they could not close out account and would keep it open until they received the machine back or $400 or they would turn it over to Legal. I called back and left a message on Jeremy's answering machine and said not to call me at my work place, I told him that I sent a letter and death certificate per Chris' request. I do not have his equipment or had knowledge of any equipment that Clifford mentioned. I told him that I took his remains (meaning his ashes).
I also mentioned that I had sought legal counsel, who told me that I am not responsible for any finances of Clifford's estate since there was none. And that there really was nothing for me to do, since I did not go to court to sign or take an oath binding me as the executor, I was just a friend helping a friend. ...
Jeremy then stated that and as far as them calling me at work they will continue since they don't have another number for me, and will continue to do so until I give them another number to call. Jeremy said I need you to send $400 or the equipment immediately otherwise we will turn the account over,...I will be calling you again.
I interpret this as harrassment, as this is my place of business and is making me very nervous and anxious every time the phone rings, causing me undue stress and interfering with a productive work environment.
Life Alert Responds:
We were sorry to hear of Clifford's passing on 5/14/07. Upon hearing of Eva's circumstances, we have tried, unsuccessfully, to contact Eva by phone to apologize for the improper collection efforts that were made by one of our employees, who has since been terminated.
We do not condone nor is it our policy to demand payment after the death of one of our customer's. Nor should anyone at Life Alert have persued payment from someone who has taken on the difficult and heartfelt role of Executor of a friend's estate.
We have made certain that Eva will not be called going forward and we hope we will have the opportunity to apologize to her directly in the near future.
John M. Brady
Melinda of Carolina Beach NC (07/11/07)
On March 30, 2005, a letter was sent from my grandmother's nursing home to cancel her existing service. (I have a copy of this letter.) Over the following year, $49.95 was deducted from my checking account each month for a service that was not rendered. My grandmother was between the hospital and several nursing homes and the unit was still under my posession. On May 11, 2006 I received a past due bill for $149.85 from Life Alert. I sent a fax on 5-16-06 explaining that the service was to be canceled a year ago. (I have a copy of this fax. Life Alert refused to grant the 14 months X $49.95 they owe me even if I send the unit to them. I spoke with a supervisor today, 7/11/07 and they continue to refuse to pay the months that service was not provided even through I have documentation proving that it was to be canceled a year prior. The supervisor was very rude and raised her voice to me.
Jack of Tampa FL (05/07/07)
I answered an ad to be an independent contractor for Life Alert and have witnessed first-hand how they operate. First off there is no computer system to track who has been called and from what office...this is why you see so many complaints of people being called every day. The office is just a bunch of cubicles (50 or so per office) with regular telephones on each desk. No computer tracking of calls what so ever.
There is no written do not call policy given to any contractors. Leads are distributed to several call centers and the people that call consumers are not employed by the company...though they go into company owned call centers each day to receive company generated leads. Consumer's personal information is distributed to several employee office managers who then distribute the leads to the non-employee contractors. Over time multiple contractors will call the same consumers over and over. Again, there is no way to know how often a consumer is called and by which contractor. If someone asks to be taken off the call list, Life Alert relies on an independent contractor to complete a card and put it in a bin. Some contractors do but most just tear up the card and toss in the garbage.
They charge a desk fee each week that the contractor pays but they do not allow contractors to work from home or in their own offices and not pay this fee. Read between the lines...you don't have to come into the office to work, but if you don't you aren't allowed to be a contractor for Life Alert, at least in the Tampa office. So you have LA the company taking personal information from consumers, then passing this info to non-employees who are paid up to $450 a sale.
Some contractors make thousands of dollars a day selling the most expensive systems at $79.95 per month and never mention there is a basic plan that starts at $39.95 (it only pays $220 commission). To be fair to LA all consumers who subscribe to the service are welcomed by an employee who verifies that what the contractor said was understood by the consumer...and though I read about them burying the 3 year commitment...I never witnessed it. Other than that the complaints posted here are very accurate and accepted as fair practice by LA.
Louann of Andrews TX (04/17/07)
My 71 year old mother called Life Alert's 1-800 number to get information. She was concerned about summoning for help with her declining health. The salesperson managed to get my mother to give her many family members phone numbers and my mother's birthdate. She kept pushing my mother to give her my mother's credit card number. My mother refused. The salesperson then persisted to try to get my mother. Many elderly don't know that once you give the credit card or bank account information that is a verbal contract and they can charge you immediately. Luckily, my mother told the woman no that my daughter will call you with that information.
I always research everything. Fortunately, I found this website and read about other people's experiences. That sent bells and whistles off in my mind. I then checked the Better Business Bureau website and saw that Life Alert had 54 complaints made against them in 36 months.
I called the saleswoman and told her to shred all the information my mother had given her and that we were going to do more research before we made a decision. She started in with her sales pitch telling me that there were only two resputable companies and the other company was a franchize and were not allowed to be on the AARP site. She kept talking and talking and I politely listened. Then I repeated that we wanted all the information shredded and for Life Alert Employees not to call and harrass my mother about this sale.
Judith of Waukegan IL (04/10/07)
I gave Life Alert the required written letter, that I wanted to cancel, and I was told I had to wait six months from the date of my letter. I asked them not to debit my credit card, but they did after I returned the equipment on time. The bank said I should have cancelled my account, but I have other debits and Life Alert promised to return my money and not debit the account again. Now they are saying it will take 15 to 20 days to get a bank credit!!!!
Denise of Ewing NJ (04/04/07)
Approximately a month ago I received in the mail an assortment of advertisements, one of which was for Life Alert. My parents, who are both in their 80's, have been having a lot of health problems recently, and I had been considering getting some sort of an alarm for them which would call 911 for my mother, if necessary, since my father suffers from dementia, so I filled out the coupon requesting further information and mailed it back. The form asked for my address and phone number, which I supplied, but I also specified please do not call on the form. About a week later I received some literature, but after looking it over, I decided that it was not what I had in mind for my parents, so I discarded it.
On my lunch hour today, I went to my parents, and was awaiting a telephone call from my father's doctor. When the phone rang, and I answered it, it was a male salesperson from Life Alert, but I did not get his name. Apparently he had called my home, and my husband gave him my mother's number, so that he could reach me there. I explained that I was waiting for a call from my father's doctor and couldn't tie up the phone, and asked him to call me this evening, after 6:00, and I would be glad to discuss the product with him. He asked if he should call me back at my parent's number, and I said no, that I would be at home, and he should phone me there. He agreed and we hung up.
After getting home from work, I was expecting his call, but it never came. Instead, I got a telephone call from my mother around 7:30, telling me that she had ordered the Life Alert services, as I had wanted, and she hoped that I was pleased about it. When I asked her to explain, she said that this salesperson had called her, and told her all about the Life Alert System. After his sales pitch, this salesperson told her that he had just spoken to me, and that I had given him her number so that he could get additional information from her about her and my father's medical conditions and medications, since I had told him that I wanted her to purchase their services. He quoted her a price of $299 per year, and $49.95 a month.
She thought it was expensive, but felt that if I thought she should have it for their protection, then she should get it. She then gave him her credit card information, after which he asked for all sorts of personal information, including details of their medical conditions and medications. Not only did I not tell this salesperson that I wanted my mother to order this service, but I had explicitly told him NOT to call me at my mother's, since I would not be there. Also, I had never even spoken to him about the product, so what he told my mother was a blatant lie in order to get her credit card number! My mother had the incoming telephone number on her Caller ID, so I promptly went over there and proceeded to call the company to cancel the order. I actually called twice, and spoke to 2 different people, who both told me that there was no record of any of their salespeople telephoning either myself or my mother, therefore there was no order for them to cancel.
Still concerned, I then proceeded to call her credit card company, and inquired as to whether or not any charges had been put on her credit card from Life Alert. I found it very interesting that even though the company had no record of anyone having spoken to either one of us, there had already been a charge placed on her account for the $299 yearly fee, plus another charge for the first month of service. At this point, I notified the credit card company that she had been a victim of fraud by this company, since she had been blatantly given false information in order for them to secure a sale. They connected me with their fraud department, and I was forced to cancel her credit card, and have them send her a new card with a different account number, in order for her to not be responsible for these charges.
Needless to say, I was livid! I then called the Life Alert Company back, and asked them to explain WHY there were charges to her Visa card for their service, if no one had spoken with her, as they had previously stated. At this point, they miraculously found the order in their computer. The telephone operator stated that my mother did indeed order their service, since she had voluntarily given them her credit card number, and that they would be billing her account. At this point, I completely lost it, and informed them that their sales person had lied to her and that they had committed fraud because of the untrue statements that were made to her, and that I had contacted the Fraud Department of her credit card company and reported them. I also told them that her credit card had been cancelled, and that no money would be forthcoming, so if they sent the product to her, it would be returned to them, unopened, at their expense.
They finally agreed to cancel the order and remove the hold which was placed on her account for their payment. I find it absolutely reprehensible that any company would deliberately lie to or mislead an elderly person, who is in ill health, simply to line their pockets and make a sale, and I certainly would not recommend to anyone a company whose employees resort to this sort of behavior. I am also very glad that I cancelled her credit card, before any serious financial damage had been done. Hopefully, this will be the end of it, but if not, I will be further looking into any legal recourse that we may have against this company, and I would certainly not recommend anyone doing business with them!
This whole episode caused my mother to become extremely upset, and there were fraudulent charges of t $299+ placed on her credit card, which have yet to be removed.
Joanne of New Lebanon NY (03/16/07)
Refuses to cancel service as requested 4 months ago.Expects me to pay for time since cancellation request and KEEP paying!Call me EVERY day at least twice a day,which I no longer answer. Send bills thru mail EVERY week. Now,they are calling my 80 year-old mom, whom I bought the service for, and are harrassing her constantly. She gets VERY upset. Yesterday, they called my mother again and told her to tell ME that they would PERSECUTE me for the rest of my life.
My mom said, Do you mean Prosecute? The caller said, NO, LADY, I mean PERSECUTE, you know what THAT means? These people are sick and frightening,and I believe they need to be investigated, fined and put OUT of business!
Ruth of Riverview FL (03/15/07)
In the summer of 2006 I called for the free brochure to explain their service. The only way I was able to get the brochure was to give my phone number. They assured me that no one would call. They just needed the ph # to confirm the address. I told her the number I was giving her did not go with the address. I received the brochure and it had no more information then was on their website. There was no information regarding rates or actual services.
Well, surprisingly they did call. They gave me some rate information and wanted me to sign up immediately. I told them I had not even consulted my mother yet or my siblings to see if they were in agreement or would help pay. He wanted to call my Mom and get her in a 3 way call right then. By then I was getting a bad feeling and told them I would have to get back with them. It was way too high pressure. Well, we ended up getting another service. And they are STILL calling! And calling.
Lee of Houston TX (03/05/07)
My mother informed me that a woman at the emergency response company she had signed up with, Life Alert, insulted her when she called up to inquire about quitting the service. It had occurred to her that if she lost consciousness, the alert would do her no good. She was, up until then, completely unaware of the 3-year term she had apparently signed up for. My mother stated to the woman that she had no such knowledge of this 3-year contract. The female customer service (term used loosely in this case) representative commmented back to her in a rude and insulting manner Well, you can 'read', can't you?
Apparently they, (Life Alert), cloak this 3-year term/requirement in the 'fine print', hoping that poor elderly seniors won't notice it. In my mother's case, her eyes are going fast and she really CAN'T read that well any more, and since it was never mentioned at any time, she trusted that the terms were covered. Poor trusting soul.
First off, I'm mad as hell at this company for employing someone that talks down to seniors and verbally abuses them. Secondly, I'm outraged that they practice such underhanded deception (terms hidden in the fine-print) on those that can least afford the consequences. After reading some of the other complaints about them here, I'm ready to go after these crooks full tilt. I once fought a supposedly free software claim and won. I mentioned to a gentleman at the FTC that I realized it was probably small potatoes to him, and that it probably didn't constitute what he considered to be deceptive trade practice (hiding the real terms in the fine print).
The guy at the FTC asked me a simple question. Were you deceived? My answer was yes. He said Well, then it constitutes deceptive trade practice. And there it is. Bottom line, I'm not going to let these ****** get away with talking to my mother in this manner, or in scamming her into something she doesn't think she needs. They don't know it yet, but they just scammed the wrong customer this time.
Tammy of Hollywood AL (02/02/07)
My mother purchased the Life Alert System at a cost of almost $400.00 for the system and a rate of $59.95 per month. My mother was put in the hospital two days after the system was installed and then was sent to a nursing home facility permanently. I contacted this company in October letting them know this. It is now February and the product has been returned but they stated that the smoke detector was not returned, yet one was never installed.
The guy requested a fax be sent to him from the nursing home, the nursing home facility faxed him that very same day. I have called this guy numerous times he will not return my calls and I have faxed him twice and he has not responded to my fax until I opened up a dispute with my mother’s credit card company. Then he finally called saying the smoke alarm was not included in the returned product.
I got in touch with another man by the name of Glenn who spoke to me very rudely, he was talking so loud to me on the phone my husband could here every word, he worked in the same office with this Marc but proceeded to tell me he could not pull up my mom's file until Monday. I told him I was going to turn them into the Better Business Bureau and he said good, go ahead, it did not matter to him.
John of Dallas TX (01/18/07)
My wife had bought Life Alert with the understanding that the services would stop and auto billing would stop once she faxed over to them in April '06 that her great grandmother moved to a facility that had an emergency response button. They continued to bill her checking account until she closed the account. They then called my house and threatened my wife. She gave me the phone and I tried to explain. The collection guy just wouldn't let me talk. I hung up.
He repeatedly called back my phone and her cell phone constantly harassing us for over and hour and wouldn't talk to us about anything. Oh my God who do they get to do this stuff. He wouldn't tell us his name other than he was with Life Alert from Bend Over, California. Well they picked the right city. Beware of this company unless you want to deal with the jerk from Bend Over.
7 months auto bill # 49.95 = $349.65 credit hit on a $500,000.00 mortgage cost at least 1 point over a thirty year term $100,000.00 Any future purchases that rely on credit where this account is posted $$$.
Heather of Plymouth NH (11/05/06)
I called Life Alert after seeing their ad on TV, and spoke with Mr. Bill Blackwell, who sent me info. re: the company. After a follow-up phone call, he called me again before an agreed-upon time of contact. This happened twice. After the second time, I explicitly told him I would call HIM, and asked him not to call me. Needless to say, Bill perservered. At one point, I became annoyed by the pushiness, explained that he was being way too pushy for me and asked him not to call my number again. He has persisted in calling me, although I've hung up when he calls. When I hang up on him, he immediately calls back, at which point I don't answer the phone and he leaves a message.
It's easy for me not to speak with him, but here's what bothers me: I am a very strong person, not easily intimidated, merely seeking information for my elderly father. What is this man, and other salespeople in his company, doing to the elderly and more easily intimidated population they're speaking with? I consider his repeated calling, after my request to not do so,harrassment, and I have notified his company to this effect. His actions are badgering,unprofessional, and totally unethical, to the point of which I, as a baby boomer, would be interested in participating in a movement to protect the elderly from having to deal with the bullying of any such group.
James of Evart MI (11/04/06)
I signed my mother up for the Life Alert system last December. At that time I was told that the contract was for three years but could be terminated if she died or left her home. The contract says skilled nursing facility. She as moved into an assisted living facility that has medical help and people checking hourly on her.
When the arrangements were made for my mother to move I called Life Alert to cancel the contract. I was told that assisted living did not meet skilled nursing facility. Their only solution was for me to pay for an additional 6 months for a service I don't need. I see that other people have had similar problems with this business.
Tina of Catlett VA (10/16/06)
I called Life Alerts 800 number that advertised a free brochure. I gave them my adress but not my phone number. I geuss they have caller ID set up on their 800 number because I started getting calls from one of their salesman. I told him I don't like receiving sales calls and when I wanted information I would call him. I had not even shown the information to my parents yet. He got fairly nasty with me. He said his calling was the only way I could get pricing. I told him again that when I wanted pricing I would call him, and that I did not want him calling me again. He started telling me that only he could give me pricing and he was trying to save someones life.
I told him very adamently that I did not want him calling again (He kept talking the whole time I was saying this). I hung up at that point. Not more than 10 seconds passed when the phone started ringing again, and I saw it was the same number and did not answer it. Although I was astounded that he actually had the nerve to call back. This salesman hung up when the answering machine picked up. He then called again. I answered it this time so I could find out why he thought he was above the law. Which as far as I know, when you tell them not to call again they are not supposed to call.
He did not give me time to say any thing before he started a tirade about how rude I am to hang up on him. He started going into his saving a life speech again. And I tryed to tell him that I was serious when I told him not to call, and if he did again I would report him for harassment. Whether he heard any of this I have no ideal, he just kept talking the whole time. I don't even know what all he was saying at this point, because I was trying to get him to listen to me.
Veronica of Mobile, AZ (05/22/06)
I purchased a Life Alert System for a friend who is 86 years old. She is no longer able to be by herself and does not live in her home anymore.
When I informed the company of this, they told me that I still had to pay the monthly fee for (6) months, before I could cancel the contract. I feel that this is an injustice to have this in the contract since we are dealing with the elderly and changes can happen at any time.
I am not requesting any money back, just to STOP the payments.
Catherine of Lebanon VA (05/19/06)
I had a representative return my call. I am a Social Work Supervisor and was trying to find the cost for a client. The man that called would not give me the initial and/or monthly cost. I explained to him that i was trying to find the lowest cost for our clients. When I mentioned Social Services his immediate response was you probably can't afford our product. He would answer a question with a question and he finally said when you go to a car dealer they don't tell you the price. This is when I hung up.
I am not looking for damage - would just like to be able to assist the elderly in their own homes with the cost and service. I will never call this company again.
Kathleen of Alexandria VA (04/14/06)
I am writing this letter to express extreme unhappiness at the complete failure of your Life Alert. On March 15 of this year, our mother, who has subscribed to Life Alert service since 2002, lay on the floor in her home for more than 8 hours after suffering a stroke and breaking her arm. The suffering that she endured over that extended period of time, hoping and praying for help to come, is difficult for us to comprehend. Afterward, we found that the battery in her pendant was dead.
The betrayal and anger that we feel at Life Alert system compels us to write this complaint. We are angry that this company, after collecting so much money from our mother, could allow this complete failure to occur. It is incomprehensible to us how this could have happened. We are deeply concerned about other families like ourselves, who place trust in Life Alert company for the wellbeing of loved ones.
We are unsure of the outcome at this point.
Evelyn of Mckeesport PA (02/09/06)
My new 1-channel Supervised Emergency Transmitter: model DXS-62 "does not work". I received my new replacement on Wednesday, February 1, 2006. I have tried everything I know to activate it.
Barry of Lantana FL (12/01/05)
Would NOT take change of address info. Said I must call during the day. Problem is I work all night and I need my sleep during the day. Life Alert apparently doesn't help or care.
Wilhelmina of Brooklyn NY (10/30/05)
I called to cancel my mother's Life Alert. We were not satisfied with the service. For three months it was not working. We didn't know. I spoke to a male who seemed not to really care.
I started testing every month thereafter. It would take about 2-3 minutes before anyone answered. They always sounded as if we were disturbing them, so I finally decided to cancel. They refused to cancel. I was told that I have a three-year contract. This was the first time I heard that.
Victor of Houston TX (10/19/05)
I signed up with Life Alert for my mother, shortly after my dad died. Within a year my mother moved into assisted living. I attempted to stop the monitoring service-and did- but Life Alert refused to stop the billing to my credit card. Life Alert gave me 2-3 different stories about why they refused to stop the billing, one involving a letter from the assisted living manager, but they continue to bill my credit card.
Jeanne of Lewes DE (08/10/05)
I purchased the Life Alert system in Oct/Nov 2004. I was assured by the sales rep, Matt Sandvik, that even though they request we sign a 3 yr contract, if we needed to cancel prior to this time, there would be no hassles. After many months of discussion, my parents wanted the system removed. When I called to cancel, I was informed by a rude Marc Stempler that I would have to give 6 months notice and to fax a letter and I would be contacted in Feb 2006.
I should have settled for this, but I wanted to speak to someone else to see if I could cancel sooner...I ended up with another manager named Mark (ironic?) who proceeded to lecture me on the contract terms and ended up screaming at me like a complete idiot. I ended the call and spoke with yet another 'manager' who was supposedly looking into the situation and who was going to return my call in a 'few minutes'. Nothing yet.
I have come to believe that my parents and I have been scammed and that Life Alert does not really care about it's clients, only its pockets. I wonder if the elderly people who have this product are spoken to in such a poor, unprofessional manner.
Dale of Oceano CA (07/29/05)
I did call and order your product, on 7/27/05. i was quoted $299.95, installation and $50.00 a month. 36 months mim. after talking to my friend i changed my mind and decided to go with another co. which was much cheaper.The other Co. offered the same thing only much cheaper. I then call this Mark person back to cancel the order the very next day. He said it had already been sent, I advised him i would not accept it when arrived.
It did arrive the next day and I returned it to UPS. I then received a call 4:00PM from this person Mark Dozier. He informed me I still had to pay the $300.00 for the installation. I told him I did not want their service and i hadn't signed anything, he informed me, he had my credit card number and was going bill it any way. He was very rude, kept telling me how bad all the other companies were. And also, i couldn't get out of the payment.
I was so upset by that time, i told him i had a heart problem too, and just didn't need his badgering me any longer, i then hung up. He, called me right back, and started all over again, so i hung up again. I can't believe a company, that says it has the U.S Surgeon General behind it would be treating their Seniors and Disabled this way.
Caroline of Burlington NC (02/17/05)
I originally requested a brochure on the service (with my elderly mother in mind). It required a phone # so I put my work #. I only wanted to know the price at this time. This Mary Duback called and used hard sales tactics to try to get me to sign up for the system for my mother "right now." I told her I was not going to buy it now and maybe not at all, I just wanted to know how much. She finally gave me a price and I hung up. She called me back 3 days later at work and asked if I was ready to buy. I said no and asked her not to call me back.
She called me back a week later and I got really angry and told her in no uncertain terms to do not ever call me again. period. That if she ever called me again I would never ever buy the product just because she was harrassing me. I thought that was the end of it. This was 6 months ago. About 3 months ago the same sales person left a message on my voice mail at work. Then today, after I switched jobs at work and moved to an entirely different extension, she called again and bothered someone to find me and left another voice mail asking if I was ready to purchase the Life Alert system. She asked me to call her back. I am ready to turn her in to the proper authorities, whoever they are, if someone can direct me to them. This is harrassment pure and simple. I have repeatedly directed her in very clear terms to stop calling me.
She is harrassing me pure and simple. We are only supposed to be taking calls at work from family members that are important and necessary. And when she calls and says she is calling regarding "Life Alert" I am sure she is alarming whoever she talks to because they assume someone in my family is having an emergency situation so they put her straight through to my phone. One time when she called, I had an associate walk up to me and ask me later if my mother was okay. I asked them what they were talking about and they said, because the lady from the Life Alert place had called about the emergency.
Joanne of New Lebanon NY (02/16/05)
I purchased Life Alert for my mom who lives alone and is 100 miles away from me.I was given a discount because I was a police officer.I was quoted a monthly fee of $40.00.I am being billed $59.95 as a monthly fee,and consequently,my credit card payment to htem was declined as they attempted to take more than I left in there for them.So I am now receiving bills in the mail for Jan. '05 and Feb. '05,at $59.95 per.
I cannot afford the amount I am being charged,while I could JUST afford the $40.00 I was quoted.
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