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Brinks Stinks
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

BEL AIR, MARYLAND -- If I could give this company zero stars, I definitely would. Not only does my system not work, it has caused damage to my front door and even locked us out of the house. The problems started immediately, though it took us some time before we actually realized there was a problem. We had been using the system for months and experienced more and more trouble with the front lock jamming the door. This problem intensified until it actually locked us out of the house at midnight with a car full of groceries. We had to hire a lockSmith to break us into our house immediately since our new puppy was locked inside. We contacted the company but were told that it was an issue with our door not their installation. We replaced the doorhandle. It continued to jam and damaged the doorframe. In addition, several months after the initial installation we stopped using the system at all because we failed to disarm it in time (my son has clumsy fingers) and NOTHING HAPPENED. That's right, we didn't disarm, the time ran out on the clock, and nothing. No alarm. No call to the police. Nothing. So I guess it is a good thing it was just my 7-year-old missing a key and not an actual burglary. We tested this several times and each time, nothing happened. I called customer service and told them I was frustrated and wanted to cancel my services. They referred me to another branch designed to keep me from cancelling. I had already paid for almost a full year of services, paid for a new doorhandle, incurred damage to my door frame, and recently discovered that the thing didn't work anyway. I was told that they could not refund me because I had't called sooner (I guess kiddo should have missed that key the first day we installed it), and that in order to cancel my services I would have my hardware removed but still be charged the full amount detailed in the original contract, a total of some $3,000 dollars. Their reason? "Well, ma'am, you did sign a 5 year contract." They offered to send out a tech and I agreed reluctantly. The tech never showed up and I didn't receive any email or text confirmation as I had the first time. Months later, I contacted them AGAIN via the online chat option. They have offered to send out a tech and claim to have no knowledge of the contract or cancellation procedures and referred me to the same department I had contacted months earlier. Save yourself time, money, and frustration....go with someone else. Brinks stinks.

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Trying to Lock Me in a False Contract
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

DALLAS, TEXAS -- I'd give them no stars but that is not an option. I signed a contract for 5 years with at the time who was Monitronics, but was later bought by Brinks. They took on what was left with the contract, which was September 2014 to September 2019. I extended the contract because of 2 smoke detectors they installed for an extra 10 months on the contract. They did a warranty replacement on 2 of my cameras in 2018, for which they said that was another 36 months extension on the contract I did not agree to. They now say I have a contract until June of 2024, which is a lie. They told me tough luck.

My system is far out of date and they are being paid for a premium service. My control panel is a 2012 and they won't even update that. I told them I want to cancel and they told me 2250.00 and some change. This is not right. They are deceitful and frauds that will do anything to keep their customers from leaving. My home is not the safest it can be, and especially in this time of a pandemic and craziness running around. Thanks Brinks for not keeping me safe.

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The Worst Company Ever!!!!
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE -- I never signed on with Brinks, but was passed to them after Moni sold the company. Today I received a letter from Brinks, stating from now on my monitoring fee went up $3.00 per month and extended service plan is $50. All of which I never agreed to. My alarm went off, and I never got a call, and when I called them, I got a recording saying we're closed on Sundays. My question was then who is monitoring on Sunday? I'm trying to find another company, any ideas?

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Fraud
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

OKLAHOMA -- Brinks Home Security gave me a 3 year contract with an expensive cancellation penalty, then raised the monthly rate in my final year of the contract. I was never told they could raise the rate. This is fraud.

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Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware)
By -

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Stay away from this company as far as you can. After using Brinks for +3 years, I just discovered that my contract terms were horrendous, emphasis on "getting you coming and going". My initial contract period was 3 years. Since I didn't notify of cancellation +30 days prior to my anniversary date, I was locked in for another 12 MONTHS! Brinks retains ownership of the equipment, requiring you at cancellation/termination to either pay some outrageous amount ($500 per customer rep, but not specified in my contract) or allow Brinks to come and physically remove most system components. So WHY PAY 50% more than competitors?

Brinks charges outrageous rates to repair your system (even though they continue to own the stupid thing). These are LABOR CHARGES (roughly $90/hour). If you sell the property being monitored and the new owners do not sign up for Brinks service or you simply terminate your service, you are required to pay Brinks for service for the remaining life of the contract (REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY DO ANYTHING AT ALL FOR YOU).
There is no other way to describe this but DECEPTIVE and DISHONEST.

Other companies (we have Ackerman here in Atlanta) install the system and let you pay as you go - i.e. the system belongs to you and you can leave at any time (to switch to another monitoring service). BRINKS = EVIL. Stay away from them. I recommend talking to regional/local companies who can provide the same type of equipment and service under FAR BETTER TERMS.

PROS: Good installer, Decent monitoring service, Decent customer service. CONS: DECEPTIVE SALES PRACTICES ("It's good that Brinks retains ownership of the equipment - no cost for parts" with no mention of what happens when you terminate service, emphasis on the $500 charge or visit to remove the system components leaving holes in your drywall), No mention of auto-renewal for 12-mo periods, etcetera.

DECEPTIVE CONTRACTS - Read the fine print, they are liable for nothing and you (Sucker) are caught between a rock and a hard place. You also get nothing for paying 50% higher than competitors for monitoring (that costs them virtually nothing). LIQUIDATED DAMAGES (Right to demand that you pay unearned revenue per stated life of your contract, right to force you to pay for the system or allow Brinks to remove it - BTW any repairs to cover drywall holes are your responsibility.) Our smoke detector has apparently never worked

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Pushy & Unhelpful Customer Service
By -

The Brinks customer service representative was extremely pushy and unhelpful. I called to get some pricing information for my fiance and I to discuss later that night, and the representative spent the entire phone call collecting my contact information (not once did he ask for my fiance's info) and then he immediately went into scheduling a technician to come out. I told him that I don't need to schedule a technician until I find out about what type of services they offer without a landline and what are the price differences of those services. I specifically wanted more info about the cellular system because our neighborhood has spotty signals.

He then tried to push me into committing to a deal on an IP internet connection system, an offer that "is only good today." I said that I needed to discuss any commitments with my fiance first because his name would go on the account (he's the official home owner), and that I was only calling for pricing information. I couldn't have a decision until tomorrow. To this, he responded that he "needed to wrap this up since [he's] not allowed to spend more than 5 minutes talking with a person who is not the direct decision-maker." Um... excuse me? What kind of customer service is this?

He was clearly only interested in making a sale - I even said that I would call him back directly for the sale if he would just answer my questions! Or that if he had to go, perhaps he could transfer me to another representative to answer my questions. He repeated that he needed to speak with my fiance for anything further... Why??? We don't have an account with them, so I wasn't asking for my fiance's confidential info... I just wanted PRICES!

For the record, I was the one calling for information because my fiance works 60+ hours a week and he doesn't have time to waste with rude customer service reps. (Sadly, that responsibility falls on me!) Needless to say, I told the representative "Never mind", and that we won't be needing their services after all.

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Beware of Brinks
By -

I agree - Beware of Brinks!!!! Their business tactics are completely unprofessional. I have a VOIP phone that I switched to after the alarm was installed. It is not compatible with Brinks so I called them in July to verify with their support line. They stated that I needed them to install another component and in addition I would have to sign up to a contract extension. I declined and requested to drop the service so they prompted me with no billing for three months and then I could call back and decide about the installation of this component. I never called so knowing that they could not monitor the system they decided to start the billing again.

I did not notice my statements until January that this was occurring. Each month of billing was @ $27.99. I called again to request the closure of my account and to try to collect some of the months they billed without being able to perform any services, but they refused. They don'€™t even prorate the service like all other service carriers. I confirmed the cancellation one day after a new month of service started and they billed me for the whole month. I would never do business with them. They also make the alarm sound at the middle of the night if you do not continue with the service and there is no way to permanently stop it.

You will be woken up every night to disable it. This is planned, I guess they feel if you are not going with their service you should not be able sleep at night. Another bad thing with their service is that it does not actually do any monitoring so if someone was to cut your phone line Brinks would not even know about it. I had to let them know that they had no connectivity to my unit. Overall they are a deceptive company, you can read many other customer dissatisfaction online. Also the alarm doesn'€™t work all the time and they refuse to acknowledge this.

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You Will Be Stuck With Useless Boat Anchor Equipment forever
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CHARLETON, WEST VIRGINIA -- Shop, Shop, Shop, before you choose Brinks Home Security services for your home or business. When your contract runs out & you terminate your services Brinks dials into your system and programs your system totally useless. You can't even use the system for personal use unmonitored if you choose to. They program false reporting codes to pop up in your security keypad that routinely set off the alarm usually late at night and this will happen every 24 hours unless you resubscribe to their overpriced monitoring service or totally render system useless by powering down system never to use again.

Just about all other home security companies equipment will belong to you after your contract ends & you are able to at least use system for your own personal security monitoring but not Brinks. No other security monitoring company service is compatible with the Brinks equipment..... Horrible Horrible Horrible Company to do business with. Think more than twice before choosing Brinks Security.

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After Reference Number- You Are On Your Own
By -

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- If you are contacted by Brinks Home Security that there is an intrusion in your home and they state: "We have contacted the authorities", What they are actually stating: "We have our reference number; if nobody shows up we have our reference number." On two separate intrusions the authorities never showed until I personally contacted them. When I brought this to Brinks attention, guess what? We have our reference number. So... if I am laying dead in my home, Brinks will say... "Well we have our reference number." But, according to their commercials... they say: "We are calling the authorities and they are on their way."

How do they know that? They don't, because they are actually concerned about their reference number. Think about the money you could be saving. Just go and purchase some nice security bars or a surveillance cameras. Guess what? You will not have any intrusions, you will still have your personal property and your insurance premiums will not go up. Because with Brinks their primary concern is their reference number and the money you are paying for a service not being rendered. For the stress and inconvenience they should be held accountable for implying a service that does not exist. I wonder where the liability would be if I was killed?

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Installation ruined our ductwork
By -

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- My husband recently purchased new windows for the house, so we were looking forward to reduced electric bills this summer. Brinks installed a home security system in June, and our electric bills were higher than they were last year. We didn't think the two might be related until we had our a/c checked. The technician pointed out gashes in our ductwork due to cables being dragged carelessly over them, and one duct IS COMPLETELY KNOCKED OFF having been stepped on by the Brinks installer.

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Brinks Home Security Rating:
Star Empty star Empty star Empty star Empty star
1.0 out of 5, based on 5 ratings and
10 reviews & complaints.
Contact Information:
Brinks Home Security
PO Box 619031
Dallas, TX 75261-9031
800-BRINKS-5 (ph)
www.brinks.com
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