ASG Security

We wound up with ASG when the company bought out our previous provider, Sembera. Sembera had been great -- always immediately responding when an alarm accidentally went off, and always easy to reach when we would call. That is NOT the case with ASG. We found out quite by accident. Last night, when I was away from the house, my husband accidentally set the alarm off as he was getting ready to leave. Whenever this had happened with Sembera, we would immediately get a call from their monitoring center, checking to make sure everything was okay. That didn't happen last night. To make sure ASG didn't dispatch police, my husband then called the number on our brand-new ASG sign (which just arrived last week): 1-877-CARE-ASG. He got a recording, saying "Our office is now closed. If this is an emergency, please hold the line..." (??). He held, and the phone rang. And rang. And rang. And rang. NOBODY answered! Seriously?? A RECORDING? "Our office is CLOSED?" "Hold the line" -- and NO ANSWER? Is that really what you want to hear from your home security company? It sure doesn't make me feel secure. I called to complain this morning, and the representative told me that the number on the signs is for the business service center -- not the monitoring. Excuse me? She offered to give me the number for the emergency monitoring center -- WHAT? If we had had an actual emergency, we'd need to Google for the right number to call as the guy's breaking into our house? That's just Looney Tunes! Why put the business office number on the signs?? So the burglar breaking into your house can make sure he's doing it after normal business hours and won't get caught?? And -- was the emergency monitoring center asleep at 7:30 last night when my husband "held for an emergency?" This is not my definition of security. We are now in the process of switching companies, as I write this.

I plan to change companies.

The sales person misquoted me on total cost, but I needed the system and moved forward. It cost several hundred dollars more than originally quoted. The installer was very nice, professional, and was careful in the house. However, there were numerous malfunctions with the system, and I am still waiting for a window sensor to be fixed properly. It has taken four trips now by technicians and a huge waste of time for us. If I had it to do over again, I'd not use ASG. Because of the technical problem we've had several false alarms which cost money. I am NOT happy.

I called ASG, and they treated me horribly. They gave no apology for the wrong address, were rude, and treated me as if I was a non paying customer who wanted to cheat them. I now cannot cancel, as I am locked into this contract until 10/2007 that I signed with company A! So a company that had good customer service, who I entered into contract with, resold my contract, and now I'm stuck with a company I don't personally like. I cannot cancel without going to court. Do NOT go into business with ASG. They have the absolute worst customer service.

After years of service with this company I sold my home to find that 3 years prior to selling my home, I signed a service agreement with fine print stating that unless I gave them 30 days notice in writing of my intent to cancel the contract, it would automatically renew for another two years. That two years went into effect a couple months before my house sold and they stead-fast refused to release me from my contract. I could transfer it to my new home or have the people who bought my home take it over. Fortunately the buyers agreed to do this but I was very unhappy with the way I was treated by ASG after being a loyal customer for many years. I've since learned that many companies do not have a renewal contract like that and of those that do, most are between 3-6 months. My new company is month by month. Be wary of ASG's contract if you choose to do business with this company. And be sure to mark your calendar 3 years ahead less one month if you are planning on moving.