VMS Alarms

When I attempted to contact VMS about these addition accessories enchantments to my system IE video surveillance, auto door locks , thermostat and lighting control I revved no reply on three instances spread over three months. I then called the monitoring service Monotronics and it was weeks latter I began receiving calls back form them to assist in my request. Problem was is I would always be called during business hours while I was at work and obviously could not take the calls. To this day April 2013 I still have not been afforded the importunity to purchase those alarm systems enhancements and will no longer use theVMS/Monotronic alarm system when my contract is done. They will quickly sell you the system and install it , but aside of that your on your own after that . They cut basically all ties to the install and service .

I spend about $ 47.99 every month. They installed the system about 6 months ago. They do 24 hours monitoring for fire, medical and security. I haven’t had any problems with them. They get their alarms turned off quickly after they are called. The price is about average. We have got a really good night system. I would use them again in the future.

Overall, I am somewhat dissatisfied with my experience. First of all, we are on the Do Not Call list, but VMS called and my husband participated in some type of home security "survey." (I was unaware that he had done this.) A couple of weeks later, we started getting phone calls from this company. We got at least one call from them daily, with as many as four calls per day at times. They never left a message, so I didn't know who was inundating us with phone calls. One day, they called while I was home, and I answered the phone intending to tell them what I thought of the incessant calling. The representative I spoke with told me that we had been selected for a particular "promotion" in which we could receive an alarm system with keypad, three door monitors, and a pet-friendly motion detector for about $36/ month. She told me specifically that the system was 100% wireless, that they could install without any drilling, holes, or wires. I had been interested in getting an alarm system, so I let her put me through to the security consultant. We went back and forth over a couple of week period of time about the system and the particulars of the offer. On the day before the install, we agreed upon a Simon XT (upgraded keypad), 4 door contacts, two pet friendly motion detectors, and two key fobs for a 36-month monitoring commitment at $39.99. It was a little more than I had intended upon spending, but the system had everything I needed and wanted. No window contacts were included, but I intended to position the motion detectors so they would detect any intruders anyway. There were to be no installation, equipment, or activation charges. When the guy came out on the day of install, he asked me what I had been told about the installation. I parroted back to him what I was supposed to get. He asked me about my phone and internet service and then told me that because I had a wireless router, he would have to put the keypad near the router since that is where the dial tone is. Otherwise, he said, he would have to put wires everywhere to get the keypad where I wanted it. My wireless router is in an office on the second story of my house located in a very inconvenient location for arming and disarming the system. It was not at all what I had agreed to over the phone with the sales guy. When I expressed my concern with this arrangement, he said that I could purchase a cellular back-up plan; however, this would have been an additional $8/month. My husband and I had decided how we wanted everything installed, and I was uncomfortable making such a big change in our plans without him present, so I told the installer that I would have to reschedule the installation for another time. He called the company and was able to upgrade me to the cellular backup service for an additional $1 per month. So, now I was up to $40.99 in monthly monitoring. When he went down to the mud room to do the install, he told me that he needed an outlet near the keypad. This is something that I should have been told at the time they were doing the hard sell over the phone. There's only one outlet in the mud room, so he had to put the keypad in a somewhat awkward spot to be near the outlet. Then he pulled out the drill. I questioned him about the "completely wireless" installation I had been promised. His response was, "Yeah, I wish they'd quit telling people that. It makes my job much harder." I went into the other room for awhile as he worked. I went back in and asked how he was going to wire the system. He then showed me a bright red wire that he was planning to leave exposed going from the keypad to the outlet. It's only my mud room, but I still didn't want three feet of red wire going down my wall. (Again, where was the "completely wireless" installation I was promised?) He asked me if I wanted him to put the wire in the wall to which I said yes. But, why didn't he just plan to do that in the first place? Wouldn't anyone want a less tacky installation? I came back later to find that the red wire comes out of the wall under the cover plate and attaches to the power adapter. It certainly wasn't pretty, but it was better than a full length of exposed wire. I knew I could mostly obscure it with the shredder that goes in that spot. And, maybe not a huge deal, but he left all of the mess of wire pieces and drywall dust there on the floor. I would have appreciated him cleaning up the mess he made. He completed the remainder of the install with a minimum of fuss, but it took about three hours for him to finish everything and for us to complete the paperwork. At the end, he gave me a piece of paper asking for the names and phone numbers of friends that they could call to try to get them as customers. He said that for every number I gave him, up to ten, I would receive one free month of monitoring. I LOVE bargains, but I didn't give him any names. I was dissatisfied enough with my experience that I would not want to subject any of my friends to that. I think there's something wrong when an installer comes into my home KNOWING that the people who sold me on this system intentionally misrepresented key information. Looking back, I can tell by the way he asked what I had been told that he was prepared for pushback. It's not fair to the customers or the installers to put both of us in that situation. And, after everything is installed, I had to sign a contract acknowledging that I knew there would be holes and drilling. Reading it in the contract after the fact is too late. Also, on a slightly different note, I saw the other report on Angie's List from someone else who had a VMS system installed. I called the company with a list of concerns I had based on that report, and I was told that many negative reports are filed by disgruntled employees. He assured me that VMS is in 1.5 million people's homes and he addressed each of my questions in turn. I can only hope that the monitoring is better than the sales and installation process were.

Not well at all.