Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/26/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  One year ago I purchased 5 First Alert Alarms model P ****. Within the last two weeks 2 of the alarms activated without reason. I was required to deactivate both alarms, Contact was made via phone and email to first alert consumer complaint contacts with no response to date.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/27/2023

  Hello,

  I have investigated this complaint and I was able to reach out to *********** and review what he is experiencing with him. 

  Common causes of nuisance alarms has been reviewed with him. 

  We do stand behind our products and their warranty. We will be sending 2 new alarms to him, since his current alarms had been deactivated.

  I have advised that these alarms will be sent this week and he should receive them next week.

  *********** was agreeable to this resolution. 

  Best,

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

  Consumer Support Mgr

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/15/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My First Alert system of 6 detectors with a warranty of 7 years stopped working on April 14, 2023. I troubleshot the problem as well as the local *************** for hours. After not finding a solution or pinpointing the problem I first contacted ****** where I purchased the items in January 2020. They would not refund me and told me to contact the manufacturer. I called First Alert and spoke with a representative named ****. **** was very consistent stating they I did not care for the product as in reference to the cleaning. **** doesnt live at my home and his remarks were quite condescending. He then either hung up the phone or I lost connection. At this point I would like a refund as I do not want to deal with First Alert again. I value my familys safety and want a system not problems nor arrogant individuals telling me what I didnt do instead of living up to the warranty.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/21/2023

  Hello,

  I have pulled the call that ***************** refers to in his complaint. I have listened to the call and did review the call with the Consumer Support Agent that handled the call. This is not representative of the service we expect our support team to provide.

  An email has been sent to ***************** apologizing for the call handling and the lack of information he was provided.

  I am sending ***************** a postage paid return label. He should use that to send us his 6 SCO500 alarms along with his original receipt so that we can comply with his request of a refund, since this is the resolution he is asking for.

  We stand behind our products and our service- and apologize to ******************

  Sincerely,

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

  Consumer Support Mgr, First Alert

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/21/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/13/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Consumer Reports published a recall on First Alert smoke alarms, and I contacted First Alert based on the information in Consumer Reports. They requested all the information on the two i had purchased. they also requested that i take pictures of them installed in my house. and other seemingly unrelated information.Ater sending them everything they requested, i waited, and waited. no response. I Appreciate your consideration in helping me.Best regards;,***

  Business Response

  Date: 03/16/2023

  Hello,

  We will reach out to ***************. I can't find any contact  information from him under name, phone number or email address in our system. It's possible a different phone number or email was provided to us when he contacted us.

  No mention of the model number was provided in this complaint, however, First Alert/BRK Brands has not had any recall on a smoke alarm since 2006.

   

  Best,

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

  Consumer Support Manager

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/31/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 10/12/2022, I first contacted First Alert to complain about (2) Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors, that I purchased from a retailer, that the equipment is faulty and making an electronic static noise (not chirps) that emits from the detectors which is keeping my family up at night. I indicated that both detectors were installed at the same time and 1 month later the noise starts. After several attempts, First Alert agreed to replace the detectors which I received in December 2022 and now today (one month later) the same electronic noise issue has re-occurred and will not go away. At this point, since the issue is re-occurring and the equipment is faulty and not lasting the 10 years as advertised, I would like a refund of $69.99 which I paid for both detectors.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/03/2023

  Hello,

  I have spoke with *****************. This is a very unusual complaint. We are sending a postage paid return label to *****************, for the return of his alarms.

  Once received, the alarms will be given to our engineering team for analysis.

  A check request for a refund of $119.96 has been started for ******************  We have agreed to this amount, as ***************** doesn't have his original purchase receipt. 

  The check request has also been started before we receive his alarms back. 

  Sincerely,

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

  Consumer Support Manager

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Failed smoke detector out of the box. Purchased 01/21/2023. First Alert BRK Model 7010B, Date of manufacture 2021 Sep 17 L12 on the unit. N04-3073-156021. Have rcpts and photos if needed.Purchased as replacement for 10 year old unit. Unit installed and tested fine. But within 1 hour returned to find strong electronic burning smell in the room. Found that the smoke detector itself was very hot to the touch and was the source of the smell, Struggled to get it out because it was so hot. I will return to purchase point, but I did call the manufacture's hot line. You would think a company that sold fire safety equipment would want the failed product back that could have caused a fire. The response was shockingly low key for what the problem was. My smoke detector could have caused a fire.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2023

  Hello,

  We have reached out to *************** and apologized for the way his original call was handled. We do take complaints regarding our products very seriously, and want to investigate this.

  We are placing an order for a replacement alarm for him. We will be sending *************** a postage paid return label for him to use to send the alarm, battery and wire harness into us. *************** advised that the battery was not hot, nor did he see any brown/dark spots on the alarm or the wire harness. Once we receive his return we will turn it over to our Quality and/or Engineering teas for analysis.

  We have advised that once the testing is completed, we will reach out to him with our findings.

  The original call has been reviewed with the agent that took the call, to ensure proper handling in the future.

  Again, our apologies for how his call was handled originally.

  Best,

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

  Consumer Support Mgr.

  First Alert

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/26/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/18/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I bought a First Alert smoke alarm on 2022-12-02 at ************************* Hardware based on the 10-year limited warranty stamp on the package. After I installed the alarm, I looked at the limited warranty statement inside the package, and it says the warranty is only 7 years. First Alert should correct those to be consistent. The bar code on the back of the package is 0 ***** ***** 5, and the package says "C16-159141-169219 Cat. *******".

  Business Response

  Date: 12/19/2022

  Hello-

  We apologize for the mix-up with the packaging and the manual warranty. 

  The warranty on the P1200 (*******) alarm is 10yrs. The correct manual is available on the www.brkelectronics.com website.

  I have taken the information that has been provided and forwarded it to our Marketing Team and our Website team for review and corrective action.

  I have also created an internal case for *****************- citing the complaint and documenting the date of purchase of the alarm and that he has 10yr warranty on the alarms- should he have any issues with it.

  Thank you for taking the time to bring this to our attention.

  Best,

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

  Consumer Support MGR

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/20/2022

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************