Complaints

This profile includes complaints for CPI Security Systems's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

close

Find a Location

CPI Security Systems has 8 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  CPI Security Systems

  4300 Sandy Porter Rd Charlotte, NC 28273-3200

  
• 

  CPI Security Systems

  1673 Dividend Loop Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

  
• 

  CPI Security

  531 Clemson Rd Columbia, SC 29229

  
• 

  CPI Security Systems

  38 Rosscraggon Rd Ste D Asheville, NC 28803-1165

  
• 

  CPI Security Systems

  2456 Remount Rd STE 307 North Charleston, SC 29406

  

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:10/09/2023

  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.

  On August 13, 2022 my ******************* home was completely destroyed by fire. At the time of the fire, I had CPI Security Services actively monitoring my home with their recommended smoke detectors and alarm system. At no time during the course of the active fire did the alarm system activate. At the time in which *********************************** had just called the fire contained, CPI called to alert me to the alarm. To give an idea of the length of time it took for the smoke detector to trigger, our daughter had already found out about the fire through social media posts, my mother had already driven from *****************, and our home and all of the contents within it were completely destroyed. Given the location and type of the fire, if it had happened in the middle of the night, our family most likely would not have survived. When CPI called that day, I told them I wanted our services cancelled immediately. This past August, they began charging me for services again, as they had never cancelled the service and had only suspended it, despite the fact that we still have not finished rebuilding our home and have absolutely no monitoring devices. At this time, I asked to have the service cancelled again, they indicated they would. In September, we were again charged and I called yet again. I was then told that I would need to pay a cancellation fee as CPI Security is claiming that I should not have expected a smoke detector to work during an active fire, as the panel would have been compromised. I am now being charged $699.86 in addition to the already charged $49.99 for both August and September for a system that never worked to save my home as I had been promised.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/09/2023

  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the correspondence submitted by **************. We apologize for any inconvenience or frustrations ************** has experienced. After a thorough review of Ms. ****** account, it has been determined that our Customers for Life team will be releasing Ms. ****** from the agreement and issuing a refund to her as well. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/11/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:   It does not seem the *** has any intent to make good on their response.   *** has indicated that they were clearing the cancellation charge on my account and refunding the charges that were made to my bank account in August and September; however, I received a statement on my account this morning 10/11/2023 and they have not cleared the account, nor have I received any refund for August and September charges.
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/12/2023

  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the correspondence submitted by **************. We apologize for any inconvenience ************** has experienced. After a thorough review of Ms. ****** account, the refund and balance on the account is still in the process of being completed. ************** has been advised to disregard the statement she received. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/17/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:  It has been 7 business days since CPI indicated my account would be credited and my account cleared, yet I am still receiving past due notifications and there are no completed nor pending credits to my account.  As indicated in my original rejection, there seems to be no intent on behalf of CPI to rectify this matter on a timely basis. 
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the correspondence submitted by **************. We apologize for any inconvenience ************** has experienced. After a thorough review of Ms. ****** account our accounting team mailed out a check to ****************** address and there's now a $0 balance. I spoke with ************** and I re-confirmed that she has been fully released from the contract.  Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/09/2023

  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.

  Backyard cpi camera out since 10/05 . Reported to manager ****** 9n 10/06 as was told to call at 8am since the 6:30am staff could not assist. I was told emergency called put down for 5pm today someone to troubleshoot issue. I have no camera service working for my back. I'm paying for service.10/06 called CPI INFORMED them I got no called from a tech to fix my issue. Then told they are back up. All of this is lies!!! I'm not sure what's going on, They expect me to not see if an intruder cone to back if house. I'm paying for 24hr serviced monitoring

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/09/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding an additional complaint from ****************. Our records indicate that we spoke with her on 10/06 and was able to resolve her issues that she was having with her cameras. We feel this resolves this complaint. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/04/2023

  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.

  We had CPI for our security system. We sold our house. The new owner didn't want a security system right now. So we tried to cancel our service. The equipment was paid in total; it was just the monitoring service. We called at the end of June before closing in July. They won't let me cancel the service. I called back at the end of July to cancel, but they still won't let me cancel. I called back in August, September, and so on. They were still drafting the monitoring fee, and we no longer live there. I called back today to see if they would settle and cancel my service since they are not monitoring anything at the address any more. They said they would draft it at the end of this month and call it completed. This month's draft was due to a 30-day notice of cancellation. I said I have a record. I have called the last four months trying to cancel. Don't use CPI for security system.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/09/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by ****************. We apologize for any inconveniences that **************** may have experienced. We received a cancel letter from **************** on October 4th and as a result her account is being terminated in its entirety. For clarification, there is still 3 months remaining on **************** monitoring agreement,which is the reasoning behind her still being drafted. Please let us know if you have any further questions or concerns.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2023

  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.

  We are moving a new business into a retail location that had CPI as their security system. I am not interested in signing a contract for security services and asked them to come remove their equipment and they refused. I asked to speak to a supervisor and the agent refused to put me through to one. The original agent finally transferred me to someone else who again said that since I am not a customer, they will not come and remove their equipment but that they may be able to put me through to tech support and could maybe get me set up with a virtual meeting to help with me removing the equipment myself. After a brief hold, he came back to the line and said that since I am not a current customer, they won't be able to do that. There are rough cut holes behind all the equipment, not at all professional. This is going to be a time consuming and costly process removing their equipment and then fixing the holes behind everything.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/21/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by ******************. Unfortunately,we do not come out to service or remove equipment  for inactive accounts. We apologize if this is not the resolution ****************** desires. However, this is standard company policy.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/20/2023

  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.

  CPI security was unable to continue services at my new location due to their inability to work with ******** home internet. I requested cancellation of services many times and have not received a final bill in the mail as expected. This morning my account was drafted for services I no longer use.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2023

  Dear BBB,

  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by *******************, We apologize for any frustrations or inconveniences ********************* has experienced. On September 20th ********************* called and spoke with a representative about canceling services and was advised of time remaining on her contract. She stated she switched over to T-Mobile home internet which is not recommended for use for our equipment as it is not capable of holding WIFI connection for our services.  As of September 21st her contract with us has been terminated. 

  Please feel free to reach out to us directly if ********************* needs further assistance. 

   

  Kind regards, 

  Amelia 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/28/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because:  My first call was not in September.  I began calling CPI prior to moving in August.  Once I learned in August that they were not compatible with my home internet I began the process of canceling my service with them.  I had to make multiple calls and docusign the same document multiple times.  It took 10 days for them to process my request.  While I understand the contract, I cannot be held responsible for their equipment not working with my home internet.  CPI should reevaluate their contracts and provide a solution if a move occurs and internet service is not compatible.  This is out of my control and I should not be responsible for paying the remainder of the contract due to their inability to provide service.  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/18/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  I have been a *** customer for several years. I have ********************************************* with them at three addresses. On June 13, I contacted *** to let them know that I was selling one of my properties to find out what was necessary to transfer the security system to the new owner. They advised me that I would have to pay the remaining balance of the equipment for the three-year plan that I had and let them know if I wanted the equipment to be removed. I agreed with that buyer could transfer the security system if they paid the balance. I included this in the contract and conveyed this to ***. I spoke to *** representatives four times to find out the process (the last two dates were September 14 and 15). I asked what would happen to the eight security cameras and one doorbell camera if the buyer did not pay the balance. They said I could pay $149 and have the 8 cameras that I paid for removed and returned to me. Yet, on September 14, they transferred the *** services and cameras to the new owner even though I had asked them to be removed. This means that they have given the cameras that I paid for to thye new owner. On September 14 and 15, *** representatives promised to call me back to tell me how I can get the cameras that I paid for, but to date no one has called me back.I am requesting that the cameras be returned to me since I am responsible for paying for them.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/21/2023

  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the correspondence submitted by *****************We apologize for any inconvenience or frustrations **************** has experienced.After a thorough review of ****************** account, it has been determined that a service appointment to have the cameras returned to **************** from the new homeowners is set up on 9/22/2023. In addition, ******************** sales representative reached out multiple times before the house sold and closed regarding getting her cameras removed but was unable to reach ****************. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/15/2023

  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.

  I have made multiple requests to have a tech assist in synchronizing my doorbell and backyard camera with limited to no response for over 2 months and I have paid the annual bill in April. This is awful and not acceptable . At this point I want my money back

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/15/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by ***********. We apologize for any inconvenience that ************ has experienced. I have reviewed the account history associated with ************ and have determined the following: On July 18th, ************ reached out to us via email to advise that she got new internet and needs to have her cameras reconnected. We offered the virtual appointment option to get this issue resolved. ************ confirmed this appointment for 11am -1pm on July 19th. We reached out at 11 am on July 19th and got no answer and left a voicemail requesting her to contact us back. We never heard back from ************ until she reached back out on September 8th. We offered her the option of a technician or a virtual appointment. She opted for the technician to come to her home. We responded back with the times that we had available at the time.************ responded on September 9th and stated that September 15th between 12 & 5 worked best for her. However, this time frame was no longer available and it got routed to a different department queue. I attempted to reach out to ************ twice today to try and coordinate a time for us to come out and resolve her issues. Both attempts were unsuccessful as someone answered and the line was silent both times. We look forward to hearing back from *********** and resolving her issues.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/18/2023

   
  I am rejecting this response because: I did call back in July for my virtual appointment if they look at their phone records and they left me on hold for nearly 10 minutes and I couldnt keep waiting.  For the September appointment that was scheduled for my home, they never confirmed it and did not tell me it was no longer available.  When they finally responded to my email they tole me they asked their IT department to look into why they had not received my previous inquiries.  I will contact them to cancel my service and refund my partial service
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/20/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the additional correspondence submitted by ************. I have attempted again to reach out to ************ via phone and had to leave another voicemail. We have attempted on multiple occasions to reach out to ************ to get this resolved and have been unsuccessful.We look forward to hearing back from ************ to resolve this matter.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2023

  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.

  I sold my home January 11, 2023. I called CPI to have service cancelled. The customer service representative provided information for transfer. I did advise that the home did not need a system as it was a family home of recently decease parent. The customer service agent advised the home needing to be in my name before service could transfer. I told the representative that I wouldnt need it. Payment were being taken out of my account from February to as late as September 2023. I was not told I had to submit an online form to cancel service. Cancellation was the reason I called in the first placed. So without getting an online back, how is it ok to continue to take money from my account on a property, I know longer own. That is robbery, not to mention my account going into overdraft because of it.I called CPI August 29, 2023 and spoke with ******** and *****. ***** sent the online form and said she will review recorded message and contact me back. I heard nothing back from ***** until I called her back on September 12, ****, today. I asked if she reviewed phone recording. She said her manager advised nothing could be done since customer service rep tried to call me to verify if I needed the service or not in which I told him I didnt. May I add, I did not receive a call to my knowledge. Also, since the agent did not talk to me to verify, why wasnt the system eliminated at that point instead of WILLINGLY and KNOWING the home was sold.I have had a long standing relationship with CPI for it to end like this. I would like to refunded monies paid to CPI February 2023 through current, September 2023.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/14/2023

  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by ****************. We apologize for any inconvenience or frustrations **************** has experienced. I have reviewed ****************** account in its entirety along with our management team. It has been determined that no further action or compensation will be given at this time. Our team attempt to call **************** yesterday and this morning and we left voice messages. We apologize if this is not the resolution that **************** desires. Please let ** know if you have any questions. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/12/2023

  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.

  Good Morning,My front door camera has been out for the past month. I have called and requested a quality assurance rep to come out and resolve the issue. Was told on 3 different occasions that one would reach out and never even received an email. On 2 different occasions a rep has came out and not resolved the issue. I would like the issue to be resolved as soon as possible. I have continued to pay for a service I cannot use.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by ****************. We apologize for any frustration **************** has experienced with his equipment. Upon receipt of this review, we have reached out to *************** to schedule an appointment to have all issues resolved with the equipment that is malfunctioning. A technician is scheduled for 9/13 from **** AM to resolve this matter. We will follow up once the job is completed to make sure all issues have been addressed appropriately. We look forward to speaking with **************** for his follow-up.
  
  Kind regards,
  Amelia  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  Our concerns are detailed below: Our ************* is very old and outdated. My wife (******************) contacted CPI in November of 2022 to purchase some new alarm window sensors. She was told by a CPI representative they had a "special" price on those sensors which would save a few hundred dollars on the retail price. In July of 2023, after being frustrated that our 10+ year old equipment kept malfunctioning (after multiple service visits) we decided to cancel our service with CPI. When trying to cancel the service, my wife was told that she was not authorized to make decisions for the account as the account was in the name of ********************* (me). Therefore, I called CPI to find out why we couldn't cancel. They responded by saying we would owe a $1700 cancellation penalty for cancelling a 39 month contract. We knew nothing about signing a new contract as this was never disclosed to us. 1) As all conversations with CPI are recorded we asked for a copy of the phone call. They have not provided us with this. 2) We believe the customer retention division of the company forged my wife's signature on a contract we've never seen before. 3) If my wife was not authorized to cancel services she was not authorized to sign a contract and bind us to a 39 month extension of services. 4) The ************* malfunctioned for months and was not reliable.5) Lastly, we have been good CPI customers for the past ten years. It just isnt plausible that we would have signed up for a 39-month contract to save $500 for window sensors. As loyal CPI customers for years, we would really appreciate you working with us to resolve this quickly and amicably. We are willing to pay the $500 for window sensors and the past two months bills, however, we will not agree to a $1700 buyout.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/06/2023

  Dear BBB,
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the complaint submitted by Mr. ******** We apologize for any inconveniences Mr. ******* may have experienced. We have completed a review of the account history associated with Mr. ******* and have determined the following: On October 18, 2022, Mrs. ******* reached out to us wanting to add 15 window sensors and also advised of an issue she was having with her doorbell camera audio.Mrs. ******* is an authorized all authority contact on the account. Therefore,she is authorized to make changes to the account. Upon reviewing the interaction with Ms. ******* and the representative, it was found that the representative advised Mrs.******* that she could do $500 off with a 39-month agreement or we could give 25% off if she paid for it upfront. Mrs. ******* confirmed that she preferred the 39-month agreement option. As a result, the agreement was sent to Mrs. ******* via email to ******************** I have attached the timestamp regarding when the electronic document was signed and what email address was utilized. Electronic signatures are legal binding.
  
  For clarification, we have not heard from Mr. or Mrs.******* since October 18, 2022, in regard to any issues they were having with their system. The only time we have spoken with them since this date was when they inquired about terminating services. In addition, prior to speaking with Mrs. ******* on October 18th,we had not received any communication from Mr. or Mrs. ******* that they had any issues with the system since 2021. Although we would hate to lose ********************** as a customer, if they decide they still would like to cancel services with us, they will still be responsible for the remaining terms of the agreement. This is outlined in the agreement that was signed. Please let me know if there is anything further that I can do to assist.
  
  Kind Regards,
  ******************************;

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/08/2023

  1) My wife (******************) contacted CPI in November of 2022 to purchase these alarm window sensors. She was told by a CPI representative they had a "special" price on those sensors which would save money on the retail price, to which she agreed. She was told by CPI they would send over the bill of sale agreeing to this and signed it, thinking it was confirming the sale of the sensors. She was NOT advised of a 39 month contract. Since CPI has a) stated all of their phone calls are recorded, and since b) CPI indicated in this complaint response that ***** agreed to the 39 month contract, I have repeatedly asked CPI to decisively clear up this matter by providing an audio recording of this portion of this conversation so we can hear it.

  2) To clarify we have repeatedly called CPI for failing equipment:

  This summer ('23) the main alarm panel glitched, arming itself, causing the alarm to sound, and the police to come out to our house three times. 

  The doorbell/camera unit had to be replaced several times for malfunctioning. When trying to talk with someone on the front porch through the device, you couldn't hear them. 

  We had a CPI tech come out several times to assess if our cameras could be improved as they had poor resolution. It was determined the equipment we had was the best CPI could offer.

  3) Again, we are not disputing that we owe CPI money, just the amount. If we received a discount of $500 for these 15 plastic window sensors, we are willing to pay the $500. However, we are not willing to pay $1700 in cancellation penalties for terminating a 39 month contract for which we were not aware.

  As a Professor of Entrepreneurship at ***'s **************** I can appreciate that CPI needs to make a profit on customers. I'd like to emphasize that we've been exceedingly good customers for the past 10 years. I'm very hopeful we can pay the $500 "discount", put this behind us and move forward.

  Kindest regards - ********************* (and *****)

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/11/2023

  Dear BBB,
  
  Thank you for your assistance in forwarding the additional correspondence submitted by Mr. ******** As previously outlined, the phone interaction between Mrs. ******* and the representative was reviewed and it was confirmed that Mrs. ******* was made aware of the 39 month agreement. If they decide to cancel services, ********************** will still be responsible for the remaining terms of the agreement. In addition, I will reach out to Mr. ******* directly and let him hear the voiceprint. We apologize if this is not the resolution Mr. ******* was expecting, however we are acting within the agreed terms of the agreement.
  
  Kind Regards,
  *********************************