Business Profile

Security Systems

Guardian Protection

Headquarters

BBB Accredited Business A+Rated by BBB

Important information

Customer Complaint:
The BBB of Western Pennsylvania processes complaints for all of Guardian Protection from throughout the United States since the company is headquartered in the Western Pennsylvania service area.

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Guardian Protection's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Customer Complaints Summary

154 total complaints in the last 3 years.
48 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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:05/26/2024
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.
I have been a customer of Guardian Protection for 18 months. My account is paid monthly for home a home monitoring security system. Th payment is paid by auto-debit from my checking account for the amount of $64.94. On Tuesday May 21st, someone logged into my account fraudulently and made a $1,300.00 payment from my checking account to my Guardian account. I was traveling on this day and have not logged in to make any payments ever, as they are made automatically. There is a now a $1,300.00 credit on my account. I have called the company each day requesting a refund. The first 2 days I was told this would take 24 hours to complete. When this was not done, I called back on May 25th and are now being told it will take 7 days to receive a refund. I do not understand why they keep providing different information and am demanding an immediate refund of the $1300 credit to my bank account.
Business Response
Date: 06/03/2024
June 3, 2024
BBB of Western Pennsylvania
520 E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie, PA 15106

RE: ***** ********* ********* ** ********

Dear Better Business Bureau:

Guardian Protection Services, Inc.
(“Guardian”) is in receipt of our customer’s complaint and values the
opportunity to respond.

Our customer states on May 21st someone logged into her account fraudulently and made a $1,300.00 payment from
her checking account to Guardian Protection.
This payment resulted into a credit on her account in the amount of
$1,300.000 for which she requested a refund.
Our customer said she was first told the request would take 24 hours to
complete, then she would told it would take 7 days to receive a refund. She has asked why different dates were
provided and requested an immediate refund of $1,300 to her bank account.

Guardian is sorry to hear about our
customer’s situation whereby an unauthorized payment of $1,300.00 was made from
her checking account to Guardian. While
our customer did not ask for, and was not provided with, an expected date of
refund when she called on May 22, 2024, on May 23, 2024 a representative did state
she should expect the refund to be processed within 24 hours, setting up false
expectations.

When our customer called back on May
25, 2024, a representative told our customer the refund request looked like it
would be processed on May 31, 2024, which was an accurate date based on
Guardian’s need for the $1,300.00 payment to fully clear. Guardian’s accounting department checked the
$1,300.00 payment several times and it was “restricted” and had not fully
cleared. We now believe this status was
due to the customer entering a claim with her bank to have the payment revoked
at the same time she requested a refund from Guardian.

Guardian was finally able to process
the refund on May 30, 2024 and sent $1,300.00 to our customer’s checking
account. However, on that very day our
customer’s bank canceled the payment, resulting in her original payment of
$1,300 being reversed back to her checking account. This led to our customer having $2,600.00 put
into her account on May 30, 2024 because she entered claims with both
companies.

A Guardian representative tried
reaching our customer three times to discuss the delay in getting the refund to
her, but the calls were not returned.
Because our customer received the $1,300.00 back through her bank, she
must return the $1,300.00 refund payment
to Guardian. Our customer will see the
$1,300.00 due Guardian on her June 6, 2024 statement. Please note Guardian can only pull payments
for monthly fees from our customer’s account.
Our customer will need to initiate the payment of $1,300.00 to Guardian
via our website, or by calling in to Guardian’s Customer Care center.

Guardian appreciates being notified of
this matter and will provided additional training to our representatives
regarding refund processing and expectations.
Should you have any questions, please contact Guardian directly at (800)
776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency Complaint Response Team
Initial Complaint
Date:05/24/2024
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 contracted to have a Neal Communities house built in Canoe Creek. I contracted to have a Guardian security system on May 31, 2022 at the Neal design center. The house took 18 months to be completed. The wiring for the security system was installed before the drywall was installed. I show my scanned receipt for $805 which says "Total Installation Price (fees) including tax". I show the scanned monitoring activation instructions that Guardian gave me which says when I move in and have internet to call and they will complete the installation. This is when the initial monitoring begins as shown on the included scan. To date, no internet service or equipment installation has occurred. Guardian has started to bill a monitoring fee even though there isn't any equipment installed to do the monitoring.
I am selling the house and have never occupied it or installed internet, it is empty. It was my plan to have the equipment installed after the new owners move in and have their internet.
Now Guardian is telling me that I was given a discount because they do that for Neal. I wasn't told that at purchase. The house was built by Neal builders and therefore any discount applied is appropriate. They are insisting that I pay them the $1,500 discount back for installing the wiring. I included the scanned page that says Total installation price, fees, taxes, $805. I don't feel I owe the discount or the monitoring fees since all I have are wires and no way to monitor without the rest of the equipment or internet. I have paid in full the total cost of $805.00 ($350 for hardware equipment yet to be installed and $450 for wiring installation that has been completed.) They are threatening to turn me over to a collection agency. This is very stressful for an older widow, please help me resolve this, Thank you.
Business Response
Date: 06/03/2024
June
3, 2024
BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA 15106

RE: ******* ******** * ** ********

Dear
Better Business Bureau:

Thank you for advising Guardian Protection
Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) of the above-referenced complaint. Guardian appreciates the opportunity to
address our customer’s concerns, clarify the status of her sale and
installation and work toward resolving this matter.

Our customer wishes to cancel her account as she has
decided to sell the home that Guardian has performed installation work in. She stated she paid for the installation,
which is incomplete, and should be released from the agreement without further
payment. She is also unhappy Guardian
has started billing the monitoring fees when the services have not been
activated.

For background, our customer contracted Guardian
(agreement attached)s for the installation of a security system; home wiring of
cable jacks, data jacks and a wireless access point; and monthly services on May
31, 2022. Guardian has performed well over
50% of the installation work but has been unable to complete the work because
our customer has not responded to requests to schedule the appointment to
complete the installation and activate the monthly services. Guardian had been reaching out to the customer
several times a month since August 23, 2023.
It was on April 11, 2024 that our customer finally responded and
indicated she did not want to activate the services because she has decided to
sell the home.

Regarding payment of the installation, our customer
paid for the home wiring options in the amount of $455.00. The $350.00 charges
she paid for the installation of the security system were for upgrades to Guardian’s
basic Builder Package; $150.00 for a premium panel, and $200.00 for an Edge
Control Package which included a gateway to enable the customer to open and
close her garage door remotely. Guardian
did not charge for the wiring of any security devices or the security \equipment
installed to date in exchange for the customer’s 60-month monitoring commitment
at the monthly fee of $55.99+tax if paid by Guardian’s Automatic Payment system
or $65.99+tax if payments were made by another means.

While the security system installation is
incomplete, Guardian’s investment of time, materials and equipment far exceeds
the $350.00 our customer has paid toward the installation. Our records indicate all of the doors have been
wired. Please note, several sliding
doors did not have the wire pulled through the frame and do not have the
contacts on the end of the wires. This
is because the builder had not installed the
cover piece on the sliding door tracks prior to Guardian’s last appointment at
the home. The pet motion detector is wired, and the wiring for a
touchscreen keypad/control panel has been done. The video doorbell has
been installed as well. The home wiring installation,
totaling $455.00, has been completed, including the installation of the
wireless access point for added connectivity of wireless devices to an Internet
Provider’s router.

Guardian has spoken with our customer and offered to
accept a settlement of $1,192.00, waive the monthly charges that have billed,
and release the customer from the 60-month Monitoring Agreement. This figure is based on Guardian’s cost for
the work, materials and equipment installed to date and was reduced by $100.00. Our customer is considering the offer but has
also questioned whether the touch/screen control panel would be installed, and
whether any of the wiring performed by Guardian could be utilized by a new
owner. Guardian confirmed the panel
would not be installed if the account were settled for $1,192.00 as added equipment
costs and labor would be incurred should Guardian perform more work in the home,
and that a new owner would be able to take advantage of much of the wiring and
devices installed to date.

As stated earlier, our customer is considering the
offer which is good through June 29, 2024. Thank you for
the opportunity to address this matter. Should
you have any questions, please contact Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,

Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 06/03/2024
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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.
The company's response was very twisted to reflect better on them. I talked to several people and told them that I did not want to cancel the contract, but they kept insisting that I did. Each call became more nasty and demanding. I just decided it is easier to pay them because there was no reasoning with them. They were just focused on getting more money. I paid for the equipment that I didn't receive but now they are getting it back. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with such a dishonest group of people.

Regards,

******* ********
Initial Complaint
Date:05/22/2024
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 alarm failed approximately 12/2023 and I tried to get a service call. No one would call me and I made several calls trying to get someone to come out. I did get an estimate for $500.00 alarm upgrade with $5.00 a month additional service charge. I did not want to do this so I told them to cancel my account. I took down my alarm and installed a new one with a different company 1/30/2024. I finally got a call from Guardian from a service man some time in February. He told me he was coming to Waco and did I need a repair. I said no I did not and I had already removed my old alarm. I also said he could have my old stuff if he wanted it. He said he did so I told him that I would leave it at my front door. He got the stuff. I can provide video that he never came in my house and certainly did not remove my alarm. I did not get a service call. I have repeatedly tried to explain this to Guardian and they are harassing me to pay for a service that I never recieved. They say that their tec removed my alarm and I must pay $85.00. He did not remove my alarm or even come in my house. I did not contract him for repair. Please help me get them off my back.
Business Response
Date: 05/28/2024
May
28, 2024
BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA 15106

RE: *** ******* * ********* ** ********

Dear
Better Business Bureau:

Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) is in receipt of the above referenced s
complaint.

Our
customer is disputing charges for a service visit to his home on February 9,
2024. He states he had changed companies
and when the technician called about servicing the system, he advised that was
no longer needed but he could pick up the old equipment that had been taken
down.

Guardian
reviewed our customer’s account in detail and found there had been a
mishandling of our customer’s cancelation request made on January 29,
2024. The unscheduled service request should
have been canceled at that time. Guardian
credited the account balance of $84.19, bringing the final account balance to
$0.00.

Guardian
apologizes for the error and the difficulty our customer experienced with
getting his service request scheduled. Should you have any questions, please contact
Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 05/31/2024
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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.

Regards,

*** *******
Initial Complaint
Date:05/21/2024
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.
Purchased my retirement home in Dec 2020 the Construction company insight had Guardian Protection install an alarm with a two-year service contract. Pay the system completely off and and requested termination alarm system after the original contract expired. I was charged for a new system over $5,000 on my credit card after making the final payment. Guardian corrected the amount on my credit card never asked for a cancellation letter. Today I spoke to a rep from Guardian, who explained how I was enrolled in an annual contract and never had submitted a cancellation letter. Waiting for a supervisor to return my call on the matter of how I was entered into a contract without consent and held to contract due to a cancellation letter that was never requested when I made final payment and requested cancellation
Business Response
Date: 05/24/2024
May
24, 2024
BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA   15106

            RE:     **** ******* * ********* ** ********

Dear
Better Business Bureau:

Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) is in receipt of the above referenced s
complaint.

Our
customer states he had Guardian install a security system with a two-year
service contract and believed he paid the system off and requested termination
of the alarm system after the original term expired. He also thought Guardian had charged him for
a new system and taken a payment of over $5,000 from his credit card. The customer was waiting to speak with a supervisor
about this matter.

Our
customer did speak with a supervisor after his submission of this complaint. The supervisor was able to address all of our
customer’s concerns with the agreement, cancelation large payment. The
large payment appeared to have been made by our customer through Guardian’s
website, and it most likely happened due to misplacement of the decimal point in
the amount of the payment to be made. As
our customer noted, Guardian promptly the overpayment when our customer
discovered it.

Thank
you for informing Guardian of this matter.
Should you have any questions, please contact Guardian directly at (800)
776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 05/25/2024
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
In response to guardian protection I did speak to a supervisor by the name of Erin who advised me that he is a supervisor for the loyalty department. Erin also stated that I could not speak to a supervisor in billing department and I had to get the information from him. After I asked Erin questions pertaining to $11,100 charged on visa **** 29SEP23 and the credits of $37, $74 and $110 credit which appears to be a charge and not a credit. Erin than stated that their billing does not have a symbol for credit to balance. So the so the initial issue stemmed from receiving bills that shouldâ€™ve been a credit but appears to be a owed balanc due to guardian protection online billing system. so during the conversation I figured out that this happened due to receiving a $110 credit which read as if I owed and I paid it and must have accidentally pushed two more 00 making the payment $11,100.00 which was refunded 30OCt3023 later after I contacted guardian protection about the charge on my credit card. This was the only conclusion I came up with while on the phone with Erin who agreed and apologized for the misunderstanding of his explanation of denying my request to speak to billing to resolve the matter which I should have received all the information from my billing which different credit cards were used due to newly issued credit cards. Iâ€™m awaiting statements from card companies to much I was informed that there was a credit of $37 and $74 and a $495 charge on card 1024. On card **** charge on 23SEP23 for 11,100 refunded on 3 Nov 23. This would have been much easier if I would have spoke to billing.
Regards,

**** *******
Business Response
Date: 05/29/2024
May
29, 2024
BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA   15106

            RE:     **** ******* * ********* ** ********

Dear
Better Business Bureau:

Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) is in receipt of our customer’s
additional comments.

Our
customer expressed his displeasure with not being able to speak with someone in
Guardian’s billing department. He
believes if he had been able to speak with someone in our billing department,
his questions about payments would have been answered more easily.

Guardian
does not currently have customer-facing members on our billing team. Furthermore, our customer’s questions were
not limited to which of his credit cards each payment was taken from. If they had been, every Guardian Customer
Care representative could have provided the information.

Our
customer had questions about the conversation that took place when he made a
payment of $495.67, and questions about
his Monitoring Agreement and cancellation options. A recording of the phone conversation when
the $495.67 payment was made had to be located and reviewed. Guardian’s billing department would have had
to locate and review the recording of the phone call, as Aaron had to. In addition, Guardian’s billing department
members would not have been able to answer our customer’s questions about his
options for canceling his monitoring agreement.
Regarding the payments our customer wishes
to verify with his credit card statements, we would like to provide some detail
to help our customer verify the transactions.
Our customer made a payment of $495.67 that posted on 4/28/2023 to pay
for his current balance due at that time and prepay monitoring fees through
5/5/2024. Our customer then made a
payment of $37.00 on 7/31/2023 when there was a $0.00 balance on the account, a
payment of $74.00 on 8/31/2023 when he had nothing due and a credit balance of -$37.00
on the account, then a payment of $11,100.00 on 9/29/2023 when he had a credit
balance of -$111.00 on the account.
Please note, like many businesses, a credit amount and credit balance
are displayed with a “-“ in front of the dollar amount. Guardian refunded the payments of $37.00,
$74.00, and $11,100.00 on November 1, 2023.
The refunds should have posted to his credit cards within the first
seven days of November 2023.

In
the future, our customer is welcome to contact Guardian at 1-800-776-8328 to
verify his account balance and whether a payment is due. Thank you for informing Guardian of this
matter. Should you have any questions,
please contact Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 05/30/2024
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]

prue lack of accountability. The conversation between loyalty rep and myself the explanation for the credit was clear he stated there is no symbol that guardian protection billing use to indicate credit. this is the reason for the confusion of credit to extra payments and the results of me paying a credit of $110 that appears to be a bill owed which I inadvertently paid $11,000 on guardian protection app with my credit card set up for digital payment. Furthermore I also visited the (GP) app to verify statements with my credit card companies. I have attached a photo the statement off of the guardian pro app which is untranslatable.

Regards,

**** *******
Initial Complaint
Date:05/15/2024
Type:Order 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.
We recently sold our home in Baden. We have had guardian security for over 10 years now between both of our homes. We no longer need their services since the new home we purchase came with a system already installed. When I called to cancel today I was told I still have 39 months on my contract and have to pay over a $1,000 for an ETF. I was unaware that I renewed our contract when we purchased more glass break sensors. I think its ridiculous to ask a customer who has been with you for over a decade to pay 1,000 dollars just to get out of a contract because they no longer need your services. We have paid for multiple services with guardian and yet when we ask to leave this is what we are told. I want the ETF waived. I do not have the money to pay the ETF or continue to pay for a service in a home I no longer own on top of the home I do own.
Business Response
Date: 05/22/2024
May
22, 2024
BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main St, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA   15106

RE:        ****** ****** * ********* ** ********

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

Thank
you for forwarding the above referenced complaint to Guardian Protection
Services, Inc. (“Guardian”). Guardian values
the opportunity to address any concern.

Our
customer has expressed dissatisfaction with Guardian requesting payment of an
Early Termination Fee to cancel her services since she sold her home when she
signed a new agreement for a discount on the purchase of additional glass break
sensors.

Guardian
is a customer-centric organization that provides alternatives to paying an Early
Termination Fee for customers who move. Guardian
offers to relocate services to a new residence when possible, and to waive the
balance of the customer’s agreement term if the new owner subscribes to
monitoring services with Guardian. The customer confirmed she is not in a
position to relocate the service at this time, and it is unknown if the new
owner will be interested in the monitoring services.

Guardian
reviewed our customer’s account history in great detail. Guardian then reached out to our customer and
was able to reach a mutually agreeable
settlement of her account.

Thank
you for advising Guardian of this matter and providing an opportunity for
additional assistance to our customer. Should
you have any questions, please contact Guardian at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 05/22/2024
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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.

Regards,

****** ******
Initial Complaint
Date:05/10/2024
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.
When purchasing a new home, the home builder asked us if we wanted the home to have whole system speakers, a central vac and wiring for an alarm system. We agreed to this and placed the order during the design and build process. We did not know they would select a vendor for these services like Guardian protection which locks you into a 5 year term with hefty penalties to cancel. Guardian will not let me cancel the contract, even if I were moving homes. They will not let you cancel when your term is up, unless you send them a very specific letter to a very specific address to cancel. They are claiming that I have to pay over $1000 to get out of the contract because they have "invested" in our home. The investment does not work. The central vac was never placed in our home (had to be done after the drywall was in!), the speakers do not work and are not wired to the right location. This is a complete bait and switch situation and I'm stuck with this contract until I die as there is NO OUT (can't get out if you move either).
Business Response
Date: 05/22/2024
May 22, 2024
BBB of Western Pennsylvania
520 E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie, PA 15106

RE: ******* ***** * ** ********

Dear Better Business Bureau:

Thank you for advising Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) of the above-referenced complaint. Guardian appreciates the opportunity to
address our customer’s concerns.

Our customer stated she
purchased a new home, and the builder did not make her aware she would working
with Guardian Protection as a vendor for Whole home audio system, alarm system
installation and central vacuum system. Our
customer is unhappy with the 5-year term of her agreement and the penalty to
cancel. She further states Guardian will
not let a customer cancel if they are moving or if the agreement is up unless
we receive a very specific letter. She
further states the central vacuum system was installed after the drywall was
in, the speakers do not work and are not wired to the right locations.

With regard to the sale of
products and services by Guardian, our customer had a virtual appointment with
a Guardian sales representative. She did
not meet with him in the design center.
Regarding the initial term of the Monitoring Agreement, a 36-month term
was offered by the representative, but our customer opted for a 60-month term,
which would have secured greater discounts toward the installation and
monitoring services.

Guardian was very transparent
with the term of the Monitoring Agreement, sales price, and monthly fee. Guardian references the attached electronic
agreements executed by our customer on December 1, 2022. The very first page of the electronic
paperwork presented to our customer by their sales representative points out
important terms of the agreement before the customer ever clicks on Next or
Start to begin reviewing, initialing, and signing acceptance of the
details. The cover sheet is also present
on the final, executed copy of the paperwork which is immediately emailed to
both Guardian and our customer. The
electronic paperwork also provided the customer with a Notice of Cancellation
Form notifying our customer she had until December 5, 2022 to cancel the
transaction without penalty or obligation. Lastly, no work had begun in the home until
March 13, 2023. If the customer had
contacted Guardian prior to performing the work she had agreed to, Guardian
would have canceled the agreement and installation.

Our customer had a
significant investment in the items Guardian installed in her home as evidenced
by the attached agreements. However, the
cost of the installation of the security system was highly discounted in
exchange for the customer’s 60-month monitoring commitment. With regard to moving, Guardian does try to
offer alternatives to paying the Early Termination Fee. Even though Guardian only agreed to one
discounted installation at the site noted on the agreements, Guardian currently
offers to relocate services to a new property, with discounts, provided the
customer moves to an area we service.
Guardian also currently offers to release a customer from their
agreement if the new owner of the site subscribes to Guardian for monthly
services.

We are sorry our customer had
issues with the audio equipment installed in her home, as well as a delay in
the installation of the Central Vacuum system whereby it was installed after
the drywall was up. Guardian did repair
and resolve all reported issues with the home audio system by June 26, 2023, less
than 3 weeks after our customer closed on the home. Guardian has not been advised of any issues of
any kind after the home audio system was service on June 6, 2023, and have not
heard from our customer at all between June 26, 2023 and May 9, 2024, at which
time she called to cancel her monitoring services.

Our customer’s 60-month
monitoring commitment was with a monthly fee of $55.99. There are currently forty-nine (49) unpaid
months remaining on the term, with a value of $2,743.51. The customer has the option of canceling the
services prior to the end of her initial term by paying an Early Termination
Fee of $1,543.50 per the calculation in Section 8. Of her Monitoring Agreement. If our customer decides not to cancel the
service early, Guardian would
like to remind her that she has several life safety devices installed that are monitored
24/7 regardless of whether the system is armed or not. And we encourage her to utilize the remainder
of the system so Guardian can contact authorities if an intrusion device is tripped,
and they are not able to do so.

Guardian reached out to our customer to discuss the issues within the complaint
but did not hear back from her. If she
decides to continue service until the end of her initial term, then cancel the
service, she can contact us and request that we email her a cancellation form
to satisfy the cancelation provision that all requests must be in writing.

Thank you for the opportunity to address this matter. Should you have any questions, please contact
Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,

Agency Complaint Response
Team
Initial Complaint
Date:05/04/2024
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.
I was in a contract with them, they never told me that it was for 60 months. Within 4 months the panel had stop working so they had to call me on a daily basis at every hours of the day or night to troubleshoot so that they can access. They called me nonstop for 6 months. I ended up getting rid of them since they couldn’t read the panel unless the dictate me over the to give access to the panel. In order word, I was paying if they was an intruder they couldn’t help because they couldn’t read the panel.
Business Response
Date: 05/17/2024
May 16, 2024

BBB of Western Pennsylvania
520 E Main Street, Suite 100
Carnegie, PA 15106

RE:      ***** ***** * ** ********

Dear Better Business Bureau:

Thank you for advising Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) of the above-referenced complaint. Guardian appreciates the opportunity to respond
and address our customer’s concerns.

Our customer stated she was
never told the agreement was for 60 months, her panel had stopped working
within four months, and Guardian called her on a daily basis to troubleshoot
the issue. She feels she was paying for
a service that did not work and therefore changed companies.

Guardian performed a thorough
review of our customer’s account history upon receipt of this complaint. She contacted Guardian by phone to discuss the
options for activating the monitoring and remote access and control services
for the system in the home she had purchased.
The recorded call reveals our customer was given the option of a
36-month or 60-month term. She accepted a
60-month term and executed the agreement (attached) that was emailed to her electronically. The very first page of the electronic
paperwork emailed to our customer pointed out important terms of the agreement. In addition, our customer initialed the
statement “The initial term of this Agreement is 60 months (“Initial Term”). The cover sheet is also present on the final,
executed copy of the paperwork which was immediately emailed to both Guardian
and our customer upon her execution of the electronic paperwork.

Our customer’s security
services were activated, and the control panel upgraded, at no charge to her on
May 14, 2022. The customer’s new
touchscreen panel enabled the system to communicate with Guardian’s monitoring
center through both a cellular connection and via a wi-fi/internet connection.

Our first call regarding an
issue with the system was on January 8, 2023.
She stated she received a call from Guardian advising her Guardian was
not getting the data from her system. A
representative confirmed we received a cellular communication failure. The representative walked our customer
through rebooting her touchscreen panel and conducting a cellular signal test. The representative then had our customer send
an alarm signal and confirmed receipt of the signal and the restoral of the
cellular communication of her system to Guardian’s monitoring center. The representative also advised if the loss
of connection continues to happen, we may need to get a technician out to the
home.

The next phone call was on
May 15, 2023. She advised a
representative she was calling for two reasons.
First, to inform Guardian a storm come through and the system had not
been working since, and secondly to set up a new account for her auto-pay
service. Unfortunately, the customer was
out of town when she called and unable to perform any troubleshooting. She said she would call back when she
returned home.

The next call to Guardian was
on May 23, 2023. She called Guardian’s
monitoring center because her system was not working, and she was back home and
able to troubleshoot the panel. She was
transferred to a Customer Care representative who performed some
troubleshooting with her, then transferred her to our Technical Care group for additional
assistance. The Technical Care
representative was able to help the customer reboot the system and verified the
system communication was restored.

Our customer called again on
August 26, 2023 and spoke with a Technical Care representative. She advised she was getting calls daily about
a system communication issue, but she was on her way out of the country. Our customer also asked if we could change
her panel. The representative performed
a communication test and confirmed that while the system was communicating
through the cellular connection, it was in fact still communicating via
wi-fi. She also told our customer when
she returns home, she could try rebooting the panel or schedule a service
appointment to repair or replace the control panel.

Our customer next called on
October 17, 2023. She had returned home and
wanted to schedule service because she continued to receive calls daily about
her system not communicating via the cellular network. A representative set up a service
appointment, but our customer declined to schedule it when she learned the
equipment was out of warranty and she would be billed a $75.00 co-pay for the
service appointment. She said she
preferred to keep receiving calls about the cellular communication issue.

The final call from our
customer was on November 23, 2023 when she called to cancel her account due to
the cellular communication issue. She
confirmed she changed companies because she did not want to pay the $75.00
co-pay for the service call. Our
customer was advised of her agreement term and the early termination fee that she
would need to pay to satisfy the agreement’s initial term. The customer disputed the term as she did in
this complaint.

Guardian would like to
reconfirm the customer’s system was communicating with Guardian’s monitoring
center via wi-fi/internet. Further, Guardian
would have been happy to service the customer’s system at any time in 2023, but
our customer would be responsible for paying the $75.00 co-pay for the repair
or replacement of her touchscreen panel.

Because our customer was
offered either a 36-month term or 60-month term, Guardian will accept payment
of an early termination fee based on a 36-month term agreement and waive all
late and returned payment fees. If our
customer had signed for a 36-month initial term, she would currently have 18
unpaid months remaining on the term. The
early termination fee in this case would be $567.00 (18 months x $35.00 x
90%). A representative tried reaching
our customer to discuss the matter, but a man answered the daytime phone number
listed in the complaint and hung up on the representative.

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this matter. Should you have any questions, please contact
Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,

Agency Complaint Response
Team
Initial Complaint
Date:05/03/2024
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 mother passed away on 1/28/24, a call was made to Guardian to cancel the service in February so the family could move on. I spoke with Brady and low and behold I received an email in May about a past-due balance on my PARENTS account? WHY? Interestingly at no time when I called was I advised that there was any balance due when canceling my PARENTS service and now there is a email being sent ME stating there is a balance 3 months later! I feel that I was taken advantage of and I can't imagine why my parents even entered into a contract with this company.
Business Response
Date: 05/07/2024
May 7,
2024
BBB of
Western Pennsylvania
520 E Main
Street, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA 15106

RE: ********* ********* ********* ** ********

Dear Better
Business Bureau:

Guardian
Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) is in receipt of our customer’s
complaint and values the opportunity to resolve this matter.

The
complainant states she canceled her parent’s account in February and the Guardian
representative did not discuss any balance due at the time. She was unaware of any balance on the account
until she received an email three months later advising of a past due.

Guardian
is sorry for the complainant’s loss of her mother. We are also sorry our representative had an
oversight and missed reviewing the account billing and therefore missed addressing
the bill that had generated just four days before the complainant contacted
Guardian to cancel the account. The
account balance of $48.96 has been credited and the account balance is $0.00.

Guardian
appreciates the patronage of the complainant’s parents these past eleven years and
is sad to lose a valued customer. Thank
you for informing Guardian of this matter. Should you have any questions,
please contact Guardian directly at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency
Complaint Response Team
Customer Answer
Date: 05/10/2024
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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.

Regards,

********* ********
Initial Complaint
Date:04/24/2024
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.
I’m seeking discontinuation from our contract because Guardian cannot reliably provide the services they advertised. I have a 5 year contract 2020-2025 with Guardian for home monitoring. The panel that controls the service inside my home often disconnects for various reasons by itself. It is Guardian’s responsibility for the reliability of this panel but they charge a fee ti have it repaired. The entire home monitoring service doesn’t work unless the panel is repaired. This panel broke in October 2022 and just now while I was already on vacation out of the country. They have not provided any home monitoring services everytime I am on vacation when I need it. They also cannot fix the service unless they charge an unreasonable fee to just come and see the panel. They have multiple additional charges that are at the discretion of the repairman. I have asked that I am refunded for the time period not monitored or the service just put on pause until it is repaired.
Business Response
Date: 05/02/2024

May
2, 2024

BBB
of Western Pennsylvania
520
E Main St, Suite 100
Carnegie,
PA 15106

RE: ***** *** * ********* ********

Dear
Better Business Bureau:

Thank
you for advising Guardian Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”) of the above
referenced complaint. Guardian values the
opportunity to review our customer’s account and respond.

Our
customer stated he wished to have his agreement discontinued or service paused,
because his system is not currently functioning, and he is not in a position to
schedule a service call for some time.
He also noted his system disconnects at various times for unknown
reasons and it is Guardian’s responsibility to maintain the panel, but he is
displeased with the service charges quoted.
He feels the service charges are unreasonable and there is the possibility
of having additional charges added at the discretion of the technician.

A
Guardian representative contacted the customer to discuss the system warranty,
service plan, system issues and discuss possible resolutions to this complaint. Guardian would like to take this opportunity
to clarify some system, warranty, and service matters so our customer can
reference the information again in the future.

Our customer fully owns the security equipment
installed in his residence; it is not a leased system. The equipment and installation were warrantied
for one year from the date of activation.
After the warranty expired, our customer was provided with a Limited
Lifetime System Repair plan through the end of the Monitoring Agreement’s
term. The Limited Lifetime System Repair
plan provides for the repair or
replacement of defective equipment that is part of the monitored security
system during normal service hours, in exchange for payment of trip
fee/copay. The trip fee/copay is subject
to change and is currently $75.00. This
plan is limited and does not include the replacement of consumable items such
as batteries and obsolete equipment, home automation devices, and video devices. It also does not include repairs to the
monitored security system when it sustained physical damage or when the needed repair
is a result of an act of God or system alteration by any other party than
Guardian. Our customers with the Limited
Lifetime System Repair plan will be quoted the current copay but will also be
quoted the possibility of being charged our normal billable service rates if our
technician finds evidence the need for a repair is not due to a defect.

Regarding
the system issues our customer has experienced, Guardian would also like to
point out that our customer’s control panel has two means of communication,
cellular and wi-fi, with Guardian’s Monitoring Center. Often, when one means of communication fails,
the other means of communication continue. The system history shows our customer experienced
the loss of cellular communication multiple times in September and October of
2022. A service appointment was scheduled,
and the issue was resolved under the repair plan and our customer paid the
$75.00 Trip Fee. The next instance of a communication issue began
April 24, 2024 for reasons unknown at this time. Guardian did provide a credit to our customer’s
account to offset monitoring charges while he is unable to meet with a
technician. And we encourage our
customer to contact us to schedule a technician as soon as he is able.

Thank
you for bringing this matter to Guardian’s attention. Should you have any questions, please contact Guardian
at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,

Agency
Complaint Response Team
Initial Complaint
Date:04/16/2024
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 or about November 21, 2023, a representative came to the home I had just purchased. It was a model home for a building development. The home already had a security system installed. I inquired about activating the system. The company representative showed me how to operate the system. We moved into the home in mid-December, but was out of home from January 1, 2024 until April 1, 2024. The system was not used in our absence. Upon return, I advised the company that I did not need a security system and was advised that I had committed to a 60 month contract and owed no less that 90% of the total for that term. It is alleged that I "electronically" signed the attached contract. I was not notified of the length of the commitment or that the acoount could not be terminated immediately upon notice. I am asking to terminate with no penalty.
Business Response
Date: 04/29/2024
April 29, 2024
BBB of Western Pennsylvania
520 E Main St, Suite 100
Carnegie, PA 15106

RE: ****** ******* * ********* ** ********

Dear Better Business Bureau:

Thank you for forwarding the
above referenced complaint to Guardian Protection Services, Inc. (“Guardian”). Guardian values the opportunity to address our
customer’s complaint.

Our customer stated he decided
he did not need or want the security system monitoring services and was surprised
he had a 60-month contract and faced having to pay an Early Termination Fee equal
to 90% of the remaining term on his agreement.
He also states he was not notified of the length of the commitment and disputed
that he electronically signed the agreement.
He has asked that Guardian release him from the agreement without
penalty.

Guardian has been in
conversation with our customer regarding the events that led to our customer’s
activation and having a 60-month agreement, and to negotiate the early
termination of his account. Our customer
contacted Guardian when he found Guardian had installed a security system for
the builder of his home. Our review of a
recorded call on November 17, 2024, found our customer spoke with a
representative who clearly advised Guardian would waive the $195 activation
fee, provide monitoring services at $46.99 with a 60-month contract, and
provide three (3) months of free service.
The agreement was emailed to him for his review and signature on November
17, 2024 and the activation appointment was scheduled for November 22, 2024. Our records indicate the agreement was resent
via email on November 21, 2024 and signed on November 22, 2024.

While Guardian did not
install a new system for our customer, Guardian did have a technician on site
for several hours reconfiguring the system for his use, and training him on the
security panel and Guardian app. In
addition, Guardian has actively been monitoring the system and will react to
any signals received while the system is armed or disarmed. We had called our customer about an alarm
signal received on December 20, 2023 and again on January 13, 2024 when we
found his panel lost its wi-fi connection with our Monitoring Center.

Since Guardian did not install
a new system, Guardian agreed to settle the account for $200.00 which represents
the investment Guardian has made for this customer to date. This morning our customer reluctantly agreed
to pay $200.00 to terminate the account without further penalty or obligation.

Thank you for advising Guardian
of this matter. Should you have any
questions, please contact Guardian at (800) 776-8328.

Sincerely,
Agency Complaint Response
Team

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