DEFENDERS

• ADT Authorized Premier Provider

ADT Authorized Premier Provider

DEFENDERS is not only one of the largest ADT partners in the world, it is also distinguished as the only ADT Authorized Premier Provider, meaning customers should expect DEFENDERS to deliver all the quality equipment and service as ADT-Monitored Security. This includes a variety of monitoring options, including landline, wireless/broadband, and cellular, as well as a breadth of home security equipment:

• Doors and window sensors
• Motion detectors
• Security panels
• Indoor and outdoor security cameras

For more information on ADT’s specific equipment offering and policies, visit our ADT-Monitored Security review.

• Lengthy Contract and Fees
• No Consumer-Facing Website
• Unlawful Consumer Fraud

Lengthy Contract and Fees

DEFENDERS attaches a $99 installation fee and 36-month contract to each home security system its technicians install. While these are fairly standard for the home security industry, some leading home security companies advertise zero upfront costs and/or no long-term contracts.

No Consumer-Facing Website

DEFENDERS does not have a consumer-facing website detailing its home security packages, technology offerings, or policy information. Instead, the home security provider has published a corporate website meant primarily for current and prospective team members. Consumers searching for DEFENDERS’ hardware packages, monitoring fees, and security features like keypads, sensors, and cameras will have to investigate ADT directly.

Unlawful Consumer Fraud

Per a 2019 CBS 2 Chicago investigation, DEFENDERS is the subject of numerous lawsuits and a flood of unresolved consumer complaints. Multiple DEFENDERS customers from across the nation reported being pressured into purchasing sometimes thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment they simply didn’t need. Despite the company’s advertised promotional offering of $27.99 per month, approximately five percent of DEFENDERS 2018 installations actually paid that price.

These claims were corroborated by a former DEFENDERS employee who, apart from his minimum wage salary, was only compensated according to the amount of equipment he could upsell to customers. Additionally, installers were also trained to drill holes into homeowners’ walls without permission as a means of coercing them into purchasing a home security system.

The investigation also revealed the lengths DEFENDERS customers needed to go to in order to cancel their subscriptions. Per actual contracts obtained by CBS 2 Chicago, customers wishing to cancel need to provide notice by fax or mail within 72 hours of installation. Customers who missed this three-day cancellation window told CBS 2 they had to either cancel their credit cards or put stop payments on charges to their checking accounts just to get DEFENDERS to stop charging them. Customers also reported being charged up to double the state sales tax on their home security equipment.

Customers who did manage to cancel their DEFENDERS monitoring subscription reported their systems being triggered randomly with no way to disarm them.