Apex Alarm And Montronics No Response to Alarm Whittier, California

I signed up for an alarm service with Monitronics in September, 2008.  At which time the representative told me it was a month-to-month auto pay with no contract.  Silly me, I didn't read the fine print; however, I signed anyway and they came within a week to install my new alarm system for only $29.99 per month.  Within an 18 month period of time, my fees went up to $42 per month.  When I called, they said that it was an introductory offer for 3 months.  I was starting to get very unhappy with their bait and switch tactics as I then found out I was actually in a 2 year contract!  So, I bit the bullet and kept paying.

At approximately 9:45 on August 14, 2009 (I remember this specifically because it was the night of my daughter's slumber party and I had locked all the girls in the house and turned on the alarm), the alarm went off.  I had never had the alarm go off before and could not remember my code!  Luckily, I had the keychain disarm but could not find it right away. It took me over 5 minutes to find the key.  Did Monitronics call?  No.  Did the police arrive?  No.  Hmmmmm.  Good thing it wasn't a real emergency! 

Then on evening of September 10, 2009 I was home alone with my two children.  I set the alarm and went to bed.  About an hour later, not being able to sleep, I stepped outside the bedroom door to have a cigarette and had forgotten I set the alarm.  It went off.  Again, I scrambled to find the key which was in my purse.  After digginig through my purse and finding my key I shut the alarm off.  Again, at least 4 minutes had passed.  Did Montronics call?  No.  Did the police arrive? No. 

I called themt he next day September 11, 2009 to check my system and explain to them what had happened twice now.  The lady said the alarm signal was good and she didn't know why it was not working or they did not call.  Then she said for $75 the technician could come out and fix the problem.  What problem?  I thought they said the signal was good and it was fine?  I told the representative I did not feel safe using their equipment or service and I wanted to cancel.  This is when I found out I had a 2 year contract with another year to go!  I argued with her that they were in breach of their contract as they did not respond as promised or paid to do AND she even admitted that she did not know why they did not respond because everything seemed to be working fine.

So, in short, they did not respond to two alarms and even though they did not hold their end of the bargain, are not letting me out of my contract unless I pay $210 for an early termination fee.  I will be contacting the better business bureau and whomever regulates their service to file a formal complaint; however, I wanted to warn others not to use this home security provider.  They do not respond!!!