Monitronics International Inc. Ripoff Auto renewal contract with no notice or directions of how to cancel. Employees don't even know what to do. Dallas Texas

As an ex-service technician (independent contractor)for Monitronics I have much to say about them good and bad, I will concentrate on the bad because this catergory is the majority.
Firstly, it is ironic that I do a generic search on Monitronics and find them on this site blacklisted.

I have proof in the form of work orders that this company takes peoples money and does not offer service in return and knows about this, I told a representative by the name of Nikki Depuydt x2536 about this 18 months ago and many times since,she probably beleieves I instigated the people here to complain.

Firstly, lets concentrate on how monitronics conducts business for the existing customers that move home,firstly a call is placed to monitronics and immediately 1-3 hours of your time will be spent on hold and/or getting the run around by untrained operators,next you will be told that
a contract must be signed and received by monitronics before any install can take place,this can take anywhere from 1-6 months because invariably they loose the contract which by the way has all your personal info on it including social security # this is the first mistake because meanwhile both parties are agreeing to the terms of the contract and yet you will be charged for services that are pending because the system is yet to be installed
but being the unfair company they are i guarantee
they want their money before the services are rendered,this is because some very clever and skillful lawyers write the contract so that they are protected,let me explain;
Monitronics are not in the alarm business,they are in the reccuring revenue business,they secure
contracts from their network of dealers who are the actual alarm install and service company,it is this company that is resonsible for the contract to be signed initially less you decide to move,they then sell the contract to Monitronics whose only interest in you is a signed contract,(by the way you should request a copy of your contract because their is a strong chance your signature may have been added by a third party,this happens a lot.

As i have stated ,monitronics are in the recurring revenue business,it just so happens they chose alarms as their revenue,it could be vacuum cleaners or washing machines but they chose alarms,ALL they care about is a signed contract because it is what increases their bottom line and,wait for it,if you lock a customer into a 3 year contract and write a clause into the contract about raising rates
they can legally raise their prices and then ultimately the auto renewal clause for one year
which is deceptively placed in small print will screw the average consumer out of a lot of hard earned dough, Monitronics only use third party contractors for service and repair......why you may ask?this is because you can sub out your responsibility to a contractor and offer them huge financial rewards for being a scapegoat and then drop them when they speak out, and of course given the fact that the majority of people who complain get the run around so they just give up,this site serves as a platform for such people who have been screwed by monitronics and their deceptive business practices and a huge class action law suit would hopefully put them out of business or prevent them from going public.
Here is one method that may or may not work to get you out of your contract depending on which state your contract originated in. Firstly, identify the name of the installing company that is hired by monitronics to perform the install,this is not Monitronics but a local or statewide contractor, obtain the license # and call the county or state to verify the status of the license,secondly,call the local or state licensing board or go on the internet and enquire about the contracting law governing alarm and or electrical contracting,the law changes from state to state, in Florida the law states that any electrical or alarm install company (chapter489)must use legitimate licensed contractors for installation or service and NOT SUBCONTRACTORS)unless they are "agents"who are hourly employees who are covered by workmans comp insurance.

Monitronics are aware of this but turn a blind eye in Florida because you can keep your costs down by hiring contractors who ignore this law
and also you can shirk your resonsibility by passing the buck to the contractor.

I am not offering legal advice because I am not a lawyer but the reason I am stating this is because there may be a chance that if your contract was not signed by a legal agent on behalf of Monitronics that your contract may be invalid especially if it was signed by a subcontractor and not an agent,again this depends on the state you reside,you may get some money back but seek legal advice first,this law may have been breeched thousands of times across the nation.

Next I am going to address the issue of all those who have been given the run around,firstly you are not alone,I have records of scores of people
who are in the same position,I addressed this with Miss Nikki Depuydt x2536 because numerous complaints were making my job as a service technician difficult,she wanted names and addresses because she must have thought I was lying,this web site is the only place I will
publish names with their permission.

The reason you get the run around is because
you are cancelling your contract,there are 50 times more staff devoted to new contracts than to
cancelling contracts,my advice to you if you are reading this is to cancel immediately the contract
all you are cancelling initially is the auto renewal clause,you can do this the same day you originate the contract,you are still bound by its terms but it gives you the legal edge,they will still monitor you and snag your money but at least you can legally tell them where to go,so very important,cancel your contract immediately to avoid sufferance and lawyers,do this in writing by certified mail,e mail them and call them and have them make notes on the account
and call back later to see if they carried out your wishes,ask for a copy of your contract also to rule out fraud,always keep notes of who you spoke to and at what time or date because this will help you,remember ,you cannot trust this company,it is the most mismanaged company I have ever come across.MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL if you have a standing order with your bank to pay them automatic cancel this immediately,I have too many
complaints about funds withdrawn against other peoples accounts,you have seen the steady stream of people on this site who have complained,they did so because they have been abused by monitronics who claims to act in your best interest,they cannot handle the business and choose to act unprofessional when they screw up.

If you dont believe me just place a call there
pretending to cancel,see for yourself,this company is a rip-off from pillar to post and if you are an attorney reading this I have so many examples of unprofessioalism that you may instigate a massive class action law suit.

This auto renewal clause for one year if you dont cancel within 90 ninety days of expiration
is a cash cow for them,let me explain the reason;
Jim Hull,the president of Monitronics was interviewed bythe DALLAS BUSINESS NEWS or some other publication stating that monitronics offers
a percentage of the face value of a monitoring contract to the dealer who signs up the customer,
this is almost 90% which is very lucrative, Monitronics holds the contract and executes the terms,you see there is not much profit on a three year contract because they gave up the profit on the front end, it is not until the contract expires that the profit is made on a back end,if you deliberately include an auto renewal clause and add it in deceptively these contracts are a gold mine because you simply cannot cancel overnight and the contract becomes like a futures contract such as heating oil which becomes worth more as the conditions become apparent that it is due to expire whilst in the money.No salesperson coming to your home to sell you a contract will warn you of this auto renewal clause because this is a big negative,if you are reading this for the first time and are about to sign a 3 year contract make sure you attach a copy of your letter of cancellation and have the agent sign it right there and then,under no circumstances allow automatic bank draught for payment,this is also a cash cow for them because they can legally withdraw your money even if your service is cancelled if you fail to cancel the bank draught.

I am available via e mail to address any concerns
on this matter Remember ,this company knows about the licensing laws and has failed (in Florida anyway)to ensure that the contractors they hire only use licensed contractors for insallations and service unless they are hourly employees with workmans comp.
one example I have is a very irate customer who
called in for service and an immigrant from Cuba who had just landed in the USA showed up to do the job and proceeded to screw it up.

The chances are that if you signed up with this company your neighbours and friends did also,have them cancel the contract immediately before they too are ripped off by these bigots.

My reasons for exposing this boiler room operation is because I was once their best technician,loyal and willing to work nights weekends and holidays,I was moved from MIami
to West palm beach and ultimately near Orlando,
my co ordinator Nikki de Puydt x 2536 made personaldecisions against me and harrassed me and threatened me with termination because she screwed up scheduling a job that got broken into
and now they face legal action,I was terminated
with an eleven hundred dollar phone bill and relocation fees back to home base plus eight hundred dollars worth of equipment in the back of my truck,compensation was denied,I am now facing bankruptcy and strife but the irony is that they still send me the quality reports that reflect excellence and professionalism with regard to my technical and customer service skills within the alarm industry and on behalf of monitronics
remember,was your install or service completed by a licensed individual and not a subcontractor or was it completed by an employee with workmns comp?
If your research is correct and monitronics violated state law report this matter to your local workmans comp office and or the state or county investigator who handles complaints against
violations of electrical or alarm contracting.
I wish you all success in getting your money back
or hopefully more from class action,this company deserves to be felled,make sure you e mail this link to as many people as possible and also the financial web sites,blacklist monitronics on all the financial sites listing ipo"s,they are going public soon and they dont deserve the chance til they award the compensation they owe to all those they have cheated and apologise for all the mayhem.

Thank you for reading this article,I wish you all the best in fighting this adversarry.