Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was also active duty with with QEI Services when I lived in Columbia South Carolina, in 2022. I had QEI service starting in September 2017. Once I retired and got my retirement orders, I was relocating to Georgia, which QEI does not service in that area. I asked to terminate and cancel my contract and that and told them at that time that I was active duty, military, relocating, and retiring in Atlanta. QEI did the same thing to me were offering me a buyout of my contract, which was over $2000 and it’s still charging me 59.99 a month for the last year and a half for service I don’t even use. Not to mention, I owned all of my equipment outright… also, I submitted a copy of my relocation orders and they don’t even service the area that I was moving to as one of the other complaints stated the person that I spoke to was not helpful at all in trying to resolve the issue I still have an open account that I paid $59 a month for and I still get no satisfaction. QEI wants me to pay this amount for another year to fulfill my contract. at that time I was staying in South Carolina, but my orders has changed and the needs of my family led me to move to Atlanta Georgia for my retirement.. I explained to the representative that I was covered under the SCRA . The representative did not entertain that I was active duty, or I was relocating and stated my only options were to buy out my contract or to continue to pay. The account managers where Jennifer sanders and Linda Sarro. They where actually pleasant but not helpful!!

  

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  Thank you for allowing us to respond to Mr. ******* concerns.  First, we would like to thank him for his service – thank you.  Until the beginning of 2023, alarm contracts were not covered under SCRA, so our protocol was to follow the normal cancellation guidelines.  Mr. ******* had over $2,500 left on his contract, and we discounted the contract by 25% as a courtesy.  As he states, he owns his equipment; and therefore, the equipment costs were included in the buyout.  Mr. ******* continued to pay on his contract, as he states, and we have not heard anything from him until we received this complaint.  We kindly ask that Mr. ******* please call us, since alarm contracts are now covered under the SCRA, so that we can come to a mutually agreeable resolution.

  Customer response

  11/28/2023

  This is also not true. I provided you emails from the company and I also called periodically to to try to discuss with them and negotiate. The company states that I should call them back but the company is not reached out to me on many many messages that I have left for the company and sent emails to Linda and Jennifer…. Due to the fact that the CRA added security companies in March 2023 I am looking for my contract to stop as of March 2023, and be refunded the amount that I’ve paid from March 2023 to the present. The company has made no attempt to contact me directly to discuss charges after I have left several messages and I have copies of emails where they have responded to me saying that there’s nothing that they can do which I have provided to the Better Business Bureau I would like satisfaction of this relatively soon if that’s at all possible

  Customer response

  11/29/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: This is also not true. I provided you emails from the company and I also called periodically to to try to discuss with them and negotiate. The company states that I should call them back but the company is not reached out to me on many many messages that I have left for the company and sent emails to Linda and Jennifer…. Due to the fact that the CRA added security companies in March 2023 I am looking for my contract to stop as of March 2023, and be refunded the amount that I’ve paid from March 2023 to the present. The company has made no attempt to contact me directly to discuss charges after I have left several messages and I have copies of emails where they have responded to me saying that there’s nothing that they can do which I have provided to the Better Business Bureau I would like satisfaction of this relatively soon if that’s at all possible
  
  Sincerely,
  Paul *******

  

  Business response

  11/30/2023

  We do agree with the emails that Mr. ******* provided and have them as well in our CRM database.  These emails, though, were from May of 2022 when alarm contracts were not part of the SCRA.  We do not, though, have any call logs from Mr. ******* within the last year.  We feel that it is unfortunate that he had to go to the Better Business Bureau instead of reaching out to us with his concerns.  This being said, we have stopped all further billing on Mr. ******* account and will be issuing him a credit of the months that the SCRA covered alarm contracts.  I hope that he will find this to be a satisfactory outcome.  

• Initial Complaint

  06/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am an Active Duty service member currently stationed at Fort Jackson. I contacted this company two weeks ago to request cancelation of service due to reassignment orders to Texas. They refuse to allow me to speak to with their upper management and claim they are unsure if they can cancel my contract. I have asked several times to be contacted by anyone in upper management and they refuse to contact me. I provided my orders last week. I have a report date of 10 Sep. 2023, and they are under the impression that I have until then to remain here. I do NOT. I have to depart this location 60 days prior to that date to utilize my leave days, find a new home, get my children enrolled in school in TX..etc. They keep putting me in contact with a Mr. Ken P***** who has made it clear that he is only “the messenger”. This gentlemen has been kind and patient but is not a decision maker in the matter. I own my home and I am in the process of putting it on the market for rent. I am unable to to do this with all of their security systems still in place. This company keeps saying they don’t know if they can cancel my service and are unfamiliar with the Service Members Relief act. In 16 years of service, I have NEVER experienced this type of unprofessional service. They have zero regard for our military and demonstrate zero interest in resolving this. They want me to buy out my own contract for over $1700 dollars. Please help me. I am running out of time and I depart the area next month. Please someone contact me as soon as possible.

  

  Business response

  06/20/2023

  Thank you for sending us the statement from Ms. Q******* and allowing us to respond.  Ms. Q******* contacted our office about needing to cancel service due to a move to Texas.  We asked her for her military orders and they were provided to us after business hours on Wednesday, June 14.  We are reviewing these orders and consulting with our attorney about terminating her contract. 
  When the Service Members Relief Act was written in 2003, security alarm contracts were not included in the act.  It seems from internet research that in March of 2023, security alarm contracts were added.  Since this is a very important change to our business, we are doing are due diligence and consulting with our attorneys to make sure that our contracts are now included in this act. 
  We are asking Ms. Q******* to give us time to review.  We have only had three business days at this point.  We strive to work as best we can with all customers especially our military service members.  While we are performing our due diligence, we have suspended Ms. Q*******’s contract.
  Ken P*****, who she has been working with, is a valued member of our management team.  We will make sure to contact Ms. Q******* as soon as possible and hopefully come to a mutually agreed outcome.

  Customer response

  06/21/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I understand that they required time to review things with a lawyer. I am rejecting this response because because a suspension of my account will not suffice. The account needs to be canceled and closed completely effective immediately with zero pay-out.

  I did receive a phone call today from Mr. P***** that the management has agreed to cancel the account with no pay out requirement. I need that provided in writing. 

  Please have the company respond in writing that the account has been closed/canceled with zero balance. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Delilah Q*******

  

  Business response

  06/22/2023

  We have now provided, in writing, that her account was cancelled and zero balance is due.  

  Customer response

  06/26/2023

  
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Delilah Q*******

• Initial Complaint

  04/05/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am upset with the company services. When been sold the opportunity I was been misleading into signing for a 2-year term contract and when signing the tablet I was not informed I was signing for a 5-year term. When finding this information out I immediately call the company to cancel and they stated to cancel we need to wait for the 5 years to be up. Alternatively, we need to pay for the remaining balanced. After carefully reading the contract under general terms page section 12. It clearly states “If you cancel, you must make available to Company at your residence, in substantially as good condition as when received, any goods delivered to you under this contract or sale, or you may, if you wish, comply with the instructions of the Company regarding the return shipment of the goods at the Company’s expense and risk.” When contacting the company to terminate contract they continue to give me the run around when speaking about terminating the service with them. They continue to try to take advantage of us by telling us we need to pay for the time ahead the contract is for. There is nowhere on the contract that states anything about paying the company for the remaining of the time. It only states we need to return the equipment to be able to cancel with the contract. As I continue to try to speak with the company to get a returned address for the equipment. They continue to state they will call me back and we do not hear from them until we reach out to them again.

  

  Business response

  04/06/2023

  Thank you for sending Mr. B*****’s matter to us.  We are thankful for the opportunity to respond.  In December of 2020, the complainant began a 60 month contract with QEI.  As you can see from the contract that Mr. B***** attached, he received over $1,950 worth of free equipment at time of install in exchange for a 60 month security monitoring contract.  You can also see from the contract that the complainant attached, in bold and in larger font, it states that this is for a monitoring term of 60 months.  This is listed under all the equipment that Mr. B***** was to receive as well as the monthly monitoring rate.  There is nothing misleading about these terms, nor are they hidden or in fine print.

  Our contract does in fact have a section dedicated to the contract terms.  It is in the REMEDIES section – section 6.  It states that if the customer cancels before the contract has been satisfied that: (a) all amounts then due; (b) 75% of the amount due the Company for the remainder of this Agreement (as an agreed-upon amount of damages and not as a penalty); and (c) Company’s reasonable collection costs, including attorneys’ fees and costs. If this Agreement is terminated, Company will not provide any other services, including Monitoring Services, after that date.  Therefore, we have offered a discounted rate to Mr. B***** – honoring part (b). 

  When the customer calls in or emails us, we keep detailed notes on the account.  We have notes about his request to cancel and our response.  So, we have, in fact, reached back out to him when contacted.  We have notes explaining that we have offered a 25% discount on the remaining contract balance.  We have also offered to suspend/pause his monitoring service for 3 months. Mr. B***** doesn’t seem to want to work with us.
  

  We sincerely hope that we can come to a resolution that is agreeable to Mr. B***** and look forward to working on this together.

  

  Business response

  04/10/2023

  I am writing in response to Mr. B*****’s response.  We apologize that he is upset with our company and hope to find a remedy for his complaint.  It is true that has paid promptly each month.  We appreciate his prompt payments.  But the accusation that we updated his contract is undeniably false.  Our contracts are signed via DocuSign, the most widely accepted electronic signature platform.  It is well known that DocuSign documents are unable to be altered and are very secure.  He attached a copy of the contract he electronically signed and it’s clear from the attached document that there are not alterations.  Furthermore, as previously stated, it clearly says 60 months monitoring term in bold.  We are willing to work with Mr. B***** for a mutually agreed upon solution and hope that we can agree upon one.

  Customer response

  04/10/2023

  
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Alvaro B*****

• Initial Complaint

  05/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  The company claims I signed a five year contract with them that I did not sign. They have pasted my electronic signature on a document I never signed. They obtained my signature when I signed a different document authorizing them to charge my credit card monthly for payment. I am moving to Florida and they do not service that state. Therefore, even if I intentionally signed a contract, they cannot fulfill their side of the contract, yet they require me to pay over $2,000 or to continue paying $60/month for an alarm system I cannot use. They are threatening me with collections if I do not pay.

  

  Business response

  06/23/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/26) */ Thank you for forwarding the correspondence from Dr. ********* *****. We have thoroughly reviewed her statement to you and her account with QEI. Dr. ***** entered into a security monitoring agreement with QEI on June 28, 2021. Page one lists all of the equipment (value of $1,700) that we were able to provide to Dr. ***** for $100 since she signed the 60 month monitoring contract. This equipment included 1 panel, 1 glass break detector, 3 door/window contacts, 1 motion detector, 1 smoke/heat detector, 1 Z-Wave deadbolt door lock, and 1 video doorbell. Below the list of equipment and prices, our contract shows in a bolder and larger font "Monitoring Term: 60 months and Monthly Monitoring Rate: $59.99." Dr. *****'s signature is below this section of the document. She also signed the credit card authorization form. Dr. ***** signed these forms electronically in a continuous DocuSign document. The signatures are not an exact match, as we all know happens with electronic signatures. The fact that she accuses us of cutting and pasting her signature is an undeniability false accusation. Her signature on the monitoring contract is not an exact match to her signature on the credit card authorization form. There is no way for anyone to be able to cut and paste a signature into DocuSign, as we are also all aware. Our contract states that if the agreement is at default for any reason, the customer must pay the company "(a) all amounts then due; (b) 75% of the amount due to the company for the remainder of the agreement." We have offered Dr. ***** a 25% discount of her contractual buyout, which she does not accept. We hope that we can come to mutually agreed upon resolution with Dr. *****. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Good evening, The attached document is the ONLY document I signed and it does not list a five year contract term. The document they are referencing is a FORGERY. - Dr. ***** Consumer Response /* (2000, 10, 2022/05/27) */ Good morning, I found the term of 60 months on the document that was sent. The sales person from the company led me to believe this was not a contract and service could be terminated free of charge anytime, which is seemingly stated in the small print on the second page. The fee they requested has been paid, but this company has a history of deceiving customers into five year contracts without their express consent as you can see from the previous complaints on your website, yelp, and their google reviews. My father was present when I told the salesperson of this company that I did NOT want to sign a contract and the salesperson assured us this was not a contract. Someone needs to do something about this company. - Dr. ********* *****

• Initial Complaint

  05/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  After reading several complaints about this company, I realized I'm the victim of a pattern of bad behavior by the salesman. Saying 3 years and $39/mo and not paying enough attention to the docusign form only to find out it's 5 years and $59/mo. Shame on me for not closely checking the cc bill. After about a year of problems with the system, it was finally working. Not well mind you but basically working. At that point I realized just how really bad the system's problems were and l asked for an adjustment. I also realized they had bait and switched the terms. Like all their responses, they claim to be vindicated by the docusign form. The very form they figured out manipulates people to focus on the signing process, not what they are signing

  

  Business response

  05/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/19) */ We apologize that Mr. ****** is unhappy with the service that he has received from our company. Our office administrative staff and ***** ******* our security operations manager, are very familiar with Mr. ****** and his account. Mr. ******'s system is a takeover meaning that the devices were already in the home and not installed at the time that he signed the contract with QEI. At the install, we provided a new security panel which we linked to all of the existing devices in the home. Our contract specifically states that take over systems are not covered by any warranty. At no time was security monitoring service not working, which his monthly fee covers the monitoring services. We have copious notes on Mr. ******'s account. When he contacts us, we reach back out to him promptly. We try to troubleshoot issues over the phone. If Mr. ****** was not satisfied with that, we schedule a service appointment at no charge. In fact, at one service appointment we performed, he had removed his equipment for a wallpaper install and needed us to come back out and remount the equipment. We did this at no charge. We also went out to his home in February of this year and replaced the batteries in his garage and door lock, at no charge to him. Batteries are specifically not covered in the contract. One time he contacted us about equipment he installed himself. We, again, went to his home as at no charge and linked this equipment to his existing QEI equipment. One of the "problems" that he references are push notifications not coming through to his phone promptly. This is not a QEI equipment issue. This issue is in reference to his home Wi-Fi, cellular service provider, etc. We, as a company, feel that we have gone above and beyond to satisfy Mr. ****** and regret that he does not feel the same way. Consumer Response /* (3000, 12, 2022/06/08) */ QEI's sales rep told us that maintenance and repair including batteries were covered under the agreement. Later that began walking that back and even told me to open devices and change the batteries myself. They were often reluctant to come out because they were busy with other work and had only 2 technicians. Working on the system myself is not what I signed up for. The existing equipment was installed by QEI and that's why I contacted them for service. They never distinguished a class of old vs new equipment while trying to sign us up. We believe we were signing up for $39/mo for 3 years and later discovered it was set to $59/mo for 5 years. Through out the first year the system had many problems and quirks. I was told by the tech that the software was problematic. When I asked about the auto garage door controls, they told me it would be $300 per door to install when in fact they were already installed. When they finally brought the devices on-line they were forced to reach out to the software company and get fixes that consequently fixed many of the preexisting quirks. At that point I realized just how bad the first year the system was malfunctioning. I wrote several emails and no one bothered to reconcile the situation. Tone def to the situation, they simply turned off my access to the system. I have been without app system access for 2 + months. I checked other complains on BBB and found several where people complained about the same bait and switch on the cost and length of contract. These repeat offenses need to be looked into by BBB. Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2022/06/09) */ Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond to Mr. Siatta's statement. In today's environment, it really saddens us - as a small, locally owned, family business - Mr. ****** would make a complaint to Better Business Bureau when we feel that it is completely unjustified and unwarranted. Since we are a small company, everyone is completely familiar with Mr. ****** and his account. As stated in our first response, we have gone above and beyond to service Mr. ********* account; it seems to us that he will never be satisfied. Please see our first response outlining the times that we have visited Mr. ********* home and serviced his account for no charge. There is no "bait and switch" as he claims. Below the list of all of the equipment and prices for his system, our contract shows in a bolder and larger font "Monitoring Term: 60 months and Monthly Monitoring Rate: $59.99." Actually, the terms of the contract are highlighted to the customer. Additionally, on the first page of the contract under his name and address, there are the words "Installation type: Takeover System" so we do, in fact, "distinguish a class of old vs. new equipment" as he stated in this rebuttal. In response to his claim that we do not reply to his emails, we have abundant notes on his account as well as copies of his emails to us and our responses to these emails. We would be happy to provide these to Mr. ****** or the Better Business Bureau should it be requested. Furthermore, we did not "turn off" his access to his system as he claims. The app on his phone, allowing him to control his system remotely, has been disabled. This has been disabled because he has not paid his monthly monitoring service fee for the past 3 months. This in no way has any impact on the security monitoring of his home; he just has to control commands to the security system from the control panel located inside his home. He did not respond to our first response to his original complaint and this case was closed by BBB. His response yesterday was prompted by his receipt of our 90 day collections letter since he has failed to pay his monthly monitoring service bill the past 3 months. He called and asked that we make a note on his account that he received the letter, which we did. He also asked us to note that he was currently suing three other companies and did not mind paying attorney fees to sue QEI, which we also noted. We, as a company, are at a loss of what we can do to appease Mr. ****** and we hope from our response you can see we have done everything we can.

• Initial Complaint

  05/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Salesperson of service set up contract without the outright knowledge of myself the customer. Customer requested service though QEI, Salesperson set up service installation date. 3/23/2021 QEI technician arrived at home site for product installation. 3/30/2021 No problem with installation. Roughly 12 months later Customer calls to end services and is informed they are under a 60-month contract. Customer deputes charges with local business 5/3/2022 and holds no copy of said contract Company states that contracts are reviewed and signed electronically though equipment such as DocuSign. Company states that all contracts are binding and a payout of $2000+ is due to company Customer deputes signing any "contract". Upon finally receiving "contract" and reviewing, it is found that the "confirming" email on said contract does not belong to the customer and would have been imposable for customer to agree to. Customer is now filing a complaint for this fraudulent action and is requesting release from all contract liability and debt. Upon reviewing "contract" customer also found ambiguous verbiage in relation to contract term length Customer is also requesting for safety and clarity of other future costumers that language be rectified. Attached Pictures are supporting evidence for both clams

  

  Business response

  06/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/06) */ ******* ****** QEI Sales Representative, met with Mr. ****** in person on March 23, 2021. All of our sales representatives have an iPad/Tablet at their meetings so that they can be with their customers as they sign their contracts and to answer any questions. ******* and ****** reviewed the contract. Mr. ****** agreed to sign it on ********** tablet and ******* selected for ******** to generate an electronic (typed) signature for Mr. ******. Our contracts are signed via ********* which is the most widely accepted electronic signature platform. Once the contract is created and signed, you are unable to make any changes or alter the contract without the consent of the customer. The contract length, billing cycle, and monthly monitoring rate are clearly indicated on page 1 of the contract, which Mr. ****** showed as an exhibit. We are not disputing that his email address is incorrect. Therefore, at the time of signing the contract, he did not receive an electronic copy of the contract. We updated his email address when we called him to schedule the install. We apologize for the incorrect email address at time of signature, but you can see from the attached ******** signing certificate that Mr. ****** initialed numerous places on the contract confirming items such as his call list (who to call if the alarm goes off) and general terms of the contract. The ******* are moving from South Carolina to Tennessee and this is why we believe they are disputing their contract. We have had no service issues or any other issues with the ****** account. We have upheld our terms of the contract we signed with them. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/09) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) It was stated in the response above that Branden went over the contract with the customer inside his home, but this was never covered. At no point was a contract discussed with the customer. The only agreement made was the installation date. The fact the customers are moving out of the service zone is a nonimpact on issue of payment. As stated the customers have had no issues with their account prior to this point. As well to note customers email was not updated after install, customers email was updated upon request to cancel services. Also to state if you look at the physical signature made at the time of the agreement it is a line per the exhibit given in response. As if done by an employee in a rush to complete there sales goals. Looking at the times of each signature the total time of the contract took less that 4 minutes. It seems difficult to understand how it can be stated that the Employee and customer took time to read and review such a document in such a timely manner. As a post script, The exhibit given as for the contract term was a request for precession of language. The contract term was only "clear" after speaking with an associate of the business. By no means is this clear language and is still a point that should be rectified. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/05/12) */ Please see the following in response to the customers rebuttal. Branden states that he met in person with the customer and that he signed the contract using an electronically generated signature with ********* The contract terms are in large font and bold on the contract - very easy to see. As you can see from the contract - in addition to the equipment provided to the customer by the builder - the customer added 2 monitored smoke detectors, 1 carbon monoxide detector, 3 window contacts, 1 motion detector and 3 exterior cameras at NO cost. (We did charge the first month's monitoring and an installation fee of $150.) This equipment is financed to customers free of charge with a signed contract for monitoring services. As the customer stated, they have not had any issues with the services provided by QEI. We have upheld our side of the contract and we are simply asking that the customer do the same. We have offered the customer a 25% discount off the buyout of the remaining contract terms. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/05/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The customer understands what your sale representative is saying but at no point was a contract brought up or spoken about with the customer from the sales representative. This is very clear with the signature on the "contract". The customer understands that this is difficult from a corporate point of view but from a logical standpoint no person would be capable of covering this "contract" in the short time. The customer does not enter into contract with such terms as this do to the nature of his own business. The customers ask that instead of sending a generic response the company take the time and look at the contract, look at the Docusign, Look at the total time for/between Signatures. If one of any of these items had just been the evidence, then the customer would understand the company's standpoint. However, the compounding of all these items shows truly that the customer is coming from a place of truth and concern. If the Company wishes to have a more intimate conversation about this topic, please feel free to contact me.

*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. ↩