As spring and summer arrive and people plan to take off on holidays, sales for alarm systems and goes up. Along with this comes a wave of door-to-door home security services salesmen. There have always been concerns about the reliability of these alarm systems salesmen, and there have been reports of many residents feeling harassed or pushed too hard by some of them. To add to this, a recent notification by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) really nudges people to think about the situation, and to act.
On its official Website, the FTC stated that while not all, many door-to-door salesmen could attempt selling a product or service that is of substandard quality or simply fraud. Moreover, they may sell these products at very high prices; try to bind you ina very long, expensive contract; and make false claims about freebies and special offers. The FTC urges residents to use their discretion and be extremely cautious of who they let into the house. The FTC has also issued a set of tips and guidelines that should help residents prevent falling victim to such fraud.
During the spring and summer months, home security or alarm companies hire traveling sales agents to go door-to-door, making unsolicited ‘cold calls’ on homeowners. In some cases, the salespeople use high-pressure or deceptive sales tactics to get potential customers to buy expensive, and sometimes substandard, systems or equipment they don’t need.
Signs to Watch Out For
It has been commonly observed that most of these unscrupulous salesmen use a variety of sales pitches and approaches to lure you into buying their product. The FTC has issued a list of some of the signs residents can watch out for.
They may make offers that are too good to believe and come for a limited time. For instance, “if you sign the contract now, you get the equipment for free.” If you succumb to the freebies, they may give you some cheap equipment free and in turn make you sign a really expensive monitoring contract that could be binding for a really long time. Beware of such freebies, and look for a rational offer.
They may try to force their way inside your home and then give you a hard time getting them to leave. The FTC urges residents to “just say no” right at the door, as getting them to leave once they come in can be even more arduous. If one of these salesmen is too persistent, should call the police immediately.
They may attempt scare tactics like a string of burglaries happening around the corner. Some may even make use of the sign you put out about your existing and say that they are from your company and here to upgrade your system. In reality, however, they may just make you pay for new equipment and a whole new contract.
Many have been known to even claim that your existing has gone out of business and that they have taken over.
All of these claims and pitches are intended to lure you into signing a contract for poor-quality service, and you must refrain from them at all costs. Please use your instincts and beware of anything that sounds too good to be true, because it probably is. Ask every salesman to display proof of identity, pocket card license, company logo, as well as make sure you have their name and telephone number before you even entertain a conversation with them. Just a little caution can save you from getting conned out of a lot of money and evade a very unpleasant experience.
Steven Ordona
Author & Pubic Relations – Steven is a fifteen year executive veteran of the home security industry and is now in charge of the site’s content. Steven is responsible for all the content created and also plays a critical role in our public relations department.