Connect America

Fortunately, I have no medical incidents on my alert system during 2015. However, each time I have had to contact them, my questions were answered and, I was advised, in a polite and professional way,
that my system was there for me. Medical Alert is the most important reason that I can be safe in my home, or wherever I choose to go. Thank you.

So very reassuring to know rapid help will come if I fall either at home or out....happy new ear...G[redacted] k[redacted]

Review: the payment plane was set up on a 3 month payment , but they were taking money from my checking account

ever 2 months , and if I had not stoped payment at the bank they would have took 3 payments out of my accoint

in 6 months .I called and told them I wanted to cancel my service with them and wanted to send the machine

back and they told me no they wanted me to keep the service and I told them no to stop the service . they then give me the adress yo send it back .

I would like them to repay me $ 35.00 that it cost me to stop the payments from coming out of my checking account

and the $ 25 .00 that it cost me to ship the machine back to them.

this is a total $ 60 . 00 dollarsDesired Settlement: Iwould like them to repay me $35.00 that it cost me to stop the payment from coming out of my checking account

and the $25.00 dollars that it cost me to ship the machine back to them.

this is a total $60.00 dollars.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Review: My father who has alzheimer's accept a call for the company Medicalalert, they talked him into accepting their product. The medical alert company sent him a medical alert system in December 2012, On December 27, 2012 I shipped back the system with their return label. We have never activated the system, they continue to send us invoices to pay for the product. We have called several times and told them that there product was returned to them.

We have explain the situation and they just keep harrassing my father [redacted] and his wife [redacted]. We feel we should not have to pay for a service that we never activated and returned there product in the same week. My concern is that the company is taking advantage of my father and his loss of memory. I was the one who went to the post office and return their medical alert system.Desired Settlement: My desired out come is for the company to stop harrassing my Father. his account should be cleared with no charge. Cancel everything.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

Review: On 7/1/2013 at 12:13 PM I received a call from [redacted] informing me I had been selected to receive a [redacted] Alarm System worth $400 to examine and If I kept it I would pay a monthly fee for activation. I told them I did not want to pay a fee because my social security did not come in until the 10th. They were very nice, said the charge would not come through until 7/11/2013 and absolutely nothing would be charged to my account. I had been investigating [redacted] Alarm Systems as I do live alone and am 77 years old. Unfortunately I did give them my Debit Card number. Within 5 minutes a $44.95 charge was zapped onto my bank account. I had a confirmation number with them of [redacted], and their customer service number was ###-###-####. The $44.95 charge was posted from [redacted], [redacted], NY. I called them back and they said they had credited my account for $44.95 and I for certain would not be charged until the 11th. The credit was put in at 11:15 AM on 7/2/2013. Then at 23.59PM on 7/2/2013 another charge of $44.95 came through to my bank account. When I called them again at ###-###-#### there was a woman who answered the phone telling me that was a "Credit" not a Debit that I saw. No charge would be charged to my account and my order had been cancelled. The charge is still there, no credit attempted, and my bank account reduced for $44.95.Desired Settlement: I hope that no one else is as stupid as me, and they be blocked from calling anyone in Oklahoma.

Business

Response:

Dear Ms. Dondero,

Review: When attempting to call customer service to cancel my present subscription the toll free number was not answered other than by a automated service. The service continued in a cycle with no live person ever picking up the call. When attempting to leave my name and number for a call back in few minutes it has been over 1 hour ago and still no callback. I also called the new subscription line and was immediately connected to a live person but they directed me back to the number that had never connected me with a live person.Desired Settlement: I just want to speak with a live person to provide the proper procedure to cancel my service or information sent to me via email how to cancel my service.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],

Review: Medic Alert system was ordered by me in August around the 23 nd via phone. 1 week later was taken to the hospital and admitted. I called medic alert and told them to cancel the system. they did tell me to return the box. I never received the box as I was hospitalized and then taken to a skilled nursing facility. my apartment was closed the last day of August. I never returned to the Apartment and did not use the equipment ever. But Medic Alert charged the monitoring fee in September thru December. The First part of December I was able to check my bank statement and found out Medic Alert has been charging my account while I was sick and in the hospital and skilled nursing facility. On Calling Medic alert the first part of December found out the equipment was never returned. I called my old apartment and the box was still in there office, therefore I told the office to please return the box. Medic Alert received the box back around the 12 of December and They told me they have credited my account, but as of this date 12/20/2013 it has not been credited.They refused to credit my account for months I did not have the monitoring of the units from September thru December. I spoke with a manager by the name of [redacted] and still could not get any help. I am a senior who has to use all my money to live at an assisted living facility. I can't afford people ripping me off! Plus I never had the equipment in my position ever! I was so sick when I called them to report I was in the hospital I dont recall who I spoke to, I did tell them I wanted their service cancelled,which they did not do.Desired Settlement: $30.00 times 4 months is $120.00

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],

Review: Arrangements were made for monthly debits from account. Connect America did an unauthorized debit for the full yearly amount causing possible overdrafts to the account. After 3 separate calls and being bounced back and forth to different departments, was told that a refund would be made, but in the form of a check. When questioned as to who was going to pay any of the overdraft amounts while we waited for the check, was told in a rather rude voice "a check will be cut".Desired Settlement: Reimbursement for any overdrafts that may result from this unauthorized deduction from account

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

In response to the complaint filed by [redacted], I called today and left her a message to return my call. I have requested that the refund check be sent over night to her. I am also agreeable to pay any overdraft fees charged by her bank. However, I will need a copy of the bank statement showing these overdraft fees.

Please express my apologies to [redacted]. This shouldn't have happened and she certainly should have been told we would reimburse any overdraft fees caused by us. I will listen to the recording and forward to the Billing Manager.

If there is anything further I can do, or if there are any additional questions, please don't hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,

Medical Alert

great!

I have only had this system for a few months but am very happy with this Company. They always answer in timely manner and appear to be very professional.

Great customer service and very nice to work with. They clearly work with those in need and have patience.

I agree with the "0" ratings others have given this company. This company initially did not send me the equipment I discussed and ordered from the sales person. I allowed the salesman to persuade me to pay for a year in advance in order to get a "free month." DO NOT EVER DO THIS!!! It trapped me into playing games with their owner and customer service manager for three months.
When I realized I had the wrong equipment and called to exchange it about two weeks in, I was promised an exchange would arrive by the weekend. Ten days later it had not arrived. I called again. Promised it would be shipped immediately. It did not arrive. Called again. Told it still had not shipped. Wrote to President of company (because I could see that their service people were totally untrustworthy) and told him I wanted out of the deal completely and asked for his help. He sent my letter back to the customer service manager. She did not answer my letter until almost a month later. Meanwhile, the replacement stuff came. I went ahead and plugged it in, still waiting to hear how I could end this whole deal. When she finally answered, she totally ignored my request to cancel.
After several more letters, she said that they had a new system, and they did not even know whether or not my order had shipped until I called. I reminded her that I had asked to cancel in my very first letter. Then began the games: "Send back the machine or we will not give you a refund." (No instructions on how to send it back.) Three more letters and two more weeks before instructions arrived. Sent machine back. No acknowledgment for two more weeks. Finally she says she is in the hospital and no one is doing her job. Then she says I didn't send back the original equipment. More time passes till she finally admits she found the original machine I had sent back months before. Now she says two pieces are missing from the second machine I sent back. More letters, more time passes, more excuses. Finally, she admits everything was returned.
She then keeps money for all the time she delayed my cancellation for their failure to provide adequate service and makes up an accounting based on charges for equipment when the salesman clearly told me there was no charge for equipment.
I can't figure out if they are all crazy and crooked or just crooked, but they definitely are a company TO BE AVOIDED. Like one reviewer said, TAKE YOUR CREDIT CARD AND RUN FAR AND FAST!!! You cannot believe one word of anything they promise to do. They will do whatever they want with no regard for agreements, promises, fair business practices, ethics, morals or common decency.

Review: To whom it may concern:

On June 17, my mother, [redacted], a user of Connect America Medical Alert, fell in her kitchen at 7:30 am. She pushed the button around her neck (her alert mechanism) and a message came from box which was attached to her telephone jack and was plugged in to the electricity saying "emergency, emergency" and then it went to quiet. A person who could dispatch service never came on the line. My mother attempted to scoot across the flour to where she could reach the telephone, but the pain was too severe, so she stopped. She said she just prayed that one of us kids would come to see her. (She and three daughters and one son all lived in the same mobile home park and were a minute or two away from her).

I went over at 2:30 with my dog as my dog expected treats from my mother about 2:30. When we went over to see her every day. When we first went in, thought she was dead. She was lying on the floor on her side very still. There was then a little voice that said "I've been praying all day one o you would come see me" . We had ordered this system in the mistaken belief that in the case of emergency, they would be faster in getting assistance to her than we would. However, she used her button around her neck off and on all day, to no avail.

I tried the button and got the same response, "emergency, emergency" and then nothing happened. I then called 911 and they sent assistance to us. The ambulance and rescue squad got there and took her to [redacted] Medical Assistance. By the time they got her worked up and everything stabilized, they decided they would perform surgery to repair the hip she had broken when she fell. She had her surgery on Tuesday, June 18 and on Wednesday around 6pm she coded and we later (about 9:00 pm) had her removed from life support systems and she passed away a few minutes after that.

Do I blame them for her death? No! Do I blame them for the roughly 7-8 hours she spent on the floor, in pain not able to contact anyone the system we had counted on to respond to her needs, not working? Absolutely. She was in severe pain no water unable to move, and worried just when one of us would be there. Understand that had we not acquired the system, we would have set up a schedule to come in and eyeball, talk to her, check on her every 2 hours or so. We were doing that for about a month after my step-father had to be admitted to a Memory Care unit. My brother-in-law was over there a couple of times every day to do the watering and taking care of the yard. He didn't go inside every time, because she felt that with the alert system she would be safe and she didn't want to be a burden to her kids. She wasn't a burden to us and oh, how I wish we had gone that route instead of the alert system.

In any event, I removed the system from the house on June 20th got all the parts, put them in a bag and took them to my house. I was to angry to try to talk to them at that time, so didn't call them until mid August after having consulted with an attorney. Because we didn't have an autopsy performed they didn't fell it was a case they could take. We were not interested in suing as in having the company accept some type of responsibility. The first time I called they made excuses that she hadn't tested the unit since the end of February; that it must have not have been plugged in right; (false, I checked it. It was plugged into both the electricity and the phone jack and the signal was making it as far as the box; and gee, by the way, they were sorry for my loss.

Quite frankly, I was quite rude. I don't blame them for her death, but I do, as I said earlier blame them for her pain, discomfort and fear while lying on the hard floor for hours. I asked them to cancel the service and send me the label and any other papers I needed to send this piece of junk back to them. They said it would take 10 to 14 WORKING days. That's about the speed they respond to emergencies, also. That was about 4 plus weeks ago. I callDesired Settlement: I m sorry for the length if this missive, but this was my mother. I saw her every day and wanted her, in fact to live in my home in a mother-in0law unit I had prepared, but she wanted her independence and felt the alert system answered our needs, the ability for her to get assistance quickly in the event she needed it.

I appreciate any assistance you can lend me. According to their website that are 4 companies operating in the state of Arizona. I don't know where to send the unit. There is a P

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],

Review: I was paying for MedicalAlert service for three months at a time, paid in advance. The service started 2/6/13, so payment periods ended on 2/6/13, 5/6/13, 8/6/13 and 11/6/13. I cancelled service and per the agreement, returned the alert unit, which was received by the company on 6/28/14. The company issued a credit of $26.95 for one month's unused service. When I initiated service, I was told verbally that after the first three months, a full refund would be issued for any unused service. I understand that to mean a refund for each day after cancellation, not just a refund for each full month no used. With regard to cancellation and refunds the company's terms and conditions states "if the subscriber has activated the system and wishes to cancel this agreement prior to the end of the initial three month time period, he or she is entitled to a full refund of any unused pre-paid monitoring charges less the three month minimum." This is the only statement regarding refunds. I cancelled a year after starting service, so the three month minimum was met; the rest of the statement talks about a "full refund of any unused pre-paid monitoring charges. I claim the company still owes me a refund for the period 6/28/14 (the date the unit was received by the company) through 7/6/145 (8 days) which equals ($26.95 /30) x 8 = $7.19. I have talked to the company but they say they only will pay for full unused months.Desired Settlement: Asking for an additional refund credit to credit card of $7.19 per the company's printed agreement.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

In response to the complaint filed by [redacted], please be advised that I have issued a refund for the additional $7.19. I have also instructed our Billing Department to take this into consideration when refunding an account.

I apologize to [redacted] for this problem. The refund will appear on his credit card within the next couple of days.

If I can be of any further assistance, or if there are additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office.

Sincerely,

Barbara *. V[redacted]

Customer Resolution Manger

Medical Alert

An excellent device, and an equally excellent company. The full GPS fall detection device is unparalleled in the industry.

Very dependable service

Only have had safety checks of the equipment. Fortunately, haven't needed actual assistance for crisis. When I did do a safety check, personnel were always courteous and patient.

This business truly saved my life or I would not be typing this right now. It happened several months ago. I went into respiratory arrest and passed out. I DID, however press the button--thank GOD. I woke up in the emergency department, and spent several days in intensive care.

I live alone and have been with this service for the past 7 years but never actually had to rely on it for help. That is, until March 2015, when I became ill and slide off the bed onto the floor. The next thing I remember is, the EMT's entering the room. If I wasn't wearing my Medical Alert button, I don't know how long I would have laid on the floor.

Baratta