Palmetto Alarm, LLC

We made several unsuccessful attempts to cancel a contract (Agreement) prepared by Palmetto Alarm, LLC. Shortly after installation of the alarm system, Palmetto Alarm subcontracted or assigned the contract to M[redacted], Dallas, TX, to provide an alarm monitoring service for my mother's former home. My 96-year-old mother is no longer able to live by herself. She was selling her home in August 2016, so in July 2016 we attempted, unsuccessfully, to cancel a five-year contract for an alarm monitoring service sold to her in July 2013 by Palmetto Alarm. Our verbal cancellation requests to Palmetto Alarm were immediately directed to M[redacted]. M[redacted] denied both our verbal and written cancellation requests even though the contract clearly states that the monitoring service was for the address listed on the contract. Finally, after filing a formal complaint with the Dallas/Northeast Texas Revdex.com, M[redacted] has offered to cancel the contract. We would also like to report apparent unethical business practices of Palmetto Alarm, which sold her the alarm system and monitoring service. Both Palmetto Alarm and M[redacted] appear to be predatory companies working in tandem to prey upon the elderly. A review of the Dallas Revdex.com web site revealed that there had been 2200 complaints filed against M[redacted] in the past three years. Many of the complaints named subsidiary installation companies throughout the United States that appeared to be operating in a manner similar to Palmetto Alarm.

Details of Complaint Against Palmetto Alarm, LLC
On 5 July 2013, a Palmetto Alarm sales representative, Ken D[redacted] (sp?), coerced my mother into a lengthy five-year contract. At the time, my mother was almost 93, had been hard of hearing for years, was partially blind in one eye and had numerous other age-related health issues. My mother thought she was dealing with a local business when, in fact, she would soon be directed to deal with M[redacted] of Dallas, TX. This is a misconception Palmetto Alarm appears to cultivate through its use of a Palmetto Alarm sales representative and contracts (the "Alarm System Sales and Installation Agreement" and the "Alarm Monitoring Agreement") that are labeled in bold capital letters "PALMETTO ALARM, LLC." A possibility of assignment or subcontracting to M[redacted] is mentioned only in the fine print on the reverse side of the two agreements. The Palmetto Alarm sales representative sold my mother a high tech, complicated, expensive system that was beyond her capability or necessity. She called Palmetto Alarm numerous times after installation, requesting assistance on operation of the system, but was never successful in becoming proficient with it. Because the alarm system was too difficult for her to use, she contacted Palmetto Alarm in October 2014 to request cancellation of the alarm monitoring service. Palmetto Alarm immediately directed her to M[redacted] in Dallas, TX. M[redacted] told her they could not cancel her contract without a copy of her DEATH CERTIFICATE! Both Palmetto Alarm contracts ("Alarm System Sales and Installation Agreement" and "Alarm Monitoring Agreement") cite a misleading "Right to Cancel" notice. Both notices include the false assurance of "at any time." What follows is a disclaimer that this "Right to Cancel" expires at midnight on the third business day after the date of the transaction. The Palmetto Alarm sales representative used what appears to be an unethical sales pitch to ensure my mother would purchase the system and its monitoring on the spot. This was after arriving unannounced at her door, having been referred to her by a younger neighbor, a Palmetto Alarm customer, eager for the $50 referral bonus. In his sales pitch, he shared what he claimed were details about his own mother. He claimed he and his mother were from the same state my mother was originally from; she was the same age as my mother; she still lived in that state; and he was going to visit her soon so he could give her the same alarm system and monitoring he was showing my mother.
Summary
It appears that Palmetto Alarm profits from its aggressive, unethical practices to rope elderly customers into expensive, long-term alarm monitoring contracts. They immediately subcontract the monitoring service to M[redacted]. Palmetto Alarm then claims no responsibility for a contract that they initiated. In fact, the description provided on the Revdex.com web site indicates that they are an "Authorized M[redacted] Dealer." My mother has suffered through three years of high monthly payments for a system she could not use at all, except for a few times - with disastrous results - in 2013 shortly after it was installed. Now that her house has been sold, it was unethical for Palmetto Alarm or M[redacted] to attempt to bully her into payment of the balance for the remaining two and a half years of "monitoring" for a house in which she no longer resides.