Regarding your recent article “ADT charged me £2,000 to replace nine batteries” I can, indeed, top this. It billed me £4,749 to replace three batteries.
After threats, and my determined refusal to pay, it finally sent a half-hearted apology and a revised bill for £38.50.
What struck me in my dealings with the staff was a complete lack of common sense – each person I spoke to seemed to think it was perfectly reasonable for a bill to a domestic customer to be nearly five times the price ADT charges to install a completely new system. LN, Colchester
Our church has a property that is rented out. When the newest tenants asked whether the alarm could be reinstated, we asked ADT to come and look at the system. We were told it would cost £248 for the first half hour, then £109 for each 30 minutes thereafter.
The engineer was on site for just five minutes and declared the system too old to repair. But ADT has still sent us a bill for £508.
I rang the helpline twice to question this and, while the customer support person acknowledged the discrepancy, we have just been sent another invoice – for £508. IN, London
Anyone who has paid an ADT bill recently should dig out the paperwork and check they have not been overcharged.
The most worrying aspect is that customers questioning their bills appear to be sent the same bill again. The company has told us that both these letters are down to mistakes – as it has regarding previous complaints we have raised.
The first letter sets a new Guardian record for the biggest ADT overcharge. The company has since reduced the second bill to the quoted figure. Can anyone beat these?
We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions.
