CastleRock Security review: refusal to cancel ( 159 comments)

I have also been duped by Castle Rock, and have submitted a complaint to the FTC. They advised me the only way they will ever make an exception to a contract auto-renewal is if you die, are called for active military duty or are transferred to an assisted living facility.

Will be contacting attorney tomorrow. Definitely want to be a part of any legal action against them. Will post anything I learn that is relevant to anyone else's situation.

wnolin

Same case here. Signed a three year contract. paid all 36 months on time. one month before contract expires i called them to either lower my monthly monitoring fee or cancell it because i got a compititive price from a different company. The agent told me that i had to request the cancellation in writting. I did. When i called two weeks after that, i was told my letter wasn't received by them. I wrote another one, this time cirtified one. When i called again they said that it was too late and i was automatically renewed for another year.

I spoke with almost all the agents in their call center i would say. No solution. One of them even told me that they will send it to credit report. MY GOD. I am set to sue tthe company. But THOSE THREE CREDIT SCORING COMPANISE NEED TO EXPAND THEIR JOB AND ATTEMPT TO CONTACT CONSUMERS BEFORE DECIDING WHO IS GOOD OR BAD BASED ON INFORMATION THEY RECEIVE FROM ONE SIDE.

What happens to someone who is automatically renewed for another year when the assumption was that the contract was only for three years. We did not know about the 30-day cancellation notice otherwise we would have canceled it at that time. Will the company continue to try and collect the entire next years' premiums through the use of final notices, legal action threats and collection agency involvement?

ANDRISZAK - You are in the same boat all of us are in. They will continue to take monthly payments from your account for "at least" another year. Assuming you are able to get them a letter 30 days before it auto-renews again.
They have their own collection agency that will pursue payments if you were to put a stop on the autowithdraws. They will threaten legal action with, again, their own legal dept. Which they will most likely try and disquise themselves as not being affiliated. I would suggest you read through alot of the complaints online and you will see how "very" few got resolution. Good luck to you. I am working with an attorney to identify what kind of case I have.

I just read this article and thought some might find it helpful:

http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-new-scarier-breed-of-debt-colelctor-2010-7

We're still getting bills via mail and e-mail, and now CastleRock has started calling us. We just hang up on them. Crooks.

Oh my, I have read almost all of these posts back over a year. I am in the same situation. I have contacted BBB, FTC and the Atty General.

I entered into a 3 year service contract on 7.22.07 (according to the date provided on my copy of the contract. Their copy shows the date 6.22.07. They sent me a copy and I sent them a copy of mine, clearly showing the contract was altered after they left my home.

I read the fine print, which states that I needed to contact them within 30 days prior to the end of contract to cancel. I thought I did, since my copy clearly states 7.22.07 as does my cancelled check. They said I missed the window since they have record of monitoring me on 6.22.07. They did not send proof of that, but that is really beside the point. How can I contact them to cancel according to the contract when mine shows a different date than their's does?

I tried to settle this amicably and simply, they were rude and would not respond to my phone calls or emails. I have kept records of absolutely everything to prove my case. I also have contacted the BBB and Minnesota Atty General. According to their correspondence through the BBB, they are sending me to collections. I directed my bank to make no further payments.

I don't know how they stay in business or anyone like them.

I called to find out when my contract ended and what I needed to do to cancel. I was told that my contact ended 6/16/2010 and I would have to fax a cancellation letter. I got the information and did what was asked of me. Not only did I fax a letter I also mailed it. I called about two days later and they had not received it. I called about two days after that and was told they had was received and it would take effect. Two months later I see a charge on my statement for guess who, Castle Rock. I then called them and asked about the matter and was told they had received the cancellation letter but the contract had been renewed for another year. Of course I was PISSED and proceeded to ask how that was and she gave my some dates that did not match the dates I was first told. They refuse to cancel my contract after doing what I was asked to do. I agree that this company has to be stopped. What ever happened to asking you if you want to continue service?

trying to cancel service but customer service said i should cancel 30 days before the expiration of the contract which is august 8 2010, I read the contract and it states that cancellation should be done at least 30 days before the expiration date . what i do not understand is why customer service said 30 days before the expiration date while the contract says you can cancel services at least 30 days because what i know before 30 days and at least 30 days have different meaning

Terrible people, horrible business model. Automatic renewal without customer's consent is illegal and I'm more than willing to sign a class action against them.

I would think that someone on this chain would know an attorney that could help. Not sure what's all involved with a class action suit, but this sure seems like it would be a good one.

I really want to file a class action lawsuit! Please, let's get together and do so! My email is kellybell5@yahoo.com.

I've had my fair of trouble with this company. No legitimate company "auto-renews" your contract without contacting you. Calling the customer support desk has not helped me at all. However, I do have a friend at this company. His name is Dave Brown (better known as "Crazy Dave"), and he is the Operations Manager. He's happy to take calls from anyone with complaints, and is probably the only person in this company that can actually use email. Please find his contact info below:

Dave Brown ("Crazy Dave")
Cell: [protected]
Direct Desk Number: [protected]

Give him a call. He's a good guy and he's given me service of much greater quality than anyone else there (about mediocre).

Good Luck!

Thanks for the information, I will make note of it. Unfortunately I am far past wanting to be civil. They deserve to be shut down and nothing less (even though that means Crazy Dave would need a new job). We'll see how my Attorney General does. My credit report will be taking a hit soon, they've already been calling for payment. Funny, when I called because my system wouldn't work properly they never answered.

They have a grade of an "F" with the BBB and from the hundreds of people complaining about the same thing it's inexcusable. Maybe you should mention to Dave to take a peak at this website and their BBB grade so he can pass it on. Anyone I ever (finally) got on the phone was just short of laughing at me.

No idea how they're still in business. It turns good and honest consumers into pissed off, bitter people.

Anyone that is interested please google the Illinois Atty General and download the consumer complaints form to fill out to send to her. I have noticed that many on here have already, but I am hoping she will get buried in complaints about CastleRock and take them seriously.

Castle Rock Security is located in Illinois, let's shut them down or at least get our contracts honored and the unfair practices stopped!

Just filed my BBB complaint. Case # [protected].

I wish I would have listened to my husband. I just had had a new baby and had moved into a new neighborhood. I was approached by this sweet looking college boy who offered to help me find just the right security plan under Firstline. I listened and signed a three year contract for 44.99 a month. They installed it quickly and left even quicker. Fast forward three years the service is spotty and false alarms were happening so often we ended up not using it for two years! My contract was up 7/14/10 I called 7/23/10 to cancel the service and I am threatened at first telling me how crime rates have gone up! After they pull up my account the rep cheerifully tells me that I can cancel for next year but my contract is now exteneded to 7/14/11! I couldn"t believe it! I was so angry I spoke to some supervisor who kept telling me I had an automatic renewal contract clause so I had to continue to pay until next year! I screamed and nearly cried for thirty minutes! I cannot believe this! I have never been so upset and disgusted with any service or lack of service provider in my life! I will never sign another contract again and will never recommend these jerks to anyone! I have been robbed and it was an inside job!

Michelle in New Jersey

5 pages of complaints - I wish I had googled this company before I signed up as well. I have had the same experience and it is awful and unethical.

Has anyone actually got their service stopped or contract ended? Has anyone contacted an attorney, I'm curious to what leg we stand on and what course of action is advised. I would love to contact local news stations about this as well as BBB and Attorney General. I hope others do too, even if it is a general consumer watch story for what people should watch out for or be informed about when getting security systems, or send a letter to the editor in the newspaper, but it would also be a great exposee on how this company and others treat their good standing customers. It is a FACT that they know many of their customers will forget the deadline before three years, and they haven't done anything to fix the problem they cause. Hmmmm I wonder if they word their contract that way and FAIL to point it out at all to customers via account notices, point of sale, or phone inquiries on PURPOSE so they can trick people into paying another year or more! It is really funny that they say something like the reason they have that in the contract is incase people FORGET the 36 month end point that their monitoring service can continue uninterrupted. Ha

CastleRockSecurity.info this is the address of the CastleRock Security Complaint Forum, if enough people use it, it will beat castlerock's own site for searches of "CastleRock Security"

I am all about a class action lawsuit. It is August 11 2010 and wished I had another chance to see the salesman one more time. Not sure what to do right now. Has anyone had a collection agency called on them over this?

I actually called our salesman (Pinnacle) when this whole automatic contract renewal fiasco started for us. Funny--he said he thought the contract automatically renewed on a month-to-month basis. See, their salesman don't even know the terms of the contract, and I'm sure many of them have led customers astray.

I have not heard of one person who has been able to cancel his/her contract successfully. (Apparently, even when written notice is given on time, C.R. pretends not to have received the notification.) I think a few posters here have mentioned being contacted/harassed by a collection agency. It's probably coming for us before too long...

WHAT A CALLOUS COMPANY. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH CASTLEROCK. Same thing happened to me. Signed up in July 15, 2007. Tried to terminate contract August 14, 2010. All I got was callous attitude. We need to take complaint to consumer activist. Who should we go to?

I called a few months ago to cnxl the service and was told that they needed to get the letter 30 days before the cxnl date of august 4th (which was our last day of our contract) in order not to be charged the following month. THEY NEVER MENTIONED AUTO RENEWAL. When I called today, got the same BS... asked to talk to a manager and he said it wasnt a question of authority, we signed the contract, it auto renewed, so we have to pay. We are going to stop the auto withdrawal on our bank acct. They are crooks and will not get another penny of our money. We have great credit and will take the black mark. I could give two craps about taking the black mark. It sounds like from all of these posts that even if you mail/fax your letter to them (which I was given [protected] or email of customerfirst@castlerocksecurity.com...inst that cute? HA!) on time, they will just tell you that they never rec'd it and bam, you just automatically renewed for another year.

PS... I did see this posted on here...
OK Guys this is what you do. First of all the two people who advocate for these guys most likely work for or own them so don't be discouraged. Go to your county court house and file a small claims action against them. Your county will handle all contract issues as well as small claims damages. You must list the CEO Brian Johnson as the Defendant and pay the nominal amount to have him served where he lives or at his office. After a few months if your out of state, your county rep will notify you of the answer that they must legally provide and then set it for a hearing. If they don't answer...you win. If they don't show...you win. If they do it will cost them way more than you are not wanting to pay. I know many are asking about a class action but this is difficult and expensive. This any of you can do and expect to win. No judge likes what these types of companies are doing and are sympathetic to your cause. And contrary to the belief of the two writers verbal contracts are just as binding as written contract in most states. So if they say they will move your service for free and offer monitoring and don't...then they breach the contract, if they tell you on the phone that you can cancell with a letter and then charge you it fraudulent. That simple. Take your notes, who you telled to and when along with you as evidence of your attempting to be reasonable. Any questions let me know.

None of us are ever getting out. I have a stop payment at my bank. They've not sent me to a collections agency called Joseph, Mann and Creed that if you Google are just as corrupt as Castle Rock.

I've written to the FTC, the BBB and to both the MN Attorney General and the Illinios Attorney General to no avail. I got a postcard from the Illinois Atty General letting me know they got my package (including copies of EVERYTHING). I also got a nice letter from my own MN Atty General and a copy of the letter she sent Castle Rock, but have heard nothing since. BBB dropped it because they said it was obvious there would be no resolving it.

I am sending a letter tomorrow to Joseph, Mann and Creed letting them know that no matter how many times they try to call and extort money from me, I will not pay a dime. Period.

This will be the only blemish on my credit, how awful is that. I am a consumer that tries hard to do everything right and there seems to be no recourse for any of us.

I too…fell into the trap!
I'm also stuck for another year with this terrible company. I called CastleRock six months ago and tried to cancel knowing my 3-year contact would be coming to an end in May 2010. I spoke to "Yusennia" at Castle Rock and she told me I could pay out my contract for the remaining couple of months and didn't mention the damn auto-renew to me...and I declined...but now wish I had done that since I got caught in the auto-renew policy for another year.

Option 1)
Change my debit card number and go through the process of collections. I may be able to negotiate a cheaper buy-out from the collections folks but this will hurt my credit correct? Can one settle with collections and not have it hurt their credit?

Option 2)
Go the route of small claims and see what happens.

Option 3)
Cancel in 5/2011. I would be faxing that cancelation letter starting three months in advance at least once a week prior to my contract ending. I would follow up every fax with a call to CastleRock confirming they got my fax to ensure this gets cancelled properly and on time.

I can see how this can go on for years if one doesn’t pay close attention to the matter. I feel completely scammed by a very slimy company and contract.

Commonality among each one of these...none of you can read. Don't sign something you don't understand. Plain and simple. You are all at fault for not reading a contract. Perhaps if you could read, perhaps you'd understand what you put your name on and would realize YOU are all AT FAULT. Just really simple. Take some responsibility for signing a contract.

I have had a contract for home security for over 3 years. I called to cancel my contract befor the 30 days of the start of a new year. They said that I would have to send a letter stating that I was canaceling my contract. I sent the letter via mail. I noticed that they deducted my payment from my account the next month, therfore I called back and they said that they did not recieve my letter. It was 3 days after the start of a new year, but they said to go ahead and fax a letter and they would get back to me. They never did get back to me and i noticed the next month another charge from my account. I called to make sure they recieved the letter and they stated they did, but they could not cancel due to me not following the terms. They said that they had everything logged of when and that I did call before and that I called again and that they did not recieve the first letter. I have done everything according to the terms, but can not get away from them. I would never do business with this company and hope no one else does either.

Rob

Commonality among each of these...unfair business practices by a company who gets away with it. Automatic renewal clauses that renew for longer than one month are illegal in several states for a reason. It is a deceptive business practice. Plain and simple. Not only that, but when a company refuses to fix faulty equipment unless a service fee is paid, they should be held accountable. Bottom line-nobody should be held to a contract for life! Especially if they have faithfully fulfilled the initial terms of said contract. We are all guilty of skipping over the fine print at times because we are all inherently trusting. Nobody expects to be scammed in such a way. There is no way out of this company and even if you do decide to jump through their hoops, they still have no problem turning around and telling you that you are still bound to them. Will this contract be passed along to my children when I die so they too can be harassed for life by these blood suckers? I guess the lesson is live and learn but companies like these need to be stopped!

AGREE ON THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. We signed an agreement with a different company over 3 years ago, who then sold our contract to Castle Rock. We don't even have a written agreement with this company. We called 8 months ago to cancel services and they told us we could not cancel until June, 2010 when our agreement ended... they said nothing about a notification date or needing this request in writing. We called in July to cancel and they told us we missed the due date and are automatically signed up for another year. Claimed to have tried contacting us by phone but we never received a call. We sold our home so are having to pay $50 a month for a security system on a home we no longer live in. We wrote a letter to the CEO complaining and requesting cancelation of policy.

I would venture to say that TeaDelgado64 works for CastleRock. I view this company and all of it's employees as morally and ethically bankrupt. I cancelled may contract IN WRITING in accordance to the contract. Company claims to "have not received it". Then when I fax it again they claim to again not received it, however this time I have a fax confirmation. But they will not cancel because the only communication they acknowledge receiving was my 3rd through 9th fax which occurred after my cancellation date. It is all a total scam. I cannot sue as I am in CA and cannot sue in small claims for a entity that is out of state. I have filled with BBB but that went nowhere. I am next going to file with the state licensing board. I have already started getting calls from the collection agency. I am all in for a class action suit. If anyone has other ideas, I would love to hear them.

Who cares, this company is hanging on by a thread and will be broke in less than a year. Mark my words, kids.

WOW! We are not the only victims. Our original contract was with Pinacle then to our surprise SAI and now Castle Rock! We were not satified with their service at all. Who wants a home security company that will take over 15 minutes to call your home after your alarm sets off? We wanted to test our system so we purposely set off our alarm. We expect to receive a call from our home sercurity company within a reasonable amount of time - 15 minutes (what seems an internity) after setting off the system is not acceptable.

Because of that we called the company to cancel our service. Like everyone, we were told we could not cancel our service because we signed a 3 year contract. To get out of our contract we had to pay the remaining term of our contract, which was a little over 2 years.

Our contract ended June 22, 2010. We called a few weeks prior to cancel and was told it was too late because we did not submit a our request in writing. We faxed them our request (signed, "i" dotted and "t" crossed). A few days later Castle Rock called us back to inform us that they received our request and they would honor our request. But of course they continued to charge our credit card for their service we did not want. We called them back and was informed that our contract was automatically renewed. We told them that we provided our request in writing (faxed). They told my husband that the respresentative that called us back has given us the wrong information.

We contacted our credit card company and filed a dispute with Castle Rock. In our favor, our credit card company remove the charges. But of course we are now recieving bills and phone calls. Why would we want to pay for service we do not want or are just useless. Funny, we disconnect the phone from the control box...hmmm...shouldn't Castle Rock be concerned as to why they are not recieving any communication with their system and our phone line? Wow, I feel "Safe" with Castle Rock monitoring my security alarm...NOT! With all these complaints I am SURPRISE they are still in business.

We want to get out of this contract. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We got roped into a 5 year contract with CastleRock. I've talked with 4 lawyers about what we can do and small claims court seems like our only possible option. No lawyer really wants to touch it because the amount of the contract is far less than their fees. What about the principle of unethical business practice and fraud?

I've written to the BBB and CastleRock has responded to the complaint, but it's funny how the terms keep changing. I also wrote the Atty. General of Illinois and got a postcard back saying they've received our complaint and are looking into it.

I still encourage everyone to write to the BBB and to the Atty. General of Illinois. I am hoping that if there are numerous complaints that someone will shut this place down!

Trent, I hope you are right about this company! Can you make it 6 months?!

We got roped into a 5 year contract with CastleRock. I've talked with 4 lawyers about what we can do and small claims court seems like our only possible option. No lawyer really wants to touch it because the amount of the contract is far less than their fees. What about the principle of unethical business practice and fraud?

I've written to the BBB and CastleRock has responded to the complaint, but it's funny how the terms keep changing. I also wrote the Atty. General of Illinois and got a postcard back saying they've received our complaint and are looking into it.

I still encourage everyone to write to the BBB and to the Atty. General of Illinois. I am hoping that if there are numerous complaints that someone will shut this place down!

All, for those who were transferred from APEX or SAI to Castlerock and live in Virginia, you need to know that 6VAC20-171-220 Section 18 requires the security company to send you a letter within 30 days of a transfer to another company. Castlerock has sent letters letting people know that they acquired accounts, which is not the procedure layed out in the law. Since Castlerock, APEX, and SAI all had licenses with the state of Virginia, they would need to have notified you within 30 days of a transfer. Failure to do so, means they didn't follow procedure and the law they agreed to when they got their license and also means that the contract you signed is not enforceable. Please email me at barborge@hotmail.com if you are in this type of situation. I'm building a case and working with the VA Department of Criminal Justice, who are very interested in hearing more about Castlerock.

One more thing, I think there is a pattern here where Castlerock claims they don't recieve cancellation letters within their stated requirement. I've sent a letter followed up by multiple calls only to be told they don't have a record. They are very unreasonable about this. Please email barborge@hotmail.com if you are in this situation.

Same as every one, did not know contract had been sold. Told me had to do another year told them to get in line for the money. Dont fall for the reduced payment and two free month that comes with a one year contract they dont tell you that. Now offering me if i pay 199.00 one time they will cancel, this company are like leaches.

BY FAR THE WORST COMPANY TO DEAL WITH! After several months of our alarm not working correctly, castlerock told us we had no phone connection therefore there was no alarm service. For $175.00, we could have someone come out and fix the problem. Instead, we had the sheriffs dept show up at our home with guns pulled... not the first time! Customer service is HORRIBLE. Good luck getting a person that can actually help with any issues. We call almost everyday to harass this company in hopes that they will get sick of us and let us out of our contract. We are still waiting on calls back from a manager because you can only leave messages. We have spent several hours dealing with CastleRock. If you want to keep your sanity, DO NOT SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THIS COMPANY!

Its simply amazing how quick this company calls once payment is not received, and at 6:30 AM. That’s correct, 0630 in the morning I received a call. Same complaint as everyone else, trying to cancel but that Auto Renew hit’s everyone the same. Same excuse as well, notice or letter never received and BAM, stuck for another year. Takes over 1 week to get a call back from a supervisor. It’s a no-win situation. This company is corrupt and the only way to shut them down is making sure people do not utilize their services. Truly disgusting how this company operates. Very sad to see them getting away with it this long with so many people.

What a totally crooked organization! I cannot believe so many people share our horror story with Castlerock Security. Check out Better Business Bureau! Castlerock's rating is F -- the lowest raking possible from A to F! In just the last 36 months, 636 Complaints were filed with BBB against Castlerock! And they still don't get it? No, this is obviously a company that thrives on intimidatation and scamming the vulnerable!
To add to the above encyclopedia of Castelrock victims, we moved
homes after ONE YEAR of service and had the entire system disconnected. The company representatives demanded that we still make payments for the 2 additional years. We spoke in vain with several representatives to have this obligation reduced, but were forced to make $49 payments for 2 years for a service Castlerock KNEW was disconnected. After 2 years of payments for nothing, we then joined the other horror stories. Castlerock refused to stop their billing! We were told they had automatically RENEWED our contract and don't accept any phone information or requests. What is really puzzling is they harrass us with THEIR phone call requests one to three times a day!