[Nick Koan]

So,

I thinks I almost got scammed. A guy came to my house today selling alarm systems door to door. Now, I'm not really one for door-to-door salesmen (mainly because if they have to sell it door-to-door, its probably not really worth buying), but I have been thinking about an electronic security system for my house. So, I listened to him. It sounded decent, and wow, what a deal he would cut me.

The spiel was that he wasn't a salesman. APX was a newish company that is just trying to get into the market here and I'd be helping him by putting up a sign in my yard and for that I'd get a free system.

First ding: Its all free with free installation. My price is guaranteed for 60 months. Me: "Umm, that sounds like a contract." "Oh no, its just a price guarantee"

Second ding: Scare tactics. Showed me how easy it was to buy skeleton keys online. And it sounded perfectly rehearsed. And of course, I figured, "Well, that actually kinda makes sense as a part of a legit sales pitch"

Third ding: Showed me how much I would have paid at full price, and how much a full monthly price is. Then, showed me how much I'm saving. I really should have been more wary by now, but I was kind of getting into it. And of course, I shouldn't tell my neighbors what a killer deal I was getting, but tell them what my "real" price would have been.

Fourth ding (the homerun ding): After all was said and done (I still signed up, despite the warning lights) and of course, just glossed over everything before signing. Anyway, as he was leaving he asked for a glass of water. Of course, I gave it to him, and then said something like "Man, you look exhausted." and he replied with "Yeah, I've been up since 7am. I got 13 new accounts today." Oops.

That was really the one that did it for me. So, I googled APX Alarms and Apex Alarms. The first page of hits was all about how its a legit company but pretty shady. For one thing, they try to do the whole "Help me out, I'll help you out" but, it turns out their "discounted" monthly fee is actually more than established companies like Brinks or whatnot. Also, turns out they usually sell the contract to another company Security Associates International (SAI) which, of course, turns into more of a nightmare for more customer service type stuff. The only good looking reviews don't pass your basic internet BS test.

I canceled the service just a few hours after signing the contract. The installer guy showed up and started installing things, while I was still reading the internet and going over the contract in greater detail. I ended up kicking him out after doing two door monitors (which he removed before he left). The last thing I had to do was fax in a cancellation form (which I just did) and get a confirmation call back from them (which hasn't happened yet).

Luckily I gave them my credit card instead of my bank account info for EFT. I should probably call them and tell them to block any charges.

Hopefully that's the end of it.