Central Security Group, Inc.
Reviews and Complaints

This is a horrible company with no integrity. They ripped me off for $250 and continue to bill me even though they are fully aware that they do not monitor my alarm. When I tried to call to straighten it out, they hung up on me, put me on hold and never came back to my call several times, and then they told me the whole thing was straightened out and that they would let me out of the contract without charging me any more. Then, they made automatic withdrawl's from my account after the service was cancelled. And now they have completely reversed what they told me and send me bills in the mail. They offered to buy me out of my contract to get me to switch services then stuck me with a $250 bill. Instead, they continue to bill me an have threatened to put a judgment on my credit. I wish I was making this up but it is 100% true. As a former customer, my opinion is that this company has no integrity (kind of important for a security company) and has business practices that border on fraud. BEWARE!

Dear Prospective Contractor with Central Security Group

Please
Please consider my experience with them before you sign that
contract. Today I am requesting that they send their account immediately to the
collectors.

the technical reasons given by a navy
retired expert

After a brief review of
the home alarm installation currently in use at your home on Quicksilver
Circle, here are my findings:

The new system:

1. The new system is a wireless/wired system combo

2. Without further research I was not able to
determine if the new system utilizes cell or internet technology to transmit
signals to the service provider.

3. The new alarm unit installation is utilizing new
wireless sensors to the front, back and garage door to laundry room

4. Window sensors are utilizing the original wired
sensors

5. In the short time and without further research
was unable to determine if the smoke/fire detectors were being monitored or are
the original equipment.

6. The new wireless keypad is installed inside the
laundry room and looks to be the same location as the older pad was installed

7. The new system primary transmitter/receiver box
is located inside the old system metal box. It uses the same power outlet used
by the old system. It also uses the old systems wiring for the window sensors.

Discrepancies Found:

a. The primary transmitter/receiver box listed in
#7 above was not mounted or attached in any way, it was just left hanging
inside the box. It should have been mounted. Picture Attached

b. Not sure but without additional research on
frequencies/data signal technologies used but a little concerned if being
inside a locked metal box would be a problem on signal strengths.

c. No instructions found posted near the keypad or
system box.

d. No phone number for help or assistance found
posted near, on or close to keypad or system box.

e. No information or home map zones are being
monitored or locations.

f. None of the sensor wires labeled to which zone
or opening it goes to.

Take Care & God
Bless,

John Ferguson, III (USN Retired)

The four complaints are:

1.
They will sell to you hard sell at your house no
matter your condition or concern.

2.
They can make ‘apparently’ shoddy installations.

3.
They ‘apparently’ stall and stall for the extra
months and then never respond to the original complaints; even in denying the
complaints validity.

4.
They will keep charging and charging. For those
of you that have exiting contracts you also have another worry.

If you do not believe check out Yelp or better Check out the complaints
at the BBB Tulsa Oklahoma

The reasons for my original complaints follow (note the quotation marks
around adjectives are just for self protection):

I am a senior and was just out of the hospital for my fourth
knee replacement in my left leg when the CSG salesman came by my house. I
was on a walker and on pain killers. I remember that day well I was happy at
buying a new house and was not sure I needed this service. I asked can it just
not wait and I got the usual about the need to do it now.

No that is not the end of the story. About two years of making payments
with my only experience being a false alarm in the middle of one night, I had
an electrician come over to look at my air conditioner. At the time he noticed
something strange
about the installation. I later had this again reviewed by a former
Naval air engineer and he found the installation ‘apparently’ shoddy and
‘possibly’ potential danger.

I then told CSG March 10, 2014 that I wanted out. I did not want my
money back. I just wanted out feeling at least that I would have corrected a
potential danger. I sent several emails to the appropriate email address.
Several. No response other
than a reply saying that my email had been received. I then to make sure that I
had not made a mistake in communication checked my sent mail and found that my
original messages had disappeared. I then sent a second several emails but this
time copying the body of the message onto a word document. Still no response. I then called and found that I needed a password to talk to them about my own
account. No information would satisfy even the way that it was paid. They said
that I had to send in a signed request to have a new email. Well this process
took another two months and two letters scanned and with signature. I
have copies of both having learned that messages seemed to disappear.

Once having that I was able to talk to a customer service person;
sometime in May. I told them my situation. I want out and I don’t want to pay
for the months that had ensued in finally getting to talk to them about my
situation. They said that they would call back.

They did with the collector of theirs saying that I would have to pay
accrued amount to get out otherwise they are going to send it to the
collectors. NO RESPONSE TO EITHER OF MY
COMPLAINTS.

In short, THEY NEVER RESPONDED
TO THE TWO MAJOR COMPLAINTS 1) SOLD UNDER DURESS AND 2) THE APPARENT SHODDY
INSTALLATION.

I have heard that if you send a detailed letter rather than email to
the customer relations department, companies may respond better. I did so with
all details including a list of several complaint websites as well the State
Attorney General, the Aging and Disabilities Division, and the Better Business
Bureau that I would complain to if there was no equitable reasonable
resolution. After all I am not asking my money back for my complaints only that
we just part amicably.

As usual, there was no response.

My final thoughts I almost believe that Central Security Group has
become a COLLECTION AGENCY for its old accounts because
of possibly losing business to the new competitor SimpliSafe (I am not a
customer or employee of this company) which would be about a third of what they
cost to me (which was about $20 more per month that their competitors at the
time). It is now possibly a SHELL COMPANY losing
customers to all the complaints losing customers to cheaper services. Question will they still be there to provide
service if you enter into a contract and those that have contracts will they be
there.

Additional Information. I tried to find this company on the Oklahoma
Secretary of State’s Search Corporate Entities and could not find it. https://www.sos.ok.gov/corp/corpinquiryfind.aspx

There are no customer reviews on Central Security Group in the Tulsa Better
Business Bureau. 328 complaints all to do with billing and product. Check the
out before you here about the serious high tech service.

Dead's not good enough

A family member recently passed who had service with Central secuity Group. When calling to terminate service, we were asked to provide multiple legal documents, such as a death certificate, copy of the will, probate letters, etc. After these were sent, CSG continued to make automatic withdrawals form the deceased's bank account. Now that they have ran out of documents to request, they state that by contract, the only way out is to "buy out" the remainder of the contract, which is a substantial amount by their reckoning. However, they won't supply the contract to prove it. This issue will be going to the Oklahoma Attorney General for starters, and other legal action assessed from that point.

Seems like I'm the billionth customer with this complaint. CSG claims we signed a contract that states we are obligated annually even though we pay monthly and we fulfilled our original 3-yr contract. We were not told the contract converted to an annual obligation after the original 3 years until we tried to cancel. Our 3-yr contract was up last fall, coincidentally we decided to sell our home and figured we would cancel the contract when we moved away early 2011. CSG says we are obligated to pay for 9 more months even though we don't live in the home. I would not recommend CSG to the new owners of our home or to anyoone I know, due to the lovely treatment of their customers. If they had let me cancel my account (as they should have, I gave 4+ weeks notice and cancelled via email, fax, and phone), I'd be more inclined to recommend them to other people. How *** is CSG? Play nice and you get more customers. Duh.

I have signed a term contract with this company. Now, one third of the contract term in, I have contacted them to cancel the service. They have informed me they have no mechanism for cancellation except for full payment of all future service fees.

In no way is almost one thousand dollars worth of services yet to be provided reasonable terms of cancellation. Additionally, without a letter confirming my desire to cancel within 30 days of the end of the 3 year term, the contract will auto renew.

This entire industry of security monitoring often uses contracts like this. Outrageous.

Central Security Groups gets you to buy a 3 year contract and then through some creative wording they trick you into being stuck into a contract eternally unless you cancel service in exacly the last month of your contract (3 years later when you have no chance of remembering). Your contract automatically renews with no notice and you enter the cycle again unless you remember the next year 30 days prior to cancel. However, you do have one way out of the contract that they do not tell you which is to pay them an inflated amount of money to buy out of the contract. I went through this after being an 8 year loyal customer. I would suggest that you not use Central Security Group. If you are already in a contract with them you may want to send a letter to them ASAP opting out of the autorenewal clause in the contract or else you will be stuck in this cycle until you happen to remember 30 days prior to your contract expiring or death which ever comes first.