Lifeline
Reviews and Complaints

This complaint is about my mother who has Phillips alert service. She pressed the alert button while asleep in bed. At 93 years of age, she did not hear Phillips call in response. Phillips did call EMTs quickly for help but neither myself, my brother, nor my wife were contacted. In calling Phillips to inquire why, we received a generic response: 'We called emergency help.' They failed to address why none of us were called. Fortunately, it was a false alert, but the lack of explanation and unsatisfactory response from the supervisor is concerning. Now, when EMTs are called, they will enter the house. They had to force entry this time, resulting in a damaged door that needs replacement. Previously, Phillips has contacted me, and I have facilitated EMTs' entry. This inconsistency in communication is alarming. Why were we not called this time?

I accidentally over paid and had to cancel the service because of system not working. They will not issue my refund for the over payment of $324.00.I have been trying to get it since July 11th when the service was canceled. They keep telling me it will take 3 to 4 weeks, and it is well past that time. We are on a fixed income as we 8o and 83 years old, we need our money. Can you help us? I have called 4 or 5 time now and keep getting the run around. First they said it would take 3 to 4 weeks and then they said it was mailed and would still take that long. Now they are saying they are updating there system and can't send the check until they are done. At the same time they tell me others are waiting since May. It does not take that long to update a system.. They must think we are stupid! Please help us get pur money back!Sincerly ***. Phone # *** Mr.

Signed mother for service Oct 8,2019. Initially satisficed with service even tho unit was received a month later than 6 weeks promised. Within six months unit failed. Serval calls and a month to get new equipment. Equipment again failed for same reason June/July . Told would cost $100 to replace equipment. There was no damage to the unit. Mother can push button and signal calls out but they can't call in. They had to call on her cell. I have called and talked to several people and finally was tired of the three days of calls to "customer service" I asked to talk to sales person that sold me service. Was connected to Shade Dore. She was excellent. Listened and spoke to several people. She stated that our unit had a big failure rate and mine had failed. She arranged for new equipment to be sent for free. That was 3 Aug 2021 and I still don't have the unit. Mother is 80 years old had 2 strokes and lives alone. This equipment is vital to maintain her independence.

On 10/6 I called Philips Lifeline to confirm all information I had given for my husband's account was correct. In spite of being billed monthly ( and never missing a payment) since 2013, the customer service representative could not find any account with my husband's telephone number. Finally she located it but the telephone number on the account was one I had never heard of. Now, this is a company whose service is around life and safety issues. This is the number to be called in case of emergency for my husband and he is not responding to his pendant. And this company has put a number on the account that I have never heard of, in an area ode we have never lived. Further, on the list of "responders" 2 of the 3 names were inactivated. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told "I am not allowed" to transfer you. I asked for an app and was told it was new and the customer service rep said she did not know the name of it. Outrageous! I am looking for a new company.

I have used Philips Lifeline for 8 years and been perfectly happy with their service. Six weeks ago my communicator gave me the message that my call button had a fault. I contacted Philips and was told that a new call button was on the way. Ten days later no call button received, so called again and was again told a call button was in the mail. On November 17, having not received the call button, I contacted Philips again and was referred to Connie [protected] X57774). She apologized profusely and told me that both a new communicator and call button were being expedited via Fed Ex and I should receive it as soon as Fed Ex can deliver it, possible 2-3 days. It is now November 29 and I have received nothing, so I contacted Connie again who confirmed that the units have not been shipped and all she can do is escalate the issue. I can only think that Philips does not have these units in stock and that is alarming since having a functional unit is life or death for many of their customers.

My mother's Lifeline device quit working in April and, as instructed by their customer service representative, was returned to the company for a replacement. After multiple phone calls during the past three months, we have still not received a replacement. After waiting on hold for lengthy amounts of time, each customer service representative told me the same exact thing: "The units are on back order and in production and we will send them out as soon as they are in stock". They could not provide an accurate timeline for delivery. This account was part of a free service provided by my *** Advantage Plan.In the meantime, Lifeline is still advertising online and in magazines for new subscribers. My mother's safety is an utmost concern, so we are cancelling our account with Lifeline and paying for a different company to provide medical alert services. The new service company is costing my mother over $50/month, but she has been without Lifeline service for over three months with no response from the Lifeline company, so we had no choice but to change companies.

My 94 year old mother who lives alone has had satisfactory service from Lifeline( formerly owned by ***) for years. However, in mid- June the red button on her unit lit up indicating her battery was low. We called immediately and were told it would arrive in 3-5 business days. When it did not arrive, we called again and we were told it was back ordered until mid- July. We were assured that her battery would not expire before she received a new unit but they could not tell me how long the battery would last nor when the unit would arrive. I have been told at different times by different operators that it is a supply chain issue, that the company that makes them is having trouble getting the part and that the warehouse is in transition. I have also been told that my moms order would be expedited when the unit is available. As of today, the unit remains back ordered with no expected arrival date. This is unacceptable to my mom, myself and my family and is causing us undue anxiety. This company provides ONE essential service and should have contingency plans when problems such as this arise.

Lifeline was acquired by CONNECT AMERICA earlier in 2022. My 95-year-old mother has experienced numerous issues with her medical alert pendant from this company, with many replacements lasting only about a month. Currently, it is not functioning correctly, displaying a 'no cellular or data' error during tests. I tried to contact customer service on Saturday, 8/6/22, but despite the voicemail stating they were open until 4pm EST, I was informed they were closed. On Sunday, I attempted to reach out again, but the calls were abruptly disconnected. By Monday, 8/7/22, the phone lines were completely down due to technical difficulties, as stated in a recording. I left a message and emailed a supervisor I had previously spoken with but received no reply. I also contacted Connect America directly, repeatedly requesting a callback from a supervisor, to no avail. It's appalling that my mother is paying for a device that isn't functioning. It's hard to believe there are others who, like us, are not receiving the service they paid for. We were never notified by email or mail about the acquisition, which is unacceptable. My mother relies on her pendant for safety, and the current situation is utterly disgraceful.

My 93 year old mother who lives alone has had satisfactory service from Lifeline for years. However, in mid- June the red button on her unit lit up indicating her battery was low. We called immediately and were told it would arrive in 3-5 business days. When it did not arrive, we called again and we were told it was back ordered until mid- July. We were assured that her battery would not expire before she received a new unit but they could not tell me how long the battery would last nor when the unit would arrive. I have been told at different times by different operators that it is a supply chain issue, that the company that makes them is having trouble getting the part and that the warehouse is in transition. I have also been told that my moms order would be expedited when the unit is available. As of today, the unit remains back ordered with no expected arrival date. Their customer Service number is not working. This is unacceptable to my mom, myself and my family and is causing us undue anxiety. This company provides ONE essential service and should have contingency plans when problems such as this arise.

Lifeline Pendant, used to call for emergency help after a fall, malfunctioned, and I requested a replacement on May 24, 2022. The representative assured me a new one would be sent and arrive shortly. When it hadn't arrived by June 15, 2022, I called again and was told of a vague shipping delay. No delivery occurred by June 24, 2022, and the company again cited shipping delays without specifics. Inquiring about the representative's location, I was told 'east coast of North America' but received no further details on the service center's location. Philips' headquarters are abroad. This device is crucial for safety, yet the company's service failure is leaving seniors at risk.

Through my insurance I ordered a device from *** at the end of August beginning of September and 2021. They told me due to back order it would take approximately eight weeks for delivery. I said that would be fine. It is now as of today December 15th. And I still have not received any device from ***. Anytime I call customer service in regards to this matter they always seem to tell me always still not available it's still on backorder and it will take approximately another 8 weeks. Anytime I ask to speak to a supervisor there is never a supervisor around to be able to talk to. As of today being December 15th I called Philips Lifeline again and got hung up on multiple times by their customer service. I've don't know what to do anymore they don't seem to care about their customers and have the inability to provide services for severely disabled customers. Since ordering the product I have fallen multiple times, have had a mini-stroke on my left side, have 60% arterial blockage, and could really use this device but they can't seem to get it to me. Personally I think this is a pretty bad way to do business telling somebody one thing and not being able to deliver on it. If you can't deliver on a product don't tell a customer it'll be there within so many days or so many weeks. And trying to get ahold of corporate office in *** I can't seem to get any kind of phone number to talk to a boss to expedite my services or complaint.

I am writing this complaint for my mother Patricia McDonald who has had an account with Philips Lifeline for several years now and has always received a monthly bill by mail which she pays by check and returns to Lifeline. On March 3, 2022 we noticed that there was a direct debit for the Lifeline's monthly fee from Mom's checking account. I called the bank and was told to inquire with Lifeline directly to find out who authorized direct debit. Paperwork has been completed with the bank to cancel this permission. I called Lifeline the same day and spoke with Renee who told me that a form would have been completed by us and sent in to authorize direct debit, I requested a copy of that completed form be sent to us as no one remembered filling it out. I was told this would take a few days and Renee put in the request to the finance department. I have spoken to Greg and Prim since the initial request for this document was made both of whom I'm sure made good faith efforts to contact finance and obtain the requested form, no response is forthcoming. I have emailed twice, have been told the case has been "escalated" and that I should have an answer by March 30th. Nothing. My main concern is FRAUD. The paperwork required to request direct debit could have been completed by a lifeline employee - all the information would have been available since a check was mailed in for payment. It is becoming apparent that there IS NO paperwork to send back to us. I would like an explanation in lieu of a document.

My mother has been a Lifeline customer for 5 plus years. Over a month ago she was called by a Lifeline rep to say her pendant was showing low battery and they were sending out a new one. Two weeks later still nothing. She received another call that was confusing to her, the connection had lots of static but she thinks the rep was calling to let her know her pendant was showing low battery. Another week passed, no pendant. I called and was told that there was a pendant sent, but that it would be "expedited." I requested a month's credit and was offered two, which is much appreciated. Another week goes by and still nothing. Several days later she spoke with a rep who asked her to test the unit and said it was still operating, and that a new pendant would be sent out, still haven't received anything. Yesterday, 6/30/2022, she received a letter dated 6/24/2022 indicating that "...your Lifeline button/accessory is NOT communicating with your unit. Our representatives have made several unsuccessful attempts to contact you to resolve this issue..." This is simply outrageous and unacceptable. Today, 7/1/2022, I called again and relayed all that has happened and asked for a resolution. I was told that there was no product, they are awaiting a shipment. While I understand that shipping delays have been impacted and backlogged due to COVID and whatever else, it is simply unacceptable that she was not informed that there was no pendant available to send her, and an alternative solution for fall protection offered. I am awaiting a call from a supervisor, but was told that timing of that return call is uncertain because "... it's a holiday weekend."

Since Philips no longer operates Lifeline equipment and service, we have experienced nothing but stress and disappointment in a service we once considered a true "lifeline" for our son. Under Philips, his medical alert button saved his life five times. We were huge advocates of Philips Lifeline and our son, who is just 28 and has Epilepsy, was even part of an ad campaign for the device. We were never contacted about the change in overseeing companies and when our son's button suddenly stopped working, things got worse. I believe now that Lifeline intentionally cut his service so we would need to return the equipment, not knowing his service was also terminated. Meanwhile, Lifeline continued to take our monthly payments and our son was without his support for over two months. The stress and anxiety this caused our entire family during that time was really awful. Calls to Lifeline went unanswered. Emails were answered by rude and very uncaring staff. Throughout all of this, we were not told about the change in oversight until we tried to cancel the service after having to find another medical alert service for our son. As it turns out, Lifeline under its new management no longer services individuals like my son, but has kept on with commercial business such as nursing homes. To make matters even worse, we were promised, by email, a refund of our monthly payments on Oct. 5. Two weeks went by and we were told it was refunded on Oct. 25. We have yet to receive that refund and it is now Nov. 14. This company needs to have its roots pulled. We are so angry that they put our son at grave risk because they just didn't care. Lifeline is not a company we would recommend to anyone. Your life may depend on them one day but they won't be there.

In May 2022, we ordered a replacement necklace for my mother for her life alert machine. Since this item was backordered, the company offered to stop debiting her bank account until we confirmed receipt of the replacement necklace and advised they would "credit her account" with $57.08 for the amount that had already been debited from her bank account. After 6 additional calls giving various "double speak" explanations, we were eventually told they could not refund that $57.08 to her bank account but instead were putting the credit on her account with them. We advised we did not want a credit on her account since we were not sure we were going to continue our business with them since, as of July 8th (when we returned the unit and malfunctioning equipment), the replacement necklace still had not been received and they didn't know when it would be shipped. We requested the refund to her bank account and gave them 10 business days from June 30th. As of today, no refund has been posted into her bank account. We are requesting assistance with getting her refund of $57.08 into her bank account. She is 83 years old and my brother and I have POA to assist her with all of her financial, medical and any other needs that may arise. She is going blind and has memory issues and this was our best effort to allow her to stay in her home as long as possible, at her request. We had to purchase another unit from a different company to secure her well-being and this has become quite disturbing at how they have taken advantage of someone when their company touts assistance and lack of worry to their customers. Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated since they have been advised multiple times of our request and our intent on filing a complaint with Complaintsboard.com if not refunded to her. Thank you