All the Ways to
Cancel ADT Contracts
How to Cancel ADT Contract with No Penalties
ADT security service is among America’s largest security companies. However, you may have your fair share of reasons not enjoying its services or finding them unsatisfactory. You may have even filed a complaint to no avail or found a better home security service for your property. In any case, you must have decided to cancel your ADT account.
There’s a chance you might have also called the ADT help center to ask for the cancellation process before searching for the process online. In that case, the customer service agent might have offered you lowered rates and tried their best not to lose you as a customer. It doesn’t matter if you have called the ADT service online before searching for the process or not; you may have an idea about how difficult it can be to cancel alarm system services for good.
But don’t worry! There are many ways to go about ADT cancellation, and we have compiled them all in this article. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some common questions regarding how you can cancel your ADT contract early.
How to Cancel ADT Service
The straightforward way to cancel ADT home security services is by calling the help center or the authorized dealer who sold you the service. You may or may not enjoy this method, but it is the only way. We recommend providing the details of the ADT contract to a household member if you had subscribed to the alarm company or a trustworthy colleague if you had signed up for services for your office to make the call for you in case you don’t have enough time.
Once the call center representative agrees to send a cancellation notice, you only have to sign it and send it back. However, this method may be costly. Depending on how long it has been since you signed up for ADT services, you might have to pay a hefty sum to cancel service.
ADT contracts in the state of California are 24 months long. In all other states, customers sign 36 monthly contracts. These contracts begin when an ADT security system is installed on the property. If you want to end your ADT contract in the middle of the initial contract term, you have to comply with an early termination fee or you must pay 75% of the remaining monthly charges as penalty fees.
Depending on your ADT security package, the early termination fees as per the ADT cancellation policy can be anywhere from $833 to $1418 for canceling before 30 months from the contract end date. In simpler words, an ADT security service that costs you $50 per month and has 10 months remaining in the contract will require you to pay $400 out of the $500 remaining amount as per the contract.
How to Cancel ADT Contract without Paying Penalty
While the penalty fee for canceling 30 months before the contract end date can be heavy on the pocket, canceling six months before the contract end date doesn’t cost much. Again, depending on the package, the applicable termination fees can cost you only between $167 and $284.
Ending an ADT contract is termed an early cancellation. The penalty imposed for early termination is to make up or recover the cost of equipment used around your property. When you cancel your ADT contract, you don’t give back the ADT alarm system to the company. In fact, you don’t pay ADT for the ADT equipment when you first sign the contract.
ADT only charges ADT customers the installation fees for the equipment at the customer’s property when a new contract is signed. It recovers the charges for equipment by adding them to the monthly monitoring fees. Hence when an ADT customer decides to cancel the ADT service, they have to pay the charges of the now-used ADT alarm system in the form of ADT contract termination fees.
But if you don’t want to pay penalties for ADT cancellation, you can wait until the end of the contract. Once your 24 or 36-month contract ends, ADT automatically signs you up for a monthly package. A month-to-month basis package allows you to cancel your contract any month with only a month’s notice.
You can choose to stick with ADT services until the end of the contract if you don’t want to pay any cancellation charges. But if you’re not happy with their services, you can pay 75% of the remaining amount of the contract and get off the hook. The biggest advantage of paying the penalty fee is that you won’t pay for it every month. You will also be saving 25% of the fee and will get to keep a complete ADT alarm system that you can utilize with another home security service.
However, please note that the fees mentioned here can be different from the fees you have to pay. The penalty fees mentioned here is as per ADT service charges in January 2022. ADT reserves the right to increase monthly payments at any time, causing the 75% penalty fees to increase too.
However, ADT increasing its service charges can work out in your favor if you want to cancel the service. If ADT increases its service charges for you in the middle of the initial contract, you can write an objection as a written request to ADT. ADT will either lower the service charges back to the amount at which you signed the contract or release you from the contract if you don’t wish to pay the increased charges. You won’t have to pay any penalty fees if you choose the latter option.
How Soon Should You Apply for ADT Cancellation
Once your initial ADT contract is expired, ADT cancellation policy requires a month’s notice period. Hence, if you apply for the cancellation process in the middle of a month, you will only have to pay an additional $37 to $63 for another month’s service while also availing of that service. The cost you will pay will be equal to the monthly charges of your ADT contract package and will only be deducted once.
However, you can also apply for ADT cancellation and save another month’s payment by aligning the cancellation application date with your service subscription date. So if your ADT monthly contract is renewed on the 26th of every month, you can apply for cancellation three to four days before the 26th of the previous month. For example, if you plan on canceling ADT services in April, you can apply for ADT cancellation on 24th March. This way, you won’t have to pay for ADT services in April.
ADT 3-Day Buyer’s Remorse Money-Back Service Guarantee
ADT offers three days buyer’s remorse money-back guarantee to all its customers. You can opt-out of your ADT contract within three days or 72 hours from when you signed the contract without paying any penalty. You can call the ADT helpline anytime within 72 hours, and their team will cancel your contract. Since buyer’s remorse doesn’t qualify the customer to keep the surveillance equipment, the ADT team will schedule a time with you to get their equipment fully removed from your home.
ADT’s money-back guarantee for buyer’s remorse can also extend to up to 30 days for elderly buyers in various states. If you are opting for an ADT contract but aren’t sure if you really want it, you can get one and see how you feel about your purchase in the next 72 hours. However, ensure that the three or 30-day buyer’s remorse money-back guarantee is clearly stated and explained in the contract. You may or may not receive the installation fees.
ADT 6 Months Money-Back Service Guarantee
ADT security also offers the first six months money back guarantee for unsatisfied customers. This money-back guarantee can also allow you to make ADT cancellations without paying any penalty. However, you need to provide ADT with proof of their failure to provide you with adequate or satisfactory services.
As an ADT customer who experiences issues with the system or service often that the company has failed to resolve, you can opt for ADT cancellation without penalty. However, the issues and the failures should occur within the first six months of signing the contract, and the terms are also clearly stated in the contract.
Don’t settle for vague explanations in the contract. If you plan on signing up for ADT services, make sure that the six months money-back guarantee policy is clearly explained in the contract.
You can also opt for this option even if ADT has made efforts to resolve the issues you are facing, but they keep occurring again. However, you cannot opt for this cancellation policy when you face the first issue with the service. You have to give ADT the opportunity and enough time to resolve the issues you are facing.
Customers who opt for six months money-back guarantee also have to return all ADT equipment in their homes. The security company will first cancel your contract, remove and pick up the equipment from your property, and only then return your money.
Finally, consider researching a reliable home security system for your property. Though ADT security services is the oldest name in the market, several other home security systems and companies have better reliable services, customer reviews, cheaper rates, better control, enhanced integration, and responsive customer service. When searching for home security systems, pick an in-house monitoring station and response team. You can even find some companies with award-winning security systems that help you switch from old security systems installed on your property.
