One-star Yelp average
- Ripped off customers (refused to update outdated 3G equipment and opted to shut down service when network was discontinued)
- Incompetent technicians (often arrive late, rush installation, and don’t respect customers’ spaces)
- Outdated equipment (no updates since 2012 inception)
- Disorganized billing department (charges after cancelation, even out of contract, are a common occurrence)
- Lack of communication between technicians and customer service (each often make false claims contradicting one another)
Reviews source: “AT&T Digital Life” Yelp, www.yelp.com/biz/at-and-t-digital-life-atlanta-2. Accessed 7 Mar. 2022.
Names have been changed to protect user privacy.
I’ve now become accustomed to writing bad reviews about AT&T – and though I’ll gripe about their customer service, it’s really the institution that I’m upset at. I recently installed AT&T Digital Life home security, thinking that AT&T might’ve finally done something right. Though their customer service on the phone was great at first, and tried to accommodate rushing an installation date for me, their on-the-ground technicians were not very helpful. They weren’t very articulate about the product or answering questions and seemed to want to rush out. On a SECOND visit, yes, after they disrupted my WIFI (and I had to bring in AT&T U-verse to fix the problem), they forgot to bring another camera I had ordered. This is a problem with their communication between departments. No surprise, it’s AT&T.
Then came the FALSE ALARM – it can happen to any household. During the ordering of service or installation, there was no emphasis on getting a permit from the county, no disclosure about it, and we were unaware of deadlines, and the company mentioned nothing to us – nor, did it say that we would be fined exorbitantly for false alarms. The schedule of fines for Los Angeles County where we live is $162 for the first alarm or $262 if unpermitted. The County does not waive any first false alarm whatsoever. When I called Customer Service, they didn’t know their own policy about permitting, whether in fact AT&T contacts the County on your behalf to start the process. AT&T said anything about permits is in their fine print. Meanwhile, another AT&T customer service rep said we as system owners should have been emailed about permits. None of this happened, and no one knows what their talking about. No surprise, it’s AT&T.
Alright, I should’ve learned my lesson now. AT&T as an institution is terrible. No department they run is any different than any other which is defined by poor customer service training and terrible inter-departmental communication. I think all these folks who work for them do their best – it’s not them per se – but their company.
Now, onto writing a series about how much LA County SUCKS. But of course, everyone in the country knows that.
Response from AT&T Digital Life
Dear Tom,
Please allow me to introduce this essay with a statement: “We are sorry to hear about your experience with AT&T Digital Life. We would’ve loved to satisfy your experience, however you missed your chance. AT&T Digital Life has ceased operations as of February 22, 2022, and as a result, we can only provide limited support at this time. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Yes, you heard that right. The higher-ups have limited us to basic support only, and we are not going to fix our mistakes. (In reality, we have laid off all of our technicians, so we are unable to do so even if we wanted to.) However, as a Customer Relations Manager, it is my job to manage complaints. No work is left to do, as I get transferred on Monday. So, why not?
Before I direct my attention to your claims, I would like to talk about the future of AT&T Digital Life. Tom, you were one of the last customers to sign up for the service, in December of last year. We were all well-aware of AT&T’s decision to shut us down, but it was considered confidential until two weeks prior to the February deadline. This is typical AT&T behavior, Tom. The higher-ups ordered us to keep signups open until the announcement was made public. Even though this may result in a slight satisfaction drop, it ensures a steady capital flow until deemed nonessential. Honestly, it makes perfect sense from a business perspective. Also, you (and many others reading this) may want to know why we are shutting down. Well, we didn’t have a choice, and it’s kind of our own fault. Most cellular carriers—including AT&T—have decided to shut down their 3G networks. When we were founded in 2012, 3G was the prevalent cellular network. As the years went by, 4G LTE became the dominant network. We never upgraded our equipment, however. This means that new customers received the same equipment as a 2012 customer. When our cellular department decided to discontinue AT&T’s 3G network, we decided that it would be more economical to abandon the home security business than to initiate tenuous upgrades. In the business world, capital, not complaints, is the real contingency.
With status clarification out of the way, I would like to address the disconnect you faced between customer service and our technicians. You claimed that you received excellent phone customer service (after all, we started as a phone company), but the technicians were unprofessional; they were unable to answer your questions, did not treat your home with care, and forgot to install requested equipment. Tom, it is unfair for you to leave negative feedback about us when your complaints are on them. Our installers are independent contractors; it is clearly printed in Section VI on the third page of our contract. Their name is also printed on the front left bumper of their truck. You could have even asked them who they work for! Tom, you had plenty of opportunities to find their company and leave a negative review of them instead. I take this as an offense! People like you committing crude and barbaric actions towards my beloved employer are what fuels my petulant attitude. After you read this, please do me a favor: update this review to be five-stars, open your copy of the contract, find your installer’s company, and complain to them. You want me to sleep at night, right?
Moving on, let’s address one of my favorites, false alarms. You are right in that false alarms can happen to anyone. You claim that we were supposed to notify you about false alarm registration. However, you’d be wrong to assume. Your contract specifically states that it is the customer’s responsibility to be aware of any municipal ordinances that may affect the operation of the system. To further prove my point, this statement is located in Section II, on the first page. It is embarrassing that you did not take the initiative to even finish reading the first page. The technician may have been in a rush, but you could have advocated for yourself and read the full contract before you signed it. Don’t worry, this is nowhere near the first story about contracts that I’ve had to deal with. I don’t understand why our customers don’t read the contract. Do you really think we write it for nothing? Honestly, I’m offended again. The higher-ups worked hard on that contract; I even got to help write Section V. I wish customers would take the time to appreciate our hard work that we put out to them for free. Heck, I read contracts to my 4-year-old as a bedtime story. Tom, you truly deserve to pay that false alarm fee. Writing negative feedback about the installation that we outsource; now refusing to read our contract—seriously, you don’t respect us at all.
Normally, I don’t feel the need to give out any “free” upgrades to satisfy complainers. However, I’m writing this on a Friday and switch departments Monday. As this is my last chance to give out an upgrade, I’ll do it. At this point, I only have one offer to give you, Tom. You should have received an email from us about upgrading your system to a Brinks system, as we have partnered with them for migration purposes. If you choose to upgrade and sign a new contract with Brinks, I’ll cut your bill in half for the next five years. You heard that right, five years! (Only sign a 120-month contract.) For even further value, I’ll include a free smart thermostat and indoor camera. (Make sure to use strong passwords; Brinks accounts are commonly breached, and unauthorized remote access may result in a break-in. I’m not liable for any damages that may incur.) Tom, I hope you’ll accept my gracious offer; please don’t hesitate to reach out! Thank you for being an AT&T Digital Life customer. We wish you our best luck on your future security endeavors.
Warm regards,
Linus Lawrence
Customer Relations Manager
AT&T Digital Life
This is the worst security system ever. My teenage daughter was able to look up online how to disarm the system and get out of the house without creating an alert. When we set the system up, the installer damaged our house, set up ridiculous wiring that stretched across our attic and was so subpar that we should have seen the writing on the wall. The cameras started out fine and recorded in the dark well, after 4 months an update happened, and we’ve never been able to see anything after sunset. We’ve recorded every car that has driven past the house, but not one person who has approached our door. It doesn’t record anything and is worthless. The only security offered is a record of doors opening and closing. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. It’s a failed product on the dashboard of ATT.
AVOID AVOID AVOID! NEVER USED THE SERVICE AND THEY STILL CHARGED ME $130! I was interested in the service and called to inquire. We ended up not signing up. They never sent an agent out, they never activated service, or anything. And they still tried to charge me a $130 cancellation fee! After speaking to customer service, they agreed to remove the fee. Then a month later they sent a collections letter! Worst customer service ever.
We have been an AT&T Digital Life customer for ten years, and things were great at first. Our service included a garage door opener, smoke detectors, water sensors, surveillance cameras, multiple on/off adapters (power switches), a freestanding tablet remote control (similar to an iPad Mini), door locks, and the security system itself. Everything was great for roughly nine years until AT&T decided to downsize its product line. We did not realize they downsized their offerings till we moved our system to a newly built house. After the new security system was installed, we noticed no (AT&T) smoke detector, water sensors, tablet, or garage door opener. When I called Digital Life, they told me they no longer offer those services, so I asked that my bill be reduced to offset our loss of benefits. Of course, they did nothing.
Initially I was very happy with the service. It was installed 3 years ago. Four months ago, AT&T did a software upgrade, and it has not worked since that day. I have called numerous times. They sent an incompetent contractor service guy (twice) that only wanted me to spend money to fix THEIR problem. Said it was installed in the wrong place, so he needed to move it—but it worked for 3 years. Not one person has addressed the software upgrade issue. When I told the guy, he said “yeah, I here that a lot” but did nothing but try to get me to spend money!! As you can see in the pics, the siren is constantly offline, as is the keypad and cameras. I cannot set it so no security for several months. It beeps all day and night. I want to rip it out of the wall. I cancelled my service when the siren wailed (false alarm) and would not turn off. There are 3 security codes and not one worked to turn it off. I asked for a manager to call 3 weeks ago, but haven’t heard from anyone. ADT installing tomorrow.
Terrible service, inferior equipment, and incompetent technicians. Our key pad no longer works, so we rely on the app to arm and disarm our alarm. However, the app is so bad that we frequently are unable to arm or disarm the alarm at all, because it doesn’t work. So we are replacing the alarm, and discovered this fist sized hole in the side of our house when we took down one of the cameras the ATT tech installed. Not to mention the countless other holes created when they installed the key pad, and 5 other cameras. We have had the service for 5 years and have finally decided to get rid of the headache that is ATT Digital Life.