Massachusetts Attorney General Settles $6.5 Million Claim Against Home Security Company

Massachusetts' Attorney General has announced a $6.5 million settlement to resolve allegations that a Connecticut-based home security company trapped consumers in long-term, automatically renewed contracts and illegally collected debts.

A.G. Andrea Campbell said the settlement includes $4.7 million in debt relief for Massachusetts customers of Safe Home Security and its sister companies, Security Systems, Safe Home Monitoring, and National Protective Services.

Safe Home Security, its sister companies, and its CEO David Roman allegedly used "deceptive tactics" to prevent consumers from canceling their contracts and charged them for services when their systems were not working, according to the A.G.'s office.

Get our free mobile app

The office also alleges that the companies engaged in "aggressive and illegal debt collection practices," according to a release.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit against the company brought by the A.G.'s office in December 2019, after receiving more than 100 complaints from Massachusetts consumers.

According to the complaint, Safe Home Security and related firms allegedly violated Massachusetts consumer protection laws by failing to cancel customers' contracts when requested, misinforming customers about requirements for cancellation, and pushing them to renew instead of cancel.

The office also alleged in the complaint that Safe Home Security had billed and collected from consumers even when the company’s services were not being provided due to malfunctioning systems.

Thousands of Massachusetts consumers are believed to have been impacted.

When customers fell behind on payments, the A.G.'s office alleged, the company engaged in aggressive and illegal practices, including making excessive calls, sending letters without notices of consumers' rights, and threatening to report damaging credit information.

Safe Home will pay $1.8 million to the state and will forgive $4.7 million of outstanding debt under the settlement terms, the A.G.'s office said.

The firm has also agreed to change its business practices to comply with debt collection regulations as well as credit consumers whose systems it cannot repair.

New complaint procedures will also be put into place for consumers, and existing consumers will be allowed to cancel their contracts by telephone, according to the A.G.'s office.

Other changes include revising contract terms to change auto-renewal from annual to month-to-month, and removing a contract clause that made future charges immediately due upon default.

"My office will always advocate for consumers, especially when they are preyed on by a company that engages in unfair and unlawful business practices," Campbell said.

"We were able to hold Safe Home Security and its sister companies accountable for their alleged deceptive tactics, securing millions in debt relief for consumers, and we will continue to hold bad actors accountable."