Lower Your ADT Bill: How I Saved $156 in 4 Minutes
I’m a big fan of calling and negotiating a lower bill with companies. Heck, I’ve even written about it in detail HERE. But for whatever reason I’ve never tried to lower my bill with our alarm monitoring company also known as ADT. I just kept paying whatever they were charging me and didn’t think twice. This was until they recently raised my bill to $39.99 a month. I figured okay, enough was enough, let’s see if I can get this bill lowered. Just how bad do they want to keep me as a customer? Here’s how I saved $156 with ADT by a simple 4 minute phone call.
How I Saved $13 a Month ($156/year)
After calling ADT at 1-(800) 280-6946, I told the first customer service rep that I wanted to cancel my alarm monitoring service.
He immediately asked me why and I told him “I found a cheaper alternative”.
He then transferred me to what he termed a “customer retention” or “customer specialist” rep.
I can’t remember exactly what their title was, but this is the employee who has the power to actually lower your monthly bill.
See Also: Learn to Negotiate with DishNetwork, DIRECTV, AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast (and Save Hundreds)
What Did I Do Next?
At this point I essentially repeated myself and told the ADT rep “I found a cheaper alternative” and wanted to cancel.
Having never dealt with ADT before I wasn’t sure what her response was going to be.
After all, I really didn’t want her to cancel me on the spot as I didn’t want to deal with switching companies if I could avoid it.
She immediately asked how much cheaper the other alarm service was and I told her “$6 per month”.
Since I was currently paying $39.99/month, I thought she might offer $33 or $34 a month to match the offer.
Not gonna lie, I was kinda shocked when she said, “how about $26.99 a month?”.
Of course I jumped all over it. She even let me pick the length of my contract.
I opted for a 12-month contract as I figured I can call back and get the same price if I decide to stick with ADT after my 12 months is up.
For literally 4 minutes of my time, I saved $156 over the course of the next year and get the piece of mind that a home alarm system provides.
See Also: Electric Bill Too High? Here are 25 Hacks to Lower It
Key Takeaways…
1- Never pay full price with ADT. They are always willing to work with you and get you a deal.
2- Analyze the competition. Know exactly what you could get with a cheaper alarm company. Use that info as ammunition when making the “cancel call”.
3- Threaten to cancel instead of asking for a lower price. If you call and just ask for a lower price you may save some money, but you usually won’t save as much compared to the cancel threat.
4- Think about your contract period. If you’re not sure how long you’ll be in the house, consider the 12-month contract at the lower rate. Otherwise, if it’s a fantastic rate you might want to lock it in for a couple years.
5- This tip applies to ALL alarm companies. If ADT is willing to lower my bill substantially you can bet your bottom dollar other alarm companies like Bay Alarm, LifeShield, and FrontPoint are willing to do the same.
Ask the Reader: Have you ever lowered your bill with ADT or any other monthly service? If so, how much money did you save?
By Kyle James
I started Rather-Be-Shopping.com in 2000 and have become a consumer expert and advocate writing about out-of-the-box ways to save at stores like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Costco to name a few. I’ve been featured on FOX News, Good Morning America, and the NY Times talking about my savings tips. (Learn more)
the best post. Thanks
Alarm monitoring is where the real money is made for the security dealer. This is why they lock you in for three or more years. While the technique you used is excellent you can potentially save even more just by shopping around for an online security dealer. I also “had” ADT with a Honeywel Vista hardwired panel and looked at SafeHomeCentral.com and AlarmGrid.com which could both handle my alarm for less than half of what ADT was charging, and neither required a contract! I ended up going with SafeHomeCentral.com paying just $8.95 for central station monitoring. There are plenty of discount security companies out there today.
I tried your approach…FAIL!!!!!!. They offered me a upgraded system and new contract. They never offered to lower price a penny. So, cancelled now. Now i need to find another company. Not the end of the world but need one for my insurance discount. Dont expect the cancellation threat to work with these fat cats.
Very helpful as my contract expires soon. Do you have a pulse system? Those are usually priced higher. My current rate is $36.99 but that includes ADT Pulse video and app.
No, I don’t have the pulse system. Might be a higher priced system but you should still ask for a BIG discount.
whats that I pay $92 a month and not happy with this company right its going on 2 weeks my cameras are down
I spent 6 minutes on the phone and saved ourselves $328. Great advice!! Thanks!
Used your method and the first guy ended up transferring me to the loyalty department. WIthin a matter of 10 minutes I ended up saving us $180 a year with their 25% Longtime Customer Loyalty Discount and did not have to lock into any time period as we do not know how much longer we will be living in our present home. A few days ago I did the same thing and they offered to lower my bill $4.00 as long as I locked in for 36 months, I turned them down. Thanks for the advice as it worked for me and I will not have to spend hundreds dollars to get system upgraded to a different company.
I never heard of them until I had a tech here hes coming back next week to take care of the cameras I m calling them now and ask for loyalty
I try they are ripping me off I wanted the sensors removed and get the extra off on them they wouldnt only remove the sensors I threaten to cancel and they threaten to charge me $4000 now I gave a check but it was to take the payments out but they debt my card now and I never gave them my card I like to not have them any more now my cameras arent working guy came but has to come back so now 2 weeks with out my cameras email me what should i do I dont really go on here as i wont be able to find it again being a senior citizen living in where its gone really bad i dont leave my house at all only in the morning [email protected] any suggestions
I live in Texas I googled up for SENIOR CITIZENS you should not be spending over $30.89 per month
anyone heard of loyalty its a dept in with ADT the tech that was here told me to talk to them
Ok so I read this article and did not have to do all that. My bill was $55 a month. I called and asked why it was so high and the representative that I got reversed the hike and then immediately noticed I’d been with ADT for 16 years and she sent me over to the other department to check on a lower rate…I had not even mentioned that. The second department immediately noticed I’d been with ADT for 16 years. And my new rate is $39.99 a month. Just saying if you don’t want to threaten to cancel, it can be done.
Melissa- I currently pay $60.50 a month and my bill isn’t itemized, is yours? I tried using one of those services that negotiate for you and they said they needed an itemized bill. Our system is about 22 years old.