I am British and have only been in the USA for 10 months so a little unsure of the procedure here, but I know this company have committed a serious offense...I just need to know the best way of handling it.
The Background: We signed for a new home to be built here in Phoenix, Arizona last October. On our day at the design center, there was a representative there from a national security company (A+ rated on BBB) who obviously have an agreement with our builder. We discussed their package and signed up for a 36 month contract at $27/month.
Fast forward to April this year when we moved into the home. I had decided to purchase a VOIP system rather than shell out for a landline but when the security company's engineer came to complete the installation, he informed us that the security system would not work with a VOIP system. For the last 6-8 weeks I have been trying to get hold of the company to find a solution.
Anyway, this last week a representative from head office got in touch with me and basically told me that I had signed the contract so there was no way out. I would either have to get a landline or pay them another $10/month for a system that didn't require a landline. So I asked him to e-mail me the contract I'd signed, highlighting where it made clear a VOIP system was not compatible and where I'd signed it. This is where it gets interesting...
Finally last night I opened the e-mail, actually expecting to find that I was probably in a corner that I'd find impossible to get out of. When I signed the contract back on October 7th 2011, it was on a carbon copy contract so I was given a copy which I have kept. So imagine my surprise to open the PDF of their copy and to find that it was dated October 11th 2011. And as I went further down I discovered my initials were in more places than I had originally put them (or had been told to put them) and best of all....the signature at the bottom clearly spelled out my name....but it was not my signature! It had been forged!
Basically what I think has happened, and I have no idea why he would do this, but the salesman had redone the contract, adding more information, and forging both my initials and signature before submitting it to head office for processing!
So in my eyes, this is fraud! What do I do about this? Do I go to the police? Or a lawyer? Do I sue? Do I go to the press? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
JD
Ps. At this stage I no longer want a security system with this company.
The Background: We signed for a new home to be built here in Phoenix, Arizona last October. On our day at the design center, there was a representative there from a national security company (A+ rated on BBB) who obviously have an agreement with our builder. We discussed their package and signed up for a 36 month contract at $27/month.
Fast forward to April this year when we moved into the home. I had decided to purchase a VOIP system rather than shell out for a landline but when the security company's engineer came to complete the installation, he informed us that the security system would not work with a VOIP system. For the last 6-8 weeks I have been trying to get hold of the company to find a solution.
Anyway, this last week a representative from head office got in touch with me and basically told me that I had signed the contract so there was no way out. I would either have to get a landline or pay them another $10/month for a system that didn't require a landline. So I asked him to e-mail me the contract I'd signed, highlighting where it made clear a VOIP system was not compatible and where I'd signed it. This is where it gets interesting...
Finally last night I opened the e-mail, actually expecting to find that I was probably in a corner that I'd find impossible to get out of. When I signed the contract back on October 7th 2011, it was on a carbon copy contract so I was given a copy which I have kept. So imagine my surprise to open the PDF of their copy and to find that it was dated October 11th 2011. And as I went further down I discovered my initials were in more places than I had originally put them (or had been told to put them) and best of all....the signature at the bottom clearly spelled out my name....but it was not my signature! It had been forged!
Basically what I think has happened, and I have no idea why he would do this, but the salesman had redone the contract, adding more information, and forging both my initials and signature before submitting it to head office for processing!
So in my eyes, this is fraud! What do I do about this? Do I go to the police? Or a lawyer? Do I sue? Do I go to the press? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
JD
Ps. At this stage I no longer want a security system with this company.
