Me vs. ADT for $8,010.15 - Part 5/
Halfway Clear
Intro:
This fifth post continues the weekly thread summary.
We pick up with Tweet 24.
If you're just joining the story, you can start with Part 1:
The story continues below.
24/
The next week and month, confusion set in. Carl was back-burnered. NorthStar didn’t seem to know which contract—if any—was in effect.
Even when Carl flew to Utah, no one could give a straight answer.
#TimeForUs #Confusion📎 [Text w/ Carl in Utah]
25/
Eventually, they settled into billing me something close to the agreed $43.78/month.
But a few months in, it dropped slightly—then jumped to $45+ without explanation.
#TimeForUs #Billing📎 [Image showing initial payment summary with total of $43.78, broken down as $40.82 service fee and $2.96 tax, paid via ACH.]
26/
I got another call from ADT yesterday. The call lasted 3 minutes.
He said he was from customer support and that legal would be reaching out—and that they had 60 days.
It felt odd. I had already told them that in the letter I sent.
#TimeForUs #DelayTactics 📞 📎 [Image from Demand Letter stating 60 day timer]
27/
Took some time to reflect on yesterday’s call.
Nine days after I gave them clear legal instructions, they called to remind me that they have 60 days to respond.
I know that. I wrote it. So… are they worried about something?
#TimeForUs #Stalling 📞
28/
Ok, we can talk more about that call on Sunday.
Let's get back to the story. In late 2022, ADT acquired a substantial amount of customers from Northstar Alarm.
My contract was seemingly included. ADT emailed me and told me to change nothing.
#TimeForUs 📎 [Welcome to ADT letter]
29/
After ADT took over, my bill eventually stabilized at $45.13/month.
It wasn’t the exact amount NorthStar quoted—but it was close enough that I didn’t waste my time with it. That changed later.
#TimeForUs #Billing 📎 [ADT billing]
30/
Now I understand what happened. This $99 fee was buried in fine print—terms never knowingly agreed to.
ADT billed me anyway, withdrawing $107.17 the same day.
They said a final invoice would follow. I don’t recall one ever arriving.
#TimeForUs #Warranty 📎 [ADT Payment and Summary]
Commentary:
Last week in this space I hypothesized that “maybe another 12 will pass and I’ll get a more serious call. I don’t have any way to know.” - well - it was closer to 10 not 12, and the call was more serious, but no more substantive, so IDK if the crystal ball is working or not.
I talked about finding a rhythm last week. That holds. In fact, I am really starting to enjoy it.
If you haven’t seen it yet, the second Time For Us Sunday Feature dropped on 6/15. We took a deeper dive into the call I got this week and what that might mean. Check it out here:
This made for a good stopping point this week. I am writing this Sunday night. Tomorrow morning brings another reason the 2020 agreement never held up.
Feedback is is still trickling in, and I’d still love to hear more. If you’ve made it this far, I’d really appreciate anything you want to share—positive or critical. Feel free to drop me a note or even stop by the chat a start a conversation.
If any of this speaks to you—or if there’s something else we should cover—Like. Share. Reach out. Comment. Email. The inbox is open.
Thanks for reading,
—David