APX Alarm Security fined for misleading, pressuring seniors

A Utah-based alarm security company reached an agreement with the Oregon Attorney General to pay $60,000 to settle complaints company salespeople misled and pressured elderly consumers.

More than a dozen Oregon consumers complained APX Alarm Security Solutions, Inc., of Provo, Utah used high-pressure sales tactics, including offering customers "free" security systems if the consumer displayed an APX sign in the yard, and writing five-year contracts locking customers into $39.99 monthly payments.

Complaints showed APX sales representatives told customers their neighbors were burglarized or robbed; claimed the company had ties or partnerships with local fire or police departments; and refused to leave customers' homes for hours.