“Was not their mistake once more bred of the life of slavery that they had been living?—a life which was always looking upon everything, except mankind, animate and inanimate—‘nature,’ as people used to call it—as one thing, and mankind as another, it was natural to people thinking in this way, that they should try to make ‘nature’ their slave, since they thought ‘nature’ was something outside them” — William Morris


Friday, March 8, 2024

If You Use ADT, The Burglar Is Already in Your Home

From the Daylight Robbery Department: 

 "I am rejecting this response because: No other loan I have ever paid off early requires me to pay the interest I would have paid if I had not paid it off early. None. I am paying two mortgages. I have paid off two mortgages. I have bought three cars. I am paying one mortgage off in half the time (approximately), 15 rather than 30 years. ADT's "early termination fee" would be like the mortgage company charging me for the 15 years of interest I saved. Or like having to pay the rest of my car loan's interest after I paid off the loan in four years rather than ten. This is entirely unacceptable and, I suspect, not legal. This is a scam. I want this bill rescinded and I want no further contact from ADT. 

I am the author of 25 books (46 translations in 19 languages), and I have a fairly big presence in the media. There are pieces about me in The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and the Guardian. I have worked for the BBC, I have made a movie with Jeff Bridges and have written a book with the pop musician Björk. If ADT persists in trying to charge me for interest I SAVED by paying early for the equipment, I will immediately start a conversation with my media contacts. I suspect ADT must be doing this to a large number of customers. 

Sincerely,

Timothy Morton"

Context: I paid about $2500 for alarm equipment because Treena's mom (in Jamaica) was terrified of gangs of armed MAGA thugs. I bought it early. ADT are charging me over $2500 as an "early termination fee." 

"Further to my response to ADT, I would like to add the following: 

1. Throughout the complaint ADT have lied about when I was charged for the full amount of the equipment. I was NOT charged when I asked to cancel my account. I was charged after an error that they did not tell me about. 

2.Throughout the complaint ADT have lied (perhaps based on a false technician's report) about the incident with the thermostat. The technician declared that he was unable to fix the thermostat. It had not been connected to the internet or bluetooth for weeks. 

3. Since getting ADT they have been confusing, discourteous and drastically prone to error. One customer service person told me I had a thermostat they had not sold me, and nearly made me break the existing one. My method of payment was stopped when a machine ate my card, and they didn't tell me. They just started charging me late fees and sending me red letters. I believe that this is the cause of me being charged the full amount for the equipment, without warning. At no point did anyone call me to alert me to the problem with my account." 

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