2. About Life Alert
Life Alert founded in 1987 so they have lots of experience in the medical alerting
industry. Though not the largest company we have reviewed, they do employ at least
600 people in the U.S..
They adequately handle over 2 million calls per year. They boast saving 52,974 lives
from catastrophes in the year 2013 alone. With that kind of track record, you can trust
that they are efficient and good at what they do.
You might know them best by the commercials of elderly people calling out, “Help! I’ve
fallen and I can’t get up!”
3. Better Business Bureau Rating
• Life Alert has been accredited since October 22nd, 1987.
• They have an A+ rating.
• There have been 122 complaints closed with the BBB in the last 3 years, and 84
closed in the last 12 months.
• 25 complaints were for advertising and sales issues
• 17 were regarding billing and collection issues
• 1 was for guarantee and warranty problems
4. Life Alert Device Features
Getting information about this device was extremely difficult over the phone. However,
we were able to get the information below:
• Range of 300 feet
• Battery life is 2-3 years and it will alert you when it is getting low.
• Waterproof
• Pendant or wrist strap
• Response time 30-60 seconds
• Additional pendants $49.00
5. Installation
Even though many other companies have simple systems that can be installed by
anyone, Life Alert says that their equipment is more sensitive and must be
handled by a licensed technician. This seems suspect in our opinion and a way to
charge people more money.
Installation can cost anywhere from $95 to $295. This is very steep compared to
competitors. You are not given a choice to install the equipment by yourself.
6. Returns and Service Cancellations
They do not offer any returns after purchase is made, though you always have 3 days due
to consumer laws in most states. We were told that canceling service was possible if you
could prove that 24 hour care is provided to the client, therefore showing that they no
longer need the device.
We were told that you can get a refund for up to three years if your loved one dies in their
home, but they must have died alone.
7. Shipping Options
Shipping comes via UPS and arrives in about three days. After they have tracked the packaged
and found that you have received it, they will call you to schedule the installation. We were
unable to get an answer about how much shipping actually costs though.
8. Pricing
• $29.95 - $59.95 depending on the system you choose
• Installation fees can be anywhere from $95.00 to $295.00 though when we asked what
the difference was, we were only told that it depends on the system and how we get it
installed.
• 3 year contract
9. Product Guarantee
We were told that there is a 3 year money back guarantee though the representative would not
tell us what that included.
10. Contact Information
16027 Ventura Blvd #400
Encino, CA 91436
800-920-3410
Representatives were unwilling to give us any email address for contact.
11. Customer Service Experience
We called three separate times to try our luck with getting more information from
different people. The number you call takes you straight to someone who wants your
address so they can send you a brochure. When we stated that we wanted to get
information over the phone, we were sent to the sales department.
The first agent we spoke to gave us almost no information whatsoever. The agent said
that it takes weeks to understand how Life Alert works and why it’s the best. They
refused to give us information until we got our family member on the line to talk to
them about the product as well. When we said that wasn’t going to be possible, the
agent became curt and very unprofessional.
The second agent yielded more information to us about the product but would not give
us straight answers to many of our questions. He also used a sales technique that was
frustrating.
The third call was similar to the second and we finally quit our attempts.
12. The Good
• Life Alert has a long history in the medical alert industry.
• There aren’t any fees for repairs or replacements.
• There are different service options depending on the age of the client.
• They provide monitoring for smoke and carbon monoxide.
13. The Bad
• Extremely difficult to get sales information over the phone
• Conflicting information from the website and between representatives we spoke to
• Cannot cancel anytime you choose; you are locked into a long contract
• Price is a bit higher than many we have reviewed
• There is no inactivity monitoring.
• No mobile options
• No GPS tracking system
• No fall detection
14. Summary
We do not recommend that you do business with Life Alert. The long contract and unhelpful
customer service we received do not instill much confidence that you will get good service
once you are a customer. There are many other companies out there that offer more features
to their devices and more user friendly processes.
With conflicting information we received on three separate calls, we feel that either their
employees are poorly trained, or they are trying to swindle and sell you the product at higher
costs if they can get away with it. We were told that installation fees were different on two
calls and the other representative told us that the installation fee was included in the
enrollment fee.
