Verisure adjusts its contracts and customer-attraction practices under pressure from ACM

Under pressure from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), security system provider Verisure has adjusted its contracts as well as its customer-attraction practices. ACM received complaints from consumers about unsolicited customer-attraction practices, subpar customer service, unclear costs, as well as problems when cancelling security services. Following a thorough review and several discussions, Verisure has now adjusted its operations in several key areas in order to comply with consumer protection rules. Over the next few months, ACM will keep a close watch on Verisure, for example, by monitoring the reports filed by consumers.

Edwin van Houten, Director of ACM’s Consumer Department, adds: “It’s in the consumers’ interest that Verisure has adjusted its practices in the criticized areas. We will make sure that Verisure will stick to it.”

Complaints behind ACM’s decision to take action

Verisure is a large international company that provides consumers with security systems (on loan) in combination with alarm services, which it sells to those consumers. These are bespoke home-security systems connected to an alarm receiving center, for which consumers sometimes pay hefty prices. ACM received reports from consumers about a range of issues, such as Verisure’s customer-attraction practices over the phone and at people’s doorsteps, the unclear information that Verisure provided regarding the contracts and costs, the subpar customer service, and the perceived barriers when cancelling contracts. ACM subsequently conducted a thorough review of these issues.

Following discussions with ACM, Verisure has adjusted its operations in the following areas:

• Consumers will no longer be contacted over the phone without explicit consent;
• Consumers that have objected to phone calls will not be contacted again;
• The 14-day cooling-off period as well as the right of withdrawal with reimbursement of all costs will be applied without delay and be clearly communicated to consumers;
• The information regarding the contract’s conditions, such as the fact that customers get the equipment on loan as well as the calculation of the discounts, has been clarified;
• It has also been clarified where consumers can go to with their questions and complaints, and how they can cancel their subscriptions;
• Unreasonable provisions have been removed from the general terms and conditions, such as the requirement to report any defects by registered mail;
• The sales representatives that visit people in their homes have received additional training, and they are to strictly comply with consumer protection rules;
• In the case of outstanding payments, the debt collection process has been adjusted in order to prevent sales representatives from using aggressive practices.

Over the next few months, ACM will take a critical look at whether the changes that Verisure has implemented in its operations will truly solve the identified consumer problems. Consumers can share their experiences with ACM’s consumer information portal ACM ConsuWijzer. Consumers will also be able to find information about their rights there. If, on the basis of the reports, it turns out that the identified problems have persisted, ACM can still decide to take action anyway.