Woman tried to cancel her ADT service, only to be told she’d 'signed' another 5-year contract with a $1,000 exit fee. The signature wasn’t hers

When Katherine Allen decided to cut back on her monthly expenses, she expected canceling her home security monitoring would be a straightforward phone call. Instead, the Orlando resident learned that she was trapped in a five-year contract extension with ADT Security. But when ADT produced the paperwork, Allen said it contained an electronic signature she insists she never signed, as reported by WFTV Channel 9 (@wftv) on 1 August 2026 through a video that has since been viewed by over 26,500 people. 

A simple security plan

For Allen and her husband, signing up with ADT Security initially provided simple peace of mind while traveling away from their Orlando apartment. After her original three-year contract ended, Allen assumed the automatic payments meant she had rolled onto a month-to-month plan. Instead, when she called to cancel, and with the couple's money getting tighter after being on a fixed income, she was told she had been enrolled in a new five-year agreement.

The disputed signature

Upon inspecting the paperwork, Allen discovered an electronic signature that looked nothing like her own, insisting, "We called them three times and told them, 'This is not my signature.'" Despite that, ADT refused to drop the charges, informing Allen she owed over $1,000 in early termination fees despite her repeated denials of ever signing an extension. Facing mounting bills in the mail after stopping bank payments, she turned to consumer investigator Jeff Deal and WFTV Channel 9's Action 9 team for help.

History of complaints

Investigating the company, WFTV noted that while ADT holds an A-rating from the Better Business Bureau, it faced thousands of complaints regarding cancellation difficulties and dubious contracts, along with a $1.3 million Department of Justice settlement over unlawful termination fees levied against military personnel. They then confronted ADT regarding the questionable electronic signature. After being pressed, the company agreed to cancel Allen's service and waive the remaining balance. Expressing relief to have the ordeal behind her as a senior citizen, Allen offered a simple warning to other consumers, "Make sure you get a copy of the complete contract," she said. 

Rise in complaints

Consumer complaints about home security companies are not uncommon. A Bold Group analysis found more than 5,000 BBB complaints across home security providers and reported that nearly 160 companies held BBB ratings of C or lower, highlighting persistent customer dissatisfaction across parts of the industry. 

This is criminal

This similar sentiment carried into the comments, with people venting their frustrations. @RoseKindred wrote, "Go to the police, file a report, inform the bank to stop all payments to ADT citing fraud, and when they bill, let them send it to collections. Then you demand collections prove it is a valid debit, and if they want to recover, tell them that you will go to court." Meanwhile, @ladyjustice1474 commented, "That company is known for shady business and has numerous lawsuits filed against it."

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