ADT is well-known in the home security world and provides thousands of homes and small businesses nationwide with 24/7 security and monitoring. They also offer fire protection, video security, smoke and carbon monoxide monitoring, and smart home automation. With all these products, it's easy to see why thousands of homeowners choose ADT for their safety and peace of mind.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- How to Cancel Your Own ADT Contract
- How to Cancel a Deceased Loved One’s ADT Account
- Frequently Asked Questions: Canceling an ADT Account
There may come a time, however, when you need to cancel your ADT service. Whether you want to switch to a different service, you’re moving to an area that ADT can’t service, or the services are simply no longer needed, ADT makes it simple to cancel service. Read on to find out how to shut your account down.
How to Cancel Your Own ADT Contract
Canceling your own ADT account will require anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to complete the following steps.
Step 1: Gather your account information
To cancel your ADT account, you’ll need specific information to help the customer service agent locate your account and verify your identity. This including:
- Your account number
- Your account password
- Your billing address
The account password is different from your online log-in password, and many customers forget they had a master password in the first place. Unfortunately, without this password, ADT can’t close your account. The good thing is that you can request that your password be mailed to you if you’ve forgotten it.
It’ll take around seven days for the master password to reach you by mail, but once you have it, you’ll be ready to proceed.
Step 2: Determine your cancellation period
There are two periods during which you can cancel your ADT account. The first is during your trial period. The second is after that timeframe. If you are canceling during your trial, you won’t be charged or penalized. If, on the other hand, you need to close your account after the trial, brace yourself.
Early termination fees apply to ADT contracts. Depending on your system, you could be looking at paying anywhere from 50% to 100% of the remaining contract. This early termination fee is one of the biggest complaints from ADT customers, so if you feel put out, just know that you’re not alone.
It’s helpful to go into the cancellation process aware of charges you’ll owe so you don’t get a surprise on the phone. The customer service representative will inform you regarding how much you owe, but in general, if you’re outside the trial period expect to pay:
- 50% of the remaining months for ADT Command System
- 100% of the remaining months for Blue by ADT System
Step 3: Contact ADT customer service
Once you’re ready, call the customer service line at 800-773-1391. Once on the line, a representative will ask you for your master password and other verifying information. After they locate the account, you can request cancellation.
The representative will ask for a cancellation reason. There is no right or wrong answer and, unfortunately, any answer you give other than military deployment won’t change early termination fees.
While you’re on the phone, you can submit the early termination payment. The representative will then cancel your contract and close your account. They will also provide you with a confirmation email.
Step 4: Check credit statements
From cancellation forward, if you’ve paid off the remainder of your contract, you won’t be charged by ADT again. If charges show up, you may need to call customer service to resolve the issue.
Step 5: Update records
Keep a copy of your cancellation confirmation wherever you keep other important documents. Then, mark ADT as canceled in all places where you keep records such as a password manager.
How to Cancel a Deceased Loved One’s ADT Account
Canceling a deceased loved one’s ADT account is far simpler than canceling your own account. The entire process should take just minutes and can occur while you’re on the phone with customer service.
Step 1: Gather account information
To cancel a deceased loved one’s account, you’ll need to have either their account number or their master password. Thankfully you don’t need both, and the account number can be found on billing statements.
Pro tip: If you don’t have either one, the customer service representative can use the death certificate to help locate the account, but it will make the process take significantly longer.
Step 2: Obtain a death certificate copy
To shut down the account of someone who passed away, you’ll need to email a copy of the death certificate to the representative. The process to get a death certificate is simple and only requires a few minutes of your time.
Pro tip: If you’re carrying out executor duties, plan on getting several copies at the same time. Some institutions request a physical copy, while others only ask that you email a digital copy.
Step 3: Contact customer service
Call the customer service line at 800-773-1391 and select accounts and billing from the options. Once a representative answers, you can explain that you need to cancel a deceased loved one’s account.
They’ll locate the account based on the account number and provide an email address to send a digital copy of the person’s death certificate. Once the death certificate is received, the representative will close the account. A confirmation email will be sent to the address on file or to an email you provide them.
You’ll be happy to know that there are no early termination fees or cancellation penalties for the account of a deceased ADT customer.
Step 4: Update records
Save the cancellation confirmation email with your loved one’s records in case a charge is made on their account later on.
Frequently Asked Questions: Canceling an ADT Account
Closing an ADT account generates a lot of questions. Here are three of the most frequently asked questions and their answers.
Does ADT charge a cancellation fee for contract termination?
When you initially sign up for ADT, you agree to a contract. Whether or not you are charged with their cancellation fee for early termination depends entirely on when you cancel it.
Most customers don’t realize it, but every ADT contract comes with a trial period. Depending on the product and service you chose, your trial may range from three days to 30 days. During this time, you can try out their services and see if you like them. If you decide that ADT isn’t for you during this window, you can terminate your contract and you won’t be charged. To do this, you’ll need to contact their customer service line at 800-773-1391.
Unfortunately, if you’re past your trial window, a cancellation fee for early termination will apply. The termination fee ranges from 50% to 100% of the amount owed on your contract. This can mean you end up paying a hefty fee if you need to cancel.
There is one exception to these rules. If you need to move into a non-ADT service area due to military deployment, you can get out of your contract for free with no penalty attached.
Note: If you’re coming up on the end of a contract and you’re planning to let it expire, ADT won’t let it lapse. All contracts automatically auto-renew, even if the contract is set to expire. You are required to call and cancel the account before renewal; otherwise, you’ll be looking at a hefty termination fee for the next auto-renewed contract.
How long does it take to cancel ADT?
Once you pay the early termination fee, the customer service representative on the phone can cancel your contract then and there. You should find that all monitoring devices are disabled and no further charges are placed.
Note: Keep an eye on your credit card and bank statements for several months following cancellation. Just a quick Google search will show you that many former ADT customers complain about unexplainable charges showing up after the account was closed. If this occurs, the fastest route to fix the issue would be to call customer service and/or contact your credit card and mark the charge as fraud.
Does ADT charge a fee for account closure?
Once you’ve canceled services, you can ask for your personal information to be erased from the system and your online account disabled. A customer service representative will take care of this process for you while you’re on the phone with them for free.
Canceling Unused Services
If you signed up for a service you no longer need, such as ADT, it’s typically better to cancel it than continue paying for something you no longer use. Unfortunately, with most ADT products, you’ll be charged with a hefty early termination fee. The warning here is to read the fine print for every service before entering into a binding agreement.
Sources:
- Conversation with ADT representative, Genesis. December 21, 2021.
- Conversation with ADT representative, Singyette. December 23, 2021.
- “How to Move, Modify, or Cancel Your ADT Service.” Modify Service, ADT, 2021. Adt.com