MO. AG files suit against Pinnacle Security www.privateofficer.com

“When you get burglarized, you will wish you bought my system,” Ashland police Chief Anthony Consiglio said, relating a pitch a resident said a salesperson used.

Koster is asking the St. Louis County Circuit Court to issue preliminary and permanent injunctions against the company.

He also is requesting Pinnacle provide full restitution to victims, pay all court and investigative costs and pay the state a civil penalty.

Stuart Dean, vice president of Pinnacle’s corporate communications, declined comment until further examination of the lawsuit. Pinnacle has reached settlements with Illinois and New York and also has been sued by Ohio for similar allegations.

In the attorney general’s lawsuit, he alleges Pinnacle representatives since May 2009 have approached Missouri residents who have an existing home security system and falsely represented that they were there to upgrade the current system. Representatives also led consumers to believe Pinnacle had acquired the company that provided their existing security system or that their existing security system company was bankrupt.

In addition, consumers often were presented with a prepared contract that supposedly authorized system upgrades but actually authorized installation of Pinnacle home security products. Such tactics left consumers with two home security bills to pay.

“Consumers should be very cautious when approached by people selling home improvement services door-to-door,” Koster said. “Unfortunately, there are always those who will take advantage of unsuspecting consumers.”

Pinnacle also made numerous promises to potential clients the attorney general termed as “bogus.”

Those false promises, according to the lawsuit, included telling homeowners their monthly bill would not increase, that the system included a panic alarm pendant and that the homeowner’s insurance would pay a portion of service fees. Other promises were that the system would include a carbon-monoxide-monitoring system and that the consumer could cancel within 30 days without financial penalty.

When clients discovered the deception and tried to cancel, Pinnacle would not refund their money and threatened legal action if they didn’t continue to pay, according to the lawsuit.

Pinnacle is no stranger to the Better Business Bureau. In 2009, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection entered into a cease-and-desist order with Pinnacle on charges of falsifying information, failure to identify the seller’s name and company at the time of a door-to-door solicitation, warranty issues and falsely indicating a need for repairs or replacements. The use of deceptive tactics and untrue statements to secure a sale also was documented.

“As a company, we don’t condone this type of behavior,” Dean previously said. “As a company, we have a code of conduct all our sales reps must adhere to.”

Dean said he believes the Better Business Bureau’s rating of “F” does not reflect the company Pinnacle is today. Efforts to work with the Better Business Bureau to improve service are continuous, he said.

“These allegations, we take them seriously. We will investigate this,” Dean said of the Ashland allegations.

Pinnacle also has business licenses with Boone County and Columbia, but records show no complaints have been filed against the company in the city or county as of Friday.

The local BBB office also has had no complaints about Pinnacle as of Friday.

Source:Columbia Tribune