Medical Alerts 

Contract Terms to Look For

Before signing up with a medical alert service provider, consumers should look carefully at the contract so they know what they are signing.  Here are a few tips on what to look out for:

• Can you cancel at any time?  Is that in writing?  Many consumers complain about unwittingly signing up for long-term contracts that they later regret.
• What is the refund policy?  A 30-day refund policy is common, but some providers will only "refund" a portion of the up-front fees.  Check the fine print.
• The service contract will probably include language making the customer responsible for keeping the phone line in working order.  One family found out about this the hard way.  A disabled man died from lack of care after the medical alert system stopped functioning properly.  The problem was apparently with the phone line. The man's family sued the medical alert company in a $3 million federal lawsuit, arguing that it should have provided a backup or checked when daily signals did not arrive. A jury exonerated the company in 2008.
• You may be required by the contract to pay for a separate phone line in order to use the telephone when the system is operating.
• More and more communities are enacting ordinances imposing fines on alarm companies responsible for false alarms. The contract may obligate you to reimburse the alarm company for any fines. (Such a provision was found in a sample Life Alert contract).
• Watch out for automatic renewal provisions. Life Alert, for example, after the three-year initial contract term, automatically renews for one-year periods unless 6 months written notice is given by the customer.  

 For samples of medical alert contracts, and highlights of some of their key provisions, click the following links:

Phillips Lifeline

Rescue Alert

Life Alert