This company is a scam of epic proportions! Do NOT purchase any equipment from them. They do NOT make fire alarms and the ones that they purchase from Gentex/Interstate/Costar are all available on-line for fractions less. Here is how their scam works:
They purchase smoke alarms from Gentex corp. for $15.00 and then sell them to ""dealers"" for $62.00. Sometimes more depending on whether or not they are a ""director."" If they charge more, then the ""directors"" get the difference. (Pyramid Scheme) The ""dealers"" then charge anywhere from $299.00 to $495.00 per alarm based on how scared they have made you by showing you movies/powerpoint presentations where kids die in fires.
Fact #1. I asked several of these ""dealers"" based in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana who makes their alarms. They all lied and said that Masterguard does. Masterguard does NOT make alarms and never has! They buy other alarms and then put their name on them and mark them up. Ask a Masterguard salesperson or dealer who makes their alarms. They have NEVER told me the truth when asked. Red flag #1 Are they afraid we'll buy them online for $39.95? I found several companies on-line that sell them for that price. Google Gentex Smoke Alarms or go to cxxxxx.com (((REDACTED))) They are as low as $29.99
Fact #2. They claim that their alarms have a 25 year warranty. What they don't tell you is that after the first year you have to pay a handling fee. Guess how much it currently is? $39.00. They are still making money off of us! They are now charging as much as everyone else. These greedy people at Masterguard need to be stopped.
Fact #3 I called fire stations all over the States that I mentioned, and none of the fire departments recommend spending thousands of dollars to protect your family, especially when you can get the same ""commercial grade"" alarms that they are selling for a fraction of what they charge.
Fact #4 They sell Carbon Monoxide alarms for $129.00 to $219.00 that I can buy on-line for $30.75. They are the same exact alarms with the same exact warranty. Only difference...it says costar and not masterguard. Google Costar Carbon Monoxide Alarms. Fairfax Electronics has them for $30.75 currently. By the way, Mastergaurd buys them for $9.00 and sells them to their dealers for $45.00. If I was a dealer, I would be pissed about the scam. I'd just buy them on-line.
Fact #5 They are scam artists and should be penalized severely for preying on people and their fears. There are literally hundreds of these ""dealers"" all over the U.S. Please call your state fire marshall and complain about what they are doing. Please call your attorney general and complain about what they are doing. Purchasing alarms for $15.00 and marking them up to $300.00 plus is just plain wrong. Other companies can sell them for $39.00 and do just fine. Their common excuse is that they have marketing expense to host their ""free"" dinners and that the education is worth it. Education is great, but when I can outfit my whole home with the SAME equipment for $500.00 and they tried to sell it to me for $4,000.00...something is wrong. Installation and Education are not worth $3500.00. Sorry boys.
I've listed some of the dealer names that I found on-line and in the bbb listings. Please let them know that we are tired of standing by and being ripped off! Good commercial grade alarms for my home are fine to have. Gentex does make a fine alarm that you can purchase for $30.00. Costar does make a find Carbon Monoxide alarm that you can purchase for $29.00 as well. I'll continue to find more of these ""Dealers"" throughout the US and let you know their names.
Masterguard Reviews
This company is a scam of epic proportions! Do NOT purchase any equipment from them. They do NOT make fire alarms and the ones that they purchase from Gentex/Interstate/Costar are all available on-line for fractions less. Here is how their scam works:
They purchase smoke alarms from Gentex corp. for $15.00 and then sell them to ""dealers"" for $62.00. Sometimes more depending on whether or not they are a ""director."" If they charge more, then the ""directors"" get the difference. (Pyramid Scheme) The ""dealers"" then charge anywhere from $299.00 to $495.00 per alarm based on how scared they have made you by showing you movies/powerpoint presentations where kids die in fires.
Fact #1. I asked several of these ""dealers"" based in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana who makes their alarms. They all lied and said that Masterguard does. Masterguard does NOT make alarms and never has! They buy other alarms and then put their name on them and mark them up. Ask a Masterguard salesperson or dealer who makes their alarms. They have NEVER told me the truth when asked. Red flag #1 Are they afraid we'll buy them online for $39.95? I found several companies on-line that sell them for that price. Google Gentex Smoke Alarms or go to cxxxxx.com (((REDACTED))) They are as low as $29.99
Fact #2. They claim that their alarms have a 25 year warranty. What they don't tell you is that after the first year you have to pay a handling fee. Guess how much it currently is? $39.00. They are still making money off of us! They are now charging as much as everyone else. These greedy people at Masterguard need to be stopped.
Fact #3 I called fire stations all over the States that I mentioned, and none of the fire departments recommend spending thousands of dollars to protect your family, especially when you can get the same ""commercial grade"" alarms that they are selling for a fraction of what they charge.
Fact #4 They sell Carbon Monoxide alarms for $129.00 to $219.00 that I can buy on-line for $30.75. They are the same exact alarms with the same exact warranty. Only difference...it says costar and not masterguard. Google Costar Carbon Monoxide Alarms. Fairfax Electronics has them for $30.75 currently. By the way, Mastergaurd buys them for $9.00 and sells them to their dealers for $45.00. If I was a dealer, I would be pissed about the scam. I'd just buy them on-line.
Fact #5 They are scam artists and should be penalized severely for preying on people and their fears. There are literally hundreds of these ""dealers"" all over the U.S. Please call your state fire marshall and complain about what they are doing. Please call your attorney general and complain about what they are doing. Purchasing alarms for $15.00 and marking them up to $300.00 plus is just plain wrong. Other companies can sell them for $39.00 and do just fine. Their common excuse is that they have marketing expense to host their ""free"" dinners and that the education is worth it. Education is great, but when I can outfit my whole home with the SAME equipment for $500.00 and they tried to sell it to me for $4,000.00...something is wrong. Installation and Education are not worth $3500.00. Sorry boys.
I've listed some of the dealer names that I found on-line and in the bbb listings. Please let them know that we are tired of standing by and being ripped off! Good commercial grade alarms for my home are fine to have. Gentex does make a fine alarm that you can purchase for $30.00. Costar does make a find Carbon Monoxide alarm that you can purchase for $29.00 as well. I'll continue to find more of these ""Dealers"" throughout the US and let you know their names.