ComplaintsforLifeSafer

• Initial Complaint

  10/25/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 10/1/24 I had an appointment at ******* *** ****** in ******* **, for the deinstallation of an IID setup through the Lifesafer company. The quoted cost for this service was around $180 and when scheduling the appointment prior to the date, I asked how this was supposed to be paid and if this would include any additional fees or labor costs from the shop. The Lifesafer staff communicated that this was the total cost to be paid at the shop providing the removal. I had the device removed and was charged $195.75 which I was told covered the deinstallation costs and service fee for using credit card. I was not told by the shop that this would be just a labor cost, or that he did not directly communicate with Lifesafer. When I checked my account with Lifesafer prior and after the 10/1 appointment, I had no scheduled upcoming payments. After that appointment, documents that were connected to my Lifesafer account were no longer visible and I still had no scheduled payments. I assumed my debts were settled and my transaction with this company done. On 10/22/24 Lifesafer charged me for deinstallation, a total of $182.16. There was no prior contact from them that explained I owed money and would be charged. After contacting Lifesafer multiple times through their chat and call center, as well as exchanging emails with their client service. I was informed that the payment I paid to the shop was not received by them and if I was charged at the affiliated shop through the shop's business it was an error of the shop and I would have to get my refund from them. Speaking with the shop owner he claimed that the agreement between Lifesafer and his shop was that he charged what ever he wanted for labor to a client and then Lifesafer would charge their end. This was never explained once during my whole interaction with both businesses. After an hour of the two businesses going back and forth on their own agreements and lack of clarification, both would still not refund me.

  Business response

  10/28/2024

  We apologize for the misunderstanding. There should not be separate charges from the shop for deinstallation services. We will address this and sort out how we will get those extra payments back to *** *******. Please give us 72 business hours to sort this out. We will be in contact with *** ******* once we have a solution.

  Customer response

  11/01/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** *******
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had LifeSafer installed on 10/23/2024, I paid the $195 installation fee to the shop, the $12.50 TN fee was charged on my debit card. I signed up for autopay, I was told the monthly cost would be $96-ish dollars a month plus the $20 shop fee each month. I get a receipt at 11pm on 10/23/2024 that my card has been charged $256! This is a fraudulent charge! I did not approve of a $256 charge! I call and the lady tells me someone will have to review my account and if approved I might get my money back in 2 days! I have things coming out of my account that will cause my account to be overdrawn and I expect LifeSafer to be responsible for those charges. I had the device installed a total of 4 hours before I was charged $256! How would it even be possible to have a charge for that amount with it installed only 4 hours ago!!

  Business response

  10/24/2024

  We apologize for the inconvenience. It seems as though one of the fees on that invoice was duplicated too many times. We issued a $154.29 refund to *** ******** credit card this morning. This will be processed on our side today, she will need to contact her bank/credit card company to determine how long they will take to process it and make the funds available to her. 

  The LifeSafer Resolutions Manager will also reach out to *** ****** to see if she has and other concerns or questions. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I can’t get ahold of anybody at lifesafer ignition interlock whatsoever. I’ve been trying to reach them for several days. Sitting on hold for 1 hour and 45 minutes several times. Does anybody work for this company? I would highly advise anybody to steer clear of this company. I need to get a dealership an over ride code so they can fix my vehicle and I can’t get ahold of anybody. Not by phone or there online chat that they offer. Don’t ever use lifesafer.

  Business response

  10/23/2024

  We appreciate the feedback and apologize for the lengthy hold times when reaching out to our Customer Support Center. As we are currently experiencing higher call volumes, your patience is appreciated. We do have an online chat open Monday through Friday 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Eastern Time, as well as the online portal to help cut down on the phone wait times.

  I've attached the mechanic affidavit form to this reply or the process can be done online at ****************
  Either way it's processed, please ensure you include the secondary document along with the (fully filled out) affidavit the first time to prevent any further delays. Please know that mechanic assistance requests are processed Monday through Friday only, in the order they are received, and contact to your mechanic can take up to 48 business hours depending on the volume of requests at that time.

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I received a dui conviction Sept 11 2024. In order to retain a license I must have an interlock device installed on my car. Found a shop that recommended Lifesafer and got it installed approximately a week later. Once I picked my car up it alerted me that the device would lock my ignition up the following week unless I took it back to the shop. Mind you I hadn’t driven a mile when this occurred. I called the shop they said to bring it back . Within a day or 2 I took it back and dropped it off. Picked it up a second time while the shop was closed and there was a bill on my dash for $240 from lifesafer. The shop told me the problem was the software didn’t take and I wouldn’t be charged. Tried contacting life safer numerous times, one time I waited 3 hours on hold and never spoke to anyone. The shop said the bill was from lifesafer for another month although i only had it less than 2 weeks total. Once I got the car home I went to leave again and the car wouldn’t start. Again , I tried contacting the shop which directed me to lifesafer. Again , I tried multiple times and never spoke to anyone throughout this entire process. I located an email address for customer support and finally got to communicate with someone. Once I explained everything they said to take it back to the shop and they’d install another device. After 2 failed attempts, numerous unsuccessful phone calls, no customer support/service whatsoever i informed them I want the device removed. They told me that I have to have it towed up to the shop where it was installed at my expense, $75 uninstall fee, $250 early uninstall fee, and they never answered my question about why I got billed $240 for less than 2 weeks of service. Once I questioned all I just stated , they never responded back to me. Through the entirety of all this , my car has been drivable less than a full week.

  Business response

  10/21/2024

  We're so sorry for the inconvenience for the additional trips *** ******* had to make to the shop. Now that management is involved, we can see the issue and have a resolution to it. 

  One thing that *** ******* is mistaken about is payments. He states he paid for the first month, but in fact, no payments have been made to LifeSafer. *** ******* would have paid the local shop for the  installation labor fees, but no payments have been received by LifeSafer for the leasing of the device. On that same note, the shop was adding daily service fees because they were performing monthly calibration services when they weren't yet due, causing a discrepancy in the amount owed to LifeSafer. When adjusting his account balance for those mischarges, we will take into consideration that *** ******* hasn't been able to drive the vehicle.

  LifeSafer's Resolution Manager will be in contact with *** ******* to resolve his concerns.

  Customer response

  10/22/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** *******
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I arrived to my appointment at the date and time issued me by the company to find that there was nobody there to service the equipment they had installed. This is ignition interlock equipment that locks me from using my vehicle on a specific date (2 days from now). This is the 3rd time it has happened. I tried to contact them 3 times via chat and was disconnected by them with no resolution. I then sat on hold for an hour with nobody answering and right at the 1 hour mark I was disconnected by them with no one answering. My vehicle is being held hostage by this company and they have charged me a missed appointment fee all three times. I have video evidence that I was present at each of these appointments with my vehicle. I have wasted a total of 12+ hours of my time trying to resolve these issues and have been met with a complete failure of this companies costumer service. I take time off work for these appointments thus also costing me money. If I am locked out of my vehicle after having kept my appointment this would constitute theft of my vehicle and I will be contacting my lawyer.

  Business response

  10/17/2024

  We apologize for any inconveniences regarding our wait times on the phone and the ******* ******** ** location. Unfortunately, the wait times are an issue for most call centers across the country and is not due to a lack of caring. Also, the tech that runs this location has had some extenuating circumstances causing him to close frequently and sometimes without advance notice.

  I have attached the itemized invoice to accompany the 8/28 handwritten receipt *** ******** provided and it shows that the missed appointment fee was waived. This total is simply the amount of a 42-day billing cycle. Additionally, I have reviewed all of *** ********** invoices and he hasn't been charged a missed appointment fee on any of them. However, we did extend a $35 credit to his account to help compensate for the inconvenience. 

  The LifeSafer Resolutions Manager will be in contact with *** ******** shortly to further discuss and offer assistance. 

  
  

  Customer response

  10/17/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  
  

  
  
  The company did charge missed appointment fees. I had to spend time from my life to get them removed. Them not being there any more does not change the fact that i have arrived to my appointments on time the last three times to find that the shop was not open then had to spend hours of my time to get another appointment scheduled all with the stress of possibly have my car locked out so i wont be able to get to work and lose my job or possibly mess with status with the dmv. This company has wasted over 15 hours of my life and thinks that they can disregard that with a credit that doesn’t even equate to $2 per hour of my time! How about stop using the excuse that everyone else is doing it so it must be ok logic (wait/hold times) i can call the dmv and get ahold of them in less than 15 minutes. I will be setting a meeting with the dmv to address the fact that your company doesn’t hold to its agreements and thus creates a cruel and unusual punishment. I will be asking them to decertify your company as an authorized provider due to these facts!

   

  This is what you have posted on the first page of your website for your refrence!!!!!!!

  
  Our Quality Promise
  LifeSafer is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of service and reliability. Our quality promise is to ensure that every interaction and every device reflects our commitment to excellence. We believe in taking responsibility for the total customer experience, from the moment you reach out to us to the successful completion of your program.

   

  Commitment to Customer Care
  Our promise to take ownership of the total customer experience is more than just words. It is a commitment to providing accurate, timely, and reliable services that enable our customers to successfully complete their program. LifeSafer excels in delivering supportive customer care, ensuring that you receive the guidance and assistance needed to navigate this process with ease.

  
  Missing multiple appointments, having terrible customer service, and having shotty equipment certainly means your own companies quality promise and commitment to customer service is a LIE!
  
  

  Regards,
  
  ****** ********
  

  Business response

  10/18/2024

  A missed appointment fee was never charged, otherwise *** ******** would be able to show where that happened. While saying that, we do understand and appreciate that there may have been a couple of times that the missed appointment fee was avoided only because of *** ********** contact with us to prevent it. We understand that takes time out of his day. However, companies do not reimburse wages for the time spent conducting business with their company. Again, we apologize for the wait times and it's not a matter of, "everyone else is doing it so it must be ok logic (wait/hold times)". It's a matter of staffing struggle, especially for call centers, is a nationwide, systemic issue and the resulting wait times are not something we're choosing. 

  The staffing for that particular location is out of the ordinary, as it is a single employee with extenuating circumstances and we are looking for ways to correct this. We have at least 5 other locations less that are the same distance or within another 5 minute timeframe from his original shop.

  LifeSafer takes pride in our equipment and deny the claim it's shoddy. To demonstrate this: *** ******** had the same equipment during his time with us from March 2019 through March 2021 and he had the same equipment when he returned to us is August 2023 up until last week. That swap done last week was only done due to system connectivity issues, not a shoddy device. 

  We extended credits to *** ********** account to cover 42 days of service, more than a free month. Additionally, a LifeSafer manager reached out to *** ******** and he now has her direct email to address any concerns, questions, or complaints quickly and directly moving forward. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Friday Oct. 11, 4:30pm , Ignition interlock that I am court mandated to install won't work. I am stranded in a business parking lot. No answers from customer support, on hold for 1:30 which the call was terminated. Always on hold. Called again @ 9:00 pm and after 36 minutes on hold I spoke to a man that basically could do nothing for me. Called again Saturday morning , on hold over an hour. Call terminated. It's now Wednesday October 16 and I still don't have the use of my car. Finally called the install shop, Going to cost me a tow, reinstall cost's , parole violation ! My Beef : If I have to have this device installed to drive mandated by the courts, The product and services sold to me should work. Should not cost me more money and a violation that will prolong having to have like devices installed.

  Business response

  10/17/2024

  We appreciate the feedback and apologize for the lengthy hold times when reaching out to our Customer Support Center. We're also sorry to hear of any device issues. We do regular maintenance on the devices, unfortunately you can't always know ahead of time that an electronic device is going to stop functioning. 

  The LifeSafer Resolutions Manager will be in touch with *** ***** shortly.

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I currently have lifesafer ignition interlock installed in my truck. My truck has been at the mechanic for over 3 months now due to transmission going out. Since then I have not been able to bring my truck in for recalibration and is permanently locked out of the device. This alone resulted in the state of mn adding 545 more days to the program for me which is ridiculous. Now my truck is fixed but I cannot pick it up until I get a code for my device or tow it to the place to get calibrated. Not really sure what I have to do since I've been unable to reach anyone from life safer via phone call email or chat. Friday I spent just short of three hours on hold waiting for someone to answer with no luck. Yesterday I spent 2 more hours with no answer ended up hanging up. Today I've been on hold for about an hour and 45 min and still no luck so far. I need my vehicle like 3 months ago to finish these jobs for my buisness which is pretty much failing at this point due to not being able to drive because of the state or because of this stupid interlock b******t. I'm giving it one more hour on hold then I'm taking the device out myself. 4 years of this so far and now I can't get off of the program till 2029? Yea I'm done ill just risk driving without my licence at least I won't be losing my entire buisness and well being on top of paying hundreds of dollars a month to not even get an answer. Needless to say no one in any of the interlock companies or the state agencies give a s**t about you or your life just like this one but at least the others answer the phone.

  Business response

  10/16/2024

  We appreciate the feedback and apologize for the lengthy hold times when reaching out to our Customer Support Center. We show that each time you tried to use our chat function, the connection was ended on your side. 

  Please know that these wait times are not due to a lack of caring, it's a nationwide staffing struggle call centers are facing.We will have a LifeSafer Manager contact you to see how we can best assist you during this time.
  

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  During the first week of Sept. 2024, I experienced daily recurring problems with my interlock device. When I tried to blow into the unit, it would just say blow harder over and over again, start honking the horn and still not start my car after blowing over 20 minutes while being publicly humiliated for the nonstop horn honking. Once I was finally able to get the unit to accept a test from me, it would show a violation for refusal to blow. Twice during the week of problems the unit permanently locked me out and I had to pay to tow my car to their shop on 9/4. I then had exactly the same problem on 9/5 and had to drive to their shop for reset and again on 9/6 which gave me another permanent lockout requiring towing. I waited for hours on the phone to get someone to answer and trouble shoot with me. I blew into the unit several times, no change, I disconnected the battery per their troubleshooting request and their service person told me that if that did not work, the problem was a failed pump in their unit. I had to tow it again on 9/10 to finally have the defective unit replaced. Once I submitted a claim to be reimbursed for three reset charges of $82.58 each as well as the cost of the second tow of $235.00. The claim # was *** *****. I was told it would be 24 to 48 hours to hear So I followed up and claim had been rejected because they stated I was not breathing into the unit properly. Why on earth would I choose to not breathe properly, be stranded, be publicly humiliated with the horn honking. Be unable to use my car without future problems, tow my car, pay for towing, spend hours doing so, paying them $82.58 per reset and another $20 something to the shop each time and pay for towing at $250. They admitted pump failure on their end, it was witnessed by my roommate and they replaced the unit with a new one, all indicative of a problem with their equipment!! I'm just asking for the bulk of the $ back. This is unfair and should be illegal. I want my $ back!

  Business response

  10/14/2024

  We are sorry to hear that *** ***** was having a hard time with her device. The device issue didn't begin until 9/6 after she got a new device swapped in, that device was swapped back out on 9/10. Because the device she had from 9/6 to 9/10 did have an issue, we did credit the $235 she paid for towing on 9/10 back to her account. The reset fees on 9/4, 9/5, and 9/6 were valid because that device did not have an issue. It seems as though she was simply having a hard time with the testing pattern. This is further evidenced by the fact she has now received another missed test violation on this new device as well. We will often refund the first reset fee as a courtesy, but because she was not charged for the valid 10/7 reset fee, we are unable to refund any additional fees, as they were valid.

  The LifeSafer Reputation Manager will be reaching out to *** ***** shortly to discuss this and to see if we can help her with testing. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  when calling with device issues, on hold For minimum 1.5 hours Everytime I’ve called. I have complained but always dismissed “we understand”. NO, you really DONT! When your device malfunctions and your customers are forced to sit in side of the road for over an hour while you are locked out of vehicle or going to be “locked out” unless you have the device serviced again. It’s insane for the money we pay for this device each month to stay a legal driver! The BBB called me Back and left a message. I got put on hold when I called back for an hour! lol what a joke!

  Business response

  10/14/2024

  As seen with the issues when calling other companies, like BBB, call centers are struggling to meet staffing needs. This is not due to a lack of caring, or just hiring more people, it's a systemic issue regarding staffing. Our records show *** ****** is having issues with testing, no device malfunctions. The LifeSafer Resolutions Manager will be reaching out today to try to help with the testing issues. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I have made several phone calls to every number I can find for this company, I have sent emails, i have done online chats and I can not get anyone to respond. I have safety recalls on my vehicle and the dealership needs an over ride code or a way to disconnect this device to perform the necessary repairs.

  Business response

  10/11/2024

  We're sorry you're having a hard time reaching us. We show that both times you chatted with us, you ended the chat before we could assist. The LifeSafer Reputation Manager will be sending you an email with the paperwork that needs to be sent over to provide this assistance. This can also be done online at ****************

  Customer response

  10/15/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  **** **********
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩