At least 3,400 military personnel will receive nearly $1.3 million in settlements from a home security services company, the Justice Department has announced.
ADT LLC, which does business as ADT Security Services, agreed to the April 14 settlement after the department accused it of requiring servicemembers who receive military relocation orders provide a 30-day notice before termination of service.
Apart from a full refund of any fee charged after the order, each affected military member will get $300 or three times the charge the government deemed illegal, whichever is larger.
“Members of our Armed Forces dutifully respond to the defense needs of our Nation, sometimes with very little notice,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general over the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
“We are committed to ensuring that our servicemembers’ rights are protected so that they can focus on their military mission.”
Under the law, according to the department, members of the military can terminate some consumer contracts any time after receiving military orders to relocate to a location that does not support the contract and “companies cannot charge any fees beyond the current billing period.”
The settlement, however, states that since the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act was amended in Jan. 5, 2023, to allow troop’s termination of home security services contracts when they provide receipt and military relocation orders, ADT has received over 3,400 of such requests.
The company insists it was only applying the general 30-day notice policy for contract termination.
“ADT has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve a matter related to certain customer accounts in connection with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA),” the company said in an email statement to AL.com Tuesday.
“ADT is committed to supporting members of the U.S. military and their families, and we take our obligations under the SCRA seriously.
“ADT cooperated fully with the Department of Justice and has, among other measures, enhanced our processes to ensure servicemembers receive the protections they are entitled to under the SCRA as part of this settlement, ADT will provide compensation to certain customers and has taken steps to further strengthen our internal SCRA compliance and training. This settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing by ADT.
“We appreciate the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our armed forces and remain committed to continuous improvement in how we serve our customers.”
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