ADT: cancellation problem

Collect

• signed contract or agreement with start date and term
• cancellation confirmation number
• bills after the cancellation date

Steps

1. Find your contract and note the initial term (two, three or five years), the start date, the renewal terms and the termination charge percentage.

2. If you signed at home with a salesperson in the last three business days, cancel under the FTC Cooling-Off Rule by mailing the signed notice of cancellation form, postmarked before midnight of the third business day.

   See rules/ftc-cooling-off-rule.

3. Call ADT to cancel. Ask for the cancellation effective date, any termination charge and a confirmation number, and ask for written confirmation by email.

   PhoneADT customer line (800-ADT-ASAP) +1-800-238-2727

4. Send written notice of cancellation to the notice address in your contract by a method with proof of delivery, and keep a copy.

5. If ADT keeps billing after the effective date, dispute the charges with your card issuer and file a complaint with your state attorney general.

Facts you can cite

• Policy

  ADT's 10-K for 2025 says its standard contract terms are two, three or five years, "with automatic renewals for successive 30-day periods for residential security customers."

  Source: sec.gov, verified 2026-10-13

• Deadline

  Search snippet only. Search results for ADT's residential terms pages quote that contracts renew for successive thirty (30)-day terms unless terminated by either party at least thirty (30) days before the end of the current term, and that no termination charges are due for a termination during a 30-day renewal period. Check the wording in your own contract.

  Source: adt.com, verified 2026-10-13

• Policy

  ADT's 10-K for 2025 says its authorized dealers are third-party independent dealers that are contractually obligated to offer ADT all qualified monitored accounts they generate, and that ADT's direct channel includes door-to-door activities.

  Source: sec.gov, verified 2026-10-13

Tips

• Company tip

  ADT advises never to sign any documents without a thorough review, and to call 800-ADT-ASAP before letting an unexpected ADT or Authorized Dealer visitor into the home.

  Source: newsroom.adt.com, verified 2026-10-13

Rules in force

• FTC Cooling-Off Rule for door-to-door sales (Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations)
  16 CFR Part 429

  A buyer may cancel a covered door-to-door sale (made at the buyer's home, workplace or dormitory, or at a seller's temporary location such as a hotel room, convention center, fairground or restaurant) until midnight of the third business day after the sale, for any reason. The seller must tell the buyer about this right orally and in writing, give two cancellation forms, and refund all payments within 10 business days of a valid cancellation. Home security systems, alarm monitoring and pest control sold at the door are common examples. State laws may give more rights.

  Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13

  9 citable points

  • Limit

    A "door-to-door sale" is a sale, lease or rental of consumer goods or services with a purchase price of $25 or more if made at the buyer's residence, or $130 or more if made at other locations, where the seller personally solicits the sale (even if the buyer invited the contact) and the buyer agrees to buy at a place other than the seller's place of business.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Limit

    The definition excludes sales after the buyer visits the seller's permanent retail store, sales conducted entirely by mail or telephone with no other prior contact, buyer-initiated emergency sales where the buyer gives a handwritten, dated, signed waiver, home repair or maintenance the buyer asked for (extra goods or services sold during that visit are still covered), and sales of real property, insurance and certain securities.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Deadline

    The seller must give a completed receipt or contract that states, near the buyer's signature, in bold type of at least 10 points: "You, the buyer, may cancel this transaction at any time prior to midnight of the third business day after the date of this transaction." A business day is any calendar day except Sunday and federal holidays, so Saturdays count.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Process

    The seller must give the buyer two copies of a "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION" form and must tell the buyer orally, at the time the buyer signs, about the right to cancel. The seller may not misrepresent the buyer's right to cancel.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Deadline

    Within 10 business days after receiving a valid cancellation notice, the seller must refund all payments, return any trade-in in substantially as good condition, cancel any negotiable instrument and security interest, and tell the buyer whether it will pick up or abandon any goods left with the buyer.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Deadline

    Under the notice of cancellation form, if the seller does not pick up the goods within 20 days of the buyer's notice of cancellation, the buyer may keep or dispose of them without further obligation.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

  • Process

    To cancel, sign and date one copy of the cancellation form and mail it to the address given, postmarked before midnight of the third business day. If the seller gave no form, write a cancellation letter postmarked within three business days. The FTC suggests certified mail with a return receipt and keeping a copy. No reason is needed.

    Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13

  • Process

    Report a seller that does not honor the rule to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general or local consumer protection agency. For a credit card purchase, also dispute the charge with the card company.

    Source: consumer.ftc.gov, verified 2026-10-13

  • Limit

    The rule does not apply to sellers of automobiles at auctions, tent sales or other temporary locations when the seller has a permanent place of business, or to sellers of arts or crafts at fairs or similar places.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-13

• Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) negative option requirements
  15 U.S.C. 8401-8405

  A seller that charges consumers online through a negative option feature (for example an automatic renewal or a free trial that converts to paid) must clearly disclose all material terms before taking billing information, get the consumer's express informed consent before charging, and provide simple mechanisms to stop recurring charges. The FTC enforces ROSCA.

  Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  3 citable points

  • Policy

    Before obtaining the consumer's billing information, the seller must provide text that "clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms of the transaction".

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Policy

    The seller must provide "simple mechanisms for a consumer to stop recurring charges" on the consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account or other financial account.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

  • Process

    A ROSCA violation is treated as a violation of an FTC rule on unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the FTC enforces ROSCA with its FTC Act powers and penalties. Report violations to the FTC.

    Source: law.cornell.edu, verified 2026-10-12

Rules not in force (do not cite)

• FTC "Click-to-Cancel" amendments to the Negative Option Rule (2024) Vacated
  16 CFR part 425 (2024 amendments, published November 15, 2024)

  Vacated in full by the Eighth Circuit on July 8, 2025 (Custom Communications, Inc. v. FTC, 142 F.4th 1060). The FTC removed the 2024 text effective February 12, 2026 and restored the pre-2024 prenotification rule. A new rulemaking is only at the ANPRM stage (March 13, 2026), with no proposed text as of 2026-10-12. What remains in force: ROSCA (rules/rosca-negative-option), Section 5 of the FTC Act, and state automatic renewal laws (for example rules/ca-automatic-renewal-law, rules/ny-automatic-renewal-law).

  Not in force. Do not cite it as current law.

If that fails, escalate

Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.

1. Customer service

   PhoneADT customer line (800-ADT-ASAP) +1-800-238-2727

2. Retention team

   PhoneADT customer line (800-ADT-ASAP) +1-800-238-2727

   If offered a discount to stay, ask whether it starts a new contract term. Ask for the exact termination amount and the cancellation effective date in writing.

3. Written complaint

   No ADT complaint address or email could be verified. Send written cancellation notice to the notice address printed in your contract, by a method with proof of delivery.

4. Card or bank dispute

   Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)

   Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)

   Dispute charges after the cancellation effective date with your card issuer or bank.

5. State agency

   Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON: states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).

   ADT's newsroom says to report deceptive sales to ADT, the Better Business Bureau and local law enforcement; the state attorney general takes consumer complaints about contracts and sales practices.

6. Small claims court

   Check your contract for an arbitration clause first; ADT's terms could not be read directly.

Watch out

Related

• Cancellation problem at other companies
• How ADT complaints actually go (dossier, checked 2026-10-13)
• Home security and pest control — how complaints work
• ADT: early termination fee