Built In Systems

Absolutely terrible experience. I had another alarm company for 20 years when BIS took over their accounts. The relationship with the previous company was great. As part of the company takeover, our system had to be re-programmed. Unfortunately this programming was not done properly. The problem was not discovered for more than an year - we were paying for the service the entire time even though the system did not work properly.

We contacted BIS when we discovered the problem. They came out to reprogram the system with the correct information - and then sent me a bill! When I addressed the issue with the Owner, he wanted to sell me a new system and increase my monthly payment! Needless to say we are no longer a customer. This is one on the worse examples of customer service I have experienced as they would not stand behind the service I paid for and did not receive.

WATCH OUT. had a bad experience with my family. Did not cancel 30 days before end of contract because had stopped using service 11 months prior because of hospice and medical personnel coming in and out. Still had to pay for months of service never used because of late cancellation. Understand a contract is a contract but with NO reminder, phone, text or email this company just waits till your anniversary to charge you for another year regardless of circumstances. No compassion or grace for their customers!

Buyer Beware! I had a 3 year contract with the original owner of this company. I fulfilled this contract, then a 4th year which I never used and when I realized three weeks late of my anniversary date of the 5th yr. I called the company spoke with Elizabeth Timko (10/2017) and explained that I had nursing and others folks coming into my home round the clock and because of this, had not used the alarm in over a year and did not want to pay for something going forward that I would not be using.

After her consulting with another man in the office, she proceeded to tell me if I payed for the month of October (bringing my account current) that she would send me the cancellation form which she did. I filled it out and returned the same day. I thought I was done but nope, two days later Mr. Simon called me to say I owed for another year which resulted in court today.

I knew I was in trouble when the judge said to his attorney "So Lenny what do we have here today? I just wrote a check for $361.92 but I continue to stand on my principal! In my opinion It's a shame when money compromises your business morals and values. The only thing I would've done differently was hire an attorney. I am tired of being taken by companies who pray that people will not remember when their renewal dates are and are so desperate for money they cannot show compassion for individual circumstances. All you give is all you receive, "The Universe" will pay back! I hope this helps someone looking at this company make a correct decision!

I've had experience with larger companies, who always seemed to treat every house the same. It was a breath of fresh air having Built In Systems secure our home. It was very apparent that they fully understood our needs and in turn tailored our security and monitoring system around us. If you're looking for a company who knows how to best set up your home for your needs, I would not look any further than Built In Systems.

When trying to locate a reputable business to work on my home entertainment system I got lucky. After calling a few places and even Yelping "Home Entertainment" Built-In Systems did not appear. When driving through Virgina Beach Town Center I spotted their van which listed Home Theater. Their current single low review did not deter me from investigating.

I added the category to the yelp business listing. I called the office and spoke with a nice staff person named Elizabeth. I told her what I was looking to do. She provided info on charges which is $80 trip, then billed on the quarter hour $20. That seemed a bit steep. I asked to discuss the job and charges with owner Jeff Simmons who called me back within 15 minutes.

After discussing the job which consisted of a new state of the art Harmony Elite Universal Remote by Logitech, installing Apple TV and making adjustments to the receiver and do an audio check for acoustics we arrived at a probable time to do the job of 2 hours to a max of 4 if they ran into an issue(s). The cost was not flexible and could not be locked in. However, I felt extremely comfortable with Jeff and felt that he and staff had the competence to do a great job.

I hired them and set the appointment. Since they were backed up with the weather it took a week. The tech Brian arrived at my home 10 minutes early and called. I was just arriving home. He quickly got to work accessing the job. I could tell this guy was not milking any clock as he hustled around. Within minutes he had the Apple TV installed and began to pull out unnecessary wires from the old remote.

Upon discussion of cleaning up the cabinet and ventilating it better a shelf was brought up. It was not part of the plan. However, I wanted to separate the units to vent the receiver and completely close off the cabinet. Brian again quickly got the tools necessary to trim out the existing shelf I had for the cabinet. Wow was this a good call as it looked great!

And now the doors could be closed off. All the AV equipment was previously out of site controlled by a 3 year old universal remote. What changed was adding a high tech Bluetooth remote that could now operate the Apple TV. The only reason to now open the cabinet is for the Blue Ray. The snag on the job came when attempting to get a WiFi signal to set up the remote. Brian pushed through as quickly as he could never stopping a second.

The delay was around 30 minutes, but it was done correctly. Next was adjustments to the sound and setting of acoustics which really made a huge difference as the previous set up over the last five years had went off track. Finally the entire set up was complete and Brian assisted me in setting up the remote on my smart phone, a neat feature. Next setting up favorites and a walk through the remote.

The Harmony Elite remote was $299 and I was totally impressed. The job took a total of 3 hours and 20 minutes. The cost over $600 which included the cost of the control. I was very satisfied with what was accomplished. The system was much better than when Built-in Systems arrived. Everything looked and worked great! I also was impressed with the professionalism of Brian. Built-in Systems bread and butter is commercial alarms, they also do residential. Jeff's Dad started the business in the 70's as an alarm company.

They also specialize in intercoms, central vacuums and structured wiring. Basically anything low voltage they can do interior, or exterior. The expertise necessary for my job was not taken lightly. Another company could have taken three times longer and easily screwed it up. I'm so pleased with their work. I would recommend them all day long.

When trying to cancel our services for a number of reasons, we were told 30 days notice was required. No problem. Six days after requesting termination of services, our services were canceled without notice! Office staff and owner, Jeff, see nothing wrong with the way things were handled.