Logitech, Inc. – Alleged Defective Home Security Systems

A class-action complaint was recently filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against Logitech, Inc. (“Logitech”). The complaint alleges that Logitech violated certain consumer protection and warranty laws through the sale of defective, unreliable home security systems.

Logitech’s Alleged Defective Home Security Systems

These security systems are sold under the “Alert” brand (the “Alert Systems”) as high-definition digital complete home video security systems and were marketed as an “easy, comprehensive solution to home security.” Logitech also promised “. . . subscribers access to Logitech’s ‘secure, data center-housed servers’ that would be: Always On. Always Working,” along with an “. . . express one-year warranty in writing that promised customers that their ‘Logitech hardware product shall be free from defects in material and workmanship’.”

Logitech’s Alleged Violations of Consumer Protection and Warranty Laws

According to the complaint, Logitech’s online customer forum was inundated “. . . with complaints about the functionality and efficacy of the Alert Systems that rendered the Alert Systems inoperable and unable to provide reliable security services.” Customers reported a variety of problems including difficulty with installation and setup of the Alert Systems; systems not turning on and staying powered; systems not recording or downloading video properly; and problems with connectivity, overheating, and delayed/failed alerts.

Further, the complaint alleges that rather than repair or refund the defective systems:

Logitech responded by designing and implementing a strategy to avoid its express warranty obligations by, among other things: (1) requiring customers to go through repetitive, time-consuming, cumbersome, and unsuccessful troubleshooting processes; (2) failing to replace customers’ defective systems with non-defective parts, software, or systems in a timely manner while warranty periods lapsed; (3) repeatedly telling customers Alert Systems were on back-order so that they could not be replaced during the warranty period; (4) creating administrative hassles for customers to prove purchases and submit exchange Alert Systems for repair and/or replacement; (5) replacing defective Alert Systems with defective Alert Systems; (6) misleading customers that its Alert Systems’ problems would be fixed with upcoming hardware and software fixes that never materialized or did not actually work; (7) failing to implement successful software upgrades that would resolve or improve the user experience and make the Alert Systems functional for their intended purposes; and (8) failing to provide refunds. As a result, Logitech strategically left customers without operable security systems during the warranty period while it ran out the clock.

Do Logitech’s Alleged Violations Matter?

According to the complaint, “Logitech’s Alert Systems actually placed consumers at an increased safety risk because the Alert Systems were faulty, defective, and could not protect buyers from the home security risks the products were intended to alert buyers of and prevent, such as break-ins and robberies.”

Further, the complaint alleges that Logitech breached “. . . its implied warranties with consumers by deceptively marketing and selling Alert Systems that were never merchantable for providing reliable, continuous digital home security” and “as a result of Logitech’s unlawful business practices, consumers unknowningly invested hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in Alert Systems that are now obsolete and that have already or will inevitably fail.”

Who May Have Been Affected?

According to the complaint, Logitech began sale and distribution of the high-definition digital complete home video security systems in 2010. Logitech’s Alert Systems were sold under the “Alert” brand name and were packaged “. . . as a complete home video security system that would allow customers to ‘Be There When You’re Not.'”

What Can Those Who May Have Been Affected Do?

The Kehoe Law Firm is ready to help.  If you have concerns about your purchase of a Logitech home security Alert System, you can speak to an attorney for a free, no-obligation consultation by calling Michael Yarnoff, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 804, [email protected] or John Kehoe, Esq., (215) 792-6676, Ext. 801, [email protected].

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a multidisciplinary, plaintiff–side law firm dedicated to protecting investors and consumers from corporate fraud, negligence, and other wrongdoing. Driven by a strong and principled sense of social responsibility and obtaining justice for the aggrieved, Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. represents plaintiffs seeking to recover investment losses resulting from securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, corporate wrongdoing or malfeasance, those harmed by anticompetitive practices, and consumers victimized by fraud, false claims, deception or data breaches.  Together, the partners of the Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. have spent more than 30 years prosecuting precedent-setting securities and financial fraud cases in federal and state courts on behalf of institutional and individual clients.