DEFENDERS, LLC, fined for having unlicensed workers
WICHITA, Kan. Aug 15 2021 The district attorney’s office says a security company has agreed to pay $263,000 in penalties after investigators discovered some of the company’s technicians were not licensed as they worked in Sedgwick County.
District Attorney Marc Bennett says his office investigated DEFENDERS, LLC, doing business as Protect Your Home, after a Sedgwick County resident filed a complaint. The company is an Indiana-based seller and installer of home security services.
Bennett says City of Wichita records showed the business and several employees were not properly licensed for periods of time between 2017 and 2019. The DA’s office said the gaps in licensing impacted 555 consumer installations.
In a consent judgment with the DA’s office, the company denies the violations but agrees in the future to not sell alarm services or operate without having the appropriate licensure.
Bennett said the company agreed not to operate alarm business services in Sedgwick County unless all technicians were properly vetted and licensed.
According to Bennett, the company will provide impacted consumers with one free month of service and terminate an impacted consumer’s contract upon request.
The DA’s Consumer Protection Division conducted the investigation.
The District Attorney reminds residents that alarm businesses must be licensed and approved. The Metropolitan Area Building and Construction Department (MABCD) also certifies that technicians engaging in electrical work are qualified. In addition, the City of Wichita alarm business application requires applicants to perform background checks on all employees.
As part of the consent judgment, DEFENDERS agreed to several changes in Sedgwick County, including proper licenses and certifications going forward, background checks on employees, notifying “all impacted Sedgwick County consumers” and offering one free month of service to any “qualifying consumers,” the document says.
