Do not use smart start. They only care about making money. They don't answer their phones. Everything is automated unless you wait for an hour and a half to talk to someone in India that doesn't speak English!!!there are other alcohol monitoring companies that are actually willing to work with you and understand that completing probation is important to you. Do not use them. They are horrible read more

You have to watch this company very closely. The system will sometimes notify you on, say, 3/4 that your calibration was due on 3/3. At that point they charge you an extra $50 late fee, and there's really nothing you can do about it. You can email to dispute the charge, but you still have to pay the late fee at the time of calibration or they won't calibrate your car. If you call support, they're very limited in what they can do. They also claim there's no one else you can speak to beyond the first representative who answers the phone, even if there's a real issue that needs escalation. I might have let this go, but unfortunately this isn't the first time I've had a problem like this with this company. Be prepared to spend time on the phone and sending emails trying to resolve issues. Late fees seem to get assigned randomly, and disputing them is difficult at best. The whole process feels designed to make you give up on getting a refund when a charge isn't warranted. read more

Nothing against the local service shop - they're always decent to work with, and good people - they do their best to help me. But my god, the shit hardware Smart Start sends out, then refuses to fix or deal with? They've landed me back in jail 3 times because of their damned incompetence. Costing me my freedom because they can't get their shit together, after 9 phone calls, from day one of receiving their equipment, when they're the only approved handheld provider in Wilco? Unacceptable. AVOID THESE ASSCLOWNS. My bond has gone from $300 (bondsman price) to over $10k (bondsman price) because of them. read more

This place is trash The employees are rude and don't answer any questions or try to help. Their customer service is trash Please SAVE your MONEY and TIME and find a company who actually cares and takes care of their clients. Not one who repeatedly takes advantage and charges you for everything that wasn't your fault. There is 13 cars waiting in line right now 4 of them behind me. I HIGHLY SUGGEST you give your money to another company who will attend you and take care of your concerns and needs. They won't work with you on ANY credits or or refunds, When it is obviously their equipments faulty issues. They will just say "oh file a report on the app" I've done that multiple times and nothing ever happens so don't listen to those morons! You will thank me and this review in the long run! God bless ! (: (Get rid of smart start ) read more

Smart-Start - 13 vehicles waiting for horrible service. - Interlock Systems Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Worst customer service event attorney told me this is strong lobby state of Alabama requires to have it in your first offense

He left early and was in parking lot and still refused to help us. We plan to report him to the county that sent us to this company. The county actually cares about the customer service we are given. We also plan to complain up the chain of smart start. Their website looks like they are respectable people who have the basic desire to treat humans like real people. This behavior speaks volumes about the kind of man this guy is outside his job. We plan to make it known to his superiors. read more

DO NOT USE THEM-- they have the worst technology devices. It will error everything you blow because of this HUM. It's such a bad read and you will miss blows because of it. Use intoxalock. I had to change after trying for 10 min just because it wouldn't even give me a chance to read my blow. Every error HUM stronger - blow longer- don't inhale. Then it finally reads after doing nothing different. Don't use them find another company we're you don't have to to that dumb HUM- they tell you to say DO but it never works and you'll be out of breath. It shouldn't be that hard. I just change to intoxalock and their service is way better with way better tech. read more

If you're a fan or poor customer service, then this is the place to be. Going above and beyond is not an option here. It's akin to going to the DMV. You NEED your drivers license. You NEED them. So they don't have to treat you right. One minute after your appointment, call corporate. We didn't wanna do that install anyways. Now I get to chill. Perfect. Yeah... we know there's no one here, but since we're not required... we're just gonna soak up some A/C and watch YouTube. Yeah. So if you like watching people who refuse to assist you breathe through their mouths while looking at you the way a cow does... like, kind of looking through you, then you're in the right place. Otherwise, try somewhere else. read more

This is the WORST place to go to. I went to cedar park before coming here and i wish i would've stayed at the other location. Tried to get my device removed and they wanted to charge me $400 when my contract says $45. Called corporate and they confirmed all i had to pay was $45. Don't even get me started on their customer service, they have the most rudest people. Take your money else where. read more

This is the worst experience I've had with my interlock system. I had to wait an hour just to get my interlock calibrated. Once I finally pulled up to the window, the guy took my device out and I waited for him to come back. Usually this only takes maybe 10 minutes max. I waited for over 30 minutes for the guy to come back to the window. This is the worst customer service. I would avoid this location if possible. read more

I have had the IID for almost 2 years and have never had any problems! If I HAD to think of something that was wrong, it was that the breathalyzer beeped weird and I called the service center and they fixed it so I really can't even complain about that. The employees are always nice, it does take a little while so try not to forget to take your device in for service at the correct time and don't wait until the last minute because you will end up waiting for about 45 minutes! read more

Don't ever, ever, ever do business with this company. The device will randomly lock you out and leave you stranded. Call customer service and you'll be put on hold for about an hour as you wait, stranded. They give you a code to get you started again but you can't shut the car off - you have to take it to a service center immediately. Like you have nothing else to do in your day. I've had to miss work and drop everything to go directly to their service center (through no fault of your own). Then, when you get there, they just casually claim it's a 'software update,' and it SHOULD be fine. Yet, the very next month, same problem. They make no apologies, they don't give your any credit on your account for these extreme disruptions to your life and then, heaven forbid you miss a re-test, they again say it's a violation (when the manual says you have five to miss in a month), and they'll charge you $50 to reset your device. Simply put, it's nothing but a money making racket. Smart Start knows they have you by the balls, so they don't make any apologies, have no customer service skills and they'll bleed you for whatever money they can. Additionally, it's a travesty that Travis County courts have the authority to make you do business with an organization like this, yet when you complain of unfair business practices, they claim they have no authority to regulate them. Basically, they just throw you to the lions and they really don't care - not their problem. But if Smart Start reports you for anything, even when you haven't done anything wrong, you better believe Probation is going to come down on you and not even give a second thought to the fact that your freedom lies in the hands of a completely shady and unethical business. Go anywhere but this company for your interlock device. read more

I should've done better with looking at Yelp reviews, all other places said this was the service to call. DO. NOT. USE. THIS. COMPANY. I'm not only talking about the 3-4 nameless idiots working behind the counter at this specific location, who will blankly stare at you while you're trying to ask questions as if you're speaking in a completely different language. Im talking about this ENTIRE COMPANY. In one week I've probably talked to about 10 people from their 800 number, and--I'm not exaggerating--nobody knows ANYTHING. It's transfer after transfer, "please hold," after "please hold," and you're spoken to like a criminal the entire time (I'm not kidding, it's degrading AF). They're all seemingly miserable in their jobs and just trying to pass you off onto the next open operator. I get off the phone with 8 new questions every time, and NO NEW ANSWERS TO MY PREVIOUS ISSUES. I'm so serious, y'all: DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. DO NOT USE SMART START. Goodness, I cannot stress that enough. If I save even one person from using this company I'll be satisfied. I hope this company goes straight under. And if anyone from that convoluted company ever happens to see this, y'all know who you are, you know how you treat people, and you know WHAT A SCAM you all are. A simple signed court document, that I VOLUNTARILY signed, has turned into weeks of tears and transferred phone calls. I wish I could do more than just a Yelp review but either way, this all the power I have. Good luck, guys. read more

Rude. I know you are here for a shitty situation happening but that doesn't mean you need to be treated with rudeness and belligerence. Never been treated as subhuman other than the reason I came here and it's time with the apd. read more

Worst costumer service I have ever encountered! I have been on hold now for 1.5 hours, then they hung on me, I was instructed by Travis County to use this company Shame on them! read more

Terrible customer service. Incompetent people. They are confrontational from the start. Just because you made a mistake does not give these people the right to treat you badly. I have never in my life experienced such horrible people working for a terrible cause. And rude...rude...rude...to top it off. Go here if you like to be talked down to, made to feel bad, and would like to never get a straight answer from anyone, they just tell you to call someone else. Obviously nobody knows what they are doing up there. My advice...if you have to get one of these things... try to go to any other place. The experience of having this device is bad enough. These people actually make it worse!!! read more

This place has the worst management and customer service! I was there to have my device removed not only were they not showing my order of removal but the staff couldn't care less about pointing me in the right direction or even looking up to see if my info was there. Then I go yet again after spending over an hour with their corporate office and the alleged managed has a nasty attitude and not trying to listen after explaining to him that I had already been charged. He has no people or customer service skills and this is the person that this company pays to help the customers out??? In case this business forgets we are still paying customers and it is us that keeps them in business! Do not waste your money here, there are plenty of other businesses that are more than willing to take your hard earned money. read more

I live in Austin TX. I am still waiting to go to court but as a condition of my bond I have to have an IID installed on my vehicle. I had a Dreager Saftey IID installed on my truck for over a year without a single problem. I had one violation in the morning due to mouthwash. I usually give it 20-30 minutes before starting and I'm fine but I was running late one day and violated. I now require a camera enabled unit. Guess what? Smart Start is the only vendor in the nation that carries such a device. Tell me theree isn't some financial and political backscratching going on here. Anyhow, I had my unit installed on Aug 7. I left that evening to the coast with my family for a little weekend beach fun. The next morning after I got everybody loaded into the car, the device quit working. No lights, nothing. Within 24hrs of having the unit installed it failed. Their customer service representative, Miguel, advised me I would have to have the vehicle towed (at my expense) to the nearest service center, which was 45miles away. (Corpus Christi) I called the service center and they were able to talk me through bypassing the system to avoid having to pay a $250 tow fee. The tech, (Luis) advised me to come in to have them look at it. When I arrived about an hour later I found that he had gone to a car show and would not be back until Monday. Another gentleman at the shop (I neglected to get his name) was able to put in a jumper wire to keep the vehicle operating normally until I could bring the unit back in for service in the Austin shop. When I took the unit back in to be repaired I had to wait for almost 5 hrs because the installer had to put in several units until he found one that "worked". Within 48hrs the camera mount had fallen down onto my dash. Thus forcing me to hold the camera while taking a breath test. This means I have to pull over every time I have to take a test. Ordinarily this would not be a problem but in my case it is. This is because the device is asking for a breath test every 2-3 minutes. I have to pull over 2-3 times going to and from work because the device is asking for so many samples. I live 7 miles from my job and it takes me at least 30 minutes each way now. This afternoon I got in my vehicle and the unit was displaying the error message "Recall Cam Post" and would not let me start the vehicle. I called the technical support line and was put through to the "on-call service technician". He advised me to reset the unit by disconnecting the negative terminal of the battery for 30 seconds. I tried that but still got the same error. I called back to see if he could come out but he was not located in TX. There is no on-call service techian. He told me that I would have to wait until 9:30am on Monday before I could contact my local service center. This is extremely poor service coming from "the nation's premier provider of ignition interlock services and technology." The unit I had installed from Draeger Saftey never once had a single issue in over a year of service. I've had Smart Start for less than 3 weeks and this is the third time I'm having to have service on my vehicle. This is not only a hinderance on my personal travel schedule but I have to take time off of work to have this service performed. The unit has also given me 3 false violations when there is no presence of alcohol ANYWHERE in the car..and no I wasn't drinking the night before. Their equipment is just junk. I advise people to go with ANYONE but Smart Start. read more

This is what happens when a business gets to lobby to both the state and the probation office. I was treated horribly to the point that they accused me of tampering with my interlock because it ran my battery down, when my father is a MOPAR CERTIFIED MECHANIC (who had to assemble an engine blindfolded for his final exam) was told that he was a dumbass and had the service window slammed in his face because "I have 4000 units on the streets in Austin and nobody else has complained." When I asked to change companies, the probation officer tried to discourage me, and that's about the time I noticed the SmartStart calendars and pens on her desk. It's a system designed to make you fail, and Terry and Todd are the only ones who will actually make you feel like humans. Please take your business to Interlock Systems of Texas, regardless of what your PO says. It's your right, and it just might save the rest of your life! read more