Complaint Review: Vivint - Salt Lake City Utah

I took over my Vivint (formerly Apex) home security contract when I purchased my home. The former owner was a subscriber and the Vivint (Apex) people told me that I would be responsible for paying the cancellation fee if I terminated their service. Bear in mind that I was not the original contract subscriber and that I had just purchased the home.  Nevertheless, I took over the contract and didn't have any issues during my time in my home.

Fast forward three years, I have just sold the home because I obtained employment in another city. The sale went quickly, approximately 30 days.  As I was no longer in the home, I contacted Vivint and informed them that I wanted to cancel my subscription. I spoke with a representative approx. September 15 and was told that my account had been automatically renewed on September 1 for a one year period.  Vivint did not contact me via phone, e-mail or letter and let me know that my subscription was expiring.  They took it upon themselves to renew my subscription without my consent.

The representative told me that since my contract had just renewed, I would have to buy out my contract for over $500.  They also told me that I was required to give them 30 days notice of cancellation.  The only alternative was to have the new homeowners take over the existing contract.

Naturally, I was upset by this and filed a claim with the Better Business Bureau.  After about a month, I received a letter from Vivint via the BBB stating that they would cancel my account if I submitted a cancellation request in writing.  I did this and thought the issue was resolved.

The next month, I noticed that Vivint had automatically withdrawn funds from my bank account to pay for the monthly service.  I called Vivint and explained the situation.  The representative said he would cancel the automatic withdrawal and would refund my money if I faxed Vivint a copy of my bank statement. They said that they could not process the refund without a bank statement. I refused to do this and figured I'd just eat the loss, assuming I would have no further involvement with Vivint.

Of course, the same scenario occured the following month.  They automatically withdrew funds again, and I had to place another call.  I spoke with a manager who informed me that they had received my cancellation letter, but it was my responsibility to contact them to confirm that they had received the letter and to tell them verbally that I wanted to cancel my account. At no time in my previous dealings with Vivint had they told me that I had to call them to confirm that they had received my letter. I asked this manager if this phone contact was company policy or written in my contract? The manager said, "I don't really know, it's just our operating procedure." At that time, I told the manager that I felt this was a "shady" business practice. 

The manager was reluctant to cancel my account until I read (verbatim) the letter that I had received  3 months earlier from their company.  At that time, the manager immediately agreed to cancel my account.  The manager also immediately agreed to provide a refund for the funds that were taken from my account.

Again, I informed the manager that I felt Vivint was being purposefully deceptive in their business practices. Also, I asked the manager why no one had mentioned that I was responsible for contacting the company after I had submitted my cancellation letter?  The manager confirmed that I had contacted Vivint customer service three times regarding this issue but could not provide an answer to my question.

I feel that Vivint (Apex) purposefully does not disclose information to their customers in order to make it difficult to cancel their service. Even after I had a letter (from Vivint!!) saying that my account was approved for cancellation, they still made it extremely difficult for me cancel and get a refund.  Even after they agreed to cancel, they would only offer a refund if I showed them my bank statement. The only time I had success dealing with Vivint was when I read my letter verbatim to the manager. At that time, it was like a magic wand had been waved and then he was tripping over himself trying to help me.

As of this writing, I still have not received my refund check that was promised to me.  I will never use a Vivint product again nor will I ever recommend Vivint to anyone searching for home security service.