Vivint Reps Accused of Misleading Military Families
Military families said they paid Vivint up to $2,000 in cancellation fees when they tried to get out of their security contracts after being transferred to a new base or retired due to service-related injuries.
PROVO, Utah – Several military families have accused Vivint of misleading consumers and exploiting the concerns of deployed U.S. soldiers for the safety of their families back home.
In the past year, as many as five military families contacted ABC News to complain about the door-to-door alarm sales company. The families said they were forced to pay up to $2,000 in cancellation fees when they tried to get out of their security contracts after being transferred to a new base or retired due to service-related injuries.
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One incident involved Jason Plummer, a Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was injured in a roadside bomb attack. Plummer attempted to cancel his contract with Vivint after he received his medical retirement orders and had plans to move off base.
However, Vivint would not let him out of his contract, citing its policy for military customers, ABC News reports.
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Vivint’s refusal to let Plummer out of his contract was a total contradiction to what he was told by the firm’s salespeople.
“The sales person on the phone said that it would not be a problem,” Plummer told ABC News.
Additionally, four other military families made similar claims against Vivint, stating that the firm’s salespeople had misled them in the same way over the ability to cancel if they had to move.
After being contacted by ABC News, Vivint agreed to cancel all the contracts, citing that either the families or its own representatives “misunderstood” the language of the contract. In a statement, the firm said:
“Vivint is grateful for the service of our military families and the sacrifices they make on our behalf.
In each of the situations brought to our attention by ABC News, a customer support representative misunderstood our Military Policy for moving or canceling service agreements. We are deeply sorry for any frustration this may have caused and we have reached out to these customers to resolve their specific concerns.”
Representatives for the Better Business Bureau noted that although Vivint handles individual complaints, the firm still has not done enough to correct the numerous consumer complaints of deceptive sales tactics by door-to-door salespeople.
The BBB claims that it has received more than 3,000 consumer complaints against Vivint in the past three years.
RELATED: Utah Alarm Companies Atop BBB’s Most Complained About Businesses
In a written statement, Vivint responded:
In the meantime, Vivint has updated its policies for military personnel discharged for medical reasons:
“Vivint has taken measures to clarify our Military Policy with our internal customer service teams. We have established a dedicated Military Support Line to provide exceptional service to our military families. We have also posted our Military Policy on the military section of our website. If service members have additional questions, we encourage them to contact our dedicated Military Support team.”
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