Re: ADT Security system

["E DAWSON" <ewind7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The company that REALLY grabs me by the short hairs is Vivint. And I do
believe they were able to get away with what they did is because of the
precedents that were set by Protection 1 Brinks and ADT. They just put a
little twist to it and played a game of brinksmanship, seeing how close they
could come to practicing illegal and unethical sales tactics before they
were seriously prosecuted. They did a fabulous job of publicizing how they
would pay back the people who were the most outspoken complainers and
ignoring all those they had scammed who weren't so adamant

Vivint started out as APX and then Apex with the Mormon sales kids being
transported to various parts of the country doing door knocking. That was
all well and good except it gradually turned into them lying to end users,
and stealing accounts from area alarm companies. End users were put in the
position of having signed two monitoring contracts. Accounts were switched
without the end users even realizing they had been scammed. They were told
that their alarm company was out of business and they were the new alarm
company or they would see the name of the end users alarm company on the
lawn sign, and say they were from that alarm company just there to upgrade
the alarm system. That went on for a few years. To me, it was simply an
insidious ingenious plan to gain hundreds of thousands of accounts any way
they could and just before it became to huge a problem to handle they
apologized, paid some fines, ( one of them $6,000,000.00) began donating
money to various charities, cuddled up to the good-ol-boys at the then
NBFAA, changed their corporate name and were bought a couple of times to
avoid their terrible reputation, all the while riding the wave of recurring
revenue. And now they're one of the biggest in the industry.

What a disgusting legacy,  yet now ..... all the trade papers and magazines
laud them for how progressive and successful and great a company they are.
Totally ignoring that they got where they are through deceit unethical
selling practices and lying through their teeth. However it is a perfect
example of what can be accomplished if you can walk the thin line between
criminality and legality. Every time I see their advertising or news
articles about them I get this feeling like you would get if you had to use
a  porta potty that hadn't  been cleaned out for 6 months. Slimey!!!!!

Below are just a few of the hundreds of scams they got caught at and no one
knows how many they didn't.. There are numerous complaints on line about
APX, Apex and Vivint. It's just a continuous story of breaking the law just
long enough just before or until they get caught. In the meantime they've
accumulated thousands of accounts.
==============================================================
In 2009, the company paid the state of Arkansas $65,850 to settle
allegations of improper licensing of employees, including alarm installers.
The company paid an additional $125,000 to the state over alleged violations
of state law in 2010.
In 2010, Vivint settled with the state of Oregon for $60,000 over alleged
aggressive sales tactics used by its agents. The company also agreed to
change some of its sales tactics.
In 2011, Vivint settled with Contra Costa County, California for $425,000 in
a neither admit nor deny pleading, and agreed to conform its contracts to
California law and refrain from certain sales practices.
In 2012, Vivint settled with the Wisconsin Attorney General's office in an
agreement to refund up to $148,000 to consumers who were misled about their
ability to cancel and about false alarm charges. Vivint also canceled
$450,000 in consumer debt.
In 2013, the company settled for $55,000 with the Kansas Attorney General,
which accused sales agents of using deceptive practices while going
door-to-door offering to install or replace home security systems. The
agents also allegedly failed to advise the consumers of their rights under
the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and did not disclose all costs associated
with switching alarm system providers.
The Ohio Attorney General settled with Vivint in 2013 following complaints
alleging deceptive sales practices and the company's refusal to honor
cancellation notices. Vivint agreed to comply with Ohio consumer laws and
paid $50,000 in fines. Also in 2013, Vivint agreed to an assurance of
voluntary compliance in Nebraska. The company promised not to make any
misrepresentations while engaging in sales. The company also donated $50,000
to two charities in Lancaster County, Nebraska
As of 2014, two federal class-action lawsuits were filed against Vivint for
alleged violations of the TCPA. In June 2014, Vivint agreed to a proposed
settlement in Benzion which included a
$6 million settlement fund.


Those who have money, have power...and very few use it for good. The
authorities are either unwilling or unable to truly put a stop to the abuse.

Just wait until the trillionaires all decide to run for President, or Prime
Minister, or King...yes, if you truly are ultimately rich, you could find a
way to buy a Kingship too!