SALT LAKE CITY — An Oklahoma home monitoring company has filed a federal lawsuit against Provo-based Vivint Smart Home, accusing it of using deceptive tactics to lure customers.
Alert 360 has the same attorneys as two other competitors suing Vivint: CPI and ADT. A North Carolina jury on Feb. 17 awarded CPI $189 million in its lawsuit.
The complaint by Alert 360 reads much like the others. It accuses Vivint salespeople of knocking on doors of Alert 360 customers.
There, salespeople would tell the customers things like Alert 360 was going out of business or that the salesperson was there to perform services for Alert 360. The salesperson would then install Vivint equipment or convert them to a Vivint account. The complaint specifically accuses Vivint staff of targeting elderly Alert 360 customers.
NRG Energy of Houston announced its intent in December to buy Vivint with the saleexpected to close sometime in the coming weeks.
Neither Vivint nor NRG returned requests for comment on Friday.
After the Federal Trade Commission fined Vivint $20 million in 2021, the company instituted changes it said would ensure good sales practices. Vivint also settled with the U.S. Department of Justice that year for $3 million.
Charlie Eblen, an attorney representing Alert 360, on Friday contended Vivint continues to use deception.
“So, as recently as 2022,” Eblen said in an interview, “obviously, the last summer selling season, there was still an uptick in complaints. So, notwithstanding all that's happened to Vivint over the years with [attorney generals] and DOJ actions and other competitor lawsuits, it was still occurring in 2022.”
Vivint has contended CPI and ADT also use deceptive tactics, though the jury rejected that argument in the CPI case. Vivint has said it intends to appeal the $189-million verdict.
Alert 360 filed the suit in its hometown of Tulsa. ADT’s lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in August in a federal courthouse in Miami.