SALT LAKE CITY — The state of Arizona and Vivint Smart Home have settled a case that the attorney general there called “false representations to induce customers to sign a contract.”
Provo-based Vivint has agreed to pay Arizona $325,000 in penalties and legal fees. It also has agreed to pay another $75,000 in restitution to customers.
Any Vivint customer in Arizona who thinks they are entitled to restitution has until June 30 to file a complaint. They can be submitted here.
Vivint Smart Home is a home security and monitoring company that over the years, has received penalties or entered into agreements to stop deceptive sales practices in at least a dozen states.
In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission announced a $20 million settlement with Vivint. Among the allegations, in that case, was that Vivint staff were using what one FTC commissioner referred to as “identity theft” to use the credit histories of people who did not consent to sign up for an account or be co-signers.
Lee Ward, of Kingman, Arizona, says he’s a Vivint customer who complained to the Arizona attorney general.
“And Vivint came by and said they can do it for about $44.95 a month -- around that ballpark,” Ward said. “So I said, okay, yeah. So I signed up, it jumped at almost $80 a month.”
“The service is good,” Ward added. “It's just the overpricing and the deception of the product.”
Ward is hoping to recoup perhaps $2,000.
“I believe it'd be fair,” Ward said.
A Vivint spokesperson issued a statement saying:
“We are pleased to have resolved the matter with the Arizona Attorney General’s office and are grateful to move forward from an investigation that began more than seven years ago. We are committed to operating with integrity and delivering exceptional service to Vivint Smart Home customers in Arizona."