Vivent Home Security Vivent retains customers by trickery, which should be a crime. They don't inform you that you must cancel in writing and then extend your contract for another year. DO NOT sign a contract with Viven , Internet

The practice of requiring written authorization to cancel a service in order to prevent the company from entering a customer into a new contract is completely unethical. Simply informing them by phone of one's wish to cancel is sufficient notice to prevent the automatic creation of a new contract. Once you have expressed the desire to discontinue the service in any form of communication, the company has been made aware of your intent. Trying to force someone into a contract after they have expressed a desire to cancel the service in any form of communication is a deliberate attempt to abuse contract language to take advantage of a consumer. In truth, any such language in a contract, that states a new contract that the company will not cancel will automatically be created if the customer doesn't express intent not to renew their contract, is unethical. It assumes the company can enter its customer into a new contract without their expressed, written consent.

Using contract language in a previous contract to justify the creation of a new contract without expressed consent from both parties is problematic at best. Consider situations such as deceased persons entering into a new contract because they did not write a letter of intent to cancel from their graves or hospitalization of a person who is incapable of providing this written notification. If the company wishes to be ethical, simply start an open-ended contract that requires notice to be given a certain period of time prior to the end date, such 1 or 2 months prior to the date a customer wishes to end the service. Using the contract language they currently employ is an obvious attempt to force customers into a year of extended service against their will, simply because they failed to give notice - not just any notice, but specifically written notice.

Even if the above wasn't self-explanatory, vivint has been known to have sudden and impossibly long downtimes on their email servers. Then, they are reported to suddenly be unable to accept faxes because the line is busy or down. Essentially, customers have claimed that the company requires written communication to cancel service and then doesn't provide a working means of receiving these written notices. A simple Google search for the company's name will reveal numerous consumer warnings from various sources regarding this company's unethical practices - specifically claims that the company is unreachable at times through any channel of communication it is willing to accept when trying to provide the written notice that it requires.

Citizens of the U.S. have the right and the ability to prevent such language from being used against them via legislation. Furthermore, they have the right to warn others of these abusive/predatory business practices.

It appears the best way to cancel a contract with vivint is with a written letter from your attorney delivered by USPS. That may have the highest success rate. 

2.4 TERM FOR SERVICES.  THE ORIGINAL TERM OF THIS AGREEMENT STARTS ON THE DAY THIS AGREEMENT IS SIGNED AND CONTINUES FOR FORTY-TWO (42) MONTHS, AND WILL AUTOMATICALLY CONTINUE FROM YEAR TO YEAR THEREAFTER UNLESS CANCELLED BY EITHER OF US IN WRITING NO LATER THAN THIRTY (30) DAYS BEFORE THE END OF THE ORIGINAL TERM OR ANY RENEWAL TERM.

This is EXACTLY as on my contract including underlining, boldface and all caps.

It's very plain on the page.

You must have forgotten reading this before you signed the contract....you DID read it, right?

What's NOT to understand?

No Ripoff here on Vivint's part..you did it to yourself.

Mark your calendar so you can properly cancel when the new term is up.

I have found their service to be good, support very good and they have lived up to the agreement I signed with them over two years ago.

"I was not informed by her that I needed to submit a cancellation notice in writing."

That is specifically what the contract is for...to spell out ALL term for both parties.

Why would they then have to explain it to you?

"Vivent retains its customers by trickery."

Let me help you rewrite the above to reflect the actual happening..

Vivent retains its customers by customer stupidity...there much more accurate.