Vivint Alarm Systems APX Alarm Systems Alarm System Scamming Internet

An alarm system is purchased to protect your family, your house and your belongings.  It is a peace of mind, something that reduces stress and worries.  However, my personal experience with the purchase of APX, now Vivint, alarm systems has been anything but peaceful.  I would rather leave my door unlocked and open to the outside world rather than have to deal with this scamming company again.  I will share with you my personal experience with APX, now Vivint alarm system company.

In the summer of 2010 I was approached by a young man wanting to sale the services of APX.  I told him I was not interested in any type of system at the time.  Money was tight, I was trying to finish up school and work full time.  I told him I may be interested in the future though and to leave his card (he didnt have any).  He went on to tell me that there had been some recent burglaries just up the street in my neighborhood and my neighbors were putting in the systems.  Having a four year old, this concerned me.  He then virtually forced his way into my home to tell me my house was vulnerable to intruders.  He proceeded to show me how easy it would be to enter in the rear of the home at the sliding glass door.  He said since I lived so close to the interstate anyone could jump the privacy fence and break into my home.  He added with todays times, people are desperate and will do anything.  He then proceeded to tell me some intruders in the area tied up there victims but luckily they lived through it and may not have occurred if they had a system in place.  By this point his scare tactics started to work and he did a good job with his sales pitch.  However, I told him I was busy and not interested at the current time.


A couple days later he approached once again as I was leaving for out of town.  He said if I signed up that day they would install the equipment for free which was approximately a $1000 discount and would sign me up for the low $48.99 monthly price, but it was a onetime offer price.  I told the young man I would not be living in the home much longer and if I could cancel it if need be or transfer to the new residence.  He said there would be no charge for cancelling service or transferring the service to my new residence.  I was in a hurry to leave; I signed the papers and took his word for it.  He had another guy in and out of there installing the equipment.  It took no more than an hour or so to complete the install.
While I had the system, a couple false alarms occurred.  The police showed up but it was a false alarm.  I am not sure if there was a malfunction with the system, but I got a letter in the mail that the next time the police visited the residence there would be a charge. 
I had the system until June 2011.  I contacted the new Vivint and told them I was moving and the new residence I was moving into already had an alarm system.  The customer service representative told me to fax in a letter with my current address, my new address, reason for cancellation, sign and date.  I followed the instructions and thought this had all been taken care of back in June 2011. 
In summer of 2011, I noticed Vivint was taken money out of my account still.  I called and left messages 4 different times and no one called me back.  At the time I was very busy, new home, planning a wedding, new job, etc.  and I had forgotten about the deduction altogether.
November 2011, I closed my old bank account and my wife and I started a new bank account together.  I get a letter in the mail from Vivint stating the automatic withdrawal did not go through (because I had closed accounts).  I was shocked to say the least.  They had been withdrawing money from my account since June and here it was December. I did not live in the house, I did not have the system and I was under the impression that the alarm system had been cancelled.  I wrote an email in December 2011 and got a response stating someone would contact me.  I since then had written 4 more emails and never gotten any response.  I never had any voice messages from the company, no emails, etc.


I finally contacted the company this February and they said I owed them for the remainder of the contract which was around $1200.  I told them I was under the understanding the service was cancelled back in June 2011 and I did not have the extra money to be shelling out for something I did not have.  I was also under the impression that the service could be cancelled at my will per their sales representative.  They gave me three options.  I could pay the remainder, find someone else to take over the contract or have Vivint install a new system in my home and sign up for a new contract.  I told them absolutely not, I did not want to be in any type of business relationship with them again.


Customer service is poor, sales representation is a scam.  I have since researched the company and have noticed they have thousands of complaints filed against them through the Better Business Bureau.  I am not sure how my case will end up but I want all those to be AWARE of this company and how they treat their customers.   It is a SCAMMING company.  I question the reason why they changed their name to Vivint in the first place.  APX is who approached me.  Their reputation will be their demise.   Here are some of the things I have found out about this company.  Actions speak louder than words.  I have filed with the Better Business Bureau and now contacting my State Attorney General on these crooks.  Please share your experience and hopefully my experience helps some of those out there who are looking for an alarm system service.  Good luck.

http://vivintalarmsystemsformerlyapx.blogspot.com/2012/02/vivint-alarm-systems-formerly-know-as.html