Vivint Security?

[03ozwhip]

i searched but not much came up. i had a guy come to the door last night and show me what looked to be a great service and great product, but i know nothing about them aside from the fact that they changed heir name for obvious issues they had with their last name.

anyone have personal experiences or can say why or why i shouldnt go with these guys? thanks!

[Mixalot27]

Did you see these:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/vivint.aspx

http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/burglar-alarm-systems-dealers-monitoring-and-service/vivint-in-provo-ut-4002276

http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/vivint-apx-customer-reviews.html

[craigcd]

Pretty sure they just changed their name from another alarm company. They have been all over Airdrie lately- they were trying to hard sell my wife and wouldn’t leave her alone. We already have a system and they continued to keep selling- made me want to drive home from work and smack the guy.

Now when I am jogging I can see their signs all over the community. Makes me laugh that so many people decide on the spot that they NEED another monthly payment. Alarm companies and pyramid schemes are my pet peeve.

[03ozwhip]

Originally posted by Mixalot27
Did you see these:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/directory/vivint.aspx

http://www.bbb.org/utah/business-reviews/burglar-alarm-systems-dealers-monitoring-and-service/vivint-in-provo-ut-4002276

http://www.alarmsystemreviews.com/vivint-apx-customer-reviews.html

i did see those, but they were just awarded a JD POWER award and have been featured a few times in other mags etc. the thing is, every company no matter what is going to have some complaints, im just wondering if anyone on here has any from personal experience..

[superflychief]

We've had their system for a few mths now and it's been great. Free install and $49/mth monitoring. Touch screen 2way pannel, sensors on all the doors/windows, glass break sensors, alarm remotes so you can dis/arm from the car, you can even set the alarm from your smart phone/internet. We've had it go off a couple of times by accident and they have allways been great at first checking in over the touch pad and then calling the emergency numbers. You can also call emergency services by the push of a button on your key pad as well. If you press the polic/fire/ambulance buttons, the alarm company calls the emergency service instead of checking in with you first. We have no complaints at all and even the sales guys was nice and not pushy. I've heard complaints about every alarm company. Depends on the experience I guess. As for the added payment a mth, we have 2 small kids and the piece of mind we have, makes it worth it.

[03ozwhip]

^^thanks man! anyone else?

[SOAB]

i signed with them back when they were called APX. i pay $42/month for monitored 2 way voice, wireless sensors, etc.

they have been great anytime the alarm has gone off, whether it was false or real.

the direct connection with emergency services is great peace of mind.

[lilmira]

No complaint after more than two years. I have the alarm triggered a few times. Every time they would call the panel first then the contacts on the list that I provided to verify the situation. They asked me every time if I want to dispatch police. One time we were no where near the house when it happened and I told them to send police to check it out. They got there pretty quick. I did have to pay CPS 75 bucks since it was a false alarm. I don't mind it since we couldn't get there fast enough.

As long as you know what you are paying for, there's nothing wrong with it. A lot of the complaints are related to sales tactics and contract only. Yes it is an extra monthly payment for peace of mind. It's not entirely necessary.

[Bumjubeo]

I've had the APX/Vivint Alarm system for just over a year now.

I can't complain, it works well and it was cheap.

[LongCity]

For the people who say these guys keep pushing to sell even though you say no is because, or so I was told, with each alarm sold the employee who sold the unit to you makes $3-400/unit. Team leads make more and can make up to $80k in the 4 months between winter and fall semesters. Not sure how true this is but I have a friend whose boyfriend did it this summer.
It never made sense to me because they have ads everywhere on campus saying salesmen averaged 20k during the summer. If students can make that kind of cion over the break then there would be no need to advertise - the same people would be returning every summer...

[Myz]

I have them.
Felt pressurised when the dude kept pushing it on me.
Asked him to leave & give me some time to think bout it.
He threatened that i may lose out on the special offer & i said "so be it".

4 hours later & i called him back & agreed to the deal.

Can't say its a bad service though.
Had a few false alarms & they responded promptly.

[drtoohotty1]

Good friend of mine just signed up with them in his new house, pretty much the same experience everyone else has had, good service, totaly secure, really likes being able to wrok the alarm from their phones.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by drtoohotty1
Good friend of mine just signed up with them in his new house, pretty much the same experience everyone else has had, good service, totaly secure, really likes being able to wrok the alarm from their phones.

So, is it just a webpage interface for the alarm system?

[freshprince1]

It used to be called "APX Alarms".

They're a door to door security system sales company. I worked in the industry in the past as one of these sales guys. feel free to ask me any questions. I have a good friend who manages a team here, if you want to talk to someone who'll give you the straight goods.

It's not a scam. They're trained to be persuasive and persistent at the door, so many people just deem them scam artists. They used to sell contracts for larger companies like ADT, Brinks or Protection 1 who would buy the sold contracts off of them...hence the high commission payouts. I believe Vivint (formerly APX Alarms) now does their own monitoring and just pocket all the money instead of being a reseller of services.

The deal is you sign a 3 year contract, and pay the monthly monitoring fee and you get a security system hardware for free. They may dress it up as something else (i.e. put a sign at your house get a free system...etc) but that is what they're trying to set up.

If you're interested in a security system and don't want to break the bank, it's a good way to go.

Here's a few of the lines they use to secure a sale:

1. "It's a limited time offer", or, "I can only do 3-4 per street and they're selling fast". This is false. they'll sell as many as they can, anywhere, anything. This is a sales tactic called "building u rgency", makes you feel the need to act on the spot. Though, they usually focus on one area at a time and once all doors have been knocked, they will move on.

2. They'll try to get in your door to do a walkthrough of the house, to show you how they'd secure your home. This was awesome. If I could get in the door, I usually made the sale. Nothing bad happens, they just apint a picture of how secure your home would be and where the sensor would be. It makes the homeowner feel good about the purchase, building value. They might also try scare tactics, like if you have a sliding door, they'll tell you how vulnerbale those are for break-ins...etc.

...thats' all I can think of.

I'm happy to field questions on this topic from an former sales guy's experience.

[freshprince1]

Originally posted by LongCity
For the people who say these guys keep pushing to sell even though you say no is because, or so I was told, with each alarm sold the employee who sold the unit to you makes $3-400/unit. Team leads make more and can make up to $80k in the 4 months between winter and fall semesters. Not sure how true this is but I have a friend whose boyfriend did it this summer.
It never made sense to me because they have ads everywhere on campus saying salesmen averaged 20k during the summer. If students can make that kind of cion over the break then there would be no need to advertise - the same people would be returning every summer...

I did it a few years back and made $25K USD in one summer, that was above average, but nothing too special. It's brutal, long and exhausting work. I was offered an office of my own the following season but deciding to stay and finish school. It's crappy crappy work...getting beat up on the doors all day...but if you can sell, you make good money. Half of the people quit after their first few weeks because they don't have the consitution for it.

It's all about mastering the pitch and hitting a lot of doors in one day. I'd knock about 80-100 doors a day and sell about 5-6 systems a week. I probably could have done better, but I took a little time off here and there since we were working in a nice location.

[Moe Man]

800.216.5232

That is there support number, I dare anyone just to call and pretend you have an alarm system with them and just listen to how polite they are thru everything. Bad company or or not BEFORE they are AWESOME NOW !!!!!!!!!!

Like everyone ahead of me said I've had false alarm and before i knew it someone was on the 2way ask me for verification it was very satisfying knowing that it all works and fast!

[tech1]

just had mine installed today, seem to like it so far. i have 10 days to try it out and they will remove the entire system if its not what i need in my life.

[leftwing]

Originally posted by LongCity
For the people who say these guys keep pushing to sell even though you say no is because, or so I was told, with each alarm sold the employee who sold the unit to you makes $3-400/unit. Team leads make more and can make up to $80k in the 4 months between winter and fall semesters. Not sure how true this is but I have a friend whose boyfriend did it this summer.
It never made sense to me because they have ads everywhere on campus saying salesmen averaged 20k during the summer. If students can make that kind of cion over the break then there would be no need to advertise - the same people would be returning every summer...

I have a good friend who works for them. He has tried to get me to work for them but I have no interest, I even attended a recruitment meeting. They way they get paid is like this: They get $400 per unit they sell up to I think 75 units. Then when/if they surpass that, they then will get $600 per unit, BUT they also get retro payed for the previous 75 units at the $600. So they receive a bonus of $200 per unit for every unit they sold up to 75. Then the same happens at the next threshold and so on. They also often get perks like iphones, xboxes, big screen tv's etc.

* Im not sure on the exact numbers used ($400, $600) but I know it is right around there.

[BokCh0y]

They used to APX like everyone says, i think the old site is www.alarm.com but they are now vivint.

i've had their system for 2 years now, and no it is not a scam.

I pay $50/month for monitoring. Pretty swank system to be honest, i have not had any problems with them whatsoever. Support has been friendly and honest, very quick at responding to your needs and excellent customer service. I actually just had a 2nd keypad installed too. A lot of the add ons are wireless, so they don't have to run cables all over the house especially if they house is already finished building.

One feature i really like is that i can access the site from my cell or computer/tablet from pretty much anywhere, and i can arm and disarm or check the status of the system. So say i go out and forget the arm the alarm, no probs. Connect using my phone and voila, system armed. It also sends me email alerts when the system is armed, disarmed or if it goes off.

I think seriously good band for the buck and excellent peace of mind.

If you're gonna get the system, let them know a beyonder or your firend or someone referred you, i think there are kick backs for the person that referred as well.

[big A]

I have had them for 2-3 years and i agree with everyone else. I've had a few false alarms before they call someone out, I just get to the two way panel and tell them the info they ask for and everything is fine.

One day I came home from work to the alarm going off and I couldn't figure out why and soon the phone rang. It was the alarm company. So the time had passed and I missed the two way messaging, secondly they phone my cell which I must have not heard and third the home phone. While on the phone they asked me if everything was alright, I said I had no idea, I just arrived home. So they said they would wait online will I checked, so I did and it was all fine. They asked if there was anything I needed while I had them on the line, I said sure, tell me what set the alarm off. They told me it was the patio door. I checked that door and you could tell it had started to be pryed.

So with a guess on the timing of the break in without an alarm and me arriving home from work, would have put an intruder inside the home with me and him panicking and willing to do anything to get out.

So this proves wrong that other home security alarm thread thread that I keep seeing pop up here that says free security installs only help you sleep at night but are worthless.


Originally posted by BokCh0y
I actually just had a 2nd keypad installed too.

How were they for adding something after you were already on contract. I have the old control panel and would like that one everyone says you can control with your smart phone.

Now I don't mean to cause controversy but wasn't there , about a month ago, someone trying to hire installers and then the next post was someone put up a few bad examples of the company followed by a couple of pages of people saying "oh yeah in your face installer hirer".

[ekguy]

Had it when I lived in the basement suite at my sister's. It wasn't bad, didn't seem to have any problems with it. had it for a while too.

[BokCh0y]

Originally posted by big A
I have had them for 2-3 years and i agree with everyone else. I've had a few false alarms before they call someone out, I just get to the two way panel and tell them the info they ask for and everything is fine.

One day I came home from work to the alarm going off and I couldn't figure out why and soon the phone rang. It was the alarm company. So the time had passed and I missed the two way messaging, secondly they phone my cell which I must have not heard and third the home phone. While on the phone they asked me if everything was alright, I said I had no idea, I just arrived home. So they said they would wait online will I checked, so I did and it was all fine. They asked if there was anything I needed while I had them on the line, I said sure, tell me what set the alarm off. They told me it was the patio door. I checked that door and you could tell it had started to be pryed.

So with a guess on the timing of the break in without an alarm and me arriving home from work, would have put an intruder inside the home with me and him panicking and willing to do anything to get out.

So this proves wrong that other home security alarm thread thread that I keep seeing pop up here that says free security installs only help you sleep at night but are worthless.



How were they for adding something after you were already on contract. I have the old control panel and would like that one everyone says you can control with your smart phone.

Now I don't mean to cause controversy but wasn't there , about a month ago, someone trying to hire installers and then the next post was someone put up a few bad examples of the company followed by a couple of pages of people saying "oh yeah in your face installer hirer".

My main panel is the LCD one with the 2 way comms and 3g backup, it came with my system.

The 2nd keypad is really just a keypad. No lcd screen, just buttons. It comes in handy so we don't ahve to walk to the front of the house to take the pooch out, convenience factor to be honest.

The install was great, they cahrged me $59.95 for the pad and was supposed to for install. However the never mentioned to me about install charges so i let them know. They said no prob and waived that right away.

The customer service even after signing the contract has been amazing, no issues whatsoever.

[freshprince1]

It's a legit company and service, they just get a bad rep sometimes because the Sales approach is door to door and some (many) of them can be pushy and very hard to get off your doorstep (I used to be one).

If anyone has questions for a former sales guy, let me know.

[AzNxHyDrA]

I'm just bumping an old thread instead of starting my own. These guys just came over today and my parents signed up with them.

Has anyone encountered any problems with them recently? I don't want my parents to be stuck in a 3.5 year contract with a shitty insurance company. From what's been said in this thread, I'm feeling like it'll be okay but more reviews can't hurt.

Thanks

[drtoohotty1]

Buddy of mine has had his for about a year now and couldnt be happier, only thing that is kind of tricky is trying to people house sitting how to work it

[BokCh0y]

Been 2 years for me, maybe 3. No probs at all, love this thing. Excellent peace of mind. Customer service is still awesome, no complaints whatsoever.

[AzNxHyDrA]

Alright, thanks guys. That makes me feel a lot better haha.
Darn sales people convincing asian parents about promotions :poosie: always gets them.

[gogreen]

Originally posted by freshprince1
It's a legit company and service, they just get a bad rep sometimes because the Sales approach is door to door and some (many) of them can be pushy and very hard to get off your doorstep (I used to be one).

If anyone has questions for a former sales guy, let me know.

It's good to hear that the service is legitimate, but the sales tactics I encountered did nothing to instill confidence in their product. I would think they would tailor their approach based on how the potential customer reacts to the initial pitch, but after the high-pressure tactics didn't work he just walked off in a huff. I wasn't interested in signing up on the spot because I had never heard of them and wanted an opportunity to do my own research, but he seemed to find that offensive. Maybe because I declined to watch the promo video, but I honestly didn't want to waste his time if I wasn't ready to sign up right then and there. I did ask for his contact info several times but to no avail.

In all honesty I was suspicious right off the hop because he showed up less than 72 hours after a major house fire on our street. Clearly playing on fear, so I suspect he had a reasonably successful day.

[Canucks3322]

Just had one of these guys come by my house in Evanston, I don't usually answer doors because of salesmen but this guy was dressed like a contractor and I thought maybe it was important since there's still lots of houses around going up and maybe he was telling me a pipe burst or something...anyways the guy was polite and not pushy at all, I just told him I'd check it out on the web and it does look like something I'd sign up for, unfortunately for them, I have no kids or anything of value in my house and I could care less if someone breaks into it haha but if anyone is looking for a security system I'd definitely recommend....do other alarm companies have this control from your phone feature?

[dj_rice]

.

[03ozwhip]

well it's been a long time coming so I thought I'd update that I just got it installed in my new house today. 3 cameras, motions, glass break etc etc. it's pretty slick.

however, for you guys that have cameras, I was trying to check my cameras while I was out today for the live feed and nothing would load. I was on LTE and not wifi so I'm wondering if it doesn't work without being connected to wifi? that's not right, is it?

[Darell_n]

It depends on the internet connection at both ends, but both my cameras normally connect fairly quick on LTE.

[The_Penguin]

I have about 8 cameras, they all connect within about 4 seconds on all but the shittiest of connections. On LTE it's about 2 seconds.

[nj2Type-S]

bump!

i'm highly reconsidering getting vivint moreso now, after a family friend's home was broken into.

are there any here who just signed up? any incentive promos?

thanks!

[dj_rice]

If your signing up, use my referral code

ExploreControl7974


I think you get $100 and I get $100

[403ep3]

Lol had a guy called me about vivint. Told him I went with another and dbag just hung up lol

What service. Never going to bother with trying them in the future heh

[nos_efx]

Would recommend ThinkProtection as an alternative. I pay $18/month for monitoring. Works over WiFi and have a backup GSM module in the event the internet goes down. Would highly recommend it - have had it for the past 4 months, no contract - month-to-month service.

[Kavy]

Originally posted by 403ep3
Lol had a guy called me about vivint. Told him I went with another and dbag just hung up lol

What service. Never going to bother with trying them in the future heh

I actually had a rather similar experience. Sales guy was super nice when he was checking things out, did the typical get agreement sales method (you own the house right, you'll put up a sign right) to get me saying yes. I told him I needed to check with my current alarm company and asked him to come back. I called them to cancel and was informed I would have to wait till the end of the month for them to remove their equipment, fine no issues with that since I pay a month in advance anyways. The Vivant sales guy came back the next day I answered the door he was super friendly with small talk and then I said "I won't be able to sign" and before I could finish with the "till the end of the month" he interrupted and said "thanks for wasting my time" and starting walking away.

Needless to say that really soured me on the experience with the company.

[nj2Type-S]

i'm pretty close to signing up. $70/mo for 42 months that includes a doorbell cam, indoor cam and the automated lock.

how is the resolution on these cameras? is it worth getting the outdoor cameras installed?

i know people will always have something to complain about (especially in the states lol) which makes vivint's rating so low, but is the general consensus on here is that you guys are pleased with their services?

thanks again!

[dj_rice]

I'm pleased with their Service. Everytime I've called their Customer Service, its less than 1 min on hold, they always fix my issues. Fast and prompt. I've requested numerous signs, LED sign lights etc and they always send on Fedex to me no charges.


Shitty to hear their door to door tactics are bad though.

[03ozwhip]

Originally posted by nj2Type-S
i'm pretty close to signing up. $70/mo for 42 months that includes a doorbell cam, indoor cam and the automated lock.

how is the resolution on these cameras? is it worth getting the outdoor cameras installed?

i know people will always have something to complain about (especially in the states lol) which makes vivint's rating so low, but is the general consensus on here is that you guys are pleased with their services?

thanks again!
I have all of that. I just had an issue with all of my cameras going offline for some reason, I called them up and they fixed it right away, barely a wait time and the guy was super professional.

so far, I don't have anything to complain about. the quality of the cams is pretty damn good.

[nj2Type-S]

thanks for the replies. may i ask which area of the city you guys are in?