A newly minted Woodstock flower farmer contacted NBC5 Responds after he ran into issues with his home security system, and he says for two years, the problems were not resolved.
Jack Blanton and his wife Stacey decided to make the trade of city life for country living back in 2020, after he sold his city plumbing business and moved to a 14-acre picturesque farm located 60 miles northwest of Chicago.
“We decided that we were going to find a farm and build a flower farm,” Jack Blanton proudly told NBC5. “Blanton’s blossoms… It's our next chapter in life. It's been a long journey.”
Along with their new slice of paradise, the former city folk also sought security and decided to sign up with Vivint Home Security in August 2020 for the works: Cameras, door sensors, and a main console to connect it all.
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“Being out here in the country like this, I thought security was going to be really important,” Blanton said.
Blanton said he thought his money was well spent, until the moment the technicians left his new home.
“They put the whole system in. They did everything that they were supposed to do,” Blanton recalled. “That's when everything started going bad.”
Bad, Blanton said, as in door sensors that said clearly closed doors were open, and his main console beeping day and night, for no apparent reason.
Blanton said his calls and visits from Vivint’s technicians resulted in no results, but a lot of finger pointing.
“The second guy came out and he told me that everything that the first guy did was wrong, and he was going to fix it,” Blanton said. “The third guy came out and said that everything the second guy did was wrong.”
Despite the visits from technicians, Blanton said the system still had problems.
On one visit, Blanton recalled a technician even tried to upgrade his system for an additional $1,470 charge.
Given that the basics were not working yet, Blanton said he declined. But days later, he said he was charged anyways.
“Two days later, my wife said to me, ‘What did you buy from Vivint?’ And I said, ‘I didn't buy anything,’” Blanton recalled. “She was like, ‘Well, they deducted $1,470 from the account.’”
Blanton said it was a customer service headache, and he’s not the only one to say that.
Vivint Smart Home has a “D” grade from the Better Business Bureau, brought on by 5,209 consumer complaints since 2019, according to the consumer organization.
Many of those complaints cite home security systems that didn’t work for extended periods of time, as well as unauthorized upgrades.
NBC5 Responds shared that information with Vivint Smart Home, but they did not comment on the BBB’s grade, or the consumer complaints.
Reading the reviews did not help Blanton’s misery, he said
“You gave me a system that doesn't work and you don't care,” Blanton said. “I think you should just give me back my money and I'll find somebody else to take care of it.”
After two years, the frustrated flower farmer said he felt his calls and emails to Vivint were going nowhere. That’s when he contacted NBC5 Responds for help.
Vivint Smart Home immediately responded.
“The very next day after you guys call them, the very next day, somebody from, I think she said she was [in the] escalation department, called, apologized to me, said immediately she was going to refund me the $1,470,” Blanton said.
Blanton was refunded for that unwanted upgrade, as well as all the cash he’s paid Vivint up to this point in his contract, in all, totaling more than $4,000 refunded.
The company also told him he could keep all of their equipment.
A spokesperson for Vivint told NBC5, “When this situation was brought to our attention, Vivint Smart Home worked closely with the customer to address their concerns. We are committed to delivering exceptional service to all Vivint Smart Home customers and the Company has provided a full refund for the amount paid to date.”
For Jack and Stacey Blanton, they learned that even with their new, quiet country comforts, sometimes, you still have to make some noise.
“I learned that apparently the squeaky wheel gets oiled,” Blanton said. “I think it's very sad that it had to be that way. But at some point, what do you do?”
