Why am I forced to upgrade my Vivint system?

[kinncj]

Hi,

Yesterday I had a message showing up on my Vivint's display "Urgent: Account upgrade required, call #phone number #".

After calling Telus, I was informed that I needed to upgrade the system and account, which would cost me money... both the system, and a new account..
I've acquired my current system in 2022 with Vivint prior to the acquisition, a total of 25 devices (4k dollars in equipment) and a 60mo contract.
During the acquisition, the letter stated that no changes would happen to my plan... it was just the billing transitioning from Vivint to Telus

First month under Telus and it increased by 4 dollars... ok, no notice nor anything... but 4 dollars wouldn't change anything... and now I am asked to upgrade my system...

Why am I forced to upgrade my account and spend extra on top of my 2yo devices and go with a more expensive plan? if I was to quit, I would be forced to pay the contractual fees... and now you want to force me to spend even more money? no matter if I quit or I stay, I need to pay cash regardless... either a penalty, or a forced upgrade (upsell).

A few calls with customer support already and no resolution... keep sending me to the "custom security for residential" cuz "residential" claims I have too many sensors (noted, cameras are accounted as sensors) and no resolution.

What a ripoff

[TELUS_Support]

Hi @kinncj - I understand that you may not want to upgrade. Unfortunately we won't have more information here in the Neighbourhood as to why you need to upgrade, however, we can get you in touch with our team that will be able to explain further.

If you do want us to connect you, please send us a private message

[kinncj]

Yeah, it didn't solve my issues, tho.
It seems that nothing Vivint had setup before is compatible to Alarm dot com...

So, for me to migrate to Telus, I need new equipment... which makes no sense; why would you acquire Vivint and scam the customer base to acquire new hardware? 

In 3y my Vivint contract will be expired, I will have a 4yo system which in my opinion is NEW, 4k investment, and I will be left hanging with no support and no monitoring cuz ADT/Telus won't support my devices despite them acquiring VIVINT!

You guys don't do any due diligence on your acquisitions to know whether it will work or not?

[kinncj]

still no resolution @TELUS_Support , what a mess

[kinncj]

still no resolution, and now the cellular network stopped working.

[Joni22]

I recently moved over to Telus from Vivint as well and they tried to tell me I needed to upgrade my equipment too. I told them I would not be spending any money as a result of their acquisition of Vivint as all my equipment was working just fine. I also mentionted that their announcement indicated that we would see no change except for the billing.  They then offered to replace all my equipment at "no cost", but when we went through in detail what they would be sending, it wasn't as many sensors as I have with my Vivint system. My bill has stayed the exact same from when I was with Vivint but I am not sure how long this will last. Since the switch now my system has nothing but issues and even had a false alarm in the middle of the night as a result of their firmware and system updates not working properly.  Very, very angry about this move from Vivint to Telus as well.  They missed a lot during their "due dilligence"  

Might be able to complain to the Competition bureau of Canada regarding this.  

[Cymba]

I am in the same position. I was told that I have to purchase $2500 worth of equipment because the vivint equipment wont communicate with the new panel i need to purchase from telus. Why would you purchase a company that your equipment cant communicate with. Maybe to force your customers to buy new equipment ? I also was told nothing would change as far as my monthly fees except the tech says my bill will be over double for the same service I'm receiving now. This should be illegal!

[kinncj · Accepted solution]

Perhaps it's time to organize a class action lawsuit.

[TELUS_Support]

Hey, Cymba. Your best bet would be to discuss this directly with our SmartHome team. Feel free to send us a private message if you'd like for us to connect you.

[kinncj]

it won't work as the vivint sensors and cameras are proprietary... you should know better.

[mayop]

I didn't even get any notification (written or verbal) that I would need to upgrade my hardware. Then yesterday my panel gave a "radio modem network failure" message and was no longer connected to the network. After being on the phone for 3.5 hours, I was told I need to upgrade all my hardware and lock into a 3 year contract. I promptly told them no and to terminate my account immediately since the service is now disconnected.

I have a local alarm company who will swap the panel and use all the Vivint hardware I have. It will be cheaper than Telus with no contact.

[kinncj]

which company? I was told the cameras are proprietary.

[mayop]

lssecurity but I only have door and window sensors along with a CO2 and smoke detector

[kinncj]

which company? I was told the cameras are proprietary.