Vivint Settlement: $1,056 Average Payments for Misused Credit Reports

Who qualifies

• The people this money is for did not sign up for Vivint's home security and monitoring services but had a Vivint account opened in their name between 2016 and 2019.
• The two most common ways people discovered it: a Vivint account appeared on their credit report, or a debt collector contacted them about a Vivint account they had never opened.
• Being added as a co-signer without your permission also counts. The FTC alleged Vivint representatives asked customers to name someone they knew with better credit — often a relative — and added that person to the account without consent.
• Actual Vivint customers who signed up for service themselves are not the group this fund was for, even if they had a billing dispute.
• The formal deadline to submit a claim was October 9, 2023. The FTC's refund page for this case nonetheless states that you can still apply and directs people to call the administrator at 1-833-472-1996 for information.
• More than $4.7 million was set aside for claims and only about $500,000 has been distributed, and the FTC said in December 2024 that it would distribute additional funds at a later date — so the fund is not exhausted.

The Vivint settlement — what happened, and how to ask about a payment

1. 1

   How Vivint sold home security

   Vivint, a Utah-based smart home security and monitoring company, sold its devices and monitoring services through door-to-door sales representatives working on a commission-only basis. Customers financed the equipment, which meant each sale depended on a credit check.

2. 2

   "White paging" — using a stranger's credit history

   According to the FTC's complaint, when a potential customer failed the initial credit check, some Vivint sales representatives used a process known as "white paging": finding another consumer with the same or a similar name on the White Pages app and using that person's credit history to qualify the unqualified customer. The innocent third party never knew.

3. 3

   Co-signers added without permission

   The FTC also alleged that representatives sometimes asked customers to name someone they knew with better credit, such as a relative, then added that person to the account as a co-signer without their permission and used their credit history to qualify the sale.

4. 4

   Why strangers started hearing from debt collectors

   When a customer who had been qualified this way later defaulted, Vivint referred the innocent third party to its debt buyer. That potentially damaged the third party's credit and exposed them to debt collection for an account they never opened. Many people who were contacted this way complained to the FTC that they were victims of identity theft.

5. 5

   The FTC said Vivint knew

   The complaint alleged Vivint was aware of the problem and in fact terminated many sales representatives for this misconduct — only to rehire some of them shortly afterward.

6. 6

   April 2021 — a $20 million judgment, but only $5 million for consumers

   The Department of Justice filed the complaint and stipulated final order on the FTC's behalf in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Vivint agreed to pay $15 million as a civil penalty, which goes to the U.S. Treasury and not to consumers, plus $5 million to compensate injured people. It was the largest monetary judgment in an FTC Fair Credit Reporting Act case at the time. The Commission vote was 4-0, with a separate statement from Commissioner Rohit Chopra.

7. 7

   What Vivint had to change

   Beyond the money, the order required Vivint to implement an employee monitoring and training program and an identity theft prevention program, as required under the FTC's Red Flags Rule. It had to establish a customer service task force to verify that an account belongs to the right person before referring it to a debt collector, and to help consumers who had been improperly referred. Vivint must also obtain biennial assessments by an independent third party confirming FCRA compliance.

8. 8

   August 2023 — the claims process opens, and most people never file

   The FTC sent notices to more than 9,000 people who might be eligible, about 1,400 of them by email, with a deadline of October 9, 2023. More than $4.7 million was available. In the end only 470 valid claims were paid — roughly one in twenty of the people notified.

9. 9

   December 2024 — the first payments, averaging $1,056

   The FTC sent 470 checks totaling nearly $500,000, with a 90-day cashing window and an average payment of $1,056. The agency described this as its first round in the matter and said it would distribute additional funds at a later date, which means roughly $4.2 million of the claims fund has still not reached anyone.

10. 10

    How to ask about a payment now

    Call Rust Consulting at 1-833-472-1996 or email admin@vivintrefund.com. The FTC's refund page for this case explicitly says you can still apply and to contact the administrator for information on how. Have ready the dates you saw a Vivint account on your credit report or were contacted by a collector. The FTC never charges a fee and never asks you to transfer money or hand over bank account details to release a refund — nobody legitimate will ask for that.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and official records

Every figure and date on this page was taken from the primary records below — court dockets, agency releases, and the settlement administrator's own notices. Payout averages we describe as averages are calculated from the official totals, not reported per-person estimates.

• FTC — Vivint Smart Home Settlement refund page (states you can still apply; eligibility 2016–2019)
• FTC press release — the $20 million judgment split into a $15M penalty and $5M for consumers, and the "white paging" allegations
• FTC press release — claims process announced, over 9,000 notices, more than $4.7 million available, October 9 2023 deadline
• FTC press release — December 2024 first round: 470 checks, average payment $1,056, additional funds to follow
• FTC case record — Vivint Smart Home, Inc., File No. 192-3060