Penalty Amount
$20,000,000
Consumers Affected
9,000
The FTC settled with Vivint Smart Home, Inc. for misusing consumer credit reports to qualify customers for financing without permission, harming innocent third parties' credit. Vivint agreed to pay $20 million, with over $4.7 million for consumer compensation, and established a Customer Service Task Force.
Vivint must pay $20 million in total, with more than $4.7 million allocated for consumer compensation through a claims process, and establish a Customer Service Task Force to assist affected consumers.
In-house legal teams should review customer financing agreements, vendor contracts with financing partners, and sales representative guidelines/scripts. Key clauses to examine include: (1) credit check authorization provisions to ensure explicit, documented consent is obtained from the correct individual before pulling a credit report; (2) data sharing and third-party beneficiary clauses to prevent unauthorized use of another person's credit information; (3) cosigner or guarantor agreement terms to verify separate, informed consent is obtained from the cosigner; (4) representations and warranties regarding Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance; and (5) audit rights to monitor FCRA adherence. Changes may be needed to mandate identity verification procedures that do not rely on substituting or adding third-party credit data, implement separate consent mechanisms for cosigners, and strengthen compliance certifications with specific FCRA requirements.
Entity
Vivint Smart Home, Inc.
Also known as: Vivint
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/08/ftc-announces-claims-process-consumers-whose-credit-reports-were-misused-home-security-firm-vivint
Vivint
https://www.ftc.gov/Vivint
smart home monitoring company vivint will pay 20 million set
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2021/04/smart-home-monitoring-company-vivint-will-pay-20-million-settle-ftc-charges-it-misused-consumer
Federal Trade Commission Enforcement Page
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement
"Vivint Smart Home, Inc."
"pay a total of $20 million"
"Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)"
"using the credit history of another person with a similar name or adding a friend or relative of the customer as cosigner without their permission"
"2021/04/"
$750K
The FTC finalized an order against Vanilla Chip LLC (doing business as TruHeight) and its principals for deceptively advertising height-enhancing supplements for children and teens without scientific evidence. The company also used fake reviews and incentivized 5-star ratings. The order requires a $750,000 payment and prohibits false health claims and deceptive review practices.
$2.3M
The FTC alleged that RentGrow, a tenant screening company, violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by failing to use reasonable procedures to ensure the accuracy of its reports, including by reporting duplicate records and failing to disclose data sources. RentGrow agreed to pay a $2.25 million penalty and is prohibited from further FCRA violations and from misrepresenting dispute outcomes.
The FTC and New York Attorney General took action against Handy Technologies for deceptive earnings claims and failure to disclose fees and fines that led to millions of dollars being withheld from workers' wages. The FTC is sending over $2.7 million in refunds to 62,893 affected consumers.
$35.0M
The FTC alleged that Hopper, a travel booking app, charged consumers hidden and pre-selected fees (Tip and VIP Support) without their consent, misrepresented the benefits of VIP Support and Price Freeze services, and failed to clearly disclose total prices. Hopper agreed to pay $35 million for consumer redress and is prohibited from misrepresenting fees under a proposed order.
$1.5M
The FTC finalized a settlement with Publishing.com LLC and its principals for misleading consumers about potential earnings from self-publishing products. The company will pay $1.5 million and is prohibited from making unsubstantiated earnings claims, failing to disclose refund terms, and misrepresenting endorsements and reviews.
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