American Satellite Company Ripping of senior citizens for 72 hours of television! Holladay Utah
18 months ago my two eldery grandparents, one in a wheelchair and antoher on oxygen, signed up for Direct TV. They were sick and tired of Dish and wanted something new, so they signed up for Direct TV. The guy that came out to hook up the material & took about 2 hours to hook up the new equipment, which was quite speedy if you ask me. However, my grandparents were not happy with how the layout of Direct TV was laid out with the programming and the installer told them "use it for the weekend and if you don't like it, I will come back out unhook it to no charge of you." My grandparent did give it the weekend that he suggested and still were not happy with the service. My grandmother immediately contacted Direct TV and told them that she was not happy with the service and she wanted to cancel her programming. The lady on the phone implied that she was sorry to hear that and that they would send out the installer to unhook it all. My grandmother asked about any bills and she told her that there wouldn't be any. So the installer came out Monday to unhook it and hooked dish network back up for them. 18 months later they received a bill for $499.00. Needless to say, they were both outraged and quite frankly so was I. I calledl them immediately and asked them what this outrages bill was about and the guy on the phone said that it was from Direct TV. I told them that they only had it for 3 days and it was not worth $499.00 and that they need to reverse the charges. He implied that he would not. I told them that 72 hours of television was not worth $499.00 and that they nor I would be paying for it. He kept asking for a credit card number and I was so frustrated that I hung up on him. I called Direct TV the following days and asked what this was all about and the customer service represenative told me that she had never heard of the forementioned company and "NOT TO PAY THE BILL." I said ok, and then I called up American Satellite Co. again and talked to a woman named Kathy. She put me on hold for a few minutes while she pulled up the file and said that my grandparents need to pay up or it would end in litigation. I told her that I had contacted customer serivce at Direct TV and they had never heard of this company. She got really snotty and said that Direct TV would never say that about "this" company and put me back on hold for an additional minutes. After about 3 minutes she came back on the phone and said that she was sorry that my grandparents got the bill and that they would take her name of the list of getting billed. Now this was March 20th and within that time frame, my grandparents have received 3 more letters from this company. I called them again and they said that they had already taken her name off the list, however, they still keep sending her bills. The last bill she received was just last week and it had stated that they were going to start litigation towards her to collect the bill. I called them up and started harrassing them just as they were harrassing my grandparents. This company is a joke and needs to be taken to court in order for them to stop doing this to senior citizens.
Michboy24
Battle Creek, Michigan
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
JMan316
United States of AmericaAmerican Satellite Company isnt a ripoff
#4UPDATE Employee
Tue, February 23, 2010
American Satellite Company is partnered with Directv, If there was a Customer Service Rep saying that they dont know the American Satellite Company then they must be a new rep. American Satellite Company has been around for a very long time.
The problem that happened is: The installer was not telling the entire information, in order to get Directv service, the Customer MUST accept to sign a 24 month contract, If you disconnect the service before the contract is up, you will have to pay the full amount of Contract. The price is $479.76, add the disconnection fee and that will bring the bill up to 499.
Example: If you rent an apartment, and you just up and move out before your lease is up you would have the pay the apartment manager for the full length of the lease
It's not the Company's fault, its the Installer that was in the wrong.
If you sign a contract and discontinue the service you will still have to pay for the full length of the contract, It will even say that in every contract that you will be signing. So No, American Satellite Company is Not a ripoff! Start reading before you sign anything.
JMan316
Lawrence
seattle,Washington,
United States of America
Even good companies make mistakes
#4Consumer Comment
Tue, January 12, 2010
There is only one other complaint about this companie and honestly this really does sound like a honest error(lets not be so harsh
Bobbyj
Zeeland,Michigan,
U.S.A.
Honestly, that's not much of a rip-off
#4Consumer Suggestion
Wed, May 06, 2009
First of all, I would like to say I also live in Mich. roughly 45 mins away from Battle Creek. One afternoon I was approached as I was doing some yard work, by a sharp looking young man in khakis and a gray polo.
Now I'm a rather tech-savvy guy and he could tell as we were discussing the new equipment he would be setting us up with. I asked a few questions about the company and answered every single one of them.
I too was a little uneasy about making the switch, from Dish to Directv, (also they did Directv to Dish at the time). Apparently, according to my more recent research the company has actually dropped Dish due to lack of sales, and recurring customer problems, (from people that have switched to Directv to Dish). However, the sales rep reassured me that there really isn't too much of a difference between the two companies as far as the customer experience goes, (obviously I'm aware that they are two different companies). He also explained that there are a few differences, including price, he ended up saving me $14.00 on my regular and the current promotion Directv was offering THROUGH THEM was $23.00 off my monthly bill for a year, this was exclusive through American Satellite.
Now just as the other person reported I was a bit uneasy about giving this kid my information, and all of the other stuff he asked for. So, he gave me a "Retailer ID" which was on his ID card issued by American Satellite. He insisted that I call Directv or Dish right then and there, and ask the representative over the phone if they could verify that the "Retailer ID" was valid. Of course, if you call and ask for the retailer by name the customer service rep is not gonna know who they are of what it is... THERE'S THOUSANDS NATION WIDE.
And as far as your grandparents getting charged, the company has every right to. The young man that signed me up was sure to notify me that there was no 30 day grace period, and that once it was installed I had to keep it for the commitment term or else there was a flat fee through American Satellite if it occurred within the first year, and roughly $12 for every month remaining in the contract through Directv.
American Satellite is not a fraudulent company, and they most definitely aren't scamming people. They helped me save $37 a month for a year, and then my bill is still cheaper than my DishNetwork bill even after the promotional rate, and I have a larger channel package. American Satellite is a Directv retailer, that's it, and that's all.