Prime TV Satellite Television Systems consumer rip-off fraud Southern Pines North Carolina *UPSATE
Never sent promised rebate for installation .....
I was contacted by Prime TV in August of 2002. They were raving about what a good deal they could give me on a satellite system. They said that when my system was delivered it would have a coupon voucher included in the package that I would hand over to the person performing the installation, which would cover the installation costs. When the package arrived and McKnight Electronics came to install the system, they stated that I would have to pay them the $140.00 installation fee.
I told them that Prime TV stated that I was to give him the coupon voucher for the installation. It was soon realized that I was to pay for the initial installation fee up front and then Prime TV would mail me a rebate check in the mail 6 to 8 weeks after approval. I paid McKnight Electronics the $140.00 installation fee and mailed Prime TV all the paperwork that they requested in order to process my rebate.
After waiting for almost four months and not receiving the rebate check, I contacted Prime TV over the phone. At first I was told that it was an oversite on their part and that my account had been flagged and the check would be "rushed" to my home in a couple of weeks. I felt satisfied by this and waited a few weeks. I never received the check. On November 26, 2002 I again contacted Prime TV and was promised by "Sharon" that I would receive my check in the mail no later than December 13, 2002. I was beginning to become frustrated at this point and asked to speak to the supervisor. I was told that I could not speak to the manager unless the check didn't mail out after a few more weeks.
I contacted Prime TV on December 12, 2002 and was told that the check had not yet been issued a check number and that it may take a few weeks before I received it. At this point I was pissed and once again asked to speak to the manager. I was transferred to voice mail and left a descriptive message outlining the problem. My call was never returned.
On December 16, 2002 I again contacted Prime TV and spoke to the "floor supervisor Sharon." Obviously notes are kept on their computer everytime they talk to someone because she put me on hold for a few minutes and was familiar with my problem. She was the one that had promised I would receive my check no later than December 13, 2002. I told her that I wanted to speak to her supervisor and she stated that no one could do that. She could only transfer me to his voice mail. I knew this was a deadend because I had already tried this once before.
She told me that the check still had not been issued a check number and she stated that she couldn't tell me anything else. She suggested that I wait a few more weeks to see if it would mail out. I told her that was unacceptable and that the check needed to be issued the next business day. It has been over four months now and I have still not received my promised rebate. It's been over double the amount of time the paperwork stated that it would take to receive the check.
I told "Sharon" that it seemed as though the only way that I might get my money back is if I were to file a civil lawsuit against them. She stated, "You have that option" as if she had spoken that line many times before. Everytime that I have contacted them, I have received the "run-a-round." I would STRONGLY suggest that if you are looking to do business with this "business" NOT TO! They are rip-offs and have probably scammed many many more people besides myself.
David
Pooler, Georgia
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Rebate Check Recieved
#30
Fri, January 17, 2003
The last time that I spoke to a "floor supervisor" I mentioned that I had figured our the company's scheme. I also mentioned that I had already contacted the North Carolina Attorney General's Office. I was immediately transferred to voice mail and hung up, because I already knew that my call would not be returned. Last week, I received my rebate check, and interestingly enough...the check was printed just three days after I mentioned the Attorney General. If you are having the same kinds of problems that I had, it might be in your best interest to contact the Attorney General's Office of North Carolina. I visited their website and sent an email which outlined my problem. They quickly returned my call and I was advised that they had several complaints against Prime TV and that they were familiar with them.
PrimeTV Ripoff Continues *UPDATE
#30
Fri, December 27, 2002
I called back on December 17, 2002 and left a second message for the manager Jeff Hess. As usual, my call has still not been returned. On December 24, 2002 I called again and spoke with Candice. She gave me the same line that everyone else is trained to give about not yet having a check number in the system and maybe it will be issued next week. I asked to speak to the floor supervisor "Sharon" again and I was transferred. This time however, I got a different floor supervisor named Jason. He to gave me the same run-a-round.
After arguing with him for a few minutes, he stated that he would "hand-deliver" my information to the accounting department and that my check would be issued ASAP. He also stated that more than likely my check had already been mailed, but the system hadn't updated yet. He told me to check back in two days to see if it had mailed out. Of course, this would buy them more time.
I called back on December 27, 2002 and first spoke to TC. She to said, "I'm sorry sir, I don't see where a check number has been assigned to this account. You may want to wait until next week to see if it will be issued." I finally lost it with these people and got ugly. I told her to put her supervisor on the phone. "Tonya" answered my call and stated that she was the supervisor on duty. I was angry, but explained my frustration in detail. She was definetely not customer service oriented and was very rude. I demamded her to tell me when my check would be issued and she said that she couldn't do that. I said that it didn't seem like it would ever be issued and she stated, "Well sir if that's the way that you feel I will just note your account that you don't want your rebate and you won't receive it." I was appauled by this comment.
Now they were beginning to become very rude. This company seems to want to collect as much interest as they can out of a customers rebate amount, all the while making everyone of them not wanting to do anymore business with them. I would be very surprised if they have any customers that are happy with the service that they receive from these crooks.
I proceeded to ask Tonya if anyone in the company knew anything about what was going on. I also asked if ANYONE ever receives their promised rebate. She stated that lots of people receive their rebate and I asked what the problem was with issuing mine. She stated that she wasn't sure, but that she could pass my information over to their accounting department to have my check processed immediately. Here's the same line that I've heard before from Sharon and I brought this up to her attention. She became even more frustrated with me because she knew that I knew what was going on. I asked her if anyone would be able to tell me when my check would be issued and she said yes and slammed the phone down. My call was again forwarded to Jeff Hess, the so-called manager of the company. Just to play along, I left a third message on his voice mail which I already know will not be returned. I am planning on writing the Attorney General of North Carolina a letter to bring this matter up to his attention.
If anyone has any information or can be of any assistance please post your info below.
David
Pooler, Georgia
U.S.A.