Company: Pegasus Satellite TV - line-of-sight not possible, but satellite installed anyway - told must pay $ 250 cancellation charge

Category: Other

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on December 21, 2002:

From:

RE: Pegasus Satellite TV - line-of-sight not possible, but satellite installed anyway - told must pay $ 250 cancellation charge

In February of this year, 2002, we were solicited by phone from Pegasus, offering free installation and free equipment with a one-year service contract. They asked for a credit card number to charge $1 until I received the equipment. I told them I was uncomfortable with that and would be monitoring my account to assure that no more than $1 was taken, since the credit card was tied to my checking balance. They never even charged me the $1, so that was fine.

I received the equipment within a few days, and shortly after, an installer was sent to my home. He set everything up and had the service activated before he left. All was well until May, when the trees in my yard bloomed, and we lost service. Pegasus sent a technician to my house to adjust the dish, but the technician said due to the size and positioning of my trees, there was really no way to receive service. He said there was no line of sight on my property and that the system shouldn't have been installed in the first place. I called Pegasus with him still here, so he could tell them that, and he did.

They said they were not responsible for the installer's error and that if I wanted to terminate service, I would owe them $250. I strongly argued that they HAD to be responsible for the installer, since he was sent to my home BY them. They argued right back and said they weren't. I told them I wanted service terminated but that they were not getting the money. So they took it out of my checking account without notice or authorization. Fortunately, I notified my bank of the situation, and they had the transaction reversed and the money returned to me.

I wrote the company to explain the details of our dispute and ask how best to resolve it. They responded, several months later, by simply sending me a copy of my contract. This piece of paper looked unfamiliar to me, as I hadn't remembered signing anything like it, and when I looked closer, I saw that I hadn't. My signature was forged on it in two places. I wrote the company again, telling them of the new details of my situation, and this time they simply sent me a bill for $250.

I invalidated my old credit card number, just in case they tried to take the money from me again, and somehow they managed to do it anyway. Then the transaction reversed itself the same day, presumably because my bank caught it. They have been monitoring my account and very supportive of me in this whole process, as they believe some of what this company is doing has to be illegal.

Now they have turned us in to a collection agency. My husband called Pegasus to once again discuss the situation, and he was told by a supervisor that the contract with my forged signature on it is non-negotiable. Illegal, but non-negotiable.

I have spoken to a lawyer, and I have long since filed a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General and am now filing with the Massachusetts Attorney General. I see, too, that I can copy this and send it to the big corporate headquarters in Pennsylvania, though the satellite tv headquarters are located in Massachusetts. I don't honestly know if it will do any good, but I'm not paying $250 to honor a broken contract that never existed in the first place.

They ARE responsible for the installer, and they DID have my signature forged. This company must be held accountable for what it is doing.