EchoStar to pay $5M to settle consumer complaints

[platinum]

http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2003-05-22-echostar-settlement_x.htm

[bills976]

The settlement involves about 1,800 complaints from consumers who felt EchoStar's Dish Network misled them about pricing and contract issues, Attorney General Ken Salazar said. Some people had complained that the ads failed to disclose early termination fees and extra charges for local programming, Salazar said.

The real problem isn't necessarially with Dish more than it is some of the sleazy dealers that do business with them. Especially in the NYC metro area, some dealers during the YES debacle made the claim that Dish would, and in some instances did carry YES. Certainly there are some very reliable, reputable dealers, many of which frequent the board, however, I get tons of spam/junk mail from people selling Dish systems. And oftentimes these ads will be quite misleading. I say go after these slimeballs rather than Dish.

[Jacob S]

Dish just wanted to settle with the people probably just to get it out of the way, just a drop in the bucket for the company.

[HTguy]

Originally posted by Jacob S
Dish just wanted to settle with the people probably just to get it out of the way, just a drop in the bucket for the company.

That's exactly right. They considered it a "nuisance" issue that would cost more to litigate if it came to that than to settle now.

All the programming costs have been spelled out clearly in DISH literature from the start. And the terms of the promotional agreements have been spelled out since they started them both in the hand-outs & the contracts the customers sign.

It's true that there are retailers on the internet and telemarketing operations that don't follow the business rules & disclose everthing properly. But even the subscribers who go thru them have the opprtunity to read the agreement before they sign it.

So the whiners that complain about the 12 month agreements & penalties for early termination have only themselves to blame. If they can't be bothered to find a reputable local specialty retailer they can still log onto the website or call the 800# to check package prices, locals & regional sports channel availabilty, etc.

[Jacob S]

They just did not want to make too bad of a name for themselves and wanted to be more well known for satisfying problems customers have with the company just to quit hearing the moaning and groaning. I noticed that they did not give an apology but had mentioned other things instead.

[rvd420]

Originally posted by HTguy


That's exactly right. They considered it a "nuisance" issue that would cost more to litigate if it came to that than to settle now.

All the programming costs have been spelled out clearly in DISH literature from the start. And the terms of the promotional agreements have been spelled out since they started them both in the hand-outs & the contracts the customers sign.

It's true that there are retailers on the internet and telemarketing operations that don't follow the business rules & disclose everthing properly. But even the subscribers who go thru them have the opprtunity to read the agreement before they sign it.

So the whiners that complain about the 12 month agreements & penalties for early termination have only themselves to blame. If they can't be bothered to find a reputable local specialty retailer they can still log onto the website or call the 800# to check package prices, locals & regional sports channel availabilty, etc.


What defense do you have for Dish not giving refunds for people who honor their 1yr commitment, continue to sub to Dish, then jump to DTV.

Remember Dish bills a month in advance.

[Jacob S]

And I dont think DirecTv bills a month in advance. Do you get a grace period just as you would on Dish though? Also they dont say why they did what they did, just make it sound like their service is so good like they are advertising it or something like they did nothing wrong instead of doing some explaining.

[HTguy]

What defense do you have for Dish not giving refunds for people who honor their 1yr commitment, continue to sub to Dish, then jump to DTV.

I have no defense for such a practice but it's not up to me to defend them. Moreover, several people have posted here & in other forums that they have received pro-rated program subscription refunds.

Personally, if I planned to churn (and I have no such plans) I would wait to the end of my monthly billing cycle before closing my account. Then I wouldn't have to concern myself about a refund.

The complaints that the AGs were "investigating," however, had more to do with charges for which subscribers stated they were never informed about; i.e. local channels, penalties for defaulting on their 1-year agreements, etc.

By most accounts E* has been giving back legitimate programming refunds for some time...no doubt due in part to an earlier inquiry by some state AGs & consumer agencies.