Forum Discussion
poor lamb
I ran into a acquaintance of mine at a local tavern the other day. He was very excited to tell me that he just had satellite internet installed, and was going to get Netflix, and would also be able to do away with his satellite TV bill, all for only fifty bucks a month.
I asked him what tech company he used and he said: "I don't remember the name. They're across from the BBQ place." ( 20 miles away ) They're not the company I use. Mine is reliable and honest. His told him that all of this stuff was going to be easy.
I asked him what satellite company he was with, and he replied: "I don't know. I think it's written on the dish somewhere." When I asked him how many gigs of data was in his plan, he didn't know the answer to that either I said to him, before you do anything like this again, please come and talk to me first.
Like a lamb to the slaughter.
I smell a soon to be broken contract. :>)> If so, it will be second that I know of in my tiny little community, in just the last few months.
"A dying culture invariably exhibits personal rudeness. Bad manners. Lack of consideration for others in minor matters. A loss of politeness, of gentle manners, is more significant than is a riot."
ROBERT HEINLEIN
I see four possible outcomes, with the second and fourth being the most likely...
1. Allowed to cancel with no ETF.
2. Has to pay ETF in order to be free of it.
3. Refuses to pay and has credit screwed up as a result.
4. Keeps the service and learns a lesson about knowing what you're buying.
Ignorance is no excuse, and all that matters is what's provable, like a recorded sales call.
Unfortunately, too few people adequately research what they're buying, which they should make sure to do, especially when whatever it is comes with a contract. It's a pain to learn that lesson. :(
No Get Out of Jail Free card for naivete.
GabeU wrote:
Ignorance is no excuse, and all that matters is what's provable, like a recorded sales call.
maratsade wrote:No Get Out of Jail Free card for naivete.
Darn it, where is that quote! Something like "There is only one penalty for ignorance: death. And it's alway applied by nature without pity."
GabeU wrote:I see four possible outcomes, with the second and fourth being the most likely...
1. Allowed to cancel with no ETF.
2. Has to pay ETF in order to be free of it.
3. Refuses to pay and has credit screwed up as a result.
4. Keeps the service and learns a lesson about knowing what you're buying.
I do know one person that canceled with no ETF. He more or less told them that he would return their equipment, but he was not going to pay them another cent.
BTW these two people know each other. Obviously they didn't talk before he did all of this. So the guy in question will probably try for number one.
He also operates strictly under the table, and certainly doesn't give a darn about his credit, so number three is also a possibility. He's a good painter and pressure washer though. I hire him once a year to pressure wash my house and gutters.
I get the feeling that the landscape is littered with broken satellite internet contracts, especially with the misleading marketing that's going on.
"............would also be able to do away with his satellite TV bill, all for only fifty bucks a month."
Especially dumb, ignorant, naive, clueless.....whatever you want to call it. I'm still waiting for the check from my man in Nigeria.
I don't see a problem here. The more educated will soon teach the new customer how stupid he was. Why does everyone on this community fell it is ok to kick those that are down. Maybe it's time you give them a hand up not a kick in the teeth.
SMH
BirdDog wrote:................. I'm still waiting for the check from my man in Nigeria.
I already got mine. It bounced though. :>)>
lol... I also like the fake purchase orders with virus attachments. Got one today from someone supposedly in the UAE via a hacked server in Japan!
I talked to the poor lamb yesterday. He cancelled his debit card, and then called Viasat and told them to come and get their equipment.
gaines_wright wrote:I talked to the poor lamb yesterday. He cancelled his debit card, and then called Viasat and told them to come and get their equipment.
Though your friend may ultimately get away with the credit card thing and cancellation, you may want to advise him to send back the required equipment when he gets the return kit, as one thing they aren't going to do is "come and get their equipment", and he'll be in collections for it before he knows it.
People need to pick their battles, and the equipment one he'll lose. Though they may back down on the contract, they won't on the cost of the equipment. Doing things under the table won't save him from that.
Cancellng cards or any refusal to pay will also put them into 'collections' and usually results in a bad mark in one's credit rating.
Wow -- that was quick! I don't want to ruffle any feathers by asking, but what did he dislike so much in such a short period of time?
I have had a good experience with both HughesNet and Viasat/Excede, excepting the one time my brother streamed some dumb video over and over and went over the 15GB cap on the classic plan and squawked to me about it being slower than dial-up and I said I can see by the Windows Task Manager that it is downloading at like 2-3 times dial-up speed yet. That really set him off....
MrBuster wrote:Wow -- that was quick! I don't want to ruffle any feathers by asking, but what did he dislike so much in such a short period of time?
Well, he was talked into getting Viasat in the first place by what was IMO deceptive marketing. I.E. telling him that he was going to be able to get rid of his satellite TV bill with a 10 gig data plan. This guy has zero interest in the internet other wise.
