Action: Sorting ingredients in Dish TV bill

On April 19, an advertisement on TV for Dish Network sounded so good to me and my wife that we called the company. I spoke to a man named "Patrick" who was very nice. I told him I was interested, but I would be going north for July and August and didn't want to pay for those two months, so I'd wait until I returned to get the dish.

He told me that if I signed up immediately, he would pay for the first month of service. I felt he was being nice, so I agreed. Later I found out that everyone got the first month free. I called again and got another fellow named "Marc" who said that because I was disabled he would send me what is called a pyramid to hook up to my bedroom TV set, and I could see Dish channels on that one.

I never received it. We called a few times without getting an answer and therefore decided to drop this service. Meanwhile, we were sent a bill for service from April 19 to June 18 for $65.69, which included the free month. Also on the bill was a charge for $71.98 for a receiver at 100, whatever that is. We paid the $65.69 on April 25 and continued calling without success.

Finally, on May 17, we reached the company and said we no longer wanted its service. We were told to call an "Eric" at another number, but were disconnected before we could reach him. Dish Network has been sending us bills ever since. It tried to withdraw money from our charge account, but failed. Now we have been turned over to a collection agency. It wants us to pay $429.84 for a full year. We already sent all the equipment back to Colorado, as requested. We are hoping for your help. Don and Arlene Visceglie

Response: The best way to shed some light on the problems you experienced with your Dish Network service is to start at the beginning:

You signed up for one of Dish Network's digital home plans on April 19. The first bill you received, for service from April 19 to June 18, was for $65.69 and is broken down as follows: the charge of $71.98 for your first two months of programming on the single receiver digital 100 plan, the promised credit of $35.99 for the first month, a $25.98 charge for the first two months of the HBO movie package, and state and local taxes of $3.72. You paid this bill; so far so good.

You then downgraded your service and canceled the HBO movie package, signing up for local service instead. Three weeks after that, on May 22, you canceled altogether. After the various credit adjustments are made, your account shows a credit balance of $48.16. But now the problems really begin.

Havilah Slater in the executive resolution of EchoStar Communications (Dish Network) in Littleton, Colo., said that because you canceled after expiration of the 30-day satisfaction guarantee -- you were three days too late -- you were charged a $240 cancellation fee. This is provided for in the contract for any cancellation made before the first year is up. Your credit card was debited for this amount. (For reasons unknown to us, it showed up as three separate charges, two for $119, one for $2.)

Unfortunately, a week and a half later, the $240 cancellation fee was charged to your credit card a second time. Realizing its error, the company issued a refund for the second $240 charge.

In the meantime, you were disputing all the charges with your credit card company, and on Aug. 27, two charges for $119 and one for $240 were charged back. In other words, you were charged two cancellation fees but received credits for three (less $2 which was not charged back). At this point, you owed Dish Network the $240 cancellation fee plus the "extra" credit for $240 you had received. Your total balance was $480 less the $48.16 credit, or $429.84. This is the balance that was turned over to collections.

Your next step was to contact a consumer agency. The company's response was firm: You owed the $429.84. You then contacted Action. Slater said that after reviewing your Dish Network account, Echostar decided to make an exception and release you from the promotion since you were only three days out of the 30-day customer satisfaction guarantee. It therefore credited your account for the $240 cancellation fee.

However, that still leaves you with a balance of $189.84. To put it even more plainly, you owe Dish Network $189.84 to pay it back for the extra credit you received. Now, if you feel this is in error, send us copies of all your credit card statements for the period in question, and we will be happy to take a look at them.

-- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

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