Public Mediation

Carolyn R vs. Viasat

C. R. vs. Viasat
6155 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, California, 92009-1602, United States
Amount Involved: $920.00
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: 2 non-monetary items.
    • Claim #: 1031640
    • Amount Involved: 920.00
    • Filed On: May 29, 2020
    • Posted On: Jun 09, 2020
    • Complaint(s):
      • Failure to disclose facts
      • Contract / Agreement dispute
      • "This feels like a scam to me."
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Statement of Claim
Complaints Involved (8) - View
Claimant says:
"In the fall of 2018 I went to our local AT&T store and signed a contract to have DirectTV and Internet bundled with our existing telephone service. I also gave my agreement to have the payments for all three services automatically deducted from a credit card. A few days later two gentleman met me at the house, which was still partially under construction, to install the necessary equipment for Internet and DIRECTV. I was a little confused because they said they were from a company called ViaSat instead of AT&T. One of the servicemen told me that ViaSat helps AT&T on jobs they are not able to do. During this visit, one of the servicemen also advised me that DirectTV was not available to me and we would need to rely on steaming. It wasn’t good news, but I didn’t really have a choice. While I was standing at the counter & the serviceman were leaving they handed me a form and asked me to sign it verifying installation, not once advising me of the full story.

Due to construction issues, I did not move into the house until February of 2019. Immediately we began having problems with the Internet speed and multiple issues, often on a daily basis, with not being able to stream. When I called in to find out why this was happening, I was shocked to learn that all of our services were being provided by ViaSat instead of AT&T. The representative did her best to explain to me that AT&T was simply unable to provide my service so they gave my contract to ViaSat and that the installation order I signed was actually a two-year binding contract with their company. Once again, I was not given any choice and the only option I could go with is paying more money for a higher Internet speed. When that didn’t work they wanted even more money for an even higher Internet speed. It was at that point that I started pushing back. I contacted AT&T and found out that DIRECTV was in fact available and for the same monetary amount I had originally contracted with them the previous fall. They were unable to tell me how or why I ended up with ViaSat but they were sorry and would come out and do the installation as originally promised. Then began the saga of getting ViaSat to come and get their equipment and to stop billing me and to stop trying to get me to honor the contract that I was not told I was entering into. They did come for their equipment and let me out of my contract, but then tried to bill me around $750 for the installation. When I called to dispute this I finally worked my way up to a manager. He told me that it was not their fault and that somebody had to pay for all of the money they put out for my installation. AT&T told me that they had no recourse to offer as only Viasat had the ability to write off *someone’s* mistake.

As it stands, AT&T says it is between me and ViaSat even though my original contract was to AT&T and nobody told me differently. ViaSat tells me that they will not go to AT&T for resolution and that I am responsible for paying the bill. I maintain that I was at their mercy every step of the way and that the mishandling of the situation and ensuing expenses are completely out of my control. Several months ago I received a call from a collection agency on ViaSat’s behalf. I explained the situation to her and told her “hell will freeze over before I will give them money for something that was not my fault.” She said she would let them know and as far as I was concerned that was the end of it. This morning I received a call from Southwest Credit Services letting me know that Viasat had turned me over for collection. I did not knowingly enter into a contract with this company and I made every effort to make it work anyway. Their service reps were kind and helpful, but the product was cost prohibitive and did not work properly on any kind of a regular basis. Why AT&T sent them my way is a mystery, but I did not cause this situation, attempted to act in good faith, and can not be held responsible for ViaSat’s loss.

A little online research tells me this is a scenario that played out with many other AT&T customers. I am filing a statement with the Better Business Bureau to warn others and would like to be contacted if there is a class action lawsuit in the making. At this point I feel helpless and harassed and someone needs to stop these harmful business practices."
...
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What Claimant Wants Hide
Non-Cash
What By When How Much
1. Apology: Written apology to deal with any credit problems this may cause Jun 30, 2020 N/A
2. Change of policy: It needs to be made very clear to clients and their provider is been changed prior to the installation so that questions can be asked and other arrangements can be made. Jun 30, 2020 N/A
Cash
1. Recognize the lack of validity of the contract and write off the installation & related fees. Jun 30, 2020 $920.00
Cash total : $920.00
Non-cash: 2 items
  • 0
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Awaiting response from Party
Stephen Simms commented
Stephen Simms (Comment):
"I get the fine print trickery but I’m curious as who did you go with for service?? Companies like AT&T use hundreds of subs for installations, etc...and when the speed sucked I’d be understandably mad...is it a bad area for internet speed?? Often U-Verse is no where near as fast as advertised esp depending on the time of the day. I 100% agree that they should have explained to you that being AT&T is not yet in your area it will be another company, etc...and was the company a subsidiary of AT&T?? I think that absolutely getting them to disclose this to any future customers is imperative. As far as damages. I can’t decide."
 (5 years ago)
Reply

Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from Viasat. This claim will remain posted until resolved
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  • Contributed Solution: by George Maxwell On 07-01-2020
    View more
    ViaSat needs to stop collection efforts and repair credit immediately; AT&T needs to control its subcontractors More...
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