Connections Unlimited Inc

As you will see from the document I've attached the receiver described by Ms*** is one of the receivers that is listed as compatible by the manufacturer of the portable dish system they useI have been in this business for almost seventeen years, successfully, and get a tremendous amount of
referral's specifically because of our knowledge when it comes to satellite TV usage and RV'sWe have directed many customers to use the HDIRECTV receiver, as well as HRreceiver, due to the fact that DIRECTV no longer provides a Dstandard definition receiver and because those two (2) particular receivers are the only ones that will allow you to select an eighteen (18) inch round dish configuration which is what you need to work with not only this particular portable system but many others as wellIn the complaint even Ms*** states that it was an Hthat was provided to her.As for the $charge plus tax that was incurred we are not the ones who collect that, as was explained at the timeDIRECTV directly charges the customer for the equipment and therefore they are the ones who would provide a refundFor customers like Ms*** this is merely an additional service my dealership provides as we make no money on this transactionThe only money paid to us from DIRECTV is the reimbursement for that actual receiver cost.At no time did Ms*** ever call our office for any assistance with the setup, and I personally explained the day it was ordered as well as the day it was picked up that they would need to go back into the "satellite setup" portion of the system menu and select the eighteen (18) inch dish option for this to workI also explained that while this was an HD receiver they would not receive an HD picture as it receives the feed form DIRECTV satellite which is a standard definition satellite.As for the call that came in from Ms*** regarding the refund I was also here for that and heard the entire conversation as it took place over speaker phone in our officeIt is unfortunate that Ms*** felt threatened on the call as at no time during the conversation was anyone from our office rude or threateningIt was difficult to explain anything to Ms*** as she continuously spoke over our representative and became very combative.Please feel free to contact me should you require any further information regarding this matter. Mark B***

I apologize that this happenedIt appears that there have been two (2) calls logged in our system to this numberThe first being on 5/13/to which it looks like the system dropped the call before our rep had a chance to speak with anyoneThe second call was placed on 1/4/which it looks
like the number was placed on the Do Not Call list at that time
It does not show anywhere in our system where any other calls were made to that number and I can assure you that since it has been dis-positioned as a Do Not Call number there will be no other calls from us
If you have received any additional calls from us after 1/4/please let us know so that we can see where the error in our system might beI am confident though you should not have received any other calls from us
I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused

Mr. [redacted] came in to our store sometime the week of October 26th 2015 to inquire about DIRECTV service. Mr. [redacted] was installed on October 31st 2015. When Mr. [redacted] came in to our store he brought in a mailer from another national marketing company which promised a $150.00 gift card to [redacted]...

[redacted] & [redacted] if he called in to sign up for DIRECTV service. We explained to Mr. [redacted] that we could sign him up for service but had to verify we could honor the gift with activation offer from the national marketing company.
I personally checked on this with DIRECTV Retail Services who said we could but that it would take longer to honor as it wasn't the usual Visa gift cards that they offer. We explained this to Mr. [redacted] and also informed him that once submitted he would receive the card directly from DIRECTV and that they do not inform us whether they send the card out or not.
Mr. [redacted] called back to us sometime later, I would estimate 2 months, and stated he had not received the gift card yet. I cjecked in with Retail Services who said it was processing. That was all the information we received.
Mr. [redacted] called in again probably a month + later and said he still hadn't received the gift card. He also inquired about his remote control as well as another issue with his equipment and rather than having him go through DIRECTV technical support I personally went to his residence to handle his technical issues. at that time I explained that the situation with the gift card was not his sales reps fault and that we were relying on DIRECTV to help fulfill this. I also informed him that if anyone he could hold me responsible for this and that I would follow up again with DIRECTV to which I did and was told it had been processed.
Mr. [redacted] came by our store last week to inform us he still had not received the card and was justifiably agitated and upset. I have escalated the matter with DIRECTV and am waiting for their response. If I do not receive one by the end of the week (6/17/2016) my company will fulfill the gift with activation promise and work to settle up with DIRECTV ourselves.
We are a small, local family owned and operated business here in the Sumner community. We have an outstanding reputation in our community and would never do anything to jeopardize that. Our apologies to Mr. [redacted] and assurance that we will resolve this matter within the week.
 
Mark B[redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. Sincerely, [redacted]

It's unfortunate that Mr. [redacted] felt deceived in this. As a retailer for DIRECTV we have done everything we can to get Mr. [redacted] additional discounts on his DIRECTV account including putting him in touch with the DIRECTV retention department. I'm still not sure where Mr. [redacted] got his original figure of $18.99 per month for the Choice package. As you can see by the PDF attachment from Mr. [redacted] we were able to get him tremendous discounts to start, far and above what the normal promotion would be. Part of that was a referral credit he received. As for him being on the Choice Xtra package only DIRECTV would have the ability to switch a customers base package and only after talking to the customer directly.
As I previously stated when I spoke to Mr. [redacted] I put him in contact with the retention department at DIRECTV so that he could get additional discounts for his second year. I'm sorry he was not satisfied with the discounts he presented but that is the department who controls additional discounts and have been known to be very fair and generous with hundreds of our other customers.
At this point I'm not sure what else we can do as a retailer. Once the retention department offers a customer discounts whatever the offer was is usually the best they can offer. If those discounts were accepted then no other discounts can be applied to the account until the current discounts expire. If they were not accepted then the customer can definitely call them back and have the discounts offered applied.
Thank you
Mark B[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I resolved the the refund but still want public to know of this horrible company.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:   This response neglects to mention all the promises made by the salesman John H[redacted] at the beginning of this whole ordeal.   Mark B[redacted] is the owner of the business from which his salesman, John H[redacted] had made.  These were verbal promises, of the type included in the attachments (please read) as they give clarity as to exactly what was promised  in order to get me to sign up with Directv in the first place.   I had been using a regular antenna for several years and was not all that intested in a Directv contract.    Mr. H[redacted] made me a deal that I could live with after much debate.    I wished I would have just said no, as much time and effort has been expended just trying to get John H[redacted] and Connections Unlimited to uphold the offer made to me.   I want all to know that I was lied to, and was forced to make dozens of phone calls to try and rectify the emty promises made by a very disreputable salesman.   These people honored the first part of the agreement of 10 months after a many, many phone calls and letters of complaints.
After that period I was thrown to the Directv wolves and made to pay as much as four times the agreed upon price of 28.60 per month for the remaining 14 months of the deal.   
Sincerely,[redacted]

After going through our records regarding Mr. [redacted] it appears Mr. [redacted] signed up for the DIRECTV Choice package, on Oct 23, 2014, with a regular rate of $66.99 per month at that time and an additional $6.00 per month for one television. Mr. [redacted] received initial promotional credits of...

$10.00 per month for twelve months as well as an additional promotional credit of $27.00 per month for twelve months bringing his total monthly cost down to $35.99 per month for twelve months. Mr. [redacted] also received a referral credit of $10.00 per month for the first ten months making his monthly bill $25.99 per month, plus tax, for the first ten months.
Mr. [redacted] was told at that time to call back to our office and speak to John, his rep, after the first year and we would assist in getting him additional promotional credits applied to his account. His sales rep John became ill with pneumonia in December and was hospitalized due to complications for approximately two months. During that time Mr. [redacted] called into our office. I explained the circumstances regarding John and why he wasn’t returning calls. I also informed Mr. [redacted] that he didn’t need to wait on John and that I could put him in touch with DIRECTV’s retention department who is responsible for issuing additional credits. My personal experience in dealing with the retention department is that they are very good at what they do. In some instance I have seen them give customers promotional credits larger than the initial ones they received when they signed up. We don’t have any idea how they determine what the second year discounts will be I do however know that a large part is determined by whether or not you pay your bill on time every month and also whether or not you accept any other promotional discounts prior to then. I made the call to retention for Mr. [redacted] and gave them a history of what he had received and what he was looking for. I was told that would be fine and to go ahead and bring him on line. Once I connected Mr. [redacted] with retention I got off of the call.
Mr. [redacted] called me back later wanting to know when John would be back as he was not satisfied with the discounts he was given. I informed he we did not have a definitive date for Johns return. I asked him what was wrong with the discounts he was offered and he replied they weren’t low enough for him. That is where the call ended. That was also the last I heard from Mr. [redacted].
We are a small family owned business that has been in operation since January of 2002. During this period we have been either recognized or awarded as a DIRECTV Outstanding Dealer of the Year, DIRECTV dealer of the Year, multiple time recipient of DIRECTV Elite Dealer award and countless others. The average life span of a satellite television retailer is 18-24 months. We have bucked this trend by being an outstanding dealer and not just through sales volume but through churn maintenance and customer service. Some of our employees have been with us for over twelve years. While the misunderstanding between Mr. [redacted] and my company is unfortunate, and not the norm, we have always done everything within our power to ensure customer satisfaction.

I will have a gift card in the amount of $150.00 in my office tomorrow, 7/1/2016, for the customer. He can choose to either pick it up or I can send it to him.
Thank you,
 
Mark b[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:  I don't feel deceived -I was deceived, by Connections Unlimited salesman John H[redacted].  John H[redacted] is where I got the promised monthy charge of 18.60 per month for 10 months, and 28.60 per month for the remaining 14 months of a 24 month agreement (all taxes and fees to have been included in that price)  The Choice package was promised along with two channels not included in that particular package: 218 Golf  and 602 TVG.   That was the promise made in order to get me to signup for service.  Mark why don't you read the three attachments in the original complaint so you don't have to recite amounts that aren't even the ones promised by your salesman.   Also for the last time either you haven't asked John the promises he made to me, or are unwilling to put them forth here as either way it portrays him as a liar, or you as a willing participant in deceptive sales tactics in order to secure that sale.   The only true statements entered by Mark B[redacted] above is  1.  John H[redacted], or Connections Unlimited tried to get as many discounts as possible to come as close as possible to the original sales promise made of 18.60, which I stated above, but only after dozens of phone calls, and several letters of complaint (attached) and 2.  Mark put me in touch with the Directv retention department, only after telling me they were sorry, but they couldn't provide me with the original promise of 28.60 for the remaining 14 months of agreement.   Those two above points are truthful, but in the end, I was left having to pay much more than what was promised by the salesman John H[redacted], and had to spend hours, and hours of my time trying to make John, and ultimately the business he represents Connections Unlimited make good on the promises made. 
Sincerely,[redacted]