VOOM Lies - Hidden $199 Installation Fee

[dschwarting]

My wife and I decided to order Voom after some HDTV issues
with our Plasma Screen. We had it installed on Wednesday May 5.

My wife explained to the Voom salesperson that we wanted
to try out VOOM and check to see if our plasma screen would
work correctly. We would eventually want 3 receivers if it
worked. We only ordered 1 because we were specifically told
that they would send us additional receivers and we could install them ourselves but we were not able to install the Dish ourselves.

That sounded reasonable to me at the time.

Now that I want to order the 2 additional receivers VOOM wants
to charge me an additional $199 for the installs.com to come
out and install it. That does not include the rental fee (we are
renting our equipment)

The CSR said I was misinformed and had to pay $199 installation fee
if I wanted the additional receivers.

I have a disconnect scheduled for May 17.

I like the VOOM product but I not going shell out $200 because
they lied to me. I would have ordered 3 receivers at first if I had
known.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Sean Mota]

Welcome to the board,

Don't take this personally but I learned not to trust what CSRs are saying. I knew from day one that this was the policy so this is why I ordered two receivers from the get go. I also know that if I ever want to add more (I am planning to order 4 more in the future) I have to pay $200 for installation. Not to say that you are not right in feeling this way but this has been the policy from day 1.

 

[cameron119]

Is it Voom's fault that you didn't read the terms?

No wonder lawsuits are rampant. They should never have let the kids out of school.

 

[squicken]

Is it Voom's fault that you didn't read the terms?

No wonder lawsuits are rampant. They should never have let the kids out of school.

Way too harsh, sir. He was given assurance by the CSR that he could add additional receivers. I would not want to deal with anyone who didn't live by their word, and clearly Voom has not in this case. I encourage you to call voom, and ask them to escalate your problem to a manager. It's worth a try if you like Voom's service.

 

[cameron119]

Way too harsh, sir. He was given assurance by the CSR that he could add additional receivers. I would not want to deal with anyone who didn't live by their word, and clearly Voom has not in this case. I encourage you to call voom, and ask them to escalate your problem to a manager. It's worth a try if you like Voom's service.

While it was a representative of Voom that gave the misinformation, it's EXTREMELY clear and available information that any additional IRD installations will be at a charge of 199.00. The fact that the OP didn't take the time to research the decision completely justifies my "harsh" comment.

Voom has been nothing but good to me. Jumping through hoops constantly to get me squared away as far as installation and satellite upgrades, IRD replacements, etc.

I knew from DAY 1 that if I needed an additional receiver, it was going to cost me.

For folks that don't like that deal, there is always Echostar and DirecTV.

 

[dschwarting]

While it was a representative of Voom that gave the misinformation, it's EXTREMELY clear and available information that any additional IRD installations will be at a charge of 199.00. The fact that the OP didn't take the time to research the decision completely justifies my "harsh" comment.

Voom has been nothing but good to me. Jumping through hoops constantly to get me squared away as far as installation and satellite upgrades, IRD replacements, etc.

I knew from DAY 1 that if I needed an additional receiver, it was going to cost me.

For folks that don't like that deal, there is always Echostar and DirecTV.

We asked a specific question of CSR as part of our research.
Am I supposed to ask if I am being lied to?????????

 

[Mr. Biggles]

We asked a specific question of CSR as part of our research.
Am I supposed to ask if I am being lied to?????????

I totally agree with you. Most folks will take what a CSR says as policy....and rightly so. V* needs to end this $199 fee for additional STB's ASAP as all it does is piss customers off. And the spiel about having to have another STB 'professionally' installed is comical.

I personally won't even consider ordering another STB as long as this policy is in place. I love my V*....but this is assinine.

 

[Sean Mota]

We asked a specific question of CSR as part of our research.
Am I supposed to ask if I am being lied to?????????

I think you have a right to be upset about this whole thing. Why don't you send an email to Joe Harkins and Wilt and see if they can do something for you. This is clearly a mistake by a csr giving you wrong information. Try that to see if you can get somewhere.

Email: "Joe Harkins" <jharkins@installs.com> and "Wilt Hildenbrand" <wilth@optonline.net>.

Let us know what happens...

 

[Taron1]

Why don't you just cancel then re-order the service with 3 receivers?

 

[cameron119]

We asked a specific question of CSR as part of our research.
Am I supposed to ask if I am being lied to?????????

You wouldn't have to ask if you did your homework.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone is now trying to fleece the free installation from them.

I think a person should take responsibilty for their decisions. I've made bad decisions, yet I didn't blame them on other people. I was normally well-informed before I had to make a 199.00 mistake. Sure, that isn't a lot of money, but that is enough to make you feel like an ass for not checking into the terms.

It's hard to trust any CSR in today's business climate. It's all about pushing the product. You can always know that the legal department will make sure the fine print is concise and relevant to the product. That's who I trust. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, but then again I don't come out smelling like excrement.

 

[squicken]

You wouldn't have to ask if you did your homework.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone is now trying to fleece the free installation from them.

I think a person should take responsibilty for their decisions. I've made bad decisions, yet I didn't blame them on other people. I was normally well-informed before I had to make a 199.00 mistake. Sure, that isn't a lot of money, but that is enough to make you feel like an ass for not checking into the terms.

It's hard to trust any CSR in today's business climate. It's all about pushing the product. You can always know that the legal department will make sure the fine print is concise and relevant to the product. That's who I trust. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, but then again I don't come out smelling like excrement.

Is your real name Charles Dolan?

 

[dschwarting]

You wouldn't have to ask if you did your homework.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone is now trying to fleece the free installation from them.

I think a person should take responsibilty for their decisions. I've made bad decisions, yet I didn't blame them on other people. I was normally well-informed before I had to make a 199.00 mistake. Sure, that isn't a lot of money, but that is enough to make you feel like an ass for not checking into the terms.

It's hard to trust any CSR in today's business climate. It's all about pushing the product. You can always know that the legal department will make sure the fine print is concise and relevant to the product. That's who I trust. It doesn't give me the warm fuzzies, but then again I don't come out smelling like excrement.

I made a decision based on the CSR (the representative of VOOM).
If they had told me I would have orderded 3 receivers at installation time.

 

[cameron119]

I made a decision based on the CSR (the representative of VOOM).
If they had told me I would have orderded 3 receivers at installation time.

The fact is that you did your research a bit late. I'm sorry that it happened, but I imagine it won't next time.

If you could find this site now, why not then? What set me off is that you said Voom lied. They didn't, and I'd imagine after wrangling with Wilt you'll get your free/reduced fee installation.

I'm not a Dolan, but that doesn't mean I am not a supporter of Voom. I'm also a supporter of people taking care of their own business and not trying to circumvent blame or guilt after the fact.

It's an unfortunate situation that happens everyday. Imagine if people read-up on the things they were purchasing before they purchased...

Want to talk about misleading? How about the title of this thread:
HIDDEN 199.00 INSTALLATION FEE. Since when has it been hidden?

In passing, I hope you get your situation squared away. Wilt is very helpful and has the power to make things happen.

 

[Mr. Biggles]

This isn't about someone trying to get something for free the way I interpret it.

Follow Seans Motas advice...even though you shouldn't have to do it this way, it's likely they'll step in and make things right.

If not, do what Taron said if you still want V* enough despite the Bullsh!t.

 

[Trill]

The fact is that you did your research a bit late. I'm sorry that it happened, but I imagine it won't next time.

If you could find this site now, why not then? What set me off is that you said Voom lied. They didn't, and I'd imagine after wrangling with Wilt you'll get your free/reduced fee installation.

I'm not a Dolan, but that doesn't mean I am not a supporter of Voom. I'm also a supporter of people taking care of their own business and not trying to circumvent blame or guilt after the fact.

It's an unfortunate situation that happens everyday. Imagine if people read-up on the things they were purchasing before they purchased...

Want to talk about misleading? How about the title of this thread:
HIDDEN 199.00 INSTALLATION FEE. Since when has it been hidden?

In passing, I hope you get your situation squared away. Wilt is very helpful and has the power to make things happen.

What exactly is your problem? The CSR works for Voom, so the CSR is Voom. Therefore, if a CSR gave out incorrect information then Voom gave out incorrect information and should take the hit on this one. The man is trying to pay Voom more of his money, yet you think he is trying to game the system. I had a similar situation with Voom only delivering one of the three receivers I ordered, and then claiming I only requested one. So instead of absorbing the cost of rolling a truck to provide me with the extra two receivers, they payed to have a truck rolled to come pick up their equipment, losing a otherwise satisfied customer and my money.

 

[ram1220]

Cameron, what's your problem? When I called Voom and placed my order, my CSR told me the same thing that this poster's did. I specifically asked about ordering a second reveiver at a later date. I was told no problem and there would not be a charge other than the monthy rental fee. He further stated that the receiver would be shipped to me and that I could hook it up myself. This CSR is an employee of Voom and as such why should I ask him if he's lying? And when ordering over the phone, there is no fine print to read. You go by what the CSR tells you. If the CSR gives me bad info, that's not my problem, that's Voom's problem. The original poster has all the right in the world to be pissed off. And if he needs any info from me to back up his case, he's welcome to it.

 

[ZeitGeist]

Here is my problem with this thread - CSRs are typically the lowest, least educated, least trained employees of a company. They are probably under incredible pressure to handle more call transactions per hour and per shift than is reasonable to expect. Call agents constantly move through call centers looking for better jobs and better opportunities so in addition to little training they have a limited experience set. Despite all these well known factors, there is always somebody that acts like it's amazing that a CSR gives them inaccurate information. Let me spell it out for you - the words coming from a CSRs mouth are not necessarily correct. "Because a CSR told you so" is not a binding contract . I'm not a genius, despite what I sometimes like to think, but I understand Voom's installation policy. I read it from printed and published materials on the Voom website. I read about it on online discussion boards like this one. There is no way someone who researched and did their homework would not know about the installation policy. Even then, if you read over the installation paperwork before you signed, the policy would be explained again in that paperwork. That's a real contract and that means something. I know Voom wants every CSR transaction to go smoothly and every bit of information that's conveyed to be accurate but that's the ideal not reality. By the same token, anyone trying to get information about a service or a product should consider the CSR the least reliable source of information about that product or service. The older I get the more convinced I am that there is a segment of customers that are unsatisfiable. No matter how hard a company tries, these customers will drain at the companies support resources well beyond any economic benefit these customers provides. These customers have an over-inflated sense of entitlement and obligation from a purchase that seems almost pathological. They relish conflict with CSRs and seek it out for the smallest of pretenses to engage in conflict again and again. They constantly seem to have communication problems with CSRs - "Well, the agent told me I could do this", "The agent said it wouldn't be a problem for me to just add this" "The agent never said anything about that when I talked to him". They are never satisfied unless they have been escalated at least once and they are constantly looking to get higher and higher up the chain to create a personal support relationship with a manager or director so they don't have to go through normal channels. So, my problem with this thread is that anyone whining about something so obvious as the installation policy should probably be spending that energy being nice to a CSR so they get the issue worked out and quit acting like a victim when the didn't, in fact, do their homework.

 

[bbtkd]

Having managed support staff, I can tell you that a reputable company will usually stand behind the false claims of the CSR if you can prove it, or if the CSR admits it. If you ordered when you called in and got the incorrect information, then there would be record of who the CSR is. Management should be asked to look into why that CSR may have given out that false information. The CSR may fess up to having made the mistake - and may still be making that same mistake. The manager may have the authority to waive the fee to retain you, but then they are setting a precedence since you may well report it here.

Secondly, I totally disagree with the $200 charge given that the tough part of the install is done on the first trip - putting up and aligning the dish. On an add-on visit they have to run a cable, add a multiplexor, and plop down a receiver. Perhaps part of the $200 covers the $25 multiplexor and the cable run - but $100 would be much more reasonable - allowing them to recoup their costs.

 

[vurbano]

Is it Voom's fault that you didn't read the terms?

No wonder lawsuits are rampant. They should never have let the kids out of school.

Bingo ..................

 

[GadgetRick]

Hmm...

Somehow I doubt anyone here always reads ALL of the, "fine print." For any of us to be saying this person is crazy is ridiculous. I just checked the Voom website to find this information and I did find it. It reads, and I quote, "$199 standard professional installation fee for each additional installation visit." Now, let's say I'm a potential new customer. I read this and think, "Hmm, I wonder if this means I'll be charged extra for another receiver install if I ask them up front..." So I call in, ask a csr about this and the csr assures me I won't be charged extra (for whatever reason). I take that as the bottom line because, bottom of the barrel or not, this is a csr and they work for Voom and are, inessence, Voom when I call in.

Now, a couple of weeks later I call in and find out I was given incorrect information (not saying lied to as the csr may have been misinformed). I'd be pretty pissed and I'm sure you would, too.

This is no different than buying a car and having the sales person telling you, "Sure! We'll give you a free oil change whenever you want!" Then you go in for your free oil change and they tell you the sales person was incorrected in telling you this. You'll be pissed but may have nothing you can do about it.

Sure, we can always beat this person up and tell them they SHOULD have done more research, they SHOULD have read the info on the website, they SHOULD have come to this website sooner. Hey, I'm all for research. I did some research before signing up for Voom but I didn't find this site until AFTER I'd signed up and had it installed for a week. I checked out Voom's website and all that stuff. What if I'm someone who DOESN'T have access to the Web and saw a commercial and called to sign up? What fine print would I be reading?

In short, to beat this person up for being upset they were given incorrect information is crazy. You say, "Why didn't you find this site sooner?" If I were them I'd be thinking I'm glad I didn't since I'd get beaten up for asking a question. Hey, the person made a mistake because they were misinformed. I'm sure you've made your share of mistakes. How about being a bit more friendly. You could have said something to the effect, "This has always been Voom's policy. It's a shame you were misinformed. Voom's a great service, you really should give them a chance." That would have been more appropriate than beating them up.

The Rickster