Why don't you read my post to see what I think of people trying to negotiate a better price for the ST. I also stated in my post my prior experience with this issue, and no, it's not on the install side. I am very much pro customer when it comes to helping customers out (if you doubt that click my name and read some of my older post).
I do not believe the whole 140 dollars was for something the was covered under the LOS policy. How many feet did the installer bury the line? Did the installer do any wall fishing--those are always a custom install. If you had an issue with paying the money or making the check out to him, you had a responsibility to contact DirecTV WHILE THE INSTALLER WAS ON SITE. To go back and complain after the fact is cowardly and to stealing--again, I don't believe the full 140 was for the pole. By waiting until the day after he leaves you are not giving him a chance to defend himself.
If you have concerns place a stop payment on the check and the installer will contact you and you can work it out with him. You should have an itemized list of charges, and D* has standard rates for each custom item. Why don't you contact D* and see what the standard rate should be. It sounds to me like you are the type that pays sticker price for a car, drives it home and speaks to the wife and when she finds out how much you paid she makes you go back to the lot and renegotiate . You signed on the dotted line with the knowledge of what's included, why should you be able to go back and complain behind his back.
I'm not defending the installer who charged you for a pole that was included, I would have choice words for him as well, but he is not here. Again, the pole is only part of the 140--there is something that you are not telling us.
Here is what i got:
Pole. Hammered into the ground. No digging of a hole. No concrete. Just a pole he hammered in the ground. Hope it doesn't get pushed around when the frost comes.
20 ft of cable run to the house. Entry point same as where the existing cable lines came in. Did not bury any of the cable. He just pushed mulch over it next to the house. He connected to the existing wires in the basement where the old cable splitter was.
He connected boxes and was out the door.
That's it. He was in and out in 1hr 15min.
Frankly, I didn't bitch to him because I was blindsided by the cost, which he told me AFTER the install. I wanted to talk with him about it, but he called what I am guessing was the CS department to answer a few questions (on my cell phone, not his) and by the time I got off the phone with DTV, he was half way down the block.
I still don't get why you consider me a thief by calling DTV and attempting to get an explanation of the cost on what most here consider to be a free install. But whatever. You try to negotiate deals for greatly reduced or free items and consider that OK. I want to get some $ back because I feel (based on many of the folks here) that I got hosed. And no, I would not pay sticker price for a car and then go back a day later. I would research what the car should cost and then pay that amount. Basically, the same thing I did here. Looked around on the web for an answer to my question. Even put a post on a message board and got what I would expect were resonable answers (except for being called a thief). I used that information and came up with what I thought was a fair or expected price for the service I was getting.
I called DTV. I was told there is no standard rate sheet for what they consider custom installs, (and a pole mount is considered a custom install even with LOS issues according to them) that it is entirely up to the installer and that they have no control over it. They did not even have a record in their system of my work order for installation so the could not give me the name and number of contractor who installed my equipment. The only number I have on the paperwork given to me by the installer is disconnected...
Anyway, I did speak with DTV today and had $140 credit applied to my account (which I verified online prior to hanging up with the rep).
I understand that DTV needs to use contractors to do installs, however the rates charged should be posted on their website or the contractors they use should be required to have a rate sheet with them. Not something that they pull out with blanks where they fill in their own price.
