Worst Satellite TV Service Provider

Wow! A second WORST posting in just 2 days!

It does not mean that I am in a vile mode, but I was greatly annoyed by the arrogance of the company which goes under the label - VIASAT.

We contracted a satellite input for our TV about 5 years ago and obtained a service known as VIASAT.

Over the years I have been quite disillusioned by the service this company provides. I carried on as we were only using this during the winter months. During the summer months the service is unavailable. Our antenna is in such a place that as soon as the green leaves arrive on our neighbour's garden, we lose all signal strength and reception.

Finland went Digital a few months ago. We continued to receive some Finnish channels via satellite. We paid our satellite dues to Viasat during the month of December 2007, the fee being the same as before and the package being the same as earlier years.

Before I continue further, let me put this in context via the use of a simile.

Assume you go a shop with your little daughter. She buys a bag of sweets - a tasty selection of chocolate, toffee, gum and licquorice sweets and much more. You weigh the package, see it is exactly € 10 and pay for the sweets at the Cash Counter.

As you approach the door to leave the shop, a Security Guard stops you, asks you to open the bag of sweets and then proceeds to take out many of the sweets that your daughter likes. He closes the bag and gives it back to you before allowing you to leave the shop.

What would you do?

This is exactly what VIASAT has done.

I signed up for the Silver Package which contained a selection of programmes that both Annikki and I could watch. However, on the 31st of March a range of channels was removed and from 1st April these channels are no longer even listed in the Menu!

If I paid € 201.32 for the 178 channels and then 10 channels are removed - do I sit quietly by and accept that over the next few years the company can strip me of all the channels and yet charge me the € 201,32?

When I called their Service Line, they were unable to answer under what law they acted this way. To reach an Operator on their Service Line, I had to hold on for 45 minutes, as the Operator was probably watching the channels that had been cut off from my package!

The Operator asked me to address my complaint to their email address: info@viasat.fi

I told the Operator that I was not going to do that as the last time I sent a complaint to them, it was in December 2007 and to this day there has not even been an acknowledgement of my complaint.

I demanded to speak to a person.

I was told the boss was one Petri Linnankivi whose phone number was 09 - 251 30111.

I rang the number and found it was their telephone exchange. The Operator refused to put me through to this gentleman, stating he was away in Viro. I was told that he would be back in 2 days.

On the day that he was back I rang but was informed that he was on another telephone line. I said I would wait online for him. The Operator would have none of it.

I gave my name and phone number and asked her to get him to call me back!!

Guess what, 5 days later I am still waiting for his call!!!!!

What would you like to call this sort of service - Extortion and Fraud by the Worst Satellite TV Service provider?

That is exactly what I would call it.