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Prime TV Complaints Are Many

BY MATTHEW MORIARTY: Staff Writer

The state attorney general’s Consumer Protection Bureau is investigating what it says are many complaints surrounding Prime TV.

Noelle Talley, press officer for Attorney General Roy Cooper, said that investigators met with lawyers from Prime TV Friday to talk about the thousands of complaints the attorney general’s office has received.

Most of the complaints have come from customers who claim that they didn’t receive promised rebates from Prime TV. But other grievances have arisen as well.

Prime TV had been providing DirecTV satellite systems. DirecTV abruptly ended that relationship on March 25, saying that Prime TV was also selling its leading competitor, Dish Network. DirecTV also cited customer complaints. Prime TV has filed for arbitration seeking about $30 million from DirecTV.

After the DirecTV contract cancellation, Prime TV laid off about 270 employees and apparently ceased operations. Related companies like Gatelinx Corporation and DishTV Now hired back about 115 employees.

A number of former employees, who do not want to be identified, say that David and Annette Hagen, of Southern Pines, own all of those businesses. Prime TV’s lawyer, Richard (Trey) Yelverton III, has denied that the Hagens are the owners, though David Hagen calls himself the manager.

The Hagens, who had previously served time in federal prison on fraud convictions, started Prime TV in 1997.

The business did well by offering DirecTV service at an affordable price and promising rebates for installation fees. But complaints began coming in to the Better Business Bureau and the attorney general’s office from customers who said they had encountered hidden fees and troubles getting rebates.

The Better Business Bureau Web site says that Prime TV has an unsatisfactory record. It also says that Prime TV is also doing business as Gatelinx Corporation.

Several former employees have spoken to The Pilot this week though none have been willing to come forward and use their names.

During the hiring process, management made it clear to prospective employees that giving out the names David and Annette Hagen would be grounds for firing, several former employees said.

Instead, they were told to give customers the name “Louise Brown” and to say that she doesn’t take phone calls, only written correspondence. A memorandum from Prime TV, titled “Important Information,” says that letters should be sent “ATTN: Louise Brown.”

The letters went to Customer Service Manager Jeff Hess, employees said. Hess would not comment on any Prime TV issue when reached by telephone.

Brown, employees say, does not exist.

“It’s a fictitious person,” one said. “I worked there five months before I found out she didn’t exist.”

Yelverton promised to issue a statement to The Pilot on Monday on the “Louise Brown” question and other issues, but no release was forthcoming.

Others who worked independently for Prime TV are speaking out against the company. Prime TV used independent contractors to install DirecTV systems. Many of those installers are now saying they haven’t received money owed to them.

Michael Faith owns an installment business out of Louisville, Ky. He said that installers are a close-knit group and many are feeling the effects of the Prime TV situation. He’s one of the lucky ones, he said, and is only owed a “couple grand.” He said that other installers he knows about have lost their businesses, maxed out their credit cards, mortgaged their property and dug into their personal savings. Some will lose their homes, he said.

Prime TV sold hundreds of thousands of satellite systems. It went through a few firms to hire “probably a couple thousand” installment businesses, Faith said. Each of those businesses employed a number of technicians. Faith has 15. Owners are having a tough time paying their technicians, he said.

DirecTV has worked out a deal where installers can get some of their money back. But some installers want all of what they are owed. Faith, for example, has notified customers that he intends to put a lien on properties where his business installed systems as a way to recoup expenses.

He regrets the action but explains that he feels forced into the situation.

“I just want to get paid,” he said.

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