09/21/2010 - WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. - Whether it's cell phones or satellite service, cancelling a contract can be costly. But one local family tells our Taking Action Reporter Jackie Callaway they got hit with a fee even though they believe they fullfilled their end of the bargain.t was back in 2007, Pat Tatro said, they decided to divorce their satellite service. “Every time it rained or we have thunderstorms we would lose the signal on DIRECTV.”

A 3 year old email from DIRECTV appears to confirm that the Tatros’ commitment ended in December of 2007. “This email definitely said the contract was up.”

But months later, DIRECTV's collection agency sent out the first of several demands for an early cancellation fee of $149. "They told us that we did not fulfill our commitment. We knew that we had,” explained Pat's husband, Lee.

In all, the Tatros said, five different collection agencies hounded them by phone and email for more than 2 years on DIRECTV’s behalf over that $149. “Every time you would talk to anybody, they would say we owe this money and we should pay it.”

I relayed the Tatros’ claim and paper work to DIRECTV's corporate office and asked that they review this customer's account.

In a statement, DIRECTV explained. “This was an administrative error on the part of DIRECTV and we have since apologized to Mr. Tatro for the inconvenience, reversed all fees and zeroed out his account. We have also arranged to stop the collection activity and remove any negative credit reporting."

Pat says she is just glad to have this behind them. “It is really a relief to know that someone out there can speak for you because they were obviously not listening to us.”Satellite Internet Servicesource: www.abcactionnews.com