[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Yup, in the past, when a company attempted to "screw" me, I explained how I would be contacting the local news outlets (i.e. Steele on Your Side) to present them with the facts of my case and request them do an expose on their company and business practices. That got their attention and they agreed very quickly to cancel the charges which I never should have been dinged with in the first place since I only asked for a quote and never agreed verbally or in writing to sign with their company.

When I had an issue with a defective product with The Shopping Channel, after bouncing back and forth with various customer "service" reps, I sent a letter via email to one other their executives (found the name online), mentioning how I had spent X number of dollars with TSC over the years, had not spent a dime since the dispute began several months earlier, am completely OCD and more than happy to share my unhappy experiences with EVERYONE I came into contact with, including posting negative feedback online and starting threads on every website I belonged to or planned to join, stating just the facts of the case and how badly TSC was handling it. (I mentioned the truism about how a happy customer will tell 5 friends, but an unhappy customer will tell EVERYONE). Within hours, I received a personal phone call from that executive (VP) who assured me that he had set into motion a complete refund of my purchase and that they would review my case to prevent future occurrences. Even gave me credit towards my next purchase.

So sometimes, when polite inquiries and negotiations fail, these kinds of tactics can work to make corporations realize that you're not just going to quietly go away and that the negative PR is not worth risking.

Hope you can resolve your situation to your satisfaction.

Anthony