SODA SPRINGS - A Caribou County man has made dozens of phone calls looking trying to find out why hundreds of dollars were taken from his accounty by DIRECTV.

Ellis King thought that he was going to just get more channels by signing up with DIRECTV, but it has turned out to be a headache. King, former DIRECTV customer said, "This in one marine you don't mess with."

In October, Ellis King signed up for DIRECTV. When the service started and he found out he wouldn't get local channels he tried to cancel. King was told to wait a few days while they tried to get the local stations going.

That's also when money started leaving his account. King said, "They were allowed to take $200 out, but they ended up taking $600 out."

After 20 phone calls, King was able to get them to return $200, but they don't know where the rest of the money went. He has also received a bill for more than $300, still with no explanation.

King has been working with Qwest, who set up the service, to get things sorted out, but so far hasn't gotten a lot of answers. "[Qwest]has helped tremendously to try to solve this problem. And I have spent up to 2 and a half hours on the phone at a time with them," said King.

No one from DIRECTV was available to do an interview, but a representative did tell me that the best way to get your problems resolved is to call 1-800-DIRECTV so they can find out what's wrong and figure out how to correct it.

Meanwhile King has gone back to his basic cable, and wants things get sorted out soon. King said, "I hope their happy with the thought that they ripped off somebody who is on social security and can't afford it."

Many DIRECTV customers don't experience problems like king.

And if you are ever unsure about services you are signing up for make sure to ask lots of questions and read any contracts you are given.

At our request DIRECTV issued the following statement: "We carefully disclose to customers all relevant terms and conditions of their agreement with DIRECTV, including the requirement that if they accept discounted or free equipment and an installation offer, they must remain a customer for a period of time - either 18 months or 24 months depending on the type of equipment they lease. And if they fail to keep that commitment, there is a cancellation fee. We believe our fees are fair reasonable and related to the actual cost of hardware and installation, and they are pro-rated - for example if a customer cancels in the 23rd month of their commitment they would be charged only $20.

Customers are fully informed at each step in the process of becoming a DIRECTV customer, beginning with the customer service reps sales script, (retailers are also required to disclose programming commitment terms), in confirmation letters that are sent to customers after the sale, and in equipment lease addendums signed by the customer at the point of installation. Reminders are also included in the customer's monthly bill statements.

As far as the cancellation period goes, it is 24 hours. If it’s processed through DIRECTV direct sales, in Idaho, the customer has 15 days," Robert Mercer, Director Public Relations DIRECTV.