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Again, it sounds like some of us would rather kink the system that was put in place to help us all out than to punish those who choose to abuse that system for their own selfish gain at the expense of the rest of us. That just don't make no sense. If SPOT can find a way to make a buck or two by helping us all be a little safer out in the wilderness, then kudos to them, and I wish them the best of luck and hope they will continue to provide their services at a decent price. There would be no hope of doing that if we somehow made them pay the price for the abuse a few dummies perpetuate. ....
2.1.3 False SOS/911 Emergency Transmissions. You are solely responsible for any charges that may be assessed by emergency responders for either false SOS/911 emergency signals and/or in relation to search and rescue activities resulting from you or your authorized users transmission of a SOS/911 Emergency Signal. Should you deliberately or negligently misuse the SOS/911 Emergency Service, the SOS/911 service provider, GEOS, reserves the right to assess a fee in order to recoup their costs in relation to responding to such misuse. Negligent and deliberate misuse includes, but is not limited to, pressing the SOS/911 button to ‘see if it works’ or otherwise knowingly pressing the SOS/911 button when no emergency situation exists.
Should it be determined by Spot that you have deliberately or negligently misused the SOS/911 Emergency Service, Spot shall provide your credit card information on record to GEOS. GEOS shall then, without further notice, bill your credit card the appropriate fee, calculated at a rate of US $345.00 per hour, or stated part thereof, for a minimum charge of one (1) hour and maximum charge of two (2) hours, for each such false SOS/911 Emergency Signal event, and you shall be responsible to pay any such fee. If you purchase the optional Search and Rescue Service, such Search and Rescue services shall be subject to the terms of your separate agreement with GEOS, located at http://www.geosalliance.com/sar/.highlighted by me
They offer the additional rescue insurance from GEOS at $7.95(?) a year for up to $100,000.00 for a maximum of two rescues in a year.
In case anybody is still missing the point a person who has purchased the SPOT service has already made the agreement to pay SPOT for the privilege of pushing that button whenever they choose for any reason they like.
SPOT has accepted (demanded) payment for that privilege and that effectively transfers the responsibility to the SPOT service for such abuses. The disclaimer in the first sentence might not protect them in spite of their desire that it does.
I suspect a lawyer arguing against any personal fines would bring up this issue and the concept of double jeopardy might apply as well.
The insurance they presently charge for also carries heavy penalties for abuse.
If there is a problem over what amount SPOT has demanded payment for then maybe they should charge the $7.95 a year for the insurance rider and include it as part of the service automatically.
$7.95 is not likely to be a deal breaker for anybody buying their beacon so the argument about it driving them out of business is very questionable.
The fact is that SPOT is already charging the money.
You should also note the standard disclaimers on their GEOS insurance policy and their payment terms.
http://www.geosalliance.com/sar/
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