Evelyn G Ohw
map-marker Madison, Tennessee

Bait and Switch with DirecTV and AT&T

Around the first week of July, I received an advertisement form AT&T indicting they now had bundled services in my area. I was happy to see this, because my bundled Cable bill had now risen to $200. I called and setup services for home phone, local and long distance, high speed internet services and TV with two premium channels for $124 x 6 mos, then to $148. Basic services were $30 for each, totaling $90. On August 11, 2009, I came home and to my amazement we had DirecTV and no premium channels. I immediately called Direct and spoke to someone who informed me Direct was "in" with AT&T and now we have a two-year contract with them. I told her that we were expecting AT&T, not Direct and no contracts. She also informed me that if I cancelled I would have a $479 cancellation fee. A couple of days later I was able to reach someone with AT&T and explain to them what had happened. This person said that in order for us to receive DirecTV we would have had to ask for it. He said that U-verse was available in our area, so we should not have gotten DirecTV. They said they had my credit card number and would take it from my account. Yeah, right! We kept getting all these different dates for installs for the phone and computer, meanwhile, I still being charged for the cable bundle. AT&T had a hold on the paperwork we could not cancel anything. It took two months to get all the services we initially requested; however, we received a bill from Cable for $70. In addition, I now owe over $750 worth of bills, including a $98 bill for a modem and phone service from AT&T that I have never used, (apparently, this is another division) they said that the U-verse bundle services does not include the phone, it was separate. I have already paid U-verse $166. This was a bait and switch scheme. We never asked for Direct, a separate modem and we should have stayed with Cable. I'll never do this again. I'll just do without any of it. It's not worth it.
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2 comments
Guest

They promised you that they can give me a bundled price for AT&T DSL service even though I do not have a phone line. I got the confirmation with the full-price but figured they'll change that.

NOPE, the bill came in full and AT&T cannot do a thing. LIAR!!!!

Guest

Direct TV just performed a text book bait and switch. Promised to waive the 2 year contract and when the installer arrived there was a $400 cancellation fee.

Crooks! Avoid Direct at all costs!

The call centers are unethical. And when I called to complain, then y refused to patch me in to a manager.

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Anonymous
map-marker Saint Louis, Missouri

DirecTV Customer for 10 years = Early Termination Charge!?

I have been a DirecTV customer for over 10 years. A little over a year ago (08/28/08), my Tivo DVR was having problems and I considered switching to Cable. Someone in the retention group convinced me to stick with DirecTV - they said they would throw in a Free HD DVR. I specifically asked if there was an addition contract commitment and they said there was not. I called to cancel my DirecTV today, and the 3 people I spoke with said that there would be a nearly $200 charge if I canceled now. I WOULD NOT have remained a Direct TV customer in 2008 if I had been told that there was a 2 year commitment involved - the technology changes too fast for any commitment longer than a year. At this point I am switching to Cable for my TV viewing with a 1 year commitment. In a year I plan to investigate U-verse and satellite again, but since DirecTV refuses to resolve this billing dispute, Direct TV will not be considered.
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Loss:
$180
1 comment
Guest

We just signed up with Direct TV thinking it would give us better TV watching. Our favorite has been HGTV because there were so many design and gardening shows.

Now that we have committed, there are NO Design and Gardening shows. What has happened.

It is very tiresome going from house to house watching people try to buy or lease, argue over the fact - absolutely NO variety and completely NOT worth watching. When are you going to go back to better programming?

rafadin R
map-marker Montgomery, Alabama

All lies & deceptions

shortly after i signed up a tornado tore down the dish. it took 3 appointments to get them to re-install it WITH CHARGES. this was an act of nature, not my fault. i should not have to pay for it to be re-installed AGAIN. i missed 2 days from work waiting for them to show up and never got a phone call telling me they were not coming. finally after the 3rd call, they arrived to put it back up. they use outside businesses to install and they do not monitor them. when i signed up, i was given a DVR upgrade. at no time was i told this was an extra fee to use. what is the point of having it if it can not be used without extra fees. when i call, i am given excuses and nonsense about i should have been told this. when i ask that they play back the recording from my initial call to set up service, i am told that is unavailable. they use it when they are getting you on something, but wont use it when you have them in a lie.
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Anonymous
map-marker Bethesda, Maryland

Paid for Cricket package..can't watch it!

I paid $59 to Direct TV to watch the Australia v West Indies cricket test series and unable to watch the 3rd test. They need to send a technician out long after the series will be finished. Not the 1st time I have had problems with Direct TV since my install 6 months ago - 3 months in, I had no service for 2 weeks! Of all the cable companies I have been with in different countries around the world, this is by far the worst! I can't wait till my contract ends.. they make Comcast look very good. Very frustrating..
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Anonymous
map-marker Miami, Florida

A disaster! The sevice is disgusting

Direct TV is a disaster. A few clouds and your reception is gone. We are watching the Heisman and just when they were to annound the winner, the picture is gone. This happens regularly. Good luck trying to get out of the contract! They are theives and the service is horrible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't ever order extra services because you will be billed for it forever. There has been litigation regarding this but the practice has not stopped. They will get you with offers to sign up and you will end up being a slave to them. Be warned and be careful.
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1 comment
Guest

I hope you did not hire an attorney for this.... Your states attorney general will help you out for free.

They will not take your case to trial, but if Directv has voided their own contract, then all you have to do is inform them that they have done so and if in fact you want to drop them at that point, make sure to let them know that you will be filing a complaint with your states AG. At that point if Directv engages you in payments you do not owe due to their contract void, the complaint was already filed and you can act on it.

You see your states AG is there to protect the consumer as well as the interests of the state. Plus the cool part is it's free, well actually you paid for it every time you purchased something or paid a tax...

marc b Tfo
map-marker Pinetop, Arizona

Direct TV shady business dealings

I had Direct TV service for about 11/2 to 2 years. I paid my bill all the time, only occasionally being even a little late. I had some pay per view services I chose. Each time I did a pay per view it gave me a notice on the tv itself that it was billing my account. When I halted the service, after a few months, I got a huge bill, in excess of #350, for "Pay per view charges on my receiver card." Incidentally, I made sure they got their receiver back; silly me!! Anyway, I could never contact a representative that would even help me out to verify the charges. After a couple months of going round and round, just trying to verify the charges, they sent me to collection. Their collection company is just rude and of course won't even try to verify if this is a correct charge, which is all I want to find out. I have finally turned the matter over to my lawyer, as I am not simply paying charges that their own equipment said were billed at the time, and they will not even verifiy the charges with me; only demanding the funds, and then sending me to collection when I did not roll over and pay. They act like pirates and their business model is completely reprehensible. Do NOT ever do business of any sort with Direct TV!! Marc Bauder
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3 comments
Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Direct TV "hides" this address but I found it! Bombard Ms. Filipiak with your complaints! Maybe, just maybe, they will realize JUST HOW BAD their service is and make changes. They hire and train people to be TOTALLY INCOMPETENT and then tie to you exorbitant contracts when they fail to provide the type of service that is expected.

If the industries won't police themselves, we, as consumers, have an obligation to. Also, contact your local Consumer Protection Agency (listed on County Gov't websites) with your complaints. These "monopolies" are ILLEGAL and the Consumer has to stand up for their rights.

Guest

I got the same problem. Did your lawyer help you get the matter resolved?

Guest

As a UK citizen spending some time in the states I feel so sorry for you having to put up with USA consumer laws. I have several friends here who have had so many problems with the sales techniques and also customer services plus the deceptive and disgusting way they have been spoken too. The cancellation fee's and long term contracts plus mis-selling is something we get in Europe but nowhere near the scale or glee that goes with Direct TV. It's as if there is something great and 'American' by shafting your fellow countrymen.

There also appears to be a totally toothless process for taking these mispractices to task. It feels as if you are duped, then tough luck-attorney's and trade commissions are not interested. Direct TV and it's disgusting ways would have been outed and outlawed in most EU countries.

Direct TV really is run and staffed by people who care about nothing but the dollar. just thank the stars you dont wake up and find yourself as the kind of person who spends their time working for such a horrible company.

If the American dream is to screw your fellow man and provide lame products with the worst customer service on the planet then Direct TV is leading the way.

I hope enough of you get together to hound these *** out of business.

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dreamwalkertx H
map-marker Livingston, New Jersey

Class Action

We contacted DirectTV about service. We made them fully aware of our need for mobile service.

They assured us their service would work.

They came out and installed and it did work. 2 weeks after the installation we went on vacation....we did not take the satellite with us as we knew we would have cable where we were going.

When we got back the satellite could not find a signal. They sent a tech out. He was not able to find the signal. He also informed us that the dish they set us up with was the hardest to acquire a signal on.

My husband talked to the office..and they admitted that the dish we had was hard to acquire a signal with. Without it however, we couldnot get the HDTV that we wanted.

He told them to cancel the service since they could not provide us with what we had asked for.

He was told that it would cost $440.00 to cancel the service. He responded..."we have to pay for something that you can't deliver" The response was "We don't promise that you will get a signal just that we make the equipment available and make every effort to help you obtain the signal.

We feel that we should not have to pay for something that could not be delivered.

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Loss:
$440
4 comments
Guest

I live in Southfield, MI. In May 2010 I called Directtv to switch from Dish Network because of a promotional brochure $29 monthly, 3 months of HBO & Showtime, 1 DVR and a visa gift card for “switching” service that was sent to me.

I spoke with a rep who told me "No Problem" we can match the service and give you $150 visa for “switching” service. I advised I was paying $24.99 monthly for basic service with HBO & Showtime with 4 DVR boxes. They asked for my credit card for a one time billing. In “good faith” I gave it to them.

They didn't show when they were suppose to. When they did they spoke with my 17 year old and had him let them in. When I got home, there wasn't any instructions on how to use; and I had to call to find out how to get to my local news channel. There was no DVR's in any of my rooms.

I didn't have HBO or Showtime. Those were my first 2 breaches of my contract. The first two months I got a bill for $60 odd dollars. Which I called on and they made it impossible, I was told by a rep I had to go on line to get this "rebate" that was not disclosed to me when calling in order.

When it didn't work I wanted a rep, I was told I would be charged $20 a month for the rest of my contract for getting a rep to assist me with this problem. Fast forward I’ve had a couple of surgeries for a reoccurring tumor this year and it’s now December, I never “cancelled” my contract; I was indisposed. Direct TV “cancelled” my contract and WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION charged my Visa debit $600. The only reason I knew this is, I filed a Police Report on unauthorized charges that had been taken out of my account that has caused financial stress to my family because I couldn’t work at this point.

Now I can’t pay my light or gas bill and it is winter.

Is it legal for Direct TV to breach their contract and charge me in the process? I feel that this is a bait & switch tactic by their company, and a breach of promise.

Guest

There has to be an attorney looking to get these monsters, just look at the web there is so many people hurt by direct tv. there is even a facebook page with almost 1000 people so far.

Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Direct TV "hides" this address but I found it! Bombard Ms. Filipiak with your complaints! Maybe, just maybe, they will realize JUST HOW BAD their service is and make changes. They hire and train people to be TOTALLY INCOMPETENT and then tie to you exorbitant contracts when they fail to provide the type of service that is expected.

If the industries won't police themselves, we, as consumers, have an obligation to. Also, contact your local Consumer Protection Agency (listed on County Gov't websites) with your complaints. These "monopolies" are ILLEGAL and the Consumer has to stand up for their rights.

Guest

Sue the bastards

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C H Zam
map-marker Berkeley, California

Direct TV Rebate Trouble

I was told to submit the rebate before installation in order to receive it faster but when I tried the site indicated that I had no order for installation. After installation I tried to submit my rebate again but the site kept freezing up & not allowing me to finish. I then mailed my rebate form and almost 3 mos later received a post card stating that my package was not eligible. I had sent several emails to direct tv which all responded with stating I was eligible. I called and was told to wait 3 more mos. Class Action Suit
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2 comments
Guest

direct tv sucks.

Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Direct TV "hides" this address but I found it! Bombard Ms. Filipiak with your complaints! Maybe, just maybe, they will realize JUST HOW BAD their service is and make changes. They hire and train people to be TOTALLY INCOMPETENT and then tie to you exorbitant contracts when they fail to provide the type of service that is expected.

If the industries won't police themselves, we, as consumers, have an obligation to. Also, contact your local Consumer Protection Agency (listed on County Gov't websites) with your complaints. These "monopolies" are ILLEGAL and the Consumer has to stand up for their rights.

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Jim G Tai
map-marker Lincoln, Maine

Misrepresented CO. Stole $359.00 from me.

We ordered DTV in July. When it was installed (it was supposed to be free),we were charged for installation on the first bill. Concurrently,we did not get what we were promised in the "deal". We complained about this, as we only got what we were promised after calling and complaining. The first bill came for $92.00. The second bill was $108.00. We had 10 days of what we ordered, and we were complaining about being charged for installation. We didn't pay the first bill immediately, as we had not been satisfied with the service, and were talking with some yo-yo who gave us the run-around. Meanwhile, Direct TV turned the service off. They said in an e-mail that they were going to charge us for back payments, and the cost of getting out of the 2 year contract the amount of $339.00. They took $359.00 from the debit card used to "just check if the account worked ,charging $40.00, and then putting it back into my account. What a scam. These people just wanted to have a way of getting paid for their very poor service and business practices. I am the card holder, and I was not on the contract . Does this sound fair? I have been robbed by Direct TV, and the government lets this company continue to operate this shameful businessand to defraud unsuspecting consumers. They wouldn't talk to me, as I wasn't on the contract, but they were able to take my money. I am disabled and get only $974,00 per month from the VA. What will I do for food? Do tgese people even care? I don't think so.
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2 comments
Guest

I am disabled to but they didn't tell me about the 24 month contract that you have to sign with them. The service wasn't that good to begin with and well I wanted to cancel because I moved and service wasn't allowed where I was so now I don't know what to do.

Bill P Tfi

You said you are disabled, and the bank allowed them an unauthorised billing to your account? Your bank should know where your money comes from and if it is ungarnishable due to being life subsistancy money.

Also, have you filed a complaint with your states Attorney General's office. It works you know, Sears decided to follow their agreement after I filed with my states AG.

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Anonymous
map-marker Boston, Massachusetts

Direct TV Consumer Fraud

Direct TV's 'buyout' is a huge scam. A marketer called us repeatedly offering us a great deal. They would give us a cheaper monthly rate AND buy out our contract. The total cost would be no more than $200 to buy out the contract from Dish. Well, the Dish Cancellation fee = $350 for some outrageous reason. They can charge what they want, put it in VERY fine print, and we all sign up, no recourse, no assistance, no renumeration. Direct TV WILL NOT help in any way. Talked to six departments 8 individuals while on the phone over 45 min. No one could help us, there is no particular department that deals with this, that is just the way it is. There has to be a class action law suit against this company.
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Loss:
$150
1 comment
Guest

:cry Contact the BBB

Anonymous
map-marker Pharr, Texas

Direct tv sucks

I am a customer of Direct Tv. I am very dissatisfied because i am gonna have to pay more than $50 dollars for the english choice package and the new customers would only have to pay $29.99 for this same package.. what a ripp off...well this company should not be allowed to ripp off customers like this way that they do they are all just being taken advantage of good customers like me and any other people who fall for their *** promotions they will likely loose all customers in the near future. they are all insane sensless peopel.
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Edward B Qhx
map-marker Old Town, Maine

Debit card used!

They couldn't put up the Satellite, cancelled the servce, then they took the remainder of the bill out of my Checking account, which cost me $70.00 in service charges-screwed up my account. Don't let this company do this to you, my husband got paid, was pissed off and couldn't do anything. Thanks to Direct Tv, I had to pay for getting my cable connected, will they pay for this mistake? No way, the bank said probably not. Don't let any company have your debit card number, they will rip you off. Kat in Waterville.
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2 comments
Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Direct TV "hides" this address but I found it! Bombard Ms. Filipiak with your complaints! Maybe, just maybe, they will realize JUST HOW BAD their service is and make changes. They hire and train people to be TOTALLY INCOMPETENT and then tie to you exorbitant contracts when they fail to provide the type of service that is expected.

If the industries won't police themselves, we, as consumers, have an obligation to. Also, contact your local Consumer Protection Agency (listed on County Gov't websites) with your complaints. These "monopolies" are ILLEGAL and the Consumer has to stand up for their rights.

Margo Ocm

Always use a CREDIT CARD instead of a debit card. Then you don't have to chase the money. Just call your bank and have them cancel it.

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Anonymous
map-marker Tacoma, Washington

Please don't get Direct TV.

They will be nice to you till you pass that 24 hrs cancellation time. That they don't even tell you first. After that you are nothing. Whatever happens to you even if you can't even see anything just like my case. I was told to live with it for 2 yrs or pay 450 dollars and cancel. They don't care, their agents are well trained with this. The managers are just here to repeat what you have been told by their agents. No sympathy at all. The only solution is I have is to cancel and pay their money. They are lagally there to rip off people. Legally organized. Someone need to look at this issue. I'm planning to push it everywhere so people don't get victim with them
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6 comments
Guest

The worst service ever...My power company said they could hook me up with direct t.v. for just 32 dollars a month (no fee's including install)it came out to be 72 a month after the fist month.after arguing with the agents for an hour they gave me a free credit,and made me wait 6 weeks for a rebate to clear to reduce it to 50 dollars,which infact is just enough time to get one more full payment for 72 dollars from you.what really pissed me off though is when my so called "free" movie package was expired,and they decided to re-enroll me then charge my account almost double.32-100 a month,really?? now direct tv is saying the fee to cancle is 400 dollars,and they will continue bill my already overdrew account.

Guest

Whatever you do, DO NOT GET THEIR SERVICE. They are liars, theives and have ripped off over 41,711 people was the last I read on the net.

They have settled for a 14 million dollar law suit in California, and still doing it. Quest used to be a good company, that's why I considered their promotion, it was the bundle package through Quest I wanted. Nightmare, hidden fees, lies, rude people, letters to billing to resolve the matter. I offered to pay for my use, so I paid Quest to clear the account for $169.00.

Then Direct TV becomes a seperate entity and wants $380.00. After all I had mentioned, my resolutions is.....*** YOU DIRECT TV, I'm not giving you anything, I'll fight you....

Guest

i was looking to get direct tv

Guest

if you would just stop one of the techs u see in your area and kindly ask him or her to take a look at your problem they will more than likely come take a look that is my standard operating procedure

Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Bombard them with your complaints

Guest

Direct TV

Corporate Office

Ms. Ellen Filipiak

Sr. VP, Customer Care

2230 East Imperial Highway

El Segundo, CA 90245

Bombard Ms. Filipiak with your complaints

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Teodora Svo
map-marker Novato, California

DirecTV - Run, hide, stay away!

DirecTV was unequivocally the worst experience that I have ever had with any product or service. It's hard to believe that such a company can legally operate while employing the deceptive business practices that I encountered throughout the 17 month term of service that I had with them. Once they have you, there is no way out. If you request to cancel service due to their deceptive billing practices, failure to honor agreements/promises or evasive customer service and unresolved problems, they will threaten you with a huge termination fee for canceling early. I cannot believe how many hours (probably days if you add them all up during my 17 months of service) that I spent on the phone & emails in good faith trying to give DirecTV the opportunity to honor the promises & agreements they made. However, despite all this effort, I was met time and time again with extremely evasive customer service that will drag out an issue (no matter what it might be) for as long as they can in what appears to be a tactic to wear you down into just giving up. A perfect example of this the $50 Visa gift card that was promised at the beginning of service for enrolling in auto bill pay. They initially told me it would take 4-6 weeks to arrive. After a couple of months I called to check on the status of it and was told that it wouldn't be sent until after three billing cycles had passed. A couple of months later I was then told that they never had any Visa Gift card offer. In future phone calls I spoke with managers and representatives who said each time that the issue was being sent to a special "escalation department". However there was never any type of response or resolution. I requested several times to just credit my account for $50 in lieu of the Visa Gift Card and they said they couldn't do that. Finally after 10 months and countless phone calls I said that I was going to cancel my account. They immediately threatened me with a $250 early termination fee if I did so. Then they put me on hold and said they would credit my account for $50 (even though they said this couldn't be done in the countless phone calls over the previous 10 months). When I signed up for DirecTV, I specifically indicated that it would be for RV use. At the recommendation of the DirecTV rep, I ordered a mobile tripod for an additional $50 that could be used for this purpose. I was told that the local channels would be available wherever I went. That, however, was not the case. I was later told that I needed to pay a significant additional fee to receive local channels. When I said I wanted to cancel because I couldn't get the local channels that they promised and I was paying for, Directv again threatened to charge me with a huge early termination fee. I finally had enough and told Directv at the end of 2008 that I was going to cancel my account regardless of any termination fees. They transferred me to the "retention department" and offered me a price of $34.99/mo that was locked in for the remaining 12 months. Wanting to avoid the termination fee I agreed and thought the problems were over. I asked the representative to put notes on my account regarding the offer in order to avoid any issues in the future. The next month they debited my checking account for $42.99. I called DirecTV and referred them to the previous offer and account notes. They said they saw the offer and put in a request to correct it but it would take 7-14 days. Then the next bill came and it was for $62.99. I called again and they still hadn't corrected the first error and were about to debit my checking account for $62.99. They said they would send a request to the now mythical "escalation department" but it would take another 7-14 days. When I called to follow up they said that $62.99 was correct and they didn't see any offer of $34.99 from the retention department. After several more weeks and many hours on the phone & email and they still refused to acknowledge the offer that was made even though the first representative confirmed the notes were in my account. I decided at this point I needed to handle all future correspondence in writing. So I sent an email to customer service and said that I was cancelling my service and would file a complaint with the BBB. In subsequent replies they first said they would charge $42.99, then $37.99 and then $39.99. It was different with each representative and each reply. They still refused to acknowledge the first offer of $34.99 notated on my account and even refused to acknowledge the $37.99 that I now had in writing. I finally had to cancel auto bill pay to prevent them from arbitrarily debiting my account for unauthorized overcharges. For anybody that hasn't gone through this process and is wondering why not just cancel service and then refuse to pay the early termination fee? The answer is Directv has your debit/credit card on file. Within days of cancelling service, they will charge your card for the termination fee without any type of bill, authorization or notification. In my case this was a debit card linked to my checking account. Poof…$139 in cash was gone without my knowledge. Fortunately I had enough cash to cover the charge. But this could easily have resulted in some hefty overdraft and returned check charges. When I requested that they refund the charge, they referred me to the customer agreement that says they have the right to charge your card without notice for termination fees. Apparently, DIRECTV believes that it is acceptable business practice to actively evade any promises/agreements made with the customer, but fully expects the customer to keep paying for their "service" or suffer the consequence of a huge early termination fee. Please do yourself a favor and stay clear of this company. No matter what "special offer" they have at the time and no matter how good it may seem, they will do everything within their power not to honor it. You will end up spending many frustrating hours on the phone, usually with no resolution. And if a resolution ever does come, it will often take months of continuous follow-up in order to make them honor their agreements.
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1 comment
Guest

This is a pretty well documented experience and may be legitimate but......

You people are pathetic, paranoid and are probably liberal Democrats that think everyone should get everything for nothing as well. For anyone that thinks that all businesses are out to get you I would encourage you to get professional help immediately before you kill again. While occasionally one of you may have been victim of an error or perhaps even an intentional act of deception for the most part most of you are simply clueless or qualify as perpetrators of fraud yourselves.

A company the size of DIRECTV has a legal department the size of a small Midwestern town that advises them on every policy and practice that they employ. Now I'm not saying that there are no instances of an individual that works for DIRECTV misleading a customer, intentionally or unintentionally. But as a corporate entity DIRECTV has everything to lose by setting policy and engaging in practices that are detrimental to its bottom line. The only way to avoid attrition is keep the customers you have happy so they will tell others.

DIRECTV has about 18 million customers and they continue to grow. Apparently most of those 18 million are pretty well satisfied because DIRECTV has been ranked #1 in customer satisfaction for 9 years running. If they were p-i-s-s-i-n-g (Funny isn't it, that a website that is called Pissed Consumer won't let the word *** be used in posts. Pretty hypocritical.) off even 1% of their customers there would be about 180,000 people or so that should be posting on this site yet there is only a handful. Now of the 18 million or so people who are DIRECTV customers they are either 18 million of the stupidest people on the face of the Earth or the less than 1% who claim to have been duped are. Which is it? My money is on the 180,000 or less.

DIRECTV agents are trained for 2 weeks before they take a single call. Then they go through another 2 weeks of On-The-Job training under the watchful eye of trainers. And once they are allowed to take calls without extremely close supervision they are subject to frequent monitoring to ensure that they deliver a quality consumer experience. Every call an agent takes is recorded and archived. They are required to quote accurate pricing based on what they are told by the prospective customer. If the customer attempts or does provide inaccurate information in an attempt to get service or discounts they are not entitled to how does the DIRECTV or one of its agents have responsibility for inaccurate pricing or information that could result. Agents are required to inform all customers that they are leasing, not buying equipment and upon termination of services the equipment must be returned to DIRECTV or the credit or debit card that they provided when they became a DIRECTV customer would be charged for the cost of the equipment. Customers are told to review their 1st bill and the Customer Agreement that is included carefully and to keep both for their records. New customers are told the length of their agreement and if they break that agreement due to early cancellation then they are subject to early cancellation fees. Currently this is $20 per month left in the agreement term. It will be charged to the credit or debit card they provided when they set up service.

You see, when someone calls to sign up for DIRECTV some do not listen closely to what they are being told. It is my assessment that those who claim to have wronged are probably among those who wanted to rush through the sign-up process, argued with the agent about the length of the agreement, felt the cancellation fees were unfair or just ignored any information that the agent provided that didn't line up with their own personal perception of what they did or didn't have to do to hold up their end of the bargain. They think that to provide TV service as content rich as what DIRECTV provides is free, that DIRECTV gets 100% profit from every dollar they take in. Get a clue. Every business that exists today makes an investment and has an expense before any profit is made. DIRECTV is no different. Typically it takes DIRECTV at least 18 months to break even on a new customer. Let me repeat that for the really thick-headed among you. It typically takes 18 months for DIRECTV to break even on the installation and set-up of a new customer. No business exists to just break even and no business continues to exist if they don't make a profit. Since its establishment DIRECTV has continually improved its service, content and technology. No business in the television service provider industry has a record as good as DIRECTV.

Some people complain that satellite TV use to be free. Really? If I recall a satellite system with a dish the size of Rhode Island ran about $8000 or more. That is about 6 years of DIRECTV service with the Premier package that contains over 285 channels of the most popular programming content available. No other TV service provider has anything even close. Of course, one does not have to have a TV service provider. For those of you who think TV should be free as your God given right, you can put up an antenna and get reception of local channels if you can get a strong enough signal. But shut your pie hole and don't complain when there is nothing to watch on TV or there is 30 minutes of program content and 30 minutes of advertising to pay for “free” TV. Or maybe you can watch programming content provided on the Internet that is free. But my friends, that is not free either. You either at least have to have Internet service which is not free, you are a mooch who only gets WI-fi from places like Starbucks or McDonald's (God love ya) or you are stealing service from someone. Who is the unethical one now?

Are you familiar with the Pareto Principle? I doubt it. Simply put 80% of effects are derived by 20% of causes. It is also referred to as the 80-20 Rule. How does it have relevance to this monologue? 80% of the problems/complaints are generated by 20% of the customers a company has. These disgruntled people also increase the expense of doing business and guess who gets to cover the bill? The 80 percent who are relatively satisfied. Do me/us a favor, go kill yourselves now, before you cost me/us another penny. I/we will be eternally grateful.

Anonymous
map-marker Jackson, Mississippi

Directv service

i use the directv warrenty @5.99 a month and includes everthing. i called for a dish setup after 2 years in a home that had an old dish on a landscape timber in the yard and they wanted to charge me 50 dollars and wouldnt even discuss it. so my suggestion is dont use them, they over bill, charge for services you dont order and do not honor their warrenty agreements. i cant understand it cause i have been a customer for about 9 years and over the years they have pulled so shanagans i hope some body decieds to start a new satelite company i will be their first customer
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There is always Dish Network. I have comcast myself, because i can watch my baseball team for free.

If i get directv or dish network, I have to buy the extra innings package to watch my team. Plus, they have On Demand and they dont charge for every tv in the house. I have one cable box in the living room and thats all they charge for.

The other tvs are connected directly to the coaxial so they only get basic cable channels. That works fine for me because if i cant find something interesting on 65 channels, then i dont need to watch TV.

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