DirecTV Complaint: Contract Renews With Each Replacement of Defective Equipment

February 20, 2010
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The following complaint was sent by Beverly A. Lyons to Connecticut state officials as well as to us:

I am reporting a situation that I feel should be looked into on behalf of all consumers who are may be subject to what I am describing below, or similar practices that seem to me to constitute unfair business practices.

I have been a customer of Direct TV since October 2007 and have never requested upgraded equipment or upgraded service.

We originally had two HD DVR receivers which we paid $655.03 for from the very beginning which we do not own as well as one special HD non-DVR receiver in the dining room that would allow us to get OTA (off the air local channels) if the satellite services went out, thus we considered our contract to be up by 11/1/09.

However during the time we have had the service, we have had to have several pieces of equipment replaced due to equipment failure, particularly the non DVR HD receiver in the dining room, that has failed twice, the last time being in June 2009 (shipped back 7/6/09).

The replacement for that receiver that was shipped to us did not work, and we had Direct TV service come out on 7/7/09. The tech determined on 7/7/09 that the new one shipped out to us by Direct TV in June 2009 received was also defective (shipped back 7/15/09).

The service tech called all over and could not get us a replacement but finally located one in Massachusetts. The tech returned the following day 7/8/09 with an HD receiver that would allow us to get OTA but it was a HD DVR receiver.

We advised him that (1) we had no need for another HD DVR receiver, (2) we were not interested in paying for the cost of another HD DVR receiver or the monthly fees associated with it.

The Tech told us 1) that he was replacing it at no cost because they could not get another receiver of the type we had anywhere, (2) Direct was probably discontinuing the model because they had too many problems with it, and (3) this replacement was being provided to us free of charge with no extra monthly fees to be charged by Direct as this is a replacement for the most recent one that had failed with OTA capability and, (4) this replacement unit was the only solution for Direct to honor OTA service capability which was part of the original service we contracted for.

The tech tried to call in to activate the receiver and was advised by Direct TV that the Direct TV system was down and that all he could do was to report that service was done and that he had switched out the box which is what he reported to Direct TV representative on the phone. The Direct TV person on the phone told the Tech that he would make a note that the replacement box has to be activated and there is no charge to be associated with this replacement box. The tech told us to continue to try to call and ask to make sure the box got activated when the system came back up. We continued to call in several times over the next few hours and each time we were told the system was not back up yet but that they had noted the information and would put the notes on the account when the system came up. Finally later the system must have come back up because the TV in the dining room worked.

As of this week we decided to change our service to AT&T U-verse. Today I called Direct TV Customer Services 1-800-531-5000 with Ed Norton, who resides here and who was present during all Direct TV installations and service, and we spoke with Diedra, a customer service representative, as requested that our Direct TV service be terminated as of today.

Diedra advised us she would terminate service today but that we had to pay an early cancellation fee of $320.00 upon disconnect of service because each time Direct replaced a receiver, even though they were replacing their defective equipment, the new receiver was activated and thus they automatically renewed our contract without us being advised or aware of any contract renewal.

We argued our case and that we never upgraded our service or equipment and that no way should we be responsible for any early termination fee because the only activations that took place were activations required to replace their defective equipment.

She refused to budge when we requested a waiver of this early cancellation fee. We asked to speak to a supervisor and we were referred to Dody the floor supervisor who again advised us that when equipment was replaced in January 2009 and again most recently in July of 2009, they automatically renewed our account contract without us even being aware of it. She said while there was no charge for the replaced defective receivers, we were subject to the early termination charge because they renewed our contract each time and she would not waive the $320.00 early termination fee.

Then she wanted to know if we still wished to keep the service and we told her no way and that we would fight this charge. She gave us the address for the Dispute Resolution Department, told us that we had 7 days to return the equipment from the date they sent out the return boxes or we would be charged for the equipment that was to be returned to them as well. She further advised that any pro-rated balance for service already paid after the cancellation date would be applied to early cancellation fees and equipment charges owed, and they would charge my credit card if they had a credit card # on file, otherwise we should expect to be billed.

This is outrageous! How can they get away with something like this! We were good customers who honored our contract, we had to pay a lot of money up front for receivers that still belong to Direct TV, they promised us OTA service when we agreed to sign up and it is not our fault they had to substitute different equipment to replace their defective units, and we faithfully paid our bill on time. It is our feeling that we did not break any agreement or contract with Direct TV, they failed us as customers!

I will write the Dispute Resolution Department today as well but any advise or help you could provide to look into this matter would be appreciated.

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24 Responses to DirecTV Complaint: Contract Renews With Each Replacement of Defective Equipment

  1. Jennifer Zic on February 22, 2010 at 9:59 am

    I am so happy that these people are going after DirectTV for automatically renewing their contract when they wanted to cancel. THIS IS WHY I REFUSE TO RENT THE DIRECTV EQUIPMENT AND BUY MY OWN. The Direct TV PRO21 is a receiver you have to buy on your own. I had a big fight with Directv many years ago and had to go to my attorney general about the fact that they automatically renew contracts with replacement receivers. This was still when you could buy your own receivers and then they switched their policy that even though you buy your receivers you have to return it to them. THey fought what I said to the Attorney General on how I thought this was wrong. I was not in the situation, but I tried to fight it. Direct TV has the most ridiculous rules and they don’t necessarily disclose them. I hope those people win.

    In any event as in everything else, I would not deal with the directv customer service reps., I would advise those people to go to Directv headquarters. Fight with them there and then the Attorney general.

    P.S. I am smart enough to know that even though you sometimes buy your receivers you must contact Directv and let them know that they are bought to own not leased and I have heard they sometimes automatically put you onto a lease and you would have to return the equipment that you spent a lot of money for.

    Please see an email that I made Directv give to me:

    Details: I would like something in writing confirming what I called earlier today about and spoke to Aaron in the West Virgina office. All my receivers including the new HR-21 PRO that I just purchased for $600.00 are all owned receivers and none are under any of Directv’s lease agreement. Please confirm this by email to Jzic2@aol.com

    Discussion Thread

    Response (Andrea F ID U7507)
    03/31/2008 05:44 PM

    Dear *****,
    Thank you for writing. I reviewed your account information and confirmed that you have 3 active receivers on your account. All 3 are designated as owned receivers. At this time I find no indication that there is a programming commitment on your account.

    Thank you again for writing. I appreciate your patience and understanding and I hope this answers your concerns.

    Sincerely,

    Andrea F. – U7507
    DIRECTV Customer Service

    ———————————————————————————————————————————————————-

    I’m just waiting for them to mess with me and I will get them back in a way they wished they had never messed with this consumer.

    • Rob on February 23, 2010 at 5:29 pm

      I’ve had problems with DirecTV since day one with their lies of $39.95 a month which instantly was $65 a month. I fought this imediately along with the other lies and filed a complaint with the Chamber of Commerce in S. Cal where they operated out of and followed another complaint through the Attorney Generals office. I received a call from Caroline, a executive secretary for DirecTV who was nice enough to starighten that dispute out. A year later my bill went to $65 again and had to start all over as we had moved and I couldn’t find any of the old papers. After weeks of calling and filing complaints again, they contacted me and reduced it back to $65 and stated they would correct my billing to $39. I was told not to send any amount in until I received the corrected bill. I then received threatening phone calls from their”Collection” department about my disputed so called corrected billing, over 24 calls in two day. I was so mad I called and cancellent them and said I would go to court and fight them. They had a customer retention girl contact me and correct the billing (which already had been corrected) and she added some movie channels for the problem and noted I was no longer in contract. Two months later, Feb of 2010 our movie channels stopped and I called and spoke to an Eli from cust retention who said he would do nothing and I was under contract until November of 2010????

      These guys are so messed up, I’d love to file Class Action Lawsuit against this poorly run company.

      I asked for them to send a copy of my “SIGNED Contract”, but they don’t have one. Instead stating they go off the date of the DVR issued to me.

      Any Help Here ????
      I’m so tired of DirecTV and their poor customer service and fraudulant sales tactics…

  2. Beverly A. Lyons on February 22, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    Late this afternoon while I was still at work, Ed got a call from a Direct TV representative named Whitney. Whitney stated that she called to apologize on behalf of Direct TV. Whitney stated that when she had looked back at my Direct TV records, Direct TV never should have upgraded my service on my account at the time they replaced their defective equipment and the replacement equipment was activated. Therefore, there should not have been any automatic contract renewal under the circumstances at any time when the defective equipment was replaced or activated. Whitney stated I should not have to pay the early termination $320.00 fee and that she would see to it that any days for which I have already paid beyond the date of cancellation of Direct TV service would be promptly refunded. In addition, Whitney advised that should I decide to return to Direct TV at any time in the future, Direct would offer me a nice package as a returning customer and unlike in earlier times, I would not have to pay a large sum of money upfront for their expensive equipment and then still pay a monthly leasing fee. Now I wait for the boxes to ship their equipment back and see how Direct TV handles the closing of my account and my final bill. It’s not over until the fat lady sings ! I am not sure what changed Direct TV’s mind or how Whitney got involved in reviewing my account, maybe it was the threat of reporting of what appeared to be unfair Direct TV business practices to the Attorney General or to the CT forum. I wonder how many other people out there have experienced the same thing and felt that they had no choice other than to pay that hefty early termination fee, even if they may not have been liable to do so.

  3. Beverly A. Lyons on February 23, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    And the beat goes on… Direct TV sent 1 box that arrived today to return 2 DVR and 1 regular receivers, remotes and power cords for each. Of course only 2 could fit in the 1 box and Ed had to call their Customer Service Dept. and tell them to send another shipping box and that I refused take responsibility for delay in return of equipment because they failed to send enough boxes and return Fedex labels to return their equipment after I canceled the service. Customer service said they would send another shipping box and an additional Fedex return label and to wait until the additional shipping box arrived and have Fedex pick up all the equipment to be returned at one time. I also checked my online account with Direct today and it shows my account closed with ) balance….so far so good but this is issue is along way from being fully resolved.

  4. billy on February 24, 2010 at 6:06 pm

    is direct tv going to keep letting the movie and program providers show the same movies and programs theyve been showing for the last 15 years over and over again, and if so i might as well cancell because im 63 yrs,
    . old and ill be dead soon,thanks for screwing the public for so many years

  5. David Cassenti on February 28, 2010 at 9:43 am

    I had DirecTV since April 2008 when DISH installers wanted to charge us $500 to dig a small ditch. I had some problems with service issues (I had to “buy” a card to get service on a box I owned:$20; and had to pay $5 per month for the “rental fee” on the boxes, even the one I owned). So, when I had problems with getting service after a windstorm this winter, I was surprised when DirecTV told me that, despite having their protection plan, they couldn’t help me. So, I decided to cancel my service. After one missed payment, they turned off my boxes (including the one I owned but didn’t own access to the stuff stored on the DVR). Not a problem, I thought, I’ll get to it when I can. This week, they shipped out two boxes to “recover” their boxes (including the one I own) and got them Wednesday with 7 days to return the boxes. This morning, I got notice from my bank that they charged my account $829.55 to “recover” the money for the boxes, with less than half the 7 days elapsed.

    HOW DirecTV gets away with this is beyond me. I have friends on their service that can’t wait to cancel their service as well, having had too many problems with them and their misrepresentation of their service, leaving out the card rental fees on top of the box rental fees, not honoring their DPP service agreement, etc. I agree with Rob – legal action might be required, but a class action lawsuit would end up being settled with DirecTV offering “free service” or “free premium channels” for 3 months as our settlement!

  6. Troy on March 2, 2010 at 12:50 am

    You are not the only one dissatisfied with DirecTV’s practices. The Washington State Attorney General listened to the complaints from residents of Washington State, and as of December 2009, has sued DirecTV for its “unconscionable” sales practices. I’ve been dissatisfied with my H20-HD receiver and had been living with it reseting itself on occasion when I tried to change channel. When I finally did some research I found my receiver was recalled but read that DirecTV wasn’t doing an automatic recall but were waiting until people called in. Well I finally called and all I got was instructions on how to do another reset with a promise that if it does it again they would replace it. I told them I knew this receiver was on the recall since it didn’t have the appropriate sticker on the bottom of the unit but was told to call back if it happened again. Well it was clear to me it was defective and it had happened enough. I’d been a loyal customer for 5 years and they want to passify the inevitable. Oh well, I just got on the internet and requested Dish Network. They were out the next morning. Of course, when I went to cancel my service with DirecTV they were then ready to listen and offer me the world, but it was too late. I love my new Dish Network HD-DVR and the service I’m receiving.

  7. Beverly A. Lyons on March 4, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    Just a follow-up to let everyone know that my DVR’s/receivers were sent back to Direct a week ago yesterday and I verified they were received by Direct last Friday. I reviewed my account last Sunday and verified the service was disconnected, a final bill had been generated, I owed a $ 0 balance and I am now waiting for a refund check for $28.00 and change . Even though it was a real hassle to stand up t them and complain, I guess they didn’t like the bad press so they came around and decided to apply some damage control which turned out favorable for me. Our new AT & T U-verse, especially in High Definition is really nice.

  8. Dave Cassenti on March 7, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    I just spoke to DirecTV after they charged my wife’s debit card $829.55 without permission, even though the account was in my name (sounds like credit card fraud to me). It turns out that they renewed my contract in March, 2009, when I had to get a card for the DVR I owned. This was after setting us up at our new house, knowing I needed this box activated, but they couldn’t do it. They charged us $265 for the boxes that they had JUST mailed out the return boxes for them, stated that they had a copy of my signed contract but refused to send me one, and claimed that I had agreed to all the terms on their website, even though they have changed since I got service in 2008.

    I think they are unconscionable in all their fees and anti-consumer business practices. I will be filing complaints with the BBB and the State of CT Dept of Consumer Protection. Hopefully we can get this resolved and not have to pay their exorbitant fees.

  9. Jennifer on July 7, 2011 at 4:37 am

    I sent this to my state representative, state senator, the state attorney general’s office, the FCC, the BBB and Directv

    Below is the timeline of my dealings with Directv

    *May 2006-start of Directv service
    *October 2008 we leased a DVR receiver with the understanding of a additional 2 year commitment
    *February 2011 the DVR stopped working; I called and was told to simply pay S&H to replace it free with a refurbished model
    *April 2011 we purchased our first home and called Directv for offers, we were offered no incentive to stay with Directv-we chose to switch providers
    *May 2011 called to cancel Directv and was informed we were still somehow in a contract after 5 years and after speaking with various CSM’s I was given multiple possible reasons why, yet no consensus
    *5-26-11 received a $420 bill for early cancellation
    *5-27-11 Called during the next soonest business hours and eventually spoke with customer service representative ‘Johnny’ ID#417238, he agreed to file a report on my behalf stating that the early termination charges were bogus
    *7-5-11 received another bill; called immediately, spoke with Kellen who informed me that CSM Johnny’s assessment had been overridden by a superior and contrary to what I had been told up to that point, all replacement receivers did indeed come with a new 2 year service agreement. I found this ridiculous. I inquired as to why he was the first to claim this and then why I was not given any option to have mine repaired instead of replaced. He informed me there is NO option to fix. Options are to buy a new DVR outright (he said the cost to be $300-$400) or receive a refurbished model from them with a new contract. I was never apprised of these limited options.
    - After finding evidence on Directv’s website to support my belief that replacement receiver do NOT require a new commitment contract, I decided to email Directv support to ask if I was to replace a DVR who’s service agreement was fulfilled with a refurbished model, would it enter me into a new agreement
    *7-6-11 received email from Directv support saying they DO NOT re-contract for replacement receivers (the correspondence is below)

    We are a hardworking middle-class family, I find in unconscionable that giant company like Directv has devised a vicious circle of faulty refurbished equipment and service contracts to entrap customers from being able to switch providers. Even their support techs insist that I would not get locked into a contract if I was to do EXACTLY what I did, and yet here I am with a $420 bill. Citing ‘Early Termination’ after being a loyal customer of 5 years, with no additions or upgrades for over 2, is a scam that I believe needs to be reported.

    Discussion Thread
    —————————————————————
    Response Via Email(Alex C. – 100247876) – 07/06/2011 03:16 AM
    Dear Mrs. T,

    Thanks for writing us back.

    I understand your concern about the service agreement for receiver replacement. I’ll be happy to assist you with your concern.

    Please be informed that there is no commitment required for replacement receivers. The replacement equipment is leased with no commitment, and the replacement equipment is free of charge.

    Thanks again for writing, Mrs. T. I appreciate the opportunity to personally address your concern regarding the service agreement for receiver replacement.

    Sincerely,

    Alex C. – 100247876
    DIRECTV Customer Service

    P.S. Have a question? Anytime, any topic, instant answers – support.directv.com The Answer Center provides you helpful information, 24/7, all at your fingertips.

    Customer By Email (J. T.) – 07/05/2011 09:42 PM
    Thank you for your time,
    But my question was not fully answered, I’m asking to see if I replace an existing DVR (not working properly but has fufulled the service agreement) with a new DVR, one that does not add or upgrade my service in any way, if I will be entered into a new service agreement. Thank you so much,
    Jennifer T

  10. Tara Snow on August 10, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    I love DirecTV, but I keep coming across stories of people who have had really bad experiences with them, there are some really funny vents about them here>.

  11. Krista D. on October 25, 2011 at 9:24 pm

    I recently signed up for Direct TV service. The Installer came out last Wednesday to install the dish. on Friday my husband noticed that the installer ran the cable through the guest shower wall and ceiling. have called several times and have been told a priority work order has been sent out but local tech. has not contacted me. After looking at all the complaints against Direct TV I have a feeling this is going to be an ordeal from hell.

  12. Veronica on November 17, 2011 at 6:16 pm

    I have had Direct TV for about 4 or 5 years and they have told me that when your contract is up and your last statement comes and you pay your bill it is automatically renewed for 2 Years!!I was not happy because I wanted OUT!!!
    I would love to read their new contract now because of all of the complaints,all of their customers that they have just can’t afford to get out from under the contract that they didn’t even sign!!!

    • George Gombossy on November 17, 2011 at 7:28 pm

      Veronica, i don’t think that is right. can you contact me at george@ctwatchdog.com?

  13. Tad Griffin on November 22, 2011 at 11:39 am

    My name is Tad Griffin, and I and most all of my family has been directv customers since I was doing the primestar to directv conversions back in the late 90′s!
    long story short, fast forward to last summer (2010) my life changed a little… was getting divorced, selling my house, storing some things aty my parents, INCLUDING directv receivers. I had been remodeling my home getting it ready to sell, so I had put a ‘hold’ on the directv service, and was going to have it resumed as soon as i could get set up somewhere new.
    My home, built by my parents and where they resided nearly 50 years, and where me and my 3 brothers were all born and raised… burned to the ground! FLAT!
    My parents barely got out at all, and didnt even make it out with socks on their feet! THEY TOTALLY LOST EVERYTHING… EXCEPT LITTERALLY THEIR UNDERWEAR!
    Us boys lost things too, some posessions, but mostly MEMORIES, PHOTOS…..THINGS.. One of those “THINGS” that I lost, as did my parents, was my two directv receivers. Everyone was far to busy with everything that concerns a person when your home burns down, that I was not too worried about my directv receivers, and quite frankly, they did not cross my mind.
    Down the road, (a couple months)? directv called and asked if I was ready to have services resumed.. MIND YOU, (I) (WE) HAD ALL BEEN CUSTOMERS FOR MANY MANY YEARS, AND I HAD CONSISTENTLY HAD THE “COVERS EVERYTHING” DIRECTV EQUIPMENT PROTECTION PLAN! – I told them about the house fire, and said I didnt have the equipment now, and frankly, I forgot about it until they called.. No big deal, I thought, since I surely wasnt contracted, and hey, my parents were given new replacement directv equipment because they had lost theirs in the fire and was covered by the protection plan. NO SUCH DEAL FOR ME… THEY DEMANDED THAT I RETURN THE BOXES! I TOLD THEM THEY WERE TOTALLY DESTROYED AND BURNED ALONG WITH THE OTHER BOXES THAT THEY REPLACED OF MY PARENTS! THEY STILL SENT ME A STUPID BOX FOR THE RECEIVERS, AND I ONCE AGAIN CALLED THEM AND TOLD THEM THERE ARE NO RECEIVERS, AND I WILL NOT BE PAYING THEIR DEMAND OF 600.00 + DOLLARS THAT THEY WANTED ME TO SEND THEM FOR OLD EQUIPMENT, THAT I HAD MORE THAN PAID FOR, AND HAD A PROTECTION PLAN ON.
    NOW THEY HAVE COLLECTION AGENCIES AFTER ME, AND WILL NOT LEAVE ME ALONE. I LOST MY JOB THIS SUMMER, OUR HOME BURNED, AND I FEEL THAT WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS ILLEGAL! I HAVE CALLLED SO MANY TIMES, WRITTEN LETTERS, AND ONLY GET HATEFULL, SMART ASS, DEMANDING RESPONSES! After all these years, you would think directv would be concerned about treating their customers better than this! why was my parents boxes covered by protection plan, and NOT mine? directv has no answer for that, and only demands money, or file a lawsuit on me… I have been dealing with this mess for a year now….
    CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME OUT?!?
    Thanks for any help…..
    Tad Griffin
    2315 Hunter Rd
    Trenton, MO 64683
    660-359-6930

  14. Tad Griffin on November 22, 2011 at 12:03 pm

    ALSO: I forgot to mention that directv told me in private on the phone that “their protection plan actually does NOTHING! (*maybe a dish re-allignment from wind)” which I did all of my own installs, and allignment anyway, being an installer! That is WORD FOR WORD from the rep on the phone in one of the last calls I made to them! That should be illegal! FALSE ADVERTISING!
    check out how misleading their “protection plan” advertising is here! :
    http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/technology/protection_plan
    I beleive all those years that I paid in to this phony “protection plan” should be refunded to me, since I received not one single thing from it EVER! That would more than compensate for the money they are trying to defraud me out of!
    Grrrrrrr!! HOPELESS!

  15. Jodie on November 24, 2011 at 8:48 pm

    Do not get direct tv it is a scam!!! I tried to get a service tech to get one of my tv’s working after the screen went blue I tried everything I could I’m not a tech so I call direct tv an Katie used me like I was there payed tech for about an hour if you’ve had this problem you know what I’m talking about all katie would say is it must be my tv or my cable cord problem of course not there’s at all bottom line I did not get a tech out to my house over the problem this is the shit they pull she kept saying it’s in the contract that basically I the customer has to be the tech she was such a bitch I had to hang up when my contract is up which is soon they can come get there shit DO NOT GET DIRECT TV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There a bunch of X-cons from the pen

  16. Mary Ellen on November 27, 2011 at 4:26 am

    Some years ago I cancelled my local cable and went with DirecTV. I had a 2 year contract. I called and asked when the 2 year contract was up and was told it would be December. I called and cancelled. The next few months I received 2 bills from DirecTV each stating I had zero balance. The third month I received a bill for over 90 dollars. I called DirecTV and was told because I had ordered a dvr, that automatically added another 6 months to my contract. I reminded them that when the technician came out to put in the dvr I was told that my reception was bad and they could not install it. DirecTV told me that it didnt matter its the fact that I upgraded my service to include dvr, that added another 6 months to my contract. I certainly wasnt told this when I asked when I could cancel and I wasnt told that another 6 months was going to be added to my contract if I upgraded either. I have been bombarded with phone calls and letters demanding 94.00.

  17. james on December 25, 2011 at 9:08 pm

    They are doing the same thing to me. back in april I think, i added an HD box, but i was not told that my contract would be renewed. Then when I had that box disconnected a few month later, there again was no mention of any early termination fee. Now this month (december) I have cancelled all service, and they slap me with a $280 early termination fee. I have been a good, loyal customer since 2003. This practice is ridiculous. I am of course disputing this. So I asked “Irene” what will happen if I dont pay it. They have my credit card on file, as that is how I always paid my bill. They said if they dont receive payment within 15 days, they will charge my card. So I say.. So you will just reach into my pocket and take it anyway? she said, “yes, we will”… shocked. So I called my credit card company and told them the situation. They agree with me that it is outrageous, so they cancelled my card and issued me a new number, so that they cant bill me. I guess I will deal with collections later. unfortunately, it will ding my over 800 credit score.

  18. Joanna on January 2, 2012 at 7:33 pm

    I thought I was the only one that DirectTV just took the right to bill my credit card a month after the cancellation!!!!! We had to move due to military orders and when I called to cancel the service, DirectTV told me that they are not able to waive the cancellation fee even if we have to move, they said we should just take the receiver with us (when all of our stuff was shipped already)!! I told them I couldnt take the receiver in my suitcase and they kept on telling me to take it or charge me 64dollar cancellation fee. I told them, whatever , I have to cancel the service and for them to send me the box. So, during my cancellation phone call, she told me that I would receive a final bill, and I told her it would need to be in my email, so she noted that on the account. Come to find out a month later, when we are already at our new duty station that they charged my credit card 195dollars without letting me know about it. I called them and said to take my card of file and that they never informed me about that, to which they replied, well we sent you a letter which was returned to us. Helloooo!!! If its returned to you wouldnt you send the customer an email stating the final bill? So I still havent received a final bill from them. The receiver was sent back and they are saying they havent received it yet. They just charged me 131dollars and if I dont pay that by next week they will try and charge my card again. I called them again and told them to take my card of file, which they are refusing to do. And, every couple of days that the receiver is not there, they will charge my account, even though I havent been a customer with them for over a month.
    I have never had such problems with any other service I subscribed to. I also left a complaint on a website.

  19. Jon on January 19, 2012 at 2:56 pm

    Ok, so DirecTV has your credit card on file for your account and has been automatically charging you for what you think are unnecessary charges or maybe you just want to get out of your contract. Here’s a simple solution, even if you are just signing up with any other company. Call the credit card company and tell them the card has been stolen and ask to be issued a new one. Now the company can no longer automatically charge you for unnecessary fees because they no longer have your correct credit card number.

  20. kevin hobbs on January 30, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    The Direct tv installer showed up one hour late and didnt leave my home until four hours later at 9 pm. He stayed on the phone the entire time and I finally had to go up on the roof to help him so he would finish. He did not finish instead he told me that he would come back over and finish the install. My order was for four rooms and four boxes free install free equipment. He installed three boxes and never called me back or returned my calls. Direct Tv called me and asked me how the install went and I informed them that the tech did not finish. They emailed the local office and finally someone called me. The supervisor called me and told me he would get someone out soon, that never happened. I finally called Direct Tv about this problem and they said that I would have to pay about $150.00 to install another box in the fourth room. They stated that it was my fault for signing off the work order for the three boxes that were installed. The technician insisted that I sign the work order and he would come back to finish the job. He deleted the fourth box of my work order without telling me and I dont think he ever intended on coming back. Ovcourse when you tell Direct Tv about this they weasel out of it by saying that the installers are a department and they cannot contact them once the initial warranty is over. They have a million different sub sections and no one can help you with your problem. I had Direct Tv before and got rid of it, I decided to give them another change and I am already regretting that.

  21. Shawn Boots on January 30, 2012 at 6:07 pm

    Been with Directv for 4 years. Back in June I was going to switch to dish to get free HD for life and the 12 month deal. Directv convinced me to stay by telling me that they would give me $20 off my bill to match the 12 month deal with dish, $10 off my bill to match HD for life, and free showtime for 6 months. However, I had to call back every 6 months to get those renewed cause they could only do credits 6 months at a time. Come to find out, it has been 6 months now, i call back to get credits renewed, and nope wont do it. Cant cancel without paying $320 because when i got HD it renewed my contract for 2 years. All I see is how these guys are scammers pulling this crap. Is there anyway to get out of this early cancellation fee, and is Dish the same way?

  22. Austin on February 8, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    Loyal customers are paying a higher price for your service. I’ve been a loyal customer for over two years. My contract is over so I’m on a monthly plan with absolutely no incentive to extend it. I’m paying $70.99 a month for the Choice Ultimate package and when you include the charges for HD access , Dvr service, plus three leased receivers and the local taxes my total averages $113.12 per month!

    New customers are paying $39.99 a month for the first year on the same package, and it jumps to $54.99 after that. In order for me to get that price I’m told I need to use a different name and phone number but this price would only apply if I cancel and renew my contract! In this day and age of high tech media available through Cable, internet, gaming consoles (Hulu, Netflix ect.), as well as your competitors Dish Network and Uverse I find their competitive strategy a little unjust. Netflix is a prime example of what happens when corporate greed extends beyond it’s boundary. As an information technology specialist I know firsthand how information such as this can becomes viral in a matter of minutes and even more damaging using social media tools.

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