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It all seems so easy. You go to the mall and emerge with a highly-discounted DirecTV or PrimeStar satellite kit under your arm. It only costs a few hundred dollars and you get great reception. Cool. There�s only one cloud: Chances are you signed a binding multi-year agreement that basically commits you to pay off the rest of the cost of the satellite gear and installation. (That few hundred you paid in the store is just a deposit). If you cancel the service, you still have to continuing paying for the equipment. It�s all in the contract � and it�s a lot better to read it now than later.
Jan of Monument, CO June 17, 2008
The DirecTV satellite receiver I had had since 05 July 2003 ceased to function in January 2008, but fulfilled its original 12 month contractual bligation. Since my DirecTV service is bundled with Qwest phone/broadband service, I contacted Qwest with the issue. I was transferred to a DirecTV customer service representative. On 22 Jan 2008, DirecTV sent me a replacement receiver; the older non-functioning receiver was not to be returned. A few days later, the replacement receiver & remote control arrived with an operations manual (and nothing more); from a sticker and surface mares, the box was a previously used unit.
DirecTV monthly fees were periodically raised from 34 to 55 which exceeded my budget. The week of 09 Jun 08 I contacted DirecTV (via Qwest) to terminate DirecTV service. I was not informed of any penalties that might occur. The service was terminated. On 16 Jun 08, I received a DirecTV bill for 260 alleging I had terminated the 2 year contract early. The bill also informed me that if I fail to return the equipment, I will be charged a non-returned equipment fee. At no ime was I aware that receiving a replacement box would obligate me to a 2 year contract. As a loyal, consistently paying customer for 5+ years, this is unethical treatment and business practice.
On 16 Jun 2008, I contacted DirecTV by phone. I voiced my complaint to 3 managers at DirecTV, each of higher rank. The last,Regina could not/would not reverse the charge and would not provide me a name to whom I should address a letter of dispute; she abruptly hung up on me. Resolution Sought: I want DirecTV to 1) negate the fraudulent 260 early contract termination charge, 2) forward a 0 balance due statement to me, 3) abandon this (and all) unethical business practices and policies, 4) initiate policies that REWARD loyal customers instead of penalizing them, and 5) empower customer service managers to serve the customer. Amount in Dispute: 260.00
I've forwarded my complaint to the Better Business Bureau and FCC with plans to implant it where possible. With this type of unethical business policy/practice, I can foresee a class action suit filed against DirecTV. Arnie of La Crescenta, CA June 16, 2008
We were assess 463 for early cancellation fee, even though we were with them for more than 5 years. It came down to when their product the box broke last dec. and ask for a replacement. When we cancelled last March '08 they said we owe 463 for early cancellation, we complaint to probably no less than 20 customer service/supervisors, and letters mailed, but only got crap from them and no response to the letters.
So I decided to e-mail the board of directors and some ladies name you suppose to complain too. Within an hour I got an acct. management person willing to work with my complaint (or so you think). He comes back after some couple of hours (or lunch) and said that it is within their rights to steal the money out my bank even though I'm not on the contract/acct.
So 463 and multiple bank fees later and to this day I'm negative almost 800 that I can't afford to supplement back into the acct. and also most of the bills I pay online cancelled our privileges and have to pay by mail. Henry of Cherry Hill, NJ June 12, 2008
In September 2007 we signed an agreement with DirecTV to use this satellite TV provider's service. It was bundled with Internet service from Verizon. The service was good and the agreement was for one year. In January 2008 upgraded the DirecTV service to HD for 1 of the 3 lines that we had. No one at that time told us that the agreement would be for two additional years. In fact, some time in March 2008 my wife asked the DirecTV customer representative how much longer we had on the agreement. She was told that there were only a few months left on the contract.
On June 23, 2008 we were considering an alternate offer that combined video, landline phones, and internet for less money than we were paying. We called to find out what our termination fee would be. We were told 380.00 because the contract was extended to January 2010 in exchange for installation of the High Definition equipment and programming. There was in fact an installation which I agreed to pay, but no mentin was made of an agreement that was twice as long as the original purchase of the service. When I complained I was transferred to the complaints representative, who upon our request transferred us to the complaints manager. Here's why: We were told by both the complaints representative and manager that we could write a letter to the DirecTV Billing Disputes department in Greenwood, Colorado, explaining the situation.
However, the Disputes department would automatically reject our letter unless we previously discontinued our service. This automatically became a Catch 22 situation. If we simply wanted to have our complaint considered, we would have to discontinue our service, and it would be unlikely for us to retrieve any part of our money because we were on record (created by DirecTV) as authorizing a 2-year change of agreement. If we didn't want to complain, we would continue to receive the service and be billed for it. The bill for our present service totals about 75.00 a month. The termination fee is calculated at 20.00 per month, totalling 380.00 in a lump sum payout.
They did offer to bundle services in an offer similar to the one I received from a competing company. But when they cross checked my address, it turned out that it wasn't served by the company they contracted with to provide the bundled phone service. I even suggested that I might consider a negotiated solution. They rejected this. What are my options, legal or otherwise?
Either payment to DirecTV of a 380 Discontinuance Fee plus the cost of the replacement service, or remain in a customer - business service provider relationship that has become unacceptable to me. Josh of La Mesa, CA June 12, 2008
DirecTV completely scammed me. In early 07 I called to cancel my subscription. The rep I talked to in the retention department told me that I could instead put my account on hold until the next football season started. I asked him if I at that time I would get a phone call to ask me if I wanted to restart my service as I was unsure I even wanted to restart service. He told me I would. 1 year later I notice many DirecTV charges on my credit card for 5 months worth of charges. I wondered what had happened not remembering the restart because I was relying on DirecTV to call and ask me before starting. I can understand a retention rep wanting to keep someone from canceling, that is their job, but that doesn't mean that person can say things that are not true, or make promises DirecTV does not follow through on.
DirecTV had a responsibility to right any wrong their broken promises have caused and they have not done that. I contacted DirecTV and was met with indifference, given the runaround, dealing with people that either have no authority or no inclination to do the right thing, mostly robotic-like customer service reps towing the company line. The great customer service that their commericials advertise are a joke. They should take the millions of dollars they spend on those commericials and use it to revamp their customer service department to actually try and do right by their customers.
Linda of Brewster, NY June 11, 2008
We have a Direct TV account, we' ve moved, Direct TV does service our area. However, Direct TV cannot provide service to our house because of the trees. They are not able to get a signal to our house. We tried cancelling our service and order from a local cable company, but Direct TV told us if we cancel, we will be obligated to pay a 180 charge for breaking a service contract. We said we would be glad to stay with Direct TV if they could provide us with service, they are not able to. They are not living up to the service contract. Why should we be charged?
Direct TV continues to threaten to withdraw 180 from our bank account if we cancel- they are not able to provide service. I directed them to bill us and did not give them authorization to automatically withdraw from our account. They did withdraw May's charges. We continue to be charged 29 per month with no service. Stephen of Brooklyn, NY June 9, 2008
I entered into an agreement for two years in January 2006 for three boxes and one Data Video Recorder (DVR). In November 2007, the DVR became defective. Technical Support of Direct TV said they would send a new DVR and I should mail back the defective DVR in the box provided. In J|une of 200, I asked to have my service terminated since I could no longer afford the service. They cgarged me 204 for early termination. I explained that the contract expired in February 2008, but they insisted that when the DVR was replaced for free in November 0f 2007, that automatically extended the contract for another 24 months.
I asked why I was being penalized for Direct TV's inability to honor the original contract of two years and I was told by Jennie that it was the company policy. I had previously spoken to Mark who told me that the unit was under warranty and that I should be receiving a check for the 204. The next day I received an email to say that the charge was valid and I would not be receiving the check. I asked to speak to a supervisor, Charm, who also told me that the charge is valid even though Direct TV did not complete the two year agreement. She said the contract was extended because I didn't have maintenance insurance. This was the first time I had even heard of maintenance insurance from Direct TV. Charm also said that because I received the new DVR at no cost they automatically extended the contract.
Again, I was not told of any contract extension. When I terminated the service in June 0f 2008, I found that Direct TV had debited my debit card without my approval even before I received the invoice. For the entire two year period, whenever I had to make a payment I would do so online and I had to approve the transaction. Now that I was terminating the service, they took the money from my account without my approval. I explained many times to several people that I should not be charged for Direct TV's inability to fulfill their contractual obligations and that in effect, by leasing equipment with a poor Mean Time Between Failure they ensured themselves of a contract in perpertuity. Every time the equipment would fail, they could extend the contract for another two years. At the expiration I was asked to Fed EX the DVR back to them, which I did.
204.34 has been deducted from my account without authorization. Diane of Hendersonville, NC June 8, 2008
I was not sure of the length of my service contract with Directv so a few months ago I called and spoke to a service rep who told me my contract was for 12 months and completed 12/2007. I asked her was she sure and was told yes and she repeated the date. Unfortunately I did not write her name or the date of my call down since she sounded so sure and I was satisfired.
On 6/4/08 I completed the installation of my new cable service and called to cancel with Directv. I spoke with Charlotte and was told my agreement was not complete until 12/08. Since I could have waited until then to make the change I was upset that I was given the incorrect info during my first call and told her I would not pay the fee since I was given the incorrect info. She said it didn't matter what I was told this is the way it is so I have to pay not only the cable fee but the fee for the entire month of June even though I was cancelling on the 4th.
I didn't think it was legal to charge for a service that was not being provided and would contest the charge as well as the cancellation fee. She said go ahead it doesn't matter we will take it from your credit card that is on file. And also that if I don't return my equipment in 5 days I would be charged (not sure the amount but it was over 300.) for the boxes as well.
Today is the 8th and I have not received the return boxes so they definately will not receive them in 5 days. My question is can they charge me for the entire month since I cancelled in the first four days? Also is it ethical practice to charge me for the next 7 months for a service not being provided since there customer service rep gave me the incorrect info. Had I been given the correct date my contract ended I would have waited to make the change. I have written to their billing dispute department but don't hold out any hope for a good response since Charlotte was very agressive and implied that the misinformation was not going to change the end result and my credit cards will be charged.
Anthony of Carson, CA June 8, 2008
Re: DirectTV Bait-and-Switch The City of Los Angeles has brought a lawsuit against Times-Warner for not providing services to subscribers.
I write to tell you of another 'bait-and-switch' that DirectTV is attempting to pull against my mother, a San Pedro elderly resident. She switched from Dish Network almost two months ago because DirectTV offered a few more high definition channels. The original offer was for up to three TV connections at 29.00, I'm sure you've seen the many mail offers. After a long discussion with the agent over the phone we agreed the monthly charge was to be 51.00. The charges were higher because my mother needed one high definition desk-top receiver and one regular receiver, plus the high definition service. We agreed to the higher 51.00 fee. Dish Network would have charged is 49.95, but they offered a few high definition channels less. We all thought it was worth the extra 1.05 to switch.
Needless to say, my mother was very upset to receive her first bill at 73.38! I called DirectTV on her behalf to straighten the bill out. I finally told the agent that we agreed to pay 51.00 and that we refused to pay the 73.38 they demanded. The agent finally said fine, send in the 51.00 payment. This month we got another bill for 77.76! A second phone to complain got me nowhere and after a very long discussion with the agent I was finally connected with a supervisor. I told the supervisor that we would not pay that kind of money because that was not the amount we agreed on.
At this point the supervisor said no, we agreed to those higher charges and after all, DirectTV was giving us 'free' HBO for three months and that should help make-up for the higher cost! I then told DirectTV to come and get their equipment because we were not going to be cheated or coerced into paying that kind of money for their service. We told her we would only pay the original 51 we agreed to. At this point the supervisor said, That's fine with us BUT, you will be charged 400 and more because you are ending service early. She also advised that DirectTV would be charging my mothers American Express card for all charges in mid-July no matter what we said.
Needless to say, we are extremely upset and feel almost robbed by this dishonest company. How many other Los Angeles residents have been cheated by this company? Please know that we will do everything possible to help see this bait-and-switch end. If it requires a lawsuit, we will cooperate with the city in every way.
DirectTV demands 400+ because we refuse to pay 73.38. We now discover DirectTV used coax and connections provided by Dish Network. Dish Network advises there may be a charge to restore their connections! Mike of Allenstown, NH June 6, 2008
Direct TV sent a letter to our home as a thank you gift for loyal patronage we were offered 5 off per month for a year. or 2 free ppv, or 50. We selected the 5 and were never told this is a contract for service for a year. Never told there would be a cancellation fee, never told that the rates would go up during the year. We had the same equipment for 6+ years.
We canceled our subscription to Direct TV because they raised their rates again. We were then told there was a cancellation fee for early termination, they made an unauthorized charge to our credit card (we were not on automatic payment) We were charged a late fee for non-payment. Clayton of Malott, WA June 6, 2008
This customer service issue involves a 10/month credit/decrease on my DirecTV/Wildblue combo-package for one billing year. This purchase occurred on approximately 10November2007. I'm very upset that, to date, I haven't received any of my monthly 10 credits for the above combo-package. I have tried many times, in vain, to obtain these credits since early this year. My last two DirecTV phone contacts were 26March08, Contacted Employee #409089 (Tessa) who couldn't resolve my credit reimbursement problem after approx. 30 minutes. Per Tessa, my problem information was referred to another more appropriate department (Confirmation?) that would address my problem and then later contact me. I received no followup response from DirecTV.
21May08, Contacted Employee #412951 (Steffine) who found previous, 26March2008, account-notes. However, Steffine couldn't resolve my credit reimbursement problem after approx. 30 minutes. Per Steffine, my problem information was again referred to another more appropriate department (Confirmation?) that would address my problem and then later contact me. At that time, due to my past DirecTV experiences, I also asked Steffine to enter into her notes that if I didn't hear from DirecTV by Friday, 30May08, I would begin looking for Wildblue and DirecTV replacements.
And now, after receiving no followup response to date from DirecTV, I'm looking for Wildblue and DirecTV replacements. I also informed DirecTV that I'll be notifying Consumer Affairs and the FCC of these problems, in case similar problems have, or are, occurring for other DirecTV customers.
Lost 70 for 7 months service (terminating service on 7June), if stayed with DirecTV for one year, lost would have been 120 (12 months @ 10/month). The money isn't as much of an issue, as is DirecTV's method of doing business- how many more customers have been subject to the same treatment?
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