DIRECTV Reviews
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About DIRECTV
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DIRECTV is a direct broadcast satellite provider that transmits to homes throughout the United States and the Caribbean. There are many different packages to choose from, each offering a variety of features, channels and DVR options. It's important to note that DIRECTV requires a two-year contract, and most customers experience an increase in prices after the first year.
- Various programming options
- Easy to relocate with
- Multiple packages available
- Costly to cancel
- Price increases after first year
DIRECTV Reviews
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Reviewed April 10, 2013
So I discontinued my service in November of 2012 and closed my account with a credit of $64.21. I had some issues sending back the equipment. Finally, DirecTV confirmed receipt of my 2 receivers and remotes. In January of 2013, I found out that they sent me to collections for $259.04. They had charged me for my receivers. When I called back, it took me hours/days to get this cleared up. It was a hassle, but I was glad it was behind me. Then on 4/2/13, I got another notice from the collection company for the same amount. When I called DirecTV, they didn't have any answers for me and now I'm going through this fiasco all over again. I'll never use them again.
Reviewed April 9, 2013
Four months ago, I called DirecTV to find out what I could do to lower my bill. In the end, I dropped the receiver in my bedroom saving me $10.00 per month. The next month I paid the bill online using my debit card (I had always sent in a paper check because of some problems a couple years before when I was bundling DTV with AT&T with automatic withdrawal. No problems after I started paying them separately and manually). Then 2 months ago, after many issues with my service and increases in fees, I cancelled with DTV and went with cable! Can you believe cable beats them all over the place?
Then about a week ago, I got a final bill from them for $382.26, $260.00 of which was early cancellation fee! I thought I only had 1 month to go on my contract but when I removed that receiver from my bedroom, apparently that initiated a new contract. So then, 2 days after getting that bill, they credited my account for the amount unauthorized by me! Leaving me with $2.36 in the bank! I called DTV and was told there was nothing they could do about it and for me to call my bank, which I did. I went to my bank immediately and filled out forms to dispute the withdrawal. I just got a call from the person at the bank that there is nothing they can do since I had given them my debit card number in the past!
This is so unfair, not good business practices at all, and just downright wrong! I was waiting for that $382.26 to be debited back to go get a new battery for my car and go see my very sick, bedridden mother (the truth!), who lives 130 miles from me. Now I can't go! I had seen a program, I think Undercover Bosses, a year or so ago and they were featuring DirecTV. They seemed to really care about the customer personally so even though I was having trouble with their services, I would give them the benefit of the doubt! Well, now I know that their problems stem partly (and maybe mostly) from their treatment of people. If anyone ever gets a class action lawsuit together, count me in! Thanks for letting me cry.
Reviewed April 9, 2013
I just purchased a home in Washington state. I started moving in yesterday and I called DirecTV to tell them there is equipment in the home I just purchased and if they could please remove it. They told me that they need to contact the previous owner of the house. I told them she is an elderly 84-year old woman who has moved out and asked them to pick up their equipment. They asked for my name and I told them I do not want their service and to please pick up their equipment. Then the hassle really starts. The rep said, "We needed to contact the previous homeowner and want her number." I said I have no idea and that they need to get their equipment. (During closing on the house, the previous owner warned me about DirecTV and their **, as they have been abusing her for years.) The company gives me blah blah talk for 40 minutes. I told them they either get their equipment or I will put it out in the rain and plug it in... and I hung up.
Reviewed April 5, 2013
I recently moved to an apartment where DirecTV is not an option for us. DirecTV put (charged) my final bill through my bank account without notice or permission. This created a debit, a debit/service charge and prevented me from using my card for groceries that I had budgeted for, all while I was on record to pay my bill in full when I next got paid. When I tried to call DirecTV for help, I was automatically disconnected from the phone call - every time I tried calling (unreasonably numerous times)! These "thug" tactics have no place in our civilized culture and should be severely addressed. Would someone please help me? I cannot afford an attorney, much less the debt I have already incurred by this!
Reviewed April 5, 2013
I moved on November 1, 2012. I called DirecTV prior to moving and requested that my service be disconnected. The customer service rep stated that they could not disconnect the service until I paid in full. I felt at that time that what difference would it make if I paid then or the next month. They would disconnect my service anyway for non-payment. In January 2013 DirecTV withdrew money from my account for my past due amount. I called and confirmed that my service was disconnected and they stated that it was. I requested that they send me the boxes needed to return my receivers and gave them my work address to mail them to so that there would be no delays.
In February another charge came out of my account for about $300.00. When I called to inquire about this charge, I was told that it was for the receivers. I explained that I requested the boxes and that I have not received them. The rep told me that they were mailed to my old address. She said that the person who initially took my mailing address didn't place it in the second location as needed. She took my information again and told me that my boxes would arrive in 2-3 days. That was around 2/28/13. As of today, 4/5/13, I still have not received any boxes. Each time I call they state that the boxes have been sent and that they had no idea why I had not received them, and they had sent out another set that would take either 3 to 5 days to 5 to 10 days depending on who I talked to.
One person actually said that it's 3-5 days for FedEx to pick up the boxes from them and another 3-5 days for FedEx to deliver the boxes to me. I heard this last excuse two weeks ago and still have not received any boxes. When I called, the automated system disconnects with me when I asked to speak with a customer service rep. I can no longer get through to speak with a human and on top. The automated system says that I now owe them $140.00. For what? I have no idea since they have over $300.00 of mine. They told me in the beginning that once I returned my boxes, they will return the deposit ($300.00) and that I would have a credit.
I feel as if I'm getting the runaround in order for them to keep my money. I don't know what to do at this point. I'm afraid that if I mail the receivers in my own box, that DirecTV will state that they never received them and charge me more. I will never deal with this company again and will advise my friends to do the same.
Reviewed April 5, 2013
My husband and I called DirecTV to report a problem with our DVR box. DirecTV told us that we needed a new box to fix the problem. We went through trying to fix the problem for 2 months. Finally, we had someone come from DirecTV who told us that we needed a new DVR; we wanted desperately to fix the problem so we agreed to getting the DVR. DirecTV then put us on a new 2-year agreement without our knowledge. When we called to cancel the service 5 months later, they told us they have a recording, emails and a letter that we agreed to the new 2-year agreement.
We have no emails or letter and when I asked to hear the recording, the representative told me that she didn't have to play it for me. I had called 2 days before to cancel and there was no mention of a 2-year agreement. I called back to make sure the service was cancelled and that was when they told me about the "supposed" 2-year agreement. DirecTV did not fix our problem. We had to buy a new TV and now they want to charge us almost $400 to cancel the service! To add insult to injury, the person on the phone told me after my first call the service had not been cancelled because they offered me another plan and she would not cancel on the original date I called. If DirecTV is that desperate for money, they are a sad business. I am going to fight this charge.
Reviewed April 4, 2013
I called to cancel my service. They basically pushed me to suspend my service instead of cancelling. After several months, I called to cancel service. Weeks later, I got a charge on my account for $13. I called to question the charge and they explained that since I had frozen the account, they had to reactivate the account and then cancel it. Since it takes 24 hrs for the system to cancel it once the order had been placed, they charged me for those 24 hrs my service was activated. I called and they stated they couldn't do anything about it. The customer service was very unprofessional.
Reviewed April 4, 2013
Direct TV drafted $240 from my account without approval. Yes, that's right. After being a loyal customer for 5 years. I had an additional receiver sent to me a year ago and this automatically renewed my contract for two years? Who has heard of this? Anyone? I was not told that my account would be renewed for two years. I asked them for proof that I agreed to this, but they cannot provide me any proof that I agreed to renew for two years. When I had to cancel my account, they automatically sent me a bill and then a week later drafted $240 from my account for an early contract termination. Now when I call and enter my account number or phone number through customer service, my call is automatically disconnected. I emailed them to complain and no one is willing to help. This is the worst company ever. Unless you want to buy their service, then they'll do whatever to help.
Reviewed April 3, 2013
I had to sell my house and downsize so I called DirecTV to cancel and they just sent me a bill for $134. I have not used their service since last year in August. I called and they put me on hold then hung up on me after running up my phone bill listening to stupid sax music. It is a scam!
Reviewed April 3, 2013
My friend's apartment caught on fire. She called DirecTV to cancel her service because she currently doesn't have a home. They will not allow her to cancel. She asked for the account to be suspended for six months and she'll pay $20. They won't even allow her to do that! What kind of heartless monsters work for this company?! Are you serious?! She has no house right now! Cancel her service or let her pay the six months suspension until she gets back on her feet!
Reviewed April 3, 2013
Service cut off even when no payment was due - I am writing this company to dispute charges. At some point, I was bundled with Verizon with DirecTV charges. Verizon was not billing my account correctly. My services were falsely disconnected. To my dismay, I still paid the balance to avoid the constants calls I was making to Verizon to get my account correct. Basically, I was willing to take the loss. After paying my account, my services were not reconnected. I called and they said the last operator took it in her own hands and disconnected the services. They cut my services, telephone and internet services, on within a few days. But my DirecTV services were not cut back on. I spoke and was recording several phones calls with DirecTV asking them to cut my services back on. At this time, I had no back balance, so there was no reason not to cut my service back on. This became a back and forth battle between both companies. Verizon would transfer me to DirecTV, DirecTV to Verizon.
The only bill that was due was the remainder that at this time was not even due yet. I made every attempt to get my service restored and neither company cut my services back on. And then your company also begins its battle with Viacom during this time as well. So, even if I had services, I wouldn’t have been able to watch any of my favorite channels anyway. Then I receive a bill for a cancelation fee. When I never canceled services, the services canceled me. Verizon tried to get services restored, but the system wouldn’t allow them. DirecTV said they couldn’t restore without authorization from Verizon. I pleaded with them to three-way the call for authorization. Still, to my dismay, nothing was resolved.
I do not believe it’s fair to charge the customers for your business mistakes or partners. My services would not have been shut off if my account was done right with Verizon initially. Verizon received a double payment from me that was never posted. They promised me that my account would be updated and looked into. But this was never done, thus showing I still owed even though I paid. I regret signing up with DirecTV. The last time I spoke with a DirecTV supervisor, I told her and offered for her to listen to some of the audio between Verizon and DirecTV concerning my account. But she still presided to blame me. I should have done the three ways between both companies. How this should become my job, I don’t know.
How in the world did DirecTV suggest that I owe those $118.27? I have one of the last bill that was sent. In this bill includes a Verizon amount. Why is DirecTV billing for Verizon now? The whole problem started with the joint venture. In this bill also includes 24 dollars in TV fees. When the services were cut off, the $37.08 wasn’t due yet. The $37.08 is previous amount due on August bill. But this amount was not due yet when DirecTV never cut the services back on. Also, DirecTV included a minimum service fee of $5.00 for something that was not on. Verizon cut my services back on. So anything between Verizon is between Verizon, not DirecTV.
Again, I reiterate at the time of my service being cut off, no amount was to be due for another month. So, after getting my account straight, Verizon cut my service back on that day. But DirecTV was never cut back on. Verizon said that they didn’t have authorization to cut services back on. They tried to, but they said that their system was not set up that way. I am including the last bill. It shows $37.08 as the previous amount. This is August bill. My services were cut off in June. If any amount was due, it was due in July. That’s why it’s only $37.08.
Dealing with DirecTV has been the worst experience in my life. The fact that I’m being billed for something completely out my control is absurd. My services were cut off wrongfully, and after I paid an additional payment, my services were never restored. And while services were disconnected, no bill was due until the next bill. Still, I’m being treated unfairly. I have no intentions on paying a dime for disconnection (because DirecTV broke the agreement). I'm being charged a disconnection fee for a service I never cut off. I have recorded a call trying to get services cut back on and still no one from your company cares.
Reviewed April 3, 2013
I have continued to be billed for items that I don’t have today and in addition have never had. They keep billing me for receivers I do not have in my home. As a matter of fact, the last time a DirecTV person came out when I ordered HD, he couldn't put up a dish that would pick up the signal so my neighbor very graciously allowed the installer to hook to his dish. Since then my neighbor has changed after having a run-in with them about something they billed him for and now the same has happened to me.
They billed me for several receivers in which I bought the last one at Best Buy. I owned it! In addition they charged me for it. They charged me for 4 when I only had 2 in which 1 was the one I actually own. Plus they are charging me every month for some kind of protection plan, which they were never authorized to do. My executive assistant called and they said they would fix it, which of course they never did. I personally called and was put on hold for an extended period of time. I changed the billing CC number to a prepaid card number so they could not bill me for things anymore. I am signing up for DISH today.
Reviewed April 2, 2013
My ex had an account with DirecTV, and I was not on his account as an authorized user. We went our separate ways 6 months ago, and I checked my bank account and DirecTV took $871.39. They did not have my permission. I called and the customer service was rude; they hung up when requesting to speak with a supervisor. I then talked to the staff in the Office of the President and was very surprised of the unprofessionalism towards me. That money was my mortgage and bill money. I'm on unemployment and a fixed income. When the account holder called, he never gave me permission to become an authorized user; but they kept talking to me in regards to his account. His privacy was violated and my money was not refunded. The account was non-active for 4 months.
Reviewed April 2, 2013
I contacted DirecTV about a sports fee they are now putting in my monthly bill. Their rep told me everyone has a sports fee now and it depends on your area as to how much it is. I explained to the rep that I don't watch sports, never have, never will, and it's extremely unfair to make me pay for something others use but that I don't. (Are they going to add a fee to everyone's bill for the encore channels that only certain people watch? I don't think so. To me, this is the same issue.) I asked what physical address to write a complaint letter (twice), and the rep told me online at the website. I asked what about the people who don't have a computer or know how to use one, and her answer was "Go to the public library and use theirs." DirecTV should not add fees that has nothing to do with the customers' watching preferences and/or monthly package. Bad customer service!
Reviewed April 1, 2013
My problem started when my wife bought a new HDTV. I wanted her to have a DVR that was HD-ready, so I bought her one from DirecTV. They sent it to me for me to hook up and that's when my trouble started. I am great with automotive, but not this fancy stuff like that. Well they cannot fix the problem and after several calls to them and one visit from a fix it guy from DirecTV, I am still not happy with the service. Since I started with them, I have had paid extra for service calls. I wish I would have never switched from Dish Network.
Reviewed March 31, 2013
I was a DTV customer for many years. In order for me to get a so-called deal, I had to sign a two-year contract. Last time their offer was a $25.00 rebate on my monthly bill for 12 months. Good deal? Wrong. DTV automatically signed my account to the football game, adding $35.00 to my account a month. When I called and asked why I was charged for something I did not order, I did not watch, the answer was the computer automatically charges it to a new contract. It can't be canceled - I wait for my contract to be done. For two months I paid the bill partially, so they did interrupt the service.
By month Three, I called and paid the balance and asked to cancel the account. Immediately, I got a bill for $2.53. Explanation: a day of service - computer activates the service as soon as you pay in full and it takes 24 hours for the system to get the cancellation. I wish the computer was so fast when I called with a problem. After they took the money out my account, I got a letter indicating that once again, my balance was $0. A month after that, I got another withdrawal on my checking account. This time I called and asked about the charge... surprise. Explanation: They went through the card on the equipment and their argument is that in 2006, someone ordered some pay-per-view. My response was, "You at DTV are not on the business of giving anything for free... You wait 7 years to charge for movies?"
Where is the statute of limitations - that is, if the movies were ever ordered? I have been without a TV service for 7 months. I can’t stand to see the commercial from DTV and all their lies... customer service. I guess they are the customer. I am very disappointed with DirecTV.
Reviewed March 30, 2013
I have had DirecTV for 15 years. I used to think it was a great company and sent many people to them. But, recently my equipment was obsolete and not working well so I upgraded to Whole Home (not Genie, I heard too many problems with it). The installation took 4 visits, but finally they got it right. But last night, service went out. After talking to the tech, it was determined it was the little black box. I was told it would be a week before they can send someone out to replace it, and only a certified technician can do it. So, I cannot access my DVR for what is already taped and there is no TV in my house for a week.
New customers will get service immediately. My friends and relatives all advised me in January to change service providers and get the lower rates and be a valued customer of someone else for a year, but I had loyalty to DirecTV, but have learned my lesson. In 20 months, I will become one of those yearly switchers. Loyalty must be a two way street, and DirecTV has none. It will be interesting to see what I am offered when I leave. Friends tell me that the only time DirecTV sounds or acts happy to have you as a customer is when you call to cancel. Since I am in a 2-year contract, they have no incentive to get me back online in a timely manner. When will companies learn that you cannot grow just bringing in new customers? You must maintain the old ones, and disgruntled customers are your worst enemy when it comes to sales.
Reviewed March 28, 2013
They went into my bank account and took out a very large amount without notifying me that they were going to do that.
Reviewed March 27, 2013
Back in November, I had to replace my DirecTV receiver and pay shipping and handling to get it replaced. The new receiver then has a defect (sound on certain channels doesn't work unless the machine is turned on with that channel active), and I immediately notified DirecTV in November. I was on the phone for hours, and they couldn't diagnose the problem and forwarded my issue to their level two tech support and said they would contact me with a solution. I travel every week and so months later, I checked in with DirecTV to see what the status was. They said they would send me a new receiver but that I would have to pay for the S/H because the 90 days had gone by. I tried my best to explain that this was all reported well within the 90 days to no avail, and I was essentially told “too bad”. So, buyers beware!
Reviewed March 27, 2013
I needed to get consent from my landlord to set up DirecTV. He had one specific guideline for me. Move the dish when I move out. I asked the DirecTV rep when I move, will the dish be moved for me and how much is it? The sales rep said, "Of course we will. It is free to move your dish since you are under a 2-year contract." Today I found out that they will not come take down the old dish and it is far from free. They lied to me and I have escalated my case. No response ever.
Reviewed March 27, 2013
I am a new customer of DirecTV (21 days) and their customer service is awful! They feel they can be that way because customers are contracted with them! Hideous practices... they should be ashamed! I ordered service for my new house that I relocated to. I did not know the internet needed to be installed prior to the DirecTV. The DirecTV installer knew the FiOS installer was coming after him but didn't leave the equipment so I can use the internet features. I called DirecTV to get it and they said I forfeited it for free when I signed the work order and that I would need to pay for it. Nobody explained that internet should be set up first or that I was forfeiting this equipment that I was entitled to. Shameful!
Reviewed March 26, 2013
I've had service for 19 days and I'm already having problems. When I signed up for the service, I was told I would have 4 hookups for free. This was a new home and we had not moved yet, but we had one TV already there. I told them this and we set up the appointment for the installation. I had a friend wait on the service guy. When he got there, he would install service for only one room because I didn't have but one TV. I planned on having the cable run to each bedroom and later hook the TVs up. The service guy said he couldn't run the other lines, but someone else could come out and run them. That was okay, but what he didn't tell me was it will cost me $160 for them to come back out. Also, I found out I had 14 days to call and make any changes on my account. It's been 19 days, no exceptions.
I was on the phone for 2 1/2 hours today. I can tell you this. DirecTV customer service doesn't care if you are happy with them. They have you for 2 years/$480. Also, if you upgrade and then decide to change back, your special rate is null and void. Gone! This is going to be a long two years! Oh yeah, I told the customer service person that maybe I should just cancel my service. She said, "I can transfer you to the cancellation department." Sure, she was laughing just thinking, "Yeah, that will cost you $480!" I said, "What about the pole and dish that was mounted in the yard?" She pretty much said, "That's your problem." Has anyone tried to get a class action suit against DirecTV?
Reviewed March 25, 2013
DirecTV decided that since a few people were using their HDMI cables to make copies of their movies on PC, no one could use HDMI cables. They, in their wisdom, sent a signal to disable the cords. What they did instead was to fry all my HDMI ports on my Vizio 42" TV. It will not allow any HDMI cord to be used so my PS3 cannot be used on that TV until I have a repair of $290. We weren't the first to call Vizio. There were 3 others before us & what about the other brands of TVs & those who didn't call?
Reviewed March 25, 2013
Charged early termination fee - I was forced to move because my house became unsafe. I attempted to transfer my service and was made aware by my landlord that she didn't allow the previous tenants to have it and will not allow me to have it. She had also informed me that she had someone to remove the pole and satellite from the premises. I informed DirecTV about this on several occasions and on the third call when the gentleman cancelled my service, he advised me he would waive the fee.
I called to discuss this with someone named Frank who claimed to be a management representative, who during the call advised me that I was talking too much and wasn't listening. He was not listening to me either and seemed not to care that I couldn't choose DirecTV over a roof over my children's head. I repeatedly told each representative I did not have landlord permission to move my service. The manager chose to tell me that I would have to pay it anyway. I should move somewhere else that would allow me to have it.
Reviewed March 25, 2013
I have been with DirecTV for at least six years. Neighborhood trees grew into the signal path a couple of years ago and signal became corrupted. I have had three service people out at my expense to fix the problem. Finally, the signal became so bad that service was being disrupted every day. I cancelled service and was hit with an early cancellation fee because one of the service people had installed an additional DVR box I was charged for and have returned at their request. I am penalized for DirecTV not being able to provide me with service. Buyer beware.
Reviewed March 24, 2013
I entered a 24-month agreement with DirecTV. I would be charged (or given discounts) a certain amount for the first 12 months, and another the next. I was to be given the DVR receiver for free after discounts. That was less than 7 months ago. In February, they raised the fee by $5.00 so I no longer get it for free. I have called and emailed them. They say, basically, I have no recourse; they just raise prices at will. They don't honor agreements! Therefore, I am under no agreement with them, right?
Reviewed March 24, 2013
I was supposed to be given HD service when I first moved out here. I wasn't and because I had a small TV never even paid any attention to it. Then in December, I bought a bigger screen and told DirecTV I needed the HD receiver which I had never been given to begin with. They provided it. I knew I was moving in several months. Now, they say I have a 2-year contract because I got the HD receiver and must pay $400. How can they get away with that? They will directly access my checking account to take it! Are you kidding me?
Reviewed March 22, 2013
Your only excuse to any problem! The weather! Your customer service people suck **! They can care less about any issue! I don't know why you even have any customer service, period! Save your ** money... Then maybe you can actually resolve customers issues by actually giving them something for the money that they spend with your ** company! What a concept? I even bet your customer service managers have a college degree? That alone is a disappointment to our educational system!
I hope to God someone with any type of authority, like a CEO or President, or someone on the board would have the balls to get a hold of me and discuss my issues, but I'm sure that would never happen? Not that you can care less, since you already have your money! Chicken **! You have my name and number! I'm not hiding from you at all, so why should you hide from me? In fact, if you don't get a hold of me, I might just go ahead and get a hold of someone from Good Morning America or some type of "media" of that nature. Maybe they'll bring your company to the front lines and then we'll see how good your "customer service" really is! Maybe they actually care!
I switched from cable to DirecTV because they made me believe that they have better service and/or customer service, and to be honest, they suck! In most cases, they're worse! I wish to God everyone who has DirecTV would get across the network media and all voluntarily drop them for at least a year, just so they remember who pays their bills! I don't how they can sit there with their thumb up their ** and say they're the best at what they do, because they don't have a ** clue how to treat people or take care of an issue when one of their customers is pissed to no end! Up yours DTV! And no, I don't want an attorney to contact me. I want someone on the board to contact me that actually cares about their damn company! Are you kidding me! An attorney! Again, save your ** money!
Reviewed March 22, 2013
I've had DTV in our vacation cabin for 3+ years. I added it 6 months ago in our primary residence with a 2-year deal. We sold that home recently so I called to cancel service. The accounts are completely separate because DTV does not think about customers. They think about accounts. I was first told that merging the accounts and adding a second receiver to the cabin was the best option to avoid cancellation fees. Then I was told no, cancel the account and return the two receivers, which I did. I got an invoice for a $340 cancellation fee and called. Bottom line is once I returned the receivers, I could not merge accounts even though they said I should. Then said I shouldn't.
Everyone I spoke to said different things and quoted different prices. They actually told me if they knew I was an existing customer, I could not have gotten the rate I did on the second account I added since I was not a new customer. Do they not get the concept of getting more money from existing customers? DTV does not understand the value of a customer. Everyone you talk to quotes different prices and different terms. They take no responsibility for what other DTV customer service people tell you. I told them I was going online and share the poor experience. They told me this was not a good idea, but to go to their website and fill out an email form. This after spending 45 minutes talking to multiple people and getting no satisfaction at all.
Of course they don't want you telling everyone about their mediocre customer service and absolute policies. I should point out I've been very happy with the initial DTV service, which is why I added the second home. Unfortunately they don't value their customers and seem more interested in how much cancellation fees they can collect. I will be looking for other options.
Reviewed March 21, 2013
We have only been with DirecTV since October, and never, in the 15+ years that we were with Dish, did we ever experience the rudeness that flows from the DirecTV Customer Service Dept. Today, if I had the $400 to get out of their contract, I would. I have had it. I have many complaints, but I want to stick with my main one as of today, the ** I spoke to this morning in customer service just a few minutes ago.
Ever since we went with this DirecTV and its new Genie receiver, we will sometimes get an "invalid format" across our screen. Sometimes the TV will finally work after a few tries, sometimes I can reset the Genie to make it work. However, I'd read in a forum that it might be a resolution problem, and I was calling today to have someone walk me through those steps. To say the least, we never got that far in our conversation. When this woman answered, she identified herself as the Warranty (or whatever) dept, which I misunderstood and said, "Oh I'm looking for the tech support." Her reply was extremely condescending, "This is the Tech Support, you are on the protection plan, and this is the Dept. you speak with." Okay, right, you could've said it nicer, lady. I mean her voice was oozing condescending.
When I tried to explain the problem, but told her that the TV was now on and we had got it working, she went into this reprimand of how she just couldn't help me if it's resolved. OMG, lady, it's not resolved. I need to know the settings to make it right, that's what I'm calling about. I finally said, "You know what, I'm going now, Bah-bye." If this were the only problem with them, I wouldn't be so angry, but a month or so ago, I called in to see if there was anything I could do about our two TVs being out of sync with each other, as in, the voice from the kitchen is about three seconds or so behind the living room voice, making it a continual echo if we are watching same program. The answer I received, again in a laughing, condescending tone, "Well, you are the first person to complain of this, so I really don't know what to tell you. You could reset your receiver, try that." Oh okay, I've done that how many times.
I am fed up with this outfit, and believe me, when my contract is up, I'm going back to Dish. I don't care that you have all this fancy logos and icons, and something called a Genie that allows you to record 5 shows at once. Hire yourself something other than bitchy people, and maybe we'd care.
Reviewed March 19, 2013
Second receiver does not get signal on the second TV. I have asked simply for a refund, for them charging me on a second unit that does not work properly, and to please send a new receiver unit. But instead, they keep charging us over the amount under fraud and false and deceptive practices. I simply want a refund for every month the second rec. has not worked. When I ask for a supervisor, they give me the runaround. Please settle this matter. This is going to my attorney.
Reviewed March 19, 2013
My husband was transferred with his job. He was 15 months into the 24-month contract and they charged him the early cancellation fee. We tried to explain to them that we could not have a dish in the housing development in which we bought and could not continue their service. They were not accommodating at all and to top it off, DirecTV called us back that night demanding to know why we were canceling. We told DirecTV that it was against our HOA. DirecTV came back and told us it was the fault of our HOA that we had to pay the earlier termination fee. We will never use them again nor recommend their services to our friends or family. If we are forced to move and against development regulations where we bought, should we be held liable? These are extremely poor business relations. How can businesses get away with services like that without damages?
Reviewed March 18, 2013
We have had DirecTV for about 7 years. We live in the mountains and do not have the choice of getting cable TV at this time. In February of 2013 we bought a new TV which had the option of HDTV, so we called DirecTV to ask for an upgrade. They gave me the information and told me a service person would be at my home the next day between certain hours. I stayed home all that day and no one arrived. I called that evening to complain. I was told another person would be out and that person never showed. This happened once more and finally, the fourth try, a service man came and reviewed our situation and informed us that we could not get a satellite dish for HDTV because we have so many trees. He then called the office and had our contract cancelled.
My husband also talked with DirecTV at that time to confirm this. A few days later, we got a bill for the installation and I ignored it. I paid my regular monthly fee instead because we had never gotten the service for HDTV installed. I then got a warning bill this week telling me that we have an overdue amount and we have to pay or have our satellite service cancelled. I immediately called DirecTV and spent three hours on the phone trying to get this taken care of. One man I talked with left me on the phone for so long that we were disconnected. I called back and the second person also said that he had to research this and would get back to me. I held for another half an hour and was told that I had an overdue bill and had to pay it. I told him again that I did not have an overdue amount, that the upgrade had never occurred. He responded as though he did not understand what I was talking about. He just kept insisting that I needed to pay for the upgrade.
He then transferred me to another representative, who took my whole story and said that the service itself had not been cancelled when the service technician called. They had only cancelled the delivery of the equipment. Now how can a service be installed without the equipment being installed? It made no sense. I was getting more and more frustrated and was told I had to pay my overdue bill before they cancelled that HDTV service, which I never had installed in the first place. I then asked to speak to a supervisor, who told me he would cancel that service as soon as I paid my overdue bill. I told him again, as clearly as possible, that I had no overdue bill. He then said he could not cancel it until I paid $90.57, which made no sense because the overdue bill was for $180.60. This included a late fee of $5.00.
I was really angry and explained again that I was not late in making my usual payment. He then said he could not backtrack and I had to pay the $90.57. He would then refund me on my next bill. I wanted this all over with (I was exhausted by this time after three hours) dealing with a problem that should have taken five minutes at most to resolve. I gave him a credit card number and then today have been reading these reviews and realized I could be billed in the future via this credit card, although I pay all of my payments directly through by electronic checking at my bank.
I am very dissatisfied and feel that DirecTV is a very dysfunctional and chaotically-managed company. I would love to be part of a class action suit. I will never go with DirecTV again. No wonder Frontier (our phone company) has ceased doing business with them. I do not have a choice at this time, but I will look for the next opportunity.
Reviewed March 17, 2013
I signed up online and never selected any "Protection Plan", which is $5.99/month to basically save you $49 if they need to come and repair their own equipment. I received a confirmation from them, which didn't have any "Protection Plan" on it. I reviewed the first bill, which didn't have any "Protection Plan". However, now 5 months later, I noticed that they had started charging me for this optional service that I never requested in the second month.
Charging you for worthless and unwanted features like this is a pretty obvious scam, one that I know old telephone companies used to do as well. I called and requested not only canceling the plan but a credit all the way back to the beginning. "Karen" said she'd have to research it, and later that she could only credit it for 3 months. I objected and finally got them to credit me for all 5 months, but she gave me some lecture about "taking advantage of the service" and how I should have checked my bills! The nerve of them to fraudulently charge me for something I didn't want, and then lecture me about "taking advantage" of them!
I suspect this fraud is happening to others and could be grounds for a class action lawsuit. If you find this charge on your bill and you didn't ask for it, stay on the phone for as long as it takes to get a full refund. If they refuse, start a chargeback with your credit card, as it's obvious fraud on their part.
Reviewed March 14, 2013
So, my husband called in the middle of February to cancel all of our premium channels. At that time, our DirecTV payment via debit was apparently rejected (because Bank of America switched debit cards on us without telling us and without telling us why). So, every payment we made with the old debit card did not go through. When my husband called and cancelled the channels, DirecTV should have informed us that our payment did not go through, but they didn't. We did not know anything was wrong and it was business as usual around here. It was not until early March that we started getting phone calls from an 800 number, at all hours of the day. Every time we would answer, there was nothing but dead air. I would stay on the line for several minutes, until I got frustrated and just hung up. There was no other information on the caller ID other than the 800 number, so I didn't know who was trying to get in contact with us, and it looked like either a scam or telemarketer, so I didn't bother calling.
Today (3/14), I received another of the calls from DirecTV, so as usual, I answered, and as usual, I got dead air. But this time, I got fed up with the phone calls, so I called the number back. This was how I found out it was DirecTV, and that our Feb payment had been rejected. When I explained that we should have been notified, the operator explained that that's what the phone calls were for, and I said that made sense if the phone calls actually worked. I told him about my getting dead air each time DirecTV called, and he said it could take up to 10 MINUTES for someone on their end to actually answer. And I said that was ridiculous, since no one would actually stay on the line for 10 minutes listening to dead air. I told him I could not pay the backed up bill (which ballooned from $50 to $130) and he said we needed to pay something before the 25th in order to avoid an interruption of service. My husband ended up paying the entire amount but our budget for the remainder of the month is screwed up. We have a very tight budget and we only budget $50 for DirecTV, but now that we have to pay nearly double that amount, we will be left with other bills unpaid and left with no money at the end of the month.
When I called DirecTV to complain, the operator (Gabrielle) said there was nothing she could do, basically apologized for the inconvenience of the automated system not working, then said I should have called earlier in order to avoid the doubled-up monthly payment. I told her it was not my responsibility to do that, since I answered the phone every time DirecTV called but I would always get dead air. What was I supposed to do? Stay on the line like an idiot for 10 minutes?! Then she said they sent out a bill explaining that our Feb statement had not been paid but we never received a copy of that. Again, you guys dropped the ball - twice, and we, the customer, have to suffer the consequences.
Our experience with you guys has been terrible. When we first got DirecTV, about one week after it was installed, the cable box thingy broke. It stopped working completely. The operator told us the error message we were getting (don't remember it now) meant that the receiver was broken and that was a rare occurrence. So, guess what? You told us you were sorry, and would send out a new receiver, within 5 business days. This means we were without TV for one week, and we had a sick mother at home who depended on TV to keep her company. I can't tell you how disappointed we were with you guys then, until today.
Your business practices regarding notifying customers that something is wrong need to be revised. We will cancel our subscription to DirecTV if something like this happens again. In the meantime, you have one family who is very frustrated and unhappy with your business, and will tell anyone about how you failed to at least offer something in exchange for your incompetence, which will leave us with $0 money at the end of the month because you failed to let us know there was a problem early on. Bravo, DirecTV.
Reviewed March 14, 2013
I recently terminated my DirecTV service. I provided them my new address at the time and paid my final bill. I was to receive a box with return instructions. I did not and was billed $550 today. I called them to complain and was told that I was charged because I failed to return their equipment. I asked about the boxes and was told that they came back as undeliverable and they had no responsibility to call or email me. They agreed to send a new box but would not refund my money until 7-10 days after they got the equipment. The person did not speak English. I asked to have the call elevated and that person could not resolve the issue and could not speak English. I asked for an English-speaking person and was told that I would just have to keep calling in on the same number until I was lucky and got an English-speaking person as they were in the Philippines and could not transfer my call.
I should have been notified by phone or email address regarding the boxes before withdrawing the money. They do not make a reasonable or timely attempt to get their equipment back because they know that they can charge you a premium price for outdated equipment that they can no longer use due to competition. They have outsourced their customer service offshore and refuse to let you speak to anyone who can comprehend English. Plus, they have closed my online account so that I cannot access past account activity which would clearly demonstrate their delays in sending return boxes. The people need to be sued out of existence, and we need to patronize businesses that employ Americans and have reasonable policies.
Reviewed March 14, 2013
Just like everyone else on this thing, I filled out the rebates before the installation. I called in November and they said this should be done in 6-8 weeks. I called in December 2 times and they said this should be done in 6-8 weeks. I called and e-mailed in January the DirecTV president’s office and got a standard response. They said this should be done in 6-8 weeks. (This is a president's office. They are there to see that you don't cancel.)
I canceled and told them I want my $200 and then the $340 they owe me for their failure for early disconnect because of the delinquent funds on their account. I went FiOS. If you can change, I would. I try never to deal with liars and thieves. They said they will send me a box to return the receivers and it will be 6 to 8 weeks after I received my money. I loved the guy when he said they bill me for their lack of commitment. If I didn't have FiOS, I would have gone with the internet (Netflix, YouTube...), put an antenna for free air, and wait. They will pay. If I have any issues with them after, this is when I'll check the box down below to have an attorney call me.
Reviewed March 14, 2013
I have been with DirecTV for 4 years now, and I have been lied to about the cost of their service more than 5 times now. From day one, they were dishonest about their prices. Plus, as a loyal customer for 4 years, they said I could not buy the newer DVR unless I was a new customer. So they sold me the old one that will only record 2 shows at a time. I will research other TV sources when my contract is up.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
I moved into an apartment building and had no choice but to use DirecTV. After the initial installation, the TV did not operate. It took 5 separate service calls until they finally agreed to replace the faulty box. Clearly that was the problem all along and now it works. Now, I am being charged for that service which should have been right to start with. Try calling customer service. Each time it’s an average 30 minutes wait. There is no one with authority to make decisions. There is no coordination between departments. And each time you call, you start from scratch like it's Groundhog Day. I miss Comcast.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
I have been a DirecTV customer since 2008 and I have finally had enough. I have been on the phone with customer service for two weeks now. I disconnected my service on March 1, 2013 and I got my final bill and it is still wrong. I called customer service. I was on the phone for half an hour and nothing was resolved. Have they ever heard the customer is always right? I guess not. To my family and me, every penny counts and a multimillion dollar is trying to fight me for $19.21.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
I signed a 2-year contract with DirecTV in August 2012. On March 11th, 2013, I canceled my services. This is 17 months before my contract was up. On the last bill I received from DirecTV, I noticed that my bill had gone up. I immediately checked the breakdown of my bill to see where these possible charges had come from, keeping in mind that tax may have risen (as these are not under the control of DirecTV or were agreed upon in my contract). After reviewing the statement, I found that DirecTV had raised the price of my HD receiver. At this point, I called the customer service hotline.
The representative I spoke with had informed me that a recent negotiation between the networks and DirecTV ended in a result of DirecTV paying an 8% increase to the networks. DirecTV then in turn put these charges upon their customers. I told the rep, and she agreed that I was still under the price guarantee credit explanation. This is directly from my DirecTV statement: "Because you are a new customer with a one-year price guarantee, we are honoring the original price of your base package for the remainder of your first year service. This credit keeps your price at its original amount until the date shown (7/13). If you change your base package, your price guarantee may no longer apply."
Direct TV also has a Customer Contract Agreement. As seen they have unrestricted rights as long as there is justification (mentioned above) to raise prices. DirecTV said this 8% increase demanded by Networks is an example of this stimulation. But what DirecTV did wrong with my particular case is I am still under a price guarantee Credit. So DirecTV went around this and still charged me for this 8% network increase by tagging my receiver and not my package deal. Far from my worries but DirecTV also failed to notify me of these increases as indicated that they would (mentioned above in the agreement).
There was no justification to raise my receiver. This 8% network increase has nothing to do with the quality or performance of this receiver and has everything to do with packages, i.e. networks, channel availability.
Reviewed March 13, 2013
One year ago, I considered switching over to DirecTV. After an encounter with the telephone sales rep (Pete), I was so turned off by his manner I just told him I was not interested, but he would not take no for an answer. After he had obtained my name, address, etc. and I told him I was definitely not interested, a tech showed up at my house to install DirecTV. Needless to say, the tech who showed up was not happy, nor was I.
One year later, yesterday, guess who I reached again at DirecTV? You guessed it, Pete, and nothing had changed. He even said he had to have my social security number to verify my credit. After I realized that I was speaking to the same pushy, obnoxious and arrogant employee, I told him I was not interested at all and that I was going to hang up. He kept talking, but I hung up. Two minutes later, my phone rang and it was him saying we got disconnected. I told him, "No, we did not get disconnected; I hung up," and I told him to stop calling me.
Today, guess who called me again? It was Pete and he wanted to know if I had thought it over again. I told him quite directly, "Stop calling me. I do not want DirecTV." He still kept talking, trying to convince me and I hung up again. Is DirecTV that desperate? I want to file a formal complaint. Can anyone assist me?
Reviewed March 12, 2013
I have been a DirecTV customer for 13 years and I'm finally done. My bill continues to go up every few month and the service gets lousier and lousier. They advertise these new great services, such as whole home DVR and the Genie, but when you can, they give you the runaround. They currently say you can watch DirecTV anyway, but you have to search their new website. I think they used software for the new website that is 10 years old. It has to be one of the worst public websites I have ever used. No searches for program you want, you have to guess where they put stuff, and what you can actually watch on the Internet is less than 10% of what you can watch on TV. I called to discuss my bill and my unhappiness. After being on hold and transferred around to a bunch of people who said they don't know why I'm being transferred to them, I've decided I'm done. When I told them that, they offered me a discount if I upgraded my service any further. Absolutely pathetic! Time Warner - here I come.
Reviewed March 11, 2013
I was recently offered a free upgrade to the Genie Whole-Home DVR service. After installation, I began experiencing problems with the equipment. Two HD TV's connected would freeze with dark screens. The recorded content on playback is distorted and audio is lost. In each case, it required rebooting the DVR.
I've spent several hours on calls with customer service, and their response was to ask me to be patient because a fix was forthcoming. I explained that was not an acceptable response; I want the equipment replaced. Changing the equipment would cost $400. My only alternative was to wait until the software fix is sent to my receiver. During this conversation with the clueless customer support representative, both of my TV's froze up twice.
In researching this problem, I've discovered that the issues with the Whole-Home Genie DVR & Client date back to last year. In its promotion, DirecTV does not disclose the technical issues associated with this product. I've been a customer for 18 years, and this is how DirecTV rewards my loyalty. If there is any legal action involving this issue, I would be interested in becoming a participant.
Reviewed March 7, 2013
DirecTV is a disgrace. If it wasn't for the football package that they have a monopoly on, the company would be out of business. Their customer service (oxymoron) is the worst that I have ever dealt with in a public company. They unethically and fraudulently add services and fees to your bill and service and you have to be the one that spends countless hours to fix the mess they created. They are a fraud. Even the BBB doesn't see this or chooses to look the other way because of all the millions of dollars DirecTV gives to the special interest groups and lobbyists. If all of us stood up and didn't buy the NFL ticket for a year, you can bet your last dollar the NFL would pull the plug on this crap company! So let's do that for the 2013 NFL season!
Reviewed March 6, 2013
I signed a two year contract with DirecTV in Jan 2012 - total monthly bill = $66.28 (which included a $29 monthly rebate for the first year) with three TVs (1 advanced receiver with a $10 credit and primary TV receiver for free, $6.00 credit). After the first 12 months, my bill doubled. I'm locked into a contract for another year while they can increase my fees anytime they want. I understood the $29 monthly credit would only apply for 12 months, but in addition to charging me more for the receivers after the first 12 months, the advanced DVR rate also increased $5 per month and they said there have been 'rate increases' to my base pkg. What the hell is the advantage of a contract when they are allowed to increase rates at will? It's fraud. Another con - during the first 12 months, I had to call 8 billing periods because the bill amount was never correct.
Reviewed March 6, 2013
Over the last two days, we have had over 6 hours of known outage. When I called the technician on the phone, she told me to have the person at home try the fixes. This was after I told her that there was a person at the house who was on bed rest. The technician told me she would send someone over but that would cost $49. They seriously asked me to have someone on bed rest get up and fiddle with the receiver. I am sure there would be some liability for that! So after waiting on hold for 20 minutes for a supervisor, I was told it was $49 or a service agreement. This is DTV's problem; something is wrong with the signal and it is not weather related! If you read this then think twice about DTV!
Reviewed March 6, 2013
My DTV account stated: "Your credit card has expired. Please go to My Profile to update your credit card information". I did not update my profile because of an issue by the end of January 2013, where DTV was automatically going to charge me for the HBO/STARZ/etc. package, which I did not want. DTV gave it to me because it was a free promotional tactic. I explained I am disabled and only get paid once a month so I didn't need any of the promotional bells and whistles. Since I continually monitor my accounts online and made DTV aware of their incorrect assumption, they adjusted my bill prior to payment.
Recently, I paid my balance on 28 February 2013. I get paid once a month and that is when I pay my bills (which I explained to the DTV representative that took my call to establish the service and why I had to wait to have my services connected). On 3 March 2013, I rented a movie that I assumed would be on my next statement. Wrong. It was withdrawn from my checking account immediately. Since the DTV site stated that my credit card expired, who authorized them to assume the responsibility to withdraw the money from my account? I called the office and was informed that because they had a debit card for my checking account, they knew the number was still valid. I spoke with an Oscar and informed him that I was not happy with the tactic and would contact the CEO to get resolution.
Reviewed March 6, 2013
I had DirecTV at my old home. I decided to switch because I get a discount from my employer with a competitor. I cancelled the install and moved to our new home 3 weeks before it was to happen. I had confirmation that the order had been cancelled. Two days before my final bill was to be paid, I noticed $173 in pending to DirecTV. I called and customer service said that they saw the cancellation and disconnect of the service but I had to speak with the move department. I spoke with Move Department and they confirmed the cancel and disconnect but said I had to speak with billing to get the money stopped before debiting my account. I spoke with a rep in billing who had no clue what was going on. He said that he had to confirm with Move Department that the order had been cancelled. I advised that I was transferred to him from the Move Department. I also advised him that per the automated system calls recorded for quality. Yeah, right!
I also told him that the previous two reps advised me that they had documented my account. So anyway, the billing rep said the refund would take 24-48 hours to process. Three days went by and I called again. I was told that it takes 30+ days to get a refund. I said that the bill was $42 and not $172! They said sorry, it will take 30 days to get my money back. I escalated to supervisor and they said the same thing. I disputed it with my bank and they said that because I had direct debit set up, the refund had to come from them. I wrote the BBB and DirecTV said that they had escalated a refund to my checking account. Within two days from that, I received a letter in the mail that they had escalated refund. One day later, I received a bill for the amount that they should have taken 30 days prior! How rude! I called again and said that they would not get a penny until I got my money that was due me 3 weeks prior. DirecTV still has not refunded me my money that they stole from me since their systems were verified by people and not machines that they never should have taken the money in the first place! Do not deal with DirecTV if you have a choice!
Reviewed March 6, 2013
On 03/01, I was charged $2.00 for Regional Sports Fee. On 03/02, I was charged $6.00 for Primary TV. These fees are a rip-off. I never watch sports. And a charge for my TV? What is that all about? If I had two TV's, I could understand the fee on the second TV, maybe; but why charge me almost $100 a year for having my TV? This is absolutely fraudulent.
Reviewed March 6, 2013
DirecTV took a very large sum of money out of my mother's bank account. The reason stated by them that she owed them for their DVR boxes. When she cancelled the service on these boxes, she spoke with a customer representative who informed her that she did not have to return the boxes. Without any warning, they took this large some of money from her account. After calling them, they agreed to put the money back in her account, but it will take 3-5 days. My mother lives on Social Security and this money being gone causes much hardship for her. DirecTV should not be allowed to just take money out of your account without notice or justification to do so.
Reviewed March 5, 2013
I would like to submit a complaint regarding DirecTV and their account billing. I think over the course of 3 years, I have gone from their wonderful promotion to now a current bill of $107. They charge for everything and it appears that every few months there is an increase for one issue or another. I mailed back an HD receiver and requested it a month later. That put me into another 24-month contract. When I said I was moving and I wanted to cancel my service, I am now going to get charged $200 for an upgrade receiver service early cancellation. I really do not understand all of methods they are able to catch the consumer off guard. I have not been happy with this company since the first week I signed up and I am willing to pay my $307.33 bill. Please be careful before agreeing to anything with this company.
Reviewed March 5, 2013
I got DirecTV sometime in 2005, I think. I asked them to block Pay-per-view at the outset of our conversation. They said that they had to install and then it could be blocked. Well, I ended up paying for a bunch of movies which I think my son asked for. Then I called DirecTV and demanded and got a password on the account. My son went off to school. After I sold my house, I took the DirecTV receiver and returned it to DirecTV when I had a chance to stabilize (I was traveling the country and writing a book). After I returned the receiver in 2012, they demanded $250 for movies that I allegedly viewed in 2005 which they stated were "recorded on my SIM card."
When I told them that was impossible, they threatened me. They continue to send me letters demanding money. I am completely fed up. I didn't get these movies. I had the account password-protected to prevent this very thing. I am sick of being hounded by these people, particularly since I am not making very much money on my two part-time jobs. $250 is a lot of movies and a hell of lot of money to me.
Since I began talking about this situation, I have heard from a lot of people with the same issue. This seems to be a revenue enhancement scheme from DirecTV and it seems like people with Hispanic surnames get dunned more often.
Reviewed March 5, 2013
We saw DirecTV advertised the plan $29.99 a month and they told us we could cancel if their service is not good and will not be charged anything. And we ordered $29.99/a month. But the tech came to set up and did not ask anything about the contract. When he was done with the install, he just asked that we sign to confirm that he had done the install. So we signed on the too small machine with that explanation. And later, we received the bill - over 60 bucks a month. What the hell is going on here? That is a trick for the customer. We tried to make a call and waited too long every time. It was too annoying for customers every time we called like that. Finally, they told that we got the basic plan $29.99 plus tax for a year, but I only received one month. After that, the bill went up over 60 bucks a month again. And we called them again. The same thing happened again. We don't know what will happen next time. It’s too annoying and we are angry.
So we decided to cancel the service, but they told us to pay almost 500 bucks for cancellation fee. OMG. What the hell is going on here? Some things are never explained to you before you sign the contract and now they treat you like that. We cannot describe how angry we are when we use their service. I made the conclusion that we will never use DirecTV again. I hope somebody reads my notes before they want to use their service. I predict that DirecTV will die soon with their service.
Reviewed March 4, 2013
I have had two issues with the company and neither issue was resolved by their so-called help center. The first issue was about their online billing system being down. They would process my payment over the phone for an additional charge. I told them, “No, thank you.” I would gladly mail it and refuse to pay any late charge since it was their issue. They still charged me the late fee. For the second issue, I tried to change my package, to downsize it. I tried online and it said that I would have to call. After thirty minutes of being on hold, I tried to email their helpdesk using their online form. They responded and said I could change package online (I could not; I already tried), or I would have to call. I called again and lost track of time (I did some dishes, etc. while waiting). When I finally talked to a person, I told them to change my package. The package has still not been changed. Is this customer service?
Reviewed March 4, 2013
We have been DirecTV customers for 12+ years. We bought our equipment from Best Buy and we installed it. In April 2012, we received a letter from DirecTV offering us 2 new boxes and when we called customer service to have the boxes sent to us, I jokingly said something to extent of they are free, really absolutely free. I was told, "Yes, totally free." Apparently, it started a new contract for 1 year. This, I was not told, but apparently should have known. I cancelled service in January 2013 to go with Verizon Triple Play (internet, phone, FiOS). We were told we had a credit and would receive boxes and a "mailer" to send our equipment back. After not receiving the boxes, I called customer service who indicated boxes weren't being sent because, I guess, the boxes are probably already outdated. Okay, no problem.
Then we got our bill showing a $100 early cancellation fee. I called customer service and asked how they considered a customer of 12+ years cancelling an early cancellation. Apparently, when the new boxes were sent to us and activated on April 22, 2012, a new 1-year contract started. I have emailed back and forth to customer service and always get a prompt reply stating that, according to our DirecTV Customer Agreement, any "change" incurs a new contract period. I'm going to have to pay this so it doesn't go to a collection agency. I sort of wish they would automatically put it in our credit card so I could dispute it. The credit card information they have is probably on a card that doesn't exist anymore. Do not go with DirecTV.
Reviewed March 4, 2013
DirecTV misrepresents cancellation fee charges and fee processing. Buyer beware! DirecTV attracts new business by providing deceptive half true information to entice consumers to accept their TV plans. The company should be held accountable for fraudulent and deceptive misrepresentation of charges conveyed to consumers via phone request. Trees of Avalon Apartments referred me to DirecTV because DirecTV purchased the rights to cable wire the land which eliminated competitors. New business transactions are generated via the telephone (at which time a contract is not viewable). This puts the Georgia consumer at risk of accepting or choosing to do business with this company, which otherwise would be declined if the consumer was made aware of the actual exact printed information in the contract.
In June 2012, I purchased cable TV service from DirecTV via telephone communication. They gave me details on several plans and I chose a plan based on the monthly payment for that plan. As we discussed the monthly payment amount due on my plan (included in that same subject context), I was informed that there would be an early cancellation fee of $20 monthly also. I agreed to the $20 monthly early cancellation fee. During our conversation on the phone for the initial setup of service and on subsequent communications with DirecTV representatives, it was consistently stated that the early cancellation fee is $20 monthly. After my service was terminated and during one of my last attempts to resolve the issue with DirecTV on Jan. 18, 2013, 10:17 am ET, telephone representative, Nova, badge ID number ** again stated, "The early cancellation fee is $20 monthly." However, that is not the truth as stated in the contract.
The contract early cancellation fee is in the middle of a document that was presented to me by the installation technician under the disguise as my responsibility to protect the DirecTV leased equipment that I accepted during installation that day. DirecTV should be held accountable for enticing Georgia consumers new business by giving us deceptive half true information. The contract states, "The early cancellation fee is $480 and DirecTV will deduct $20 for each month the service is fulfilled up to 24 months. Further that without prior notification to customer, the entire lump sum balance due will be charged to your debit or credit card account number on file (which was mandatory to set up service)."
If the company were doing business in good faith with Georgia residents, then the verbal information provided by DirecTV phone representatives should be exactly the same as the written information in the contract that is received and signed at a future installation date. Further, I informed the company that I wanted my account number removed from their files in July 2012. They assured me that my account number had been erased from their files. And that no future charges would occur as of July 2012 since my credit/debit number had been erased from their system.
I want DirecTV to reimburse me $340. I will pay that early cancellation fee at an initially, verbally, agreed upon amount of $20 monthly. The company has no reason to believe that I will not pay it because all other amounts they charged me have been paid. Buyer beware!
Reviewed March 4, 2013
I am beyond disgusted and disappointed in this company. I signed up for DirecTV service in November and was promised a $200 Visa gift card as part of the new customer offer. I am still in the process of going through what seems to be no less than a battle, trying to get what what promised. After several phone calls and after speaking with several representatives, I was finally told I would receive a call back (for the second time) and still have yet to receive a returned phone call. This is very upsetting and shows such a lack of respect and appreciation to your current customers.
As if this wasn't enough, I called today inquiring about installing service in an additional room and was told that there would be a combined charge of almost $200! My plan was to get my daughter her own TV and allow her to have satellite in her room for her birthday. But wow! After being told that since I was no longer a "new customer", those "new customer offers" were no longer applicable and those charges couldn't be waived. This shows how little this company values its current customers. I expected and was prepared to pay a charge for the installer to come out and hook up another room, but never imagined having such ridiculous charges apply only after becoming a customer.
We switched from Dish Network to DirecTV in hopes that service and customer support would be held at a higher standard. So far, I have seen the worst customer support ever. I am a busy mother of two and if I have taken the time out of my day to sit down and type out this complaint, surely you can see how disappointed I must be! I will be informing all my family and friends about this horrible experience as well.
Reviewed March 4, 2013
I hate, absolutely hate dealing with DirecTV. They charge for every little thing, such as 1) $6.00 for each TV that is connected; 2) $10 a month for each of the receivers; 3) a $5.99 Protection Plan (in case their receiver stops working!), and all that’s on top of the Package! And this month they started tacking on a $2.00 Regional Sports Fee and I don’t even want sports! And each time there’s a change, such as if you move to a DVR player, they extend the contract another 24 months!
They say it’s a contract. Well, if they make changes to the original contract, isn’t that a breach of said contract? I never asked for a change in the sports program and to increase my basic package with a $2.00 sports fee! They said that customers in the region asked for it. Well, I never did! I don’t give a damn about sports channels. “Well, sir, you can choose another package.” Why do I have to choose another package that doesn’t include these sports channels that also does not include the channels I want? I don’t want the sports channels, and I don’t agree to pay an additional $2 a month for something I didn’t ask for! “Well, I’m sorry sir; there’s nothing I can do about that.” But that’s a breach of contract with you changing it! “No sir, the agreement says we can make changes to the contract if deemed necessary.” I want a la carte programming. I only want to pay for the channels I want! “I’m sorry sir, we don’t offer that at this time.”
I will be switching to Internet Streaming, Netflix or Hulu or whatever, as it will be a lot less money and I won’t have to deal with credits and adjustments and with them adding additional fees and changing the package and forcing me into a contract that they can change when they want to.
Reviewed March 3, 2013
We signed up for the Verizon bundle including TV, phone and internet in October 2012. The first three bills were not correct. We were overcharged every month, having to call and spend hours on the phone. At one point, our TV was shut off and when I called both Verizon and DirecTV, nobody had a clue why it happened. DirecTV said it was some kind of glitch in the system and they had no idea what happened, so they restored the service. Another time we were charged for the free movies (for three months) and sports channels that we did not order. Again, a long phone call with no answers, but they credited the amount. Also, we were double charged two months in a row. After paying the bundle with Verizon, DirecTV billed us also with a ridiculous amount (I'm assuming when they turned the service back on after the glitch, they started billing us as a new customer).
We tried to resolve every issue promptly. They are recorded in the customer notes and the last time they charged us triple and when we refused to pay for service we already paid Verizon for, they told us we can cancel. So we did. Now we are being charged for cancellation because we broke the contract. But DirecTV broke the contract every month, unreasonably turned off our TV with no reason and no answers, and admitting they were at fault. I cannot afford to be double, triple and unreasonably charged not only once, but every single month.
Since the very first two weeks of having DirecTV, we have had nothing but problems. This is outrageous and ridiculous that we are being charged to cancel when DirecTV did not hold up your end of the contract. It is illegal to charge us when we have every right to cancel due to the unpredictable and careless service. I do not expect to pay a cancellation fee. Can you help me?
Reviewed March 2, 2013
I ordered movie on computer and it took our money, but the movie did not come on so I called DirecTV. The girl who finally answered could not hear me and was very rude so I asked to talk to her manager. She put me on hold and then came back and told me it would be a while. Instead of putting me back on hold, she continued to stay on the line listening to my husband and my conversation. She told me the movie was on but at the time, we had the TV on the channel and it was not on. Then a few seconds later, it came on (how funny). After about 15 minutes of waiting, the movie went off and never came back on but we were charged for it. I'm very tired of getting ripped off by companies like this that think they can get away with this! I will be calling on Monday, 3-4-13, and having some of my services shut off and will never order pay-per-view again.
Reviewed March 2, 2013
I spoke with a sales rep to set up new service. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone. She told me the package price would be $81.94 for phone, TV and internet. She told me she was transferring me to the bundle department because I wanted to select my home number. I sat on hold for about another 15 minutes. She transferred me to an attitudinal **, who got loud with me as I asked questions as he quoted me prices. He told me that I didn't listen to him blah, blah. Then my bluetooth disconnected the call.
I called back and sat on hold for about 15 minutes, only to be told, "I am sorry. They didn't know that the $15 discount is for the 2nd year and not the 1st year of service. That would put your order at $96.94." I told her I don't know why the guy in the bundle dept didn't know that. He was the 2nd person to quote me that price. I told her to cancel my service. I will just go back to AT&T directly. What a way to gain a new customer - not.
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2013
I recently signed up with DirecTV and had a dish installed in my apartment, and also purchased the insurance on it. When the installer came out, he was very nice. He told me that if I had any problems with the dish, the insurance would cover any charges that required him to return. He never asked me for rules or regulations on how to set up a dish on my balcony, so he drilled it right on to my balcony. Since he was the professional and it was his job to know what was appropriate and what was not, I assumed he knew what he was doing. Two days later, I got $100 fine for "incorrect position of dish." Apparently, it is supposed to be drilled onto a tripod, which I noticed all of the other 50 people in my apartment complex had. But he didn’t do that for me, to no fault of my own, which even the manager of my apartment complex said the installer should know better.
I called DirecTV and simply explained to them the mistake the installer had made, and that he needed to come back out and take it off the railing and put it on a tripod before I got fined again. They then began to explain that in order for this to be done, there would be a $50 charge. I spoke to five different people, whom all of them were no help, and not considerate to my situation at all. Why should I have to pay anything for something that was not my fault? I was never told there were certain ways they were allowed to be set up, and he never once asked me for a copy on dish regulations. He is the professional, not me. The lady then told me that, "All apartment complexes are different, and all have different rules." I was unaware, but if you were, then why, as a "professional," did you not make sure it was set up according to my apartment complex’s policy? If he would have asked me for a copy of it, I would have walked down to the front desk and got one, and this all could have been avoided. I finally spoke to a Manager named Josephine, who proceeded to tell me, "No amount of your words, is going to change the fact that you have to pay this."
I am disgusted that I now have to pay a company who treats new customers so horribly for the next two years. To me, loyalty is everything. If I am treated fairly, I would have been a life long customer to them. Because of their mistake, I am now $150 out of pocket for unnecessary charges. I am a 22-year old woman who is 8 months pregnant. I work full time to be able to provide the basic needs for me and my baby. $150 might not seem like anything to them, but to me that is groceries in my fridge, diapers for my child, or a minor bill paid. I am not an unreasonable person, but I feel as if in this situation, I was treated extremely unfair. I should have never cancelled with Cox. Cox never once charged me for installment fees or cancellation fees, because as a customer I was not happy. If a customer is not happy with the service, they should not have to pay. Period. I will go out of my way to make sure that I stop people from signing up with DirecTV, and I will never refer anyone to them.
I am counting down the days until my contract is up. I can't believe that I had to go as far as writing the president of the company a personal email to let him know how the people who represents his company treat their new customers. The only reason I went with DirecTV was because they were cheap. Never again will I choose cheap over better customer service (DirecTV over Cox).
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2013
I signed up for service in September 2012. Excluding the installer, I have had to call DirecTV service due to service outages 5 times since the installation. That is almost one a month. After having 3 outages in the first two months, I tried canceling my service and was told I was perfectly entitled to do that, but I would be liable for $20/month left on my agreement ($400 odd). I am beholden to the agreement but DirecTV said they are holding up their part of the agreement, to either repair the service or refund the period of outage (they refunded me $50 twice). This is not the service I agreed to. The last time I called, I was on the line for over an hour and then got disconnected. I called back, was on the line another hour and got the same story. You can cancel. But I will still be liable for the cancellation clause. There has to be a law against this.
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2013
They are the most unprofessional, irresponsible company I have ever dealt with! You're on the phone for hours on hold. When you do speak with someone, they're nasty and completely unhelpful! I've been with DTV for a month and regret my decision to leave Charter. They installed everything wrong. I wasn't getting the best signal. When I called to fix it, they said that I had to call that specific tech to come look at it; then they tried to charge me $49.99 to just come out! Fighting for hours, they waived it. They came to drill several more holes in my walls and roof!
Oh, and the sales rep lied to me about all of their promotions. She said I could get 4 boxes and mirror one of them to my 5th TV. Um, no, it's not possible. I was on the phone for hours to get another box. They started charging me $150 plus another installation fee. No. After speaking to several managers, they finally said, "We'll waive it; just pay $40 for the equipment." When I said okay and spoke to another representative, they said that offer didn't exist and that he noted on my account it said I was the one who refused to work with them and I was upset. I was on the phone for another after that and guess what? The line went dead. Save yourself the trouble. They are crooked as can be. I'm definitely reporting them to the Better Business Bureau.
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2013
I borrowed a credit card from a friend to pay my DirecTV bill. After I cancelled my service, and even though they had my credit card on file, they still billed my friend’s card ($373.00). After speaking to them trying to get them to reverse that charge and put it on the correct card, they transferred me 5 times and then I was disconnected! I called back. After holding for over 45 minutes, I spoke to someone who also was not able to charge the correct card and reverse the charge made to the unauthorized card. They said that their policy is that any card ever used to pay on an account is subject to being charged. That’s poor customer service
Reviewed Feb. 28, 2013
DirecTV expects me to solve all problems. Repair service won't return calls and they expect me to pay for a service that has caused problems from the beginning.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2013
This is twice you self-centered sons of ** throw a temper tantrum and take channels away from your customers for pure personal and financial gain. Well, we are kicking you to the curb, and going back to Comcast! Dish Network is even better than you ** wipes! You are obviously not meant to be in the customer service industry! Go get into another line of work and while you are at it, get a life!
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2013
My family and I just moved into a new house a month ago. We called DirecTV 3 weeks ago for cable. They first said they were coming on Wednesday but they didn't have the "right equipment" to install the cable. So they said they would be back on Sunday but they didn't come. Then we called again and they said they will be here Wednesday at 8-11 am. And today is Wednesday and it's 2:10, and they didn't show up again. Now I think we will go with Dish TV or Comcast.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2013
I was hoping to save some money and get some great channels. Based on the promotion I got in the mail, DirecTV could help me. I signed up for a cable/phone line deal and was told my bill would be around $60/month for both but would receive two separate bills. They ran a credit check and said I was approved for both services by both companies. Congratulations, they would take care of the rest. They told me I had 30 days to cancel if I changed my mind or was unhappy with the service. They installed the satellite dish and when I asked about the phone, they said someone would call me with the details.
Two days later (important detail), I got a call saying that I had to set up the phone line myself and was given the information and number to call. I called the other company and was told I did not qualify for their service, because my name was still on an outstanding debt of a former friend. When I called DirecTV to clear the confusion up (because I had done a credit check and was told I was approved by both companies), they said that there was nothing they could do and I also no longer qualified for the discount I was going to receive for using their phone company. This drove my bill up to an unreasonable number and I would also be paying a higher rate from my former cable company because I would lose my 3-in-1 package discount. I told them I was sorry I would not be able to afford the change as instead of saving me money, it would actually double what I was paying.
They informed me that I had been given 24 hours to cancel, which had passed while I was waiting for them to call me with the details of the phone line. When I reminded them that they had told me I had 30 days to cancel and not 24 hours, they said the phone company allowed for 30 days but DirecTV only allowed for 24 hours. When I said I was lied to and wanted a copy of the recorded tape of my conversation with the salesperson, I was told that I would not be given the tapes and that I would need to hire a lawyer to file a motion for the tapes. Are you kidding me?! The monthly bill has doubled since then (1 year, 5 months ago). When I ask them about the increase, they tell me they have shareholder expectations, etc.
I am a young mom with 2 kids. I go to school full-time trying to earn two bachelor's degrees. My fiancee was laid off from work four months ago. Am I crying about a bunch of rich white men with nothing better to do than rip off lower and middle class people not making their profit expectations? Nope and DirecTV shouldn't be either. But their priorities are clearly making shareholders' money and not paying customers. Do not fall for DirecTV's sales pitches! They will lie to you with no problem and they will break their user service agreement knowing you can't do anything about it. You will always be talking to some 15-year-old Filipino girl, because DirecTV cares more about ensuring they make millions and millions of dollars and hoarding as much of it as possible - never put anything more than they have to back into the community like hiring American to do American jobs.
The only good thing I can say about DirecTV is that I will never be stupid enough to do business with them again. And I hope my friends and family will listen to me when I caution them against doing business with them as well.
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2013
I just spent 30 minutes trying to do a simple task like order a movie by phone. After I realized the person I was speaking to have the intelligence level of about 1, I asked to speak to a supervisor. The supervisor was rude, but I finally got the deal done. They could not efficiently do a simple thing like take a telephone order. I tried to use the online system, and it kept telling me I didn't have an account. If so, where have I been sending my money every month? What has this world come to? It seems like no one can do anything anymore!
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2013
My parents moved from one house to another. I spoke with the representative on the phone (my mother had also, but has trouble hearing) and they told me the price would be the same, except for the additional TV she was having installed. Bill was the same until this month. It went from $77.21 to $108.21. When I called to inquire, I was told she was receiving a rebate of $25 per month which went away. When I inquired when she would be able to cancel the service assuming 12/2013 equals the one-year contract because she was not changing anything, I was then told because she moved, she had a new two-year contract. In my opinion, this is fraud by a corporation. The only way I have to fight is bad reviews.
They told them two weeks to get the service up and running (no change in bill even though my father did not have the service for two weeks). We spent hours on the phone trying to get this fixed and get the installation. I will go to my office tomorrow and pull up my records of who I spoke with. They did not credit her account for the missed time nor were they helpful in correction of the problem. I had to spend a couple of hours on the phone trying to get this corrected for her. My legislators should stop this corporate abuse of citizens. Why should they be able to tell you on the phone one-year contract then change it to a two-year contract? You can get out of it for $240, already spent on installation. Total rip off.
I will never do business with you myself or have my name on anything connected with DirecTV. Total rip off company. DirecTV has a longer contract than the teachers of Florida. Maybe the legislator can do something about that. Maybe contracts should only be a year or better yet 6 months like car insurance. You can raise rates during those two years. Maybe it should be they can't raise rates for two years. Do you treat your employees the same? Do they have two-year contracts?
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I just sent this email to the CEO of DirecTV and would urge all consumers to do the same. I used to be a DirecTV customer many years back and recently decided to come back to it. So, I called 3 different times and was shocked at the hard sell tactics that are being used by your company. It is nothing short of a boiler room operation.
I informed the sales rep that I am in retail sales and will not be pressured into giving out any personal information until I get answers to my questions. At every step, they would keep asking me for more and more personal info without giving me any answers to my questions. Finally (on 2 occasions), we actually got into a shouting match and I warned these reps that I would hang up, but they kept persisting and so I hung up.
The third time (yesterday), your sales rep was more amiable to giving out information (which I appreciated) and finally I gave him my personal information. At the end, he kept using delaying tactics in giving me exact numbers using excuses like the system was slow, etc. Funny thing was that I had just finished talking with AT&T, Comcast and Dish Network who had all used the same ** line. Finally, I got tired of this game and asked him to call me back with this information. Almost 24 hours later, I have not received a call back from him and I have now decided to go with AT&T.
As the CEO of the company, I think you should know that the practices being used by your sales team are nothing short of shameful and if you are already aware of it, then shame on you too.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I did not receive the equipment pertaining to my order on the phone. When I confronted the installer, he said to call customer service on Monday and they would just switch the boxes out; he was only installing what was on his work order. Now the nightmare begins. They said they could not make the changes after the installation. DirecTV said I would have to pay for them to be upgraded, which would be $25.00 additional charges to get HD. I was told it was free if I signed up for debiting into my checking account. The quality of reception from just the box is really bad that you have to get the upgrade and then I'm not even sure if that is any better. I spent a lot of money on my TV and now I have to spend a fortune to get the service to enjoy it? It makes no sense. Then I was told I could only have one of the three boxes changed out with a charge of $168.00 to replace the 2nd one. I just want the service I ordered and get quality service for the price I'm paying. I should not even be charged for mistakes made by them. And when I complained about not wanting to pay the amounts being charged, and I requested to return the equipment, they told me an outrageous amount for early cancellation because of a 2yr contract.
Well, if I'm not getting what I ordered and end up having to pay more into what the original quote was, for how the original order was done, to what the installer was asked to do, and to the phone call in to correct it, which was not the same. Not getting what you’re paying for are good grounds to go to small claims court. Not to mention, when I went to report this with BBB, I saw that I'm not the only one with the same exact problem. DirecTV got an "F" grade from BBB, which is not good.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
When I moved into my recent condo, I was told that cable television was an amenity. I enjoyed this amenity for 13 months, and it was suddenly shut off. I called the third party (Access Media) who had initially created the account for me and was told that Directv had shut off the receiver citing it as a delinquent account. Representative Claire, with the third party company, advised me that they started service on a receiver that did not belong to me and had finally caught the error and issued a shut down. I informed her that it wasn’t brought to my attention before, and I would like to continue receiving service. She informed me that I would have to purchase new service and pay for installation. I mentioned that there already was a receiver in my condo, and I would like to just transfer my service to that one. She advised me that I would not be charged for the Directv error and that I would need to return the receiver and set up new installation to enjoy cable television.
I asked her about some specials rates that she could provide to me and was offered a start-up package that includes a HD DVR Genie. The rate quoted for this device was $199. Staring at an offer I received in the mail, I informed her that I could receive that same receiver for free if I start up through Directv. Realizing that the better deal would be to purchase service directly through Directv, I called them and was told that they could not provide me that offer and that I was in a multi-dueling service area; it was restricted property! That Access Media obtained a contract, and they could not start up service. I would have to go through a third party! I explained that I had horrible service through them. As a new customer, it doesn’t make sense to go through a third party company that I have no intent of ever dealing with again.
For example, if groceries were delivered and were an amenity, but a contract was held by Publix, you’re restricted to purchase through Winn Dixie? That’s absolutely ridiculous! This mob style business tactic is very saddening. Cable television is a privilege and as a paying customer, we should have the freedom to make our own decisions on who to shell over hard earned currency to and not bullied.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I had a two year contract which expired on January 21st. I called at the beginning of January to ask if my bill was going to change at all and was told no; everything would remain the same. On January 24th, my bill came in for $15 more than before. I called to ask and was told my discount was up, but they could apply a new one for 12 months. Also, since I did inquire before my previous discounts were up, they would credit that current bill for $15. This month, again, my bill is $15 higher. When I call this time, they say that it’s a valid charge because the bill for January had already come out, and I had a balance on last month’s bill. I have auto-pay. How could there be any balance? They kept saying, “I'm sorry, I know how you feel”. My feelings are irrelevant because you lied to me. Even though it’s a small amount of money, it’s even smaller for a big company; and yet they argued with me for 20 minutes and still refused to take the charge off even though it is their error. I will be cancelling today.
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
On November 9th, I called the number on a DirecTV mailer advertising a package for $29.99 a month, 3 months of free HBO, Cinemax and Showtime along with a Genie HD upgrade. Also on the mailer, as part of the deal, was an offer for a $200 Visa gift card. I called the number on the mailer and asked questions about the deal. The next day, a salesman from Direct Sat TV called and asked if I was still interested in signing up for DirecTV. I asked him what he had to offer and he repeated the same deal I cited above, except he didn't mention the Visa card, so I specifically asked him about the card. I explained what I saw on the mailer and read all the details.
He told me that I could still get that directly from the DirecTV website after I was a customer for 30 days. I had DirecTV installed on November 11th. Well, 30 days passed and I attempted to apply for the Visa card that I was promised and what do you know, they tell me I am not eligible for the Visa card because I did not sign up through DirecTV but signed up through Direct Sat TV. Why do I deserve to be denied the $200 Visa card that I was promised? What did I do wrong?
Reviewed Feb. 26, 2013
I requested a temporary stop to my account and paid the balance in full on Feb. 9th, 2012. I was advised to contact them after my move to have my services reconnected. I asked what I needed to take with me. They said nothing, that new equipment would be provided at my new address. I left the equipment and moved. A month later, I got a bill for two months of service I did not receive. I disputed this until May and they finally zeroed it out. In Sept. 2012, they reactivated service to my new house and charged it to my phone bill. I called them and said that I did not have equipment. They then charged me $300 to my phone bill and for services in Sept. that I did not receive.
Next, in Jan. of 2013, I began receiving calls from CBE Collections regarding $105.98 for a receiver in which they had already charged me $300. Now my credit is affected. Upon calling DirecTV, they could not explain why and removed the charges. What actions can I take because they have affected my credit and keep charging me for services and equipment that I should not be responsible for?
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2013
They up charge you on everything. God forbid if you need a new receiver, they automatically renew your contract for another 2 years and don't inform you of this. Their customer service sucks. They can't get even the simplest of requests correct. Their punctuality is the absolute worst. If you schedule a morning appointment with them, be prepared to take the entire day off. If you have a premier sports channel (NFL Ticket), even if it was a promotional freebie, it will automatically renew the next season for the full price. I had to talk to 3 different people today to make a very simple change to our service and then when I flicked on the DVR receiver, they had canceled the DVR service all together which meant another call to their worthless customer service department, oh, and $10 added back onto our account.
This company is the biggest offender of bait and switch that I've ever seen. If you move and accept any of their free moving upgrades, not only do you get charged for them, but they extend your contract another 2 years - again, with no notification of them doing so. I was informed today that the equipment is free, not the service. Nice, huh? After posting a complaint on their Facebook page, them deleting it and me reposting it, I can no longer reply to or post anything on their page. I could go on and on but you get the point.
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2013
I no longer have Direct TV and mailed back all their equipment about 2 weeks ago. This weekend I noticed that they took money out of my account. I called them this morning for an explanation and was told that it was for a final bill. I explained that I did not make a payment nor am I signed up for automatic payments. I was told that because I had authorized them in the past with that card to make payments, they used it to pay the final bill. I told them they should not just take money off of people's credit cards without authorization for a final bill or any bill for that matter without a person's consent. They are taking advantage of customers. They should send the final bills in the mail and not just take it upon themselves to withdraw payments without authorization for a particular payment.
Please do not use your credit card information to make payments with DirecTV. I even tried to go online to their website and remove my card information. Their system will not allow you to remove the card without replacing it with another. Beware!
Reviewed Feb. 25, 2013
I live in Utah and am a subscriber to DirecTV. It is bad enough that to have local channels with DirecTV, I have to pay for them every month. Now I find that DirecTV will be dropping CBS from their lineup starting March 1, 2013 and the rates will not change. CBS is the channel I watch the most often. What's even worse is no one wants to take the blame for this decision. DirecTV says it's CBS doing it and CBS says it's DirecTV. How does that even make a tiny bit of sense to anyone? I guess it's all about the almighty dollar and not the satisfaction of their customers. OK DirecTV, without your customers you are nothing. I have three months left on my contract and will not be renewing it.
Reviewed Feb. 24, 2013
My HR22-100 DVR died today and will not power up. I contacted tech support and they thanked me for being a loyal, long-time customer and had me check the things I had already checked on the DVR and they will ship a remanufactured replacement to me for $21.95. I don’t think so. I don’t care it is refurbished. I just don’t like the $21.95 shipping fees. So I asked if I could discontinue service on this DVR and send it back to them. “No problem,” the tech says, “will ship to you a recovery box at no charge.” Unfortunately, I still have another DVR that is under contract for 10 more months and I will keep it connected until then just to keep from paying a termination fee. After that, I’m finished being a “loyal, long-time customer”. I figure I’ve paid over the last 13 years to DirecTV $11,460 and I’m not going to pay an additional $21.95 to have the defective leased DVR replaced. Now, I will purchase a HD outside antenna and subscribe to Netflix. Good bye inDirecTV.
Reviewed Feb. 23, 2013
More than five years ago, my mother and I added DirecTV to our Verizon telephone service. I was always able to make changes and it was no problem. Two and a half years ago, my older brother took my mother to California, and still no problem. In May 2011, DirecTV called me with a promotion and I accepted it. The only thing I had to do was cancel the MLB package. I did not realize that until they started charging me in February 2012. When I tried to cancel that package, they told me that they needed my mother to approve it. I told them that she was not available; she is elderly and had dementia. They did not care. Luckily, I spoke to a supervisor; she asked me a few personal questions and corrected the problem.
This year, the satellite dish is out of alignment. I want to renew free HD again and lower the package. Each year, the monthly packages increase by $3. This year, it was $2 plus a new $2 fee for local sports. They told me that they will not do anything without my mother's permission. Only if I was her spouse or had power of attorney would they allow it as an authorized user. They did not care that she is 90 years old with dementia, and 3000 miles away. As of a few months ago, the supervisor can no longer make changes. I was only able to lower the package online only. I could not do the rest.
Who is this private corporation to dictate this policy? Since when does the Privacy Act or HIPPA apply to them? They are not a bank, insurance company, a government agency, or a medical establishment. I have to get stuck with paying a higher bill with faulty reception, because of a privacy policy. They would not accept my mother's conservator, because it is not part of their policy. The conservator is not that reliable anyway. I do not even have the authority to cancel DirecTV. DirecTV gets too much involved in your personal life if the customer is not available. As a son, I might as well be a stranger. I feel like they are holding me hostage, because they make no provisions for unusual circumstances. I have to pay, or else. Because Verizon pays DirecTV, I cannot refuse to pay; otherwise, it would affect the telephone and DSL service as well.
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2013
They charged $50 for point of service when we relocated to FL from MI. First operator I talked to tried to tell me I needed new equipment. I tried to tell him I brought the equipment with me and then he wanted to charge me for it. I couldn't make myself clear to him. He was very persistent. When I started the DirecTV service, I was told there was no charge for relocating. After conversing with an operator, she agreed to remove the $50 cost but only removed half. Can you please solve this problem for me?
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2013
We signed a contract a few months ago. Before signing, I asked if prices would change over the next year (before some of the rebates drop off). I was told "No, you're signing a contract. The price will stay the same." Ha! One fourth into the contract and the receiver price went up $5, and the Choice Package went up $1. Sure, that's not much, but it's the principle of it all. I feel that if we are held to a contract and would be charged every fee under the sun if we changed/cancelled it, then they should uphold it as well.
I asked what options they had for lowering the payment to what our contract says. The answer? None. I was told very rudely that they can raise the prices as much and anytime they want to; it says so in the contract. I was told that it's not a big enough amount to worry about. I was told they raised it because it's February. Then in the next sentence, he asks if he can help me with anything else. Really? He hasn't helped me with anything yet!
As far as the viewing goes, it goes out if it rains. Seriously, and it’s not even a storm, just rain. If you tape something, it will not tell you if it's interfering with other taped shows (like TimeWarner); it still lets you record it, and it just doesn't get taped. I should've listened to others when they said don't go with DirecTV! It’s too late now. I'm stuck, but apparently, they're not. They can do anything they want. I will not renew my contract
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2013
After a year of service, I decided that I wanted to have the real "On Demand" and received an attractive offer from AT&T. When I set up DirecTV one year ago, I was forced to utilize a third-party cable company that had rights to the building to set everything up. I was told that I would need to pay a deposit for which I would receive $5 per month that will be deducted from my bill; and that at the end of my two year contract, I would be returned the balance of the deposit.
When cancelling, the DirecTV service representative told me that they did not have the deposit, and that I would have to contact the third party. This same representative also told me that the only amount I would be charged is the $240. I was also given a letter in writing that explained all I would be charged was $240. When I contacted the third party, I realized that DirecTV had taken advantage of me. Then, when trying to receive my deposit back, they told me that I surrendered my deposit when cancelling. I have never felt more screwed over in my life. This horrid company is in the game for the “short- time-steal- as-much-as- they-can” scheme because they know they're losing vast amounts of customers each month and are not receiving nearly as many new ones.
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2013
My experience with DirecTV’s customer service is terrible. For example, the bill is due every 24th of the month and the payment was sent via US mail on 19th; their system only credits the payment when the check clears, which can be 5 days after the deposit. Services shut off at 12:01am on the 24th.
I am a 13-year customer in good standing. When I called customer service, I was refused a 3-day grace while waiting for the check to clear to reinstate the service. The customer service agent was not friendly and remarked that they have over a million customers so one account is not that important and refused to reinstate service for just 3 days. I was also charged a reconnection fee when I made an extra payment to turn on the service over phone and a check processing fee on my next month’s bill. These people really are to full of themselves and need closer government overview. They know we are hostages if we live in areas where their service is the only one offered.
I think the US attorney general should take a close look at these companies who charge high fees, charge for payment processing, and shut off services to collect reconnection fees. They offer poor customer service and billing practices that cost the consumer extra to use these services (via automated billing that promotes additional revenue generation). If I had another option, I would dump them in a heartbeat.
Reviewed Feb. 22, 2013
This is my second complaint. I have had a contract with DirecTV for many years. Last year, I decided to leave DirecTV and go with AT&T U-Verse but DirecTV offered me a retention deal with a fixed rate for a year. Since then, my monthly premium has increased 2 times. Just recently, my monthly bill went up $5. I contacted DirecTV and the rep said they had a premium increase. I said my premium is supposed to be solid for the year. He stated they sent out premium increase letters, which I never got. How can they change my contract in the middle of it? If I wanted to cancel, they would charge me for breaking my contract, so how can they increase my bill when I have a contract? I can't wait until June when this is over. I'm going with AT&T U-Verse for sure. No more games, Mr. DirecTV President!
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
We recently moved twice. The first move, we were offered an upgrade even though we had a perfectly good receiver and were told there would be no charges for the move. After 4 months, things didn't work out so we moved back. When we cancelled, nothing was said about early cancellation fees or being in a contract. Then we get a bill for $380 early cancellation fees and were told we did not read the fine print. We are over 50, retired and on a limited income. We feel they misrepresented their terms and it should have been vocal so we understood it.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
I disconnected my services with DirecTV last month (January 2013). I was set to move out of my current residence on 1/31/2013. I called on 01/05/2013 to inquire as to what the exact process and procedure was in disconnecting my services early. I was on the phone for 45 minutes going over the procedure. I was told that I would incur a $120 disconnection fee. I had no problems with this. I expressed my concern over not being forwarded my mail and we made an arrangement for the equipment boxes to be sent to me prior to my move out date so that I could send back the equipment promptly and my account would reflect the correct charges.
In the interim, I went on various email threads to see what other people had experienced. I came across a thread that stated that a person was automatically charged for their remaining balance. They were very unhappy that they were not informed this. I called on 1/24/2013 to confirm that information. I specifically asked if I would be billed automatically so I could anticipate the bill. The customer service rep explained that I would not be automatically charged and that a bill would not even generate for me until after the 15th of February since I had been issued a bill for February and the account would have to be prorated to reflect the disconnection. She instructed me to wait for the bill and then pay it once it was generated.
Lo and behold, I was charged a whopping $292.00 on February 19th. I received no notification or last bill that stated when and how I would be charged. Not only did this cause me to incur overdraft fees on my account, but an unknown $300 charge is not considered a small fee and caused me to suffer financial distress. When I called to inquire why I was charged, the service rep was able to pull up the agenda of all my phone calls and noted that I was indeed told that a bill would not generate until after the 14th of February. Not to mention the fact that somehow my disconnection fee was actually $160. She empathized with me and filed a claim against the agent who gave me the wrong information, but even with the given circumstances she gave me the lovely answer of, "There is nothing we can do." Well sure there is nothing to be done because DirecTV was paid, so who cares about the customer and their needs.
She went on to elaborate that my disclosure stated that I would be billed for the early disconnection fee 1-3 days after disconnection (this did not happen) and that 8 days after my last bill, I would be automatically charged the remaining balance. Sure, that isn't a problem. That is if you never received the last bill, which I didn't since I had moved and all my mail was set to be forwarded. That is all great and dandy, but when I called on 1/24/2013, I was advised with completely different information. Let me emphasize, I had no problem paying what I owed. I called and inquired twice so that I would not be hit with any hidden charges. Even with all my efforts, I was still billed without consent and I am still unaware of what charges I actually paid.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
I think it is unfair that DTV has been charging me for 5 receivers for years when I only had four. Then they refunded me with $18.00 Wow! I certainly could use that! I just cannot believe this after all these years! My past due is $138.00 if I'm not mistaken. I think it is in very poor taste for DirecTV to deny ordering a receiver for me, because I have a past due balance. I explained to the CSR that I could pay it in about five days. Nevertheless, it could not be ordered and so I am stuck with no TV until I get paid. I have been a DTV customer for many years and I have always trusted their service.
But here lately, I am starting to think about FiOS. I have not had an RCA receiver for at least 10 years, but I was being charged for one, and to refund me $18.00 is an insult(!) and then not to replace their malfunctioning receiver until I pay a past due?! You owe me, DirecTV! I have heard really good things about Dish and FiOS bundle. I will be checking them out over the next several days. I just think this is really bad customer service, the way I'm being treated!
I know it does not concern DTV. You have millions of customers, but to do a loyal customer this way because of a temporary financial setback is just wrong! I am very upset with you guys ... very upset. I have called several times about this broken receiver. Furthermore, I bought a receiver from someone and they won't even let me use it until my balance is paid on my bill. I hooked it up; all they have to do is click a switch - because they owe me!
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
I cannot use my DVD player on the television that does not have their DVR but their cable. My DVDs with their DVR on it won't play either. The movies will show, but you can't watch them because the picture is not clear and the sound is not clear either. So today I moved the DVD player to the other TV, only to realize that my HDMI cord will not work on me anymore because it is plugged. My televisions have not worked right since I've had DirecTV.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
The billing of DirecTV has never been clear. It resembles a scam type of communication. It is reprehensible the treatment of the customers and the business practices they are allowed to employ with their customers. There seems to be no regulatory oversight. The bill is difficult and unacceptable as they present it. They only display mathematical additions and subtractions. There needs to be a civil lawsuit with the attorney general's office that dictate accountability with their business practices and provide decent service to the consumers. They only continue if we let them. I submit we, as consumers, take a stand all the way to the attorney general's office.
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2013
DirecTV said they reversed my money, but they're holding it! They want me to pay another $475.00, really! Everyone boycott this company please!
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
I signed up for DirecTV through Sam's Club. I have a contract guaranteeing me a price for 12 months. They have failed to honor this price and keep telling me they reserve the right to raise prices. I am going to my state attorney general about this. Their customer service at their call centers is disgusting - they are rude and ill informed and have the nerve to make you feel stupid.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
My family has been a loyal DirecTV customer for over 13 years, maybe longer. We have been unhappy with customer service in the past but this last experience tops them all. We had been out of contract for a year or two, hesitant to sign on for another contract but when we moved in November 2012, Direct offered us a good deal with our move to sign up for another 2 years. We made the move and had an installer bring the Genie with Client to our new place.
From the first week, the system was faulty so we called and the tech or rep suggested we reboot, blah, blah, blah. It didn't work. So they scheduled a tech to come to the house over the weekend and they checked and replaced the unit, then the next weekend, the other unit and then the next weekend, the cables, then the next weekend, the dish. Mind you, there were several phone calls with techs during the week days. The system was faulty and we were paying for a service that we were completely unhappy and unfulfilled with.
So I called and asked to speak with a manager and demanded some compensation. She offered $10 off for the month. When I expressed my dissatisfaction at that, she said, "How bout $10 off for 5 months?" However, our system still did not work right, and we had no idea when or if it would. I asked to be released of our contract due to complete failure of DirectTV giving us what we signed up for and she told me no. We were subject to our contract for the two years. My response to her was, "You're kidding! You mean you can be a completely substandard service but we have to suck it up and pay for it anyway," and she said, "Yes." So we gave up.
We cancelled the service and went to DISH. It has worked for us from day one and we have not had one frustrated night since. Since this harrowing two months and walking away, we have heard of many other dissatisfied DirecTV customers dealing with the same issues and the horrible customer service response. So I just wanted to log my complaint for the record.
Reviewed Feb. 20, 2013
My services were cancelled on December 14, 2012. I have not heard from DirecTV at all through the months. Then on February 17, 2013 at 10:51PM, $814.53 was taken out of my account without my authorization. I was told that this money will not be refunded unless I sign back up for service, then I would receive half. I felt blackmailed and forced. I never felt so strongly against a retailer. I did some searching on the internet and discovered that they are not accredited by the Better Business Bureau and have over 25,000 complaints on which half of them was the same situation that happened to me. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and also Consumer Reports. My next step is to file a civil suit. What you people do is clearly unethical. You all need a real training class on the definition of true customer service.
Reviewed Feb. 19, 2013
DirecTV took $158.98 out on my checking account on Jan. 27, 2013 and they shouldn't have. My overdraft fees stacked up to $434.29, in which I feel they should pay all overdrafts on this account I've acquired and should put the money in question back into the account and all fees I've got stuck with paying. Man up DirecTV and pay for your misunderstanding.
Reviewed Feb. 18, 2013
I moved from MA to AZ. At the direction of DTV customer service, I brought my receiver with me. When I moved into a new apartment in AZ, I was told that my equipment was "not compatible" with their existing installation and that I needed to get a new receiver. I returned my old receiver in November of 2012 and in February 2013, I noticed charges on my monthly statement for four movie rentals rented over a year ago dated February 2012.
When I called DTV customer service billing department, I was informed that when the old receiver was returned, they removed the access card and "read it" and it recorded all of the movies I had purchased since I had received the box at the beginning of my subscription in January 2012 and that as I had not paid for the movies, they were being billed now. I told the CSR that I did not owe anything for movies as I had paid for any movies rented when I ordered them online.
When you order a movie online or over the phone from DTV, you have to pay for it or you cannot order it. The only way to order without paying is via your remote control if you have a phone line attached to the receiver. I have never had a phone line attached as I do not have a land line and have not had one since 2007. The CSR insisted that movies could be ordered with the remote without a phone line although while I had him on the phone, I tried to order a movie and it gave me the standard "error" message of, "You do not have a phone line connected to your receiver. In order to order movies, you must call customer service or order online." The CSR insisted that this was not so.
I have been a DTV customer since 2002 and never had a phone line connected and have never been able to order a movie using the remote control. I paid for every movie in advance at the time of ordering as is standard procedure with DTV customers. This is the second time that this has happened when I returned their equipment. Subsequently, I had the DTV technician put a block on my equipment, so that I cannot order or receive any movies to avoid being fraudulently double charged in the future when I return their equipment.
For the second time, I was forced to pay for services that I had already paid for as I did not save DTV bills and debit card card statements from a year ago showing that the movies were purchased and paid for at time of purchase. I have spoken to numerous other DTV customers who claim that the same situation happened to them as well. This is an obvious scam to defraud customers for services already paid for and anticipating that customers do not save bills from the beginning of time. Realistically, why would a service provider allow customers to order hundreds of dollars in product for years and delay billing for over a year or more when they charge you a late fee if you pay your bill a few says late? It's ridiculous!
Secondly, I signed a two-year contract which states that DTV is providing me with equipment and installation at no charge and providing service for one year at a special reduced rate and, in return, I must keep their service for a period of two years. I was into my 11th month of my contract when I was told that my equipment was "out of date" and "incompatible" with DTV's existing installation at my new address. I was forced to pay $200 for a replacement receiver and pay $99 for installation of same. The contract states that I do not own the equipment and I must return it at the end of contract. I have to pay for insurance on the equipment as well each month as well as a monthly rental fee. The $200 is non-refundable even if the equipment is returned at end of contract.
Why am I paying $200 for used equipment that I do not own and pay rent and insurance on? No one at DTV can explain this; they state that it is a "usual charge" and if "I don't like it, I can go without TV", which brings me to my third issue: When I moved to AZ from MA, the apartment complex told me that they had a "special arrangement" with CenturyLink to install and arrange for services within the complex and that only their installers could install services. When I went to arrange for my services, I was told that although I was an existing under-contract DTV customer, all of their (DTV) conditions and terms did not apply to me as I was now in an "MDU" installation complex (multi-dwelling unit). Hence, I had to pay for / get / rent new equipment and pay installation to CenturyLink to install my DTV service. Again, If I didn't like it, "I could go without".
I was informed of this by Centurylink Sales, Installation Technician, Customer Services and Billing. I was also informed that I would have to purchase equipment insurance through CenturyLink, not DTV, cancel my DTV insurance and purchase CenturyLink's which is $2 more per month than DTV. If I am a DTV customer under contract, why am I having to pay Centurylink and why is my cost higher than other DTV customers with contracts? Isn't this a monopoly and against the law? I am not allowed to have any other service provider than CenturyLink and DTV no matter what the quality of service is or the cost. DTV claims no knowledge of this and claims they are only "partnered" with CenturyLink in order to offer "bundled" services.
Reviewed Feb. 17, 2013
Please remove the Chihuahua commercial with the hawk; no child should see this. I would not do business with this company. The person who approved that commercial must be an animal hater and should be fired!
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2013
My ex-husband (Brad) was killed on 11-6-12. On 11-7, I was helping his son get Brad's accounts together, and called DirecTV to get Brad's service disconnected. Since then, I have gotten numerous calls from DirecTV for payment on my account. I keep telling them that I didn't have an account. I didn't live there and it's not my responsibility. Every time they assure me that they won't contact me again, but they continue to call. I've gotten two calls just this morning. I've threatened them with legal action, to no avail.
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2013
I and my four children are stuck in Boston and I was not able to buy my son's medicine. We are in a hotel that I can't pay for. I need my money asap. Thomas ** is responsible for his bill, not me. My card ends in **, and I only know the phone number **. He’ll be coming out of jail next month, his mother says, then, he will pay whatever he owes.
Reviewed Feb. 16, 2013
I did not authorize a payment made on my card ending **. Thomas ** and I dated a year ago. He is responsible for this account, not me. Please give me back my $514.96. I'm a single mother and was really hurt and I need the money. Thank you.
Reviewed Feb. 14, 2013
We called a week ago for DirecTV service at our house. They were supposed to be here between 8am and 12pm, so we sat and waited and waited and waited (outside cleaning the vehicles for the most part). By 1pm, no one has showed up, so we called the customer service number to find out what is going on. The lady on the other end of the phone told us the tech came by and couldn't find our house because there are no numbers, so he left. (There are huge black numbers on all of the trailers around here.)
We asked her why didn't the tech call and let us know he was here. The lady gave us the numbers they have for us and every number they ramble off is wrong! How they got the numbers they put in there is beyond us! The rep told us the tech can come back later this afternoon or we can reschedule for another day! So we just wasted over half of our day waiting for these people, and they did nothing to fix it but told us we could sit around and wait for them even longer. It was ridiculous how they couldn't fix or do anything or talk to anyone about the tech lying about coming to our house! We cancelled our service with them before it even started!
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2013
Let me give you good advice: do not get DirecTV. In 2004, I cancelled my service with them. I knew I would have to pay an early termination fee and was waiting for my final bill to pay it. Instead, they sent my account directly to collections upon cancellation. I received a collection notice long before my final bill. When I finally got my bill, the due date was July 27. They sent my account to collections on July 24 - three days before the payment was even due (not that I could have paid it on time, because I received the bill in August!). I had to go through hours of grief to sort the whole thing out and pay my bill.
I sent them countless emails but never once received an apology. Instead, they told me that was standard procedure to send cancelled accounts directly to collections, which by they way is illegal. Funny, they'd so freely admit it. They purposely do this. I suppose they don't want you to ever return, which is funny, because I started getting all kinds of "We want you back" letters shortly afterward. I sent them back "return to sender" and told them that if I received any more, I would sue them for harassment. They place their sales agents in Best Buys around me and I ask them why DirecTV practices credit reporting fraud if they try to approach me. Save yourself heartache and credit issues and go with another provider!
Reviewed Feb. 12, 2013
I just saw your commercial where the hawk or eagle grabs the little Chihuahua from the woman's leash as she walks out the door. It is horrible and awful. You must take it off the air. I have never written a complaint about anything like this before. There is enough cruelty to animals in the world and for those of us who love our dogs like children, this commercial crosses a line.
Reviewed Feb. 11, 2013
I went through DTV to get AT&T Uverse. They promised me phone and internet for $34.99. However, that was not the case. I therefore had kept DTV for my TV. However, after finding out that was not the correct price, I had a bill of $64.99 from Uverse. Then still a big DTV bill. I then tried to bundle and get rid of DTV, but I couldn't, so I am not stuck with a higher AT&T Uverse bill. I would have if I had bundled all three. DTV reps are only out for their sales. Very sad. I really needed help with my bills. All I have gotten was a lot of grief. After being with DTV for 9 years, this is how they treat you. Just terrible. They lied and never helped me in any way. I am now losing money everyday.
Reviewed Feb. 11, 2013
We contacted DirecTV on Feb. 5th. We were on the phone with the agent for about 45 min. They asked me for my Social Security to see what we qualified for in regards to boxes and discounts. I provided them my new home address and Social Security number. The sales rep said, "We can't find your credit report. You don't have credit. Do you pay with cash only?" I was surprised as I have a credit score of over 750 and have plenty of credit lines with excellent standing to add to that. Why would I be able to purchase my new home without credit? It didn't make sense. I said, "I'll just try again tomorrow." I called back the next day, same thing. Forty five minutes after them trying to cross sell me, etc. and again my credit not showing up in their system, I was shocked! They wanted me to pay $399 upfront for the DVR Genie boxes, etc. I asked the agent if he can run it as if I am getting service in my current home, not the new home I just bought. Surprise, ding, ding! "You have credit. You qualify, Mr. **. DirecTV order #**."
Why did this happen? Easy. Their credit score system looks up your Social Security and tries to make a connection between your social and addresses listed in your credit report. So what happens if you just bought a house or are moving to a new house and your credit is not associated? Denied. So right after I qualified, the agent said, "I am going to transfer you to installation and just let them know that you need to change the install address from your current apartment to the new home address." Guess what Mark agent ** says? "I got to cancel your entire order and start again." Of course, he runs into the same problem, Social Security + new home address denied, Social Security and old address = accepted. Three hours later, no DirecTV, no new client. Overall, their associates are trained to the dot. But what happens when a process fails, when something illogical is clearly not working and their agents even agree to it? Nothing happens, not even management intervention. At the end of the day, no new client, wasted time for both and unsatisfied potential loyal new buyer who will not refer the company.
Reviewed Feb. 10, 2013
First, they drilled the holes in my walls for installation and then could not return to install my service itself for three weeks because there were other pressing issues. Then the boxes they installed only worked about half the time. Upon calling them, they said that these are just the usual glitches that happen after set up. Press the red button and reset the system and it should be fine. It worked for about 30 minutes then failed again. Upon calling and asking for another set of boxes or for someone to visit, they informed me that it would cost $55 for a visit, plus the cost of a new box if one was required. Yes, they charge you to replace their defective equipment! I still can't believe that. So we are stuck with faulty service and really have no other option as we are unable to cancel our service for another year and 9 months. Good luck. Be wary of using DirecTV. Don't get roped in by the great commercials.
Reviewed Feb. 9, 2013
I moved from Nevada to Utah and got DirecTV in the new house 16 months ago. In those 16 months, the bill has gone from $32 to $117 for the same package, which they explained by talking real fast and saying that was just the way it was. Fine, I expected it to be $68 after 6 months and I suppose almost double that isn't too bad. On top of that, they've randomly added new channels, packages, etc. to my bill 4 times. The first three times they did it, I spent an hour plus each time with customer service having the issue corrected. This fourth time, I called after they randomly added NFL Sunday pass (we don't even watch football or sports, period), but magically, now I'm not allowed to "alter" my own account.
Apparently, my husband, who has never spoken to or had anything to do with these people, is now the primary account holder and they need his permission to let me do anything. My husband is a long haul truck driver and he's going to waste his precious time home trying to cure stupid with these people? I don't think so. I paid my bill this month, but if they don't let me cancel it next month, I'll just stop paying my bill until they take this crap out of my house! I've never been treated so poorly by a company and if it was anything else, I wouldn't have put up with it for so long which is embarrassing. Maybe its just time for no TV!
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2013
This is the first time I ordered (DTV). To my surprise, I could not connect another TV. I called DTV to ask and the rep in Equipment Dept that I spoke to informed me that I have to pay $198 to have another box installed. I informed him that I was not supposed to because I have a "Genie." I told him I would call the office when I got home from work. I called back this evening and the rep I spoke to informed me that I do not have a Genie, and I informed him that I asked when I ordered it and I asked the technicians and I was told that I had it. He said that I had to pay $99 to have a mini client installed. I asked to talk to a supervisor who gave me a different pricing all together. I asked him if I had a Genie or not. He said that I did and I asked why I could not hook up my other TV as it was not available during the installation. He said he was sorry they did not install it. More so, I was issued an advanced box, when I could have been issued a standard box with HD.
This was never disclosed to me. I informed them that I was never told that I would be issued an advanced box. I called again to reduce my package. I was told that I could not get the minimum package, which was $29.99. The lady rep I spoke to said I would lose the rebate - no good reason was provided. I requested that the company should change the box and give me a standard box, and the lady stated that they would charge me $59.99 to swap the box.
It is obvious that this is a company that lures and locks people into a two-year contract and makes it very difficult to get out of it once you discover their inconsistencies and deceptive practices. Direct is not a genuine company and they know it because a good business will ensure that customers receive what they ordered and are satisfied. They know that people will leave them - that is why they use deceptive practices to latch unto unsuspecting new customers.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2013
DirecTV are crooks! I used my card to pay someone else's bill 2 times online as a favor because they were struggling financially. That person has since cancelled their account and apparently owes them money and the receivers. DirecTV took it upon themselves to charge my card $1,300 and is refusing to give it back. They said that they read me some sort of disclaimer giving them permission to continue to use my card should the owner of the account miss a payment. This is a **! How did they read me anything when the payment was made online?
They told me I have to get my money back from the account owner, but that won't happen because that person is indigent. I tried to file a claim with my bank but I have to wait until the charge moves from pending then wait even longer to ever possibly getting my money back in a claim. DirecTV says they aren't budging. I'm about to go postal! I'm calling my attorney. I want damages. This is my money for my cruise with my 2 kids (their Christmas gift and our first vacation together ever). It took me a full year as a single mother to save this kind of money.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2013
DirecTV are thieves. Here's why I say this. I have a vacation mobile in Apache Junction, AZ. I am there for less than 2 months a year. In April 2012, just before packing up and leaving, I went online and switched the account from Choice ($64/mo) to Family ($30/mo), plus I deactivated 2 boxes ($6 each/month). In February 2013, I returned to AZ and found all 3 boxes deactivated. I called 3 times because twice the rep hung up on me though I was polite but firm. I was told that they had no record of my online account switch and it is their policy to deactivate all TV boxes after 30 days of non-use. But they would give my account zero credit for the 10 months of non-use. The fine print of the contract allows them to do this.
So the lesson learned is do not use their website to make changes. Most important, read the fine print of the contract which allows them to take you to the cleaners. DirecTV prides themselves on their customer service, saying that pleasing their customers is their #1 priority. But in my experience, these are empty words. They do not honor their commitment to their customers and they have not earned nor do they deserve our patronage. Signed, thoroughly disgusted, soon to be ex-customer.
Reviewed Feb. 7, 2013
I called to ask for pricing and they asked for my SSN to check my status on discounts. After realizing I didn't want to go through that whole process, I said, "I'll call back." But the operator did not let me go! He kept saying that he doesn't understand why I didn't want to give it out right now? I said, "I would rather do it next time," but he kept insisting (this conversation went for almost 15 min.). Then our voice raised and I felt very angry with the way he treated me, so I asked for his supervisor. However, he did not mitigate my frustration towards that operator. In fact, he was actually defending him and telling me, "Why would you not give up your info to one of the best customer service providers?" I don't know how they became the best customer service providers, but I would not want to ever call back for any service!! This is my final thought.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2013
This is the 2nd time I have installed a DTV system and not been paid for my work. Both times, customers have had outstanding bills with DTV, and DTV wouldn’t activate receivers until paid in full. DTV does it this way so they can collect the money owed to them, figuring that once everything is almost ready to go, the customer will be pressured into paying up because of the anticipation of having TV and the embarrassment of having some poor installer not get paid. The problem is like this last time. If customer has no money, installer suffers. This is by far the worst job I’ve ever had. DTV sucks. But I’m 61, so no one will hire me 328 days till 62 and I will tell DTV to go ** themselves, along with going down to one standard box at cheapest rate (still under contract) and then calling a repairman out as often as possible to hurt DTV in their pocketbook as much as possible. If you want action, get the person’s name, location, and employee #, and then ask to talk to the president of the company. That’s about the only way to get their attention.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2013
In early 2007, I requested HD service from DirecTV. I received the HD box before my appointment for a technician to install service. The night before the service, I called to activate my HD box so it would be ready the day of installation. The day of service, a technician came to the house and advised that he could not install an HD dish, because the hill behind my house was blocking one of the satellites needed for the service to work. He told me to return the HD box because he would not be able to fix the problem. I returned the HD box like I was told. Soon after the box was returned, I received a bill for early termination.
I called and advised that there must be a billing mix up on my account. I told the service representative that a technician was just at my house and could not install HD service so I had to return the box. I was told that since I activated the box before the technician came to my house, I was responsible for the early termination fee. I responded by explaining that DirecTV was unable to provide me with HD service making it impossible to terminate something that they could not offer me. I was told that the bill would be put in dispute.
Months later, I received another bill. I called and explained everything again and was told it would be disputed. I never heard anything again and thought that the matter had been taken care of. Years later, I applied for credit and was told I had an outstanding bill. After researching the issue, I found that DirecTV actually reported me to the credit bureau and this had been on my credit history for years. I was furious. I called DirecTV and was told that my account could not be accessed and I would have to write a letter to the dispute department. Soon after, I started getting harassing calls from a collections agency for $400 to settle a DirecTV debt that was originally $255. I have not been able to receive any resolution from DirecTV. They refuse to help me in any way. This has ruined my credit and I feel like I am being bullied by a company that is trying to extort money from me that I do not owe them and ruin my credit.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2013
After being a customer of DirecTV for over 14 years, the company disconnected the Encore channels, telling me I had to pay more if I wanted to keep them. I had been told since I had them under my plan for 14 years, I was grandfathered and could keep them. After I ordered a DVR from them, they disconnected Encore and told me I had to pay extra to keep the channels. I told them that wasn't right since I was grandfathered. They said no and if I discontinued service, I was breaking my service agreement and would be charged extra. I told them they were breaking the agreement by discontinuing the Encore channels. Today, they have turned me over to a collections company which hounds me regularly; all this after I was a loyal customer for over 14 years, paid the bill promptly and returned the DVR. Yet, they still insist on having a collection agency hound me for money saying I broke the agreement when I said I wouldn't pay extra for Encore.
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2013
I received my monthly bill and noticed that was unusually high. Included were 13 charges for PPV movies. I contacted the Billing department to ask for further information as these were not movies that I had recently purchased. The response I received was shocking. These movies were watched in the years of 2009, 2010, and 2011 and I was just now being charged. It was explained to me that these movies had been stored on the access card for all of these years and that DirecTV had not processed. I am shocked that a company that is supposed to have accurate billing can charge for services almost 4 years later. I requested copies of my billing statements, but they are only kept for 24 months. After multiple attempts to have this situation resolved, they are refusing to assist. I am being told that there is no statute of limitations. Although clients only have 60 days to dispute a transaction, DirecTV can wait years until they bill you.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2013
I cancelled my service last month as I switched to Dish network due to DirecTV refusing to upgrade me after 5 years of service. DirecTV sent me boxes to return my equipment 1 week ago. I was out of town so I sent them out yesterday. Meanwhile, I checked my account and DirecTV charged my debit card $614.83. When I called, they said that because I did a one-time payment authorization for my monthly bills, they have the right to take the remaining balance off of my card. I thought one-time payment meant one-time payment. I did not authorize a charge of $614.83. I called and asked for a manager and the supervisor was a ** and told me that he will not transfer me to a manager as the manager will not do anything. As I am typing this, I have been on hold for 20 minutes to get one. I wish I would have checked BBB when I got the service. I have always been a huge DirecTV advocate until now.
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2013
God forbid if you are behind on your bill because if you are, don't call if you are having trouble with your service. I made arrangements about paying my bill. Some of my channels, I am not receiving so I called to get some help. After they told me to go outside to check the satellite to make sure nothing was blocking it or if any wires were loose (doing their job), I was told there was nothing they could do for me until my past due amount was paid, instead of them telling me that when I first called. I don't know what is the logic behind that because if I want to continue to watch TV, I have to pay my bill. But like a lot of these companies, payment first and customer service is at the bottom of the list, if any. I will be so glad when I can find a company that cares about its customers even if you are a little behind on your bill. Customers are the only reason that you are in business. Remember that!
Reviewed Feb. 5, 2013
When we opened our account, we were told that a penalty for early withdrawal from the program would be $240 (pro-rated down) if and when we returned the equipment. We took a bundle through AT&T, phone/internet/TV. Well, after numerous problems with the bundle, we decided to cancel out and go with Comcast. DirecTV then tried to charge us $480 for early cancellation. I spoke to a supervisor (Aaron) who was the nastiest! He told me why don't I call Cassandra and ask her to give us the money difference since she is one of the people who told us the early withdrawal penalty would be $240 once we returned the equipment. They are bait and switch thieves and nasty as can be. Bottom line, their programs/equipment does not deserve to be on the market. Slow DSL, TV that goes out as soon as it rains and phone calls that keep dropping. Can't say enough bad things about both of them!
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2013
I received a letter stating I would receive a $200 Visa credit card for signing up as a new customer. I asked the sales girl when I ordered DirecTV if I was eligible and she stated yes. Well, along with a lot of other people, I did not get the Visa card. Even though I had the letter, several calls later, I was never eligible. If you google it, you will see for yourself it was a hoax. Some customers were so angry they talked about getting a lawyer. Another lie is they said I would be notified by email when my 3 months of free movies was up. I was not. Another way to get you! Be careful! I would not recommend DirecTV to anyone!
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2013
I have been a DirecTV subscriber for over a year and a half. When I subscribed, they came out and set it up. Of course, I had to bury the cable In my yard myself. The service guy they sent out was trying to get my niece to go on the next call with him to the next county in his old dirty beat up pick up truck. She didn't know him and had never met him. He looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks. I called and complained and told them never to send him to my house again. About a week after my service was set up, they cut my service off and said they would not turn it back on until the bill from the previous person who lived there was paid. They forced me to pay over $100 on that bill before they would reconnect mine. They said the previous customer had not returned the DTV boxes, so I would be responsible because it was at the same address.
I had just separated from my husband and moved to this location. At that point, they also tried to make me pay for my ex-husband's service because it was past due and they had somehow linked our accounts. All this was even though he had this account for years before we married and it was in his name only, at his address, and he was the only one authorized to make any changes to the account. They refused to reconnect mine until he paid his past due balance. They also stated that although they had disconnected my service after only one week, I would be held accountable and would not be able to leave DirecTV without paying $20 a month for the next two years to get out of the contract.
Since that time, they have constantly added extra charges due to upgrading my package without my consent. They have added the NFL package without my permission, stating they do this yearly and I have to call in and cancel it months ahead of time if I don't want it, although I've never ordered it to begin with. My bill is different each month, although I refuse to order any movies from them. When I call, they always have some kind of excuse and say it will be fixed. This is after holding for what seems like an eternity to speak to someone. The next bill will be the same, if not more; it's never fixed, only leading to my frustration because I have to spend at least an hour or so on the phone waiting to get through to someone who is completely incompetent to begin with. It's a never-ending cycle.
Currently, I am awaiting service to come out and fix the power supply box that has been messed up for 2 weeks. They could do no better than getting someone here within 7 days. I am missing the Super Bowl as we speak. I'm certain i will be billed in full for the last two weeks of service that I have not had, because that's the way DirecTV operates. I have never been so dissatisfied with a company in my life. The service is lousy and trying to get through their automated system is a nightmare in itself. I would not commend this company to anyone.
Reviewed Feb. 4, 2013
My father passed away back in June 2012. Since that time, I have been going around and around with them with an early cancellation fee and of course, all of the late fees ($500 and counting). My last conversation with them in January 2013 resulted in them stating that they would be sending my dad's bill to collections or that for my convenience, the charges would be placed on my bill. I flat out told them that would not be an option to bill me and good luck with trying to collect from dad.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2013
I agreed to a 2-year contract on January 26 along with an equipment upgrade and scheduled for a tech to come out on 2/2/13. He was a no show or call. So DirecTV rescheduled for 2/3/13 and no show and no call again! We changed our Saturday plans to Sunday to be home so they could come out. I called them and talked to them for several hours to try to resolve the issue. They finally rescheduled for Sunday. So we changed our plans again to be here and no show or call again. I have been on the phone with them again today, and they have offered nothing for my trouble. But again they tried to reschedule for tomorrow. But my wife and I work all week, and that's why we scheduled it on the weekend that was totally wasted because of them.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2013
I paid DirecTV to send out a service tech to hook up service to rooms without existing wiring. I went to move one of my receivers to one of the rooms I had existing wiring in. I come to find that the technician had cut the cable feeding in that room. He didn't just unscrew it, he actually vandalized my house by cutting the cable. I believe this was done so when I did go to use this room, I would have to call and pay again. After talking to 3 DirecTV employees, each said I would have to pay a service charge of $49.00 for the tech to come out.
Why should I have to pay for something that already worked before the tech came out? This is bad business to damage and intentionally damage my existing cabling and force me to pay again. If the tech needed to disconnect it, all they had to do is unscrew it and not cut the cable feeding in the room. This is a perfect example of a big business taking advantage of the little guy.
Reviewed Feb. 3, 2013
I'm beginning to wonder if there even is a customer service department at Direct TV. We bought a PPV movie that is available to us until May. It is currently stuck on the 5-minute mark, and I am on hold with DirecTV. The last time I waited for someone to help me, I waited for almost 1/2 hour. We are pleased with the quality of the picture we receive on the satellite TV, but wish our service was with someone other than DirecTV. I miss the days when COX cable's customer service would immediately answer our calls and help us resolve problems. It now has been 12 minutes that I have been on hold. I will wait it out and let you know how long before, or even if, they answer my call.
Reviewed Feb. 2, 2013
When I signed up, I told the agent on the phone and the guy that installed my equipment that I would be purchasing a new TV in a few weeks. They both told me that I would be charged an additional $6 a month for an additional box. The agent and installation representative both failed to mention that an additional box would cost $200 if I did not sign up for it at the beginning of my service. The installation representative set up my service for 3 boxes. So why did he not tell me a 3rd box would cost $200 during installation? I think that is very important information to know upfront.
I feel that this information was improperly communicated and if I had known that I would have to pay $200, I would have asked for the box during sign-up and installation. I feel that DTV purposely withheld this information for their financial gain, and I was lied to by two representatives of DirecTV. I would like to receive a 3rd DVR box for free and pay the additional $6 a month like it was explained to me when I signed up
Reviewed Feb. 1, 2013
I have had DirecTV for 2 years. I called on 1-31-13 to cancel my service. I went with Dish because of cost and they provide internet service. I was told by DirecTV service rep that we would be billed $20 per month through July 2013 because we changed the receivers after our initial setup. I explained that the receivers were causing nothing but problems. We did not receive HD programming even though we were paying for HD programming. The shows kept freezing up. They upgraded from a regular DVR to an Advanced DVR. Nothing was ever said about how we would need to start a new 2-year contract.
We never signed anything or were given any paperwork. They informed me that the agreement is posted on their website (What if I didn't have a computer?). Besides, how am I supposed to know that?! I was also told that if I didn't pay, it would automatically be taken out of my credit card that was on file. I have never given them permission to use my credit card. That was given for the initial setup. How could they charge for early termination if I never signed a contract? Isn't this illegal? Wouldn't a court of law require a signed contract as proof? How can they get away with this?
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2013
I have a stain in my ceiling under my satellite. I have been trying to get this thing worked out since December 2012. When the stain first appeared after a storm around three years ago, I contacted DirecTV but nothing was ever done. The spot is in an area in my bedroom that I rarely look at the ceiling. I have been promised by email and, now, by phone that someone will come out but nothing has been done,
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2013
DirecTV's Movie Money discounts aren't really much of a discount, but before I explain that let me first start at the beginning with my experiences with DirecTV! When I ordered DirecTV by phone, I asked for the Choice Xtra package which came with 3 months free HBO, Starz, Showtime, and Cinemax movie channels. When the tech arrived to install my equipment he showed only the Choice package. After explaining what I had ordered, he set me up for the correct package, however, when I started to view my stations the only movie channel I had was Showtime. When I called to inform them that the other channels were missing, I was told that they were a sign-up deal, and since I had the Choice package when I signed, up I didn't get them.
After going round and round about what I had ordered vs. what was on the tech's work sheet, they finally said that they would give me the rest of the movie channels but I would not get the full 3 months because a couple of weeks had already passed! Again I had to go round and round to get my full 3 months because the error was theirs, not mine. Also when the equipment was installed, they gave us a phone line to the main box which we were told was to update the system and order PPV movies. We had just moved in and did not have all our furniture, so he guessed at how long the line needed to be. Upon placing our furniture the line was too short, so I called and ask for a longer line to be dropped off. I was then informed that I didn't need the phone line. I told the customer rep about what the installer had told me and was again told that I did not need the phone line, and that I could download movies and get updates because I had the internet.
I told him I did not have the internet and he said I did, that he could tell by the movies I had ordered, so I disconnected my phone line from the box! Over the next few weeks, we ordered several movies from the Direct Cinema list, and then one night we could not get a movie that we had just ordered to play. I called customer service who tried to tell me I was watching a "pre-view" and had not ordered the movie. I had to argue with this person to convince them that I had ordered the movie, and confirmed the purchase! After several minutes of trying to figure out the problem, I mentioned about the phone line being disconnected. He said that it was the reason I was having problems and that I could not order any movies without the phone line being connected. When I told him I had already ordered and watched several movies (7 to be exact), he said it was impossible.
I ended up plugging back the phone line and was able to watch my movie (by the way, my next bill did not have the 7 movies on it; they were added to the following month's bill which made that a whopper). This leads me to my final complaint that I had mentioned at the beginning, and the one that really gets to me! Movie Money is so frustrating to deal with. When they advertise discounts, you have to wait for them to send you Movie Money in order to claim your discount, and you have to remember to look for it. For example, this past December they offered "rent 4 movies get $10 off". I rented 4 movies, and a few days ago (a month later) I contacted them because I have not gotten my Movie Money yet. They said they would forward my email to the billing department so I am still waiting. I have complained to them before about this Movie Money.
Is it right that we have to remember to look for it, call and request it if it doesn't show, then have to fill out the Movie Money form and mail it to them, and then we have to wait 'til the next billing cycle and remember to check that bill to ensure that the credit was applied. It's like they hope that we will order the movies and then forget that we were supposed to receive a credit, or be so frustrated with their procedures on claiming the credit that we would just give up! It can take a month or two from the time you order the movies to receive the credit. They tell me that this is so they can check our accounts to make sure that the credit is applied correctly - right! I asked them why we can't at least go online and fill out a form for the credit. That way, we can do it within a day or so from the time we ordered the movies and then print a confirmation so we know it is taken care of. But no, that isn't good enough. You have to wait for Movie Money to be mailed to you, fill it out, mail it in, and wait for credit. Does anyone else think this is ridiculous?
Reviewed Jan. 31, 2013
I was quoted a price of $29.99 for cable service by a sales rep. At that price, I decided to sign up for the service. The sales rep told me my service would never be over that amount. My bills have never been that price, sometimes double. I have talked to at least 5 different customer service reps and they all tell me the bill is what it is.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2013
I did make a couple of attempts to watch movies but the movies would not play. I finally called DirecTV and was informed that to watch a pay-per-view movie, I had to call and have them (DirecTV) to authorize the movies so I could watch. I never called for authorization. I though tit was too much work to watch a movie. I only watched free movies on the free weekends they offered on the HBO or ShowTime channels. I never watched a pay per view movie and I am being threatened by Collections to pay a bill I never incurred.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2013
I was with DirecTV for 8 years and paying $70 a month for a low-end package. I called to see if as loyal customers, we could either get upgraded to a DVR and/or a lower monthly charge. I was told that we could drop to the next package which was the lowest possible and save $10 a month and that yes, we could get DVR but it would be $300 including installation. I didn't feel the loyalty since new customers got it for free, so we switched to Dish. Then 6 weeks in, still no refund for my balance so I called about it. Then as the assistant was looking into my refund, he tried convincing me to return to DirecTV. He said that we could get the new Genie DVR for free with free installation and all. Really? Where was that offer when I called 6 weeks ago?
So the refund shows up a week ago and now today, I receive an email stating that I owe almost $40 in movies and that it's past due! I called and was told some story about movies being stored on the cards that I returned to them. What? We paid for movies on the next billing cycle as we watched them, so how could this be? Now, I have no way of going back the past 8 years to prove that they are paid for. And how could the bill automatically be late since I never got a bill in the first place? I feel like I am being robbed and if I don't pay them, they will ruin my credit.
Reviewed Jan. 30, 2013
I have been with DirecTV since 1995. During the first 10 or so years, we were fairly happy with the actual program content vs. commercial time for the shows we watched. I have been tracking that ratio recently and now on most of the shows that we watch, there is actually more commercial time than actual show time. So I guess I am paying almost $100 a month for commercials, and then I found out that we were not getting all the high definition channels that we have been paying for over 4 years. They suck! We're seriously thinking about canceling and just going back to regular broadcast. It's in high def and public TV has better programs than these fake reality shows that are all set up anyway.
Reviewed Jan. 28, 2013
I have had DirecTV for over 12 years and have never had them come out to fix anything except put up dishes. I even have the monthly service charge on my bill just in case. I am getting older and have lost one eye and am hard of hearing, so instruction over the phone are almost impossible to do. Here is my complaint: I had a person out and they said I was not getting the HDTV (picture quality) I was paying for. I called DTV and told them the TV was hooked up wrong. They hooked up the box when they hooked up the dish. They said I had the wrong cables and they would be glad to sell me some. I asked to have someone come out to install the cables and check the hookup. They said they would have to charge me $49.95 to come out.
Remember, I am paying $6 a month service fees. Oh, that does not cover that. It just covers anything we can fix from here. Of course. Oh, I am going to have to call someone to put in the new cables, by the way. Now I have had the DirecTV HDTV box and dish for almost a year now. But because of the bad hook up, I have never received the quality of picture I was paying for. I want the difference between the regular picture and the HDTV picture paid back to me over the year. They said no. That is a rip off and it was only caused because their workman did not do their job. Don't trust DirecTV!
Reviewed Jan. 28, 2013
On November 14th, 2012, we cancelled our service with DirecTV after over 20 years of service due to complete negligence and incompetence on their part in regards to their billing issues. With a "one hand doesn't know what the other hand is doing" problem, we have spent hours upon hours over numerous years on the phone with their customer service, cancellations department and various supervisors trying to rectify the issues, only for it to culminate in absolute frustration and finally cancelling the service. Since November 14th, their billing issues have only gotten worse; first, charging us an early cancellation fee of $300 attributed to a contract that we never entered into and then sending us two TiVo branded DVRs which we didn't order. Calling back on the 19th of November, we requested RMAs to return the DVRs we didn't order and confirmed their waiving the early cancellation fee due to unjustified charges and insufficient notes apparently going back to February of 2012.
On November 19th, we received a bill for $123.74 which we called about and discussed with a supervisor. On December 12th, we received a revised bill from DirecTV showing a credit balance of -$195.01. No payment due. Feeling this should have been the end of this mess and not ever expecting to see the $195.01, we were shocked to find that on December 31st, our credit card was charged for $123.74 illegally and without authorization. We immediately called on the 1st to discuss this matter and were assured a full refund was on its way. We even received an email on the 3rd confirming a credit to our account that the $123.74 was being processed. On January 14th, I called DirecTV wondering where the credit was. Since our DirecTV account was cancelled back in November, I was hopeful that the money would have been returned to the bank account it was taken from instead of crediting to a closed customer account at DirecTV but alas, they credited it to the closed account at DirecTV.
While on the phone, I received information stating that unlike the email we received declaring the $123.74 was being refunded, we were told that someone had gone back into the account and readjusted fees and credits for November (again) and now claim that $83.60 will be credited to my bank. They were keeping $40.14 they decided we owed them for usage in November to which not a single bill received up to this point has shown. Supervisor agreed that the charges placed on December 31st were done unlawfully, that any charge backs done on the account should have generated a new bill and due date, that whoever ran the card did so without authorization and that the superfluous charges and charge backs incurred on this account over the last 60 days were not done correctly.
After a two and a half hour conversation being transferred over 6 times and finally to a supervisor, he determined that the reversal of credits were unjustified, that the extra charges of $40.14 that were applied on January 10th were wrong and he spent the time correcting our account balance (which I should mention had been done 4 times since November on this issue and a whole slew of times for the past 20 years before this). This just exemplifies the type of service we received going back many years with DirecTV and has ultimately contributed to the cancellation of our service once and for all. Suffice it to say, we will never have anything positive to say about DirecTV and will advise anyone with whom we ever come in contact with to run as fast as they can away from DirecTV.
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2013
I recently moved and was previously very happy with DirecTV, but I can't recommend them anymore. When I moved, I was offered a deal for $52.99 for some basic channels and DVR service included. An additional 5 would be reduced with a rebate if I went online. I agreed. The technician had the wrong address (so I took off work only to discover they were in the wrong city). I've not received my agreement or any bills in the mail because they keep sending it to the same wrong city (which then have acknowledged by phone). Yet they refuse to "resend" them (according to the supervisor I spoke with). The website did not allow me to log on using my email and account number (but they keep emailing me information from their company so I know they have my email on file somewhere).
The initial amount I agreed to each month has now grown astronomically over $100 because I didn't "log on to receive my $5 rebate." I've spent hours on the phone trying to resolve it and the two supervisors I've spoken with are very rude on the phone. Most recently, I've been told they will file something and see if I can get my "Rebate" back (now, they apparently consider the whole package part of that rebate!). I can't seem to find any supervisor who can do math (count 10 business days) or go back and read the original offer, send me appropriate bills, or discuss it rationally. Again, I'd go with any company with better customer service and keeps their own promises to send you a customer agreement and your bill!
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2013
I had the system installed, but I had no internet. I was advised to have Cincy Bell come out and install the wireless and then call them back so they could connect the two. They never told me I have 14 days or else, it's no longer free. It's $69 now. It took Cincy Bell 3 weeks to install. They admitted it was their fault for not telling me, but said they are not responsible for the tech and I must pay. They finally sent me the kit to install myself, but they put a disclaimer on my account that if I ever need a credit, I won't get it! The company is a joke, and now I am stuck for another year and a half. Plus the install kit doesn't even work. So now I will have to call service and we know how that goes!
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2013
Customer Service is rude, local channels are blocked quite often! If the weather is even mildly bad, you lose partial service always and a lot of the times, you have no service! During some special events, local channels are blocked as well! This is the worst experience I have ever had with any TV service! Stick to cable! I wish I had!
Reviewed Jan. 25, 2013
Repair loose dish on pole mount - I know what the problem is. They will not listen; they keep making me do tests, even with maintenance agreement. Now they won't even make a trouble ticket because it is raining - it always rains in Washington.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
My story is long and oh so frustrating. We switched from Time Warner to DirecTV because we got a flyer stating that we could get 3 free HD DVR boxes with free installation for 30 or 50 bucks a month (some outrageously fair price). We get the DirecTV guys to come install the boxes, only to find out there are standard boxes. After months of trying to fight this, we get "We would need to charge you $20 to your existing $50 monthly payments and you would have to renew your 24 month contact." That's where they get people, as I'm reading all these complaints. They want you to be in their hellish relationship with them for two more years. It's like a terrible marriage with DirecTV playing as the psycho spouse. Just walk away from this. Go to Time Warner or whatever the other cable company is. I have to get up at 4 am to watch soccer matches in Europe and the quality isn't HD so it's pixelated. So frustrating.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
I have never hated a company as much as I do DirecTV! I was a customer for 5 months of pure hell. My bill was never correct. I had to call every month to get it corrected only to have the same problem the next month. I always paid them with a money order and kept the receipt each month. My 5th month of having DTV, they sent me a bill for 2 months. I called and was told I had not paid the previous month's bill. I had my money order receipts to prove I paid every month and was never late. I mailed copies to them. They stated they did not get the copies. I faxed copies to them twice but they said they did not get the faxes. I knew better. I called my credit card company (American Express), the one DTV had on file, and told them I planned to cancel DTV's account and to put a note on my account not allowing charges from DTV. I was assured three different times by my credit card company that there would be no charges allowed from DTV. I cancelled my DTV account and ask for boxes which they did send. I knew to get a tracking # when I mailed them back.
I checked my American Express account one week later and lo and behold, there was a charge of over $800 on my account! DTV had charged me for early cancellation fees as well and non-returned equipment charges! I called my credit card and was told they had no control over who placed charges on my account after assuring me on 3 different occasions this would not happen. I disputed the charges and cc had to start an investigation and replaced the money on my account. I called UPS and got a confirmation of them delivering the boxes to DTV and said they would give DirecTV a call. I went online and filed charges with the BBB, FTC and the Attorney General. I also filed charges against my credit card. The BBB answered the charge on the credit card and sent me the letter written to them from my cc. The BBB cannot offer advice but I knew what I had to do.
I closed my cc account and was told by my cc that I may still have to pay the charges from DTV depending on their findings. DTV never responded to the charges. I feel I was very fortunate because most people do not get their money back from DTV. I cringe now every time I go into a Wal-Mart or Sam's club and DTV is there selling their horrible service and lies to innocent customers. I now have Roku for streaming videos from Netflix and Amazon Prime. I kept internet service through my local cable company. I also bought an indoor antenna for my local channels. My channels are in HD and come in perfect and I watch movies anytime I want! I will never go with any kind of satellite or cable company again for TV and I save around $1,200 per year.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
I lost a job in 10/12 and called DirecTV to cancel service, because there are more important services like gas and electricity than TV. They tried everything they could to try and keep me as a customer, but frankly, when you can't pick money off a tree, no deal would work. Anyway, they did not cancel my service until 12/13/12. Jan. 4, 2013, they took $214.78 from my bank account without authorization. When I called, they stated it was for equipment that was not returned. However, when I questioned about the box to return their equipment, in their own records, the box was not delivered. A week later, I received the box and sent them the equipment for which they had informed me they would return my money in 3-5 business days.
As of today (1/24/2012), I have not received my money. So I called, and they are only refunding $48.00, which they say is the cost of the equipment; and they’re keeping the rest of the money for payment on my account, which I cancelled long ago, but I guess they didn't even though I didn't have service. They further claimed that they had an agreement at the time of installation, which was at least 5 years ago, to deduct the amount from my bank for non-return of equipment. If this was true, then only $48.00 should have been deducted, not $214.78. I file a complaint today with my state attorney general, and I encourage everyone not to do business with this company. Streaming programs over the internet from the networks Hulu and Netflix is so much cheaper than any satellite or cable provider. Boycott DirecTV. FYI, when DirecTV stole my money, I had to call other companies I owed to make arrangements for late payments because of the theft. Clearwire, my internet provider, waived a month’s fee. Now, that is customer service.
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
I have been a DirecTV customer since June of 2012. I have had problems with this company from the beginning and have tried repeatedly to escape from their contract. Within the first month, I had to order 2 different receivers due to defects. The second one required me to sign a new 2-year agreement for the box. I was anticipating being able to watch my DVR'd programs on any TV I own according to the commercials but it turns out that if someone is watching something on one DVR, then I cannot watch any of my recorded programs on another TV at the same time.
I called to see if I could cancel at that time because I felt that I was misled and was told that I was only allowed a 24-hour review period for cancellation. It was already well past that so that wasn't an option. Cancellation would cost 20 dollars per unused month of service on the contract. So I stuck it out, thinking I would adjust. It still bugs me, but whatever.
A few months of this and I decided that I would try to at least reduce the bill so I wasn't paying $100+ for crap I couldn't really use as expected. Several hours of hard sell and transfers later, I finally reduced my bill to around 80 bucks. CSRs were always rude and did nothing to make me feel better and, in some cases, I felt as though my anger was egged on so that they could find a reason to hang up on me. Again, I soldiered on thinking I'll just wait until I get a few extra bucks and I'll just pay off my ridiculous contract.
A few months ago, we lost service to the boxes and we had to reset everything losing all DVR'd programs including some appearances by my family that we had recorded. It was sad to lose those recordings but such is the nature of hard drives sometimes. CSRs were unsympathetic and offered nothing in the way of recourse or compensation, not even a partial credit for the temporary loss of service, when asked.
My final straw came when I called last week because I called to cancel my premium channels. I didn't want to give these people any more money than I have to. When I turned my DVR on, all of the recordings that I had were now unavailable even though when I had canceled the other premium channels, those recordings remained on the DVR. I again called customer service to find out what happened and I was again essentially told, "too bad, so sad" by 3 different rude service reps. "If you want to get out of your contract, pay up, buddy." I asked to speak to a supervisor and they said they would call me back within 72 hours. Still I have heard nothing from these deadbeats. I still have 16 months on my contract but as soon as I get my taxes back, I will be more than happy to discontinue service. Do not use DirecTV!
Reviewed Jan. 24, 2013
I helped my sister get DirecTV. I told them to only use my card once and the salesperson swore up and down they would only use my card once. But instead, they hooked up auto pay without my permission. So every month, the money came out of my account. My sister and I both called them numerous times to stop and they told us they would but, once again, the money kept coming out. I called my bank to put a stop payment on the account but one month later, the money came out again. So now, I have been fighting with them to get back over $2,000 from them that they took from me.
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2013
I sent this letter to DirecTV that they erroneously charged me for movie channels I never requested. When I reopened the account, they said the movies were free with their promotional and after the promotional, I could continue or not. When I unwillingly continued, I was charged almost double what I would normally pay. Their response was they had to record. As you can see from my recap, how many times do I have to tell them?
My response: I find it deplorable and bad customer service that because of your agents' failure to notate that I never wanted the movie channels from the start of my reinstatement, that I am made to pay for your agents' failures. This clearly constitutes a marketing deception where other companies have used this tactic and has resulted in complaints and in some cases class action suits. Let me recap what I have on a record and you can collaborate it with the history of my account.
A little background: Since 2008, we typically have our account suspended for a few months a year, since this is our vacation home and we are not always at this address. In winter 2011, we were scheduled to have our account unsuspended. Unfortunately, we did not return to the US and wanted to suspend it for a longer period. We were told that we could not have it suspended for more than 6 months; hence, we had to close the account, which we did. On July 19, 2012, I called your office and said I wanted to re-open our account and basically have it reinstated the way I had it prior to closing the account, which meant I was only interested in the channels I had prior to re-opening the account. Your agent, whose name I unfortunately did not note, recapped that I would get xyz and including the movie channels. If your calls are recorded, then you can check your records. I specifically said I do not want the movie channels. He told me that it came with the promotional special and it would be cancelled after the promotion. So, I agreed but restated after the promotion that I did not want the movie channels.
On August 30, 2012, I contacted your office again. Reference # xyz, I believe it was about my confusion about the billing and he basically told me that I would be credited for the movies. Suspicious that my request would not be honored, I started writing the names and times I spoke to your agents, primarily because I got the sense they weren't listening. So on September 10, 2012, I spoke to Dorian at 12:22 pm and told him that I wanted DirecTV to be suspended until December 1 when we return and when it was to be reinstated without the promotional I did not want the movie channels. He assured me it would be taken care of.
I decided to check my bill and noticed I was charged over $90 which included the movie channels. Excuse my language but **? I was livid. How many times do you have to tell your agents I never wanted the movie channels? If there was a way to check to see if I used it, then check! I never used it. It's not about the money; it’s about the principle. I feel I was deceived. How many times do I have to tell someone I do not want the movie channels? As you can see from the above, I did my part, but lo and behold, you have no record of it, whereas I do? All you have to do is check your calls if they are recorded. I have been a customer since I believe 1995! If this is the way you treat long time customer, then it's my duty to warn other future customers.
I enjoy DirecTV when I am in the US, but I find your customer service deplorable and accusatory. If this is not resolved, I plan to blog about it as well as write a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and all the other bureaus because I truly feel I was deceived. I will not let this rest until I feel it has been satisfactorily addressed. On top of all of this, your agent sends me a note that I need to call another department to have the movie channel cancel. Don’t you all work for the same company? What horrible customer service infrastructure!
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2013
I was completely happy with their service until we moved. I was always able to call and fix problems with my bill. I set us up for the move. We started having problems with the equipment. All the sudden they needed to speak to my husband and not me. His name was on the account. They had changed the rule. Okay, husband calls, adds me to the account. Salesgirl gives us the new Genie for free. Awesome! But I have to call back. So I call back to set up the tech to install. The CS agent said she wasn't authorized to give us the equipment for free. We shouldn't be getting it, etc. Then, CS agent says my husband needs to call in to set up install - I am not on the account. They gave us the Genie when we called to add me to the account! I ask to speak to a manager. After 20 minutes of arguing with the manager, he agrees to send out a tech to set up the equipment.
Equipment is installed and now it is having problems. DVR won't play back. It freezes. It is slow to change channels. I call and they won't help me. I'm still not on the account. My husband had called again to add me the day before. So twice he has called and added me. I am furious. Husband calls again. Now, I can get a tech out. I decide I need to reschedule appointment. It's over the holidays. We can live with the problem; DirecTV refuses. Tech is scheduled to come Christmas Eve. Tech comes and says that he can't fix it. More than likely, the receiver will need to be replaced. He will note on the account that if the problem arises again, to call in and a tech will have to come and replace receiver.
I called today. I explain the situation. There are no notes on the account. They can see a tech came out on Dec. 24. That is it. So I tell her it's still the same problem. She argues with me (for 20 minutes)! How does she know if it is the same issue! She just told me there are no notes on the account. How does she know what the problem is? I ask to speak to a manager. There are no managers in the tech department. Well, I spoke to one in December! Nope. Someone in 'case management' needs to call me back. What? Within 60 minutes, a case manager will call me. It's been well over an hour. No call. No surprise here. The equipment still does not work. I need a tech. That is it! Why do I get the runaround every time I call!
To add to that, my last bill of the year had a charge for two movies, one from 2011 and one from spring 2012. I called to tell them I paid for them already. We go through our bills together. Mine says one thing; hers says another. I ask if I can fax her or scan my bills and send it to her to prove it. She says she has no access to either option. After an hour on the phone, the bottom line is I had paid it before I complained about it. The payment had processed through my account two days before, and they wouldn't refund my payment. She said the movies showed up when they took my old receiver and replaced it (with the new piece of crap they won't fix or replace). They were on the hard drive. DirecTV makes no sense! Paying for movies twice! Bah! I hate them. And of course, we extended our contract. So in a short 2 years, I can get them out of my house. If I want to before that, I'm gonna pay a cancellation fee even though their equipment doesn't work and is an epic failure.
Reviewed Jan. 23, 2013
I used to love this company until I moved and had to cancel my service. We have very tall trees surrounding our house and there is no way to get a signal. I was sad at first until the final bills came in. Due to the fact that I had my billing bundled with Verizon, I ran into several problems. Verizon was overcharging me for time I had no phone or internet due to my move and then somewhere behind the scenes was accruing DirecTV charges that they pushed back to them which in turn got pushed back to me. I paid the charges but have been trying to get someone at DirecTV to go over my account and refund me. I am certain I overpaid them by at least $75. When I call them, all they say is that I have to talk to Verizon because these are unbillable charges from them.
When I try to explain that Verizon was overcharging me and therefore, these charges are overcharges, they don't understand. They can't even tell me what dates of service the charges are for. It's ridiculous. I sent them correspondence outlining the dates and what I paid back in mid Nov. It is now almost Feb. and no response from them. I filed a complaint with the FCC as well. I am sure it will lead to nothing. Based on the amounts of money other people have lost to DirecTV, I should consider myself lucky. I do not recommend this company to anyone but if you do use them, do not bundle your bill with the phone company. They tell you that you will save money doing it but you don't. It just gives you one less bill per month. Watch out when you cancel though. They will get you somehow. Buyer beware!
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2013
I had DirecTV for 10 years while living with family and had some of the best service with few product issues. I would suggest it to anyone looking for service because of the experiences we had. They were quick to offer a credit or upgrade when we had issues and always pleasant to talk to. A few years and service providers (shared with others) down the line we're finally back with DirecTV.
From day one, we were lied to about the cost. I expected additional fees but we currently have fees for the basic service, an advanced receiver fee so the DVR box can handle DVR, the monthly DVR fee, an HD fee and a TV fee. Yes, I have a monthly charge to have a single TV on the box because this is apparently a luxury and not expected. We were also told upon installation that the DirecTV boxes have no output so it can't be viewed in other rooms, despite being promised this at the time of sale.
A month later, the Genie box (that does handle multiroom) was released for the same price we're paying and they refused to upgrade for less than $400 because we didn't ask within the strict 30 day policy. Since joining, our wonderful clear HD has been riddled with random static bars on certain HD channels, including the premium movie once we pay yet another fee for. A tech came out and even verified it's the box not our connection or TV. We were faced with losing all of our recordings so we chose to ignore it until we were ready to start from scratch.
A month later, we're now dealing with a box that freezes repeatedly and rebooting doesn't help. After 2 hours on the phone tonight and speaking with a manager, we managed to negotiate ourselves into the exact same box, no credit for lost service and recordings, several accusations that it's our 1 year old house's old wiring causing it because that's what the no phone line error means but oh, they're waiving the delivery fee for the receiver since we'll be without service while we wait.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2013
First thing, you call and cancel your credit/debit card you used to initiate service with DirecTV. Just call your bank or credit company and say you lost your card. Then call DirecTV and cancel your service. They will say you owe a total which is around $25/month for the months remaining in your contract. You can either pay this amount or let it slide into collections. The reason I'm saying this is because if you cancel with DirecTV, they will more than likely debit your account associated to the card arbitrarily and put you a bind. At least this way, you can make a payment plan either with DirecTV or the collection agency and only send them money orders or cashier's checks. Do not give DirecTV any more of your personal account information.
DirecTV is a deadbeat company. They don't own up responsibility for shoddy installation. They will damage your home. They don't care if your channels are snowy and they seem to think they can barge past you in your own home. I'm much happier with internet TV and local digital channels.
Reviewed Jan. 21, 2013
We used a Sony receiver for 19 years and were told it must be replaced; it went bad twice in 6 months. The last failure was 12/30/12. We tried to get a replacement overnight for holiday football games, and were told we had to upgrade with a 2 year contract to get it overnighted. We are customers of 20 years, and this is what they told us after keeping us on hold for one hour! The U-verse service we have is wonderful. We are telling everyone we know about the lousy treatment we received from a company that seems to be going downhill fast!
Reviewed Jan. 18, 2013
I had another issue with an account I had bundled with CenturyLink and, once again in the evening after Centurylink is closed, DirecTV turns off my signal stating it is because of non-payment to CenturyLink. I tell them I made my payment and I should not have any interruptions; I can even send a confirmation that the payment was made and it was ahead of schedule. They refused to turn my signal back on. I spoke to a supervisor, Rodney, and explained this has happened before and someone at DirecTV turned it back on with no problem and his snide and smirk reply was, "Well, that is the past and we will not and cannot turn your signal back on." I have had issues with reception, moving and it all depends if you get a true customer service rep if someone will help you or not. I have spoken to some really nice people and they were helpful and then mostly there were some really nasty and snide people like Rodney. It's the worst service ever.
Reviewed Jan. 16, 2013
I got DirecTV on 11/28. Earnest, my sales rep, said that he needed my ATM card # to get discount on service and to pay sales tax on order. From day one of service we had horrible reception. TV would freeze. We had to reset, freeze, reset over and over. On 12/11, I called again ( I had called them every day) for same problem. Girl on phone was rude and nasty. I told that I was not going to keep service. I also told her that she had the worst customer service ever and she sucked. I asked to speak with a supervisor. I was put on hold then disconnected. The next morning I had no service. I called, they disconnected it. I was so mad. I never said, "Turn off now!"
On 1/8, $475.00 was taken from my account. I never gave DirecTV the permission to withdraw that money! Why would I pay that fee when I had no reception and they turned it off? I was told that they can go into my account and take out for bill and any other fees. What? Are they kidding me? I was also told by Ben at corp. office 310 535 5000, office of Michael White (CEO), "too bad, I can only get my money back if I let them come out and reconnect me; other wise, too bad, so sad for me!" Why would I pay a cancellation fee when they turned it off cause they were mad? Cause I told them, "They suck (and they do)?" I was also told that there was a low signal problem and couldn't be fixed.
I did not ever give them my permission to take out fee. ATM card was for discount and sales tax. Direct TV told me that it says on bill they can do that. Oh no! What it says is for your convenience, they can use a card on file. That's not permission! This has been a horrible experience. I want my money back!
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2013
I was being billed for insurance which I did not order on more than 2 occasions. I also requested that my bill be lowered because it was way too high for the basic services I was receiving. They lowered the bill for a few months but then you have no idea when the bill will go up again. It's totally unpredictable after the first year, so it's like they try to rape you the second year. The customer service is so bad. They give you a number to call but then when you finally get through, they transfer you or give you another number to call. They do not want you to even get through to speak with someone. I have never seen a company treat existing customers so bad.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2013
I ordered this service 1 year ago. What they don't tell you are these: The service drops out nearly every time it rains. The remotes stop working intermittently. Your bill will go up 50% after year 1. What they did say, it would go up when discounts expire, but it went up more than what they promised. And this is before another rate increase come February 2013. Their reps will get nasty after year 1. Yep, when you are paying full rice, they could care less about what happens, even when you go to cancel. One rep said they'd give me $60 credit if I stay another 6 months. There is a cancellation fee, but I will pay it to get out from under this onerous contract.
Think about it. It costs $97 now for hundreds of channels we don't watch, and that are mostly bogus programs. That’s $1200 per year. With my local cable provider I can get the TV channels, 15 MBPS internet, whole house wireless internet, two phone lines (all charges included for unlimited calling), and whole home DVR's that allow recording 6 channels at once for $149/mo. They are extremely misleading in their sales pitches, and they specifically tell you afterward that anything any agent says will never be honored, unless it comes from the CEO. The agent who signed us specifically put in writing that prices would not rise above a certain amount, and then had me speak on the phone with their HQ, who confirmed this. It was all not true and not honored at all. You are forewarned folks. And I never write complaints like this about any company.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2013
My service has been interrupted due to fraudulent activity on DirecTV's end. So now, I have no service since 3am on Sunday, July 13, 2012. I was told that it would not be turned back on until a thorough investigation was completed. Too much information to put on here.
Reviewed Jan. 14, 2013
In March 2011, I accepted a $5.99 trial monthly line service fee which I canceled to avoid further billing the next time I spoke with a rep (well within the 30-day limit). I spoke to many of your representatives over the next few weeks. I was set up on auto draft so you pulled electronically with me assuming all along the charge had been removed as requested. Discovering it was still there when I asked for a review of my bill in December 2012, I disputed the line fee, to which they said there was a $10 cancel fee. Refusing to consider this may have been an error on their end, I asked them to review the calls to hear me on record cancelling this back in March. They said no. I said, "I won't pay $10 extra to cancel; after all, you should be reimbursing me $5.99 x 10 months."
I did not feel our guys value us as customers by the tone and style of this type of resolve. I told them as soon as my contract is over (or before) I will leave DTV swiftly, then asked how to file a formal complaint. This is my formal complaint. Separately, I've been double billed for pay per view events which I had to call and correct. Also I've had my gf, Victoria, marked on file as an authorized account user. Only half the time when we call to address concerns, the screen they are looking at doesn't show her, so she can't handle business for us in my absence.
Reviewed Jan. 11, 2013
I cancelled DirecTV as of the end of August 2012. Reviewing year-end bills, I noticed that they were still billing me. I called them, and they said that there were no notes in their system, so they would not refund. I asked if it was possible that their CSR made a mistake and did not enter/save notes. They agreed but refused to refund the $500 in monthly fees. We cancelled our service with them because of terrible service. They are terrible and need to have some regulatory oversight.
Reviewed Jan. 10, 2013
My mother-in-law, who is a 70+ year old widower, just received a new LCD TV for Christmas and had decided to upgrade her old receiver boxes with new boxes. She has been a customer for 12 years with auto pay and has never had them perform any work at her house beyond initial installation. Her service was acceptable, and as always, any additional activity she requested always involved a $150 fee which she declined and was rectified by sons-in-law. No complaints with this logic. One of the two new boxes emits intermittent signals on any TV in the house (3 different types of TV: CRT, small 13" LCD and 32" new LCD). The good new box does not have any signal issues when set up with any of the other TVs. The previous old boxes also had no issues with current wiring and Dish configuration.
Several of us called the service center since 1/1/2012, ~8 calls in total and the only solution they can offer is to have a service technician come look at the wires for either $50 one time fee or a monthly service fee of $5.99 for at least duration of contract. If you cancel monthly service fee, then a $10 cancellation fee is applied and any service calls that occurred will be back billed. I tried last night one last time to reason with the technical support group again and after 3/4 hour of dealing with the service technician, she determined that it was a wiring issue and service call would be needed. I complained that I would not accept a service call for something that logically pointed to a defective box without first trying another box.
I was forwarded to the supervisor and requested that they send us a new box so we could just move on and we would return the bad box. He said they could not send another box and that all boxes were tested prior to shipping. I asked how one box could perform satisfactorily and the other not if the issue was anything other than a box. His response was he couldn't answer that without being there (not logical or customer oriented). Clearly, he was not interested in resolving the issue without receiving some remuneration even though nothing makes sense except the consistent point of failure which is the box. I then had to spell out my options with the supervisor because his only point of solution was field support for a fee. I asked if it was determined that the box was bad, would there be a charge for service and he responded that if the technician performed any work, it would constitute the full fee but the box would be replaced for free.
I then asked what constituted work and he said if the technician removed any wires, etc., it constituted work and I said then I will hand him the old box and he can leave. He replied only the field service technician can install the boxes he has in his possession. I said then it cannot be replaced for free as it will cost $50 to replace the box. He argued that the box was free; the service was a separate fee. I said the box is already free because of the 2-year contract agreement and that getting 2 functional boxes entails a $50 fee because DirecTV will not send another box.
I then stated that simply put that since it is my belief that it is the box, to get a new box, my options are: One, have the service technician install the box and refuse any other recommendations he suggests for a minimum of $50. Two, accept a $5.99 charge per month which lasts 1 year min for $66 and then refuse any additional work the service technician tries to impose. (He said he would give us the first month free. My guess is he misspoke and it lasts the duration of the new box contract 2 years but unconfirmed.). Three, cancel all service and seek a new provider. Since she accepted the new boxes, she cannot return or cancel service without facing a ~$500 cancellation fee for the 2-year agreement on both boxes. Half that for one box and a TV without an independent receiver. And four, watch TV with an intermittent signal.
His answer was simple "Those are your options. Yes." So I said it doesn't seem fair to pay money for a problem if it is your issue. Can they waive the service fee if the new box works to our satisfaction? He said no, they could not. I concluded with I needed time to think and see what other people have experienced. For DirecTV, this customer service approach is probably a good business decision in the short run because they cannot lose with these four options in the short run. Unfortunately, this site only further confirms that it will take money to fix the TV as escalation for even more ridiculous issues has not proven fruitful for many unhappy DirecTV consumers.
I encourage this site's activity and thank all those before who took time, which in turn saved me the wasted time of reasoning with a company that marginalizes their poor service down to a utilitarian focus. Unfortunately, my aging mother-in-law will have to fork over her dead husband's savings to correct an obvious issue with DirecTV's product coupled with an unempowered customer service team. Their CSR's behavior is not natural for humans or companies so this can only be a result of the CEO direction for the company to cut costs. Luckily, Capitalistic Darwinism does exist and poor decisions that lead to this many complaints will eventually make them weak and gone.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013
I have been a customer of DirecTV for about 11 years now. I'm not just any customer, but I order all their sports packages, playboy TV, the movie channels, etc. My monthly bill is usually about 200 dollars a month or more and has been for the entire length of service. I figure I have spent about $30,000 on their company for the past decade. I am writing because I don't think I have ever been treated so badly by any other company that I have ever dealt with. Here is a time line of events.
In 2002, I became a DirecTV customer. I was told their satellite was below my tree line and I would need a 10-foot tower installed on top of my house. I got that done. A few years later, I added local channels so I needed a different dish. Their technician came to my house and installed it on top of the tower. I have had probably four service calls since then for various problems, all satisfactorily handled.
Forward to the present:
On 11/26, I bought an HD TV. I called DirecTV to install it for me. They scheduled a technician for later in the week. The guy came out and after a quick look at my house, he said that he couldn't do it. The satellite for DirecTV HD was below the tree line and he said that the company wouldn't allow him to go on the roof and put the HD dish on my tower.
On 12/5, the local satellite television company came out (Elkhart Satellite, a licensed DirecTV installer). He put an HD dish on top of my house with line of sight to the HD satellite. He charged me 350 dollars. He also offered to sell me a DirecTV HD satellite receiver at a cost of 350 dollars. Since DirecTV offered to upgrade me for free, I turned that down and called the company again to schedule an installation. All I needed was the receiver to plug it in. The cables were now coming into the house. I just needed the receiver and to plug it in.
On 12/20, the DirecTV technicians came to my house and after a quick look said they couldn't help me. Someone else put the dish in so they were not allowed to hook up the receiver (even though the guy who put the dish in was a DirecTV authorized dealer and had been for close to 20 years). I was treated very poorly by one of the technicians who apparently is the Supervisor of Technicians in this area and he told the other technician they were not allowed to do anything for me. Even though he was holding a receiver in his hand, he refused to give it to me to install myself. He said I would have to have one drop shipped to my house and install it myself.
I went inside the house and ordered one by phone. The phone rep said I couldn't order one by phone, I would have to do it myself online. I ordered a receiver online. When I finished, I heard drilling. When I went outside, I saw the two DirecTV technicians doing something to the corner of my roof. When I asked what they were doing, they said they were installing the HD dish. I already paid 350 dollars to have one put on the tower because they couldn't get a line of sight. He said maybe they made a mistake and it would work. I told them to leave. I already have a dish on the tower and already have ordered a receiver.
I called their company four times in the interim. I don't have the dates but one woman told me it (the receiver) should be delivered in 10 business days. I called their billing company because they charged me for 200 dollars plus for the dish when I was promised a free upgrade when this process began. A man told me he would fix it so that I don't get charged the 200 dollars. I called twice later to confirm that had been done (200 dollars credit). I waited three weeks - no receiver.
Today, I called to ask about the receiver and when it was expected to arrive. The woman, who was very rude to me, told me there was no record of me ordering a receiver despite the three calls since the order asking about the billing. Now, I have ordered another receiver online just like the last time. If it takes another 10 business days that should be near the end of January, two months since I first contacted DirecTV about this.
The only reason I have not switched to another provider (Comcast, Dish Network, etc.) is because of NFL Sunday ticket package which I love and couldn't do without. I have been treated very rudely and badly by several of their representatives through this process.
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2013
First let me say that I previously subscribed to DirecTV and was provided a dish and receiver. When I cancelled my subscription, DirecTV left the dish on the roof and the receiver in the house. There was no charge for goods.
In September 2010, my home was destroyed in a wildfire. After the shock wore off, I began canceling services, electric, phone/internet and satellite TV. When cancelling the DirecTV, I was told by customer service that they were sorry for my loss but there is a $500 charge for replacing their equipment. I was told that my insurance would cover it. I asked about the dish and receiver that was left from the previous subscription, and why they didn't collect the equipment if they were so concerned. I was told that I was renting their equipment and would have to pay to replace it, but again, my property insurance would cover it.
I emailed the CEO of DirecTV with a message expressing my disappointment with their policies. I was answered by their customer service triage department, who explained that the original customer service representative was wrong. The charge was actually only $250 but my insurance would cover the cost. If I was renting their equipment, shouldn't their insurance be covering the loss? And is it possible that they charged me $250 and they filed a loss claim with their insurance company and double dipped? I think that $250 for a dish and receiver at their cost (economy of scale suggests the price is much much lower) was a bit of a gouge as well.
I think victims of natural disasters need some protection from the likes of DirecTV. I think they are guilty of very poor customer relations, possibly overcharging for "lost" equipment, and very likely double dipping on the replacement of said equipment. Again, we need protection from these folks. If nothing else, we need to announce their practices in public venues. I hope you can help us stop these predatory practices and embarrass them into acting in a reasonable and sympathetic manner. Thank you.
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2013
Many problems that we were directed to do the" fixes" per phone instructions, some reoccurring and tedious. "After the fact", they made a tech appointment which we cancelled (too little, too late). The first confirmation to cancel was $240. Not so! Try $453.36. They (corporate?) firmly refused to consider negotiation on cost. Also, we had been intimidated to sign for a "Protection Plan" for the equipment or we would be responsible for any repair or replacement and tech service. We paid the $453.36! We only had the service for eight weeks!
Reviewed Jan. 5, 2013
I have been a DirecTV customer for ten years, fulfilling my monetary obligation of service payment faithfully. During an instance of an unexpected power loss and surge to the household, all 4 of my basic Directv receivers were rendered useless. Initial contact with customer service seemed brief and to the point. Tech was dispatched. Two days later, there was no tech. Tech called dispatch with the claim that he could not find the street. I followed up to Customer Support, set another date. Two days later, there was no tech.
Customer support gave the tech my cell number, he called me left voice mail, also called back to dispatch. He could not find street again. Only this time, I had left a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood at street entrance painted DirecTV and arrow to highlight the way, After returning the message myself to the tech, it was pried out of him that he made no attempt at finding my residence or fulfilling the contact. I am going to assume there may exist a greater monetary incentive for DirecTV techs to fulfill installs instead of accomplishing the backside of service which entails service and repair.
After my 6th call and promises of return calls from customer support and many dispatch calls to techs, it was conferred I would receive a call from the area repair rep. Two days later and there is nothing. I called customer support, and they want to start all over and set another date for alternate field tech 5 days later. I have on average paid diligently $80 to $90 a month for the last 10 years and to remain in limbo for the duration of 2 weeks now is beginning to bring on a sense of humiliation and degradation in being treated with such disrespect for my loyal patronage. I am currently in examination of Dish Network. Maybe a sense of appreciation can be extracted from them!
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2013
I am done with DirecTV. We have been loyal customers for over 10 years and have had sub-par service for 5 of those. I cannot tell you how many times I have called in, changed boxes, spoke to technical support and finally the "retention" group. Finally, today I got to speak to the "supervisor" who other representatives had said could not be contacted. I have to say that I like the DirecTV programming when it works. I also have to say that each representative I talked to was very polite and they "understand" the problem and "apologize" for the inconvenience.
Unfortunately, they have not been able to fix the problem or compensate us for the trouble. I also realize that this is a "first world problem", but I also realize that I am paying for a service that we are not fully receiving. The "glitch" in the "software" which has caused us problems seems to freeze the screen to black with the audio still going. It can last from 10 seconds to 5 minutes. It happens randomly and on every channel. Apparently, after 3 years and 4 new boxes, they recognize that it is a software glitch with the particular model of DVR we have. We can pay $20 more a month for HD DVR, but we don't want to do that because the prices are already outrageous.
The last supervisor said he would send us another new box that was a different model. When I told him that all the other representatives said they couldn't guarantee a different model, he admitted that he had "no control" over which receiver the warehouse sent to us. So, that leads me to believe we would switch out another box and still have the same problem. Last month, we finally got to the "retention" representative who gave us a $50 credit. I was told today that if we cancel in the next 60 days that "credit"would revert and we would owe for it. That was never part of the "bargain" I had with the "retention" rep. In fact, I told her I would give it 30 more days and then we were done.
It is still not resolved... so I am done. I am tired of false promises, spotty service, and double talk, especially when the service is sub-par. I was even told by one rep that when the glitch is fixed, then we will be compensated for our inconvenience, but they couldn't compensate us for when the inconvenience is actually happening. If you are considering DirecTV, let the buyer beware. They have become a conglomerate who cares much more about getting that bill than about providing service.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2013
Is anyone a dissatisfied DirecTV customer who has had major issues with receiving bills or getting technicians to do their job with quality? Here is my story: I placed a move order to continue my service at a new residence. The sales person who took the order or someone in a department took it upon themselves to change my billing address to my physical location where I do not receive mail at all. So, I have not had a bill for 2 months. I called two weeks ago to find out why I had not received a bill and found out about the address issue. So, it was changed.
Today is January 3 and I finally received the first bill for two months. Oh yes, I made a partial payment without knowing my balance, and no, I didn't use the account info on their website on January 1. On January 2, it was turned off. According to so many people at DirecTV, I must pay the past due so the television can be turned on before they can help me. I went to check the television last night and found out that the television was off, and that the DVD player and VHS player did not work and probably has not been connected since the initial installation in November. Before I moved, I had great service and all worked. I am not a technician, so the original install worked and has worked. Now, skip to last night. For 2 hours, I called two numbers and was informed by CSRs that until the entire bill was paid they could not or would not do anything to help.
When I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, I was transferred back to collections. Ironically, they assured me they understood about not paying when I didn't have a bill but they still refused to help me. Here it is, tonight at 10 pm CST, I have talked to five people again. Let us take names now. I asked the West Coast CSR (forgot to get his name) for a supervisor to file a complaint and I got sent to Chris (West Coast call center). Second, Chris said he understood and didn't see why there was no help and that they had a special department who handled these types of issues. He transferred me to Mike. Mike is in the South Texas call center but not a supervisor. I guess Chris thought another call center was a special department. So now we are in the third rendition of the story and tired of no one listening. My call to Mike was somehow disconnected but I have not heard back from him.
The second call back took me to Kevin in the South Carolina call center. Kevin told me that no one could call me back after I explained the situation to him. He told me that CSRs had no way to contact customers. Oh yes, lo and behold, I asked for his supervisor. He then placed me on hold and came back and said that his supervisor was calling me. Hershey (collections supervisor) called me from 843-746-1059. I talked to her. She could not help me because she was not technical support. So, she connected me to a supervisor (or so she said) but instead, I got Jayna, Jeana, (Jay-na) from the Colorado call center, who was not a supervisor but in technical support. One more time… she could not help me and found all reasons why, including the fact that I would then have to pay $49 for a technician to come out. More money they wanted and no service. So she connected me to John in Colorado tech support.
John is a supervisor but as of right now, I ended the call. One more rendition… John wanted a payment for past due after I informed him at least 8 times that there would be no payment until the service was working, all of it. It was their fault in the beginning and they refuse to take full responsibility or make restitution for their mistake. I asked for the service to be reconnected and a technician out within 24 hours. Nope! They wanted money for something they didn't do correctly in the first place. So now their names are on this Facebook comment. I hope that you leave them for another company. Until this transfer I loved them, but not now. Take care and go Dish Network or some other cable company. The only way to demonstrate is through communication, something that DirecTV customer service centers know little about.
Reviewed Jan. 4, 2013
This company is terrible to deal with. They lie about cost to get you in the door. Give you rebates that you have to fight to get and give you nothing but trouble with the billings, etc., the entire contract period. They gave me a package deal not even listed (Select). I was supposed to get Choice, but told me I'd get $20 off a month the first year and continue the second year with $5.00 off. When you talk to representatives, record the conversation or write down every detail; get names; employee numbers; dates you spoke with them; what they said exactly and what they did or didn't do for you. If they don't follow through, continue to hound these ** thieves.
The service isn't worth what you pay for and the customer reps, many are too stupid to even listen. They don't keep full copies of complaints or conversations so when you tell them something, they basically call you a liar. Turn all your detailed complaints over to the justice department. From what I read, don't let them into your bank account! Mike White, the president of this company, needs to be put out of business with all the investors under him and left high and dry. He has to be a real piece of ** to screw over customers the way he does or allows his company reps to do. We should all hire an attorney for the stress they put us through for this crap service. Most the shows I get, I could get over the air but I pay for. What a joke. DirecTV, put them out of business. Those smug ** that work for them wouldn't talk so smart then.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
I have been an avid DirecTV subscriber in good standing for more than 10 years. I do seasonal work which requires that I be away from my residence for up to six months. My current assignment began October 7, 2012 until May 10, 2013. Before departing my home for my current assignment, I called to request my service to be suspended from October 2012 until May 2013. I was assured that my service would be suspended and when I returned, all I needed to do was call them and my service would be reinstated. I checked my Visa statement and discovered I am being charged $149 a month! When I contacted customer service they, of course, stated it was my fault, that they had no record of my requesting to have my service suspended and would not refund the $450 for service to any empty residence!
To add insult to injury, I will be charged an additional $245 for the HDR receiver that I'm unable to return due to me being in NC and the HDR receiver at my residence in IA! The representative I spoke with acknowledged that they had a record of me calling in late September 2012 inquiring as to service in my new assignment in NC, yet they're unwilling to come to the conclusion as to why I was calling. Their contention is that I was calling to start service to an unoccupied house, not that I was calling to suspend service. Rather than refund the $450, keep a loyal subscriber paying $149 a month for 10 years or that the error could be theirs, they chose to stand their ground and informed me of the additional $245.00 I will be charged. I cancelled my subscription and will be subscribing to one of DirecTV's competitors.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
We were loyal customers for a number of years, in which they provided us the Lakers Games. Well, during negotiations with Time Warner, they failed to continue to provide their customers with Lakers Games, so understandably, we left to go to Time Warner. However, some time prior to leaving, we had upgraded the receivers we have had for years with DirecTV. The subcontractor came, installed and had us sign a form "for the receivers" so as 99.9% of people I didn't sit and read every letter of the form.
Well, when changing to Time Warner for their lack of service, we were charged over $400 for breaking the "new" contract we had supposedly signed up for (which perfectly made no sense being that we had been with them for what seemed forever). DirecTV claimed the installer mentioned it. Wrong! That may be their policy to have the installer mention it but no such thing occurred. So next they stated, "It's in the contract." It very well maybe; however, what about their part in all this? After all, we were loyal customers for years and only when they stopped providing the service we have had, the "Lakers games" did we switch. So then my question is, why should we have been charged over $400 for "breaking the contract" because they in essence broke theirs first, that of providing us with a service we already had?
DirecTV should be expected to display professionalism when asking customers who are switching, "Why are you leaving us," and the customers reply because they failed to provide a service (their reason for it is irrelevant) and they should undo any such, "You broke a contract" charges. For the 2 reasons already mentioned, they failed to make it perfectly clear to the customer that they were signing a new contract. And they broke their service to the customer, especially when it's a customer of many years. Shame on them! Customers aren't "always right," yet where's the professionalism? I don't buy this garbage, "If we reversed those charges then we would have to let all the other customers who break their contract do the same." How would "all those other ex-customers know?"
Honestly, what householder makes the subcontractor wait 1/2 hour or more while one reads it? And another vital question, why is it the subcontractor who comes to install the boxes who presents the contract to sign and read at the end of the installation rather than the beginning so that the individual has time to read it, should they choose to? Customers tend to trust large companies. Why should companies take advantage of their customers? I want the more than $400 they charged my Visa. They stopped (for a time) providing Lakers Games first, so we had no option at the time put to go find another provider. It isn't our fault that we acted quickly while they fiddled around trying to negotiate with Time Warner. I want the over $400 they charged our Visa.
Reviewed Jan. 3, 2013
We just moved into a house in Corrales, New Mexico and purchased DirecTV. Within one week after setup, one of the receivers stopped working. We called them and scheduled a time for a repairman to come to the house. It was several days from our call (not that big of a deal) and between 12 noon and 4 pm. I called the day of the scheduled appointment at 9 am to verify it was still on. I was told it was. At 3:30 pm, I called DirecTV to check on the service call. I was told it was still scheduled and he verified our telephone number on the account was correct. The account rep in Mississippi informed us that he would send a message to the repairman and have him call us with his ETA.
At 4:15 pm, we called DirecTV again and spoke with a repairman in Tennessee, who was nice. He informed us he would type "urgent" and again send a message to the repairman to call us. I then spoke to his supervisor who was essentially powerless to help at all. She even had the wrong telephone number on the account despite verifying the number three different times. The repair guy never showed. The supervisor continued to tell us "I understand, sir." Really? We took an entire afternoon off work, and you understand? She could do nothing to keep us as customers. Management in this company is not empowered at all. This was an example of a company that will eventually fail if this is the norm.
Reviewed Jan. 1, 2013
As I truly like the product DirecTV provides, calling into DirecTV for customer support is extremely painful. Their automated system is slow and incomplete, which typically takes you down paths you do not want to go. Getting to a live person is very lengthy and painful. But then you hit the next problem. No one speaks clear English! Once there is a better option, I'm gone.
Reviewed Jan. 1, 2013
After being a loyal DirecTV customer for over six years, I never thought they would screw me, but they did. My wife and I got fed up with the $80 to $90 a month bills to have to sit through commercials. So I called them to see about lowering my bill, or I’d like to cancel with them. Well, they promised me a $20 a month discount for one year if I re-signed a contract for a year’s service with them, and I did. Boy, am I sorry I did. We sit and watch all these commercials offering all these great deals to people who sign up with them. But what about the customers like us who have been loyal for over 6 years, always paid our bills on time, and get nothing in return from them? Nothing in rewards but crappy excuses and empty promises. As soon as my contract is done, we are done, canceled, and going to spread the word as hard as I can about this company. I promise you that!
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2012
I can only say that I don't have TV today and a very rude Chantelle, after troubleshooting, said that someone will be out here first available time in 5 days. When they came, they can just take it all out. They put a hole in my wall and pulled cable through. No outlet, just a hole. My favorite is the dangling receiver box in the workout room. Yep, in order to plug it in; the receiver hangs by the cable and the electrical cord stretches from inside the closet across the door. This is not a joke. See pictures attached. Stick with cable. These people are clowns, who do not care about their customers.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2012
I had DirecTV installed on 9/26/12. It came with a two-channel DVR. A week or two later, they came out with a new five-channel. Now they are advertising, making fun of those with two-channel DVRs. I called to see what they would do and got no satisfaction whatsoever. I will fulfill my contract and then cancel! Lousy customer relations.
Reviewed Dec. 31, 2012
I was told that my total bill would be $29.99 per month for the first year. My first bill arrived this morning for $39.99. I was told there would be no additional charge for the HD DVR and the bill shows $20 per month with a $10 rebate for 24 months. When I called this morning, they told me that my 24-month agreement was in effect because they installed the system. I found the agreement in my spam mail this morning. Does sending an agreement constitute an agreement to contract? They said they would review the voice conversation and make appropriate adjustments.
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2012
We have had DirecTV for less than a month now and have already had to call in twice due to no service. After watching a DVD the first time, no sound after watching a DVD the second time. Besides each person transferring you to a different department when calling in for technical difficulties, the service has been downright rude. Today, after my husband called due to the no sound issue and after being placed on hold for 14 minutes, the girl told him that she will have to transfer him to the technical difficulties department and hung up the phone. My husband fixed our issue on his own with no help from DirecTV. Poor, poor quality customer service! I wish we had not switched to DirecTV and am wondering if we will ever be able to watch a DVD without something not working on the DirecTV when we change the channel back.
Reviewed Dec. 30, 2012
On 12/28/12, I called DirecTV in order to understand available TV packages and decide if I wanted to subscribe to their service. After a lengthy phone conversation, I was told I qualified for a rate of $49.99 per month for their Premier package for a 1 year term with the first month free; 2 years agreement required. I was told installation was free. After 12 months, my rate would be $110 per month unless I elected to downgrade to a lesser package of channels. A DVR would be provided at no cost with a $10/month charge for using the machine.
The installation of the dish was to occur today, 12/29. Late last night, I received 2 emails with data regarding my contract as well as the particulars of my order for services. I called DTV this morning to confirm my interpretation of the emails as the verbiage did not appear to reflect what I had been told by phone. The person this morning told me the installation was $9.50. My first 3 months would be billed at $49.99 after which my rate would be $119.99. In addition, the cost would be deducted from my credit card automatically each month. I did not agree to any of the above. I immediately cancelled my appointment to have a dish installed and expressed my disappointment at the obvious attempt to mislead me by the company.
I am a small business person. If one of my employees treated any client of mine as I was treated (dishonestly), whether a new or existing client, that employee would be fired immediately. It is incredible to me this sort of thing is allowed to occur. I specifically asked the first person I spoke with if our phone conversation was being recorded and was assured such was the case. I can only imagine that too was a lie.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2012
I have been without DirecTV service for 6 days and have tried 3 times to reset my receiver box. That has not worked, so I called customer service today. I was on the phone for 55 minutes with some underpaid dipstick, who couldn't help me at all. So long story short, they wanted me to pay $50 for a service call to fix their receiver (I made the customer service rep admit that I do not own the receiver, they do). I asked how soon they could have someone out to fix it and was told that I had to pay $50 first before they could access the scheduling system. So what if I paid $50 and they can't get someone out for 2 weeks? I'm stuck. So I asked for a manager and the ** hung up on me. I bet when I cut off their money, they will restore my service! Horrible customer service.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2012
I have been a customer of DirecTV for 13 years. I have not always been happy with the service but the last two years, I have been extremely unhappy. I live in rural Oklahoma. Zip codes and phone service cross counties here. My home sits in one county while my address is out of the closest town which is in another county. Two different times DirecTV changed my locals. When I would call, after getting a runaround, I would be switched back. Two days ago they again switched my locals.
When I called, they argued with me about what county I lived in based on my address and the Nielsen Media Research. I called the FCC and filed a complaint. I also sent an email to Nielsen. I am a grown woman and know what county I live in and in which county I pay property tax. I have spoken to DirecTV at least six times in the last couple of days. The last representative basically called me a liar and laughed at me. That was the final straw. I will be checking with Dish Network to see what they can offer.
Reviewed Dec. 29, 2012
We have been customers for 10 years. We bought the HD receiver over 2 years ago and paid the monthly insurance fee so that it would be replaced if it ceased to work. About a year ago, the receiver quit (the third one) and they replaced it. We were not notified that replacing the faulty equipment started a contract for two years. In October, we needed to stop service and were treated very rudely when we called to cancel - with them demanding a reason why we were stopping. They charged us a cancellation fee, even though we have been customers all these years and had no idea that they had extended the contract. This is a scam because their equipment is refurbished and breaks down frequently. Every time they replace their faulty equipment, they unilaterally extend your contract obligation and then charge it against your credit card.
Today I received a call trying to get me back as a customer. I told them that I wouldn't deal with a company that took my money fraudulently. He said that he couldn't give me the money they took back unless I signed up again as a customer. They settled a lawsuit in 2010 for this very practice and have obviously continued in this practice.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2012
I got a new receiver and new contract in October 2012 because my old one is too old and I have to use my computer or call to order pay-per-view. Then December 2012, I have a bill saying my old receiver has a charge left ordered back in 2009? Okay, I upgraded because I can't order over my remote because of my phone line is too far from the receiver. The installation guy can testify about it. It is impossible. The customer service said I ordered it and I have to pay for it no matter what because that's what the system told them to. They cannot give me a credit because I exceed the limit for the amount they can only give me? Because I upgraded to a new receiver and they waived me the receiver prize? Now they want me to pay all the charges they claim I ordered over the controller. That is impossible for me to do because there is no phone hooked to it.
Reviewed Dec. 28, 2012
I was a DirecTV member for 13+ years. I never had a late payment or complaint during the entire duration, but that’s because I remained on the "billing cycle", & never called them for anything. I found out that our local cable was much cheaper and attempted a simple "switch". DirecTV then offered a cheaper rate, but then never applied it accurately to my account. After months (almost a year of monthly phone calls), I demanded cancellation. DirecTV then fabricated an "early termination fee" of over $300.00. Now DirecTV has me in "collections", and is impacting my credit report. Wow. Explain an "early termination fee", after 13+ years of being a loyal customer! Unreal.
Reviewed Dec. 27, 2012
Blake is the Cancellation Supervisor that informed me that their company had no liability to get the order correct but I have a liability to keep my contract or pay the cancellation fees. I was referred by a friend with a card that even had his account number on it. This card stated all the upgrades that I was to receive by having this referral card. I come to find out they gave me the "standard receiver" instead of the "upgraded Genie". They will not just fix the problem and will not let me cancel. The Genie is what lets you order On Demand and Record. I have never had satellite. So when I have a box under my TV, how would I know which receiver it is?
Has anyone tried the BBB, Call for action, Attorney General's office? I did get their legal dept address: DirecTV Legal, Po Box 915, El Segundo Calif. 90245. I feel like if people made them accountable, they would change their ways. They treat their customers like crap because they can get away with it. I will do my best to change that. Anyone with me?
Reviewed Dec. 26, 2012
I have been a customer since 2011. We moved in early 2012 and had to pay $100 just to have them come attach the same converter boxes to our same TVs at our new house (the dish was already there). Okay, someone needed to make sure it was installed and activated properly. We moved again to another state last month and they want $250 for me to keep their service. Who's the customer here? Then, on December 21st, without my approval, they used my debit card to charge the early cancellation fee. Yes, I know, I shouldn't have given them the information in the first place, but who doesn't use the convenience of online bill pay? So now I have 3 NSF fees for some 99-cent apps I purchased the same day they charged my debit card.
Reviewed Dec. 23, 2012
If you are thinking of signing up for DirecTV, don’t. I have had multiple problems with DirecTV’s service and equipment. If you complain, they send form letters and refer you to the website. I have been a customer for a very long time and they used to be great. Now that they are so big, the service has disappeared. I have no satellite signal and it will take 3 days before any one will come to service it. No one in the call center knows any thing. All they ever tell you to do is disconnect everything and reset your receiver and waste your time. I can't wait to change to a different service.
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2012
I cancelled my account back in Oct. 2012, and I have a charge on my bank statement that shows that DirecTV chose this time of the season - after closing my account more than 60 days ago, compromising my bank account by stealing $209 out of my account without my permission! This is half of what I make in a 2-week pay period. So being a single parent and making purchases for my daughter, all transactions made during this time have been denied. To add insult to injury, I get a bill from DirecTV "thanking me" for letting them steal the money from my bank account and charged me for movies that I have never ordered, claiming I owe them $10 more! Are you ** insane?!
DirecTV are nothing more than thieves! When calling to inquire about these bogus charges, I was given a ridiculous excuse that those charges were read off the card reader in the receiver, and they hadn't charged me prior and thought they'd do that for me now! Are you ** serious? Let me send you the bounce fees charged to my account, the NFS charges when I tried to pay bills due - Why? Because there was no ** money in my account to pay them! And the great feeling I got at check out tonight when my card was denied! No Christmas this year! Thanks for nothing!
Reviewed Dec. 22, 2012
I lost my home due to a foreclosure and had to use every dime I had to get a place for me and my family to live. I had to cancel my DirecTV but first asked them if they would move to my place. They told me it would cost $260. I told them I didn't have the money so please cancel. They then told me there would be a cancellation fee and I asked if I could make payments, and they agreed. Last Monday, they took $407.32 out of my checking account without my consent with my debit card number that I used to make payments to them. They kept the number even after I had cancelled the service. The money that they took out was the money that my father had sent to get my children and grandchildren Christmas gifts. I called them and talked to 2 different people and was on hold for over 50 minutes, and they then hung up on me. Is there anything that can be done about this matter? Can I get my money back so I can get my children and grandchildren some Christmas gifts?
Reviewed Dec. 21, 2012
To begin, I'll state I wish there was a star rating for "Not Bothered, but I would not recommend DirecTV to others." My service with DirecTV began in April 2011. I was sent (1) HD-DVR H23-700 and (3) HD H21 receivers. I own my own home and the only thing I use credit for is my mortgage. From April 2011 until July 2012, I have rented out two rooms of my home and had since paid Solid Signal to provide me with two HD-DVR HR24 (I had sent back each HD H21). So my new setup was a total of three HD DVRs with 3D compatibility for each of my 3D televisions. My renters pay upwards of $800 each so, of course, they will get 3D TVs to use.
Anyway, I no longer rent because I wanted my home to myself and my mate. We don't watch a lot of TV and decided to cancel early. I found out DirecTV had been renewing my contract each time I would make the slightest alteration to my equipment. Mind you, this is equipment I would purchase from a third party reseller and then I found out the equipment was still not mine to resell on eBay. Good lord, did I want to jump up and stick someone in the neck with a fork?! So now DirecTV wants $360 for early termination and wants all the equipment back even though I paid upwards of $400 for the upgrades out of my own pocket. I said, "I do not agree." They said, "We do not care." So I used my card (the one with the 16 digits to pay DirecTV) to chip away ice from my driver side mirror tonight and wouldn't you know it? I lost my card on the interstate and called the bank to report it lost. Oh horrors!
Like I said, I own my own home. I don't need stellar credit. I have all I need and pay cash for what I want. If I need credit, my mate will step up. I don't want DirecTV any longer, especially when they are running such a sneaky racket. You can try to get that fee from me, DirecTV. You can try all you like. You'll never get it.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2012
I called four weeks in advance to schedule a time to get a DVR system installed. They were pushy about getting an HD DVR. But after several minutes, I was able to just order a DVR. I was told that it would be installed on December 20th between 1PM-4PM. No problem. On the morning of the 20th, I received a call from the technician that he would be at my home at 3:00PM. Again, no problem. However, things went from bad to worse when he called me a few hours later and said he would not be at my house before 6:00PM. Big problem. I took a vacation day to be at home. I called the supervisor and magically, the tech showed up around 1:45PM. I was then told that the original installation of my dish was incorrect (11 years old at this point) and he would not install the DVR. He told me I needed to make a new appointment to have the dish reinstalled so the DVR line could be run properly. So bottom line – four-week wait, vacation day wasted and no DVR at the end of the day.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2012
On September 14th, an outside company representing DirecTV was offering to their loyal customers a trial for free movie premium channels & the NFL Sunday Ticket for only $5 more than what we were paying monthly. Normally, I am very suspicious of these things, as there is always a catch. There was. If at the end of the trial period, you don't call to cancel, you will be automatically billed the value of the package. At that, I declined. However, the rep informed me that if we called DirecTV on or before December 14th, we could cancel and our rate would go back to what it was prior to the trial. We wrote the date down on the calendar, with every intention of cancelling at that time, and accepted this trial.
When we received our bill in October, my wife discovered that our bill was substantially higher than what we expected, so she called up DirecTV and cancelled the trial. What they did was cancel the movie channels and continued to bill us for the NFL Sunday ticket to the tune of $49.99/month. When we discovered this, we called DirecTV to credit our account on the erroneous charges. They informed me that this was what we agreed to based on the notes from the outside company, and that if we tried to cancel, we would be hit with a $300 cancellation penalty.
I've got to think we are not alone. We now have to go through the process of writing a letter and mailing it (yes, mail with a stamp) to the DirecTV Dispute Resolution Center in CO. They will get back to us in 14-21 days after they reviewed the case. I'm not sure if anyone else has mentioned this scam. Either that, or they haven't noticed it yet and DirecTV is reaping the benefits of these charges. I think it is very unfair that if I dispute the charges and refuse to pay, they can attack my credit rating. But if I send them a bill for all of my time they wasted disputing this issue with multiple phone calls and now a letter, and they don't pay, nothing happens. I work for a big company, and I would never treat our loyal customers in this way. I'm just throwing it out there.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2012
I moved to Richmond Hill, Georgia a week ago and the house I moved to already have a DirecTV satellite installed. I called to get their service before doing my homework. Once I found out about the poor reception during storms, I called to cancel the service before it was installed. It took me 5 minutes to order the service online. It took six transferred calls, one hung up on me, and one hour later, I finally was able to drag a cancellation number out of them. They were very pushy, ignored my repeated requests to cancel, while aggressively trying to sell their service. Thank God, I will not be one of their customers. I can only imagine the hassle it is to get anything done. If I could give them zero stars, I would. Very poor service for a would-be customer.
Reviewed Dec. 20, 2012
For over a month, I've been experiencing technical problems with the DVR. Every time I press for playback, it freezes. Sometimes, it skips. I just blamed the weather. So one day, it was a bit irritating so I gave DirecTV a call and was tutored on checking the signals since the CSR said "Oh, maybe there's a leaf on the dish." After seeing that my signal wasn't the problem, he set up an appointment to send a tech guy out. The day they were scheduled to come, they never showed up.
They came the following week which I didn't schedule. The tech said, "Since the signal is strong, you might need a new receiver." But he didn't have the receiver that I had which he claimed was a "newer" version. After he tried to get me to downgrade, he finally said, "Oh, I have one in the truck but it's used." At this point of hearing his speech on downgrading and hearing him make calls to other techs to see if they had the receivers, I finally said, "I'll take the used receiver." At this point, I wanted him gone which by the way he used my bathroom and was on my couch as if he were home.
He finally connected it, only to call DirecTV and tell me, "Since you have a past due balance, we can't connect it." Mind you, they were a week late and I'm not getting the service that was agreed upon. They want me to pay full price for half service! After the man said whatever in his native tongue, he left but connected back the half ** box. I called DirecTV back and a lady assured me that because they missed the actual appointment, they would send someone back and bypass it.
Surprise, surprise! No one showed up, no one called, nada! A few weeks later, the problem was still occurring so I called again. Mind you, the balance was paid. The account is up to date and no tech has come to switch receivers. They now tell me "We can't send a tech out because of a past due balance" which by the way is a week late because no one has sent a tech to fix the problem, and why pay full price for messed up service?! After speaking to the machine for ten minutes because no actual human picked up, I got a really sarcastic CSR who was supposed to be the supervisor tell me "it's a policy to not send out Tech Support for a past due balance."
Cablevision, Dish and even Time Warner would never say something like that because at the end of the day, I'm a customer; I have been for a couple years and always pay my bill when the service is running like it's supposed to. I will not pay for half ** customer service or for a service which is not working properly.. If you couldn't talk on your cell phone, would you pay the bill? What type of company is this? Come fix your equipment and then you get your money which I have no problem paying, but I'm leaving this horrible company and going back to Cablevision. For what I pay for one box at DirecTV, I could have cable, phone and Internet with Cablevision, Time Warner and Verizon. DirecTV is awful, the most disgusting company, period!
Reviewed Dec. 19, 2012
I, too, was duped by DirectTV! They told me my second year would go up $20 and it went up over $40. I had names of the reps. I talked to and dates; they didn't care. No service if it is so much as spit rain outside. My two-year contract up, I asked them if I could upgrade to the Genie (four program taping capability) and was told it'd cost me $299. No thank you, I cancelled my service. They finally sent me boxes for only three of the four receivers to be returned a week and a half later (as all these boxes are taking up a lot of space). The fourth receiver would have fit in with one of the others, but when I called they told me no, they'd generate and send out another box.
A week and a half later, they received the other three, but for some reason, apparently to remain un-clarified, the fourth receiver box was never generated. When asked if they could expedite this box more promptly, I was told she'd have to talk to her supervisor. When I asked if there was somewhere I could take it and drop it off, I was told yes, but it would cost me to take it to the Post Office if I did. Now, they have to have all of the boxes to total out my account for which they owe me $13.60, as long as I don't have any unpaid PayPerView movies on my cards. Well the box I still have didn't have Payperview capability. I haven't ordered any Payperview in over a year, after they offered me a special price if we ordered three movies in the month of Dec. 2011. Afterwards when I didn't get the offer on my bill (billings are two months behind), I had to go back and prove that they had that offer in the first place.
Then I was told one of my movies wasn't Payperview; it was called something else. Bah, What? They did give me a $10 credit on my bill after I complained profusely! We never ordered another movie and my bill reflected me paying for the ones I did. So if they try to charge me for additional movies, I will rain fury upon them. They are keeping my account with AT&T from being totaled out, therefore causing me to be late on my final bill to them. This company has crappy customer relations and apparently doesn't care if you use them or not in the future. We thought Dish was bad, but Direct is far worse!
Reviewed Dec. 16, 2012
I already pay $12 per month extra for premium sports, but DirecTV hasn't agreed to terms with the Pac-12. I live in Cali, so I don't get my local games. I'm giving it about one more week then I'm dropping this lame ** company for good. DirecTV sucks. Don't sign up.
Reviewed Dec. 15, 2012
I have had significant difficulty in paying my DirecTV bill online, and this has been going on for the past 9 months. During this period of time, I have tried to set up automatic billing through direct debit with my Visa debit card and later directly from my checking account and was thwarted at every attempt. This led to my payments not being made on time. The last few times (3 monthly billing cycles), when I entered my information to pay my bill, I received the following message on my screen: “We’re undergoing regular system maintenance, so your payment was not processed. Please try again after 6 a.m. We apologize for the inconvenience. Error Code: 3597" This message came up regardless what time of day I was on their website! This is resulting in my looking up and using their telephone payment service at 1-800-531-5000. I am frustrated to the max with this messed-up and unresponsive DirecTV website!
Reviewed Dec. 15, 2012
We had DirecTV for over 16 years. A few months ago, we changed and sent in our equipment. We then got an invoice for $52.93 for pay-per-view charges from over 10 years ago. They said they were in the equipment we sent back and had never been charged because there was no phone hookup. You can't order a pay-per-view program without a phone hookup, so it's amazing these 10-year-old charges showed up now that we are cancelling our service. I refused to pay because I absolutely do not believe they are anything we ordered. They have now sent me to a collection agency that is calling. I can easily pay the $52.93, but it's the principle of the thing. How much collection agency money are they going to spend and how much bad will are they willing to get over this small bill? They are now threatening my credit rating with this very small bill. Since this happened, I have had several other friends tell me the same story. If this is the thanks you get for 16 years of service, why would anyone use them? Take my advice - look somewhere else for your television needs.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2012
On two separate occasions, we have attempted to get DirecTV to come to our home for service. One was for an upgrade when we had the service. They told us on eight different days they would be there, but they never showed up or called to upgrade our service. We finally switched to Dish. So now after being with Dish for a couple of years, we have decided to try DirecTV again. We call and arrange for them to be at our house. We waited a few hours and needed to run an errand and called to give them a cell number so we would be sure to be there. Guess what? They are not going to be there for another week. They were not going to bother to call or show up again! This company has terrible, terrible customer service. I can't believe there is anybody with this service, because they are never where they say they will be.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2012
Sales guy was extremely dishonest. I bought DIRECTV with a move planned about 4 months out (getting married) and was told, "You'd be eligible for a free move if you are a customer in good standing.” I asked if he could indicate that in my account. I was told that was done. Four months later, not eligible and no such opportunity available. Is it indicated in my account as I was told? Nope, and not a soul willing to return the call or address the issue at DIRECTV. I have spent total of 40 minutes waiting on hold for supervisor - still nothing. I was told I would get a callback from supervisor - nothing.
Reviewed Dec. 14, 2012
Three months in and here is what has happened. After a month of no internet service, I spent two hours on the phone with these people. They entered the order incorrectly. Did they offer to help? No. I went to Comcast and had internet in 2 days. Every single morning, the system has to search for software because the installation tech screwed up the setup. Then two days ago, our receiver died. They will not let us out of our contract. They are liars and thieves. I will take a rubber mallet and smash their useless crap when I hand it back to them. I hate DirecTV.
Reviewed Dec. 13, 2012
Unauthorized deduction from my bank account: Since August, using their so-called Movers Advantage Program, these crooks have overcharged and not returned any refund they have promised. In August I was charged $192! Now in November, DirecTV took out $312. I have filed a complaint with the Attorney General's office in Florida. I was promised to have a refund on the 10th of December and to this day have seen nothing. I had a supervisor offer me free showtime. Shove your showtime and get that refund as you said you would. They are misleading and basically liars. When will this stop? I advise everyone to not allow them to have access to your bank account. You will get the DirecTV screw job if you do.
DIRECTV Company Information
- Company Name:
- DIRECTV
- Company Type:
- Public
- Ticker Symbol:
- DTV
- Address:
- 2230 East Imperial Highway
- City:
- El Segundo
- State/Province:
- CA
- Postal Code:
- 90245
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.directvbundles.com