DIRECTV Reviews

The bottom line is, I should not have switched carriers. It is now July 2010 and I still have not received my rebate. This has been a headache and is not worth the trouble! DirecTV’s customer service is terrible. It is difficult to communicate with a person and when you get them, they have no idea what their company promised. I am very unhappy with the whole process and am counting down the months until I can cancel their service. I would rate this as a very unpleasant experience. I am still waiting for $185 cancellation reimbursement and have spent a lot of time filing for rebates and trying to get customer service.

1. Taking away XM radio stations especially CinemaMagic without any notice or explanation to customers and replacing it with a distant relevant music replacement. Monthly bill should go down for lesser quality programming.

2. When upgrading to HD in February for Superbowl DirecTV should have explained that even though I am upgrading my service to HD, the superbowl will not be in HD because of local programming. This was never mentioned to me and I find it criminal.

3. The length of time to change channels with the inferior hardware provided by DirecTV should be noted prior to signing up for HD. it is 8 times longer to change a channel with my new set up than it is with the standard programming. It is obvious the technology for HD is not ready for consumption yet and DirecTV should make this aware to long time customers such as myself.

4. I sign up for NFL package annually. DirecTV slipped in a Pass package on it last year without me knowing it. I don't use this and they wouldn't take it off my monthly bill. This is criminal. All fees ad up.

A long time customer of 12 years, I should be given more respect and VIP courtesy and not railroaded with inferior support, hardware, programming and hidden fees (with no notification). DirecTV owes an apology a refund on misc hidden fees added in for no reason and free service for the bull I have put up within the last 5 months. This ordeal has made me look into other options such as dish and internet programming.

I wanted to cancel my subscription but they say I would be charged $480 because I signed for 24 month contract. I did not sign for a 24-month contract. I want to get rid of DTV, but cannot afford another hit to my credit report. They are ruthless and don't care about their service. I had two technicians come to my house (The first one very nice and could not find problem as the TV was cold and it turned on, the second set (2 guys) came out on Sunday afternoon and were drinking.) It took them 17 minutes to hook up and not find the problem. I finally put the receiver up on "Pickle Mason" jars and it hasn't gotten hot again. I was out of service many days with it going off and on, off and on. I requested a new receiver today and they put me on hold for 49 minutes and then disconnected the phone. All I want is what I pay for.

I am sick and tired of being run over and charged for not having service. They told me they would have to charge me for another receiver. I have original paperwork wherein I only signed for 12 months. They don't care.

By February of 2010, our bill increased to $153.29. It was at that point I terminated their service and went to U-verse. DirecTV told me the early termination fee despite the fact that they did not live up to their contractual obligations to me, would be $220 which was $20 per month from March of 2010 to February of 2011, which would have been the end of my 24-month commitment. Instead, they charged me $320 plus an additional $26.58, which I have no idea what that represents for an early cancellation fee. This company is a despicable group of thieves who prey on consumers with false representations. In order to start service, you are required to give them a credit/debit card which is solely for the purpose of robbing you money when you got fed up with their lies and misrepresentations, and are forced to terminate their service before 24 months to stop the hemorrhage of money you are paying for satellite TV service.

For the next three months, the bill always went up and I had to wait for hours on the phone. A few weeks later, I wanted to watch TNT and was not sure if I get it so I called DirecTV. The automated service informs me that I have not paid a bill for months! I now owe $90 plus late fees. I spoke to the agent and he had the wrong address. I asked how that’s possible since they have sent me bills in the past. He said that it is my problem and that I should know when to send them the money and that they are not going to remove the late fees. If I had a ladder, I would have ripped the dish off the roof. I said that I had enough abuse and want to terminate.

Another person took over and apologizes for the other. She insisted that I would not have to pay any late fees since it’s their fault. However, when the bill came there were so many fees. I just paid it so I could have peace. The next day, I turned on my TV and it does not work. I called DirecTV and they apologized and stated that there is a transmission problem. There would be no fee for the repair. Well, a man came and told me that the dish on my roof is defective in less than 6 months. He replaced it and I got a bill from DirecTV. I tried over and over again to speak to them but they put me on hold for hours, I need it out.

I should be charged $15 per month, and not $20. I called Direct TV twice and each time the same scenario happened--I was told to wait while their computer was pulling up the agreement. This took 10-15 minutes, and they were still unable to pull it up. Both times, supervisors were unavailable. I am going to have to cancel the credit card on file because they are automatically going to charge my card $160, instead of $120. I will also have to contact someone when they send me to collections for not paying on the account.

Receiving our next bill, DirecTV reversed the credit and stated we owed approximately $128. When I contacted DirecTV again on June 24, 2010, the representative said he was sorry that the credit was reversed and they could only give us a credit of approximately $35 but was not able to honor the $97. The representative also stated we must have manually overrode the system to active our service again. I told him our account was paid in full with the credit and that is why the service was turned back on.

We received an email from DirecTV on June 25, 2010 dated June 24, 2010: "This email is to notify you that your DirecTV service has been disconnected effective 6/25/2010. At this time, your account balance is $533.17. We will also be sending you a bill in the mail. Note that customers under a service agreement who terminate their service before the commitment period ends, and customers required to return their receiving equipment to us may see additional charges after this bill."

Transactions taken place since June 24, 2010 after contacting DirecTV were: June 25, 2010, emailed received from DirecTV (email above); June 30, 2010, DirecTV posted $32.05 (pending) to our Chase bank account; June 30, 2010, DirecTV posted $640.54 (pending) to our Chase bank account; June 30, 2010, received box and mailing label from DirecTV for returning equipment.

On July 1, 2010, I contacted Chase Bank several times and several different departments (branch manager, claims department and a Chase representative). I told them we did not authorize the DirecTV charges and informed them of the email and DirecTV contract that states we have 21 days to return the equipment. We were told the two pending transactions would need to process completely before we could dispute any charges. And we were also told because we made the DirecTV payment in April with a Visa debit card enabled DirecTV to access our account without our authorization.

On July 1, 2010, I contacted DirecTV regarding charges and was told they would reverse all charges except the $128 plus monthly fee. I also shipped all DirecTV equipment back (in box with their mailing label provided). On July 2, 2010, Chase account debited $ 32.05 and $640.54. I contacted Chase Bank to dispute charges. While on hold with claims department, she contacted DirecTV. Chase claims the representative told us DirecTV had every right to debit our account and Chase would not reverse the debit charges made by DirecTV in the amount of $672.59.

As of July 2, 2010, we have not received a final billing statement from DirecTV stating any charges nor were we given the time to return all equipment prior to DirecTV withdrawing money from Chase account.

At this point, we have already cancelled our previous service and removed all of the equipment and cables. There is no turning back without incurring more expense. I have spoken at great length to DirecTV and they have since adjusted their end of the bill by reducing it by $5. We are still out of $17.79 a month over the next two years. This cannot possibly be legal. It feels like bait and switch. Is there any recourse whatsoever? I have written down every conversation starting with the initial phone call to include the date, who I spoke with, what was agreed upon and the outcome. They are not willing to do anything more to meet their original quote.

We cancelled our existing service, removed all equipment and wires, paid to ship items back, took half a day off to meet with DirecTV install representative, and have spent numerous hours on the phone either being transferred or cut off with no resolution in the end.

When I went to purchase the box, it cost $60 instead of $10. I was also told that I would have to purchase an antenna. I did not purchase the antenna. My wife purchased the antenna for Father's Day. Thus I do not know what it cost. But between the box, antenna, and installation costs, I have negated any savings that I had intended to realize by changing from cable to DirecTV. I was also told that the individual who came to install DirecTV would install the digital converter box. The installer refused to do so.

I am totally dissatisfied with the results from DirecTV and feel that I was lied to and manipulated and if I thought that I could win in court, I would file a suit against Direct TV. I will certainly tell all my friends about how I was manipulated throughout all of this process. Now I try to go online to the rebate center to claim the rebate offered and cannot find the site to enter the information to claim the rebate. Purchasing the digital converter box, antenna and paying to have it installed have eaten away any savings that I had hoped to gain by switching to DirecTV since I have retired. There is also the psychological frustration with the whole process.

I am the one who contracted the service and I never signed anything or agreed to any upgrades. DirecTV informed me that even though I did not agree, I am responsible for this payment. My mother does not remember signing anything and she does remember that the technician told her that everything was free. I purchased the original equipment and the technician took it and left a new box and told my mother it was free. I have been unemployed for almost 2 years and I am not able to continue paying the high charges from DirecTV. Now, I can not possibly pay the $420.00 termination fee. I am going to have to cancel my bank account so no charges are attempted to be posted to my account. Since I do not have enough money to cover DirecTV charges if they post it, it will take my account negative and the bank will charge $35 NSF.

They said I was into the agreement with them and I could do nothing about it. So I kept the service, but due to financial hardship over a year later, I got behind on payments with them. I did not hear from them until I checked my checking account and found that they had withdrawn 492.53 from my checking account without my permission.

I was so shocked; I contacted DirecTV, and not only did I meet with rude employees who left me on hold over 30 minutes a few times, but also refused to do anything to help. They just said that they have the right to do this under the agreement pages that was sent out with the first bill. When I stated that I was set up for online billing, and never received a paper statement, they then said that on the statement page in big bold lettering it states that they can take this money per agreement. I made a copy of an online statement and nowhere on the screen does it state that. They had charged me $196 for the equipment before even giving me a chance to return it to them.

They charged me before the boxes came from FedEx. Where on the statement it does state: "equipment must be returned or I could be charged 45 to 480 for equipment"? Nowhere did it state that they charge you for the equipment first, then they refund you back after they receive the equipment. I did not know that they had such misleading practices, and that they do not fully disclose this information upfront at time of accepting service, and that they stick to company agreement when you question their practice, stating it is our fault we did not read the entire website or paperwork sent.

I cannot understand how the government can allow a company to abuse the consumer without taking action to prevent such things from happening. Even if they did have a right to debit amount, they never attempted to contact the consumer informing us as to the amount or the withdrawal date they plan to withdraw the charges.

On June 26, we had three conference calls during which DirecTV confirmed they had all the equipment. On June 29, Nationwide called again; we had another conference call with DirecTV who indicated that the DVR was not returned. All agreed that lawyer was necessary. I have names of everyone we have spoken with since April, times we called, and discussion on the phone. Claim had been filed against my credit rating which prevents us from being able to access credit.

Because we live in Canada, the cost of the phone calls on our cell and home phones to attempt to resolve the issue have been extremely high (currently calculating the amount). Time for conference calls has been extreme--each call to DirecTV has taken at least 1 hour, the conference call on June 14 took 3 hours, and conference calls on June 28 took 6.5 hours. Conference call this morning took 1.5 hour.

Nationwide will continue to call me daily until this is resolved. This has moved into harassment with no end in sight. This must violate a consumer protection law, given our consistent attempts to resolve the issue. And the agreement that all equipment had been returned and yet no action has been taken has created a catch-22 which has affected our jobs (I am a university professor and my husband is a researcher.), our income, and our ability to get credit.

Yesterday, I received a bill from DirecTV in the amount of $67.83. Six people I spoke to said that was the amount I had to pay per month as I had not claimed my rebate(s). No one mentioned any rebate when I called to have the installment done, no one until this bill for $67.83 arrived. The first billing was correct. That was promptly mailed, which was received and I have my cancelled check. I believe this is fraud via mail. It is certainly a scam.

If you aren't able to help me in this matter, where else can I take this problem? I am on Soc. Sec., 72 years old.That is my only income. I knew I would be able to pay the $34.99 on my income, by cutting back in another way but it is difficult to pay a bill that is double than what was promised and advertised .Do I need to get an attorney? I don't intend to play DirecTV's game.

Let alone that they send people to your house and not tell them that there is a 2 year contract and all they have done to shut me up and not make a big deal is give us free movie channels and discounts, which I can care less for all I ask them is to fix the service for my parent's rooms, which they obviously don't seem to care. I get aggravated and upset because they have no work ethic or the proper customer service skills to deal with customers. My parents speak Spanish and so I call for the account holder, which is my dad. They have no compassion or any emotional engagement with the customer. The economical damage is the charges for every little thing that you call and complaint about and getting aggravated. My blood pressure sky high because they aren't willing to work with the customer.

I called DirecTV to be told that on May 25, 2010 the payment was refunded to my card because I was not the cardholder. It was the only card I had used to pay on my account for several months. It was a prepaid MasterCard, but, nonetheless, I had been using this card to pay on my DirecTV account since 2009 and have the payment history in my card account statement to prove it. I called my card company and reviewed my statement and transaction history with them. No such credit or refund had been issued.

Then, I called DirecTV to question the 5/27/10 bill and that's when I was first informed that the refund was issued because I was not the cardholder. Again, I informed DirecTV that I am the cardholder and no funds were ever credited back to my card account. I was told to fax my card statement to DirecTV which I did on June 2.

I have yet to hear back from DirecTV in any form and my funds are still missing from my account. I am already researching cable and Dish Network. I plan to terminate my services with DirecTV.

My debit card was charged $21.72 for service used on May 24, even though the service was already canceled. They also charged $84.89 for the first month and also $362.01 on June 23, causing unbalance on my account and a payment of $34 for overdraft fee to my checking account. I did not authorized all these charges to my account but a one payment of $84.89. Since they are not complying with the contract of a triple play service, they automatically broke the contract. So I don't think they have the right to charge us a termination fee.

The amount of the charges came to $62.93. I was treated very rudely, like a common criminal by Allied employees and DirecTV when I wanted to dispute the charges for something dating back that far. I do not feel it was necessary to send the bill directly to a collection agency and never give me the opportunity to discuss without being harassed.

I pay rental for a piece of equipment that doesn't work properly; not to mention, the inconvenience. What's the sense in having a DVR, if it keeps resetting and messing up what you're recording? Also 2 weeks ago, I referred a friend of mine to DirecTV and gave her my account number to take advantage of the ad on TV where we would each receive $100. We were both told it wasn't done correctly; therefore, neither of us would receive the discount.

I have told DirecTV adamantly that I do not want their services and to send me a final bill. Now DirecTV is using the collection agency threat to get me to pay them. I have continuously tried to get a final bill and it just has not happened. I am in a wheelchair and already have enough problems. I have asked DirecTV for a final bill to the point that I tell them I will not sit on the phone no more and they will do it my way or they won’t get paid. To start my day off like this is stressing me out to the point of ignorant thoughts. I have told them numerous times, “Send me a final bill and I will pay it.” DirecTV just keeps trying to reinstate my services and to pay the bill every morning. If something can be done, let me know. If it’s at my cost, forget it, I am poor.

Also, I have been told to clean the satellite dish, to go clean it when it is below zero outside in the winter time. It is situated on the second floor. They told me it is not their problem that the dish does not work when it rains or snows or whatever. Today, June 26,2010, it has been off since 5:00AM until present. It is now 8:07AM. I called, the answering service only takes calls between 10:00AM and 7:00PM to talk to a live person, then that takes over 15 minutes to get through plus more. This happens at least once or twice a day that I lose satellite showing damage. I am elderly, handicapped and I feel they are taking advantage of this fact. I pay faithfully each month, have never been late and although they have given me $5.00 credit for three months previously within the last 6/7 years.

It has caused me anger, anxiety, worry and committed to paying the bill when I only receive half the service. I cannot see or hear the warning on the weather channel in case of tornado, fire, in case of emergency. I do not want to pay this bill till the problem is corrected.

When I called DirecTV on behalf of my parents, I was told that DirecTV's policy is to automatically reinstate suspended accounts after 6 months without advising the customer. According to DirecTV, it is the customer's responsibility to contact this company and ask for an additional 6-month suspension. The representative I spoke with could not advise me where this policy appears in writing to the customer and supposedly when accounts are suspended, DirecTV personnel advise customers of this policy.

The other thing I find interesting about this policy is that throughout the summer, both my brother and I were at the cabin. At no time during the summer was there ever TV service of any kind despite DirecTV's claim that the service was automatically reactivated. In addition, if there was service and monthly charges were accumulating, no one received an invoice.

In addition, my parents experienced some financial issues last year which was also given as a reason why the account would not be immediately reactivated. This is understandable, however, when I asked for the service to be placed in my name. I was told that an equipment order was necessary despite the fact that the equipment already exists and just requires activation.

I talked with three people from DirecTV, and none were willing to deal immediately with this issue. Instead, there was going to be a 3-5 day delay while paperwork referencing the financial issues was received. It seemed to be more important to DirecTV to quote policy as opposed to positively resolving the problem.

After I hung up from Direct TV, I immediately called Dish Network; and they will be installing new service at the Michigan location tomorrow.

I want my money back! Every dime I have paid since march. There hasn't been one day where my family could watch the "hundreds" of channels we were paying for and half the time, even the local channels were searching for signal. After much arguing and being transferred to four or five different departments they offered to refund me $12.80. I have filed a complaint with the BBB.

What can I do to get my money back? A tech suggested that we trim some branches and one fell on our neighbor's gazebo. $200 in damages and we were still unable to get a signal.

"Hello, I just became a new customer after switching from Dish Network. This is my first time with DTV. I liked the fact that it has 1080p broadcasting and NFL. I mentioned that I had 3 HDTVs (2 in 1080p and 1 in 1080i). I told the lady on the phone that I had 2 TVs with one Dual DVR. I was told that I would need 3 DVRs if I wanted to record in 3 TVs, at no time I was informed of the WHDVR Service. I found out in the internet just yesterday, so I called today and now I would have to pay almost $200 for it."

“I will like to ask if you can help me or if you would be kind then, to direct my information to someone that can. I did not know about it, so how could I have enquirer about it?”

Also, the day of installation, I said to installer, "too bad, I can’t watch my DVR in another room." He then express, I can move the DVR if I wanted to watch it in another room. Once again, they did not mention about this incredible service. I want to say, “I would have asked for it if I knew about it. Way to start."

Response email from Support Site and Customer Service after they were still trying to sell it:

"Thanks for writing and activating DIRECTV service. We're glad to be of service to you. I understand how important it is for you to have Whole-Home DVR Service.”

“Please know that the Whole-Home DVR is a new service that DIRECTV just recently launched. At the time your order was placed, this service may have still been in the Beta stage or hasn't been launched and was being tested in some areas. As you already know, DIRECTV Whole Home DVR Service gives you the power to share all of your recorded programs with any TV in your house. You can also...” blah, blah, blah...

This is a user to user tech support forum, so unfortunately there's nothing anyone here can do and no one we can pass your message on to. You'll have to work directly with DirecTV.

When I cancelled service, I sent the two non-DVRs that I had leased from DirecTV back to the company. However, a couple of months later I received a bill for $600 saying that the units that I purchased from Best Buy were still their property. I did not sign anything agreeing to that when I purchased the units. And I certainly would not have agreed to buying something that was going to be claimed in the future. I will not send back property to them that I purchased. I was also told, when I called to tell them that I would not send back equipment that I purchased, that they "wouldn't even be asking for these back, but this is the better technology and they are too new to just let go." They have billed me $600 for property that is mine and have threatened me with collections and my credit rating.

I just happened to call the bank to verify my account balance and see if some other checks that wrote earlier in the week had cleared and found out that my bank balance was way negative because DirecTV decided to charge my bank account $500 the day before! Needless to say I was more than just a little upset. I tried to call them and straighten it out but I got nowhere. The rep just kept telling me that they had the right to pull money out of my account anytime that they wanted to in order to make sure that everything that I owed them was paid.

Since I had just canceled my services, they had to charge this amount. I asked about a last bill and the rep told me that I would get it in the next month. I asked him if he could tell me about the charges and he told me that I could see for myself when I received the last bill. Well that wasn't going to work for me. They had taken everything I had left and then some. When the holiday was over, I immediately went to my bank and told them that DirecTV had taken funds out of my account without my authorization.

The teller told me that they would put the funds back and they would investigate it but if they had a leg to stand on, that the funds would come right back out. They advised that I not make any purchases until the matter was resolved. I asked how long that would take and she assured me that they would have an answer in just a couple of days. Well a couple of days later, I got the answer I was hoping for. They had indeed taken the funds without my authorization. The funds were returned to me less the bank fees that it cost.

A couple of months later, I was trying to buy a house and found that they were on my credit report. I fought to get them off my credit report but won. Now I'm being harassed with collection notices again saying that I owe more than before. I don't understand how this could be and why they are continuing this. Have they not figured out that they have no "leg to stand on"? I have already fought them in two areas and won. They cost me fines and costs at my bank, and they have cost me a lot of time. This went on for over 3 years now and just keeps going.

I took off work at 11:30 am to meet the tech. At 2:30pm somebody from Direct TV called and said the tech was running late, and would be there around 3:30pm. At 3:45 somebody from Direct TV called again and said the tech was running late, and should be there by 4:00pm. I waited at my house until 6:00pm. Nobody else ever called. The installer never showed. I called Direct TV back at approximately 7:45pm and spoke with Amanda (employee # **) in the Georgia office. She transferred my call to equipment. I stayed on hold for 25 minutes listening to their stupid music. All of a sudden the connection died.

I called back and spoke with Jason in the Oklahoma office. I asked to speak to a supervisor. I spoke with Shannon. She was unable to make retribution to my satisfaction. I asked to speak with her manager. I talked to Matthew, and he said that I could call the tech. He gave me his telephone #. Why, tell me, does the customers of Direct TV need to be inconvenienced by their customer service, supervisors, or managers? I lost 6 hours of work with no pay and still didn't get the installation done, and to mention also the time spent on the phone talking with Direct TV. They’re pathetic. I should have stayed with cable. I called the tech at the telephone # given to me by Direct TV. He acted like an idiot, incomprehensive as to what I was talking about, and hung up the phone on me.

I called DirecTV, who refused to do anything about it. As a matter of fact, the DirecTV representative put my call on hold and left me there for quite some time and then came on the line only to put me back on hold and transferred my call to AT&T that was already closed. I will be calling AT&T and DirecTV tomorrow to cancel my services. These companies are dishonest and thieves taking advantage of the consumers.

Once again, they said that they had no idea why this problem has not been corrected they could see we had called. I expected my May bill to have a credit of somewhere in the area of $142.00; instead, the bill was for $24.00. It included $99.00 which was not paid from the month before and $73.00 for the current month (not $34.99).

I called and told them I could not put up with this any longer. I'm getting a stomach ache just by typing this letter. I told them to keep my $142.00 just to shut it off. DirecTV had violated this agreement for four months in a row. DirecTV could not straight out the bill in four months but they shut me off in two days. I received the box for receivers and sent them the same day. I received a bill for $343.58. I called and told them I was not going to pay the bill because they owed me money and they broke the agreement. DirecTV then charged $343.58 to my credit card. I have fraud paper work coming from my Visa.

I was promised a full year of extra choice and 6 months of free Starz and Showtime for the sum of $54.88, I believe, and some change plus tax. I was told there would be a one-time fee of $97 which was in February or March. I have the bill and receipt for when they called me back anyhow that my bill would by no means be over the amount of $60. Well, every bill after the $97 has been back up to the $90s again, $77 at one time. The bill keeps changing on me and the promises made by these guys have fallen through many times.

I called the Better Business Bureau and 7 on their side; they are looking into the incidents and will get back with me as soon as they can. Well, that could take a while, and I really would rather straighten this out professionally instead of going through the stress and deceit DirecTV has put me through the last year and a half. As I stated earlier, I am handicapped and on a fixed income. For the first 2 weeks of my service, I didn’t have any channels, or a box to watch my TV with, and was charged for it. I was charged full price the first full year instead of the company following their ad of 90% off. The so-called supervisors I spoke with were very unprofessional and were very rude to me.

Listening to the recordings will let you see the revelation that is corrupting the inner customer relations that people are seeking, by being utterly rude or hanging up on them, which happened to me 3 times already. As I said, listen to the recordings and see how I was treated. I would like a VP or District Manager to call me back please, this has gone way too far and I am about to take legal action for discrimination and scamming money from an elderly handicapped person with Multiple Sclerosis. TV is the only entertainment for me, and I find it really saddening to see such a big corporation having incompetent personnel working for them. Call me anytime between 12 pm and 8 pm.

The sales rep I spoke to said that it is not their responsibility to tell us that our contract would extend another 2 years if we upgrade, it was Best Buy's responsibility. I told them Best Buy never said anything and there is no mention on the receipt we have from Best Buy of the contract extending another 2 years.

The service rep then told us this is why they don't use Best Buy anymore for this. So since they know this has happened before, you would think DirecTV would waive the fee. Not! They said it is also listed in the agreement, not the contract, that they can do this. The service rep said that it was a "Verbal Agreement" and they did not have to put it in writing. I still could not find it when I looked it up on the website as per the sales rep. I also asked about when they would pick up the large satellite on my fence. He claimed it is ours to keep and do what we want with it. He said this is listed in the agreement and I cannot find that either. I asked for a letter confirming this fact and he said he could not send one, I can find it listed in the agreement.

What I have been reading on the internet, it seems like we are not the only ones they are pulling this on. The economic damage is that we have to pay DirecTV a fee of $100.00 to cancel our service even though our contract has been up for the last 8 months.

Well, I've already been on the phone for 45 minutes or so and the NBA Finals already started, I was anxious to get this over with. I figured I have time to research DirecTV's terms. Glad I did. I found this site and called them after the game to find out that the rebate (assuming you went through the process) expires after one year, then after that year is up, your prices will go up to default whatever that is. No mention of this when I set up the service.

I wonder why. Since they were requiring a two-year term, I wanted to cancel everything on the spot which was a huge hassle by the way. I find out that the department I have to talk to will not open until 8 am the next day so I called 8 am the next day. These badly spoken DirecTV reps are the most depressing and monotonous sounding group of idiots I ever spoke to. I had to speak to two different departments. The first department was with the DirecTV service and the second was with Verizon group.

To find out the Verizon group didn't have me on file so they transferred me back to the first group (DirecTV) which got disconnected (second time this happened). So I called back, the rep repeats idiot transcript. I interrupt them by saying, "I really need to get to work. Sorry. I already answered your questions to two other reps why I'm cancelling. Please, all I want to do is cancel your service." So what does she do? She keeps asking me questions. So I interrupted one last time and repeat my concerns. Finally, she responds with my cancellation #. Buyer beware. I will never go through that ever again. Classic case of bait and switch.

Several times after 1 to 2 hours on the phone they hang up on me and I have to start the whole thing all over. Finally, I got to the cancelation department with their supervisor explaining to her how much time I spent on the phone and there was a time I spent hours and hours on the phone on the same day after they hang up on me. Hearing my frustration, she decided to refund me the $160 I paid for a service I didn't have and not to worry about any cancelation fee March 04, 2010. I kept receiving statement from DirecTV showing that they owed me $154.04 for three months in the row and in June of 2010 I returned DirecTV’s phone call to learn that they wanted to charge me $320 cancelation fee.

I couldn't believe it. I started video taping the phone call while on my bluetooth and you cannot believe the changes in the stories between one rep and the other. On June 16, 2010 I spent almost two hours on a video taped recorded call with rep deciding to give me a credit of $160 and take it off from the cancelation fee. I made most rep read the notes from months before where I have it all recorded and still got no where. One notes said a name of a supervisor from the president’s office giving the sum of $160 credit back and no fee for any cancelation.

Long story short, I spent over 30 to 40 hours on the phone, if not more, saying that you guys told me that you owed me money. Now the story changed after the service was finalized, are you guys doing this to me? Got the office of the president where I spent over an hour speaking with someone telling my story and the lies and how frustrated this whole thing been for me to no avail. That office of the president told me that the people who decided to give me the credit (supervisor) had no authority to do so, but they did? What! I couldn't believe it when I told the office of the DIRECTV how I had to spend hours and hours having customer reps hanging the phone up on me multiple times after over an hour phone call long, causing me to have to call back over and over and over. And your cancelation department supervisor authorized the credit on the day service was finalized and now you telling me month and month later that they had no authority to do so?

This guy wanted $320 or else my credit is shot even an hour before a rep told me I will have to only pay $220 and not $320. The office of the president caused more damage on me telling me no one has a permission to give me anything and it was a mistake. It’s all on tape. I cannot believe the lies no regard to me as a person got treated like a 4th class citizen and it’s ok to play with me telling one thing and doing something else. I even recorded the March call with the supervisor at the cancelation department being sorry for the service I got giving the credit and closing the account being owed money. Three months later my blood pressure is to the roof having to witness and experience the lies and the amount of disrespect I received from this whole experience. Please help me. It’s all on tape (video camera).

I have had to take off two days from work going back and forth with their rude customer service and my debit card people. I am doing a repayment plan with my mortgage company to get back on track and this $440.00 has devastated my household. I cannot afford that kind of withdrawal! Please help!

In September 2009, my sons purchased a condominium in Columbia, SC. They had a contract with DirecTV at their townhouse they were renting prior to purchasing the condominium. The unit they purchased is on the third floor and is opposite the DirecTV satellite. Their balcony faces northeast and the satellite is southwest. When we called to cancel the contract, we were told that they could not cancel the contract without incurring a cancellation fee even though satellite access was not available. In September, no one explained to us that we only needed to have a technician come out to the condo and verify service was not accessible. We were told to put the contract "on hold" for six months. I have DirecTV at my house and the agent suggested that we merge the accounts. Since we have had DirecTV for 8 years, he said we could cancel our contract (without a charge) and pick up our son's contract. Because our son was not with me physically when I was talking to him we could not do it at the moment. So we put the contract on hold.

During the middle of May, my son received a phone call on his cell phone indicating he was delinquent with his DirecTV account (300 and some odd dollars). He called me and I told him we would get together and call DirecTV so that we could then merge the two accounts. On May 25, 2010, I called the customer service agent and explained our problem. The first person I spoke to was Steven (435566) the time was approximately 5:00 pm. I was told that I would have to pay the $300 plus charge before I could merge the accounts. I explained to him that the account was reactivated without our knowledge and all I wanted to do was merge the accounts. He could add the 3 months to the end of the contract. He said he could not do this and restated I needed to pay the $300.00 plus charge prior to merging the accounts.

I asked to speak to his supervisor. I was turned over to Jessica (**). After several minutes on hold, Jessica came on line, she had me repeat what I had already told Steven and then she repeated what Steven had told me. She then agreed to reduce some of the delinquent charges. My new late charge was $54.39. At this point, I could pay the 54 + dollars and then merge the accounts. When I started to ask questions about merging the accounts, I found out that I would lose 25 channels in the process and pick up 10 new channels. This was because the service we purchased 8 years prior was no longer available. I also was told I would have to disconnect the receivers we were using and send them back to DirecTV. DirecTV would send me new receivers when we made the change.

None of this made much sense to me. It seemed like a lot of effort to cancel a contract and I just did not want to do it. Jessica could not see my point so I then asked to speak to her supervisor. After another 15 minutes on hold, I spoke to Ryan (I did not get his employee number because I thought we had resolved the issue). Ryan came on line and I said to him that while I was on hold I thought I had come up with a solution to this problem. I would pay the $54.39 by Visa that night. He would send me a box to return the DVR and remote. The boys' contract would be cancelled without any further charges and I would leave my contract with DirecTV alone. I said to him that I did not want to cancel my contract with DirecTV but if this could not be resolved that is exactly what would happen.

The threat of a credit report issue for my son's contract was not that big a deal as his credit has already been shot. I can cancel my contract without any repercussions and it did not make any sense to me that DirecTV would want to lose a long term contract over $300.00. Ryan said he did not want to lose my business. He agreed to let me pay the $54.39 and the boys contract would be cancelled with no additional fees. We would send the equipment back when we received the box to mail it in. He did say that if we did not return the equipment we would be charged for it. I agreed to return the equipment. I was then returned to Steven to give my credit card number to pay the $54. The address was changed to my address ** Leesville, SC in order for me to get the box to mail the equipment back.

To date, I have not received the box to return the equipment. However, during the first week of June, I did receive a bill for $209.08. A $200.00 Early Cancellation fee was added on May 28, 2010. This is three days after I talked to Ryan. On June 14, 2010 (the day after I returned from vacation), I called customer service again. I initiated the phone call at 9:35 pm. My first contact was Alex (**). After explaining this all to her, she kept saying the $200.00 was a legitimate charge. After much conversation, I asked her about just sending someone to the condo to confirm we don't have access and ending all of this. She connected me to a technician. After talking to him, I realized we were actually making application to reconnect the service which is not what we wanted to do. I just wanted someone to look at the condo and confirm unavailable access. Because you are talking to someone unfamiliar with Columbia SC you have to request a work order. Again, this seemed much more complicated than necessary so I stopped the call and called customer service again.

At 10:00 pm I spoke to CJ (**). I once again explained my issue and asked to speak to a supervisor. CJ put me on hold for 38 minutes and no one came on line. I hung up and called customer service again. At 10:48 pm, I talked to Anne (**). I explained to her that I had already been on the phone over an hour and I needed to talk to a supervisor. Of course, she felt she could help me so after a brief explanation she agreed to turn me over to her supervisor (Mina, I did not get her number). Anne did keep me live on line until Mina was available. After going through the explanation again with Mina, she continued to tell me the cancellation fee was legitimate. I continued to tell her that Ryan agreed to not have us pay the fee and that someone in her organization should have the authority to waive the fee and that is who I wanted to talk to. She finally said to me she had that authority but she would not do it. She was highly agitated with me and it was evident in her tone. At this point, it was 11:30 pm and I explained to her I had to be up for work at 6:00 am. I asked that she note the account so that when I returned a call June 15th there would be some record of my call as I was told there was no record of my call on May 25th (one hour and 30 minutes). She told me she would note it.

At this point, the only satisfaction I could get is for this to end without me paying another dime. I am totally in disbelief that a company would want a customer that has loyally paid for 8 consecutive years, by draft, to cancel his service, but that is what this is coming to. All for $209.08, which they are not going to get anyway!

I called and was told it was an early cancellation fee which should not have applied. After about 20 minutes of rudeness, I asked for a supervisor. He (Josh) was absolutely the rudest person I have dealt with. He told me the time started when I called the company and asked for the service...not when it is installed. Another wow! He kept saying, "This is a valid charge and you're going to pay it.” He must have said that at least 6 times. I wasn't told there was going to be a charge when I canceled.

If I were told that, I surely would not have canceled. It wouldn't make sense. Another two weeks went by and I got a call from them telling me the bill was going to collection. I had nowhere else to turn so I paid it. The main reason I canceled was having DirecTV is an added expense and I would be better off paying other bills which are hard enough to pay anyway.

DirecTV company claims that I was sent a welcome letter (I wasn't) that gives information about the rebate, and that my installation contract also has this information (it doesn't). I was told that my first print bill had information about the rebate (it doesn’t, the electronic statement available is different from the print bill received). The installer who most likely can be considered a point of sale representative did not give this information.

I was told by supervisor Richard that DirecTV is unable to give or process rebates after 90 days. As a professor that has taught multiple business courses, and has a background in computer applications, I find impossible to believe that a multinational corporation that uses satellite technology is unable to process rebates after a time period such as this. It is, literally, inconceivable. I understand that they don't wish to pay the rebates. To say that they can't is risible.

I have contacted the Better Business Bureau and will be contacting the Consumer Affairs offices in my county and state and filing complaints with all of the above and all other applicable consumer and governmental organization that investigates fraudulent and unethical business practices. I have begun a mail and flyer campaign in my area telling people of these practices, and urging them to keep these actions in mind when choosing their next television services provider. I can assure you that, in this case, DirecTV's unethical business activities will end up costing the company far more than merely honoring their word to a customer.

I am so upset, and I wish something could be done. Cable is not my priority, and really, I made the change because I needed to save money, not to be robbed. I am so frustrated and don't know what to do.

When they hooked up my service, they hooked up HD TV. I don't remember asking for HD TV. I believe they said you get 60 days free service on HD TV. Anyway, it didn't make sense why they would give me HD TV. Because my TVs don't have it. In May of 2010, I called DirecTV customer service and asked if my contract is up, because I knew it should be up soon. Customer service said. “Oh, you don't have a contract”, then the lady said. “Oh, yes you do, you have another year to go.”

I said, “No, I don't, I filled my 2-year agreement.” She said, “No, when you transferred your service and they hooked up HD TV, we added another year to your contract.” I told her I was never told anything about this. She said, “Well, didn't you sign the contract when he installed your service?”, I said yes. She said, “Well, then you agreed to it.” I got my contract out and saw nothing that says they have the right to up my contract. Also it seems that every time I call customer service, my bill goes up. I was paying $60 a month, now this June, my bill went up $75. This is like a nightmare.

At that time, we would just go on line and choose PPV movies from our website. They have now sent us to collections since we put the amount into dispute with our credit card company and took back the money they had taken. They say we watched these movies in April of 2007. Please help us so this will not go against our credit. We did not watch these movies. They have sent our $47.95 bill to collections. We have spotless credit, and always pay our bills.

Anyway, I thought that the $109 would be deducted from the $180. Nope. They said that they would charge the credit card they had on file. I watched for it to happen, and it never did. I looked online at my DirecTV account and saw that my credit card information was expired. I assumed that they would then just send me the bill to pay. So, when I received the bill in the mail I thought it was my responsibility to send them the payment. I received the bill on 6/5/10, then on 6/8/10, I received notice from my bank that my account was overdrawn. DirecTV debited $180.09 from my account on 6/5/10. What? On my account information online at DirecTV, it states that my credit card information has expired.

Yet, they still managed to debit my account with this information. How is that even possible? I called the balancing department at my bank to find out how they could have done this. It turns out that the only way for them to have sent the debit through was to make up a new expiration date for my card. Isn't that illegal? They made up an expiration date to force debit my account! I am so upset! Now I'm told from my bank that MasterCard requires "me" to settle this with DirecTV. My bank can't do anything about it. This is causing me to have an overdrawn account. Not only am I in the negative, but I was charged a $32 fee. I was not expecting this debit to come out.

For almost 2 years, I've experienced scrambling on my set, messages I can't nor DirecTV can get rid of and some stations that only come on in the winter months because of minimal tree cover. The DirecTV customer service has been awful as well. All I want to do is dump them ASAP with no penalty, but they refused. I told them about all these problems, but they can care less. They don't seem interested in hearing what I have to say. Please help me unload this nightmare.

They told me it was my "responsibility to make the payment in between because it can take up to 30 days." Are they serious? They give away $100.00 to people to get other people in a contract and they refuse to refund a $5.00 late fee! I spoke with a customer service supervisor, and she said, "I'll give you Showtime for one month free, but we have a policy and we do not refund any late fees." The problem was the late fee was DirecTV's fault, not mine. What company needs 30 days to charge a credit card. Sometimes the numbers change, etc. Be careful! I simply was closing one credit card and had opened a new one! Priorities are obviously not well thought out with this company, I look forward to my new service with Dish TV, as soon as my "contract is completed." Beware.

When I asked to speak to a supervisor, he went to put me on hold and must have thought he did because I hear "whatever **!." When the supervisor came on, I told him what his employee just said and the supervisor wasn't even concerned! I had to go through the office of the president before I could even get an apology. I demanded to be let out of my contract and they said no they did give me a $10 discount for 6 months (apparently that's what you get for being swore at). I was told it was an immediate credit and yet of course when I got my next bill, it didn't have the discount. I had to spend another hour on the phone with customer service until they gave me the credit! Worst customer service ever! AT&T U-VERSE is a highly superior product and when I get out of this insane contract, I will never deal with DirecTV again!

As of today, June 8th, DirecTV has not issued the credit and they will not issue credit to Verizon for my account as promised. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

I called DirecTV to cancel my service, which I have had for many years at this point. They informed me that I would be violating my contract and would owe them $360 for an early termination fee. I told them that my contract had expired years earlier. At this point, they let me know that when I had the newer DVR installed for free, my contract had been renewed for 2 years. I told them that I was never informed of this and would never have agreed to do it had I known. They told me that the information was contained in the fine print that the installer provided me when he came to upgrade my DVR. I explained again that that was never disclosed to me, nor would I have agreed to another 2 year contract with them.

I have called them several times since, but have had no resolution. They wouldn't even offer me a payment plan to pay the early termination fee, so I am currently paying them close to $40 a month including taxes (for the lowest plan they had),and keeping my DirecTV service on, even though I have moved out of state, just so I don't have to pay the early termination fee all at once.

I believe that DirecTV lured me into a new DVR for the purpose of extending my contract only, and intentionally omitted telling me of the new contract involved. I have a feeling I'm not the only one this has happened to. I am not a person who is typically suspect of others. All I know, is that they never told me of the contract and now I am forced to pay them for something I have no need for.

I have to call each month and spend up to an hour on the phone with them. Each person I talk to says something inconsistent with the previous person I spoke with. I was once told it was impossible to receive the price I had been told a few weeks earlier. Of course, DirecTV denies any mistakes or wrongdoing on their part. They don't even claim their installer as an employee, but a third party sub-contractor. They would not even acknowledge him as a representative of DirecTV, even though he drives a van with the DirecTV logo plastered all over it.

I want out of their so-called contract. As far as I am concerned, the contract is null and void as they are not providing me with the service I am paying for.

I called again and they did give me the $100 credit but would not remove the late fee.The next month's bill came with the $100 credit, another late fee and no $10 monthly credit. I called again and they said they would not remove late fees but said the $10/month credit would start next month. I would not have had past due amounts had they followed through with the credits I was promised. I have probably been on the phone 4-5 hrs trying to fix this mess. This company sucks.

I was not satisfied with both the internet service, which was considerably slow and not wireless, and the DirecTV which includes 512 channels of which 500 are commercials and sport. After I had realized that I had been deceived by Verizon and that there was no FIOs in our area, I decided on the 13th of March to cancel DirecTV, and cancel my services within the period I was told I could.

Although it has become evident that customer service in the United States has declined dramatically recently, I have never experienced such ineffective, rude, and careless customer service as that of both Verizon and Direct TV.

Although I had not dealt with DirecTV at all, when I asked to cancel, Verizon customer service asked that I contact DirecTV directly. When I did, I was absolutely surprised that they would charge me $450 for cancellation. They said their policy was cancellation should be within the first 24 hours.

Phoning back and forth between Verizon and Direct TV, I was unable to get anywhere except waiting on the phone for hours and basically told that, (1) it is not Verizon's problem, though I had contracted with Verizon only; and (2) that I had to pay the $450 no matter what.

It became evident that the whole operation is a scam and is a conspiracy between Verizon and Direct TV to defraud the public.

I have been contacted by DirectTV on a regular basis by phone and mail harassing me and demanding a payment even though I made it clear for them that I will not and will fight them in courts.

The company refuses to change my bill to what I was informed it would be, and I have to wait 6-8 weeks for a rebate I was never told I needed. This company sucks and you don't even get as many channels as they say. The customer service will not do anything to help you either. This is consumer fraud, false advertising, and deception on the company's part. I have reported them to the BBB and would advise others to do the same. Do not sign up for this service! If I cannot get this taken care of, it will damage my credit.

I agreed by telephone to a 24 month planned contract based on the information provided by Chaka during the phone conversation. Please note, my willingness to a contract was based on the deal offered by Chaka, not to the plan that actually exists. I provided my email address and gave my credit card number to Chaka. I didn't realize the information provided by Chaka was incorrect until I received my first bill. On May 10, 2010 a technician came out to my home and installed one receiver and remote. I told this technician on May 10th I was not interested in the service protection plan of $5.99 per month when asked.

After his setup of the dish and receiver, we reviewed the operation. I asked the technician why there was a delay when using the remote to effect the channel selection on the receiver. He indicated the delay is expected as you attempt to change channels. I didn't notice until after he left there wasn't this same delay when changing the channel on the receiver box directly. I suspected there seemed a faulty communication between the box and remote. Moreover, the technician indicated you could actually change the channel on the receiver box from anywhere in the home. I found out that wasn't true either. The box would respond to the remote most the time if the remote was pointed directly at the box. The remote's effect on the receiver box is intermittent and delayed. As I attempt to input a different channel into the remote the wrong channel is most often selected by mistake since the delay disrupts the remote's function.

Later, and after the installation, I received my first bill. On my first bill, and not beforehand, I learned the Choice Extra plan was not $51.99/month, but rather, $63.99/month. The Choice Extra does not include HD and DVR as part of the package, these are individual charges of $10.00/month and $7.00/month respectively. This is contrary to what I was informed by Chaka. In the first twelve months there is no charge for HD and DVR. However, in the second twelve months of the contract they are charged onto the bill. The monthly bill for these charges described in the second year is $80.99 per month not the monthly of $51.99 described by Chaka. Such business practices are not acceptable to me.

On May 26, 2010 I called Direct TV and outlined these grievances and was informed any misinformation by Chaka, the sales representative had to be taken up with Direct Starz TV, not Direct TV. I indicated I did not agree to the terms described on the first bill and would rather completely cancel any further business with Direct TV than do business with a company with such shady business operations. In effect, Direct Starz TV was independent of the operations of Direct TV. I was informed by Direct TV they had an organized collections agency and if I cancelled my credit card number and didn't pay the bill for the next twenty four months I would be dealing with the recovery efforts by the collection agency. I was reminded I agreed to the twenty four month contract on May 6th, 2010 and would be held to this contract or suffer added charges for early cancellation. I tried to explain I did not agree to the terms of the contract agreement, I agreed to the terms of the agreement described by Chaka. It was as if I was talking to a recorded message with no wit to absorb what I was saying and/or interest to do so.

My next phone call on May 26th was to Direct Starz TV. It was very challenging to get to the Customer Service level at Direct Starz TV since the numbers provided and prompts never take you to Customer Service, but to technicians and sales reps or refer the caller back to Direct TV. The two numbers provided me were ** and **. Feel free to call either of these numbers and see the lengthy road it takes you through, none of which has you necessarily contacting customer service. I got the impression, the efforts of customer service to deal with the customer at Direct Starz was kept to a minimum. I finally spoke to someone in Customer Service named Lorrainna who indicated she would refer the matter to a research department at Direct Starz who could listen to the entire conversation by Chaka and his offers and description of the services and charges. I was supposed to be contacted by Lorraina once their research was done. She would make an adjustment to my billing charges once they've confirmed I was misinformed by Chaka. I was under the impression the problem of misrepresentation would be resolved.

I called back on June 3rd and repeatedly attempted to speak to Lorraina in customer service at Direct Starz TV. Numerous phone conversations over a period of 90-120 minutes resulted in me learning there was confirmation by Direct TV's research dept that Chaka misinformed me, including the Choice Extra plan only costing $51.99 and Chaka's description of the package deal included HD and DVR at no additional charge. Adding on the protection plan without my permission was another example of these questionable business practices. So far am in the midst of dealing with Direct TV. I have no interest to do business with a company with such a shoddy business operation. They surely devote much, much more time to getting money in and starting up new contracts than worrying or concerning themselves with grievances, whether legitimate or not.

That brings me to this. Since the infomercials are obviously free, can you hook me up so I can get them at home too? Now, my buddy next door has a question for you too. Unlike me, he abhors commercials and avoids them like the plague. He's even installed an auto-mute device on his set that kills the sound when they come on (which is pretty often on broadcast TV). So when I told him that yours are free, he thought for a moment and came up with an idea. He wants to know if you have some kind of "sub-basic" plan that delivers just the actually worthwhile channels but not the free infomercials, for less money than your basic and other overpriced plans. He's ready to sign-up. Thanks.

The rep then had the nerve to request that I pay the debt and take it up with my brother later. I immediately informed the rep that she just violated Privacy laws and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and that I was not privy to any information of any other person even if its my mother. The rep re-informed me that this is DirecTV's policy and there is nothing more she could do. These laws have been broken: "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Section 805 (b), Section 807 (10).

I later spoke with a DirecTV supervisor of the same department and informed her of what took place. The supervisor explained that there is nothing she could do and that it was the policy of DirecTV to share private information and that no laws were broken. And that I can take it up with legal counsel. And we will!

The reason I have not got my refund, they say, is because they are very busy and have not gotten to my claim yet but on the 31st of May instead of refunding my money, they charged me an extra 98 dollars for another connection fee. I'm a single retired parent. All I had to my name was $592. They took $497 so I only had 100 dollars left for the whole month. I had to borrow money and I have been promising to pay it back when I got my money from DirecTV.

I have a copy of the ad and witnesses in apt office where I made the arrangements as well as an employee of the complex I told of my set up and gave him an extra copy of the ad. I'm now told it would be a $90 upgrade. Also I have been billed $68 one week from installation due this week less than two weeks from install--rebates not yet reflected. Neglected to mention when I called to set up service, I asked for it to begin and not be charged until 6/3 when I received social security. It was done immediately costing me $34 at the bank. Senior elderly abuse is a felony in AZ and this is clearly a case of fraud. They will not give me my ordered program and equipment as they say I didn't order HD--a total fallacy.

I asked why, and was told because it was within one year. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, I was put on hold forever and was transferred to voicemail. I never got a call back. Again, I called, explained the situation, and got transferred to voicemail. Still, I got no response. After leaving several messages over the course of a week, I finally called and told them to cancel my service. I was lied to. Their customer service is the worst, and they just plain don't care. They told me they would have to charge me a $440.00 cancelation fee. They tried to talk me into remaining a customer and decided to waive the fee. I told them I would think about it and call back.

I cancelled the debit card I used for them so they couldn't drain my bank account. I called them and told them to cancel. I had already had cable installed and had been watching it for a week. I talked/argued with several other "managers" and finally got one to waive my fee. He told me they would send my final bill and it was for a total of $13.00. I got the bill a week later and paid it. I received an email a couple of days later saying my bill was past due for $456.32. I called and complained again, and they said there was nothing they could do about it. All he kept saying was ,"Did you read your service agreement?” They really screw you because the tech is there, installs everything, goes over the billing, and "Oh, by the way, here is your service contract,” after everything is installed and you are stuck with a contract. I wouldn't recommend DirecTV to my best enemy.

Three or four days later, contractor came, looked for legal spot for dish that is aligned with satellite but with no luck. Finally, when he started suggesting we cut a tree down, I told him as much as I wanted the service, maybe it was not meant to be. He was not happy. He said if I wanted the dish removed, I need to call DirecTV for appointment. At this point, he tried to have me sign a paper saying I had permission from leasing office to put dish on that spot. I did not sign. I saw on website later that they need that signed paper before they put up the dish. My take was he wanted to make the $75 knowing the apartment was not going to approve the spot. He left and I got back on the phone with DirecTV.

Initially, things went smooth. I found a reasonable agent and he understood the situation and he started the process of discontinuing my service. My mistake, as it turned out, was trying to get my $75 dish installment (they had to push a metal pole into ground to carry dish, that's all) charge back. I explained the guy should have just explained he cannot get a spot for the dish and I can not get service but he wanted to make the $75. They insisted that is a contractor and they can't do anything. I was not impressed. In this back and forth, a supervisor jumped in and essentially said not only am I out of $75 but I will have to pay more than $400 for a breach of contract. I was being punished for asking for my $75.

They sent people for the equipment and the same day, I was charged on AmEx the breach of contract penalty. I emailed back and forth, no luck. They gave me the standard, "We have looked into the situation and believed the matter was settled." I was livid. I could not believe they would treat a potential customer like that. I told my story to AmEx and they said they would credit me the charge and investigate. Weeks later, I was charged the amount again. To this day, I still did not get my money back. They charged me around $500 for a service they could not possibly deliver. If I asked them to come back, they could not find a spot. They tried already. So they made their money on a technicality. I am a working man so eventually I stopped emailing them but it still eats me up that they stole around $500 from me .

At this time, I am officially disputing this cancellation fee on the grounds that when I originally called on March 25, 2010 to cancel my service with DirecTV the representative I spoke to, who persuaded me to keep the service and only downgraded my receiver to a "basic" model, neglected to make it clear that by doing so would make me bound to a one year contract nor did he mention that I would be forced to pay a $199 cancellation fee if I couldn't keep the service. The situation was so upsetting I had to ask a friend (Samuel **) for help. He called DirecTV on my behalf on May 15, 2010 to see what their position was on this matter. He first spoke to Rosie (employee #**) who told him that the conversation I had on March 25, 2010 was a verbal contract and it was binding. When Mr. ** asked for a transcript of the conversation, she informed him that she was not authorized to provide such a transcript and gave him a phone number (800-531-5000) to the department that could provide such a transcript.

Mr. ** and I then phoned the 800 number that was provided and spoke to a DirecTV agent by the name of Tim (employee #**) who said that DirecTV sends a customer agreement statement once a year in the month of May that would have explained to me that by turning on the "basic" receiver box, I was automatically agreeing to a new one year contract. Mr. ** asked him if it is their company policy to inform telephone customer that they will be entering a year contract by downgrading their services with a $199 early cancellation fee attached. The agent said it was their policy to disclose those terms to customers phoning in. Mr. ** then asked for the transcripts of the entire conversation that took place on March 25, 2010 between me and the DirecTV representative. The agent told Mr. ** that he could not send that information to me, that I would have to send a written request to DirecTV legal department but in less than eight days, they would charge $199 to my credit card without my consent. I had to cancel my credit card and they are trying to damage my credit ratings.

I did finally get someone in SC by calling the 800-531-5000 number and she seemed to know what to do. She gave me tracking numbers because the boxes would be sent out by FedEx. As of today 5/26/10, I have not gotten the boxes and she provided me with tracking numbers. I tried to track them and they are not in the system. I called the 800-531-5000 number and seems to be no record of what I just told you. DirecTV is the most scattered and rudest company that I have ever been in contact with. The last Customer Service Representative that I was in contact with would not listen to me and said it was not my responsibility to return these receivers to them. They said I could return them at my expense. Where is Customer Service? This is just an awful company and thank goodness I have Dish Network and I tell everyone I see that is shopping for satellite TV to go with DISH. I told them of this experience and their mouths are hanging open. If this were a public stock traded company I would as everyone to sell and move to DISH.

I talked to the credit card company about closing the account and they said even if the account is closed they have to accept the charges by law. Then I can dispute the charges that they put on the card if they are not authorized. I only authorized the $25.00. Also I called within the 15 days to cancel and I was told I would have to pay $480.00 to cancel service. And I was never told that there was a fee for the pole that holds their dish. If they cannot install the dish on your home then you have to pay $75.00 for the pole, the installer I got charged me $20.00 but he did not offer a receipt (pocket change I guess) he also did not finish the job. He used my already ran cable and when I requested that he run a new line, he said he would return later but never did but 2 calls and 2 days later, another installer finished the job. All calls to the so called managers were useless.

Stress along with the aggravation of having to deal with the issue. They also breached the so called contract by not honoring their quoted price.

When we received the bill from DirecTV, I called immediately saying I never ordered this service, I was told I would have to keep DirecTV if I wanted my service from Verizon, then I called Verizon, and asked them about this I could not get a straight answer. I kept calling DirecTV that I did not order this service and that Verizon was billing me, then DirecTV cancelled my service and sent me packages to return the equipment which I did. Then the real billing started, saying I owed $400.00 for services rendered, I only had DirecTV for 2 months when they finally got the message and cancelled.

My bundle package stated that TV, Telephone and Computer would cost $29.99 each per month, so how is it that I owe all this money? I don't mind paying for the 2 months of service but now they are harassing my daughter with telephone calls that leave a message of urgent Patient Information please call us immediately, we have an ill person in the home this is very stressful when I receive these messages, which I feel are harassment.

They have a lot of nerve. If you have 2 TVs they charge for 2 boxes, unlike with Comcast, where the 2nd box is free. I do not owe them $50. Tell them to leave me alone. I am upset and I feel violated that a collection agency is sending me mail. I wish that I never heard of them. I do not want anything to do with them.

I checked with my 2 other credit agency, and they reported the account after my dispute with Experian's DirecTV fraud investigator. Troy disputed the account and about 3 weeks later, found it fraudulent. But I had to go trough several customer service because the clearance letter, as I was told by one of them, was being sent to an incorrect house number address. Finally, after receiving it 2 months later, I also received an opened one with incorrect house number and a tape with someone's finger print. A police report was made after being told to do online. I was also having trouble getting them to approve it and finally received an email from police department, approved.

Credit reporting and annoying customer service. I was receiving cell phone collection calls, which I do not know how they got the number, it being a new number. Having another address posted on records also brought some dispute as of were I live. I have other identity issues which might be related to this one.

About a month later, I missed one payment because I was deployed out and I didn’t have access to paying my bill. Within a couple of weeks, they sent me boxes for the equipment and charged me almost $600 for everything. They didn’t have permission to use my debit card and they took it straight out of my account. Mind you, I just had a baby boy that I had to buy formula and Pampers for. They left me in a bind for that month. I called to let them know that I didn’t want to cancel their service and that it was wrong of them to take that amount of money away from me just like that. I fought with them for almost a month so I could get my money back from them. I finally got sick of DirecTV so I called headquarters to get it resolved. They finally did reimburse me my money within two days and I was paid off with them as well.

It was good for a few months, I was paying $60 a month for my bill then one month it jumped to $170. Once again I called to see what the heck was going on with my bill, and of course they said I had to pay it and they couldn't help me. They said that I never canceled the NFL Sunday ticket so that it stayed on it and I had to pay extra for that. They had told me before I signed up with them that I could call and cancel once the season was over so it won’t go up like it did and I can still pay $60 every bill. So that’s exactly what I did and canceled it in February and of course they don’t have any notes on me saying that so that’s why it jumped up so high. They said I never canceled and that I have to pay it. Why the heck would I still want the NFL package if the season is over? So once again I called so I can get it resolved at the lowest level possible and once again DirecTV didn’t fail to disappoint me and said too bad and that I have to pay everything.

Meanwhile, I had been on calls with DirecTV and for that 1.5 months of setting up appointments for installation, only one technician came to my house. He checked and told me that I did not have good reception from my apartment. After cancellation, even my $20 for equipment installation were not refunded. Thereafter, I started getting calls from a collection agency that I had over $110 in unpaid bills. On calling DirecTV, they admitted to have wrongfully charged me and said that I had to pay the bills and they will refund it. They told me twice that check was in the mail but there was no check. I kept receiving the wrong bills but no check. They had told me over the phone again and again that my address was wrong. I corrected that too. I cannot understand how the address is correct for the bills but not for the check.

As a result of wrongfully charging me, I had to spend over 6-7 hours over phones again and again to figure out what had happened. Moreover, now I have a negative entry in my credit report because of the unpaid charges. It has never happened before and I am really ** at this point with no options as to what next steps should be taken.

I stayed on the phone waiting for her to make arrangements with the manager for a half hour. She came back and stated she could not do it. I told her that was fine. I just wanted to make sure I was not going to be charged. She stated I would not. We got off the phone. After getting off the phone with her, I went to the Walmart moneycard website to view account that I set up. I had a $220.95 charge pending. I called back and told them I have been charged and they told me they see me nowhere in the system so it's impossible for me to be charged. I got off the phone with them and talked to a Walmart moneycard specialist and he told it has not been charged yet. It was just a hold on my card. I explained to him the situation and he told me the manager for DirecTV can have the hold taken off my card with a written fax, a letter head paper and the amount held. I called them back and told someone hung up on me.

I was fed up. I waited until the next day to call again. I asked for the manager. When calling, they wanted to know why I wanted her. I told them that I was having billing issues. The guy said I will just transfer you to the billing department. Before I could even say I did not want that department I wanted the manager, he transferred me. I went ahead and spoke to the billing department. They told me they could not help me not being in the computer. I let them know I tried to get service yesterday and I know that I am no longer in the system and don't have an account. I just have an hold on my card that I need to speak to the manager about.

The lady told me the manager would not be able to help me either. I asked her why is it a problem for me to speak to the manager. She told me that it was not and asked me to hold and she would find one. I was on hold for 38 minutes and then she got back on saying she was trying to find one still. I told her I have plenty of time. I waited for another 20 minutes, no one never came to the phone then it hung up. I never tried to call back today. They made it clear that no one could help me and I could not speak to a manager because she could not help me either. I have a hold on my card that will be on there for another 10 days for something that would take two minutes with the proper help and customer service skills. I have no success with anyone helping me at DirecTV at all. I have a statement stating that I have a hold and no one still won't help. I just don't understand. I would appreciate your help and time with this situation.

However, never was I told that I would be responsible for any outstanding balances or unpaid fees on her behalf being that I have nothing to do with her account, never signed anything or ever saw a contract. Had I known they would do that, there is no way I would have made any payments to them but I didn't think any business could legally keep your confidential credit card information on file and then charge it without notifying me. I just happen to check my account to discover the unauthorized charge and now they won't refund my account even though they know it's not my account.

In the second scheduling, the man arrived on time and was awesome. The only problem was that the original dish was installed incorrectly. He reinstalled it, and it worked! It was awesome too. Then I got the bill, and they were charging me for a re-installation. I pay for the service plan. Now for the past 4 months, the receiver doesn't upload all the channels after updating itself, so I am stuck with not being able to watch all my channels. I then wonder why they are the very last bill I pay a month.

Now I have a box in a bedroom that is not working, and with my service plan, they are supposed to come and fix it. They are saying they won't due to the bill being overdue. It was due the 15th, and it is the 19th today. Nowhere on the service agreement does it mention anything of such. I would like my satellite to work, especially for the amount that I am paying them.

DirecTV will not help either. They lied on all accounts-- the internet service (which cannot honor the contract of service), the gift card (which was never sent) and the "free" moving. The move is not free. It turns out it is $50. They said the "free" is only for approved and established accounts. There is no indication what an approved or established account is and they did not tell me that at the beginning. I am actually complaining about both companies. They are too big to provide any type of customer service.

I make money by working online and I am still waiting to hear back from Verizon to see if they can solve the issue. I am moving day after tomorrow. They say they will probably end the contract. Yet, if I ended the contract I get penalized. What about them?

My complaint is I feel I'm being held hostage to your service because the channel I had, I can't get due to the interruption. I entered the contract unaware that for non-payment. The local channels I already enjoyed would be subject to interruption also. Had I had known I would not have entered the contract. For non-payment, I pray you support my contentions that I should be no worse off than when I entered the contract.

Your operator said that I could still receive my local channels with and outside antenna. His statement was less than disingenuous. He further informed me that DirecTV employs this method of service to encourage the end users to pay their bills. By taking the service, my TV came with channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 28. Mr. President, I pray you support that I should be able to keep the channel I stared with before I entered the contract. I request to that end your good office intervene on my behalf, and with respect to my TV make me whole again and restore my local channels until I pay my bill. In advance I thank you, your office and staff, for your time and consideration and pray you give this matter the urgency of your prompt attention. I can't watch local channels because of this overbearing interruption.

Approximately 2 more weeks went by, and still there were no boxes; however, I did get a statement showing my credit card was billed $97.44 for the equipment. I called back and was told that they had sent the boxes out, blah, blah. Finally, 3 days later, the boxes showed up. I immediately placed the equipment in the box and sent it right back. The equipment was received by R. **, according to the tracking number on 05/13/10.

Now, I can't get my money back. I have talked to several CSRs and one supervisor who is telling me that it will be 6 - 8 weeks before I receive a refund. This is not right. They took $97.44 of my money when they did not send the boxes like they were supposed to. All I did was cancel the contract upon its expiration, and now, I am being "penalized" by having to wait for my refund and paying interest on the credit card charge.

My account totally massed up. Two charges they made $24.99 shipping and handling and $64.99 service charges. At least dozen times I talked CSR and tried to reach some Supervisor (no supervisor came on line to talk to me, not connected). At the time, I clearly told the first CSR DirecTV (later on I came to know that was an agent of DirecTV). I am not interested to be a member of New Services. She told you getting more update techniques without spending money. I was more than 19 years Comcast cable customer. I had never been any kind of misunderstanding with billing. I was paying only 28.96 and enjoying what now I watched other than some junk channels. I am a customer of basic channel viewer.

Let me come to the point. Now, recent CSR refused to set up my account as I was promised. I would be not getting $100.00 visa gift card, not one month free not my Charges $64.99 and $24.99 will be not going back to my credit card account. I requested them to investigate this matter and retrieve the conversation was took place at the very first call everything would be very clear. Here is another point, I am not eligible to cancel the account at this time. I have to pay whole year charges. Is it justified?

I lost my job in February, 2010. I am always under pressure of calls from DirecTV CSR for their service and threatened if I don't continue their services and stop sending payments, they will send my case to collection. I need support to overcome this kind of trap from DirecTV. All company Gas, Electricity, Water, Phone come fowraded to help me during my hardship time except DirecTV.

They say I owe a $390.00 early termination fee. When I told them I never saw that in the paperwork from Verizon, they said when their installer was out to install the TV service, I signed his work order which stated that there is an early termination fee. I feel this is deceptive. The installer never went over that with me and just asked me to sign his work order. I feel I should not have to pay this fee, since it was not explained to me by Verizon or when the TV service was installed. Also, their Satellite dish is still on my roof which I am sure is accompanied by gaping holes in my roof. Am I justified in this complaint?

I moved to Salado, TX in 2008 and had my service transferred from my home in Little Elm, TX. At that time, DirecTV indicated I had to join into a new contract in order to transfer or upgrade the service. I indicated I would just go ahead and cancel the service rather than signing up for a new contract. At that time, I was offered multiple upgrades and was advised I would not have to enter into a new contract. I was also advised that I would be getting an HD receiver because that is what came with the upgrade. When the service rep came to install the dish at the new residence in Salado, he indicated there was a contract and I had to sign. I told him to pack his gear and leave and that I would not sign a new contract. He called DirecTV and spoke to a rep. I then got on the phone and spoke to a rep. At that time, it was found in the notes that there was not to be a new contract and that installation could continue as originally discussed.

During 2009, I had some financial issues that caused me to fall behind on my bill with DirecTV. Each time I fell behind, I was able to call in and pay the bill at some point and get the service reconnected. At no time did I ask or agree to enter into a new contract. At no time was I notified that I was entering into a new contract with DirecTV by paying a late bill and reconnecting service. It was not implied during any conversation and I have received no written notification that a contract or agreement was made for another two years. During each of my conversations with all of the reps at DirecTV, I always made sure to indicate that I was not entering into a new two year agreement and it was always agreed upon after reviewing notes.

In February, 2010 I prepared to relocate to Frisco, TX. I called DirecTV to have service transferred to my new address. At that time I was advised that I would have to pay a $50 fee to transfer. I disagreed and cancelled my service. The rep indicated that there would be approximately a $30 fee based on pro-rated service. I again reiterated in this conversation that there should not be any early termination fee and she agreed, after a thorough review of the file.

On February 15, 2010, DirecTV withdrew the amount of $238.42 from my personal prepaid account. This transaction was not authorized. The amount of $238.42 included the final prorated service bill and an early termination fee. As soon as I saw the unauthorized charge on my account, I contacted DirecTV immediately to demand they return the unauthorized amount that they took out. After being transferred to several different people, a supervisor finally agreed that it was an erroneous charge and that he would have a check sent to my address in approximately four to six weeks. I advised that they took the money and I needed it right away. The supervisor indicated he would have the monies refunded back to our card within 5-7 business days. This call was over an hour long.

After the 5-7 business days had passed and the charge had not been refunded back to our card, we contacted DirecTV again. After being transferred several times from supervisor to supervisor, we were finally informed that they had credited our DirecTV account a total of $200. This obviously did nothing to get the money back into my bank account so I called again and was told that there was a total due of $455 for early disconnect and that the $200 credit had been taken out of that.

To sum it up, DirecTV at first agreed to refund the erroneous charge of $238.42 back to my personal prepaid account but instead applied the credit to an even larger final bill, although an early disconnect fee had already been taken out with the $238.42, and then, once again, pinged my prepaid personal account for the last $3.95 I had on my card as to collect payment for the new final bill that was officially in dispute. DirecTV took that $3.95 out of my card on March 23, 2010 without permission or any notification to me that they were going to take that charge. The $3.95 charge was returned by my personal prepaid account by the account provider, not DirecTV. I have made multiple calls to DirecTV to resolve the issue and have basically been told that there is nothing I can do and there is an early termination fee due. I have now written letters to DirecTV and to CBE Group.

When the High Definition receiver was installed in my house, they went on top of my roof and installed a non HD satellite! The technician was very sheepish when I inquired why there was a satellite on my roof much less a non-high definition satellite they were now going to continuously charge me for. He drilled holes in my floor for cables that were never used and no plugs were put in them to keep out insects and mice. Further, I would like to add deciphering the statements they send me now is very difficult with no rhyme or reason to the charges.

When I complained to the company, they acted like, "oh well, we will just come out and install a ground HD satellite as ordered." Meanwhile, I have an ugly satellite on my roof that cannot be removed for leaking roof issues that will develop. After installing the HD satellite I ordered, the technician didn't have the satellite dialed to high definition reception. I went the better part of a year thinking that the picture was not very good for high definition.

After many phone conversations with snotty and arrogant customer service representatives, the company said they would give me credit on HD service not provided but not all the way back to when the technician dialed in the wrong satellite information. They said they would not charge for a service call on this matter, but did anyway. How much stress can a person paying a company almost $200 a month take for such rotten, dishonest service?

They informed me that I did not apply for the rebate properly and that it was too late to lock in the discount price, and that I was under contract. They would charge me extra money, if I cancelled my contract and would be ducted from my credit card and reported to the credit bureau. I see false advertisement, or tricky at most, consumers should be notified to watch out for this scam, that they are using. Is there any way out of such a agreement. I have no money for lawyers. If I cancelled my contract with them is there a way to keep this off my credit report, and not pay this outrageous fee. I changed satellite company because I couldn't afford the high prices. I am currently in a financial bind.

First of all, I was not home. I gave a neighbor the key to the house to let the technician in. I could not afford to be of two days, and this would have been three day of waiting for a tech. I asked to speak to a supervisor. A guy named Mike got on the phone, just to say "Well, you cancelled your ticket. So what are we to do?"

First of all, my TV was working before the tech messed it up again. You think they would check to make sure everything is working. Then he told me "Someone from the tech company will give you a call. What else do you want me to do?" They are not customer-friendly at all. I have had problems with my network before, and it seems like when you call them, they give you the runaround and are not helpful. I have had DirecTV for 13 years. I am limited to satellite companies, because of the area I live in. There is one other satellite company.

DirecTV also did some very creative bookkeeping that forced me to pay much more than usual claiming that I was laid on one payment and adjustments and so forth. This was obviously an attempt to recoup some of the money they paid previously for discount packages. If you take advantage of the discount packages, be very careful. They'll try to come up with some creative bookkeeping to get it back later. There is simply a disreputable organization that's all you can say about DirecTV. How can you discriminate against one person for receiving discount packages to existing customers when you're giving the same discount packages to other DirecTV customers?

DirecTV didn't offer one service. So, they contacted Verizon to provide me with the other service. So, now I'm under collection, I.C. SYSTEM, INC. 444 Highway 96 East, P.O. Box 64437 St. Paul, MN 55164-0437, Account number **. The amount to Verizon is $211.70.

Still, calls continued. 5 weeks after DirecTV received the equipment, they withdrew $191.81 from my checking account causing it to go overdrawn. When I called to complain, they finally found the error and simply said, you'll get your money in 6 to 8 weeks even though it was their fault. I have not yet received my refund. I love Direct TV service, but be forewarned. Their customer service is worse than Cable TV. I'll think long and hard before ordering their service again.

After about 2 weeks I received a letter from my bank on an account that was in the process of being closed (it only had $2 in it). It was showing that I was negative $336. I panicked, thinking somebody got a hold of my old checks and was writing them out. When I looked online I was shocked to see that DirecTV helped themselves without authorization from me to my account. I was shocked that they could go in and help themselves to my account without my ok. They were charging me for the 3 receivers that I had returned back to them. I am now in the process of disputing this with my bank and DirecTV. I have joined a lawsuit of others who have had this happen to them. These people are thieves and I would never recommend them or have anything good to say about DirecTV ever! Lucky for me my husband is an attorney but I would hate to think of how I would feel if he wasn't. What would I have done? These people think they can just help themselves to my account and take money without my authorization. I feel bad for the people who cannot afford to get attorneys or fight this. It is not fair that a big company can come in a push around the little guy!

I right away made a phone call to cancel the service. I told them that I would like to cancel my account. They transferred me to different customer service persons. And one of the customer service persons finally accepted my cancellation service. The person told me that everything is canceled without any cancellation fee, because he read all the information from the technicians. The cancellation of the service was in the week from 12th to 16th of April. On the 21st day of April, DirecTV used my credit card to draw $420.14 from my checking account.

I also asked the installer to explain the terms to me and he never mentioned that DirecTV could charge my debit card for any reason or that there was an early cancellation fee or that the contract was for 2 years. I called several times to try and get out of the contract and explained that their service was misrepresented and I did not want it. They said "too bad". Then, they go to great lengths to explain their contract and terms. They are also very cocky and rude. I am sure they have many people that do nothing but take angry callers. But it is not a problem because DirecTV can certainly afford to pay them, because they screw people out of large sums of money. I then returned all of their receivers in their big bulky boxes without sufficient packing except for one. I was just going to keep one receiver and pay $29.99 per month (without even having a TV or receiver hooked up) until the contract was over. I did that for 12 months.

Today, I went online to check my bank balance and there was a charge for $357.14 from DirecTV. I had gotten behind on one payment with the second due and they disconnected the service (which I was not using anyway). And they charged my debit card that I had authorized for $21.95 only over a year ago. This has overdrawn my checking account. I had 3 bounced debit transactions at $39.00 each for NSF charges. And by the way, the debits only totaled $22.17. I called DirecTV and they were rude and no help. I would give you names but they are not their real names anyway.

I spoke to Michael. He told me there was nothing I could do. This was the charge for early cancellation of the remainder of my 2 year contract signed over a year ago. Then, there was a late fee, a cancellation fee, etc. Keep in mind that the reason I wanted to cancel in the first place is because their service did not do what was promised and I was told there was no cancellation fee. Michael informed me that there was nothing he could do. No big surprise there! I asked him if I returned his equipment today, if there would be any additional charges. He said no. I asked him where the closest DirecTV office in San Diego was. They don't have one. I have to call him tomorrow and get a box sent from them, pack it, schlep it to Fed Ex, and return it that way.

Also, I have to trust that they receive it or they will charge my debit card for another $179.00, all this for using their service for 4 days. My experience with DirecTV has been horrible. They are, in my humble opinion, unethical little snakes that feed on people who either do not understand or they do not inform properly of their policies and procedures. It will be my mission to let everyone I meet know of this experience. And if I can deter one person to not use DirecTV, then I will be happy. I will put it on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and anything else I can think of to make people aware that once DirecTV gets your debit card, they are no better than a guy with a gun holding you up in a dark alley.

Today, I found the same overcharges so I spoke to David ID# ** and according to him, my monthly payment should be $37.34. Also, he claimed that it was just a misunderstanding. If I wanted to cancel the service, I would have to pay $20.00 for each of the remaining two-year contract. When I asked to speak to his supervisor, he said that they won't be able to talk to me! Please help me pay what I was promised. I have to pay $37.34 per month instead of $24.99. To cancel the service, it would cost me $440.00.

After having DirecTV for one year, my mom passed away unexpectedly from congestive heart failure. When I called to cancel the service (because I do not watch television), the representative expressed his condolences, then quickly tried to convince me to keep the service by offering different packages at discounted rates.

When I declined, his attitude quickly changed and he informed me that I was going to be charged an "early cancellation fee." I told him I was unaware of this agreement, yet he said there was nothing he could do about the matter and I was to expect a final bill for $240.00. Lo and behold, the bill arrived three days later for $233.67. After reading many of the complaints on this Web page, it seems that I am fighting a losing battle by challenging DirecTV. What else am I to do but pay the amount due? I guess even death is not an acceptable reason to cancel services with DirecTV. Very sad.

Comcast came out the next morning (4/30) and informed me that Direct TV had connected their dish to the cable entry point (after disconnecting Comcast's line). He said they would have to charge me to run a new line into my attic. At that point, my wife called Direct TV and spoke to Travis. He at first offered to credit us for whatever Comcast would charge us to reconnect, but when she pressed him, he told my wife that we could still cancel without incurring a cancellation fee ($460). Now on 5/5, Direct TV says we owe approx. $470 and, of course, they have no way to route my call to Travis. We do not intend to pay this charge and fully expect they will attempt to charge our credit card without authorization.

I then asked why was I receiving a statement for the equipment but she could not give me an answer. She transferred me to what she said was the equipment department and the gentleman I spoke with claimed he showed the equipment in transit in Memphis, TN but has not been received by DirecTV. He gave me the tracking number and I called FedEx who informed me the equipment was delivered and signed for by a DirecTV employee on April 6. FedEx faxed the signature letter to me.

On May 3, 2010, DirecTV took $265 out of my account because they still had my card on file. Now, the equipment was received on April 6 and a month they take the money out of my account. I spoke with three people today (5/5/10). The third person I talked to said he would send me an email stating the $265 would be credited back to my account. I have not received the email. It is unacceptable that DirecTV took money from my account when their equipment was returned to them and received a month before they took the money.

From the first billing cycle, we had to start calling to get the bill adjusted; and in most cases, we met at a compromise and didn't get the bill to the point that it should have been at. The same thing happened with the phone and internet. We were promised a set amount on our bill for all three services, and that amount was exceeded from the first billing cycle.

We called the support center to get this corrected, and it was never resolved to the point of the agreement. We were offered a service from a local provider and decided that since they were going to pay the early termination fees, we would switch to them. This was because of the misrepresented products offered by the AT&T representative and DirecTV. We never received the quality of service demonstrated or the pricing that was offered to us. I called to terminate the service and was told that once all the equipment was received, I would be billed for the amount owed. DirecTV had a credit card number on file and applied charges to that card without permission or consent. They do this because of a fine print option in the sales contract.

When you ask about that clause when your dealing with DirecTV, they will tell you that it's just in case someone doesn't pay their bill, they have an option to recover their funds. This is again another lie. DirecTV is a perfect example of large business doing what they want without any consequences. They just hold out and most people have to give up. Without billing me or making any notification, they just process the charge and then fight you later over their unethical behavior.

It's sad what businesses have came to over the years, and the American people need to fight back. I had filed a complaint with the BBB and that came to no end. Consumers need to look into who the members are with the BBB, and you will realize that membership has its benefits.

My advice would be that if you have given a company a credit card to retain an account, to cancel that card and have your bank issue you a new account number and card, or contact your bank or card company and have them set your account up to not allow transaction from that company without your prior approval.

I have also filed fraud charges against DirecTV with my bank, and I am tendering a letter to my states attorney general's office to see about stopping DirecTV from being able to retain card information on customers in my state.

The next day, I called back and was told it would take some time. I waited 3 or 4 days and called again, only to be told I wasn't given a waiver. I never knew I needed one! I do not want this program without local (or at least network) stations. I watch no sports ever. I watch only a few late-night movies if they aren't too old, and I certainly don't watch those 20 or 30 stations that wish to sell me some junk that I don't need or want.

When I ordered this, it was supposed to be cheaper than Cox Cable for TV, computer, and telephone. I was led to believe that I would still have my favorite programs. I thought maybe the cable company didn't have a monopoly anymore. Obviously, AT&T led me wrong. You may wish to speak to them, but I should not have to pay for the contract as my end of the contract was not being fulfilled. I spoke to your people at DirecTV and to the people at AT&T and was told to write you and the contract would likely be voided. I am now awaiting the boxes in order to return the TV receivers.

The service has required in home repairs on at least 4-5 occasions, and scheduling time before a tech can come out is 4 days! I am paying for service I am not receiving! I have told them this is unacceptable, and I want to cancel service, but they said I will have to pay to cancel.

When I called prior to the service call, they told me that the tech would determine if we were to be charged or not. Now, they say that the tech should not have told us that it wasn't our fault. Wasn't he the one that was there and saw the problem? We asked that they please talk to the tech and they said they are not able to do that. Please! We have been long time customers of DirecTV at another business we own and was getting ready to add DirecTV at our home. Not now! Obviously, it's worth to lose three accounts for $120 that we don't owe to begin with!

As it stands right now, I'll be out $179.00 from the 3rd party vendor because of this game Direct TV is playing, and $360.00 to terminate! I sure hope someone is going to stop this illegal activity and surcharges, it's gotten out of hand.

The story was completely different with DirecTV. I was told that my deposit wasn't really a deposit, but was instead a "fee" and would not be returned. Period. Several calls to DirecTV didn't change the outcome. More importantly, I was informed that if I didn't return the equipment, I would be billed even more--up to an additional $450. I canceled anyway. The boxes were sent to my home in San Angelo even though I was now (temporarily) living in Tulsa. I explained to the DirecTV rep that I would not be back in San Angelo for another two weeks due to a company transfer. I asked if that was acceptable. I was assured that it would not be a problem.

When I returned to San Angelo, I packaged up the equipment and FedExed it back to DirecTV as instructed. In the meantime, I paid another full month of service ($96.88) and a "final bill" of $11.97. I paid these even though the service had been canceled, the equipment removed, and another service installed. Now, I receive another bill for $283.36. They arrived at that amount by charging me $340 (adjustments and credits, their explanation). This comes to $45 for each of the two standard receivers and $250 for the HD receiver (plus $28.07 tax) and then deducting the payments already made ($96.68 and $11.97). They have received their equipment. I have the FedEx delivery receipts to prove it.

While all of their representatives--save one--have been polite, none of them have been able to explain the $500 nor the other billing charges. They first attempted to say these were due to issues with my credit, but my credit is outstanding and none of the credit bureaus have any record that DirecTV ever requested a credit report. This would seem to be the very type of business my state's deceptive trade practices act was intended to remedy. I find their ads to be very misleading. They could not possibly have the high consumer satisfaction scores they claim without skewing the results. For example, the representatives I spoke with all wanted to close the case (problem) as quickly as possible without any real resolution. I'm sure they are being measured on a "scorecard" which rewards them for the number of "cases closed" as well as for handling them (closing them) quickly.

At this point, I have no intention of paying this bill. Instead, I will be writing to the Attorney General's office, the local Better Business Bureau, and the Consumer Affairs Office. I strongly advise anyone considering DirecTV to think again. They purposely mislead and misinform.

I called customer service several times, and no one was willing to budge on the rebate situation. I then sent e-mails to customer service and was urged to give them a chance to help me and to call them. When I called, I got the same answer as before. They can't honor the price, because the rebate wasn't sent in. Waste of time. The last e-mail I received stated they would send my case to upper management.

Over a month later, no reply. I called customer service to see where we stand, since my bill is still the more expensive rate. They very politely told me they had no information about any e-mails or status on the issue. I believe they make the rebate confusing, so they can trap customers into paying regular prices and trap them into a 2-year contract. Although they say you can pay $400.00 to opt out of your contract, I was also told $20.00 for each month you opt out or $400.00. Either way, they get your money. It is their rebate. They could help you if they wanted. But, they know exactly what they are doing.

On 04/30, I was told by a supervisor that I was ineligible for the rebate because my funding source was cancelled. I asked the supervisor to review my history and activity log and please explain to me where I was notified of such terms applying to the rebate. He was unable to answer me. In fact, he refused to answer me or even escalate my call at all. I work in the eCommerce business as a VIP AM on eBay and in my professional opinion, this is outright trickery and deception by the company. DirecTV uses these rebates and "special" pricing to bring in new clients only to not honor or renege on their original agreement once a buyer has signed up and entered into a contract.

I was told once I cancel my service, I will be held liable for $200 cancellation fee even though I feel they breached the contract. I see many other states have filed similar suits for their bad business practices and definitely see the need for Nebraska residents to hold this company liable for their deceptive practices.

When my wife, Vikki, spoke with a corporate executive, Cory, at the DirecTV office to address the missing discounts, he threatened to revoke the discounts we were currently receiving, and charge us for additional service that we only got because it was offered to us on the cheap. He was also very rude and inconsiderate to Vikki, refused to give his last name, and said that over the years we've been DirecTV customers, we've received $900 worth of discounts for service. But the thing is we have also paid thousands of dollars for DirecTV service over those years, so I'm not sure what Cory's problem is. They're still getting paid for the service they provide, it’s not like were ripping them off. If he's unhappy with giving us discounts, his issue should be with the customer service people who are authorizing them, not with us. It's just bad business.

My attempts to apply for the rebate now have been denied, stating that application was required within 90 days. I questioned the charges and tried to apply 95 days later. The requirement to apply for the monthly rebate is not clearly and obviously stated. It is contained in the fine gray print below the bold and colorful displays advertising the lower prices but the 90 day time limit is not stated. In my opinion, DirecTV has kept neither the terms nor the intent of their contractual agreement with me. I further suspect their advertisement is false and deceptive under the terms.

I demanded the service be cancelled immediately and again Alex refused, but he did offer to send me a return box for the DVR which I accepted. I then asked to talk to a supervisor, who told me the same thing and refused to cancel my service unless I paid the $200 right then. I demanded the service be cancelled but refused to pay the $200.

Two months later, I received a bill from DirecTV for two months of service at my new address. There was n DirecTV equipment ever at this address. I called them up and disputed it and was told they would correct the error but I still had to pay the "early cancellation fee". I refused!

Now it's 18 months later ,and I received a letter from a debt collector for services by DirecTV in November & December of 2008 at my new address that never happened! I called the debt collector and told them my story; they offered to settle the debt for half the billed amount. I paid it just to be rid of DirecTV once and for all. I am telling my story on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and anywhere else I can so that people get the message about the scam DirecTV is pulling.

So we went out and bought a DTV converter box and an antenna (since as I mentioned before we couldn't afford Cable/satellite service). A couple of days later my husband called DirecTV to find out if we needed to mail the receiver boxes back, and they told him they've changed their mind and they think they can find a signal, and they sent out new technicians. These technicians showed up, started drilling without my permission (thus breaking our apartment rules), ran over my foot with the door, and left without saying a word to me (while I sat in a bad neighborhood with the doors unlocked thinking the DirecTV guys were still outside working and would need to come back in).

While all of this was happening, I was on the phone with DirecTV telling them they better reimburse us for the DTV converter box and antenna we had purchased and opened (so we could not return them) which we no longer needed since we were being forced to keep our satellite service. They refused - I asked for a supervisor, they left me on hold forever only to have the supervisor also refuse. I kept asking them to explain why it wasn't their fault that their technician had told me we could not have satellite service, and now they were changing their story, and they couldn't. They just kept repeating "there's no way for us to reimburse you for something that wasn't charged to your account."

Well then give me however many months free service that will add up to the amount I'm out, idiots! Once I realized that the guys had left, I called DirecTV back and they told me they'd have the technician call me. The technician called and basically said "What do you want? we were done." I told them there were loose wires just laying on the floor in front of our fireplace, they had damaged the baseboard in the bedroom, they had put the satellite hanging over our balcony bolted in (which wasn't allowed) hanging directly in front of a stairway so people would have to duck to get up the stairs, etc. The guy hung up on me. Eventually after numerous angry calls to DirecTV, they sent a QA guy out who agreed they had done an abysmal job.

The QA guy said he would send his lead technicians over to take care of it. The technicians came over and agreed that if they followed the rules of the apartment complex, they would not be able to get a signal. They took everything down and sort of repaired the damage, and told us that we would be released from their contract. I questioned him saying "You're saying that just like the first technician said that, how do I know when I call they're not going to change their mind and try to send someone else out again?". He told me, "I'm the manager and what I say goes, period." I got his name and personal phone number and assumed we were done with it, and for a month and a half we were.

But guess what we got a month and a half later....a past due notice from DirecTV for service during the dates we had no longer had the satellite dish. We were furious and called and complained, and the initial contact told us there were no work orders in the system and there was nothing she could do - we would have to pay the bill. We demanded a supervisor and were put on hold for 20 minutes. Finally the girl came back on and said "Ok, we're going to submit a waiver. " Not good enough - I demanded to actually speak to the supervisor because I wanted his name and ID number since I could pretty much guarantee that two days later no one would have any knowledge of this conversation.

She put me on hold for another ten minutes before the supervisor came on. To add insult to injury, I asked this gentleman what we should do with our receiver boxes, and he said since we had had our contract for over a year, we owned them and could do what we wanted with them - he was actually the second person to tell us this. We have very limited closet space (as in three closets in the entire apartment) and had absolutely nowhere to put them, and contemplated selling them or pitching them if they weren't worth anything since we had no space and were literally having to lay them on the floor, but knowing DirecTV we figured we'd better hang onto them just in case.

Sure enough, guess what phone call I just got today...an automated message from DirecTV saying that they're mailing two boxes for us to mail the receivers back in, and if we don't mail them back they're going to charge us $470.

Fast forward to today, 3 months later. I called to question why I was being charged for premium channels which were part of the promotion. I was told my 90 days were up on April 12th. When I asked about my rebate card, I was told to call the rebate number. Well the automated rebate system told me I had not registered my rebate within the 90-day period, so I called DirecTV. After many transfers, another customer service manager told me that I wasn't eligible because I bundled my services with Qwest.

When I asked why I wasn't told bundling would make me ineligible, he told me the information was available on a link to the rebate registration page and I was up to me to read all eligibility requirements. I told him that that information was not part of the promotional information nor was it provided in the confirmation email DirecTV sent me. He was not interested and would say only that I had voided the contract when I bundled with Qwest. When I asked him who stopped my auto bill pay, essentially, they said I did when I agreed to allow Qwest to bill me for DirecTV services. He then had the audacity to ask if he could help me with anything else. How arrogant!

Well, I switched my programming back again in March. I told them when I switched back, I didn't want any surprises, and guess what? $46. My bill was paid in full in March, and today I have no service over $46. This is unethical, and it is nonsense. I even switched to paperless, because I was told to pay what was on my bill (since their site can't be trusted), and I did. And I'm still getting nailed for $46. I am just without my service again, over charges I didn't know existed.

It has been a week and no one has contacted me or given me my money back. I called them on Friday, April 23, 2010, and everyone I spoke with could not give me any information as to when I would get my money or anything. I was told that no one can speak to the people in the Finance Department and that they would have to contact me. I asked to speak with a supervisor and I was placed on hold for over an hour so I hung up. I called them back on Monday, April 26, 2010, and was told that it would take up to 2 weeks for someone to contact me. Is it not against the law for them to draft people accounts without their consent? Shouldn't they send nonpayment information to the credit bureau? They have put me in a bind as far as paying my bills and making repairs on my vehicle. Something really needs to be done about this matter.

I explain that my husband lived in an apartment during his last contract and Cox was what the apartment complex offered and I doubt they would allow DirecTV since the apartment was wired for COX. Again, I confirmed we were on a month to month contract. When the tech came to install the box (the house already had the satellite), he wanted me to sign the 2 year contract but I explain that we were on a month to month contract. He went ahead and install the box and the only thing I sign was a work order so he could get paid. The date of installation was March 20, 2010. I get my first bill and it states that I am on a 24 month contract with a cancellation fee of $480.

I immediately call customer service and explain that I was on a month to month contract. I have talked and email several people including supervisors trying to get them to retrieve the phone called (since it is recorded) and they tell me the phone recording is for quality purposes and they cannot retrieve the called. I have emailed their dispute department and they keep telling me that I agree to a 2 year contract when I signed up with them and I did not. I told them I agree to a month to month contract. I even asked the last supervisor if the call center was getting commissions or had to meet a quota. She confirmed that they were not. Why then would the person on the phone mislead me about the 2 year contract and tell me I am on a month to month contract? I would not have gone with DirecTV if a 2 year contract was required knowing we would be moving!

At this time, I really do not want to do business with the company. I am willing to keep service until May 2011 and return the equipment when we move. At this time, I will only accept something in writing confirming that I am on a month to month contract and I will not be charged any cancellation fees in order to continue service with this company. If they cannot honor their verbal agreement then I do not wish to continue service with DirecTV. By the way, I received an email yesterday from Michael W ID U5694 with a confirmation letter attached. He tells me it confirms that I agree to a 2 year contract. I emailed him back to ask him why this was sent after installation? If I had received this, I would have address the issue before installation. I would appreciate any advise you have in handling this manner.

This was for 12 months with an 18-month contract. Talking to the agent about the small print add-ons, the final per month price agreed on was $35.97 per month for the first 12 months. The last 6 months would increase to $58.97. There was a rebate required as the agent explained and the rebate was taken care of immediately. The agent even gave the call in number as I ordered the service.

The first call to complain about the overcharge it was said the rebate was never received. I believe this to be another way to scam the public. I know it was taken care of. I am sure if investigated this happens often to others so that DirecTV can make an excuse to overcharge other customers. Per all the class action law suits that are on reveled on websites against DirecTV, it is obvious a business practice used often. The average for the first 12 months was $45.88 not the$35.97 as promised.

I have the billing history plus the agent names with date called for the many times I tried to correct the issue, with no success. The last two billings were $52.29. Other companies that have a direct monthly billing system charge the same price each month. With DirecTV, the charge has been different 12 of the 13 months.

This, I believe, is to confuse the consumer so that over time DirecTV can hide and compound the overcharges. On April 23, 2010, I cancelled because of DirecTV incorrectly billing month after month even after numerous calls to correct the issue. I will never recommend DirecTV to anybody due to the experiences I have had but will state the facts to them that I have gone through to discourage them to use this service.

And the people that you have to deal with are incompetent. My complaint proves this for the past 6 months. I called in to cancel my account and gave them all necessary info. It took about half an hour. The next month Direct TV debited my credit card $262.00 when I did not authorize the debit. They knew nothing about my cancellation, and charged me for an additional month. In the end they overcharged for the 1 month $80.00, $200.00 deposit,$46.00 credit, and the $280.00 early termination fee.

My account shows a balance and I called DirecTV to request the balance to be refunded. They denied many times having received the satellite receiver even after I gave them the same tracking number that I used showing they had received it. Finally, they said my refund would take 6 - 8 weeks, meaning I may not receive it for four months after terminating service. This is not acceptable.

No one will step up and take care of this issue. They fraudulently took money for service I have never received and refusing to refund my money back to me. There has to be someone out there that will rein in DirecTV and step up and start a lawsuit on them. I have complained to the BBB and now filing this complaint here. They are a bunch of underhanded criminals that should lose their business license. How can they take money from you but can't refund it back to you when they are clearly wrong?

I left and they promised no cancellation fee. Instead, a fee of $200.00 plus $217.00 plus collection cost climbing, I have cancer and some days cannot walk across the floor. They have called interrupted calls. They’ve been calling since 7 am eastern and shouted and threatened me. Never will I pay them or recommend to anyone. I was so nice in my calls and letters. I don't deserve this in my last days.

So I switched over to the high definition channel and again okayed the payment for the same movie. I fully expected that a quick email to DirecTV would reverse the original charge. Instead they unsympathetically said that the fees were correctly charged, and they wouldn't budge an inch. They charged twice for the same movie at the same time on different channels. What a disappointing display of customer service. Not only their technology for on-demand extremely primitive (making you search through channels to find one that starts soon), but they're also willing rape an extra few bucks out of you when their system don't work as expected.

I talked to management and they said they did not know, that some people had DirecTV there. I then called AT&T back and got the package set up through them as advised by DirecTV. When I went back to DirecTV, they then said I could move it for a fifty dollars. They said that my cancellation fee is 350.00. They are now charging me 350.00 dollars for cancelling my account when I was told by them I had to cancel my account.

Unsolicited, un-communicated fraud. Looked over my paperwork and sure enough, they "reserve the right" to hit your credit card. However, I never gave them one. Best I can discern, they back drafted via the routing from the manual checks I used to pay my bill. Not only that. When I disputed and BOA credited it back, in less than 30 days, they turned it over to collection. I have a perfect credit score and these guys are just part of the business elite machine that is part of the lawlessness that runs this country!

DirecTV was not through as on Saturday, FedEx delivered another converter box. I called FedEx to return it and hope this will be done tomorrow (Monday). DirecTV better not bill me for another converter box as it was their mistake billing. They advertised one low price but don't let you know the real cost. Nothing about rebates in their ad. I'm so sorry I ever called DirecTV.

She came back to the phone and said that I would get a onetime courtesy removal, so I was like okay. I said now with this removed how much is my past due, so I can keep my service from being interrupted. She had to go talk to the supervisor, again came back and told me never mind. She could not give me the courtesy I would have to write the billing department to dispute the charges. So, I started to do some research of my own. They had told me that the purchases started around April 2009, mind you this is April 2010 exactly one year later. So, I got curious because I didn't see all those charges on my purchase history and I thought any time you make a purchase it would be in your purchase history.

I called back, I used my cell phone to record the call. I spoke with a representative and I asked her, "Anytime you purchase pay per view isn't it suppose to show up in your history?" She said, "Yes," so I said, "Well, I'm being charged for movies that I didn't purchase and they are not in my history. She said they should then looked at my account, seen that I had called in earlier then she changed and she said sometimes they don't show up right away. Then, she says that the call back was done on February 2009 that is 2 months before the even purchases took place, so I just caught them in a lie and I have the whole conversation recorded if an attorney sees this, please contact me, I also have other evidence.

A month later, I was charged $196 for early termination fee. After calling numerous times to get this resolved, it still has not been corrected due to the late night calls I get every week from DirecTV. I also had no idea I was signing up for a year contract with them since DirecTV is the only option I have for my condo association. I contracted my credit card, and they have credited my account. My credit card company tried to contact DirecTV about this issue and no one from DirecTV has ever responded to them. I don't feel I should be responsible for an early termination fee when DirecTV cannot provide a signal or the service they want you to pay for.

A month later, I received an invoice (on an account that had been closed on December 21, 2009, invoice dated March 9, 2010), which showed charges in the amount of $13.96 for supposedly incurred costs from 2003. I have called numerous times disputing these charges. The receiver numbers from the invoice for charges in 2003 are not the same receiver numbers shown on the invoice received in March 2010. I have been told repeatedly that I owe this amount and just pay it. The amount is minor, but that is not the point. The charges are 7 years old. If I pay this, who is to guarantee that I will not get another bill saying I owe money? I cannot say if the charges are valid are not. I cannot remember 7 years ago if these PPV movies were ordered.

After everything was installed, I discover it didn't come with HBO. If I want HBO, it's an extra $15 per month. I discovered this less than an hour after the dish was installed, so when the customer service rep told me this, I told her to have her guys come back out and remove the dish and the equipment. She told me that since everything was installed, I was now bound by their contract and the early termination fee of $500 would apply.

How am I bound to a contract when they haven't fulfilled their end? They didn't give me what they said I would get so why am I responsible for paying for something when I'm not getting what I ordered? Can you imagine if you ordered a pair of pants, they send you a mini-skirt. When you complain they go, "Oh well," and demand you pay for it? That's not what I ordered!

I have basically been fighting with them for four months over this. Most times when I call, they just end up putting me on hold and it eventually cuts off. I also sent them a letter about the fact that they had promised me a bundle that I never got and that I wanted that refunded as well as the $240 early cancellation fee. They called to tell me they wouldn't do this and they eventually cut me off after putting me on hold several times. They charged my credit card who has since refunded me because I sent them the contract to prove that it says nothing about the renewal if you switch to HD.

After my credit card reversed the charge, DirecTV sent me a new bill for the full amount again. I have already had my lawyer send them a letter asking for arbitration which they claim can be done in the event of a dispute. They have since ignored this request and written me back saying I am responsible for all charges. Please let me know how I can join a class action lawsuit against DirecTV and what it all entails.

When the cable box was installed on February 6, I immediately began to experience serious problems with my reception. I called a DirecTV cable technician, who tried to help me during a telephone conversation. Since he was unsuccessful, he scheduled an appointment on February 9, to inspect my cable box. When he arrived, he examined the box, and said that bad reception was sometimes due to poor weather conditions. I replied that I had experienced terrible reception on days that the weather had been both clear and sunny. As a matter of fact, on February 7, the day after the cable was installed by DirecTV, the weather had been clear and sunny, but nevertheless, I had very bad reception that day. Regardless of the weather, I have been not been able to watch several channels, because the screen is either blank or pixelated, clearly contradicting the technician's assertion, that adverse weather conditions are responsible for the poor reception.

I continued to have problems with my reception, and on February 10, I called the company to cancel my service. I was initially informed by the representative I spoke to, that I could cancel within 15 days, without any penalty, but then he retracted his statement, and much to my amazement, went on to say that there would be a $475.00 fee, because I had signed a contract with DirecTV. Since I had never signed a contract with DirecTV, I requested him to repeat what he had just said to me about canceling within 15 days, because I had never signed a contract with this company. However, he refused to repeat what he had just told me, and then stated that I had a verbal agreement with your company, and was locked into a two-year contract with DirecTV. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't informed about any verbal agreements, a cancellation penalty, or two-year contract, until I called to cancel my cable service. I became so upset with the blatant falsification of information the representative was feeding me, that I hung up in utter frustration.

I called DirecTV again on February 16, 2010, to once again try to cancel my cable service. The representative I spoke to was rude and unprofessional, and when I told him that I wanted to cancel my service with DirecTV, and gave him the reasons for my decision, he informed me that he could not cancel my services, and insisted, upon fully reiterating your company's policies. I told him that I was tired of DirecTV's mishandling of my account, along with their questionable practices, and that I simply wanted to cancel my cable service. I also told him that I would not pay a cancellation fee, as I had never agreed to this stipulation, and only learned about it when I had contacted your company to cancel my account.

He again told me that if I cancelled my service with your company, I would have to pay a $475.00 cancellation fee. He also said that I knew there was an agreement based on your advertisements, an absurd statement since your advertisements are vague, and lack precise details about your various services. I asked to speak to a manager, but after being placed on hold for eight minutes, I hung up. After cancelling my cable service with DirecTV on February 18, 2010, I received a notice on March 1, informing me that I owed your company $475.00. On March 18, 2010, I wrote a letter to DirecTV, disputing their claim, and was told that I must pay the cancellation fee.

I called DirecTV on April 2, to try to resolve the issue, and was initially told that since I had the service for only 14 days, the fee would be waived. The representative said I needed to call back in 24 hours to make sure the $475.00 has been waived. Three days later, another representative from DirecTV called, and stated that I needed to pay the cancellation fee. I told him that the fee had been waived. He said that the decision had been reversed, because I ordered my services through Verizon, and not DirecTV. From the onset, the representatives have been dishonest, and misrepresented DirecTV, by not clearly explaining the terms of the contract to me when I initially ordered your services. In addition, since the company provided consistently defective cable service, I do not believe that I should be forced to maintain an account with them, because of the threat of an exorbitant cancellation fee. I have been receiving constant phone calls about the cancellation fee. I am afraid they may hurt my credit score if it is reported.

After more automated messages, I called again on 03/27 and 03/31 (spoke with Arkell) and was told there may have been a problem, so he will have a new bill sent out. I received this email on 04/07 and responded promptly (see below.) I received a call from DTV in the evening of 04/07 (I was out of town) to inform me that my services were disconnected and there was a pass due balance of $41.92. (Are you kidding me? ) Notwithstanding, the agent (Allilujuah) on phone was very nice, attempted to research account history, but call was disconnected. Apparently, no way of getting same agent back. Returned home to find DTV bill in my mail box. The bill was not very helpful in regard to the back billing issues, but most importantly, it did not reflect my 03/09 payment.

The evening of 04/10 was the first opportunity I had to get these issues resolved and service back on. I called and spoke with Robin for about 35 minutes. She then switched me to a specialist who put me on hold for another 10 minutes before I was disconnected. (Again, are you kidding, 45 minutes into the call?) I called and got another agent (Jenny) who after 15 minutes puts me on hold. 10 minutes later, another agent (Viola) picks up my call as if I was never on hold for Jenny. I start this whole resolution process over for another 10-15 minutes until my call is disconnected abruptly.

At what point is enough already? Do I cut and paste this email to the Board of Public Utilities? Where is the customer satisfaction I see advertised so freely? I was with DTV for probably 12 years (never an issue) before trying Comcast in August. Your sale department solicited my business and I took them up on their offer in November. At this point I have nothing but regrets.

1) When I called I said here in MI, Dish is charging $19.99-who I spoke with from DirecTV said she can give me a $5 off for signing up "today" and another $5 for signing on through the net so I said "yes"-my first bill that I just received is $24 not $19 and will be $24 for the first 12 months then go up to $58 (first problem with DirecTV).

2) I referred my father to get $10 off a month for 10 months-mysteriously the account number changed from his first statement to his latest so I was told that we will NOT get the $100 off-because DirecTV decided to change his account number(second problem with DirecTV).

3) My family wanted channel number 366-can't get it unless I pay $58 to have two satellites-even though it's supposed to be included in my package for free (third problem with DirecTV.) I have spent a total of 6 hours this past week on the phone wasting my time with DirecTV -to no avail! Shame on them, my family and I lost $220 to your firm! I will lose $220 over the next 24 months because DirecTV lied customer service could not help (there's nothing they can do-they said).

I called them and explained to them that we weren't even home during the period the movies were ordered. They said that maybe a neighbor was using a remote control through a window and watching the movies because they were being ordered from my box. This was very frustrating! Finally, they credited a portion of the bill and I paid for the other part. I placed a hold on the account, so only I could call in with a secret password. This worked for a while. Today, I called in to order a movie and was told I had already ordered two movies one of them X Rated.

I explained that I had not called in any X Rated movies. They said there was a credit on my account for $20 and that is how the movie was ordered. No one could explain to me who gave authorization for a credit of $20 dollars. I am going to start looking for a different company. I hate to change because I really like their cable service, it's the customer service and security that is very poor. Loss of money and peace of mind.

(1.) Right in the beginning, they said we needed to pay for the equipment and wait for it to arrive at our residence before someone could come out and set it up. So we paid the $70. 3 weeks later, we finally got the equipment, set a time for a guy to come out and hook it up. When the guy got there, he said that I didn’t need the equipment and to just send it back, no big deal, so I did and I was told I was going to be given my $70 back. Well, I have yet to receive it to this day.

(2.) I was promised I was going to get the $100 Visa gift card because when I signed up, we were going to do the automatic pay out of our checking account. Well I waited and called and the lady told me I had to wait one more week, so I waited. I called back and this other lady told me I had to wait 2 more weeks. So I waited and then I called back and this other lady told me I had to wait 3 months because of a probation period basically. So now it’s over 3months and I called, and now somehow it’s no longer on my account that I was able to get it or going to get it at all. How messed up is that, so once it’s time for me actually have, somehow it’s no longer on my account that I was suppose to get it? That’s not right.

(3.) This is the most recent and most serious one. On Monday April 5th 2010, I finally was able to get DirecTV to hook up my cable because we just moved but my management was having trouble letting them come and do it but we finally got it resolved. They arrived and starting working, they did my living room and then moved into my bedroom. During the time they are in my bedroom, my daughter who is 9 months old is crawling around the TV. I notice this, so I go grab her and bring back to the computer on my lap. I then notice she is chewing on something, so I stuck my finger in her mouth to try and get it out, next thing I know my finger is half way down her throat. She is gagging and then there is blood in her saliva, so by then I know I wasn’t going to be able to get out so I take my finger out and she starts choking, and that’s when I called 911.

When the lady answered my daughter had already had that hard swallow and swallowed the object. When the paramedics arrived, I looked around where she crawling and noticed some rubber coated covered cable wires on the carpet, and knew that’s probably what she swallowed. The paramedics talk to the cable guy just to let him know for future reference not to leave little objects on the floor mostly when little ones are around. They told me to take her to the ER to get an x-ray done to make sure there is no damage and to check out her throat.

Well, the cable guy after the paramedics left, didn’t show any concern for my daughter for what happened and the only time he said something was when I was the signing the papers right before he left and all he said was "I hope your day is better and I’m sorry" but said it like he felt like he had to say it to me and that was it. Soon after he left and my husband and I were getting ready to go to the ER, I found the same little pieces on my bedroom floor like the guy didn’t get a hint.

Well after the x-ray, the ER doctor said that is should pass and not be a big concern because kids swallow things all the time but to make an appointment with her doctor within the next few days for another x-ray to make sure that it is traveling the right tract. Well I got her in the next day Tuesday April 6th 2010, her doctor told me that he was surprised that they didn’t try to get it out at the ER but before he did the x-rays, he told me that if the object was still in her stomach because that’s where it was on Monday that I was going to be sent to Spokane 2 and half hours away to the children’s hospital so that they can get it out and might possibly have to be surgery.

Well 2 x-rays later, found out that it was not in her stomach it had just moved to her intestines and that we were just going to watch it and that if it wasn’t out by Thursday April 8th. Then we were going to have to take another x-ray then and see what’s going on. Well, thankfully it came out Wednesday morning, I had found it in her diaper but to my surprise, it was not what we thought she had swallowed. It was cable wire from the cable guy but it was bigger and longer and less rubber coated and more wire, with actually a long thick sharp wire sticking out of it.

I called her doctor cause I was concerned how if it might have done some damage while traveling through. He told me to take her back to the ER just to make sure because she had spiked a fever and he was worried it might have done some serious damage to her intestines. So she got another x-ray and thank goodness, nothing serious wrong or no serious damages, just some scrapes and a little sore throat, which she still has some hard times swallowing food.

As of right now, I am not sure if I am going to file a police report or not. I did contact DirecTV about this, and someone told them they are going to handle this at this moment. I am having a hard time believing anything they have to say, and I am not quite sure on where I am suppose to go after this because I do want DirecTV to pay for the medical bills that will be coming for this, because I should not have to pay at all, plus just the pain and suffering from all this almost makes my husband and I wonder if we should take some serious action even though she is ok. Could you please help me? I really think this is a serious situation, and I personally don’t see them caring about the situation or going to even attempt to help me or pay for their employee’s mistakes. Thanks so much. My daughter’s throat was slightly damaged, just sore and scratches and intestines damage leading with just scratches and minors things. This has caused pain and suffering to my daughter, my husband and I, medical bills for 3 x-rays, 2 ER visits and a doctor visit.

Then I became aware that we had been give a "free" subscription to a sports network? We do not watch sports, and I'm sure, I only accepted it because it was part of the package. Well, after the free subscription expired I was left with 5 payments of $60.00 that had to be paid before they could be cancelled! To cancel the service altogether would cost $420.00 because we would be breaking a contract that they said and that is clearly stated online I did not agree to!

It is absolutely ridiculous! I think I will return their equipment, cancel the credit card I have them listed on, and give them a big ** finger! I signed up for Dish Network, and they will disconnect the serve and take the dish down for me!

I called DirecTV to see why they took an unauthorized payment out of my bank account. They had no idea but assured me I owed the $114. I explained I had called and canceled HBO, etc. and was waiting for a box so I could send the silver receiver back to them. I was informed at that time I never had HBO and was never given a silver receiver. They were very rude and from what she said on the phone, she was calling me a liar.

Today I received a bill for the second month that they are trying to charge me for after my request for cancellation. They also want cancellation fees and want to charge me for receivers that they made me pay for when I updated my system. I was a loyal customer for more than 14 years, never made a late payment and was ignored with my request both by email and then by phone, do I as a consumer have any recourse? Please advise.

They have at least $244.56 that I have already been billed with them, planing cancellation charges and their demand for receivers that they charged me for when I requested an upgrade in my system after more than 12 years.

So I called Alex, he said he would reschedule for the following Saturday. Meanwhile, I called DirecTV, they said the internet was not included. My Saturday appointment came and went, no show. I again called Alex, told him I wanted my $25.00 back. This was on March 13, 2010. I was told it would be put into the mail. I have made several phone calls since the 13th and still no $25.00. I feel that I have been misled from the first time I spoke to Alex.

We also told "Thatcher" cancellation fees if we were to terminate their service ahead of time. He said that then they would take out automatically whatever amount they considered due from our credit card! All of the preceding is found in the very same Class Action Law Suit pending in Federal Court (i.e. Imburgia et. Al. vs. DirecTV). DirecTV's action is outrageous and we would like to join the class action suit!

Based on their own statement, DirecTV can access our credit card and pay themselves automatically "whatever they deem is due to them." In addition, why are they allowed to charge us $100 in "early cancellation" fees?

I am a retired senior and living on a fixed SS income; and although there is no "physical" damage to me, there certainly is emotional damage due to anguish and stress!

On April 1, 2010, they took out the entire amount of money including the receivers and the unpaid bill. I called the company to ask about what was going on because I had never given consent for anyone to take money out of my account. I was told in the customer agreement it states, if they have credit card information, you give them consent to take out any unpaid balances. I read this part; however, I am still angry because they did not notify me about taking out this money.

And of course, they don't tell you this when you agree to use their service. I was told there was nothing that could be done and when they received the equipment was when my account would be refunded. However, I was also told that could take 3 days to return the money, and it takes 2 days to ship. I was told this information by a supervisor. I just called today and the customer service rep I spoke to said that it takes 3 to 5 days.

I don't have a problem with the amount that is unpaid because I owe it. However, I have a problem with the entire amount being taken out of my account with no notification and no time to send back the equipment.

So, we were not paying commercial rates for UFC Fights or the NFL Sunday Ticket. Commercial rates are substantially higher. What was costing us $69.99 for the fights, now cost us 1100.00. We did not know the cost of the fights because we had never had them before. We bought them and paid for them. And now we are getting sued for not being a commercial account, when it was DirecTV that made the mistake. There is an FCC Pirate law, I understand that. But we didn't steal these. We bought them. Then, the DirecTV installer that came and installed the boxes, activated the boxes by calling the company and did his training session to teach us how to use the remotes, was gone.

He drove a white pickup with DirecTV signs and ladders. His uniform was a DirecTV shirt and hat. This company closed it's doors. We couldn't prove we didn't do anything wrong. Company name on the invoices was enough to prove it was a DirecTV's mistake or a DirecTV scam to make us pay big money. We were advised by attorneys that it would cost us more to prove than worth, so we should just try to settle. We did, $20,000 each monthly payments, that I still pay. And it is all DirecTV's little game because they know that they can win. Pirate laws are black and white. We didn't steal from them, they stole from us!

A lot of money had to be paid to a fraudulent company. Our first year in business was costly. But we are still going. And by the way, paying monthly to DirecTV for our satelite service and to the UFC fight promoter for the fights. All the while, paying the attorney in NYC monthly for the settlement.

I contacted DirecTV to see what was needed to terminate my service without having to pay the entire termination fee due to the circumstances of returning to PA. I was initially told there would be no problem, but that was not the case. I have been inundated with notices and phone calls regarding a $400 early termination fee. It has now been sent to collections and I would like to know what recourse I have regarding this matter. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.