DIRECTV Reviews

This was totally unacceptable to me, so I told them to disconnect and have someone come out to remove the dish and pick up the boxes. I was told that I would have to send back the boxes and remotes with boxes they would be sending me, and as for the dish, they don't want it back. I advised them that my association wanted it moved and they told me that it was no longer their problem that I would have to move it. I was now furious. I asked for the CEO's name so that I could contact him/her and the woman I spoke with (Ciniqua) didn't know his name. She asked her supervisor and all they could come up with was Larry. The hold time was outrageous. I held from 2 minutes to 10 minutes per call while they transferred me from DirecTV to Verizon, and Verizon to DirecTV. Of course, each one said it was the fault of the other.

I called their Consumer Advocacy Team at 866-785-5537, spoke with Milana about their CSR informing me that the standard receiver was not to be returned, but refused to provide any verifiable communication, so if I'm going to be billed $470 for something I was told not to return, I have some documentation that it was not to be returned. She told me that both the DVR receiver and other receiver are leased so both need to be returned, just place both in the box and send them back. I informed her the box they sent is only big enough for one of the receivers (i.e. as packed per enclosed instructions). When I told her what their previous CSR told me about it not having to be returned, again she emphasized both had to be returned and requested to confirm my address to send another box. I asked her to send a confirming email, which she refused and said they couldn't. Then, I asked she escalate this and she stated there's no one else to escalate it to; she's a supervisor and stated she couldn't escalate this further, and couldn't send any email as verifiable communication. I told her their CSR told me the exact opposite of what she is now telling me and I don't want to be responsible for $470 due to their mistake.

My wife then got on the phone with her, confirmed our address and put it on the speaker when Milana now told her that it didn't have to be returned, just the DVR receiver. My wife then asked the supervisor if she would send an email to confirm a return box was just now being sent to our home for this receiver. Milana stated she couldn't. When my wife then asked Milana to identify herself, she was told, "Milana #** President's office," and told Milana since they couldn't send anything to verify this, then my husband will do what he has to do.

I called a month later as instructed. There was another service call involved during which an HDDVR box was installed. I was also charged a $199 upgrade fee and $19 service charge, for something that was supposed to be part of my original order. Again, after complaining, those charges were credited back to me. However, this technician couldn’t get the HDDVR box to work. He informed me that I would need to cut down trees in my yard in order to get a clear HD signal in order for the HDDVR box to work. He went on to state the only good location I had was in my neighbor’s yard.

A couple of weeks later, I had trouble with the HD box. The customer service department determined that I had a bad box, and mailed me a new one. When I received the new box, I could not get any HD channels and had to schedule yet another technician visit. This technician informed me that if he had done the original install, he never would have installed it, because I did not have a good location anywhere that would receive a good signal.

Keep in mind that I had to arrange to have someone at my house for each of these service calls. Between me, my grandfather and my father, we spent many hours waiting and working with these people. That does not even include the many hours I spend on the phone with your customer service people.

Today, I have a standard box in my bedroom which cannot receive local channels, an HD box in the living room which does not receive any HD channels, and I am unable to hook up an HDDVR box. I have a $1,000 TV and would like to utilize its features. I should have been told from the beginning that DirecTV would not work for me. I wrote a letter to "billing disputes" with all of the above information and asked for instructions on how to discontinue the service. I also stated that I will not pay an early termination fee as I never even received the service that I ordered.

I received a box in which to return my receiver. Then, I got a bill for over $400 for an early termination fee. Then, I got a letter from the collections department. The dish is still attached to my roof. I was never contacted as to how to return that. Tell everyone you know, do not get DirecTV!

After sending emails, calling several times and getting no satisfaction, I wrote a letter to the Office of the President - supposedly the highest you can escalate to. After speaking with Elaine and Christy, I was informed this is a change in service and they will not waive the $220.00 cancellation fee. I told them I would not offer any good words about their company and I totally disagree with this charge. She said, "We appreciate your opinion." I said, "No, you don't and I will be filing complaints against your company." I had their service for 4 years and I would not recommend them to others.

I informed them that my mother has given me the authority to switch her to Dish Network. The CS rep informs me that there was a commitment on the account. I replied that there should not be and to please look into it. I am placed on hold and the CS rep returns and says, "You are correct. There is no commitment on the account. It appears to be an error and I will take care of it." I said, "Please do because I want to be sure there is nothing more owed to you than the $49.99+ service call." She assured me that was all that was due and that my mother would need to call in the actual cancellation since the service was in her name. She did so and they (DirecTV) mentioned the commitment to her and said they were removing it since it was an error.

Fast forward to today (7/29/09). My mother calls me to inform me of the $266.10 that is now owed to DirecTV for early cancellation. I call DirecTV and spoke to Casey. There is no note stating the commitment was an error. He also informed me that the commitment started when one of my mom's receivers broke and they brought her out a new one. That automatically renews her contract for two years. This blows my mind because you do not have to sign anything for them to do this. It is in your original contract in some very tiny print that is not brought to your attention. I got this information from Mark, supervisor of Casey. He looks over everything and says there is nothing that can be done by him since it is a valid commitment.

My only recourse now is to send a letter to their billing disputes department in Colorado. No other phone numbers available and no names to contact. Also, I asked to have the auto draft taken off my account (I pay my mom's bills from my account) since the account is closed. I was informed that they could not take the account off and they had a right to bill me. I told Mark, "Let me get this, there is no way for you to take the account number off and it just stays on your system forever and a day?” The reply was yes. There is definitely something wrong with not only the lies that the CS reps obviously tell but with the billing practices of this company.

When we called AT&T to explain the DirecTV charge, they said it wasn't correct and connected us to DirecTV. When we explained the bundled services, they told us that AT&T misinformed us and that we were under a 2-year agreement and the 1st year had to be drawn on an automatic credit card charge. We told them that's not what we signed up for and we wanted to cancel the service. DirecTV told us we only had 24 hours to cancel with no penalties. (Mind you, this was only 7 days from installation to all the phone call runarounds to find out what happened and to cancel. Stall tactics?)

We told DirecTV that they were not authorized to charge our card, and they blatantly stated that since they had our number, whether we kept their service or not, they were submitting monthly payments for the next year and then charging us $409.69 for early termination of contract. Needless to say, we canceled the card and submitted their name as fraudulent charges to our bank. I have called DirecTV numerous times and still get the runaround. Even though they admitted to me on the phone that since I live in the state of Kansas I legally had 15 days to cancel, they were not dropping the fees. (Even though I did return all equipment.) By the way, her name was Joy.

Last week, we received a bill with penalties, because the card they charged is no longer active. Even after I told them I was submitting them as fraudulent, they still tried! Talk about audacity and to think they are above the law! Now they say we owe $479.00 and some odd change. I again called DirecTV, and they said they would have someone from the corporate office call me back in 3-5 days. Do you think my call was returned? Of course not! By the way, I am not dealing with these modern-day pirates anymore!

After receiving the box, I had several weeks that personal problem at home (I am engaged to an alcoholic). I received a bill for $170.52, which I thought would be directly taken out of my checking account as it stated in the bill. Today, I found that DirecTV has debited my account for $426.12, the $170.52 plus $255.60 for the "unreturned" receiver. After calling and speaking to a customer service representative and a supervisor, they said they would not refund the money for the receiver until I send it in. I was never given any written notice that the $255.60 would be taken out.

This company is out for nothing but the money, and cares nothing about the customers. I have read the complaints on this website and the list is even longer than I would have imagined. I would hope a class action lawsuit against DirecTV stops them from ripping other unsuspecting individuals from their greedy practices. I am out $713.64 for service I never received from a contract that was mentioned, little alone explained in the initial phone contact nor upon the technician installing the system.

Two weeks later, we got a bill that says $500. I called and they said we were in another 2 year contract because we had gotten HD. I said show me were I signed. They said it’s verbal. No one ever said that to me on phone. Then, I could not speak to a supervisor. I had to write a letter to corporate and I did. They never responded but now it’s on my credit. Please help!

It has caused such emotional hardship this past year and a half. My husband is military and away a lot so I have to handle this on my own and take care of the kids. It is so stressful.

Now, I have Direct for more than 60 days so I cannot resubmit for the rebate. I think that they may be doing this to a lot of people for now they can charge me full price. And the rebate is just an enticement for people to switch. My computer know how is not too good. They also offered me another $5.00 off if I did it online. So much for customer satisfaction. Good old American way. I will not be saving my $21.00 a month for a year. My confidence in companies is very low. Customer satisfaction is at an all time low.

I left for a few hours and when I returned home, I turned the TV on, no sound again. I had to go through the process of rebooting the box and unplugging it. I contacted DirecTV and requested a new box be sent to me. I was informed that since I do not have the maintenance plan, there will be a $49.00 charge for someone to come out and check the cable and box. I refused to pay for someone to come out and service your products. So, I asked for a replacement box. I was also informed that I will have to pay $19.99 for shipping and handling of the box to be FedEx to me. I find this the most appalling thing.

I placed the order for a new box against my better judgment. I then called and spoke to Brian ID # **, Supervisor in Tech Support. He went through the process of trying to troubleshoot the box which resulted to nothing. I complained to him that I was not pleased with their service or with the idea of having to pay for someone to service their product, or pay for shipping and handling for a replacement box. He then transferred me to Manny ID # **, Retention Department. He told me the same thing as Brian and I express my dissatisfaction against the company and their services and products. I informed Manny that their reps failed to mention of any service plans when I upgraded to the HD Box. I ended up taking out his service plan, which is $5.99 a month. And I have to have this plan for 1 year or there will be a $10.00 cancellation fee, or if I cancel this plan after the service call, they will charge me the full price for the service call. I asked Manny was there a grace period if I choose not to keep this plan and I was informed no.

I feel this is a rip-off and how unhappy I am with this type of service. I have never encountered such rip-offs in all my life. I informed him that I will be filing a complaint against the company with the FCC, BBB, Rip Off.com and Consumer Complaints.com. This is ridiculous. I am bound in a contract with this company until 10/31/2010, which when I signed up with DirecTV, had no idea I would be under contract. I also informed Manny and Brian that I would never recommend anyone to go with DirecTV. And anyone asked me how the service was and thought about using DirecTV, don’t go with them because they have terrible service and a rip-off company!

We waited a week, but due to the notice from the landlord. we took down the dish. We received our next month bill, which we thought was a final bill. No one came to pick up the equipment. Several months later when we were buying a house, we found out that DirecTV was reporting our account as delinquent plus charged us over $500 for equipment that they said we never returned, early termination fee, and monthly service! We have not been able to get any resolution.

None of this was a problem until I sent back the HD/DVR box because our HD TV broke. At that time, I attempted to cancel DirecTV and was told that because we chose the HD/DVR box, we entered into a two-year contract. But that was easy because I sent that box back so the contract ends, right? And the answer to that is no. Currently, we have a two-year contract with DirecTV because of a box that we don't have anymore. And since that is crap, I told them to send the box back to me so that I can at least use the DVR feature. I was then told that if I wanted the box back, I have to pay an additional $200 fee. Awesome customer slavery DirecTV! If you are thinking about DirecTV, reconsider. HULU is free.

I returned the equipment they requested on time. And they said because I canceled my contract early, they were charging me $400. I said they broke the contract first with the poor service, and they said I refused having a repairman come out. I said they didn't offer until after my equipment had been sent back. And they still broke the contract as I had never been given the introductory price of $29.95 a month. They said it took a while for those discounts to show up on the bill. I canceled too soon. I told them I could not afford the $68.13 a month. That was not the agreement and not in my budget.

They took the credit card number I had to give to them on the day of delivery and charged the balance of the $400 which was $329.78 to my credit card. It was not my understanding that my card would be used to do this with. I have written to tell them that I have paid them a total of $246.52 instead of the agreed upon $29.95 monthly charge that I was told I would get. That is a difference of $156.67 I paid them. I feel they broke the contract by service that was not provided and by overcharging me on a monthly basis. I have tried writing and calling and they said too bad, it was in the contract I signed about the $400 early cancellation fee. And I said yes but the service was not provided and I have been overcharged which means they broke their part of the contract too. I have been told one man here in Charlotte was charged $800 and there was nothing he could do about it. I can't do anything about him but I think DirecTV should live up to their contract if the consumer has to.

Finally, we decided to replace the box with a DVR. We ordered the installation, the installer was late and rushed through. He called us later to retrieve some of his tools and didn't sign any docs. Fast forward one year, I cancelled my service because FIOS is installed in my neighborhood and it's half the price of DirecTV. I was charged $280 cancellation fee due to early termination of my two year contract. I wrote to BBB and DirecTV's response was it is my responsibility to know what I upped for. They said it is on their website. I was informed by the CSR when I ordered and in the docs I signed. First, what if I didn't have access to internet? Two, I wasn't informed by the CSR and three, I didn't sign anything. Never again DirecTV! Several neighbors on my street have encountered the same problem. Once their contract is up, they will be switching to FIOS too! Too bad DirecTV!

Again, I was never told this; neither did I see this in writing. DirecTV never presented this to me until I tried to cancel them. This is unfair to the consumer. You are always talking to different people who work there and everyone has their own idea of how to help, but to no avail. It's going to cost more money. I also explained that I live on a fixed income and I was laid off with the job I had in May. I needed to cancel and they said I would have to pay to cancel. I explained again that I didn’t have the money. This situation has bothered me mentally and physically. I have high blood pressure. When I have to confront DirecTV, it causes my pressure to go up. I become nervous and it results to an upset stomach and thus vomiting. They are very threatening. DirecTV has caused an economic hardship because I am not working. Having to pay this bill, there are things that I can do without. And this is one of them during these trying times.

I thought all was fine, until I received an "early termination fee." I didn't think this was right, since they were the ones who would not transfer the service and had told me on the phone that there wouldn't be any penalty. I called DirecTV and asked them why they charged me the fee. They told me that they would "escalate" the request to higher-ups. I did not hear anything, and within a week, I received a bill for the early termination and previous services. I sent a check for the previous services but held the early termination fee, hoping to come to an agreement first.

I called again and was told that my request had been denied. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that I had to write to Colorado to the complaint division. I did such and received a letter back telling me that I needed to read the contract I signed with them. I could not find anywhere that said "if they terminated me, then I owed them an early termination fee." I wrote back, asking them to either reinstall my service or send a person to my apartment to explain why they couldn't install the service or show me in the contract where I was at fault. I received another letter telling me that if I didn't pay the bill, they would forward my account to a collection agency.

I am used to people being surprised at how high my credit rating is, and I could tell I was not going to win this one. So, I paid the bill and considered it a learning experience. I didn't think about it again, until I wanted to have a telephone service installed. I was told that I needed to put down a substantial deposit due to my credit rating!

Now, I'm very angry. First, I think I was in the right about not paying a termination fee! Second, I think DirecTV should have waited until the issue was resolved before "dinging" my credit rating. I was continuing to correspond with the company and not just ignoring them. I guess that I have lost the money. But how do I restore my previously outstanding credit score?

3 or 4 days later, the installer came out to install everything. Not 2 weeks later, I got a bill for $74.00. So, I called the 1 800 number and explained the deal, and the person on the phone said that yes, I was supposed to get the rebate and that he would take care of the problem. He told me to send in $46.25 for that month and that that was what my bill would be for one year. So, I did as he said. I thought that was the end of the problems, but boy, was I wrong.

The next month, I got a bill again for $74.00. So, I called again to explain it all over again. The person told me that I was not signed up for a rebate and that there was nothing she could do and that I would have to call the rebate department. I got the number from her and called them. Well, they said that I was not signed up for the rebate (By the way, I got an e-mail from them that says that I am approved.) and that there was nothing that she could do either.

I called the 1800 number back and got another person. After explaining everything again, she said that the rebate could take 8 weeks to process and that if I didn't pay the $74.00 payment, I was subject to get cut off. Well, I am now 4 months down the road at $74.00 a month, and still, I got no rebate. There's no "I am sorry" or anything else. I feel that if they cannot hold up their end, then I shouldn't have to hold up to my end! I am supposed to pay $46.00 for a year, not $74.00 for a year. I am being screwed!

The most recent event happened on April 6, 2009, when I spoke with John (I have his customer number at home) who, after a long phone call, finally offered me one free year of HBO, Starz, Showtime and Cinemax even though it wasn't an offer they were currently giving to anyone else. I agreed to this resolution and then he mentioned that his system is unable to process the full year at once so he can activate 3 months for me of HBO and Cinemax and 6 months of Showtime and Starz at that time and then gave me dates of when they would turn off so I can call back and have them reactivated. He said he would note all this on my account so when I called back I would have no problems.

Well, they turned off on July 5th as he mentioned and when I called back, they tell me that my notes read nothing of this and that there's nothing they can do. I have spoken with a lot of different people about this issue and they just keep saying my notes don't indicate anything about this and they won't do anything about it. Then, when I give them the name and employee number of John and ask to speak with him, they say they can't do that either because there are so many service centers that it means nothing to them. So, my question then becomes, why even give me that information if it's useless to me. Obviously these agents get tired of talking to a client, so they tell them what they want to hear and then adjust the notes to read whatever doesn't get them in trouble later on.

At this point, I would love to cancel my service and just be done with them but they also want to charge me $20 for each month I have left on my contract which is 15 months ($300). I know this is listed in my contract but if they won't give me the programming they promised, I would think they should just let me cancel without the fee just so we can have a resolution here.

My account with them is in very good standing, all payments are up to date and 99% of the time they are in before the due date. I have made upgrades throughout my almost 3 years with them as well as paying monthly for a protection policy. I would love for Consumer Affairs to do something to assist me with the very poor customer service DirecTV has continued to give me over the years. I have plenty of back up correspondence between us that I can provide if needed.

When I called on July 20, 2009 to have HD discontinued, I was told that since I had HD equipment leased, I had to keep receiving the HD signal at the additional $10 each month. I am 69 years old and living on quite a small income and $10 for me is a significant amount of money. But more than that, I feel abused and lied to by the customer service people. When I said as much to her, all she said was, "I'm sorry" with no feeling at all and asked if there was anything else I needed. I asked how much it would cost to terminate my contract. To my disbelief she said $340.00! How can this kind of "customer service" be justified?

I received the forms more than a week later on May 20, 2009. The rebate form let me know that applying for the rebate online would be instant and that applying for it by mail would take 2 to 3 months! So, I tried again online, and again, the site didn't work correctly. I called and spoke with a customer rep again, and she tried to "walk me through it." Of course, we got nowhere, and she told me that I would have to mail in the rebate forms.

Now, more than 2 months later, I called to find out when my bill would be $34.99 instead of the $61.39 that I am currently being charged. I was told by Joshua in the rebates department that there is no record of my rebate forms being received and that my next bill would be even more, because I had Showtime for 3 months free and that after that, I would be charged $12.99 per month. I let him know that I do not currently have Showtime, I don't want Showtime, and I've never wanted Showtime. I then let him know that I felt that I was being actively scammed by DirecTV and that if I didn't have a resolution today, I would cancel my account. He immediately told me that he would be happy to just connect me with the cancellation department, which he did.

Then, I asked to speak with a supervisor. After a 17-minute wait, I was connected with Yvette. She was nice enough, but again, no solutions. She told me that she would make sure to research to see if, in fact, they do not have my rebate forms. I asked what good that would do, as I'm pretty sure that they will not "have been received." I let her know that while I was on hold, I did some searching around the internet and found several sites with consumer complaint after consumer complaint regarding DirecTV's rebate scam. She then told me that she would make sure that my next bill is adjusted correctly and that if it's not, I could call back and discuss it again.

I'm pretty sure that my next bill is going to be for $61.39 (or more if they charge me for the Showtime channel that I don't have and don't want). I have never felt so blatantly scammed by a company.

I have not bought a new TV since, but DirecTV put me on collection notice, indicating I owe them $101.48 as balance due from March to July. I have spoken and emailed them to explain that a request to suspend the account was made on 02-21 (as per my notes) along with the request for credit (which was made). I told them that they were free to check the busted TV, which has been non-operational since 12-08. They refused to reverse the collection amount of $101.48 and also refused to acknowledge that a request to suspend the account was made on 02-21. My argument is why are they making me pay for a cable fee or service, as I have not used the TV and watched TV availing of their service since December 2008?

The charges would appear on my next bill and were paid. They never once alerted me that the attempts would be charged to my account once the box was turned in. When I called to complain, the CSR admitted that the attempts would not show up on any bill, because they were never viewed. They would only show up once the receiver was turned in and the card could be read. There is nothing in the Terms and Conditions that explains this billing practice.

In trying to resolve this, I have written to a Billing Dispute department twice. They returned one form letter, stating that they viewed each charge and payment to the account and they considered the last charges valid. They advised me to pay to avoid collection. The form letter was dated May 18, 2009. Too late though. On May 26, I received a call from a collection agency out of Waterloo, Iowa with the number 319-274-1904, which demanded payment.

I lodged a complaint with the BBB. DirecTV replied that they have no idea whether or not the PPVs were ever viewed. But according to them, even if they weren't viewed, it would not matter. I would still owe the charges as the movies were attempted and on the card located in the box. It looks like this will be reported to the credit bureaus. I feel I don't owe it. DirecTV did nothing but secretly hide a way of charging for services it knows the customer not only didn't receive but has no idea could result in charges either.

My issue is when I went to collect all of my Dish equipment, the main switch box that I need to send back to Dish is missing. I spoke to two other DirecTV CS reps, who said they would have the people they contract with get in touch and try to resolve the issues. I must send back my Dish equipment this week or I am going to be penalized. The main piece of the equipment is missing and I will still be penalized. When I spoke to one of the CS and to the gentleman who came out and fixed the DirecTV on July 15th, 2009, they both said this first guy probably took the part. I am so frustrated and so sorry I switched to DirecTV because I have had nothing but issues from the day it was set up.

Now, I am going to owe Dish and who knows how much for the missing part because I cannot get anyone from DirecTV to help me resolve this issue. The last call I made was last Friday, July 17th and the CS rep promised my issue would be escalated to the people who set up my DirecTV and that I would hear something within a couple of days. So I waited until today, Monday, July 20th to call again and now I am being referred to the Damaged Property part of the company, and I can not even talk to a live person. Please help because I am so frustrated on what to do next. Thank you for any help you can give me. Sorry, I just re-read this and noticed I am not talking to DirecTV, but what I said is what I would express to anyone else who will listen.

When our installation was done, the appointment was on a Thursday afternoon between 12 pm and 4 pm. I would hope that would be enough of a window for the technician. So, my husband took 4 hours vacation time from work to be here (He works 8 am to 4 pm.). The unkempt technician showed up somewhere between 5 and 5:30 pm. He was at our home about three hours and obviously did not shower on a regular basis. He smelled the house up; it was so bad. Of course, he installed the equipment improperly, and 3/4 of the HD channels that we were paying for were not coming in.

So, my husband called to spend more time on the phone to get someone back to fix it. They said they would come on Sunday. Again, we all waited around all day on Sunday for a tech who never showed up or called. My husband was back on the phone again. For about an hour and a half on Monday, he waited, trying to get a confirmation that they were coming on Tuesday. He was disconnected four times during that phone call. Finally, the appointment was confirmed, and he asked that the technician contact him via phone an hour prior to coming. He did not want to take any more time off from work.

On Tuesday, the technician arrived; however, he did not call like he was instructed. He called once he arrived and left a message in his cellphone. My husband immediately called him back to tell him that he was on his way. He called the technician seven times and left messages, but no one returned his call. Then we cancelled the services.

Since then, we have been arguing with DirecTV, because they wanted to charge us an early cancellation fee for the amount of $500.00. Why should we pay for a service, which was never provided to us. They said that we breached the contract by cancelling early. However, we feel that the breach of contract was on their part, because the service, which was agreed upon, was not fulfilled by DirecTV. DirecTV only covers the part of the contract that is most favorable to them and could care less of the treatment of their customers. Now, we are forced to contact our attorney and the local news station to force them to do what is right.

I called DirecTV and they informed me they would send a service person to remedy the problem. When the service person arrived at the home in Florida, he spent about an hour checking the dish, the receiver and my TV. He concluded that the receiver was not operating properly and he replaced the old receiver with a new receiver. The problem was then resolved. When I moved back to Lakewood, I decided to cancel DirecTV and go with Dish TV. Upon making the call to cancel, I was informed that I was under contract through the first of January 2009. I had never signed a contract or been told this information.

They stated because I got (unsolicited) new equipment, (I never asked for it), that my contract restarted for a period of 2 years. Now, they are telling me that I will be charged $20.00 a month until January 2010. When my final bill came, I was charged $279.00 that was required to be paid immediately. I paid the usual monthly fee, but not the remaining balance as I don't feel I should be required to do so as I was not informed I was under a new contract.

Stated below is the reply I got from Direct TV customer service after I told them I was not going to pay the remaining balance: "Thank you for the recent inquiry in regards to your account. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns. Unfortunately, your DirecTV account was downgraded, disconnected and terminated before your DirecTV commitment was met. Therefore, following the terms of the offer you are currently under, we have charged a prorated early cancellation fee to your DirecTV account. You have been charged only a prorated portion of that total fee, based on the number of full months that remained on your original commitment at the time your minimum required programming service was changed. If the service update happened mid-month, the fee calculation began at the start of the next month. At DirecTV, we strive to provide the finest in satellite television entertainment and outstanding customer service. If you have any further questions regarding your account, please contact us at 1-800-531-5000 or visit us online at directv.com."

As you can see, this is a standard form letter. It does not address any of my complaints as far as the service I received which was the initial cause of my cancellation. I understand that a class action suit for several millions of dollars was just settled and Wisconsin's portion of this lawsuit was included in the lawsuit. My fear is that my credit will be compromised if I do not pay this.

I called in, and the rep said it was due to partial month's billing, etc. and that next month, the billing would be clean. I received the next bill, and the price was much higher than I was quoted. I called DirecTV and was told to fill out a rebate and my price would be adjusted. (First, I heard of the rebate.) I followed the rep's instructions, and the website said I was not eligible.

I called DirecTV back, and they said it was too late to sign up. Needless to say, I was extremely upset. The first time I was able to determine my bill was wrong, I called in and followed the instructions. It seems like a bait and switch; that is very deceptive for a company that prides itself on customer service. The only reason I switched to DirecTV was because of the price I was quoted. In addition, I feel like I should get some consideration due to the multiple issues I had with Verizon between the account setup and billing confusion. The customer service reps were extremely unhelpful.

After my experience with DirecTV, I am planning on canceling my service and switching back to Comcast. Funny thing was I was about to call in to DirecTV and add another box and the football package. I guess they would rather have a cancellation fee than 2 years of service and $300 on a sports package.

Well since that day, they added on another 12 months. They agreed that it was their mistake, since the box was under warranty and as of 7/17/09, I only had 10 months left. I explained to them that the package I committed to was the 18 month and not the 24 months and they still continue with their scam that I had 10 months. And, if I want to cancel it will cost me $20 a day for a total of $200 and that they will take it out of my credit card they have on file. I finally spoke to another telemarketer and she told me that I was correct and that I only had 4 months left in my commitment. She said that she would put a note into the system and transfer me over to someone that can fix. So the next two people I spoke to started the story with 12 more months commitment left in my contract. Since, DRTV is allowed to scam its customers, I told them to cancel me as of 7/24/09.

That is when they told me that I would have a $260 cancellation fee. I had been a customer with DirecTV since November of 2001. They told me that I had changed equipment in Jan/Feb and that renewed my "contract". I was not told at that time that my contract would be renewed or I wouldn't have okayed the equipment change which was due to my paying for a service called "game lounge" and I could not receive it on one of my three receivers and the person on the phone stated, "well, we'll take care of that". Nothing was said about it changing my contract.

I mailed a letter stating these facts to them and they received it on June 1, 2009 and they have not replied in any way, shape or form. Of course, they got their money through my credit card and even the credit card won't help me get my money back.

To let you know how good they are with billing, once in a while, I lose cable TV and have called them on it - they take off on my bill for one day service. Also, now and then, I have called them up asking for a "deal" being a good customer all these years and they have discounted either my cable or Internet for a up to one year - can't beat that. Having the broadband Internet, I got rid of AT&T (the bill was killing me) and got Vonage - best move I ever made.

Second point, they tell you the contract is for a year on the phone and online, but it's only when you get the statement that the pricing lasts for a year, but you're committed to two years of programming. Maybe I missed the fine print and maybe this is standard practice for the industry and if that's the case, take my cable and I'll invest in DVDs and internet for my news. Finally, don't ** me about the five extra channels of Wimbledon, you only get four as one of the channels is a repeat. Moreover, they only broadcast those channels during the live play, which is typically in the wee hours of the morning for most US. Why not rebroadcast during normal television viewing hours?

I plan to write a letter to the president and CEO of not only the shameful business tactics, but of the poor customer service process. I do not fault the people on the phone who are just doing their job and feel sorry for them when they get irate customers like myself. In my opinion, DirecTV only cares about thievery, misrepresentation and not about integrity. I would not recommend this company to anyone and hope that Dish and the cable companies don't have the same business practices.

Emailing their service department was useless, because I kept getting the same scripted answer: "We gave you a great rate and saving, so we expect you to honor the agreement." When I called their service line, their answer is pretty much the same. I'm going to write a letter to the CEO to explain my situation, but I'm not holding my breath. All I know is that I will never ever use them again and will pass my experience to all my friends. They might get that extra year from me, but no more.

In the meantime, I was getting several phone calls, it was borderline harassment. When I spoke to one representative, she explained that they were for movies from April and May 2008 that were ordered on pay per view using the phone line connection, which is impossible since a password is needed and I never set one up. I spoke to another representative and his story was that I ordered the movies by using the remote control. It’s not possible since I never ordered any movies using the remote. If this were the case, the charges for these movies would have appeared on my monthly statement. This representative also stated that charges up to a $1,000 could be on the chip without the customer's knowledge. He asked me if I knew anyone by the name of Jamil. I don't know nor ever heard of anyone by this name.

I wrote a letter requesting a breakdown of these charges, dates and amounts. DirecTV responded and said I was responsible for these charges. I did not incur these charges and requested the charges be removed from my bill. DirecTV responded with a letter saying the account balance of $161.54 was accurate. In the meantime, they sent this information to a collection agency. I contacted the collection agency stating I was disputing the charge. A letter was sent to DirecTV dated July 14, 2009 that I was filing a complaint with Consumer Affairs. The complaint was filed July 14th with the Better Business Bureau.

I called the company on July 2nd to find out that not me, but my husband had an outstanding balance and they stopped my connection. I had to pay the outstanding balance in order to get service and I did, so the representative said I can have someone back in the house the following day. I said that I didn’t think that would be fair being that if they would have informed me the customer of the problem, I would have had service already. So she said that she would have someone call me in 15 minutes.

More than an hour had gone by, so I called them. I called them for about 5 hours before I got in contact with anyone. This representative couldn't give me an appointment until Saturday the 4th of July, which no one was going to be home that day. But the other rep had said I can have someone in my house the following day, but he never put the appointment in the system. So, of course, I am very frustrated by now by having no other choice but to try and arrange for someone to be in the house on a holiday.

I come home from vacation on the 6th of July to find that everyone in the house is not satisfied with the service. There is a delay in the view of the channel when you change channels and I had ordered 2 DVR boxes and 2 regular boxes and received 1 DVR and 3 regulars. I figured I will deal with the delay, but to have the DVR box that I had originally ordered would be much better. Now I called for not 5 hours this time, but for 3 days - morning, noon, and night - all different times of the day. But the systems were down and you can’t get through to anyone. Very frustrating. I would like to cancel at this point.

Finally, after a couple of days, I get through and I want to receive the DVR box I had originally ordered. But DirecTV charges $100 for these boxes. Outrageous. I will not pay for an additional box. So I tried again to deal with the service for what it is worth. I hate it. I called to cancel and they say if I didn’t like the service, I would have had to cancel within 24 hours. I don’t believe it is a fair grace period for cancellation. I hate the service so much both television service and customer service I want to cancel, but I have a $480 cancellation fee which I think is ridiculous. Instead, I had to downgrade my service and went and got another cable service that I am much happier with. Because my cancellation was on such short notice, I should be able to cancel with no fee. I am not happy with the performance or the customer service of the company.

At that point, I decided to switch to another service. The other service was installed at the end of June 2009 and the blue screen problem was gone, obviously not my TV. On 7/1 or 2, I called DirecTV to cancel service and asked the lady for my final charges. She said I owed $140 for cancelling early and that my contract expired in 12/2009. A few days later, I received an email bill that I owed $290 because my contract expired in 12/2010. I called and spoke to Sam and Knight who said I owed $290 because it was a three-year contact for the HD service. When I asked for proof that I authorized this, they said it was based on my installing the HD equipment in 2007, but they can't provide proof of this, and they explained that the lady made a mistake for the $140.

I don't believe I owe anything, since I completed the first year and they have no proof of an additional 1- or 2-year contract with my authorization. Please help, this is unfair business practice.

I worry what they could do when the next payment comes up. I will not pay. I've disconnected the box and informed them by emails and many calls, but they will not tell me they have disconnected me from their services! They should respond to customer request to stop service. They may want to bill me again and collect money on the box that's supposed to be returned after cancellation of services. Box about $175.00. I did not mail the box to them because they did not send me the mailing envelope with the proper address. The last payment I sent for $48.99 on July 2, 2009 should cover services until July 26, 2009. I've used their service since 09/26/06, never late, never missed a payment. They kept giving me Spanish channels I did not want, but not important now.

Now, I get a bill showing the small credit, but it is offset by a $180 cancellation fee. I called them and was continually put on hold, and was told that I was under obligation and had no choice but to pay the money. I asked for a supervisor, was placed on hold several times, then was told the supervisor was too busy to speak to me. I fully understand what an agreement is and would not have cancelled my service if I were still under that obligation. I simply changed my service to their competitor.

Not long after, I received a call from public relations from DirecTV. I explained my situation. She told me that technicians are out here all the time and they should have hand delivered a working system to me. She gave me the number to call. The rep was very hateful to me and told me that it would cost me above and beyond the $300 bill I currently received from them, in order to have a tech come back out. I also pay them for a "Protection Plan" each month that should take care of this kind of situation, besides the fact that they left me with a defective device.

I would really like to know if I have any recourse in this situation. They have got to be the most disreputable company I have ever had to deal with and I need help.

I wasted many hours on the phone, trying to fix the problem myself. Their instructions are adds, not instructions. I could not set remote controller without a code for the specific type of TV. You cannot find it anywhere in the manual. My advice is do not sign anything, unless everything is working properly or do not order DirecTV.

I got the final bill and I paid it. Then the next month, I got another bill for early disconnection charges and late fees totaling over $50. I refused to pay because there wasn’t any contract nor was there any mention when I had the service started. So they reported it to the three credit agencies, when I asked them to remove it, they told me to start making payments and we will remove the derogatory information from my credit report.

When I contacted them, they can never send me any signed agreements or anything. They just lie as they go. I swear, they have the meanest and coldest people working for them. It's unbelievable how these people just "make fraudulent charges". I am disputing this with my bank, but my bank warned me "They get this a lot and DirecTV wins a lot". Whatever that means. DirecTV makes me sick to my stomach.

Direct TV told my husband we cold get a DVR upgrade but it would be $19.95 to upgrade to a DVR receiver. I did not want to pay for shipping. It was DirecTV's equipment, and I didn't think we needed DVR on the children's television. And were paying $5 per month in lease fees. My husband said it was only $19.95, and we should just pay it for a new receiver. We phoned DirecTV back, and we agreed to pay the shipping and ordered the receiver. At that time, there was no mention about any agreement, except that DirecTV would charge my account $19.95 and I would pay it. We received it, connected it, and paid the bill.

Around 1 1/2 year ago, expenses (groceries and gas) in our home became very high. We had to begin to analyze where we might cut back. We started with checking with our phone, cellular, internet server, and satellite. My husband called DirecTV at least two times in the last 6-9 months to try and reduce our $120 satellite bill. Both calls were unsuccessful. One time, we tried to reduce our plan; but that would take away our favorite family channels. On the second call, Vince asked if they would give us the new customer price; and they would not.

In May, my husband fell off some scaffolding and shattered his heel. Like many families in America, we are without insurance; and at this point, we knew we were going to see $75,000 (if we're lucky) in medical bills. We live in a rural area and will need to travel to Denver for surgeon appointments and surgery. We also know that he will not be able to earn an income until September. We needed to cut all our bills immediately and called Direct TV to cancel on 6/16/09. The representative informed us that we were under a two-year contract under the customer agreement because we accepted the free upgrade of a receiver.

I wanted to know when I accepted this new customer agreement and how I was informed of this two-year agreement and cancellation fee. This representative would repeat the same thing over and over. You accepted the two-year agreement when you accepted the free upgrade. We were never informed by the original representative about that the terms of accepting the free upgrade and paying $19.95 and that we were also accepting a two-year agreement.

We were never informed that I should go online and look over the customer agreement that I was signing up for. The only information we had was that we were paying the shipping for the new receiver to replace the one that blew up. This representative told me we were notified of the new agreement on the back of our statement. I looked at the back of our statement. It refers you to the Customer Agreement online.

This is where we did not like the way a two-year agreement was attached to a free upgrade and placed on the DirecTV website. We didn't think that was notifying us of a change in our service. I asked the representative to cancel our service and bill us for the cancellation fee, and I would write a letter to the DirecTV council and see if they could help me resolve this. If I told her that if we were wrong, we would pay the bill. I also asked her to come get the equipment.

I followed up several times and each time, they said it was still being looked into. I finally received a letter five months later, saying the rebate would not be honored, because I had not activated it. I tried several times speaking with customer service, rebate representatives, and customer retention. There was absolutely no one that would be willing to help out. The best they could do is say that the rebate was not activated and they could give me a good deal, which was five dollars off and pay $52.99 a month for twelve months. Even though all representatives agreed that they could view the notes in their system indicating I called regarding problems with the rebate, they said they could not make exceptions.

When I told them how dissatisfied I was with DirecTV and that I wanted to discontinue my service, the representative said he did not want me to take his next comment as a threat, but that I would be hit hard with fees, due to not abiding by the contract. Every time I asked to speak with a supervisor or try to make them understand what happened, all they could say was, "I apologize", "I understand", "There is no supervisor that will say different from what I am telling you", "It is out policy."

DirecTV could care less about trying to help a customer or looking at our side in this matter, to recognize we had taken obvious measures to find out what happened with the rebate over the course of time. We have been forced to remain with them for now. They said they would discount ten dollars for six months, but we were forced to return two receivers and keep one in order to pay a low price of now $45.00.

Quite frankly, it appears DirecTV has no regard for what customer service should really be. We feel they use their advertising to capture new customers, but once you are in with them and you have a problem, they do not care to help out with any type of situation. They do not care to look at all sides.

We do not recommend DirecTV. You will be bounced back and forth through different people in the company who said to be able to help you with a problem, and you will never get help! We are being forced to pay more than we should as oppose to what was originally discussed. Additionally, because the price is too high and the rebate is not honored, we had to give back two receivers.

After my cancellation, I have called DirecTV to resolve this. I asked them to prove it to me that I agreed to it, but there's no response. Also, I did call twice pretending to be a new customer, and each and every time, there's great welcoming conversation and not once was I made aware that there is a commitment for 2 years and a cancellation fee of $450.00. On March 8, when the installer completed the installation, I signed the work completion form, which is always and everyone signs to any kind of services rendered in a home.

It is so easy to turn it over to collections, which they did, and if I don't pay, they will ruin my credit. It's so simple to do that for them. Unfortunately, DirecTV does not have a location here in New York, so I can't even go to small claims court to prove my case. Please help me with this (I have overpaid them 5 weeks of services. That should be about $40.00, and I paid $60.67. They owe me a refund).

On June 28th, I received a statement not from AT&T but from DirecTV for $60.30. Thinking this is only a mistake, I called AT&T and the rep told me that he has had several calls from customers stating the same problem. I asked to speak with a supervisor and then the whole scam started to reveal itself. The AT&T supervisor kept telling me that he was sorry that I was misinformed, that I had to go to DirecTV website to apply for rebates! Never once when I was signing up did they mention this. Moreover, I would be getting my bill from DirecTV until November. Also news to me, I was on the phone with this man for what seemed to be like eternity. The words, "I am so sorry, you were misinformed" were like a hammer on my head and I had to ask him to stop using those shallow, meaningless words.

I then placed a call to DirecTV - big mistake and a waste of my time. Same wording again, "I am so sorry, you were misinformed." I asked to speak with a supervisor again who kept repeating the same script: I had to go online to apply for rebates, and that it will take up to 6 to 8 weeks for these rebates to take effect, and until then I will be paying $60.30, that thereafter I would get a rate of $34.99 and not the $30 that I was given by AT&T, and for 12 months and not the 24 months that was agreed on. When I told them that I want to cancel it, they said I will owe them $480. To say that I spent over two hours on the phone with both AT&T is no exaggeration. This is a scam by both AT&T and DirecTV - misleading, locking the consumer in a credit bind that they did not agreed to. They are using bait and switch, false advertising and dishonest business practices.

After the second month when I had not gotten my rebate and my charges per month were $63, I called DirecTV and was told that I was too late and I should have sent in my rebate form. When I stated that I was told by their rep that I did not need to, they said, "Well, I am sorry, sir; but you are too late." I had the name and the time I called, and they didn't bother to check out my story. I pay with my Amex and put in a dispute, hoping that they would answer. They did not. They merely charged me on the next bill and charged me a late fee. At this point, they just canceled my service and I am anticipating a big "get out of my contract" bill coming up.

Their customer service is non-cooperative, and they basically mislead customers. I don't care what it costs me to get out of the contract. At this point, I am going to pay it as long as it is in writing. I tried to deal up front with this company. Unfortunately, I believe that they instruct their personnel to mislead customers and there is nothing you can do about it. Big corporations should not be allowed to abuse customers the way in which this company has. Because I also ordered a DVR. I was extended for an extra year. This was not specifically told to me.

After a few months, I moved to a new home and asked Directv to relocate my system, which they did with great service. After a couple of months, I received a better deal with AT&T U-verse system and decided to switch. I then contacted Directv to cancel my service and they said I was still under contract for another 18 months, and a penalty of $429.62 for early termination because of the receiver that was sent to me. I told them that I never verbally agreed to an agreement, I never received anything in the mail regarding an agreement and I never signed an agreement, and it is illegal to trap customers and deceive them into contracts without disclosing it to them. I spoke to their customer service manager who saw the notes in the system and agreed with me. He then proceeded to write the information in their system and gave Service Order #'s in case someone contacts me regarding this issue again.

I received a bill for $429.62; I contact Directv and they said that was for the early termination, I mentioned to them my conversation with the customer service manager, and they have no clue as to what was happening. I then proceeded and filed a complaint with the BBB regarding the issue, and was not able to contact anyone directly with no resolution. I have now received collection letters and calls regarding this issue and I have great credit and will not let this situation ruin that for me.

I need Directv to take the responsibility for improper training of their representative, and reverse all collection attempts made on my record, reverse all charges. My credit is being affected by this. It's constant harassing phone calls to collect a debt that is not owed, and a very stressful situation.

I have already called them about 100 times, no satisfied results. They are blaming me because the appointments were canceled twice when coming out to fix the problem, and I did not cancel. I had found out that it was canceled twice by an automated system. That is not my fault. I need help. I had reported them to the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau, I need more help. I want something done about this.

Installing the equipment had messed the siding up on the house from the installer. Suck in the contract and they will not refund me my money. I am a disabled person. That is not right to do that to someone on social security.

Then, he informed me that it would be $150 for him to dig a hole and put a pole in it. The check also had to be made out to him. Hmm, sure sounds fishy, right? So I said no to the ground install. He then supposedly called his boss to see if he could go lower. He dropped it to $95, which was better but certainly not free. It really irritated me because he installed it literally 3 or 4 feet away from a perfectly acceptable roof location. He just wanted to make more money off of me. If anything, roof installs should cost money and ground installs should be free.

Charging me money for an easier install for him sounds like I'm the only loser and he wins big in the process. Once the tech left, I realized that DirecTV's set up is horrible and how there were few channels that I actually received. Discovering that the locals meant no football was horrible to find out. I'm pretty much a sports and Lost kind of guy, so without ABC I might as well not have TV. I called them about it and this is when I found out about the true definition of locals, which was never defined. The rep also informed me that I was in a 2-year contract with a $480 early termination fee. Needless to say, I was **. I called in 3 other times after checking all of the sign up pages and determining that the contract length and termination fee were not disclosed or even mentioned on the website for tvbydirect.com. I finally called in to cancel after having my credit card account changed so they couldn't charge my card without my permission.

One rep actually suggested setting up an antenna to get the locals free over the air, which is great if I wasn't already paying for TV service. He only suggested it at the last moment when I was canceling the account. They have since hit me with a $460 fee and a total net of $407 after they credited my account for what I had already paid for monthly service. So for my 13 days of service, I spent $95 plus over $60 in service. So, it’s over $10 per day and that doesn't even include the termination fee charges. They have harassed me via recorded computer calls and mail. I have disputed their claims via BBB, certified mail, email, and multiple calls to them and the collections company.

DirecTV is certainly a company that I would recommend staying far away from. Even though I hated Comcast, they are certainly the lesser of two evils. Comcast is a far better option than DirecTV for TV and internet. Oh yeah, and after all of the penalties from DirecTV, they still leave the dish outside to make it look like you are a customer. I'm sure that they do that on purpose and the early termination fee is charged mainly to cover leaving a dish at every unsatisfied customer's house. Stay away from them.

To my confusion, I researched and found that DirecTV had illegally withdrawn the amount of $132.03, without my permission and/or knowledge. By doing this, my account was thrust into $0.00 balance with additional fees added every three days! Without my knowledge prior to this happening, I was left with nothing to support my family with throughout the weekend. After reporting to the credit union, I was told it was nothing that could be done at that time because it appeared that the payment process had gone through and would be completed on Monday, June 29, 2009. I was then instructed to submit the needed paperwork to press charges and enforce a refund to also include the additional fee that occurred.

After speaking with the supervisor of billing for DirecTV, I was told that it is DirecTV's policy to withdraw the amount due on an account if a credit card is available to prevent additional fees. I explained not from my personal account and without my permission. I then demanded both a total refund and the credit promised, and that I never receive a bill for the amount due and they had no right to withdraw anything from my account without my permission. Because of this action taken by DirecTV, living from paycheck to paycheck, my family has suffered. Money was taken from us for food and towards the payment of rent. I ask desperately for your assistance in this manner.

I called CS and was told they would have a supervisor call me. After I hung up, the service tech called me and said he was running so far behind that he wasn't sure he could get to me. I told him that if that happened, I needed a call from his supervisor. About 5:30, the tech called me back and said he would not make it and that he would have a supervisor call me. I asked if he would be coming Saturday morning to do the installation. He told me, no, and that I would have to reschedule; by the way, still no supervisors have called me.

As you might imagine, I am becoming unhappy by the minute. I called DirecTV CS again and expressed my unhappiness about the situation and was told that I would have to reschedule, and the earliest they could be there was Wednesday. I believe the rep's name was Austin that I spoke to this time. He said for my trouble, they would credit me $50. Now I'm furious. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was connected to one named Nate. I'm assuming he is president of the company because when I could get no satisfaction from him, I asked to speak to his supervisor. He told me that he was as high as you could get with DirecTV.

Here is my complaint. I wasn't sure I could be there for the installation so I had my wife fly in, just in case. I lost a half day of work and the cost of a plane ticket to be ** around by DirecTV. How can they possibly not put a missed customer in the next possible appointment? Instead, they make you reschedule? So another half day of work can be missed? What if they don't come that day as well? Their supervisor, Nate, would never work for any company I had anything to do with. His tone with me was both monotone and arrogant. He basically conveyed to me to reschedule, take it or leave it. No compensation for my trouble, nothing! I am part owner of a company that has everything to do with customer service and I'm telling you now, DirecTV wouldn't make it if they were in direct competition with mine. They completely wasted a half day of work (which is worth far more than $50) and the cost of my wife's plane ticket.

When they drafted the $977.00 from my bank, I only had around $200.00 in the account. This automatically went straight into my overdraft. They took every penny I had and then some. This in turn put INS fees on that transaction and other small purchases that had not cleared at that time. I was already almost 2 payments behind on my home and this money was earmarked for my mortgage. I don’t know what is going to happen. I am also a diabetic and have coronary artery disease and I cannot even purchase my medications now. I thought this was America. How can they do this? They did not have permission for this. When I called, all they could say was that it was in the contract. That was never explained to me. Thank you for anything you can do.

I had a Platinum level of service, so DirecTV was not giving me anything, so I couldn't believe it when the person I talked to said that if I canceled my service, I would have to pay a cancellation fee of $230+? I also would have to ship the receiver I had bought to DirecTV or have to pay another $400+ for it? Anyway, I could no longer deal with a company that uses false statements and mailing out stuff that explains all this stuff in small print in your bill, the stuff you never look at, so I canceled my service. Since then, I got a box to send back my receiver to this company and lost the money they owed me by them saying I canceled my service early so they charged me for that. Finally, I would like to say this company through the folks I talked to on the phone lied to me about everything and just kept saying this is the way it is! Thanks for the chance to let others know about this company's false and unscrupulous tactics. I lost or will lose about $600.

We told DirecTV if they could not supply the internet service as promised, they could come and retrieve their equipment. I called again today the 27th about this situation and what they were going to do. I was informed that they would be glad to cancel the account, but I would have to pay the full amount. They have failed to provide the service I agreed to and now refuse to cancel and will bill me the full amount (approximately $1500 for 2 days of non-service). I was never given a number to call or informed of the 24-hour to cancellation. I was not informed of a rebate until the installer stated that we might qualify for a rebate. The sales practices of DirecTV are in the very least fraudulent.

Upon contacting Verizon on Monday, the rep advised me the new box would be sent and was sorry for the mistake on the order. I was also advised that someone would follow up with me directly. No contact has been made from Verizon and no box has been received. Upon calling Verizon to inquire, I was told the services were not under their control and I would have to speak with DirecTV.

Once transferred to DirecTV, I was told only Verizon could modify the account. I contacted Verizon and was again transferred to DirecTV and they proceeded to inform me that the order had been closed, and that I would be required to purchase the receiver for $69.99 plus $49.00 installation plus $50 service call to have the tech return to install. All dues are to be paid by credit card.

I asked to cancel as offered in the 30 day cancellation period and was informed that it is not a 30 day period but rather only a 24 hour period and nothing I was promised from Verizon or the installer would be honored. If I were to cancel, I would be liable to pay $480.00 due immediately and return the equipment within 10 days or face an additional $400 fee. Verizon was unreachable and during my protest of the fees, the supervisor advised me that he would be disconnecting my call if I continued, which I did and he did disconnect the call.

Strong armed into a contract after being completely misled by Verizon and DirecTV. Unknown costs to cancel the service and DirecTV refuses to resolve the issue simply by giving me the extra box as ordered. I offered to remain a customer if the box was delivered as ordered, even at the additional fee of $5.00 per month lease. I just refuse to pay for the box upfront because they failed to complete the order.

In very fine print, the ad mentioned the offer was a rebate. The offer included free channels for some movie channels for three months. We were seeing those channels and they were listed on our bill with credits for the offer. At the end of 60 days, we were to make a phone call to seal the rebate offer. This message for a rebate offer and said we might qualify for a rebate, not that this is part of the rebate offer we already had begun that was in the first bill. Since we were already getting the free channels, I believed this to be another separate offer which I could not qualify for because we already had one other offer. The whole billing and process is very confusing and was not explained by the person installing the satellite, who also failed to give us a sheet that showed estimated billing and rebate process to follow. I specifically asked him about the special rate given in the ad. For the first two months, we had to pay the full price of service as explained to us by **.

After two months, I called and talked to the local office and they mentioned a form to fill out and send in. It seems the waiting to get the rebate instead of doing it initially at the beginning of service is a method to confuse and mislead. Also, we did not get the complete packet of information. We asked by phone to a supervisor to be allowed to pay full price for the amount of service received and then start the rebate under a new later offer, which has since been advertised for about the same amount as our original offer. That was denied. They offered $10 off per month whereas the offer would have allowed $23 off per month. To get out of our signed agreement with them for 18 months, we must pay $280 or $20 per month for the remaining 14 out of 18 months of service. Thank you. Also, the offer could not be made unless a credit card was used. They said if a valid credit card was given, driver license number and social security number were not required; however, they insisted that they be given all three numbers. It seems there should be some allowance for human error, but not to be deceptive in business dealings. Thanks again. I hope this is helpful for others in my predicament.

Customer service stated we had to submit a rebate within 60 days. We were never told of a rebate, not when we discussed the price with a representative nor was it on the website (where we could see it) and nor did the installer notify us. Now, they are saying it is too late to submit the rebate! We feel we had a valid binding contract, and we also feel that DirectTV is in breach of that contract.

However, to disconnect service, DirectTV customer service stated they will hold us to a penalty/prorated fee because the "contract" does not expire until 2011! Our cable bill was supposed to be $75 per month. Instead, we are being charged $95 per month. We have already been overcharged approximately $57 (Our first bill was $92.).

They also told me: “Do not worry about the equipment. We take care of picking up the equipment at your old address and with installing new equipment in the new location.” Now, they are telling me they are going to charge me $300 for the two receivers that were there—even though they told me not to worry about any of the equipment at my old address because they were sending someone over to pick it up. They charged for $120.04 for a month and a half worth of non-existent "service". They also charged $300 for unreturned equipment that they told me they would pick up from the old address.

It was only 2 days later that we found out that we did not have the correct box. I asked if the charge could be waived since there was miscommunication with the technician, but was told that it could not be waived. I then asked that they disconnect the services. Apparently, the services were not disconnected because we continued to receive mail, inviting us as new customers to DirecTV.

I then sent an email request on 5/13/09, requesting again to cancel services but the services were not cancelled. I contacted customer service on 6/23/09 to see why they won't cancel the account. I was told by the supervisor (first name Holly) that if they cancel the services, there will be a $440.00 cancellation fee and that they would charge the credit card that is on file for the amount. I would like to cancel the services immediately but don't think it is fair that we pay a cancellation fee due to their not cancelling the account as requested back on 4/27/09, due to what I thought was poor customer service.

Company is threatening to charge my credit card for early cancellation fee of $440, emotional stress due to having to pay for services of a company that does not work with the customers to clear-up issues with the services.

I called the customer service rep for a correction in service. I was told that I received what I ordered and that I must pay for extra hookups and that I was under contract and had to keep their service for one year or face an early cancellation fee, no exceptions. First my service was for $14.99 and not $60.99 per month plus other fees for a total of $77.99, plus a late fee for not complying; however my total charge for one month was $99.12, a fee of $420.00 for early cancellation, $200.00 DVR receiver and other fees for a total of $748.12. The receiver was returned and the early cancellation fee is crazy. In total it was a scam with not good faith terms.

The address to which I wrote was **. It's unfortunate that I had to contact the CEO with my complaint and that the reps with whom I spoke, refused to send my call through to a supervisor, but they did fix my billing after multiple contacts. I just wanted to follow up to let you know that there are ways to fix DirecTV billing errors.

This turned out to be an outright lie. When the transition occurred, I still did not have local channels. When I inquired as to why, I was told that the transition had nothing to do with my getting my local channels. Also, I would not be receiving a credit of any sort. I also found that DirecTV had opted to not provide CBS, something they had neglected to tell me initially. Today, I called DirecTV to complain and was told I had two options: cancel my services and pay a huge early cancellation fee or I could have the additional antenna installed and DirecTV would discount the price approximately 25%. I expressed that those options were hardly beneficial to me in any way.

It is reprehensible that they would condone the act of obtaining new customers based on information that is false. I am currently in a contract that I entered in to based on blatantly false information, told to me by multiple DirecTV employees. Upon attempting to obtain a waiver from the local CBS affiliate, which was encouraged by yet another DirecTV employee, I learned that they had been receiving multiple calls from DirecTV customers regarding this very issue. I desire to be released from my contract with no monies owed as soon as possible.

I called the customer service line and they told me I would be charged $187 for an early cancellation fee. When I tried to explain to the lady that it was not my fault, that there was no direct line of sight, she said "you should have considered your commitment to DirecTV before moving." I looked at the phone like I was being punked. So, I hung up realizing I wasn’t going to get anywhere with that person. Another phone call gave me the answer I was looking for, no charge, not my fault.

Then, I looked at my bank account and found a pending charge for $187 from DirecTV. Mind you, I hadn’t even gotten a bill for this at that point. So, I called my bank and had DirecTV on the phone at the same time and let my bank and DirecTV fight it out. I won. The money was released back to me. I went away for 3 days and came home to an overdrawn bank account because they had still taken out the money.

Over the last year, I have had 15 conversations with various uneducated DirecTV customer service people. After filing a complaint with my bank, I got my money back. I thought everything was done and that was the last of it, oh how wrong I was. The DirecTV account was in my boyfriend’s name and one day, I got a letter saying he had been sent to collections for $187. I snapped and I contacted my local news. King5 has a consumer affairs person that you can have fight your battles for you. I contacted "Get Jesse".

Four days after I contacted him, I got a phone call from DirecTV saying they were sorry for the misunderstanding and everything was taken care of. But when I asked for this in writing, the man I spoke with from the corporate office tried really hard to get out of it. I was not convinced he was really sorry, only sorry to save face. So, to all the people who have had complaints or problems with DirecTV, I urge you to contact your local news and/or your local Attorney General. In the state of Washington alone, there have been over 300 complaints about them. Let’s not let them treat us like this!

After a year of dealing with this, I feel they owe me more than a forced apology. The hours spent on the phone, the overdraft charges, feeling like I was fighting a losing battle with the big bad DirecTV.

I called and got the run around to the point I was furious. I spoke with a supervisor who told me to go out and buy an antenna and my account would be credited for having to make this purchase in the amount of $50.00. It never happened. I got my first bill and I was charged $80+ for the service guy to come out this charge is from another company that does work for DirecTV.

I paid the bill. I then asked that my contract not be renewed after the 18month period. I asked to be notified before I went in to another year with them seeing that I won't get local channels. In the winter, I had fewer problems but problems just the same. What I was told is for me not to be charged $80+ service fee I would need to pay $5 a month, along with regular bill.

Long story short, I was renewed without any notification. I still can’t get local channels. I have had over six servicemen out to my property that asking me why was the disk placed in that location on my roof. Then to find out I have so many trees around my house, there is no other place on my property to put it where a clear signal can be reached. This has been a nightmare.

Now, to my present problem, I asked if the servicemen would document my account each time to support this is not my fault. I asked if I would be charged an early cancellation few when I was speaking with another manager/supervisor because at this time, I had no service with constant codes on my screen stating the guide hasn't been updated in 8 hours, 12 hours and 26 hours. I don't know what that means but if one more person would have asked me to unscrew the lines one more time, I would have screamed so I didn't report it anymore. I was focusing on how to get out with my dignity. I couldn't.

On Monday June 15th 2009, I wanted to take my son out for dinner after volleyball practice only to find my account unbelievably in the negative $564.69 had been withdrew from my account. I am in the process of waiting eight days to be refunded the monies taken without my permission. Can they do that? Just take money out of your account? It doesn't seem right. A lawsuit should be bought against DirecTV. My account is still in the negative.

Someone from DirecTV told my daughter that she has to pay this money before her service can be restored. My daughter has this service for over 2 years now and all of a sudden they do this. It's DirecTV’s fault. They check addresses all the time. I don't owe any money to DirecTV. I'm trying to get my statement from the bank that will show when and how much was paid. This is totally wrong. There's nothing in their policy that states that if a bill is outstanding at that address, you can't get service. It’s not in writing nor was my daughter told of such thing until the other day. We are bringing legal actions against DirecTV.

I’m 80 years old on a fixed income. My daughter is disabled and on a fixed income, but we do what we have to do. DirecTV has gotten monies from me for this account, years ago and now they are trying again.

My daughter has this service for over 2 years now and all of a sudden they do this. It's DirecTV’s fault. They check addresses all the time. I don't owe any money to DirecTV. I'm trying to get my statement from the bank that will show when and how much was paid. This is totally wrong. There’s nothing in their policy that states that if a bill is outstanding at that address, you can't get service. It’s not in writing nor was my daughter told of such thing until the other day.

We called DirecTV, and they told me they would suspend the account and reverse the charges. But that was followed by a letter which said we owed them $305.06. This is what we are disputing. We did file a complaint to the Better Business Bureau, but this still hasn't been resolved. And now, DirecTV is threatening us through a bill collection agency.

This is an unwarranted charge, since we never used their service after we had suspended it in December 2006. DirecTV first claimed that we were using it in Los Angeles. When we pointed out to them that we then lived in Boston, they claimed that we were using it in Boston, even though our condo only allowed Comcast, as I mentioned earlier.

The second call after explaining the entire problem and wasting time ended with me speaking to a supervisor named Stanely. He tried to sell me a protection service. I explained that the box was faulty from the beginning and that we shouldn't need a protection service for a box we have had for less than 4 months. It was acting up since the beginning.

He wanted to charge me $20 for a new box. I was outraged and once again, explained their product was trash. Then he explained the cancellation fee is $200. No resolution. We are stuck with a defective product, and no positive customer service, just either a $20 for a new box that still may be broken or $200 to cancel.

Well I never received an email or a call. So upon review of my account, I noticed that a $49.95 was debited out of my account. So I called DirecTV once again and asked to speak to a manager to try and resolve the problem. I was put on hold for 30 minutes until finally, they put me on with another rep. I asked to speak with a manager and once again, because I was not being helped by the rep, I was then put on hold for an additional 15 minutes. I was then connected to a problem resolution person and I explained to him that I wanted to speak to a manager, I want a copy of my bill and I don't want to be put on hold. He expressed to me that in order to get a copy of my bill, I would need to speak to someone in management. I told that's what I was trying to do, but I was never connected. He then hung the phone up on me.

After speaking with 5 different representatives, I was never connected with a manager. My personal account was debited on 2 different occasions causing checks to bounce and me to receive unnecessary fees from my bank. The reps were rude, I was put on hold for over 45 minutes and problem was never solved. I do not recommend DirecTV to anyone else. They are very unprofessional and unorganized.

This morning June 16, 2009, my service was cut off, because of someone else's bill. I was and have never seen anything in writing or told verbally that I had to pay someone else's account before I can get service at the same address if a bill is still outstanding, for 2 years or more. No one has ever told me this. I ask nicely this morning for this and she told me that they have a right to cut off service whenever they feel like it.

This morning June 16, 2009, my service was cut off, because of someone else's bill. I was and have never seen anything in writing or told verbally that I had to pay someone else's account before I can get service at the same address if a bill is still outstanding, for 2 years or more. No one has ever told me this. I ask nicely this morning for this and she told me that they have a right to cut off service whenever they feel like it.

In May, when I received my bill, they were charging me $55 a month. I called and explained to the representative what I had been told. They apologized and put in a request to rush my rebate and charge me $39.95 like I was promised. I paid $79.00 to try and straighten my bill out while i was waiting for them to get my bill at $39.95 like it was supposed to be.

Later, I spoke with a representative who told me that they could not give me services at that price because I did not qualify. I told them that since DirecTV could not hold up to their end of the promise, I wanted to cancel my services. I hang up the phone. On June 15, I received another bill for $127.00 from DirecTV. I called them and asked why they had not discontinued my services, and they said because i did not go completely through the process. I then answered their question, and they told me my services would be disconnected by 12 midnight.

They said i would be paying an early termination fee, and they would take it from the credit card on file. I told them I would not pay an early termination fee, because there was no agreement that we had made. I was told that I could discontinue my services whenever I wanted to, and I was on a month-to-month agreement service when I signed up.

I wanted to make sure that if I were not able to pay the bill that I could have it disconnected without a penalty. Now, they are treating me like i have no rights. I told them not to use my credit card for any payments at all. i will speak with my bank tomorrow and try and have them to stop any request that comes through from DirecTV.

On top of signing up, they want to tie you down to a contract after they get people in under this false advertisement. I just received service and my first statement, which is $77-plus and is not the original price of the first bill, and that comes from the $36 (not even the amount said that would be deducted) that was taken off of $108. Why is it that amount? I was asked to speak with a supervisor and was told okay. I was supposed to be transferred and then the call hung up. No one bothered to call me back. I emailed them and was given little space to explain my concern. I am filing a complaint against them.

I decided to switch from DirecTV to Dish Network to save money. I had Dish Network installed on 6/14/09 and then called DirecTV to cancel service. DirecTV told me I was under contract which started on December 2008 and my equipment was leased. I told them I purchased the equipment outside of DirecTV under the direction of their representative to avoid signing up for another contract and my equipment was not leased, it was purchased by me from Amazon.com. They told me that because I purchased a new unit that had never been used from a DirecTV authorized retailer, I automatically signed up for a new contract. I said I was never given any of this information and where is it in writing? The supervisor told me I should have known it and it wasn't in writing. I should have asked. I told her I did ask and I was given false information. DirecTV was not willing to work with me at all and they told me I would have to file a complaint if I had a problem with it. And furthermore, if I want to discontinue service, I will have to pay a disconnect penalty of $20 per month for the duration of the contract and I have to send them back the DVR Unit that I purchased outright from Amazon.com, or they would charge me for it. They are making me send back the unit I purchased! I never new DirecTV was so dishonest and desperate! I am so glad I switched! I will have to pay $360 in penalties and my DVR unit for which I paid $130.

Ever since we began service last fall, we would lose our signal most times it rains or snows. Until this week, we thought this was normal for satellites. When my husband called today to have them come check it out, they refused unless we pay a service fee, which we will not do. It's their equipment and or installation that were faulty. With as much money as we pay them each month, they should be willing to correct their errors. After speaking to different people and wasting about 45 minutes, my husband gave up.

The costs, provided we remain under contract with them for a minimum of 24 months, will be an ongoing monthly charge of $87.00 and an advance payment, which I did via US West credit card, of $237.13. (They will credit it off of our regular statement of $138.13 and the balance off the next billing.) Instead of being billed $87.00 monthly, we have been billed erratically with the average sums being approximately double that amount. I have made numerous calls to the billing department without any success, except to admit one $71.95 overcharge which if they can get supervisor approval they will credit off.

I further explained that DirecTV had often charged me for movies I had attempted to order but could not view because my receiver did not acknowledge the order and this may be one of those instances. And since the charge is three years old, there is no possible way for me to remember. Her response was, "If you don't see a movie, you call right away." Perhaps we did, I don't recall who I called three years ago but I do know that if I attempted to order a movie and did not receive it and I was not charged for it at the time, then the issue was closed. I had no idea I would have to deal with this issue three years later.

I have experienced random charges from DirecTV for PPV on other occasions, but for the most part, they were current and easily disputed. However, this charge is three years old. I explained to DirecTV that I do not like their billing practices or their business practices and under the circumstances, I should receive a credit. DirecTV told me I recently received a credit for charges that were on my bill two months ago and there was no way she was going to credit my account this time.

I explained to DirecTV that I deserved those credits because the charges were invalid; it did not make a difference to her. Even when I threatened to take my business elsewhere, she couldn't have cared less. This is no way to do business with clients who have been loyal for over three years. I am very disappointed and in shock by the poor customer service I received. When I asked for the physical address to file a complaint, she gave me a P.O. Box address. I told her I could not send a certified letter to a P.O. Box, but she said there was no other address available to me.

I find this kind of treatment to a longtime customer of DirecTV to be outrageous! In this era of economic stagnation, where everyone is looking to save where they can, along with new competitive services being available, screwing over a customer like this is not good business practice. I would never return to DirecTV. The economic damage is a possible fine of $150.00. This problem has just begun, and I am frustrated because I don't know who to contact in management at DirecTV. I don't know what my consumer rights are, or where I can file a complaint.

When after several months of trouble with our service, we decided to cancel our service. When I called to cancel, I was told because I was cancelling before my contract was up and I would have to pay $420 in fees. I was livid. After throwing an absolute fit, I was transferred to another department to help me with my complaint. The lady told me that after researching my service history, I had been a customer for the 24-month period and should not be charged the cancellation fee and she would take that off my account. So, I thought problem solved. Wrong. A few days later, I noticed that the $420 charge had cleared my bank because they had my debit card number on file. Again, livid, I called and they told me it was done in error and that it would take 7 to 10 business days before it would credit my account. I told them I did not have 7 to 10 to wait because I had outstanding checks and debits that had not cleared my bank and would cause me to go into an overdraft with my bank and we all know how much banks charge for each insufficient fund charge.

Well, I now have $175 in overdraft charges. I called again and they told me to fax them a copy of my bank statement and they would credit my account the overdraft charges since it was their fault. Again, this will take 7 to 10 business days. I'm still waiting for my credit for the overcharge and the overdraft fees. Who knows when I'll get it. Just do your homework. Write everything down, who you talk to, what they said, dates, times, etc.

It took them about a month to send the box and it took us another three weeks to return. I admit that was my fault due to events that was not in my control. I sent it back and received a statement from my credit card that DirecTV charged $509 for the box. I gave it a week to make sure the box was received by DirecTV. I called around 4/21/09 and was told they received it on 4/12. It will take four to six weeks for the refund.

I called again on 5/25/09, this time, I was told it would take six to eight weeks, not four to six. I called again today, 6/10/09, to see if I'm getting a refund this week, and this time, I was told it's six to eight weeks from the last bill to me, which was 5/31/09! So essentially, we have to wait three months for a refund when they can charge our card within days. Apparently, they are keeping the money as long as possible to make interest on it. This practice has to stop.

Well, a few weeks ago we cancelled our service and were informed that we are now in an 18-month contract since we hooked up two new receivers last July 2008 that we bought ($140). We are so ready to be rid of them that we decide to go ahead and send the equipment back because we did lease it. How that is - I'll never know since we did buy them. Anyway, we were charged $140 early cancellation fee.

In spite of numerous calls to the company, we have been given no proof of this so-called contract. I was informed that it was a verbal agreement between myself and the customer service rep when I added the boxes. Um - no! I was never informed of this and never agreed to a contract. Now they claim that they have a signed contract from 2007 (never signed on - ever). They are claiming to send it out within 3 - 5 business days, but we'll see.

Even if they have this so-called contract from 2007, that was way over 18 months ago and therefore there is no early cancellation. What gives and how do we get our money they charged illegally for $139.99 on my credit card?

I was approved for $50 installation fee. They installed and I was having problems with service so I called them back and they said, “What do you expect from a $50 installation?”, I said that we wanted a good service for a cheap price. They have insulted me and my husband many times and also threatened us with the police for the boxes when they were already installed and called directly to DirecTV.

I did not want deal with them anymore so I called DirectTV directly. They came out and said the installation was all wrong and took pictures for their records. Since I did not want to talk with the retail people, they automatically took out of my bank account $800 when I did not cancel the account. They said to go with my bank to retrieve the money.

The bank did nothing because I signed the contract. But the contract says only if I cancel would they charge me the fee. I am still active with DirecTV. I asked to talk to the manager Angela but she is never there and they tell me that she'll call me back. She never did.

Without a doubt, I can say that the DirecTV reps I spoke with were the most arrogant and nonchalant customer service and tech people I have dealt within a while. They act as if you are bothering them and don't give a damn about your issue once they know there is no recourse in recovering the lost programming. I was told this is a rare situation and probably won't happen again but it may. They refused to replace this box because this is only the first time the hard drive erased everything. But they also won't commit to whether it was in fact the software upgrade. The tech person I talked to said that if it happened again to call in and they would review the notes and decide whether the box should be replaced.

Switching from Dish Network was a big mistake. I was warned by some people about DirecTV and should have listened because it is times like this that a company can make or break the relationship. This will be the first time I have broken a contract and paid fees but I am not going to stay with this shady operation and count myself as a DirecTV customer. We also feel that the advertising is extremely sneaky. Our offer appeared to be for $34.99 but when all is said and done our first bill was over $60. I will make sure that DirecTV loses other subscribers over this. I will be running my mouth non-stop about our lousy experience with them. I can just imagine what two years with them would be like!

In April, I started receiving new bills from DirecTV stating that I now owe them $6.00+. When I called to inquire what the charge was for, I was told that it was a charge for reinstating my account and that there was a $6.00 charge because it was over the $12.00+ that they owed me. I argued that my account was supposed to be cancelled and not reinstated, but they were criminal enough to reinstate it anyway in the hopes of getting money from me and not paying me instead. When I started getting angry about it, I was hung up on. Of course, I will not pay them the $6.00+ and the $12.00 is not a lot of money, but I do not like being robbed, regardless of the amount that is being taken.

She then called back as rude as she could be, stating because my card was previously used, it's on the account as a "payment option" and I lived at the address previously, so it will not be refunded. I asked her to send me anything, even an electronic signature, with my authorization to be responsible for my uncle's bill. She said, "We don't have anything with your name on it." Well, dimwit, what gives you the right to steal my money? I asked to speak with her supervisor, but she flat out refused to give me his/her name.

DTV is a scam company which will steal money from anyone they can, any way they can. Please, if you are considering DTV, read this and the previous complaints and reconsider. They haven't heard the last of me. I filed a claim with my bank, which outright said they absolutely cannot get away with this. I have also filed a complaint with the BBB, Federal Trade Commission, as well as the Attorney-General's. Please complain to these organizations if you have an issue with DTV. Maybe enough complaints will force them to change their shady and illegal billing practices.

DirecTV personnel were very rude and in essence threatened us with collection if we did not pay for the movies. They would not give us any benefit of the doubt. Their lease agreement states that disputes can go through arbitration. This is exactly what we intend. We will not pay for charges we did not incur. We believe someone from DirecTV manipulated our returned receiver (which was taken by their employee Kendrick) or are simply being scammed for money by DirecTV. Again, we vehemently deny these charges. We feel we are being harassed and slandered by DirecTV.

They have misled me into signing this two-year contract based on their assurance to me over the phone, advertising and offering of Arabic channels which is still being advertised until now (06-06-09) on their website. They have offered no resolution based on their misleading me into this two-year contract and are demanding that I pay an outrageous fee for cancellation ($20/month x 20 months) for something I did not cause.

DirecTV will say anything you want to hear, if you call them to inquire about their service, just to get you to sign up with them. A fine print, with absolutely no mention of it, when you initially inquire the service, indicates that you will be fined $20.00/month for the remaining of a two-year contract, if you want to cancel at anytime prior to the completion of the two years term.

The catch here is not just that you are stuck with the penalty for cancellation, should you change your mind, but they can drop any service at any time, and yet you are still stuck with the penalty, even if it is not your fault. In my case, it was Arabic channels. I have a screenshot taken 06-06-09 still advertising the availability of the Arabic channels on their website. They are requesting that I pay $20.00/month x 20 months to cancel my account with them.

The only reason I have signed up with DirecTV was the Arabic channels they offered. However, after signing up, they simply dropped all Arabic channels, though they still have it advertised as indicated above. And instead of being a decent company, they turned out to be yet another corrupt corporation, demanding the customer to pay the bill for their deceit and incompetence. Based on my experience, I can confidently say that DirecTV is involved in an unfair and deceptive business practices that should not go on unnoticed.

Don't waste your time reporting this business to BBB (Better Business Bureau). They are obviously in bed with DirecTV. I have email communications and the back up to prove that BBB was trying to assist DirecTV in shoving my complaint under the rug. In my personal opinion, BBB is a useless entity, sponsored by the same corporations that they make you think they are trying to protect you from. We recommend that you file an official complaint with government agencies as follows: **.

DirecTV keeps repeating that there is nothing they could do and that I agreed to new terms. I asked them to follow the links on their website as if they were purchasing an additional receiver like a customer would and to show me where it states new commitment. I was told that they don't have access to their own website. What fool would purchase a standard receiver for $69 and agree to an 18-month commitment? I was told they would charge my credit card as soon as my service stopped. After 13 years of being a customer, I feel that this is a scam.

I get $0 bills for 5 months. Then all of a sudden, a $213 bill for 1.5 month. If I would have gotten an email for the partial $75 a month, I would have called then. I called and said that I won't be ready for service for at least another month. And they would delete the $212 from the account. They want my service, so of course, they are not gonna charge me for their service I didn't use.

Well, I decided not to use DirecTV, so I called to officially cancel and the $212 fee was still there. I argued how they can charge for something I didn't use. If you don't use electricity, you don't get charged. If you don't use water, you don't get charged. What company can charge you for not using their service? They refused to give me my $212. Of course, their notes in their computer are incomplete and favor their firm. There's no note of the last conversation where I was told I would not be charged.

And the $1500 annually I spend with a TV provider, which is $15000+ every decade, will go to AT&T Uverse or some other carrier. DirecTV had to squeeze a dime out of me. This is what they get. I probably was responsible for 20-25 clients signing up for DirecTV, and now, I will take back those 25 and 50 more.

They did not care that we were moving where they did not offer service. I tried to make an offer to "suspend" service, but then charges will apply when reinstated. They tried to bribe us into different credits and a "one-time" credit of $50.00 if we stayed. They also said that the computer over-ruled anything that they could do even if they wanted to because some things were in the computer and they couldn't take it out and that disconnecting early was one of these things that could not be changed.

I called once again and was told my entire bill (previous plus current) would be reduced to $61. I was once again told to wait for a re-issued bill. This time I declined to wait and sent the $61. This month, I received yet another bill with a $36 "previous" amount owed. When I called, I was told that the previous two representatives were wrong and I actually owed money. This person, Cheyanne (ID **) was unwilling to resolve the bill (she's a resolution specialist, mind you). She insisted that the last two people I talked to (and apparently also the salesperson who initially sold me the package) were all incorrect. All in all, I have probably spent several hours on the phone with these people trying to get my bill corrected. This is the worst company I have ever dealt with (I have been paying bills for more than 30 years), the only time I have ever spent this much time trying to get a straight answer.

I was impressed my bill would run $41.94 until 12/09. Every month, I have had to call in, because it was more; and every month, they fix it. I know they stated that it was incorrect and that I will have to pay $62 a month. I feel they get you in a contract and then rip you off. I want out or I want the bill corrected.

Well to my surprise, last Friday, there was a $452 charge on my bank account from DirecTV. They charged me the cancellation fee by mistake and took the money from my account. I did not authorize them to do so. When I called them, they said it was a mistake; and it would be taken care of. I would receive my refund into my bank account within 3-10 business days. I was not very happy, but they told me to call back in three days.

Today was the third day, and of course, the money was not refunded into my checking account. I called customer service, and another rep informed me that the credit was applied to my DirecTV account and not into my bank account! I don't have their services any more, so why would they credit my account with them? All refunds take 6-8 weeks to be processed and mailed out. This is unacceptable. The cancellation fee was charged in error, and now, I have to wait 6-8 weeks to receive my money that was illegally taken from my bank account!

Eventually, I got a HD TV and so, like a fool, I called for an upgrade. No problem, they said. Install is free and only a small increase in monthly fees. When the man came to install the new dish, he said it couldn't go where the old one went and I had to spend an additional $120 to have it put up. Much better picture that kept right on pixellating and giving me problems. Also, the service was more expensive than they said it would be.

After several months, Verizon calls to say Fios is now available. Fine, I tell them, I want it. How do I change over? No problem, we'll come out and install it. What about Direct? Just call and tell them you're changing over. I called and they said fine, that will cost you approximately $300 to leave! I couldn't believe it. I called Verizon and was told that since I was returning to them, there should be no fee, wrong.

I was finally so fed up, that I told DirecTV to turn off my service on the Fios install date and went forward with the order. DirecTV promptly turned off my service on the wrong day ahead of time. Then they sent me a bill for the early fees, etc. Now, the disconnection early fee had risen to $400. I couldn't believe it and called them why. They said that's just what it costs. Nothing they ever did turned out to be what they said.

In summary, they have lousy service, increased costs and no recourse. If you're contemplating DirecTV, I suggest you contact a lawyer first. I will be sure to repeat this story to everyone I meet who is considering their "service".

I simply believe that this is fraud. The satellite company is responsible for sending that signal to the dish, and I should not have to pay them to do so. No issue was found with any of the equipment excepts. Please help.

I decided to cancel the service. I was laid off and unhappy anyway with the service. Before I got my next job, I had $300 in my bank account to feed my family (which we were watching closely - praying for a miracle). DirecTV took the money out of my bank account on an unauthorized debit charge - and since I had no idea (I have bank fees to pay) because when I bought groceries, I had no money in my account, there is no food for my family.

When I called DirecTV, they said that they would "work with me" and that I had to pay a cancellation fee. Since they screwed me over, I suggested $10 a month for several months until I got work. They said no. I have fees from Bank of America because DirecTV took money out of my account, which I cannot pay. Their services were horrible and deceptive. I never knew about the cancellation fee and they deducted money from my account in an unauthorized manner. When the service was active, it was also defective and On Demand is not what it is advertised to be.

We called for months trying to get this straightened out, reminding them of what AT&T was offering and were repeatedly told there was nothing that could be done. We were only offered a few months of free HBO or Showtime. That's it! Finally fed up, we cancelled out services on 5/5/09, speaking with Shylah who then must have taken us seriously at last and said we could have the DVR and second HD receiver, but we could not get credit for the install or the $100 purchase of the receiver they swapped out one of the bad ones for.

I told her that was not the original deal. The original deal was to match AT&T's offer to retain our business and since they clearly could not handle that, we are cancelling now. It was then that she advised they would charge off a $300 fee for breach of contract. This amazed me because I did not recall signing anything, was not aware we extended terms and lastly feel it is DTV in breach of their agreement because they never actually completed the upgrade/install!

Anytime I call, I am advised there is no one to escalate to, that I am already speaking at their highest level (the telerep answering my call). I worked in a call center and I know that is a lie. There is always a manager present. I have asked repeatedly for a copy of this mysterious new contract with my signature on it, for proof, because I want to see what egregious thing they have done here! I was finally told by Mike that I cannot have that because DTV does not have a record of me signing a new term and further, although he is not an attorney, he can assure me DTV does not need a record of any contract agreement in order to bill me and take money from my credit card (without my authorization!).

I contacted DirecTV and was told not to worry. It takes six to eight weeks for the rebate to be processed and that it should be on the next bill with a credit for month #2. Bill #3 still no rebate applied. Once again I called to inquire as to the problem with the rebate. I was told the rebate is pending, not to worry and suggested that I pay the amount of $48.00 instead of the amount billed. I just received bill #4 and still no rebate applied. Again I called and spoke with a rep from DirecTV. This time I was told that I am not eligible for the rebate because I did not apply for the rebate within the first 90 days of service.

DirecTV’s position appears to be that I did not catch DirecTV soon enough so DirecTV intends to keep most of the funds that DirecTV fraudulently removed from my bank account and that I did not catch DirecTV quickly enough. Approximately $100 credit does not equal the approximately $1,600 dollars DirecTV obtained fraudulently.

I said this was not the way to deal with a customer, and she kept repeating the same thing. She denied to give me her rep ID. I am not sure how I can take up the matter. Because I was not provided the service and they took money for it, I am waiting for my contract to expire and go with Fios. DirecTV is unprofessional. Sad customer service.

I did not sign a new contract in November 2009 or was informed I would be obligated to an 18-month service contract for replacing a bad receiver (basically replacing equipment that is being sent back to them). If the receiver had not been replaced, I would have been paying for DirecTV service that I was unable to use due to the receiver not working. I spoke with a supervisor named Eric and he gave me the same information and stated I owe the $220 because of the contract after ordering a new receiver.

Mom gave her debit card number to AT&T who gave it to DirecTV without her knowledge or permission. After she found out that DirecTV was the provider, she tried to cancel the work order in less than 24 hours. She was told by a representative of DirecTV that she couldn't. She even went to the bank and they called DirecTV and told them she revoked her right for them to use her debit number, repeatedly.

They misrepresent themselves on their contracts and over the phone. They never tell you that they will use these numbers for anything other than the initial setup fee, which is about $21.00. One paper says you are contracted to keep the service for 18 months and another one says 24 months. When you get the first bill, it says on the back that you will be charged an early disconnect fee if you cancel before this time is up. Mom had DirecTV for one week. They had told her she would have all the same channels that she had with Dish Network - she did not! So she cancelled the service.

They sent out a box to return the receiver and remote control in. They sent it on May 13, 2009. We sent them back on May 19, 2009. They charged her for the receiver and an early disconnect fee, plus whatever they wanted to charge her for. On the contract she signed it says you have 30 days to get the equipment returned. When my sister called DirecTV, they told her they were not going to refund any of the money. My Mom only gets about $680.00 a month. They took $463.11!

We live in a town of 2,500 people; besides Mom and me, I know of at least one other person that has been cheated out of over $500.00. I truly believe something should be done about the business practices of these companies. When you speak to them over the phone, they talk so fast and skip over all the information. You get nothing in writing until it is too late. If there is anything you can do to try and get at least some of this money back, my family would greatly appreciate it. This type of business should not be allowed to operate. Thank you.

On April 3, my parents cancelled their service with Qwest/DirecTV for several reasons, among them a failure to understand how their new television setup worked. On April 10, they mailed all four units back. Needless to say, they were then surprised to receive a recent bill for $400 from DirecTV the first time they were made aware of the cancellation fee. I find it distressing that this company would take advantage of older customers.

My problem is that I would have canceled the next day had their representative would not have told me that I had 14 days from the day it was ordered to cancel without being charged a penalty fee. I knew I would be charged for using the service for 12 days. I only went by what I was told and that I had 14 days to cancel.

Well, sure enough, a year down the line, Dish had a contract problem with the company that owns two of my local stations, and could not deliver them. I waited 6 months, but they could not resolve the problem. It was either buy an antenna, and converter boxes for the digital transition, and install it or go back to DirecTV who still offered those channels. I decided to go back to DirecTV.

What happened next was not catastrophic, but to me, it shows bad customer relations and deceitful practices. When I phoned DirecTV to sign up again, I asked if I could use my original dish and recevers since I still had them. I was told that I could not, if I wanted "professional installation", even though I was paying for it. I think it was because since I own my own equipment, they could not enforce their one-year commitment. Also, I would be leasing the new equipment, so it means I would have to take the time to send it back if I cancel service.

When the installer came to install the equipment, he left the paperwork in the house that I was to sign later. I noticed that there was a customer survey with the contract. When he was finished installing the equipment, he asked me to sign all the paperwork. As he was doing so, he folded the top page of the paperwork over the top of the survey, so only the bottom line showed for the signature. I was surprised he did not ask me to fill out the survey, but just sign it, hiding the fact that indeed it was a survey. I believe it was so he could later fill it out himself giving himself an excellent score.

A few days after the installation, I received a bill from Directv for $8.83, the amount that a year and a half ago the company said they had waived. The description of the charge was "Reinstate Write Off Reversal". I emailed Customer Service and told them about this, stating that I felt this was a slap in the face for coming back, since they waived it themselves a year and a half ago. I was emailed a "form letter" with their baloney about how we value you, but you must pay the amount. My wife phoned them and spoke with Jay who said he didn't know why the charge was there and he said he would waive it, and it would show online in a few days.

After a few days, it was still there, so my wife called again, and this time spoke with Sherman. He said that it must be paid, and that he could not waive it because it was illegal. This, to me, sounds utterly ridiculous and shows bad customer service skills. After more arguing, he finally waived $5, but insisted that the balance of $3.83 must be paid. This sounds trivial, and as stated earlier, I wanted to pay the $8.83 in 2007 when they decided to waive it. I think this shows a lack of good judgement and bad customer relations. I'm still waiting for my rebate for my monthly programming, but who knows, maybe they'll change their minds again.

This is a civil tort where punitive damages (non-real, not based on actual provable loss) are often awarded, why? To hurt the company from doing it anymore. We are all familiar with the corrupt company, who knowingly polluted hometown America with its toxins ordered to pay millions. Punitive damage claims can be awarded when they knew it. Otherwise we are looking at neglect. Hey, we didn't know it. Not as a serve punishment in the eyes of the law. Something like I didn't mean to kill him versus I plotted to kill him.

This is, however, another matter altogether. I was sold, over the phone. Remember, they record you. People of America, start recording every conversation you have with these companies. We ordered a bundle package. It sounded too good to be true. It was. If you had it recorded what you were told, what you were buying and played it back to them, things might be different. When you are told you get free Showtime for a year and will pay x amount, but don't get and are paying twice what they told you, I see that as fraud. At no time was a rebate ever mentioned.

In addition, take a look at all those junk mails you receive. No rebate mentioned there either. Both Verizon and Dish are guilty of this. Even on their promotional websites, no rebates are disclosed. Disclosure is another important word for all consumers. Just as a home seller must disclose all things that might be wrong with their home before they sell it or they are at risk of litigation. So must a company disclose all information that may influence your decision to enter into an agreement. A rebate that is nearly or not impossible to receive would influence one's decision.

Verizon intentionally withheld the rebate program. I would not have entered into this bogus agreement if I knew this. I personally will not ever purchase a product or service with a rebate. Give me the discount now. Do not make me jump hoops, cut out weird tags, cut and paste, and hope that my check comes in the mail. All they want is our mailing address - to send us more junk.

I still, after hours and hours of phone time and frustrating circles of never land, received any rebate. They continue to bill me. I cannot get my free Showtime no matter how hard I have tried. When I tried to cancel within 48 hours, mind you, I was laughed at and told I would have to pay just under $500.00 to get out. They would just take it from my online card that I had used in the past to pay bills! Corruption. Fight back. We need to revolt against injustice.

Who would have money come out for a bill and then turn around and try to pay you another $139 for the same bill? While I was on hold waiting for the supervisor who told me there was a rebate we had not turned in (no one told us), I found this consumer affairs website and started reading complaints from others. I then started asking DirecTV questions based on complaints from others and found out that it will cost us about $500 to cancel and that the 2-year contract information was on the coupon, even if it was in "small print," and that we were committed to the 2-year deal once we accepted the free DVR.

After we found several charges that neither my husband nor I made, we contacted DirecTV. Initially, we assumed that my son had made the purchases, by somehow stumbling on a bug in the Parental Controls. Now, I'm not so sure. After doing some Internet research, I have discovered a number of instances where consumers were charged for PPV purchases they did not make through DirecTV. Regardless of whether the charges were fraudulently placed on my bill or whether my mentally-disabled son was able to circumvent DirecTV's user interface, I don't feel that DirectTV has upheld their side of the contract. While I am filing complaints with the company, the FCC, BBB, and Attorney General, I advise other consumers to be cautious when dealing with DirecTV.

DirecTV supervisor (Celitha) told me that the box I had was a tester and used only for experimental use. This was not explained to me when I got their service and I believe I am being treated unfairly. I am now furious with DirecTV and their service and at this time, I would like to be removed from their contract without any penalties. I've been overcharged on a couple of occasions and is tired because DirecTV is causing me a great amount of stress. I pay my bill on time and constantly they have not lived up to their standards.

We did indeed replace the DVR equipment in 2008 because the DVR was broken (after only 2 years of service) and needed to be replaced. The DirecTV technician was at my house and he advised that the DVR needed to be replaced. We had the DVR service since 2006, and the service wasn't changed. The DirecTV personnel told us that since we replaced the equipment, the contract was extended. We weren't notified about that in 2008, we didn't replace the DVR because we felt like it. We replaced it because it was defective. The customer agreement says nothing about contract extension when the equipment is replaced because of its failure. The customer agreement states that the customer has a 2-year contract from the start of the service. Our contract expired in 2008.

Calling DirecTV, all I get is phone drones supposedly in executive customer service. They don't give intelligent answers, which is pretty much all you can expect from smug and smartassed kids. They tell me that I cannot reach anyone higher. If I mention the possibility of suing DirecTV, they say that they have to disconnect the call for mentioning potential litigation and they will not transfer the call to a person with any real responsibility. Let's face it, real executives do not answer the phone with their first name or work for an hourly wage. These kids are no better than the ones selling fast food with paper hats and name tags, also with their first name only.

Emails to the supposedly top execs (president and VP) get routed back to the same kids as before. It would seem that the VP for customer service doesn't actually deal with customer service. I would think that investors would love to know that people are drawing big paychecks while avoiding doing anything job related and probably causing lawsuits, which could have been easily avoided with a couple of minutes of intelligent discussion. I have found page after page of complaints about DirecTV's incompetence and arrogance, but I have yet to find anyone with a solution. Does anyone have one or should I file a lawsuit against them? If I file a lawsuit, would anyone like to join me in it? If not join me in the litigation, how about filing separately and then negotiating with them together for a stronger position in settlement talks? I'm open to any and all intelligent suggestions.

In the month of July 08, I called DirecTV to transfer service to my new address, **, Bronx, NY 10469, but on the day of the lease signing, I was informed that satellite dishes were not allowed to be installed on the premises, and I was given a document that was part of the lease agreement to sign. Unfortunately, I was unhappy that this event would force me to terminate service with DirecTV. I called Customer Service to explain the situation, and cancelled the service. The representative told me that there would not be any problems, and that all I had to do was pay the balance on my bill and return the equipment which I paid and returned as requested.

$309.93." I called Discover to dispute the charges with DirecTV, and payment of the cancellation fee was cancelled by Discover Card. Thereafter, on 11/7/08, I received a notice of collection from Allied Interstate notifying that they would report this debt to credit reporting agencies.

This is an outrage. Now, my perfect credit of over 800 points has been ruined by your action for stating one thing and yet doing another. Attached to this letter I have enclosed a copy of the lease document forcing me to cancel service, and a copy of my last bill with you. If you would like to dispute this document with the Property Leasing office, you may do so. I hope that you that this issue would be resolved as soon as possible.