DIRECTV Reviews

I could have stayed with my cable company with no contract at about half the cost. To even have to apply for rebates when the site says here is what the cost is seems ridiculous, but when you still follow their instructions and they say, “Sorry, but we show no record that you ever applied for the discounts” and “Sorry we cannot do anything about it” is absurd. DirecTV is a bait and switch scam with dishonest advertising. Stay away from their long contracts. They are not worth it.

The greatest scam is now I have to pay an early cancellation fee to a company that had stolen from me. Even better, the $200+ that I had to pay to get an HD-DVR is not to buy the DVR. It is merely the cost of being allowed to lease it. Ridiculous. You can buy a Tivo DVR for about that price. Stay away from this company. My plan was for $49.99, but the bill was always for over $100. I am saving lots of cash with the switch to cable, except for all the purchases/payouts that I have made to a company that has stolen cash from me. I would be happy about dumping them.

My first two bills will be around $65 a month, (not $45 a month as I first thought) while I await my rebates. But I'm ok with that as long as I do eventually receive 12 months (of my 24 month contract) of service for $45 per month or equivalent credit for the first two months. We'll see what happens with that. Back to the friend referral rebate. After searching on the internet for information about how to submit/apply for the $100 friend referral rebate, I realized that I was supposed to call a very specific number and/or request service through that web page (DIRECTV.com/refer) in order to get the friend referral rebate. The rebate is $10 monthly increments of bill credit for each person for 10 months, Not debit cards as told to me by Natalie.

I emailed DirecTV for information on how to get this rebate, considering that I was initially misinformed about the proper procedures for doing so. The response from Chariza was a repeat of the information I discovered on my own. I replied to this, explaining that I felt that Natalie was either poorly trained or chose to withhold information that prevented me and my friend, from receiving the $100 rebate. I also said, after experiencing the hassle of trying to get this rebate, that I would not be referring anyone in the future and hoped that this experience was not indicative what I could expect from my time with DirecTV. Chariza's response was to repeat the proper friend referral rebate steps and promised to inform management of the issue and to coach Natalie so she would be more useful to others in the future.

I would have understood and been satisfied if Natalie had told me the offers couldn't be combined (if that's the case). In my opinion, that was a perfectly logical explanation. All this has been very educational for me, but it's not giving me an optimistic outlook for future interaction with anyone at DirecTV and it's not getting me or my friend, the advertised $100 rebates. I am anxiously waiting to see if they follow through with my $21/per month credits. I switched from cable to DirecTV so my bill would be cheaper each month, but so far, it's not saving me the money I thought it would. It's definitely not saving me enough money to be worth the hassle of having my bill corrected each month.

For the entire 12 years, and through all equipment and programming package changes, I have been getting the Encore Movie Channels package (without paying for the entire Starz package) for $5 per month. After our last equipment upgrade in Oct. 2008, they offered us the Starz package free for three months. At the end of the three months, they called us to ask us if we wanted to keep the Starz package. We told them no, and within seconds, they turned off the Starz package. When they turned off Starz, we lost the Encore Channels. We immediately called them back and said we wanted the Encore channels turned back on. They said we can only get the Encore Channels if we purchase the Starz package, for $12 per month. What they did was remove the Encore Channels from our programming package with no notice.

After talking with a number of Customer Service people, Derrick finally admitted to me that they cannot offer me the Encore Channels without the Starz package. I pulled up the Dish Network website while on the phone with Derrick, and told him that Dish Network was offering the Encore Channels without the Starz package. He replied that DirecTv could not offer me the Encore Channels without the Starz package. I asked Derrick directly, "So what you are telling me is that you cannot give me back the same programming package I had 10 minutes ago." He said, "No." I said that after I complete my telephone conversation with him, I was going to contact Dish Network and cancel my DirecTV.

After I finished talking to Derrick, I contacted Dish Network, set up installation for the next day. Within 24 hours of talking to Derrick, I was up and running with Dish Network. When I called DirecTV the next day to cancel my service, I was told that I would have to pay an early termination fee. Over the next four days and after talking to who knows how many people, they have not refunded the $364 they took from my checking account. I then followed (and am still following) the dispute process outlined in their customer agreement and I have three points to ponder:

1) It says if either they or I terminate the agreement, I have to pay the termination fee. Is it possible for me to abrogate my rights by signing this type of agreement? I thought US law says that if either party changes the terms of a contract, the other party has the right to accept the changes, or reject the changes. Because the contract has been changed, the old contact is no longer valid and the changed contract can be accepted by the other party, or rejected. If rejected, they can walk away, no longer bound by the original contract.

2) Can they take the money from my checking account, when the only time I paid, I had to confirm any withdrawal made? How was this one made without my confirmation? The bank didn't seem to have a problem with it. They said they could only hold the disputed funds for 24 hours.

3) Lesson learned: never pay a bill online. If you only pay by check, they have to wait until you pay them; they can't take the money without your approval.

Every month, I had a problem with the reception of my HD DVR. They sent me another HD DVR receiver to install; however, they sent me two instead of one. I called back again and I had to send the second receiver and the old receiver to them. They were very heavy for me to carry. When the new HD DVR receiver, I would call to complain and they always had me move my heavy TV to check the wiring and had me playing with the remote to check satellite setting. Then they would send someone to temporarily fix the problem. I would lose all of my recording on my HD DVR. Also, I had Showtime for free for a year after and after three months, I started getting charged. I called and complained and then they credited me.

If I never checked my bill, I would have never known that I was being charged. Also the price that I signed for went up. The last straw was when someone named Jose ** called DirecTV and added two more receivers and I was being charged. I called and complained, asking who Jose ** is and they said that he is my husband. I am single?

So now, DirecTV claims that we entered into a contract at that moment when we bought the HD box at a garage sale. They claim that we have a $459 early cancellation fee that is due to them, since we canceled service in 2008. We never entered into a new contract, and they cannot prove that we did either. We were sent to collections. We wrote a previous letter to you and the FCC. Ultimately, this debt was reported to a credit reporting agency, and I disputed it and won. It is no longer on my credit report. However, they are again sending this to a new collection agency to repeat the process.

Please help me with this. It is such a burden on me, and I am not going to just pay this to get them out of my hair. They now want me to only pay 60% of the total alleged debt. I will not pay anything because I did not break a contract in the first place. My 1st complaint regarding this issue was sent by my husband, Dale **, on March 19, 2008 at 16:05:40. Thanks for the help. Hopefully this issue can be resolved once and for all.

The phone representative, on my next call, told me she had to activate something. She did and told me to wait 48 hours. But for the first couple of months, I would have to pay the regular price. The online rebate form is still telling me that I don't qualify. If I cancel my service, they are telling me that I will have to pay $240 fee. This is definitely misrepresentation and fraud. There should be something we (the public) can do to protect ourselves from this abuse. I am calling the Better Business Bureau as soon as I finish with this email. They are allowed to charge us fees if we break our contract. But they can get by with false advertisement and lying and we still have to pay them fees. There is something very wrong with this business procedure.

Additionally, they want me to pay in advance for service not yet received. I was promised a call back on a weekday by a customer service manager, but that did not happen. To make things worse, the service department does not contact billing or customer service to inform them that there was a service call and that there existed a problem. My service was disconnected the same month that payment was due. I missed the Trailblazers playoff games!

We also signed another page that is called a DirecTV Equipment Lease Addendum. This lease addendum, after reading today has all the fine print details of the 24-month agreement. But at the top, clearly checked is this statement: Check here if this a service call. Note: Lease Addendum is not applicable for service calls. Therefore, it is my understanding the the lease addendum is not valid because this box is checked. The 24-month agreement was also never discussed with the technician.

We are currently trying to cancel DirecTV. It has been 4 years and 9 months since our original agreement. They are claiming we will be billed an early cancellation fee of $20 for the 15 months we have not fulfilled for a grand total of $300. My problem is that we were never told by the customer service rep about the new contract. We assumed that we had fulfilled our initial obligation. We never signed a contract. They cannot produce a contract. I want to cancel the service, but I am afraid my credit will suffer. Our credit scores are well above 800. We are very ethical people who have always paid our bills on time. I have a hard time continuing with a company that has, in my opinion, treated us very unethically.

About one month later, I received a letter stating I owed them $0. About two months after receiving the $0 amount invoice, I received one that stated I owed $55.08. I called DirecTV customer service to see what the charges were for and they told me it was for adult programs that I had ordered. I never had a phone line hooked up to my receiver. Any movies that were ordered by me had to be done online or by phone so I do not understand these charges. I have talked to many DirecTV employees ranging from customer care all the way up to a supervisor at the DirecTV president's office. No one is willing to help me fix this error. They never contacted me until now (5/2/09) about the charges, yet it has already gone to collections and is now affecting my credit. I am at my wit's end dealing with this company and its dishonest ways. I did not order these programs and feel like there is none at DirecTV willing to help me fix this. Everyone I talk to insists that I am a liar and they are very unwilling to talk to me or to fix the charges.

I then had the DirecTV cable installer come to my home on 3/21/09. When he tried to connect to DirecTV, it would not work. The tech called DirecTV to advise that there is no connection and they did not have my order info anywhere! The sales rep asked me which plan I selected. I told him the $29.99 12-month agreement plan. He kept telling me I would have ordered the 24-month plan for more money. I had to repeat myself several times to be sure he gave me the plan I requested. I then received a bill for the higher service fees. I have had several issues with AT&T for the internet service. I never actually got the internet connection to work either and I have already filed a complaint for AT&T.

I called DirecTV on 4/17/09 and spoke to a customer service rep named Chris. I told him I wanted to cancel the 12-month agreement due to my dissatisfaction with the whole package and I was exercising my 30 days to terminate rights. Chris told me there is no such thing and the 30 days only applies to the installation for the dish, not the service. Chris told me I have to allow DirecTV to send a tech out to my home at least twice, plus go through to receiver boxes in order to get out of my contract. I told him I would not stay with a company that has so many problems with the service - never actually getting my internet service connected, no rebate plus being billed for the higher amount, and the signal goes out every time it rains. I would not stand for this.

I mailed DirecTV a letter explaining why I wanted my service canceled and to contact me to resolve the issue. On April 23rd, I turned the TV on and no stations were available. Message 726 was on the screen, so I called DirecTV. I was informed that my service had been canceled upon my letter requesting so. I was also told I would be charge the $480 early cancellation fee per my contract. I explained, in vain, that I didn't want to cancel if there would be any fees. They told me I could only dispute early cancellation fees once I received the bill. They asked me if I wanted my service reactivated and at this point, I was fed up with them and told them no.

May 1st, DirecTV took $480 directly from my bank account. I called them once again and once again, didn't get anywhere as no one is willing to help customers in that company. I will mail DirecTV another letter disputing the early cancellation fee, but I feel like David against Goliath. Is there a way to win against a multimillion company? Is there a way to have the money back in my bank account to be able to pay my bills until the dispute is settled?

A couple of weeks later, I received a bill for $33. I once again called DirecTV and explained I had not received a box. They apologized and told me to expect a box in a few days. I again received a bill, but no box. I called back for a third time and was told that DirecTV will not accept a receiver after 30 days. I explained that I had been promised a box three times and that they had not sent a box. I was told they would work on the situation. I received no more bills and thought the situation was handled until I checked my credit report and saw that they reported this $33 bill on my credit. I will never use DirecTV again and encourage everyone I know to do the same. That $33 has cost them a lot of money and will continue to cost them money until the negative report is taken off my account, and I receive an apology.

I was charged $275 for services I never had. Everyone told me I should have called them to tell them that the services were not installed. I asked them why I did not receive a bill and I was told that they did not have the right address on file. So, if you did not have the information, where were you sending the signal? Then I was told that it was my fault. I also informed them that the technician was out here at my house; the site manager spoke to him. The technician left a note saying there was no landlord permission on my account. And, I got charged.

I also informed them that the technician then mentioned that I would have to pay him almost 400 that day for the install. The whole thing just seems like a scam. DirecTV employees talk down to you and tell you that you should have called or that I should have known what type of work the technicain had to do basically saying that I should have known all of their fees up front and called them to report fraud. I cannot believe that no one is able to see that I was not receiving satellite. Please help.

I explained that it was too costly that way and that I needed to sign up for the triple play with Comcast to get the best deal. He was only interested in stating that I had to pay the early cancellation fee and did not care if it was Verizon's fault or not. He would not let me speak to a supervisor and finally got me one that only spoke Spanish! After an additional 35 frustrating minutes, I spoke to a guy named Ernesto, which started saying, "You must pay the early cancellation fee" and not caring about anything else. I do not believe that the cancellation is my fault! I signed up for a package and Verizon did not deliver! DirecTV technicians have been at my house three times already in the past two months. The representatives, like Robert # **, are a disgrace to any company. They do not have common sense and should not be working in customer service.

This has been a very disappointing experience. I am telling everyone I know that they should never switch over to Verizon or Direct TV. It is not worth the hassle. I am writing to my Congressman and Consumer Affairs explaining this horrible experience. It is in times like this that we should try to help each other and not try to trick you into a package that does not work for you. I am not a technician and would have never imagined that I would be facing all these additional fees and cost for something that is beyond my control. I have asked to contact a manager and Robert always refused without giving me a reason. Is this the company policy? Please avoid this horrible experience by keeping away from these companies. Robert, I am still waiting for a manager to contact me. You have my information.

My TIVO unit broke after three years and I called to have it replaced. “No problem, we'll send you a replacement right away.” When asked if I should return the defective unit, I was told that I now owned it. When did that happen? When Verizon ran FIOS down my road, I got a great deal on phone, Internet and TV. DirecTV was charging me $80.00 per month for a pretty basic package! When I called to cancel my agreement with DirecTV, I was told that there would be a $300.00 early termination fee because, when they replaced the TIVO unit, they had extended my contract another two years without notifying me or asking me if it was OK. I asked DirecTV to mail me the agreements so I could look at them.

I read both of them carefully and didn't see anywhere where it said that, when I replaced a defective unit, my contract would be extended. I then talked to six different supervisors over a period of three months who all said that they couldn't find any language in the contracts that said that either. DirecTV then went and took $347.51 out of my checking account. I called Bank of America and they asked me to provide them with proper documentation and that they would investigate the complaint. After a few weeks, Bank of America issued me a credit for the $347.51. In the meantime, DirecTV called me and said that they had also issued me a credit for the same amount and that I didn't owe them anything. Unfortunately, I had closed the account that DirecTV had on file (to prevent them from taking any more money) so the credit didn't go through.

The day after I got the letter from Bank of America, I got a call from a collection agency wanting their $347.51. I tried to explain to them that the issue had been resolved but they said to call DirecTV. When I called DirecTV, I was told that I was in collection and to call the collection agency! Finally I got to talk to two different supervisors who both agreed that there wasn't any language in the contracts that plainly stated that replacing or upgrading the boxes extended your contract and that they would have to talk to their management to get an answer but nobody has returned my call. It seems that DirecTV ignored Bank of America's complaint and, according to regulations, the bank took the money back from DirecTV. When DirecTV discovered this, they sent me to collection without an explanation or an attempt to resolve the issue. Even though they claim that they had issued a credit and didn't owe them anything.

When I talked to someone (Chris) in DirecTV's Customer Retention Department (a joke of a name), I asked him to send me a copy of my signed Leased Equipment Addendum, which explains early cancellation fees. I showed him in the contract where it states, "By signing this contract, etc.” I knew that I had never signed a contract. He said that was a "legal" question and to call an attorney. Thanks buddy! Instead, I called the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and talked to Miles who said to file a complaint. He was outraged that DirecTV was in direct violation of the state's laws protecting the consumers from fraudulent and unscrupulous business practices. He was even more surprised when I told that there were 35 complaints on this website alone.

I am filing a complaint today. The next call will be to Stacy ** at Channel 8 in Tampa to see if she will intervene on my behalf. I will not let this go. Those of you who have complaints about DirecTV, you can send me an e-mail at ** and I will compile these and see what we, as a group, can do to get our justice. Don’t let DirecTV push you around. You have rights, too! Now I have to try and clear up my credit report. I was about to get a car loan and now I'm not too sure what the response will be. Damn them anyway!

On April 20, 2009, I went to my bank, Washington Mutual, to make a transaction on my account, and I found out that DirecTV had debited from my account a total of $479.88; which I was very surprised and upset about. On the same day, I went home, called, and spoke to another customer service representative by the name of Gabriel. He transferred me to the supervisor Beth. She told me that on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, I will have my money back on my account. Today, Wednesday, April 29, 2009, I checked my balance and the money is still not there. So, I decide to call them, and I spoke again with another customer service representative by the name of Joel. I asked him that I want to speak to the supervisor and he refused; he put me on hold. When he came back on the line, he told me that the Case Management Department took the case, but the money will be returned.

I received pressure and an aggressive tone of voice. They were persistent in telling me that I will not get my money back. The last call I made was today, and the customer service representative I spoke to, Joel, hung up on me.

On the same day, I went home and called them. I spoke to another customer service by the name Gabriel. He transferred me with the supervisor, and then she told me that on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, I will have my money back onto my account. Today, Wednesday, April 29, 2009, I checked my balance and the money is still not there. So, I decided to call them and spoke with another customer service by the name of Joel. I told him that I wanted to speak to the supervisor, and he refused. He put me on hold then. He came back to the line and told me that Case Management department took the case but the money is not going to be returned.

So here were my options: I sign up for their service plan at $6/month and they will get one to me for free (that's $72 each year) or they send a technician out but the service call will cost $50. I told them I was not interested and so they finally offered to send me a new receiver, but I had to cover the shipping at $20. I told them that the shipping fee was excessive for an item under 2 lbs. and that their fee must include all of their expenses (incl. return shipping, which they claimed to be free). I was not willing to pay this and I was told that they were not authorized to waive the shipping fee. So, I insisted on speaking to a supervisor, which I eventually got. It was the threat of writing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and making sure that I would start off every conversation with any person with "Don't ever get DirecTV, they do not stand behind their equipment or their service" that the supervisor or customer resolution specialist then finally agreed to waive the fee.

What an ordeal! Comcast would have exchanged the receiver for free and apologized for the inconvenience. What a mistake I made leaving them just to save a few dollars, which is turning out to be more expensive with each ongoing day of service.

As of March, 2009, my bill was $64.97. Surprisingly, I received a bill in April for $67.99. I called customer service to clarify and I reached two representatives, Michelle and Melissa, who were extremely rude, talking over me and would not listen to my question regarding my bill. I informed them that I did not receive any notice regarding the increase and I requested a credit of $ 3.02 for the month of April since I was not notified, they refused. So, I requested to speak with the supervisor. I then spoke with Mike who claimed he was floor supervisor and he was even more rude than the other two and refused to give me a credit of $3.02. I feel that this company has poor customer service and does not accommodate their customers. I will soon be terminating my service with this company.

He then tried to convince me to suspend the service and then reactivate the service in six months. I said, "No" but he continued to try and get me to change my mind. I was not interested in continuing with DirecTV. I was signed up for Cablevision and the amount stayed at the triple plan price for a year, from sign up which was on September 18, 2007. I told him to just set up the account for termination of service. He discontinued the service. He finished with the termination. I ask him if there was any balance owed on the account. He said that if there is a balance, I would get a bill which I did receive 4 months later, in the amount of $3.03. I paid it and that was the end of that, so I thought.

Then in the month of June, 2008 I received a bill from DirecTV stating that I owe them for service in the amount of $255.73. I did understand why DirecTV would send me a bill. I called them and they said that my service was never disconnected. I informed them that it was and that I did not have their service since 2007. They told me to disregard the letter cause they would take care of it. But what they did was send it to collections. I couldn't believe it. I called DirecTV and reminded them about our previous conversation but they didn't want to hear it. I asked them, "Was this how you were going to take care of it?"

I told them, "You know I don't owe you for any services. The representative we spoke to at the time of termination took it upon himself, to have the account activated without my authorization." We've called DirecTV several times about this problem but was refused any information, about the representative that we had spoken to at the time of termination. I called again on April.25, 2009 and spoke to a supervisor named "Joe". I told him about our problem and also told him, that the representative had taken it upon himself to do this and how many customers has he done this to. They said they would look into it but we were told the very same words before. Please help. We did not at any time, told the representative that we wanted to continue the service. We've pleaded to them to check the recording cause we were told that they have access to them. They said they would look into it, I hope.

I was promised a price of $99 per month for all 3 services. I took days off work on 3 separate occasions to have this all installed. Never once did I pay the promised price so I cancelled service after months of unresolved billing issues. DirecTV has repeatedly sent me bills, but cannot tell me what the bill is for, and have now reported me to a debt collector. I feel Verizon and DirecTV are advertising false information to get people to subscribe to their service.

Then last month, DirecTV increased my bill again. Again I researched different ways to lower my bill and nothing was available to me except to change service and extend my contract for another two years. So, I did the only thing that I could, since I am working reduced hours now, not sure when I will get more hours, and my income has dropped and I can no longer afford these monthly bills from DirecTV, I cancelled, only to be told that I would be breaking the contract that was put in place when I upgraded to HD service back in November 29, 2007. I was told there would be a $360.00 termination fee. Well, I told the rep that I could not afford that at all, that it didn't make sense, that I was a loyal customer since 2003, paid my bills and what not, and that I was not informed about this two-year contract when I upgraded. (She informed me then that on the back of my paper work for the HD upgrade service that was part of what I signed when it was installed in very light print I might add, was the notice.)

I was able to get the termination fee lowered to $140.00. All the while I was being told as to what I should do - cancel my premium service - to which I responded that I would be starting another two-year contract and asked that and no one would answer my question. So as it stands now, I just shipped back my equipment per the instructions I received from DirecTV and awaiting my final bill, which will have the $140.00 cancellation fee I am sure. It seems to me that by increasing DirecTV’s cost of providing their service, not once but a few times since I upgraded to their HD service, with no way of lowering my cost without going into another new two years contract is (the price increase) in some form or another, breaking a contract.

This letter is to dispute the $460.00 early termination fee levied against my account (**) by DirecTV. I want DirecTV to reimburse the $460.00 paid out by Verizon on my behalf because I decided to terminate my service due to the sheer ineptitude of DirecTV. I had called Verizon to notify them of a lack of DirecTV service on 2/12/09 (less than three weeks since the inception of service with DirecTV). I had commenced my service with them on 1/26/09. Verizon asked that I call DirecTV to lodge a complaint. DirecTV told me, upon calling to complain, that the earliest they could send out a technician will be in 15 days' time. I told them it was unacceptable and that I needed immediate service.

Making no head way and utterly frustrated, I called Verizon again and told them what has transpired, adding that I couldn't stay a day without TV. Verizon agreed that I had a point, but advised that they have nothing to do with my predicament and that I should complain to DirecTV. Into my third day of no service, I called DirecTV again to see if I could get them to send a technician. They said they couldn't until the date that they had given to me three days earlier. I argued that my first impressions of them were very unfavorable, so I told them I want my service terminated then. Even though I never signed a contract, DirecTV told me they'll charge me $460.00 for early termination of contract. I countered that if there was a contract, they are in violation for failing to live up to the obligation therein because they're failing to provide my family and I with service. They said they would deduct $460.00 out of my card and I told them I'd report them to the Better Business Bureau.

Meanwhile, I called and emailed Verizon to keep them abreast of events, but no one got back to me. Later on, DirecTV would send me a FedEx barcode sticker and box to mail their receiver and remote control to them, which I had since sent out. I received a letter from DirecTV later stating that I don't owe them anything. However, when my Verizon bill arrived, the charge of $460.00 for early termination was included in it. I'm not sure if Verizon is in collusion with DirecTV to swindle me. But one thing is for sure, I'm ready to take this issue anywhere because I'm absolutely not paying.

January 26, DirecTV withdrew $263.67 from our account. This was not authorized. Bank of America gave us a temporary credit while they disputed this with DirecTV. Later, Bank of America made it a permanent credit after their investigation thus closing this dispute. On March 3, DirecTV withdrew another $263.67 from our account. This was not authorized. I spoke to Mark, manager of DirecTV, on April 21. He refused to attempt to investigate and insisted that we broke the contract agreement. After he was done, he ended the phone call and hung up.

DirecTV's customer promise printed on their flyers reads: We strive to deliver the best television experience. Our employees are determined to provide you with courteous and excellent service. We promise to do our best to resolve any issues. This is false advertisement. They did not fulfill the customer's request/order. They are penalizing the customer for canceling an order they did not request.

They installed on 4/8/2009 but I was charged $60.00 to install the free DVR. On 4/9/2009, I checked my charge card transactions and there was a charge for $127.28 for DirecTV. I called DTV at 866-678-9471 and talked to Mary Ann and Theresa who told me DTV didn't do the charge; AT&T did. They also informed me that the $34.95 was a promo that lasted one year to which I need to on line to fill out a rebate to take care of that offer (the first time I heard of this), and I was told there was a $6.00 per month charge for the free DVR.

They switched me to AT&T and I talked to Gloria **. She couldn't do anything and switched me to DTV with AT&T and I talked to Sherrie (Badge #**). She said part of the $127.28 I was charged was $99.00 for the free DVR to which she said she would credit me for. Eleven days later, I haven't seen any credit. As far as the differences in the monthly charges, she said I was told wrong and there isn't anything she can do about it. I also talked to a Miss ** who said I shouldn't have been charged the $60.00 to install the DVR that was part of the $19.95 install. She transferred me to their billing department to help with the $60.00 DVR install charge and I was disconnected. She also gave me an AT&T Complaint Department phone #888-818-4248 that I called but it is unavailable from my calling area.

I have called different services to get help like Business and Professional Regulations and FL Public Service Commission. FL Public Service Commission told me DirecTV is not licensed or regulated in the state of Florida. I did get a hold of Division of Consumer Services and filed a complaint with them online, but all they really can do is forward my complaint to DirecTV and AT&T. I canceled my DirecTV service within 24 hours and talked to Michelle who said there will be no charges to me and they will send me boxes to return the equipment at no charge. She transferred me to their cancelling department and I talked to Lisa who took care of the cancelling order and confirmed what Michelle said.

On 4/20/2009, I am still waiting for the credits to my charge card and the boxes to return their equipment. It has cost me so far $176.28 to try and cut back on expenses since. I am out of a job and we are cutting back everywhere we can. It has also cost me a lot of time and stress.

We have had DirecTV to our house a multitude of times over the years to fix the outage problems and they were never able to. Between the Superbowl fiasco and the bad service including the inability to provide us with HD service, we cancelled our service. We were then charged an early cancellation fee. How could I be charged an early cancellation fee if I had the service for close to 4 years? I have never knowingly signed a lifetime contract and can't understand how 4 years constitute early termination. I feel this charge is fraudulent. Then when we returned the equipment to them, they swiped the boxes and rebilled us for every movie we ever rented for the last 4 years for which I believe we were billed previously as how could we have gotten the movie otherwise.

I asked them after they harassed us night and day for these fictitious charges to prove they were not billed previously as I do not have access to 4 years' worth of bills and find this practice quite unusual. The bill also did not state the year the movie was watched from when they swiped the boxes so how could I even track it to an old bill to find out if it was billed. Should I go through 4 years of billings for which I don't have the records to? They have never responded to my request to prove these charges are valid. I believe they have, in fact, ruined my credit as well by reporting these fictitious charges as delinquent.

The following Sunday (after four business days), a technician came out to install my system. After his initial assessment, he told me that my apartment did not have South/Southwest exposure, so he would not be able to install the system. After he left, I called Customer Service to cancel my order. Again, I was told it would be 3-5 business days before I would receive a credit. It had only been 4 business days since I changed my order so I thought, "Fine." Five days later, there was still no credit. I called back and my inquiry was "escalated" to a supervisor who said that someone didn't do something right when canceling my order so the credit had never been applied. She then told me it would probably be another 3 to 5 business days but that it would likely be just two before I saw the credit.

Four business days later (April 17th), I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor who informed me that since the matter was escalated to the Payment Disputes department, it would be another 8 to 10 business days before I would even receive a response, let alone see any money!! When I told him what the previous supervisor had told me, he said that she was probably just trying to appease me. When I asked for his name, he said it was Bobby and wouldn't give me a last name. I asked Bobby for the company's address so I could file a complaint with the Consumer Affairs and the BBB. It took them 30 seconds to charge my card for that receiver! I know it shouldn't take this long for them to issue me the credit I am due!

I put my trust in DirecTV to be truthful in billing and to only take from my banking the sum I owe them. As I told her, if this was the case, then they can overcharge all their customers and then only refund a fraction of what they took. This doesn't seem right and I would advise all DirecTV customers to check their bill as DirecTV has proven they will overcharge and then only give back what they want. When my contract is over, they can take their service and shove it!

I again received a bill for the amount of $362.61 and again, I called DirecTV. I spoke with Tamara (employee #**), who assured me that the receiver was received and that my bill would be credited. But then again, I received a bill for the same amount and again I called DirecTV. I spoke with Tina (employee #**). She assured me that it would be corrected and to disregard the charge. Then on April 2nd, I received a bill for the same amount and called again. I was sent to several different operators to finally speak to Jenny (employee #**), who informed me that this charge was for an early cancellation fee. We had DirecTV for 5+ years and I did not understand that we would be changed an early cancellation fee.

I was informed that my contract was extended for 18 months because I accepted a free gift for being a valued customer(?) of an upgraded receiver. Since I activated the receiver they sent me, I automatically renewed my contract for another 18 months. The caller made it clear that this free receiver was free of charge with no strings attached because I was a valued customer. I would never agree to an 18-month extension to my contract. If it was communicated in detail when they had sent me the free receiver, I would not have called to activate it.

Jenny (employee #**) said that she would cancel the charge if I would reactivate our service with DirecTV. I said that my husband and I are in economic hardship and we are unable to pay for cable, so that is why we canceled. She said, "That is too bad because you will still be charged the $362.61." I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone. I got a total runaround. I never talked with anyone who really knew what they were talking about. I feel that we have been taken advantage of through this whole ordeal. I pay my bills on time and have excellent credit. This has been so stressful and I feel that we have been defrauded by DirecTV.

When I asked about the internet, now the story changed from $39.99 a month to over $99.99 a month; and on top of that, they wanted to install another dish. This is where I had to draw the line. I waited about a month so I could reinstall the mess of wires that they put in myself and please my landlord, before I called the local cable company. When I called DirecTV to cancel my service, I was told that I had a two-year contract and it would be over $400 to disconnect it. This was never told to me when I ordered the service. I only have a 1-year contract on my lease. I would never have signed up for a two-year contract with them. (It just wouldn't make any sense.) So now, I'm stuck with a $400 bill all because DirecTV is extremely crooked and did nothing but lie to me from the beginning.

January 14, 2009 rolled around. We called to say that after the billing period was over, we would be cancelling our service. We have since received bills totaling over $1000 for service, late fees, equipment fees, and early termination. According to them, by allowing them to install a replacement receiver in the Summer of 2008, we supposedly agreed to an additional 2-year contract, even though nothing was ever signed! Also, if you have paid your bill in the past with a credit/debit card, they keep your account number on file. So, they went ahead and charged us for everything without ever notifying us of any bills in the mail!

I was told that I have to write a letter to their Billing Disputes department to explain why they need to refund my money. Never mind the fact that I've gotten numerous confirmation numbers from calls when I cancelled the service and was told there were no fees. That means nothing to them. Also, they can't seem to produce any piece of paper or form that shows that I was under contract or legally responsible for any fees!

My husband called DirecTV and he was being charged of $45.99 just to fix it. My husband asked them why we needed to pay, it was not our fault and besides we were paying our monthly for the total choice plan. They said it was because our contract expired already. So I called them again. I told them "I just had a new receiver for only a couple of days and it wasn't working." They couldn't fix it and they said if I didn't want to pay the $45.99 troubleshooting, I needed to buy their protection plan of $5.99/mo. I told them we couldn't afford anymore additional expenses.

When we called them for the additional receiver, they didn't tell us that there was a 2-year contract. Now that we switched to another company who offered the same program plan with way less than theirs, they said I needed to pay $340 for early termination. And they wanted the receiver that we bought for $75 to be returned to them. That wasn't fair enough. I kept calling them if they could fix our TV programs without paying or buying their protection plan because my daughter didn't want to switch to another company because she said she grew up with DirecTV. I told them "We were your customers for more than 13 years." But they didn't give me any consideration. They told me to write a dispute letter to their Billing Dispute Dept. which I did send last 3/24/09. Up to now, I haven't heard anything from them.

He assured me that they had received my returned equipment and that a full refund would be given in up to 7 business days. I waited 9 business days - no refund. Today, 04/13/09, I called them again. I was told that a refund credit had been ordered, but would take 6-8 weeks to process. I told her that was ridiculous. I demanded to talk to a supervisor. I waited on hold for 20 minutes and was transferred to a Resolution Specialist by the name of Rain. She told me she was going to expedite my refund and that I will receive it in 8 business days and she said that she was going to monitor it to make sure it happened.

It has been over a week since they received the box back and no credit on my account. I called them to find out when my account will be credited. The customer rep then tells me that the 72 hours was for their system to show the credit and that it will be actually 6-8 weeks before they refund my money via mail. It seems like a lot of people are having the same issues. Unauthorized charges on accounts and charging for the non-returned receivers before the 7 days they indicate on the return instructions. I am sure they are making interest on the money for the 2 months they are holding it before they credit the money back.

I have had an account close before due to lack of payment with one of the biggest cell phone providers. My refusal to pay them did not end up in my account being charged without my permission because they have a policy that lets them. They sent my account to collections. How can it be that DirecTV has the know how to make unauthorized charges and these other larger service providers cannot? How can they send a set of instructions and you follow them and they still charge you? It takes a few clicks for them to charge you, but it takes 2 months for them to reimburse the charge they never should have made in the first place.

In my frustration with the automatic responses the customer service agents give, I asked to speak to the manager. He was very rude and said, "Well, we are just trying to protect the company from people like you who refuse to make payments." I told him that I had called and told them when to expect payment and that that day had not yet occurred (it was going to be the very next day until they debited my account) and that I had just wanted to lodge a complaint on how we were never notified, and he hung up on me! I was so furious!

I canceled DirecTV last week and I was told that I had to pay $120 for an early cancellation. I told the service rep that I was unaware of any time agreements and asked for written information on this. He was unable to provide this information as was his supervisor who told me that I would have to call the corporate office. She would not give me the phone number for the corporate office.

I checked my account and there was no reference to any time commitment. I have not seen any documentation about an 18-month agreement. I have been told that the extended lease agreement is to cover the cost of the equipment. By this logic, I should receive a refund after I return the receiver. I paid $70 for the receiver, $120 cancellation fee, and $60 for 12 months lease. And now I have to return the receiver or pay another exorbitant fee. This is price gouging and unfair business practice.

Luckily I was able to get a call back number at least. I spoke to 2 different CS reps, each stating that the contract was valid because even if the CS rep didn't inform me, I should have read the follow-up email. I believed that the CS rep had told me upfront what the upgrade included (which was everything except the extension of the service contract) so to be honest, I did not read the extraneous email as thoroughly as I should have. I asked if the early cancellation fee could at least be decreased since I only had a year left on my contract. They said that already was discounted! The original fee was $480! Now I'm sure I would have remembered them telling me that. I was a loyal DirecTV customer for 10+ years. When they asked me why I switched in the first place, I told them it was because they are too expensive, to which they responded that it wasn't their fault that I had the highest Premium Package on my account that made it so. That is not true because I am getting everything and more (high- speed internet) for $150 less with Time Warner.

The original customer service representative did not inform me of the contract extension. I was told that based on my account record and by the discounted price of the equipment, the CS rep would have informed me of the extension. I assure you, she did not and that doesn't even make any sense anyway. It is my word against theirs but DirecTV has covered their you-know-whats by saying that I should have caught the discrepancy on my own when I received the email. I would like this cancellation fee to be waived based on principle of it.

I have been getting the runaround with them. Everyone I talk to is giving me a different explanation from getting a revised bill that would update my account. I was then told I had never returned a box. The last phone call I had was with Michelle on March 11, 2009 and I was informed that she would send it down to the escalating dept. and I should hear from them in 10 days. On March 17, I received a letter that I had gone into collections. This is not ethical. I had been a customer for four years. No one had informed me that I was leasing anything. It was just a replacement for the box that did not work anymore. I also had a protection plan with them. What can you do for me? Please help me resolve this matter.

I asked both parties why I never received a form or why was this not ever mentioned to me (about getting this price with a rebate). They both could not answer the question. Then, I find out they started counting the days when I called on 1-8 even though the service was not even connected till 1-24. Then, the bill came after the 60-day period and the 90-day period, and then I was told to go online to fill out the rebate on today’s date of 4-8-09 and it would kick in. Then when I tried to do it online, it said I was over the 60 days and wouldn't allow me to do it online. So in other words, I am screwed having to pay $78.35 a month instead of what I was told for the $39.99 rate for the next 12 mos., because if I cancel now, they want me to continue to pay the full amount for the 12 mos. that it would have cost. This is bad business.

I am 75 and my husband is 82. I understand that DirecTV is being investigated in New York and Florida and heaven only knows where else. I have contacted an Orlando TV station, Fla. attorney general, BBB in Florida, Fla. Senior Helpline, FCC, FTC, and I won't stop there. I am accumulating a lot of notes regarding dates of calls I made to them and the various answers, letters, and e-mail I've sent. I even have a letter wherein they acknowledge my son as their client. My card company has reversed the payment, and DirecTV has placed me in collection for the $674.49. We are so very stressed over this and the fact that others suffer too. I have reported all this to several agencies, but as of yet, none have offered any intervention.

First response from DirecTV was I was ineligible because I was not signed up for email. I rebutted this claim and received call from Justin representing DirecTV President's Office. I related above info, and he said he would correct and apply (advertised) discounts. Most recent bill appears to correctly apply rebates. Prior to this last call, I had talked to a number of DirecTV reps and each had different story - some stories were strange, including Jason who told me DirecTV does not bill you; AT&T does (Wrong).

After we discontinued the service for having moved, DirecTV started sending penalty charges of $450. Having represented our case and the situation, they totally disagreed and now they have the collection agency involved. This agency has posted the collection on our credit history which was affecting our credit. CBE is the credit company.

DirecTV was the first service installed. After the dish and receivers were installed, the DirecTV technician had us sign a paper stating we had had receivers installed in our home and recorded the serial numbers. Then he brings out a 24-month contract (it is possible that it denoted 18 months for the basic service). We signed a note stating a dispute to the contract. We contacted the supervisor of the installation tech. and told him we needed to talk to the people that sold us the package. He said he needed to hear back from us by 8:00 and everything would be taken care of.

We went to the Qwest booth in our local mall where we talked to a different salesperson. We told him the issue we were having and he started contacting several people with DirecTV and Qwest. Everybody he talked to had a different answer as to the length of the contract we were supposed to have. After considerable time, he came to the consensus that the basic package (which is what we signed up for) is supposed to be an 18-month contract. The original salesperson also told us our local channels came with the service.

We come to find out that in order to get the local channels, we would have to have another dish put in our home (at a cost of $100). The local service manager said he would waive the $100 for us due to the circumstance. After finding out about all the things the original sales person failed to mention and not being able to get the same answer from anyone, we decided to cancel all services from both companies. This all happened on Saturday, the same day as the installation made by DirecTV. We attempted to contact the local supervisor of DirecTV several times between 7:00 and 9:00 to tell him to have our receivers picked-up. We were unable to talk to him until Monday when he was able to get the technician to our home to get the receivers.

A month later, we received a bill for that month's service. When we called to dispute it, we were told we now owed them around $300 for early termination of the contract. When we told the lady (who claimed to be the supervisor) that we never signed a contract, she said there was an oral agreement which bound us. When we didn't go for that, she stated their policies were posted everywhere and because of this, we were legally bound to paying this early termination fee.

Over the last 2 months, we have had several calls from DirecTV and now from a collection agency (Focus Receivables) stating that they are going to screw up my wife's credit. We were told by the DirecTV lady that we could write a letter to them asking them to drop the charges. We did not, we believe that would be admitting an obligation to them. Not once did they give us any hint that they would back off. It was one story after another of why we were legally bound to pay them. At one point, we were even told by one of the local DirecTV employees to tell them the equipment was never installed and he would vouch for us.

Well, 6 months later, we are cutting costs every way possible to save money in this economy and decided to cancel our service since the contract was up on April 22nd, 2009. We come to find out, because my fiance ordered the HD upgrade, it extended our contract for two years with a $400 cancellation fee! Neither of the two points of contact said anything about an extension and made it very clear that DirecTV was providing a no obligation service. After spending two hours on the phone with the highest of supervisors, there were quite a few treasured tidbits.

The supervisor very specifically stated that his employees were only calling certain customers and had no response when my fiance said, "You mean the long standing customers that were at any point able to cancel without any fees?" Not only that, but he justified the $400 fee by saying that is being strongly enforced because many people are losing their jobs and wanting to cancel Seriously?!

So a word of Extreme Warning: don't ever sign up with DirecTV. They don't give a second thought to running scams and accusing you of lying when you call them out. They will not provide you with the documents you signed unless there is a court order and they will not tell you what credit card number they have on file for your bills. This company is running a very dirty business.

Today, I received my second bill and it was regular price ($59.99 less $18 discount). I called them about the bill and asked why the bill was not the $29.99 they told me it would be. Their answer was that to get the $29.99, I had to sign up for auto pay or to have it put on my credit card. They did not tell me that I had to sign up for auto pay. They asked me if I wanted to and I said no. I tried to reason with them on the phone about this with no success. I wanted to cancel with them and they told me that I had an 18-month contract. I did not sign anything saying anything about a contract. I need help please.

I then received a bill on 4/2/09 for multiple pay per views charges in the amount of $120.74. These are made up charges. They also sent out the bills two weeks after they charged my credit card. I have my bank statements. They refuse to tell me what movies they were for. They said the charges were from several months back. This is impossible, since charges are made through phone lines and are automatically charged. They should have billed them sooner if they are legitimate, which they are not. They only apologized for the unauthorized payment. I have the email for proof that they admit to the unauthorized payment. These charges are false! I have all paperwork, bills and dates of contact and emails to fight this!

I am out of work currently and this caused bank account to deplete. This is not right! They cannot do that to somebody. I cannot believe that a company of this size would condone these business practices. I would like more than their apology. I want them to refund this money that they stole without my authorization. There has to be some kind of protection for consumers. I don't care if these charges were legit (which they are not, since ppv is billed when purchased, not from back in April of last year). They cannot use someone's cc without authorization. This should be illegal! Please help. I know $120.74 is not a lot of money, but in these economic times and I am laid off as well, this is a lot of money to me!

I called customer service and was told because I downgraded, they have to reevaluate my qualifications for the $16/month rebate, even though the downgraded package still qualifies. I will be informed of their decisions after 14 days, then submit rebate if approved and another 6-8 weeks for the rebate to start. I tried to cancel my service. They told me my contract was for 2 years and would have to pay to break contract. This is all within 5 days of activation. At sign up, the rep said contract was for 1 year. It seems customer service are clueless with product and rebates. They misrepresent packages and not the most helpful.

I was told that it would not extend my contract and that I could cancel DVR service at any time and would no longer be charged for DVR services. I ordered the DVR and services were moved in 6/08. After such time, there were numerous billing errors every month. I was charged for a free promotional movie package numerous months, maintenance service which I had not ordered and called about which reappeared on my bills after contacting DirecTV informing them of errors, DVR charges when DVR service had been canceled, a refer a friend credit for 2007 that I still had not received.

I made several calls to DirecTV over the months following 6/08 and was promised numerous credits for my inconvenience. I was informed after by a supervisor that I was not eligible for any inconvenience credits because I was considered a "new customer" and in response to telling him that DirecTV promised these to me, he said "if one of your employees promised a customer the moon, would you then go pluck it out of the sky and give it to them?" I started to cry and became very angry stating that I had been on the phone with them that night for over 2 hours and it was past 12 am and he said, "why would I want to help you with that attitude?"

On 8/27/08, I called DirecTV to cancel services due to numerous complaints that I had and the time involved in billing issues and poor customer service. I was then informed that if I canceled service, I would be charged a $420 early termination fee because I was in contract until 6/2010. After informing the rep that I was only in contract for one year which ended 10/08, she stated that when I added the DVR service, I had agreed to extend my contract for 24 months. I informed that I was never informed of such and did not sign a contract. Since such time, no one at DirecTV has been willing to resolve this, not even after Verizon contacted them on my behalf.

And since Verizon contacted them, DirecTV stated that I may not discuss this with them because it has been discussed already with Verizon. I have been trying to resolve this for months and recently canceled service on 3/23/09. I was informed that I would charged a $280 fee and would not receive my refer a friend credit of $50 because I would not have 5 months of billing for them to credit $10 per month. I informed them that this credit was owed from 2007 and they had numerous 5 month segments to credit me. I was told I still would not receive it and had to pay all of my remaining balance in my last bill including the early termination fee! I plan to take legal action either through my local courts or arbitration if necessary.

At this point, I am upset that I have to deal with this for another week. But what can I do? Finally, the new (refurbished) receiver arrived and my hubby set it up. After a few days, this receiver did the same thing. Again, we called DirecTV and went through the same process as before. This happened three times total. The third time when we called DirecTV, the customer service rep told us that if we want, we can just go to Best Buy and purchase a new receiver there so we don't have to wait a week once again; that he will credit our account the purchase price plus tax, so it will still be free for us. He also offered to give us a year of HD service for free along with six months of DVR service for free; three months of Starz for free and $10 off any package for I believe one year (this was last September 2008 so it's hard to remember exactly).

At this time, he told us that he is only authorized to credit our account up to a certain amount. His boss will have to credit us the remaining few dollars the next day, when he comes back to work. Finally, all was right with myself and DirecTV. My bill showed the credits like I was told and then new receiver worked great. Well come two months later, my husband lost his job and we had to move and close our account with DirecTV. When I called to cancel my account, I verified with the customer service rep that I was not on a contract and that I would be receiving my credit of $207.15 back in the mail. I was told that I was not on a contract and that I would receive my credit in six to eight weeks. After about ten weeks going by and no check from DirecTV, I called them in February 2009 to see what the problem was.

The customer service rep apologized and said that he would put a rush on it and I would receive my refund in twelve days max. More than twelve days later and still no check, I called DirecTV again. Keep in mind that every month from October 2008 bill to February 2009, my bill has always shown a credit. This time when I called DirecTV, the customer service reps played the pass me around to 4 different service reps game and then proceeded to tell me that I owe them $325. When I asked why, they told me that they are making me pay back any credits I have ever been offered from DirecTV. I told them there is no way they can give someone a credit of say $10 a month for a year because of an issue they were having with DirecTV and then when you go to close your account, they back charge you for any credit you were ever given. The customer service rep told me that's what they were doing and that I would be receiving a new bill reflecting the charges.

I asked him how come I didn't owe them anything for the past four months, but now that I keep calling them for my refund they decide I owe them $325. I was told if I had any further questions, I was to take it up with billing disputes for legal reasons. Of course, you can't call them. You can only write them a letter and I needed to make sure to include a phone number for them to contact me back within two days. So I wrote a long letter explaining in great detail everything that has happened and mailed it out. It has been two weeks and still no phone call from billing disputes.

Today, I called DirecTV to see if they can talk to billing disputes to verify that they received my letter. They told me there is no way to contact them and that my account has been sent to collections. I asked her how could they send my account to collections when I just received the bill on March 15, 2009, stating I now owe them money. I told the customer service rep that I had just received the bill sixteen days ago and hadn't even had time to pay it. I was then told that when I receive a letter from collections, to take it up with them. That's it. The end. No further care in the world! I will never do business with DirecTV again and it looks like I will be stuck paying them $325 just so they don't ruin my credit.

If I had known that I would be committing to them for two more years, then I would have rejected the offer that they were making to me. There was no reason for me to enter into a two-year agreement with them if I had already been with them for almost seven years. I contacted DirecTV via email twice and got two responses from what were supposed to be two different people, but they had the same DirecTV employee ID number. The first person's name was Juliene **. The second person was Julesie ** and the employee ID number is identical. She told me that my agreement had expired on January 15, 2009 and that I did not have a two-year agreement with them.

When I called the phone number that she provided me with to clarify this matter, I was told by the person who answered that she was right - that I did not have an agreement with them for two years. I was then transferred to another person who is responsible for cancelling accounts and they told me that I do have a two-year agreement. I was completely shocked by all of this. I found out later by looking online at the Consumer Affairs threads regarding DirecTV that I am not the only one whom this has happened to and that this is a pretty common practice of theirs that they use on unsuspecting customers.

From what I have seen online regarding all of the complaints that have been made against them, they usually get away with this tactic of threatening people with cancellation fees and hurting someone's credit in the process. There are many people like me who really have no voice when it comes to taking on a big company like DirecTV, and I see many people would like to also take action against them but do not know how to go about it. Hopefully you can assist me with this because they are going to keep on charging me no matter what I do unless you can do something for me.

I never agreed to any contract, never signed anything and was never advised by DirecTV of this when we added the box back in July 07. I will never go back to DirecTV. They are sick. The man is dead and gone and they expect me to get the box that is gone back to them. His nephew inherited all the stuff he had. What am I supposed to do? I was a customer for years even before when they were Primestar. Unreal how they treat people and then think I want to ever go back. I would rather have cable.

Next day, the installer comes and REQUIRES us to sign their equipment lease agreement BEFORE they will start the install. The last item installed is the 2nd room DVR. Before it's completely working, the installer tells us that the only problem with DirecTV is that on a TV with HD capabilities (which mine has), the channels will show up with gray bars on either side of the picture. He also says that we can't fix it with the DirecTV remote format? Button because our tv is HD, however they can be fixed using the actual TV settings. This turned out to be false. The gray bars are there in any case.

Immediately I call DirecTV (the DVR has been installed now for maybe 10 - 15 minutes). After more than 1 call to them (yes I was previously disconnected - ghee, how did that happen I wonder?), I explain the situation to the girl, and say that I'd like to return the DVR and go ahead and get an HD DVR for this 2nd room, and pay the additional money for this upgrade, another $100.00. She tells me that they will not credit me back the $100.00 for the DVR that doesn't work as we expected - they will take back the DVR though, since it's just leased. I will have to pay the full price now for an HD DVR.

I ask to talk to a supervisor, and after being on hold for more than 1 hour (no exaggeration here), I get a gentleman who says not only will they not credit me the original $100 I paid for the DVR I've now had for about 2 hours, but if I don't want their service now I will have to pay the contract termination fee. It seems completely wrong to REQUIRE someone to sign a contract BEFORE they will install equipment, even though to check out the equipment to see if it's working or not requires it to be installed. And then, if the equipment isn't working as expected, I have no recourse because I signed the contract already.

There was no way to check into this issue BEFORE signing the contract. Heck, the installer knew it was an issue as he mentioned it before we even saw it on the TV - why couldn't he have mentioned it right away when he checked out both of our TVs to see what he needed to get the install done, I wonder.

Consequences: I have already paid $124.95 for a DVR that DirecTV will get back for use with another customer. Not to mention the intense negative energy expended in dealing with their customer service people - and sitting on hold for more than 1 1/2 hours in total.

I advised Ricky that I was offered that DVR upgrade for USING the "movers connection program" and was NEVER told that the upgrade would involve a contract. Ricky stated it did not matter "whether you were aware or not"... I objected of course and told Ricky that the company cannot hold customers liable for contracts they did not agree to - I requested to see my signature or hear my voice agreeing to a 2-year contract. Ricky stated they should have sent me a letter after the move - either via mail or email. I advised Ricky that I never received anything and if I would have, I would have called DirecTV right away. I then told Ricky I needed to speak to his supervisor.

A gentleman came on the line stating his name was Eric and he was a Resolution Specialist. I asked him if he was a supervisor because I had asked for a supervisor. Eric then stated he was a Resolution Specialist Supervisor...? I gave it a whirl though - and explained all the above, and to my amazement he too agreed with Ricky and said I was liable for the remainder of the contract - expiring July 2010. $20 a month until that date! Oh my gosh... I then asked Eric for his supervisor and he told me his superior was Marlin but that he was not available. I asked for the name of the call center manager and Eric refused to give me this information. I then asked for Executive Offices, and Eric stated that DirecTV did not have that... He said that no one in the company would release me of the contract.

Getting nowhere I bid Eric good-bye and took to the PC where I found the email address of the CEO Chase Carey. I emailed him instantly - thinking he will understand and see what outrage this is... charging people a contract without their knowledge or agreement. Illegal at best... Well, about an hour later I received a call from John in the customer advocacy group. Amazingly enough he too stated that the contract is valid, that DirecTV did not need my signature on a contract or my verbal commitment to hold me liable. I argued that the practice was illegal - John stated to me that it must not be since DirecTV does it to thousands of customers and has never been in trouble...

I was in shock! Eric then informed me that DirecTV would take the monies owed on the supposed contract directly out my credit card on file. I was really shocked now. I told John that I do not authorize DirecTV taking any monies out my bank and that if that did happen they would be real legal trouble. Since that day I have lodged a complaint with the FCC and the Consumer group in California and now here. I also sent ANOTHER letter to the CEO even though the gracious John told me that his group goes through that email box and that Mr. Carey would not email me back... Frustrated and feeling ripped off. Big company hiding behind BIG CORPORATE GLUT... Help!

I told them I requested boxes to return them and there has never been any sent to me. They were delivered two days later. I returned them immediately and followed the tracking and as soon as they were received, I contacted DirecTV back and John said, "It takes 6 to 8 weeks to get your refund." I asked to speak to his supervisor and was given to another person who would not give me her name. She said it wasn't her problem that that was policy. I asked to speak to her supervisor then and she hung up on me. I called back the following day and after explaining my problem was told it would be returned immediately.

After two days I called back because I did not receive any credit in my account. The person I talked to was apologetic and told me that they could not return it yet because they did not have a current expiration date on my card. That just surprised me because that card had expired in November 08. So I could not figure out how they were able to run the card if the card had expired. They told me that they did anyways. I have called them daily and get a different answer daily. Finally I was told it would be returned between March 24-27, 2009. It did not happen. Well, I had already been out money because of their move to debit my account. It caused several items to be returned by my bank and at that point I was -$904.03 because of return items fees.

I called them and they were able to make it so that I had local, but they gave me a cheat sheet so that I could see the numbers since they were not correct on the TV menu. I asked how long I had to cancel if I chose to do so. I was told 24 hours and I was at 27 hours and I had missed the cancellation window. The 3 day right to cancel according to them is not in California. I did not spend money to get the system. I would now owe $480.00 cancellation fee due in one payment.

They would not budge. 3 hours and they will not budge. They do not have a large clear menu for sight impaired, which for me is a major factor in cancelling this contract. He suggested that I go through arbitration with their corporate office acting as the arbitrator. Sure sounds a bit bias to me. I can't believe all the complaints against this company. I am barely making my payments in the economy. A discount for TV services was a relief. Not such a relieve now. My bill to DirecTV is paid through my phone company AT&T. It is almost impossible to refuse payment when it is part of your bundled phone bill.

They stated, I would have to pay a cancellation fee. They stated, my part of the contract was for 18 months and DirecTV's part was 12 months. In addition she stated, I had service in February of 2008.(faulty equipment). She said, when the service person came to my house it extended my contract for an additional 24 months. She said, I didn't have a maintenance protection plan. I stated, no one ever mentioned one to me and the equipment was owned by DirecTV. I also stated, the service person did not inform me of an extension of my contract, when he did the work. They sent a bill for $256.80 for a cancellation fee. I feel this is unlawful and unethical. At no time, was a maintenance plan or extension of contract due to work performed on their equipment.

They came out to install the Direct TV. The installer came up my driveway listening to his iPod singing and did not stop the whole time while installing. Professional Installation right. He was there for hours. I had to leave to go out of town. Every weekend from November I have left to go to central FL to take care of my mother who had a stroke. My daughter aged 19 was home to sign the form. I asked to, but he said not until he finished.

My son who has moved back home with his family because he lost his home and condo to foreclosure, his landscaping business has suffered in this economy, he noticed the TV kept shutting off and the circuit breaker would pop. He noticed the 3-prong plug from his TV was missing the third ground plug. The installer had cut off the point so it would fit into a two prong extension cord. I know he was in a hurry because his wife kept calling when would he be finished.

It was Friday night 3/20/2009. Thursday the 26th I get the bill for $90.00. When I question it, I also find out I had a two year contract in which after one year the price doubles. They told me that there was no way in getting out of it. My 19 year old had signed for it. They also told me I received a welcome letter spelling out the details. I have yet to receive the letter. The bill came quickly although. I believe AT&T misrepresented me. She had to know especially when there is such an increase in price after one year.

DirecTV could have called me up to verify the order. I have been a DirecTV customer in the past without a contract. I canceled it about 4 months ago because of the increasing price. I have a Master’s Degree in Psychology and I fell for this high pressure sales tactic. Maybe it's the stress from my mother's stroke, and my son's financial problems. I know I would not have agreed to this promotion had I known all the hidden cost.

I don't know where I will be 2 years from now, or even 2 months, and I would not have ordered something I am responsible for two years especially when my son and his family have no home. AT&T misrepresented me, and DirecTV took advantage of the situation. I don't know if you can help, or who can, but any information would be helpful.

Consequence: They have have agreed to replace the damaged cord to the TV. The price of the TV service increases from $30 per to $62.99 per month after a year, which was not initially explained.

Also, while the service tech came out in September of 2007 to add high definition, he damaged our wood paneling wall. Instead of using a screw driver to make a hole for the wire to run through, he stabbed the wall with a screw driver causing some minor damage. My fiance spoke to DirecTV regarding this. They were not helpful in assisting this situation. Furthermore, they have refused to come out to our home to remove the satellite dish from our roof. We are unable to do it because both my fiance and I are disabled. Consequences: The physical damage was the minor damage that occurred while the tech used his screw driver to make a hole in our wall for a wire to fit through. The first tech that came out to establish our service used a screw gun and it was fine with no damage.

I immediately called customer service and reported the unauthorized charge. They said it was in the contract that they could take whatever I owed out of my checking account on file. Uh, wait a minute, I never received a warning or a letter in the mail. They just debited $600.00 when they felt like it. AND it wasn't 7 days after I received the box. The lady in billing said I would be refunded $337.00 within 5 days of the receivers' arrival at their warehouse. OR she could give me a refund of the receivers plus the cancellation fee if I agreed to come back to DirecTV! I would rather pay the money than be blackmailed into using their service.

So, I took my receivers to the local Kinko's and the FedEx lady told me to make sure to keep my receipt of package drop-off up to 3 months. She said a lot of people had been having a lot of problems with them and she shook her head. I think it's pathetic that a company would stoop so low in such trying times. I feel so angry and just flat out used. I will tell everyone I come in contact with to never use their services!

Seems the more a person tries to correct a problem the worse it gets. At this time the problem has been corrected. I hope this is true. We will see what happens next billing cycle. I do not want an attorney to contact me at this time. Let’s see if the problem has been corrected. They should set up a person’s promotional discount right then and there when you sign up for service not tell you to go to the web site and register to get it and wait for 6 to 8 weeks and hope it shows up. I call this poor business practices.

The kit was sent out on 3/16/09 at 8:18pm. I received the kit on 3/19/09 at 7:30pm, the receivers were packed and dropped off at FedEx office on 3/24 at 1:47 pm. The same day, I look at my checking acct and see that DirecTV went ahead and took out $386.90 without notification, cleaning my check account and putting me in a hole of -$274.00. So now I will be charged $70.00 in overdraft fees and have no money in my checking account. I then called and spoke to a supervisor who advised me that there is nothing they can do since their system is automated and they cannot override the system, even in a dispute, which I find hard to believe. I know that they will not refund my money since I have investigated and was horrified at the number of consumers in my same situation who are still waiting for a refund.

Unfortunately, I never read the complete contract (an awful lot to read) and DIRECTV never sent me an update contract or talked to me about a new one explaining that the replacement receiver would be on rent for 18 months. I never signed anything and I would have never requested another receiver (as the one that was damaged was in my mother's room and she very seldom comes to DC).

Bottom line is that returning the receiver cost me $170.00. I guess my real complaint is so many company contracts are long, confusing, and filled with loopholes so hidden that the consumer actually gets tired trying to figure out the contract. I don't know why companies can't seem to make contracts easier for the consumer to read. It is almost like they try to hide information that, in the end, cost the consumer more than expected. Although DIRECTV was good in the beginning, I would never get them again, most of all because I just don't feel I can really trust them.

A note to other consumers: be sure you read and understand your whole contract when dealing with DIRECTV (and that goes for any contract on other purchases you may consider). Thank you for your website. I needed to get this off my chest. These types of things seem to be happening more and more to consumers. Consequences: After talking to two different representatives of DIRECTV, I got two different cancellation payment fees. I finally ended up with the most expensive fee. I lost the initial $90 paid for a replacement receiver, had to send it back and still had to pay the $170 (which included a $19 tax).

I don't understand how these large companies can continually do things like this to customers & get away with it. All we keep hearing about is the customer agreement that we supposedly signed that we can never get a signed copy of. I realize there is nothing I can do and it isn't worth the money to fight it and that is why they keep doing this. We will pay the charges and move on to another provider but it put a strain on our finances for a couple of months and we will definitely tell all the people we know about their service.

After placing a call and learning that this installation is not for the analog to digital change, I cancelled the order and returned the leased equipment. I then called DirecTV to cancel my service to be told that when I ordered the HD service, this automatically renewed my contract for another 2 years and that if I cancelled, it can cost me $400. Again, I wasn't aware of this.

After I canceled, I received a bill from Direct TV that shows they charged $207 on my credit card that was on their file for breaking a 2-year contract when it came to their HDTV equipment. I never heard or was ever informed that I signed up for such a contract when I purchased DirecTV. So I contacted their billing dispute office to ask to provide any proof that I agreed to this 2-year contract. They just keep referring me to the customer agreement document. I informed them that there is nothing in the agreement that talks about a 2-year equipment contract. Their reply - there is nothing they can do.

I decided I really couldn't live with DirecTV and cancel on Monday Mar. 16th. I called and spoke with Chris, Badge #** and he said I didn't even have a contract at that time and was able to cancel even though no contract was showing up but never once mention the $480.00 cancellation fee. He said I would only be charged for Mar. 14th-Mar 16th and would send me Federal Express boxes to return your equipment. Like I said, at NO time did he ever mention the $480.00 cancellation fee.

I called again on Mar. 17th checking for my Federal Express boxes to return the equipment and at that time there was no mention of a $480.00 cancellation fee. I received a bill for $81.38 on Mar. 18th. I called Mar. 19th and spoke with Iris, Badge #**. I explained I had cancelled and realized I owed for Mar. 14th- Mar. 16th. At that time Iris told me I owed $480.00 for cancelling after a 24 hour installation period. I honestly feel Iris was the only employee of yours that was truthful with me and I truly feel I was misinformed from the beginning call with Rick ** setting up the installation and desire DirecTV to consider my dispute. I hope we can come to some mutual agreement. P.S. I still do not have the Federal Express boxes to return your equipment. I should have had these by NOW! I've heard this is how they charge you more by never getting you the boxes to return the equipment.

I expressed this to the reps I spoke with that day. I called, spoke with a first line rep. I didn't get anywhere, so I spoke with a supervisor. After 20 mins. of hold time and researching, I was rudely told that it is a valid fee and that no one in this company will be removing it. I found the Office of the President's phone number located in Boise, Idaho. I called, spent more time explaining my situation, and still got nowhere. After 2 hours of fighting this, I gave up. None of the reps I spoke to were able to answer my one question with any satisfaction from me: How come I'm being held responsible for reps giving me incorrect info and not documenting their 'system' correctly? Instead, I was told repeatedly that it is a valid charge and it will not be removed.

I made sure I asked every question, checked and double checked because I did not want to sign up and find out later that the bill would be higher. Sure enough a week later, the bill comes and is $79. I go online that day to register for rebate, and lo and behold, bill is still $60 after rebates. I call DirecTV and speak to a rep. And of course, they play dumb and apologize but tell me there is nothing they can do. After a few minutes of unloading my frustration, she offers a $5 per month discount. There is already $20 in additional fees per month for boxes that I was told originally would be no cost at all. I was also told that if I cancelled, they would charge me over $400 cancellation fee. They are very dishonest bait and switch, what a scam. Is there anything that can be done? Something has to be done - please.

On February 1, 2009, (more than a year later) I called DirecTV Customer Service to request an additional room be equipped for TV viewing. The Customer Service Representative (CSR) informed me of a charge for that additional service. When I told her of the earlier communication with DirecTV, she assured me that there was NO policy in place for them to grant my request. I immediately contacted DishNet to order a New Customer package. On February 8, 2009, I wrote an email to DirecTV Customer Service telling them of the contact I had with them on February 1 and informing them that I had switched to another provider, letting them know that they should call me to arrange for a date for their equipment.

DishNet installed their equipment at my address on February 14. I got the online notification from DirecTV that my monthly bill was ready? in February and March. I assumed that it was an oversight on the part of the company and ignored those online notifications. On March 16, I received a bill from DirecTV for $105, so called their 1-877 number to correct their status on my account. I spoke with an Issah who told me I had not followed their termination policy and would be charged until the current date (I could not pay only for January 1 through February 8, the date of my emailed termination notification to DirecTV). I explained the above incidents and asked to speak to a supervisor.

I did speak with a supervisor, name unknown, who again told me that my account would only be closed today. She told me that I must speak with their Termination department in order to terminate the account. When I was switched to Termination, I was again told me that my account would be terminated as of the current date. I refute DirecTV saying that I had not followed established procedures, I terminated my account in the same way I opened it (online) and the same way that I paid monthly charges (online). For them to demand that I terminate (after the fact) in any other way is outrageous! I am prepared to pay the current charge for services between my last payment and the date of my termination notification email February 8.

Consequence: No damage to their equipment, but their lack of customer service skills lead to great frustration to me. Their intended damage to me is the refuted charge for services after my termination notification via email...under $100.

Directv rec'd back the box from the family that was stealing the cable but wants to charge me for the theft of the service. Washington Mutual did not care what my argument was, they wanted my social security income to pay them back for the money they gave Directv when I told them that the account was in dispute.

$107.23 was withdrawn from my checking acount witch I did not know was going to happen, causing an overdraft fee of 25.00. I figure they should reimburse me back `$132.23. No physical damage occurred. Lots of time was lost making phone calls

The pkg. I had before with just basic cable, no movie channels and no frills was only $35/month but had now gone up to $55/month. The customer service representative at DirecTV simply said that I must make-do with paying $30/month for channels I can view with my $15 antenna or pay $55 which comes out to $60-something after taxes and fees or pay the $250.00 cancellation fee. The customer service gentleman would not even give me the pkg. I had just two months ago on the same account for $35.00 nor would he allow me to speak with any of his superiors.

It is so frustrating to bump up against an absolute disregard for customer service and know you are giving that entity your hard-earned dollars! They have absolutely no regard for their customers. I do not see conglomerates get to be this big treating their customers that way? Or did they start young and sweet and grow hard with money? I am stuck and have no choice but to throw my money away to DirecTV. They give me no choice either way. It doesn't seem right to me. A consumer should be able to cancel services if they are not happy with the product.

And to all of you who have complained about DirecTV debiting the money out of your account right away for equipment, don't we pay for that equipment when we first sign up? They charge hundreds of dollars for equipment and set up fees when you first order the service and then we just give it back. DirecTV needs to be checked into - It's not okay business.

When I finally did get the receivers one did not work the installer had all kinds of problems with Direct on the phone. It took several hours and was still a hurry up job. I had to call because I was still not getting all my channels and DirecTV told me they would have to send someone out. They thought I had a bad tuner. When he came out, he told me to get a different antenna on the one TV and the other to just manually put the channel in to get it. I got the antenna, it still did not work. Went back and got yet a more expensive antenna and still changed nothing. Also this guy told me exactly the opposite info on the antenna as the 1st guy. You don't know who to believe.

Then the worst part is I got a bill for $355.71 and when calling the company he told me he would fix it no problem. It was because offer was over but he could see I've been waiting since Oct and was charged in Nov so he told me I would owe $48.06. I specifically ask if I would be paid in full and that this would be finally done and over with and he assured me it would. BUT I received another bill saying I was past due and would be shut off. After speaking with several people they will only knock off $50 and give $6 p/mo credit for a year. They say the receivers I got were not in the upgrade. I already paid $106.25, they charged me another $199 for one receiver and $69 for the other.

Where the other charges came from I don't know and now they say I’m under new contract till 2011. I asked them to go through their notes of the people I spoke with and they tell me there is no record of this guy telling me this was resolved. He only gave me a credit for like $20, and they also had that they had installed equipment that would not work so came back and installed different receivers. It did not happen. I asked them to come and get their equipment if this was how they do business. They said I would still owe the money. I told them to bring me the equipment I paid for then (if they are saying I should have got something else) and they said I would still owe the money. I am frustrated and very upset. This could ruin my credit but I have been non-informed, misinformed and totally taken advantage of through this whole ordeal.

I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone. I got a total run around I never talked with anyone who really knew what they were talking about even the installers did not agree on anything. I paid what the offer was and still got charged more even though I asked more than once about hidden charges and wanted to make sure I didn't get charged for anything else or charged double, being they charged my card prior to receiving product when they told me they would not charge until delivery. They will not back down and I feel taken advantage of. I pay my bills on time and have excellent credit. This has been so stressful I can't believe a company would do something like this and I think people should understand even if you ask all the right questions don’t mean you still won't get screwed in the end. I asked all the way through this and also they only document what covers their butts.

Several months later I cancelled my service after having been a customer for over 5 years. At that time, they told me that since I ordered new equipment on 09/21/08, I was under a new 24 month commitment and I would be charged $450. The first customer service representative that I talked with verbally indicated that I should not have been charged the early cancellation fee but the only recourse I had was to fax them a copy of the FREE HD SWAP letter that I had in my possession and would not let me talk to a supervisor.

Then, on 03/14/09, I received a letter from their Collections Department stating that they appreciated my correspondence but they believed my account was correctly charged the early cancellation fee and that I needed to immediately pay the fee to avoid further collection action. The letter provided me with a PO Box to send my remittance but omitted a telephone contact name or number.

After installer spent an hour on the phone with direct TV it was determined my 3rd refurbished receiver was broken and I would have to call direct TV again for a replacement. I emailed them to start a paper trail of their lies and was given a phone # to call 3 times disregarding my request to only converse over email since their past way of wasting my time. They denied I cancelled my service and state I owe them for over 3 months and said they knew nothing about my receiver being bad.

I finally kept repeating cancel my service via email and they got the point. I guess I will try to seek help with whatever agency is supposed to oversee this kind of dishonest business practice but don't hold much hope for justice at this point. Consequence: I’m waiting for the threats to start but at this point I don't care what they do. I will never pay for what I do not owe. My credit rating reflects my character and so does my businesses 100% C.S.I. rating.

I spoke with Amanda who told me that she could not credit it back to my account and that she was unable to cancel the service because it was in the middle of the plan. I explained that I have never received the service and that if I tune to the channel I get a message stating that the channel was not purchased and I needed to contact customer service. She was still unable to help me so I asked to speak to a manager.

I then spoke with Jody who also said that she could not cancel the service in the middle of a plan, however she offered a $10.00 per/mo. credit; now I was being charged $41.50 for the service, and the service was not provisioned on my account, the offer of a $10.00 credit was a bit insulting. I then asked if she could cancel my entire service. She was able to assist with the termination of the service. At this point, even though I like Direct TV more that what I have now, I felt that I really had not other options. So we scheduled the disconnection on 12/16, I received the boxes, returned the receivers, and scheduled the install with Dish Network on the 12/5.

My account balance per your final bill is $274.98 ($112.00 of which is for early termination) and I simply refuse to pay for services I did not receive. At the rate of $41.50 for 6 months it totals $249.00 leaving a difference of $25.98 which is enclosed. I have also included pictures taken 12/30 of the NFL Sunday Ticket channel to show you that I did not have the service. I don't understand why you have policies in place which prevent your customer service department from retaining customers.

Almost a month later, I got a bill from Prime One again, and when I inquired, I was told that they were responsible for the installation, and even though I returned the equipment, I still have to pay them the amount. DirecTV clearly cheated me and I feel I have to suck it up and hence, I ended up paying Prime One. I am making this complaint as I feel cheated and that DirecTV didn't inform me correctly about amount I have to pay if I cancelled my contract. They were also very rude to me over the phone and said that everything was written in fine print.

She basically called me a liar. She said they have a way to "track" costs and spoke over me and basically would not allow me to discontinue my service with DirecTV. She said if we cancelled there would be a $260.00 "early disconnection fee", and I said we did not sign any contract regarding a contract. She said we did. She was beyond rude. I then handed the phone to my husband to deal with her because I am disabled and it was causing me to be ill. My husband spoke to her and she said she was the supervisor and had the authority to waive the fee but would not. My husband had to argue with her to speak to her supervisor as she would not let my husband speak to anyone higher than her.

My husband spoke to D.J. who said we signed a contract when we upgraded to the DVR recorder. We did no such thing. He said we were aware of the early penalty and agreed, and my husband asked if he had this paperwork and he said "not at that office." D.J. stated we would have to complain when we got the bill and it would be six to eight weeks if any refund was coming to offset the penalty. I googled "DirecTV Complaints" and saw multiple people with the same complaint. I believe DirecTV is scamming the consumer with the upgrade "contract." Consequences: I have been physically ill since the phone call and continue to have joint and overall body pain from the verbal altercation. There is no way we would ever agree to such a "contract." I have Fibromyalgia and stress does this to me.

We cancelled our service the next Monday. Then we were billed $79.95 for the service call. I called them to dispute this charge and they said there is always a fee. Well they also agreed that no one told me there would be a fee for them to come out here and that someone should have so I could have made the choice whether they would come or not. But even though they agreed that I wasn't informed of this charge ahead of time and that I didn't receive the service for which the tech came out they refused to credit the charge. Next thing I know they took the money out of my bank on their own. Stating they had the right because I paid my bill online and the card info was there. I disputed this with the bank and the bank gave me my money back. I kept disputing the charge with DirecTv, they told me I had to write to Billing Disputes. So I did. They have not replied.

I then received a letter that the account was going to collections so I resent my letter to billing disputes. They still haven't replied. But a mark showed up on my credit report that the DirecTv bill is in collections. I just called DirecTv and asked them why no one replied to my letters and they said they didn't see where I had ever written to dispute the bill. Funny how the collection record said I disputed it but Directv doesn't know. I was given the address to Billing disputes again this evening. This will be the 3rd time I will send the letter to them. I begged for a phone number but was told there isn't one. Great way to do business. Between the 2 of us I think we were Directv customers for a total of 30 years and they ruined it all over $79.95. They know they are wrong, they admitted it but they will not fix it. Bad Business!! I would like to have the charge removed because I wasn't given a choice about it and the bad report removed from my credit report.

The tech comes to my new house to set up service, only to find I have too many trees and cannot get a line of site. I ask if this will cause any problems with canceling my contract. He says no. I call to cancel my service and they tell me they are going to have to charge an early cancellation fee of $130. I tell her it was because there was no line of site, not a problem I can fix. She tells me there are no tech notes indicating a line of site issue and that she can't help me, I'll have to file with billing dispute. Frustrated, I hang up and then call right back. I get another lady who finds the tech notes and says no problem. I will not get charged the fee.

I then get a bill charging me for the NFL Ticket I did not order. I also get charged for the early cancellation fee and my $50 credit also gets taken off. After another three people and two hours go by, I finally get someone who takes off the NFL Ticket and early cancellation fee and puts the $50 credit back on my account. I then get another showing the NFL Ticket charge still on the account, no $50 credit put back on, but the early cancellation fee was removed. I called again to get the NFL Ticket credited back and the issues get "escalated". I end up paying the $20 balance and saying, "Forget it. I'm done fighting this."

In November and December, I received a statement showing a credit of $146.59. I thought great, they're paying me back for the $75 service I never ordered and the balance of what was overpaid on my account. In January, I call to request a check sent to me to close out my account. Vera tells me, no problem, the check will be sent. Two weeks later, I received a statement with a credit adjustment made in the amount of $146.59. I call back to find out what happened. I was told, this was only showing that I would receive my payment and not to worry, the check was being processed.

Two weeks later, I call to check on the status of my refund. I was told it was in the mail and she promised I would have it by the end of the week. Two weeks later, still no check. I call back. The guy told me it was credited to my credit card ending in ** with an expiration date of 3/12. I tell him I don't have a credit card that matches that number. He sends me to another lady and 45 minutes later she tells me that the credit was taken away from me because they mistakenly credited my account twice for the early cancellation fee. I never received any notification I received this credit twice. I asked her about the NFL Ticket and $50 credit I was also supposed to receive and she stated I was credited those even though I was not. When I asked her why I was continuously lied to, she had no response. I basically ended up telling her to keep the money because the six months I spent fighting for my money just wasn't worth it.

In summary, they will tell you one thing, you hang up and call back, you'll get another story. You might get a helpful person every now and then and you think, great, someone with a brain is going to right the wrong. When the problem doesn't get fixed and you call back, and they never have record of your call. They will steal your money and laugh at you in the process.

When I called to complain, they said that it was part of the contract agreement. I told them to send me something WITH MY SIGNATURE that stated that I was OK with them just charging whatever they wanted to my credit card without my knowledge. They said I never signed anything like that and that it was just part of the customer agreement. Fine - the bill is paid and I'm done with them, right? WRONG! Just yesterday, I logged into my US Bank account online and there is ANOTHER CHARGE from DirecTV in the amount of $90.54. AGAIN, they were NOT AUTHORIZED to take anything from my account. They sent me NOTHING stating what this charge was for. When I called they said it was for Pay-per-view movies dating back to 2007 that were never charged to my account! I can guarantee that we paid for any movies we rented each month as our bill arrived!

I told them I wanted the charge removed because I never authorized them to just go into my account and take my money. Again, I got the whole it’s in the customer agreement line! I am livid right now! Last time this happened, they caused 3 items in my account to bounce at $35 a piece! This time, I called US Bank and filed a dispute. I cannot believe that it is legal to just take someone's money without their knowledge whenever they feel like it! The first instance caused three (3) overdraft charges to my account totaling $105. This time, I have to take out a payday advance to cover it because I don't have enough in my account now to cover checks I wrote!

So, I called and scheduled a second appointment. The second technician came out; however, he said the work order did not specify a SWM dish, so he didn't have one on the truck. He promptly left for a company meeting and told me someone would get back to me later that afternoon. They never did. I called and scheduled a third appointment. Two technicians showed up at my door. They were somewhat rude. They got on the roof appeared to install a dish. However, they promptly left without configuring the televisions property. My main TV in my family room still wasn't working properly and now the second TV in my bedroom was not working at all whereas I had reception before. They tracked mud on my carpet without so much as an apology. I pointed this out to them as they promptly left.

I called the local service company DirecTV contracts and complained. They assured me a prompt resolution. That never happened. So, after another couple of months, I dropped DirecTV and signed up with another provider. When I called DirecTV to obtain instructions on returning the receiver, they told me I would be charged a $400 early cancellation fee! I was furious. I have not been able to get anyone at DirecTV to understand my problem. Also, when my dish was installed, they apparently neglected to use the correct mounts and drilled directly through my roof! I am in a townhouse style condo and have received a letter from the HOA requesting the repairs to the roof. This company is the worst. Stay away.

I called to set up the installation of my DVR and the guy charged me for it. He told me that it was only free to new customers and since I already had an installer out two days earlier that I was an existing customer. I was transferred at least 4 times after that to set up the HBO, Showtime and Starz free for 3 months before getting disconnected. After I called back, the guy told me that all he could do for me was give me HBO for 6 months for $3. I sent them a letter to complain about the whole Customer Service experience. I wanted to tell them that they didn't do anything they told me they would do. I had a message on my phone when I got home to call them back and all they could do for me was say, "We're Sorry"? NOT "Let me try and fix this and give you the package plan that we originally told you"? Well, We're Sorry?

Just been having a situation with DirecTV in my house. The reception has been very poor, and when I explain it to the service technician, their response is that's all they can do and the reception looks good to them. I tried to explain if I take the signal cable off and install a plain in-door antenna, the reception looks ten times better than the DirecTV signal. I have a flat TV with HD interface signal. I should be able to enjoy quality service. This has been ongoing since day one. The worst part is that after 3 visits from various installers, the last installer determined that there wasn't any problem with the signal and DirecTV is charging me $30.00 for a service fee, that the installer never touched anything nor try to fix the cause.

I have emailed the company and never did get a response from them, but they do call to mention that I owe them money. Where is the customer loyalty from DIRECTV? There must be a special receiver for HDTV owners. And now I have called customer service today to review my charges on my monthly bill, and I found that my contract was extended for another 2 years. Since last visitation of their Technician, I was requesting an explanation from supervisor Id No. ** and all he kept saying was that because one of my receivers was active (replaced or accepted at my home) by the Technician, I have to accept now the new contract till 2010. I feel like DirecTV is taking advantage of consumers making 2 years contract for the first time with customer, and every time consumers need their assistance extending the customer contracts for another (1) year or (2) more. Somebody must help us...

Talked to manager by the name of Jeremy who would not listen to my complaint. Only stated he would not release me from the contract nor waive the first month bill. I asked if he would live up to his end of the contract by straightening out the problems and he keep saying he would not release me nor waive the bill. Asked to speak to someone else. He stated he is the top man and there is no one higher than himself. Explained I was very upset and he stated he did not care nor did he want to help me.

Yes, at this point I was not the nicest person on the phone but should have been treated with respect since I am a paying customer. I think it is a sad thing when the customer can be signed up and locked into a contract and then treated anyway the company feels is best for them and show no remorse for attitude nor conduct to the person who provides them with a job. Please contact me some info for the little man.

Another problem is that there is apparently no national HD feed for PBS available. I could get it in HD if I lived in Santa Clara County but not Santa Cruz. This makes no sense to me. KQET in Monterey broadcasts in HD but apparently Direct can't get it. Also, when I had Comcast, I had PBS in HD. KION in Salinas is the CBS local affiliate and it broadcasts in HD but Direct claims that it is not available to them in HD unless I live in Santa Clara County. This all sounds like one giant scam to me. What is going on? To whom do I complain at the FCC about these problems?

When I ordered a DVR two years ago, I was told I'd have to wait four months because they were manufacturing new units. The current and old ones were defective. Well... four months pass and they come to install the DVR. Guess what? It's one of the old defective units. The guy tells me this when he installs it. Sure enough, within weeks it stops working. They send another unit. It also is one of the old defective units. Same thing. It breaks within a month or two. I'm now on my fourth DVR in less than two years and the current one is starting to show signs of malfunction.

My two other rooms stopped receiving reception not long ago. Again, I wasted hours calling, waiting and diagnosing with DirecTV on the phone. Finally, they said they'd have to send a service technician and would charge me for it. I refused to pay on the grounds that I shouldn't need a technician. They had repeatedly sent defective units and one of their reps put in new cables and a new satellite dish within the last year. There has been no harsh weather in southern California, so there's no reason, other than poor product or poor installation that anything should be wrong.

The DirecTV wanted me to go outside and up to my roof to problem shoot. I declined. I'm not wasting my time or risking my neck for their incompetence. I called them again to disconnect service this week. The person on the other end inasmuch told me I am a liar when I told her that DirecTV told me to go out on my roof to troubleshoot. I don't appreciate this insult on top of the other BS I've taken from them. DirecTV also told me that I'd be breaking my two-year commitment if I canceled them now. I NEVER AGREED TO A 2-YEAR EXTENSION. They tried this lie on me when I tried to cancel a few years ago and I stuck with them because I didn't want to deal with the hassle.

There are lemon laws in CA and I'm thinking that they must be applicable here (if not laws dealing with fraud). They also told me that they will charge any fees or balance they feel I owe them to my credit card on their records. This I know has to be illegal. I told the rep that the one or two times I paid my bill by phone by credit card that I was explicit in stating and getting agreement from DirecTV that payment was only for that particular bill and that DirecTV was not to keep my credit card info and was to never use it for any charges other than the ones I was agreeing to at that time. The DirecTV rep yesterday told me that that didn't matter and that they will charge anything they feel I owe them to the card anyway.

So, I went through the hassle of canceling my credit cards. All of this can't be legal and certainly isn't fair. These people have a massive, bureaucratic scam going and I can't believe that the government or class action attorneys haven't slammed them yet.

We have contacted them multiple times and they continue to state that we ordered it. The most recent response implies that someone ordered it and lied to the other. Inappropriate to imply inappropriate behavior in a home they know nothing of. I have been a customer of DIRECTV for many years and this turn in how they address customer issues is very disturbing. Moreover, to hear that there may be hackers who may be causing this kind of activity and to have DIRECTV not address this, is a huge concern.

I was contacted alright. On March 2, 2009 I received a $73.97 bill, minus $12.00 credit I overpaid which left a balance of $62.99. I called DirecTV the next day and spoke with Customer Service Badge # ** about my bill. He said, "DirecTV contacted me one month before my service to resume by Email (?) before February 23, 2009. I said, "I only receive this bill and never anything else at this address." So, I went online while talking with Customer Service to check for this email. I found an email dated 8/23/09 about the confirmation of my account suspension.

I told him, "How can DirecTV charge a customer for services if the company has never came out to connect the service? This makes no sense?" Then he Strongly suggested (just like the other Customer Service Rep) to me to put the account on suspension again, but first I need to pay the account down to zero. I told him to disconnect my services Right Now like I wanted to in the first place, and send the box so I can ship the DVR back which I had more than one year. After giving me a hard time, he finally disconnects my services and advises me there a balance of $16.57. I said, "Wait a minute, I didn't use any services from this company so why would you charge me, plus I have a credit of $12.00 you guys took from me." I said, "I'm not paying this." He said, "That's okay. We will take it out of your Credit Card on file."

I want my $12 back. Why would I pay for services I do not have? Why should I send back my DVR after I rent it for over one year? DirecTV promotion was Free DVR. Here is what DirecTV is charging me for: Previous Balance $12.00. Current Charges for Service Period 02/23/09-03/23/09: 2/24 3/23 Plus DVR Monthly $ 62.99, 2/24 3/23 DirecTV Protection Plan Monthly $5.99, Leased Receiver $4.99. Adjustments & Credits From 2/23/2009 to 2/23/2009: PLUS DVR Partial Monthly Charge $2.10, DirecTV Protection Plan Partial Month Charge $.20, DirecTV DVR Service Partial Monthy Charge Leased Receiver $.17, Sales Tax $.41, Total $64.85. Why should I pay for services I do not have? Why should I pay for a DVR after one year service?

I called DirecTV the next day and spoke with customer service badge # ** about my bill. He said DirecTV contacted me one month before my service to resume by email(?) before February 23, 2009(?). I said I only received this bill and never anything else at this address. So I went online while talking with customer service to check for this email. I found an email dated 8/23/09 about the confirmation of my account suspension. I told him how can DirecTV charge a customer for services if the company has never come out to connect the service. This makes no sense. Then he strongly suggested (just like the other customer service rep) I put the account on suspension again, but first I need to pay the account down to zero. I told him to disconnect my services Right Now like I wanted to in the first place, and send the box so I can ship the DVR back which I had more than one year.

After giving me a hard time, he finally disconnects my services and advises me there's a balance of $16.57. I said, "Wait a minute. I didn't use any services from this company so why would you charge me? Plus I have a credit of $12 you guys took from me." I said, "I'm not paying this." He said, "That's okay. We will take it out of your credit card on file." I want my $12 back. Why would I pay for services I do not have? Why should I send back my DVR after I rented it for over one year? DirecTV promotion was Free DVR.

The DirecTV rep told me at the time that if I cancelled there would be a $440 service discontinuation fee. I told him that I did not have any contract with DirecTV. He informed that because we had been sent a replacement DVR in early December that a new 2-year contract had started. I told him that no one ever told me about a correct or discontinuation fee when I was working with them to send out a replacement DVR. He said that he could do nothing about it and that I would have to write a letter to customer service disputing the $440 charge. So, I sent the letter out within two days and I did not ever get a direct response to DirecTV about the letter or my dispute.

Then in February they sent me a bill and it still had the $440 charge on it so I called DirecTV in late February and talked with a DirecTV customer service agent. She said that it would probably take another 4 or 5 days for DirecTV to respond to my letter of dispute. I never got a call. Finally, on March 2nd, I received another bill from DirecTV. This time it showed that they had processed a $296.35 payment from one of my Visa cards. I was livid as I had not authorized any such charge to my credit card. I called DirecTV and spoke with a snotty girl in billing. She lied to me several times along the way as she said that the dispute had already been turned down by upper management and that a letter had been sent explaining this to me.

She then said that I had received the letter. I told her that I had not received the letter and I asked her how she knew I received it. She said that they just know. I told her that unless it was sent as a registered letter that I would not receive it. She said that it was sent registered. I told her that I had not received a registered letter and that if I did I would have remembered it. I told her that they could not arbitrarily bill my credit card without my authorization and she insisted that it says in some fine print on her contract that they could. I asked her several times if there was anything she could do to change the matter. She kept saying no but at one point she said I could send another letter disputing the charge and I told her that I already had done that.

I asked her to immediately email or fax the letter that they purportedly sent and once again she lied by saying that they no longer have it and it can only go out once. All in all, I experienced the worst customer service in my life. I wanted to join DirecTV again later this year because I like their NFL Ticket program but at this point I will never use their services again. They must teach their agents to lie and everything they have done since I canceled my account is dishonest and gutless.

I would never have signed up with DirecTV had I known that I would not get the special. I have called time and again, and I get the same response. I believe this was a classic case of bait and switch and that is illegal. And I want someone to investigate this practice they have. They have no record of taking $345.26 out of my account just $221.50. But my bank shows differently. I no longer want this service, and I want a full refund of the products and the time I spent on the phone dealing with this situation.

I guess being a customer for five years means nothing. She made no effort to resolve the issue and I guess sticking it to a loyal customer for an error that was made by a rep in her dept. is more important than keeping my business. In conclusion, before she hung up on me, she indicated that the amount that I owed on February 6th was only $89.00 but still kept asking for $161.00.

I called DirecTV to notify them about situation but they put me on hold for long time. Finally, when I was able to talk to a person, I was told that the complaint should go to the subcontractor, not to DirecTV. On 10/01/09, I called to cancel the account because of all the problems. Later, I received a bill for $460 for earlier cancellation. The bill was from DirecTV so I called them and I was told that none of the operators can do anything about this charge. I had to contact Billing Dispute. I wrote to this department and the answer was not even close to what I asked, so I called again and I asked for a supervisor. Every time I called, there was no supervisor available. Then I left a cell phone number where they can contact me but nobody called. Instead, on January, 07, 2009, I received a letter from a collection agency. I sent a new letter immediately to DirecTV Billing Dispute and I asked to contact ALLIED INTERSTATE, the collection agency, and not take any action until DirecTV and I got an agreement, but nobody called or sent me a letter reply.

This agency has completely intimidated me and because I did not want to risk my credit, I paid the early cancellation fee. By the time I did the payment, the person who I talked to over the phone told me if I pay now, they will give me a discount so I said okay and a credit card was charged in the amount of $ 414. On 02/27/09, I received a letter from DirecTV that I settle the account and if I do not pay the balance of $46, they will report the account as settled and not as paid off. Please call me or email me and let me know what I should do because I think DirecTV is taking advantage because they have my personal information. I have copies of the original agreement letters sent and received. I appreciate your help.

So, I called customer service again. The CSR that I spoke to told me that it takes 8-12 weeks and that she sees the rebate on my account and that I will get it eventually. As I've questioned her numerous times she would ask me to hold and then leave me on hold for a long period of time. Eventually she hung up on me. I left it at that and waited until the next bill. As you've guessed the bill was at its highest because the 3 months of free HBO, Showtime and Starz was over, but I was still not getting my rebate. So, I called and was referred to the rebate center. I was told that they have no record of a rebate for me in their system. So, I called back DIRECTV and asked to speak to a Resolutions Manager. I was told that I would have had to fill out a form in order to qualify for the rebate. And that the form would have been sent with my first bill; which I never received.

Additionally, I would have been able to fill it out online as well. I checked their website and the print is in a very tiny, white font. They also said that a card would have been sent to me to inform me about the rebate. It was confirmed over the course of that conversation by someone at the rebate center that a card was never sent to me. This Resolutions Manager informed me that she would credit my account for $5 for the next 3 months which is totally unacceptable. She said that she would forward my situation to the supervisor and that she would call me as soon as she receive a reply. Needless to say, she never called. Also, I signed on for the Go Green Program, which would have allowed for a one-time $20 credit to my account after 30 days. She said that there is no record of that either. I do have a printout confirming my registering for the program.

On the December bill, the new charges were incurred including the $199 HD-DVR Upgrade. We paid the charges on 12/14/08. Then on the January bill, we were again charged all of the fees for the upgrade including the $199. We called the 800 number and after several long holds, we were told it was a mistake and that it would be corrected after a supervisor reviews the bill. Upon reviewing the bill online, we discovered that the bill was amended to show we received a Programming Adjustment of $213.43. This is an additional charge on the bill, a credit card refund of $191.48, also shown as a charge not a credit, and then a credit charge of $199. So for those who are counting, we have now been charged at least 3 times for the upgrade and refunded back once. There is no explanation on the bill how they are coming up with the goofy charge amounts.

So we called again and jumped through all the hoops and again we got the representative to acknowledge the mistake and that as soon as he was able to get a supervisor to review the file, all would be made right. He told us what the adjusted amount would be and so we made the next payment (adjusted). On 2/28/09, DirecTV suspended our service for non-payment in full. When I called the 800 number on the TV screen, an automated reply was that I have to pay all charges before they would turn the service back on. We spent the next 3 hours on the phone with customer service explaining the ordeal to more than one person and finally being transferred to a supervisor. It turned out the supervisor had a very limited ability to add a subtract numbers. He insisted that the billing was correct and even stating several times that they were only charging us one time for the $199 upgrade. He was not going to budge.

Finally, we asked if there was a next level we could go to. He said he could transfer us to a manager. We again waited patiently and finally, he came back on to say the managers were all busy and they would call us back. We spent the rest of the day waiting for the call back. That afternoon, the DirecTV mysteriously came back on. A check on our personal e-mail had a note from DirecTV stating that a $199 credit has been applied to our account. No explanation. No call back. No reduction in late fees. No acknowledgement that they screwed up. We can hardly wait for the next bill.

They had still not scheduled the service call, and said now that they would have to charge me $49.99 to come out. I refused to pay this amount since it had been so long without service. They signed me up for a protection plan that would waive the $49.99 fee and only charge me $5.99/month and I could stop at anytime. The service people didn't come out until Feb 10th - well over a month without service. While there, the service tech took my owned receiver for NO REASON, and replaced it with one of their own thinking it would solve the problem. It didn't and he ended up replacing a piece of cable that had a hole in it that was grounding out and causing the problem. Instead of giving me back my OWNED receiver, he left the new one, along with a slip service work order. This was signed by a friend that was there to let them in and out.

At the top of this service order, there were three boxes to check - one if you were a new customer receiving equipment, one if you were a current customer receiving equipment, and one stating that this was a service call and that the lease addendum is not applicable for service calls. The third is what was checked, and I read it when I got home from work and understood it to say that the lease addendum did not apply to me. I was not happy about the fact that they took my owned property with them, and decided to disconnect my service, since my contract was scheduled to end after 9+ years of service in March of 09. I was then told that I entered into a new 18-month contract upon receipt of the new receiver. This was 17 days after receiving the new receiver. They are trying to make me pay 340 dollars to terminate my surprise contract.

In their letter, DirecTV stated, "At DirecTV, we strive to provide... outstanding customer service." After reading other complaints online and from my own experience, this is a joke. DirecTV has intentionally misled potential customers about their pricing in order to get them to sign up for service. The fact that they will not honor the rebate or offer any discount shows me that they hoped honest people like me would be fooled and not be able to act quickly enough to get the price they were promised.

A few days later, I received a letter from the management that I could not have the dish there or I would be evicted within 7 days. I called DirecTV. The first rep. I talked to listened to what I had to say then said it was my fault that I let them place it there, so they'd have to charge me to come back and the location of the dish! I asked him if these technicians were not a part of their operation. He said yes, but they are contractors and not DirecTV employees! I told him that their contractor should be trained about this and not place dishes where the customer said was not allowed. After a long conversation with this very rude gentleman, I convinced him to send someone to change the location.

When the technician arrived a few days later, he said that was the best place and that if he relocated it to where everybody else had theirs, I wouldn't have any reception. I told him I talked to my neighbors and they said they had perfect reception. He said he wouldn't move it because it wouldn't work. So I asked him to remove it and that I'd cancel my service. He said he can't remove it - I have to call the company to have someone come and remove it. So I called again, they said they'd send someone over, but the charge for removal was $65!!!!

I went outside and gave the pole of the dish a tiny kick (I'm 110 lbs and 5'3), boom, it was removed...so the way it was installed wouldn't take even the mildest wind anyway! So now I have a huge box from DirecTV. I have to pack 2 DirecTV receiver boxes and remote controls and go to the post office to mail it. This is to pay for my sin of being a customer of DirecTV!

Finally a supervisor told me I should get written confirmation in the mail. I moved my installation back a week and waited for the letter. When the letter came, it did not show anything about the monthly costs, rebates, or other discounts. It also differed in the items that I was supposed to get free from the online information. I called again and I was told that I couldn't get monthly prices until after the install. So basically what Directv is saying is you have to trust them with oral pricing until after the install and if there is a problem it costs you over $300 to get out of a contract that you can not see until after it is in force! BUYER BEWARE!

Unfortunately I stuck with the bad economic condition and lost my job and I requested for cancellation as of Feb 05th, 2009. I moved to my friend's house in FL for survival. Now customer service person is asking for a cancellation fee of $205, but I don't have any job and money to give. It was not communicated in the beginning.

On 1/7/09 a manager, Melanie, informed me that a customer could not have two discounts (?) stating: "Be happy with the $30 Best Buy offer." In a later email, DirecTV rep, Maricar **, wrote: "Discounts may be combined with the national offer available at the time of your activation." Evidently the $54.99 offer represented an $18 discount off the HD DVR package. The latest 1/28/09 DirecTV communication (Megan **) no longer makes the 2 discount claim but states: "Based on your account information, you are ineligible for the $18 monthly rebate because you accepted our National offer of the NFL SUNDAY TICKET.

By activating our NFL SUNDAY TICKET package for $74.99 for four months, you received our biggest package free for four months. Our PREMIER package includes over 265 channels and its normally $104.99/month. That's nearly $420 in FREE programming!" Now, I am told that the offer was accurately presented as an alternative package which was confirmed in a letter and email. My review of correspondence does not support that statement.

My husband was on the phone with them for almost an hour. So far the answer is no. They informed him that the FCC would not allow them to give us access to the two channels. I'm not sure how they contacted the FCC after 8 pm tonight, but there you go...That is the answer we received. I informed the manager that the letter notes twice in the documents that they offer both channels. The manager said that he had no control over what was typed in the letter. He would not work with us to resolve the issue. He did, however, give us the corporate office number and address.

We plan to cancel service asap... We will share the experience as it occurs. I'm sure we will be charged a cancellation fee and we've only been a customer for less than one day! In my opinion, if anyone asks for my advice regarding DirecTV, I would inform them: DO NOT do business with these people... They do not have business integrity.

This month, when the charge went up to $53/mo. (without explanation), I called to cancel the service and was told not only that DirecTV had cheaper packages than those originally quoted to me, but that I had somehow made a contract with DirecTV to pay a cancellation charge of $260 for not continuing the service for 18 months! No mention of any exorbitant cancellation charges was made to me and nobody offered this information when I said I was planning to move out of state and would be cancelling the service soon. When I consulted the service contract, on p. 2, I found a vague mention of 18- or 24-mo. obligation, which did not spell out any actual amount to be charged. This was buried in the service contract and neither the customer service person who sold me the package nor the installer pointed out this term.

So I said to the representative that I don't want to be with a company that does business this way, and that I'd like to cancel. Well, she made a fool of me because she said that I would not only have to pay the higher bill, but that I would also have to pay a $480 cancellation fee!!! I'm like I only had the service for 2 days! Apparently, they only give you 24 hours to cancel. What type of trial period is that, 24 HOURS? Please stay away from DirecTV. They are in the game of bait and switch and then you have no way of getting out of their contract without paying a ridiculous fee. At this point, I'm not sure if I want to just pay them the ridiculous amount of money for the cancellation just to be done with them or to just deal with them FORCING me to keep the service.

Throughout the course of the season there were at least 3 occasions where my service had been turned off by DirecTV and I had to spend at least an hour on the phone with customer support getting my service turned back on. Apparently new customers are not allowed to purchase only the Sunday Ticket and must also purchase a standard package. As a long time customer I was told that I was allowed to purchase just the Sunday ticket. Because of this discrepancy, my service was continuously turned off. Each time I had to contact your support they had no documentation of the previous phone call and I had to explain the entire situation to them.

In addition to having my service turned off by DirecTV, there were at least 2 occasions that I received bills for services that I never asked for or intended to purchase. This was explained to me as being related to the same problem that got my service turned off. Again I spent over an hour on the phone with support and again they didn't have any documentation of previous calls. The nail in the coffin was today when I received a letter from a collection agency stating that I owed DirecTV over $500. I paid in full on 08/03/08.

Now not only did I have to contact DirecTV support again but my credit has been affected. This was by far the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered. This is also the first time I've ever written a letter to a company to complain about anything. I hope that the NFL does not renew your exclusive license the next time it runs out because I really do enjoy the Sunday Ticket. It's hardly worth the amount of frustration I had to deal with this year though. A copy of this letter was also sent to the NFL.