DirecTV
Reviews and Complaints

Authorized friend to use my card to re-activate his TV. I was reassured by customer service rep that this was a one time only charge. This was 11 months ago. April 17thi they took $238.24 out of my bank account, completely unauthorized. After speaking with 10 people, I still do not have my money back. I've had automatic payments bounce as a result. I've never had an account with this company and obviously never will. They keep telling me that they'll refund it and it will be back in my account within 4-5 days. Come and gone, no money yet. Then I have to get copies from my bank showing bank charges to try and recoup what was lost. No one there seems to know what they're doing.

We signed up for direct tv in febuary of this year, the offer was let them do automatic withdrawls out of our checking account for the first 2 monthly payments, and they will give you a $100 visa card, so we go along, payments come out once then we received a regular bill in the mail for the next month. We send a check no problem, so my husband calls and says we made the first 2 payments when will you send the visa card. They say its on the way, an other week goes by we get a note in the mail saying we are inelligible because we called and canceled the auto. Withdrawl on the second payment. We told them we did not cancel that, they just sent a bill and we paid it, they gave us a south carolina phone number that called in at 3 am and canceled it. I told them we do not live in sc and that is not our phone number, they have our number on the account, and why would we be calling in at 3 am. They are refusing to send it. We are only talking to customer service, my husband asked for the manager and someone got on and said they were and that they couldn't do anything, but they would forward the complaint to the correct department. I asked to talk to that department, they said you can't talk to them, we can only email them.
My husband and i have both called and complained, they continue to say the same thing, we are so upset because this was the one thing that got us to switch from comcast. Can you help?
Thank you
Cathy and dennis kennedy

Horrible! I just bought a house, and called dtv for pricing. I was told to sign up for some "special pricing" for that weekend... Which was an entire month before we were to move in. But I signed up anyways bc of the price. I ordered an hd dvr and 2 hd receivers... Tech came out and I made sure they were the hd receivers, he said yes. One month later I move in and they are not hd. I call and they do nothing for me but say I should have checked with the tech, and now I need to buy each box and they will credit my account... Horrible customer service. Garbage. I should not have to pay for their mistake! I would cancel if it were not $400.00.

After spending hours on the phone with Direct TV representatives I have finally resorted to this. Direct TV sent out Larry the lazy installer to my home. The ineptnes of Larry was asounding. First he left the drop ceiling tiles out of place in my elderly mother in laws room and left a heavy dinning room chair infront of the toilet in her bathroom. Marcelle is elderly and handicaped has problems moving around, muchless lifting things.

Next Lazy Larry got a phone call from the daycare center letting him know that he was late picking up his child and that they were going to charge him a dollar for every minute that he was late. What does Larry do? he rushes to get things done so he can leave as soon a possible. In his haste, Larry left the backyard fence gate open. After Larry was gone my wife let our two Labradores out the back door to play and relieve themselves. An hour later when it was time to feed them, i went to let the dogs in the house to eat. They were gone out the gate that Lazy Larry had left open. I called for them and went looking through the neighborhood for them. I found Black Jack dead in the middle of the road. Thanks to Direct TV and their Lazy Larry.

I had DTV set up 2 years ago, (my contract is over and I am finally free, whoohoo!) but please people take this as a dire warning to stay away from this company. They put holes all over my house, it took 3 months to get all of the installation complete and alot of phone calls with waiting etc. Also I was lied to about the length of my contract, I was roped into a 2 year contract. Also if the equip doesn't work you pay a protection plan for 5.99 a month before they will help you even if it's trouble shooting by phone, cable has never done that to me, I had to learn this the hard way! just don't do it!

On february 1st, 2010, I moved out of my apartment where I was receiving satellite network services from direct tv. I called them explaining that I had to leave my current residence, and wanted to suspend the services that they were providing me for only a couple of months. Just until I was in my own apartment where I could then continue services. The representative from direct tv told me that they would go ahead and suspend the services, and to call them when I was able to continue services.

On march 4th, 2010, my checking account showed a purchase of $550.81. As I regained strength and picked myself back up from off of the floor with my first panic attack, I called my bank to find out where this unauthorized charge came from, and who in the world is going crazy with my debit card! My bank explained to me that direct tv made an unathorized charge to my checking account through my debit card - they charged me my last months bill, and for the equipment that I still had. Note that: I hadnt received the last months bill yet in order to pay for their services (It had only been a month since I initially spoke with them to suspend the services anyhow) and I was never told on the phone by the representative to return the equipment, so I assumed I was to keep it for when it was set back up in a coupe of months.

Direct tv took the debit card information from my previous online one-time only payments as direct tv calls it on their website, but doesn't explain that they can steel this information and re-use it at a later date. Then they used it to illegally charge my banking account $550.81, which is steeling from a consumer! Luckily I have worked in the financial and banking industry for ten years to know what is right and what is wrong.

The worst part is that it was the last of the money I had left in my pocket due to a lay-off at work, and my whole department was let go, even my boss who is a broward county commissioner, was laid off too... My checking account is in the negative because of them, and I couldnt even buy food for myself for weeks!

I called direct tv, and after speaking to two different representatives (Even explaining to them, that what they stole was the only money I had left in my pocket), they finally put me on the phone with their emotionless hard baller representative who could care less if I ate out of a garbage can behind taco bell. He told me that it was in the contract that I signed. As I am excellent at keeping these things, and knew I had only signed one form that was presented to me by the installer the day it was hooked up, I pulled the form out of my files. As I suspected, and knew in the first place (Because I would never sign something that would allow a company to do what they have done), the form did not have any type of agreement on it. The representative then told me that he would mail me the box and shipping label to return the equipment to their offices, and a credit would be applied to my account.

I waited, and waited for the credit that was promised to me, and it never came. I called direct tv back up, and spoke with another representative who told me that they received the equipment, however, they are charging me an early termination fee (Even after I reminded them that I had only suspended the service, and didnt terminate it) and after being reimbursed for the equipment, and then after the early termination fee was deducted, I still owed them $150.00, and payment is due immediately! Can you believe it? I sure didnt!

Because of this company, our money is not safe in our own checking accounts, and it is unsafe to use our debit cards to make "one-time only payments" to companies for services provided!

I am livid, and just appalled by this company! Where did the morals of the business world go? What they are doing is illegal, and wrong in so many ways!

Never in my life have I ever felt from anyone or any company so used and abused, taken advantage of, stolen from, lied to, and manipulated by!

I pray to god that someone does something about this, and direct tv is punished to the point that they will never do this to anyone again. We the people should be well compensated for going through this mental anguish. To me, it emotionally and physically drains and consumes you, and has been doing this for the past three months. All because of a companies theft!

Note: I must also add that I was lied to by the representative that sold me direct tvs services regarding pricing and what type of channels and deals that they were going to give me for using their services. I had to call them many times to correct my billing issues, because they would over charge me again and again! So they try to steal from you in any way that they can, even when you are a current customer! Their whole billing department is just one big robber!

On february 1st, 2010, I moved out of my apartment where I was receiving satellite network services from direct tv. I called them explaining that I had to leave my current residence, and wanted to suspend the services that they were providing me for only a couple of months. Just until I was in my own apartment where I could then continue services. The representative from direct tv told me that they would go ahead and suspend the services, and to call them when I was able to continue services.

On march 4th, 2010, my checking account showed a purchase of $550.81. As I regained strength and picked myself back up from off of the floor with my first panic attack, I called my bank to find out where this unauthorized charge came from, and who in the world is going crazy with my debit card! My bank explained to me that direct tv made an unathorized charge to my checking account through my debit card - they charged me my last month’s bill, and for the equipment that I still had. Note that: I hadn’t received the last month’s bill yet in order to pay for their services (It had only been a month since I initially spoke with them to suspend the services anyhow) and I was never told on the phone by the representative to return the equipment, so I assumed I was to keep it for when it was set back up in a coupe of months.

Direct tv took the debit card information from my previous online “one-time only payments” as direct tv calls it on their website, but doesn't explain that they can steel this information and re-use it at a later date. Then they used it to illegally charge my banking account $550.81, which is steeling from a consumer! Luckily I have worked in the financial and banking industry for ten years to know what is right and what is wrong.

The worst part is that it was the last of the money I had left in my pocket due to a lay-off at work, and my whole department was let go, even my boss who is a broward county commissioner, was laid off too... My checking account is in the negative because of them, and I couldn’t even buy food for myself for weeks!

I called direct tv, and after speaking to two different representatives (Even explaining to them, that what they stole was the only money I had left in my pocket) , they finally put me on the phone with their emotionless hard baller representative who could care less if I ate out of a garbage can behind taco bell. He told me that it was in the contract that I signed. As I am excellent at keeping these things, and knew I had only signed one form that was presented to me by the installer the day it was hooked up, I pulled the form out of my files. As I suspected, and knew in the first place (Because I would never sign something that would allow a company to do what they have done) , the form did not have any type of agreement on it. The representative then told me that he would mail me the box and shipping label to return the equipment to their offices, and a credit would be applied to my account.

I waited, and waited for the credit that was promised to me, and it never came. I called direct tv back up, and spoke with another representative who told me that they received the equipment, however, they are charging me an early termination fee (Even after I reminded them that I had only suspended the service, and didn’t terminate it) and after being reimbursed for the equipment, and then after the early termination fee was deducted, I still owed them $150.00, and payment is due immediately! Can you believe it? I sure didn’t!
Because of this company, our money is not safe in our own checking accounts, and it is unsafe to use our debit cards to make "one-time only payments" to companies for services provided!

I am livid, and just appalled by this company! Where did the morals of the business world go? What they are doing is illegal, and wrong in so many ways!

Never in my life have I ever felt from anyone or any company so used and abused, taken advantage of, stolen from, lied to, and manipulated by!

I pray to god that someone does something about this, and direct tv is punished to the point that they will never do this to anyone again. We the people should be well compensated for going through this mental anguish. To me, it emotionally and physically drains and consumes you, and has been doing this for the past three months. All because of a companies theft!

Note: I must also add that I was lied to by the representative that sold me direct tv’s services regarding pricing and what type of channels and deals that they were going to give me for using their services. I had to call them many times to correct my billing issues, because they would over charge me again and again! So they try to steal from you in any way that they can, even when you are a current customer! Their whole billing department is just one big robber!

I compared offers sent to me by cable, Direct TV and Dish Network and based my decision on who to use according to what I was promised. I really only wanted a handful of channels and Direct TV's Choice Package fit my needs as well as it supposedly came with a great promotional offer.

I was offered a promotion through my membership with AAA in conjunction with a promotion Direct TV was having. I was told the package was normally $55.95 per month and I would save $10.00 per month with AAA. I also got a $26.00 per month savings for the first year because I was a new customer. This made my cost per month the first year $19.99. The salesperson Marcus told me that I would be charged taxes on top of this which is understandable. In finalizing my decision, I asked what my total cost would be and I was told $21.35 per month.
I was offered 3 months of movie channels for free with the channels being officially added afterwards if I did not decline the offer. I declined right away never using this service. I was then offered DVR's, etc, and I declined all of these extras.

I received 3 monthly bills for $29.47 per month which my husband paid because he just assumed it was what the bill was supposed to be. I called the company to find out the difference in what I was told and what the bill ended up being. I was told this was due to "taxes". I mentioned if that was the case, I was being taxed almost 50% of my bill. I was told that my problem was not with my billing but with my taxes and I needed to go to my Congressman and have the tax laws changed. I was encouraged that this was not a far reaching idea because changes could happen, it just takes a long time. Prior to this "pep" talk to go after Congress, I was told that the State of Florida charges 13.17% taxes on my bill.

I continued to examine the bill with supervisors on the phone and discovered that I was being taxed on Direct TV's estimated value of the package. They considered the package to be worth $76.98 per month including movie channels that I did not subscribe to. I am also being taxed on my AAA discount. I am also being taxed on my $26.00 per month discount. When I mentioned that it was not fair being taxed for services that I did not use, subscribe to, or am being charged for, I was told this is common practice in a "retail" environment. I explained that I have family members who sell cars and if they sold a $30, 000.00 car at a discounted price of $20, 000.00 the customer would not be taxed on the $30, 000.00 price.

I also found out that I was receiving, and being taxed on, a $3.00 discount for a price guarantee because they increased their prices one month after I signed up. I was told that this discount would be removed during the 2nd year of my contract. I was also told that there could be more increases forthcoming and I could not do anything about it. I said that I agreed to a 2 year contract based on what I was told my monthly bills would be for 2 years and I asked a head of time because my income was limited and I wanted to make sure about what I was spending monthly on bills. I was originally told the 2nd year my payments would be $45.95. And now I was being told that it would start at $48.95 and could go up to what ever costs they needed to pass on to the me the consumer.

I spent 1/2 a day and spoke with a total of 7 people, 3 supervisors and everyone except the crew from Manilla all seem to use the same script that this is a tax issue and not a billing issue. I assume that this "tax issue" is common place with Direct TV since it was so well rehearsed as being the governments fault.

I clarified that I understood taxes and that this came down to being mislead by a representative of the company either through negligence or fraud. This fact was brushed off with I am sorry about that but you are in a contract and we can not change anything. I was told that if I chose to quit paying my contract due to the fact that I had been mislead and lied to, I would be charged penalties and fees equal to several hundreds of dollars.

I am very happy I noticed this website and wished I would have discovered it earlier before believing Direct TV's lies. I have only been with these people for 3 months and everything they have claimed has been lies. It is clear that these Direct TV employees lie and cheat consumers because this site alone has 58 pages filled with several complaints per page of similar incidents. If anyone knows of a good attorney for a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, please let me know because I will join in on it.

Thanks.

Direct TV is like many large dishonest company that tries to do everything they can to get you as a customer. After that, you are treated like you are of no more importants to them. They claim to be a customer satifation company, that will do what it takes to provide great products and services. However, once you sign a contract with them, all that is out the doors. They have all kinds of fine prints in they contracts to get them out of every situations. You will never feel more stuck to stay with a company you hate so much because of the outrageous cancellation fees they put on you. If you don't get receptions because of a storm, well too bad..its not their problem, because they don't have any control over it. Thats their exact words. They won't issue a work order to fix the problem either, because their systems won't allow it during a storm. How ever long the bad weather is, thats how long you will be without TV..while you are still paying for their service.

I have just been advised that I can not receive a refund from DTV for pre-paid NFL Sunday Ticket or ESPN Gameplan eventhough my admittedly old receiver is now (as of this year) no longer able to receive these packages. There was no prior notice. I do have a newer receiver in my bedroom (where I really want to have my friends and family hang and watch the big games), so apparently I'm screwed. There is no way to replace my old receiver b/c of my giant entertainment system - the DTV tech already has been there and said.

So, bottom line = DTV has my $, and I got no programming. nice.

Cancelled by Dad's subscripton to Direct TV. One week later, Direct TV charged a $300 early cancellation fee to my credit card. I had purchased their service as a gift for my father and then we transfered the account over to his name. Direct TV rep said I was charged because he ordered a second HD receiver in January. Direct TV automatically will add another year to your contract if you do that, but not tell you about it (maybe it's in fine print). I told DT rep that his HD receiver was switch out by the installer. We did not request a new receiver. She said we were charged because the account did not have the protection plan. I corrected her and said we do have that and told her to research the account. She did and said that the charge would be removed from my credit within 72 hours. Their error caused my bank account to be overdraw. I asked DT rep if they would pay any over draft charges that I might incur. She said I would have to fax a copy of my bank statement showing the charges and only then would they reimburse me. Never, ever, not even once did she offer me an apology or say I am sorry. So unprofessional. Finally, she asked if she could help me with anything else? These reps are low paying robots, who only read from a script and make our lives miserable. Beware, be very careful if you have Direct TV or are even thinking about subscribing. Ask them alot of questions, get things in writing and speak back.

This company stole money out of my account on sept 5th. They said I never returned a receiver which I did. They found the receiver and apologized and said the money should have never been taken out and that it would be returned within 3-4 business days. Here it is 6 days later and I still do not have my money and now they are telling me that there is no proof that they took it out. I called my bank and they have the transaction but cannot legally fax any account information to them. So right now I am out $436.26 which is crap. How do I get my money back-i have bill's that are late and will have incurred the fees because of their "mistake" how can I make them pay?

I am an AT&T employee. I have had direct TV for almost 3 years. I have had multiple problems since the beginning. I have never ever experienced such horrible customer service and product quality. I don't recommend Direct TV to my enemies Direct TV was not helpful at all offered 5.00 off for 6 months. In this economy and due to competitive market conditions, you would think that Direct TV would fall hand over fist to keep their valued customers but this is not true. I signed up service to receive a free potable DVD player. Never received it … my employee discount was never added…..My receiver box went out…… I have been hung up on by your reps….lied too by your reps…poor customer service .been without service multiple times because of miss information or equipment not working…defective. Not to mention every time it rains my service stops working…..I pay an extra 10.00 for HD access monthly and my service had been out for 8 days. I called and stayed on the phone for over an hour unplugging and screwing wires only to find out some piece of equipment was not working properly. It took some more days for a tech to come out and replace it. I was given 2.67 credit and I also had another credit because my service call was not placed. Today actually took the cake…Was transferred to multiple people and then hung up on while on hold. Another 20 minutes down the drain! I called in to pay my bill and as I was holding noticed my AT&T discount was only $5.00. I looked on our website to verify the discount and it states 10.00. When the rep came on the line I informed her of the discrepancy and she explained to me that my discount went down because of my other discount…..That has nothing to do with that. This is a separate situation. I then informed her of my troubles with direct TV and how im billing over 100 a month and had been without service for almost 2 weeks and etc. I had AT&T and direct TV on the phone together and each kept blaming the other for the problems. I then asked to speak with a supervisor that informed me I was placed on a contract when my box went out and I can’t cancel the services without being penalized. Informed the supervisor Lakeia 33541 that I never signed a contract or agreed to one. She stated I was placed on one when my box went out. That is FRAUD…SCAM and UNAUTHORIZED ….How can you put someone on a contract without there knowledge and I pay 5.00 every month for 3 additional boxes. I am supposed to notify you all if it’s not working properly. I do not nor did I agree to be placed on a contract with Direct TV. I should not be charged due to your company’s faulty equipment. I did not upgrade and I don’t have a DVR. I have never signed an agreement…ever. I am tired of talking and holding on the line for the incompetent service reps that don’t have customer service skills. This is a shame….No customer should have to go through all this turmoil and trials for a service they are paying for. I want someone with common sense to please contact me and rectify the situation. I am filing a complaint with the better business bureau as well. I feel as though direct TV is not taking me serious and the issues just keep adding up. I should not make multiple calls in order to have a tech come to my house and restore my service… I should not be without HD access for 8 days… I should not be talked down too and told to pay my bill and maybe I will see the correct discount on the next bill…..My bill and my discounts should have been applied to my last bills…I should not have to take time out my day to type a letter explaining the terrible customer service I have received.. Sad part this is not the first problem I’ve encountered with your company but hopefully it will be the last. I can only say that in my many experiences with the customer service departments of many organizations, I am astonished at what DirecTV considers customer service and how I’ve been treated.

AT&T | DIRECTV Employee Offer Details
• Active AT&T management and non-management employees will receive an ongoing $10 per month discount off the CHOICE EXTRA™ or FAMILIAR ÚLTRA™ or higher programming package (AT&T retirees are not eligible to participate in this offer at this time).

• The $19.95 Delivery and Handling charge will be waived for employee orders.

• The credit card requirement will be waived for employees for orders that do not include an equipment upgrade fee.

• The employee offer can be combined with other DIRECTV promotions.

• The employee discount cannot be combined with the AT&T bundle discount.

After ongoing problems with dish network, I was going to switch to directv which purports to have superior programming and customer service. However, I canceled the work order before the installation after several days of dealing with directv and direct star reps. Trying to change the installation date. What an eye-opener: I thought dish network was bad, but the customer service for directv is horrendous.
After a high pressure sale pitch from direct star on b/h of directv, I was repeatedly urged to create an account, even before installation. Don't do it. I can only imagine how much more nightmarish my experience would have been had I actually created an account; as it is I am lucky to have escaped when I did.
My dealings with direct star were much better, but ultimately dealing with two entities made the whole process even more chaotic. I cannot recommend strongly enough that directv provide substantial training to it's representatives. Had they been properly trained, I might have given their service a try. However after spending several unsuccessful hours talking to multiple completely clueless directv reps trying to get a simple thing like my installation date rescheduled, I realized that if I actually became a directv customer, I could look forward to two years of the same incompetence. I consider myself lucky to have learned my lesson before I entered into a contract with direct v. Certainly if asked I will be sure to advise any and all of my negative experience.

I recently contacted DirecTV to cancel my subscription. I purchased it through a Verizon bundle and was told it was a one year agreement. I now need to pay an early termination fee of $200+. The customer service manager HUNG UP on me after she was extremely rude and I informed her that I was the Customer. I then wrote to the Office of the President and received a call today and it seems that they really don't care either how their customer service treats their clients. Given what I have read on this website and others, customer service is not a priority and that 100% Customer Dissatisfaction should be their motto.

Made arrangements to disconnect the service and choose another service provider and they will continue to store information in a database prohibiting customers from selecting another reseller or supplier of DirecTV services over a two-year period example AT&T provides DirecTV services they will block your address your name your telephone number preventing you from getting bundled services from one of their license resellers of their own product sounds like Russia to me somewhat of the tell you who your service providers want to be they are way out of control.

As a new subscriber to direct tv, I am definitely unhappy about all parts of their organization. I attempted to get installation done. They showed up with the wrong hardware. Rescheduled they showed up again with wrong hardware. The next time the installation tech indicated he may not be able to install and attempted to charge me $50 each for the installation of 3 wires. Rescheduled again, (Yep, I am an idiot) they never even showed up. The next time, they sent a supervisor who installed the system. I was somewhat pleased. I then got my first bill, instead of it being the quoted price, it was extremely excessive. They explained that the 3-3 month free preview offers were for "moving" accounts and not for new subscribers. Any rebates could take as long as 6-8 weeks to process.

Bottom line, buyer beware, not supid like me.

My husband and I have been loyal customers of Direct TV, Wahkiakum West for years now. We signed into their 2yr contract that basically holds us responsible for paying them monthly weather we are satisfied with their service or not. If we get fed up and decide that it isn't worth it, we have to pay apx. $20.00 per month until the contract has ended for canceling early.
I called yesterday and ask what the procedure was for adding the recording service to our acct. I believe it is called dvr.? Was told that even though they are offering it free to any NEW customer right now, that it would cost us $199.00. This is because Larry Hunter seems to feel that he has been ripped off by too many people in the past to offer it to everyone. So, let me think about this. He will offer it to someone just signing up to his service that has NO payment history with his company, but will not offer it for free to someone who has been with his service for years, always making their payments on time.
I really shouldn't be surprised by all of this, after all this company has all kinds of ploys to get extra $ from their hooked in audience.
Last year, just about the time that our contract was coming to an end... our cable box went on the Fritz.
Wahkiakum sent someone out to replace the box with a new one. Now mind you it is THEIR box. When we end our contract, they will take THEIR box. But because THEIR box had to be replaced by a new one. WE had to sign a new contract. Guess what! another 2 years!
To add insult to injury, they billed me over $300.00 for THEIR nonworking box that THEIR service tech took with him in the box that he brought the new one in.
This took several months of phone calls to get straightened out. Each time I called, I was told it was taken care of, just disregard the letters, AND the box that they mailed me to put the nonworking box in. My husband and I are looking at what cable alternatives are available out there unless Direct TV starts remembering their loyal customers and not just hooking in new ones.
We pay close to $100.00 per month for our package, that's a lot of money for us with my husband being on disability and unable to work. The TV is a large part of his life. My job requires us to be up by 2am and in bed by 6pm. So... the ability to record prime programs would be great for us. We just don't see the right in Mr. Larry Hunter's disregard for loyalty.
We will also be telling everyone who will listen to look on line and see how many unhappy people are out there prior to ever giving Direct TV any thought.

Just found out that KLKN tv station in Lincoln is in dispute over contract ending next Wednesday 3/31/10. I am extremely upset that direct tv and klkn cannot come to an agreement. It is the only ABC station direct tv offers for Lincoln and I am a fan of ABC. No more local news, soaps, LOST, Dancing with the stars, Greys Anatomy, etc if you (direct tv) don't come to terms with klkn. Where are Lincoln locals supposed to go for ABC programming? KLKN has agreements with Dish Network and cable but not you- the biggest satellite tv system. Please come to terms so we can have ABC programming.