DirecTV review: beware! false promises! 27

I'm having the same issue.

It is complete fraud. I have spent many hours on the phone, escalated repeatedly, and been lied to repeatedly. The technical installation was good. The customer service and systems are inept and the promises of gifts and rebates are total fraud. In my case, there was never a 1st bill. Since 11/30 I have begged for the 1st bill needed to submit the gift redemption form. I submitted the form, mailed it return receipt, etc. (with the 2nd bill); Now I'm told 1) they never received it; 2) I'm not entitled to it because I purchased for a 3rd party? When I made the order and and since then I was promised the gift at least 6 times. This is total outright deliberate fraud. Twice I was told the Management Escalation Team would get back to me within 72 hours. Guess what -- today I'm told they do not call back, just close out. Oh - and they refuse to name the regulatory agency to complain to. However I did get this: Office of the President, Directv Inc, POBox 6550, Greenwood Village, Co [protected]. I hope this helps someone else.

I ordered directv and i was suppose to get a free dvd player . I have tried everything for the last 8 months and contacted the bbb and directv respond was i didn't get directv from them i supposedly got it from a independent retailer they said. Well the directv truck pulled in my driveway and hooked me up and they have been sending my bill to me, making the check out to directv. Have you heard of such a thing? All their advertisements i get in the mail in the Sunday paper coupons thier ads are everywhere and their telling me about a independent retailer they are full of it. Has anyone else encountered a problem? They have send that they were going to send me the redemption form about 30 times funny how i haven't received it. I don't read anywhere where it say's anything about a independent retailer. I have even wrote to them registered letter in California with no respond from anyone! So people beware !

Same issue,

Its been well over 8 weeks, I have been told the following for each call.

1st) Please give it more time, I am sure its just not been processed yet

2nd) We are having problems with that, there is nothing I can do, call the rebate center.

3rd) You don't qualify because you didn't order your service direct from us. Please note however I called their 800 number and signed up for service, if that isn't direct, I don't know what is. However, the guy did tell me, send the form in again and see what happens. Um, this after he told me I didn't qualify?

4th) I don't see anything in my system, send the form in again.

Now, please note on the form it says you have to send this in and it must be post marked No later than 90 days from activation? What the heck good will this do sending it in again?

So I wrote on everything "2nd attempt!" we shall see, here we go for another 8 weeks of headache.

Hi,

I am experiencing a similar situation with Direct TV. They offered a free DVD player along with a $100 rebate and a credit of $10 towards 12 billings. I never received a rebate form for the DVD player and when I called I was told the form is online. I visited their website and they state in their website that the form is mailed with the 1st month bill but they never did mail it. I completed a rebate form online for the $100 and 10 credit and received the following response "You have already received an instant rebate or a special discounted offer for your Advanced Equipment during this promotion." The only discount I have received is the free 3 month premium channel (HBO, showtime and Cinemax). I can't believe this is legal...Lure customers with offers and then don't follow up on them. I am going to try contacting the President at the information provided above to see if I get an acceptable response.

I have the same issue also. they said the dvd player would be shipped anyday after numerous phone calls... never came so i called again... they said i would be called back ina few days about that... again i was never contacted... I called back today and they said that it was going to take another 6-8 weeks... they tried to get away with saying that it was actually supposed to be 6-8 Months! i was sooo pissed they went back to saying 6-8 weeks it should be sent out... i want to file a lawsuit for false advertising so bad...

Same here, only I was told they did receive my rebate for the DVD player. They just don't know why I didn't get it. It's been four months since they got the rebate and I've called 6 times and keep getting the same run around as the rest of you. This last time I was told six to eight more weeks. I'll wait 8 weeks and if nothing happens I'll write the BBB and the Attorney General of my state with a complaint of fraud.

My own experience began last June when I submitted the required documentation for the DVD, a "free sign up incentive." Two months later I complained and was told there was no record of my claim. I had kept copies of everything so I sent them in immediately. Need I say that I'm still waiting? I too have been through at least 3 "escalations" with earnest but completely powerless customer representatives. (They all seem to go by first name and last initial.) Theirs is a very scripted response, but certainly nothing that's of any help. I have begged to be given a phone number or e-mail of the subcontractor that's responsible for actually fulfilling the requests and sending the DVD players out, but I've always been told they can't do this. DirecTV's campaign is deceptive and its treatment of its customers is dismissive.

Well I gues I'm actually up one on all of you. I did receive the DVD player and the $100 and the $10 off for 12 months. It did take a lot of work to find the form on the web site and to follow up almost was not able to register by the cut off date. Why then am I telling you this. Well the DVD player crapped out like the 6th time it was used and it was normal use. I since have followed their instruction to mail the damaged DVD player back to the Gift redemption center with a letter of explanation and my shipping would be credited to my account and the defective DVD player would be replaced. Yeah!? That was in August 3-4 weeks well here we are in November teetering on Dec. and I have followed up twice since the expected arrival date of late Sept. Got the same lies you all have gotten I will call again today and try to force them to send me a replacement and to reimburse my shipping charges.

DirectTV is nothing but a liyng, cheating, company that does not deliver on their promises. The only thing they are interested in is ripping off anyone dumb enough to believe their ads. Sad to say we were one of those "dumb" naive believers that truly believed companies provide what they advertise and say they will do. We too were promised a free DVD player. After 8 months, many phone calls, long waits of being on HOLD and countless promises from the company that the DVD player will be shipped or is on the way we have yet to receive it. All we get is the run around and passed from one representative to the next. If you enjoy being ripped off, lied to and cheated by all means sign up for DirectTV. If you want honesty and service go somewhere else. Question is, why does our government allow such companies to continue to rip off the American public? To DirectTV, How do you manage to live with yourselves when you outright lie to the people who have put their trust in you to provide a service and deliver the promises you make? Make your money while you can, because when competition comes your way, you'll be bankrupt because all the dissatisfied customers that you have lied too and taken advantage of will certainly go elsewhere and warn all their friends NOT to call you! BUYER BEWARE!

Same story here. We were installed in April and after numerous phone calls, we're in yet another 6-8 weeks of waiting. They do confirm receiving our form, but don't have a clue why we haven't received it yet. Like everyone else, the problem was "escalated" to a customer service manager, who will "definitely" contact me within 24 hours (never heard from them once). Dec. 13 marks the end of this 8 week period, so I'll be calling again. I'm not stopping until I get the junky DVD player or an equivalent amount off my bill.

I am experiencing a similar situation with Direct TV. They offered a free DVD player along with a $100 rebate and a credit of $10 towards 12 billings. I completed a rebate form and mailed it out in August 2007. The same day I mailed out the form for my free dvd player along with my first bill. I have emailed directv almost every month if not more asking where the dvd player is, why I am not getting the 2 different $10.00 credits. A new story every time! At least 2 different people promised me it would get corrected with the next billing. It hasn't! I can't believe this is legal...Lure customers with offers and then don't follow up on them. Were can I go next to get results?

I have had similar experience. Although I called Directv to order my service (as opposed to a third party vendor) and was told I was elgible for the free DVD player, I never received it. Firs they said the form was not received. Then it was players were backordered. On the third call I spoke to a supervisor who absolutely assurred me it would receive it in 2 weeks. A month later I called again. This time I was told I was not eligable for the player because I "Called the wrong number" although they could not explain what that meant or why on 4 prior calls I was told I would be getting the item. In fact, DTV even filled out the form for me and sent it to me for signature.

I agree this appears to be consumer fraud. The only way we will resolve this is if we all file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (which I did today). Please call them at [protected]. If they get enough complaints they will respond.

I received my DVD player today after after 6 months! I had forgot all about it, so it was a nice suprise. It's real nice too, so i'm happy. Took too long to arrive, but it's free, so who cares.

having same problem sooooooo irritated not to mention we switched and can't get high definition in our local channels which we had with time warner cable does anyone have a number with directv redemtion center who is sending out these dvds that we can call

I wouldtrongly advise anyone with this problem to call directv's corporate office and ask to speak to someone at corporate headquarters(should be the Office of the President) to complain-not to the 1-800 number. I did today and while I will not receive the DVd player, they did issue a credit towards my account, which means I will not have a bill to pay next month. When my commitment with Directv is over, I will be switching ti DISH.

Cmon, I can't be the only one who actualy got the DVD player. Are you sure your waiting long enough? I mean it did take around 6 months to receive mine.

I CANCELLED DISH NET FOR ALL THE LIES JUST TO RECIEVE MORE FROM DIRECTV! DID GET $10 OFF PER MO. BUT BILLING FOR HDTV WAS 23.33 PER MO. FOR HD-DVR I WAS TOLD NOTHING ABOUT AND I CONFIRMED PRICES WITH TWO PEOPLE! NO PORT. DVD PLAYER YET. SENT FORM E-MAIL AND REG MAIL THAT THEY NEVER REC'D. SENT THROUGH MAIL AGAIN NOW THEY SAY IT'S TO LATE. FILED COMPLAINT TODAY, BUT THEY'LL RECIEVE IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY THINK THEY HAVE TO LIE TO SELL! ALL I WANT IS WHAT I'M SUPPOSE TO GET FOR WHICH I PAID,IS THAT TO MUCH TO ASK FOR? THANKS FOR THIS SITE, DON'T KNOW IF IT HELPS BUT I FELL BETTER!

Same story here. Was promised the DVD player when we signed up in Dec. The Offer info said that we were to mail back the redemption form that would be mailed out 8-10 days after service began. No such form came. I called customer service and was given a 1-800 number for the gift redemption department. That number just takes you to a voice mailbox that tells you to leave a message and that you will be called back within one business day. Two months went by, and no one called. The offer info said that the form (that we never rec'd) would have to be postmarked by 04-28-08. I was getting nervous that we would not receive the form in time and they would just tell me "tough" or something like that. I finally was able to get someone in customer service to give me a web address to download the form. The form we downloaded on Feb 08, 2008 said that it must be postmarked by Feb 29, 2008, and sent with a copy of our first bill. Again, our original offer clearly states that the form did not have to be postmarked until April, but since I was still well within this form's postmark deadline, I sent it in (after making SEVERAL copies for my own records) on Feb 09, 2008. The first week of March, I rec'd a letter from Directv dated Feb 15, 2008 that reads: "Thank you for your recent participation in the Dirctv Gift With Activation. Unfortunately your redemption submission is ineligible for this offer due to the following reason(s) - Your redemption form was not received by the postmark date for this offer." EXCUSE ME? What planet are they from?! The offer stated it must be postmarked by April, 2008, the form we completed and sent said that it must be postmarked by Feb 29, 2008, it was mailed Feb 09,2008, and this letter was generated Feb 15, 2008, a full two weeks before the form's deadline. I called customer service who agreed that the dates clearly did not make sense. I was then trasnferred to the retention department, where the original rep said that she saw why this didn't make sense, but that there was nothing that she could do because the offer was no longer valid. I informed her that our original offer stated that it needed to be postmarked by April (It was now March), and that the offer was absolutely valid. I then asked to speak with her supervisor. Now the supervisor, Joe said that he was sending me out a new form with a new postmark date. Obviously, I won't hold my breath for that one...In the meantime, I continue to call the 800 number of the gift redemption department and leave messages. I actually did get a phone call last week, and was told that the DVD player was mailed on Feb 20. I asked why a) Almost three weeks after it was supposedly mailed I hadn't rec'd it yet, and b) If that was the case, why a letter had been processed 5 days before that saying that we were ineligible? The rep then said, "Hmmm...I don't know. I think that it was sent on the 20." You think? You just callem me to tell me that it was...Where did they pull that Feb 20 date from? I can think of a few choice places that they pulled it out of...I was told that she would have to check with her supervisor on this one and get back with me. Needless to say, another week has gone by, and I still have heard nothing. It is a scam, and horribly deceptive. I don't even care about the crappy DVD player anymore, it's just the princple of the thing. I won't even go into the info that we were given about the TV package we would be getting before we chose DTV over Dish...It was all a bunch of nonsense. They are like snake-oil salesmen. When our contract is over, we will definately be switching back to cable. Directv should be ashamed, but obviously aren't. Our next steps are the FTC and BBB complaints this week. It may amount to nothing, but there should at least be something on file that Directv is doing this and getting away with it. Shame on you, Directv. Fool me once...

The DirecTV Free DVD Player is a scam. I had service installed in July 07 and at the moment NO DVD Player yet ! ! !. Sent rebates forms with ease. waited... waited... waited. Then got a letter stating that we're not qualified for the DVD player because it was not ordered directly through DirecTV. Funny thing is, I ordered the service from the number directly stated from their website. So I called again and was told that it was their mistake. So they are going to send me the DVD Player in 6-8 weeks. waited... waited... waited... and 9 weeks later NO DVD Player ! ! !. Called back AGAIN and spoke with a supervisor/Janel (Tech ID 169358) who stated that she has opened a ticket for their escalation team to investigate the issue and that we will receive a call back from there escalation team within 72 hours. waited... waited... waited... ONE WEEK LATER (I have a life other than calling DirecTV) NO CALL BACK. So I called and spoke with another supervisor/MJ (Tech ID 6863) who stated that the escalation team doesn't call any customer back and I apologized that I was giving the wrong information. In other words, Janel/Tech ID 169358 LIED just to get me off the phone. At this point. I spoke with a Manager of MJ Tech ID 6863 and was transferred to Pedro/Manager Tech ID [protected] who began to recycle all the information for the previous conversation. Although he sounded sympathetic, the best he could offer was $5 off my bill for the next 12 months (but I am not even going to be a customer that long). Unsurprisingly, he offered to escalate the matter again and said he would send a second email to their "activation team" who is supposed to respond in 5-8 days (he also said they don't have phone numbers for each other's departments so they can only email). It has already been 5 days and no one has responded. In the end, he said he "felt bad" and repeatedly apologized and agreed that a) I will receive a DVD player, b) it will be expedited (meaning it will arrive sooner than the normal 6-8 week process) at no cost to us, c) said there were no other options (not even a voucher or store where we could pick one up) and d) should receive a full refund if we don't receive this. Even worse, we have to call them back to find out about the escalation. I urge everyone to write corporate about these complaints and report to the BBB. CLOSING THOUGHTS:
1. I will be writing a letter to Corporate office as well as to the President of DirecTV as stated from other comments.
2. FREE DVD Player is not worth the hassle.
3. Don't order DirecTV.
Office of the President, Directv Inc.
PO Box 6550
Greenwood Village, Co [protected]

Today March 31, 2008 I was talking to a ?DTV supervisor? about a DVD player situation, because I've been waiting since November 2007 for the DVD player. She told me that I have to be elegible, I told her that I was elegible and suppose to receive it between Nov-Dec. Then I told her that I still have the promotional flyer offering the DVD player and asked her for her email to send a copy to her. She told me that I should send it by fax because ( in the year 2008 a satellite company) she doesn't have an email, she put me in hold to ?find the fax number? and after 2 minutes of waiting she hanged up on me. This is a scam from DirecTV to get more clients.

I have went through the same type of thing. We signed up in September 2007 and have been getting the run around ever since.

A directv associate even gave me the phone number to the dvd manufacturer (which I still have)and told me to call them. When I called the dvd company, the associate told me that directv bought a very low number of portable dvd players off of them. She also stated that they were going to file a fraud complaint against directv for saying that they were shipping the dvd players directly from the manufacturer and for having to deal with the high volume of phone calls they had been getting.

It really has nothing to do with the dvd player, who cares. It does have everything to do with accountability, honesty, and principles.

If I don't keep up my end of the bargain I get charged $20 a month for the next 16 months. It seems they don't have to keep up their end of the bargain.

I had the same problem - signed up in the spring of 07, and they didn;t send me the portable player, but a stationary one - which was a total piece of junk that died about a month later. When I asked about the portable player, was told I was not eligible, but as a courtesy they were giving me a unit anyway. Imagine my surprise today to receive some info on a settlement of a class action lawsuit filed by some guy in Texas about the issue - had a form to fill out - if you didn't get ANY player Directv will send you both a stationary and portable unit; if you got a stationary only they will now send a portable unit.

Same issues with DirecTV as the rest of you are describing. After repeated attempts and lies about I wasn't eligible, I had missed the deadline, it was a regional offer but not offered in my area (although they had been bombarding the local newspapers with their free DVD player ads for months), etc. etc. My last email stated that they were in violation of their agreement to me which rendered our contract null and void. I stated that I was in the process of finding another service provider and I would not pay any early cancellations fees on a the "voided" contract. I received a call this past Saturday from DirecTV stating that they were going to process my free DVD player and that they would send me an email confirming such. It will take six to eight weeks to deliver. They did confirm this with an email. I will give them exactly eight weeks (I have no trust in this company) and if it doesn't arrive, I will stop paying my monthly bill and inform them that I am buying my own DVD player and deducting it from their monthly charges. If they terminate their services, they again are in violation of their contract and we're done - I'll go back to Dish Network whom I never had a problem with.

After being on the phone AGAIN with Direct TV for the last 45 minutes trying to recover my unissued $100 rebate and FREE dvd player I'm utterly annoyed. Reading these stories leaves me little to no hope that I will ever receive, what one writer accurately described as lures, promised by the Not-So-Direct TV. I signed up for Direct tv July 1, 07. Nearly one year later I am left disappointed and feel that Direct TV's activation incentives are NOTHING BUT A MASS FRAUD! The most 'senior' customer service rep I could reach explained that all of the previous reps I had talked to had given incorrect and inaccurate information and that I was not eligible to receive my rebate and that my case had been 'escalated' to the financial department where they deemed me ineligible. After asking for any kind of explanation or proof in writing as to the reason for this I was direct to www.directtv.com. ? I would absolutely NOT recommend Direct TV to anyone. Where do I sign up for the class-action lawsuit? WHAT A SCAM!

Within the last fewo weeks I was sent a notice of a class action in the Circuit Court, 12th Judicial Crcuit, St Clair County, Illinois.
Case# 07-L-240

It's against:
The DirecTV Group, Inc.;DirecTV Holdings LLC; and DirecTV, Inc.

There is a form to fill out and mail back to:
DVD Settlement
P.O. Box 13005
Birmingha, AL [protected]

I guess you can contact:
The Larkin Law Firm
Atten: Portable DVD Player Litigation
300 Evans Ave
P.O. Box 229
Wood River, IL 62095

dvd.classaction@lakinlaw.com

I received one without even asking.