DirecTV’s earns a 2.0-star rating from 10 reviews and 2189 complaints, showing that the majority of subscribers are somewhat dissatisfied with service.
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unauthorized charges on my account for nfl sunday ticket
The unauthorized placing of a service referred to as NFL Sunday Ticket charges by DirecTV on my bill reflects deceptive business practices. When we initially signed up with DirecTV in January of 2008, we were offered the NFL Sunday Ticket option as a free service, which I declined, however they insisted, because it was "free", so why not (they said that, not me). We were told we could cancel it anytime prior to the expiration of the 3 months "New Customer Offer" and there would be no charge(s). (Please note, no one in my household watches football, and the only males are my husband and 3 year old grandson. Neither of them have any interest in the sport. We did not even "use" the service when it was given to us free as new customers.)
On February 26, my husband called to cancel any and all extra services and maintain only our Choice Xtra program with DirecTV. On our July Qwest/DirecTV bill, the NFL Sunday Ticket showed up again with a charge of $0.00. My husband paid no attention to it as it was a zero charge. However, on our August statement, a charge of $41.50 showed up. So I contacted DircecTV offices to have the charges and service removed. Not canceled, as we did not order it, but removed as an erroneous charge.
I spoke to 4 (four) different very inept representatives in their office and was told that a "mailer" in some form had gone out stating the charges would be placed on my bill. I do not know of any mailer, and do not recall having seen anything saying I was going to be charged for the service. I do not deny if it was sent or not, but if it was, the wording on it must have not left me with the impression that I was going to be charged $249. Apparently, according to the DirecTV staff, the "default" was that my account would be charged, just for having received the mailer and not responding with a resounding "NO". This is where I am stating that the billing practices in this matter are deceptive and perhaps illegal. In order to have a charge to my account for any service, the business must have my permission. An alleged "act of omission" on my part in this matter does not give them the authority to charge my account. Their default should be set to "NO" unless the specific charges are authorized.
I have spent hours with rude customer service reps and their supervisors and all have told me that I can't have it removed. If a credit and/or a charge shows up on my bill next month, I will be in their office in a heartbeat. I have filed a complaint with the BBB (of which they are not a member - go figure) and I am currently filing a complaint with the Division of Civil Rights located here in Denver.
Their customer service is horrible, many of the reps do not speak/understand English. If you ask for a supervisor, they just get one of their buddies in the next cubicle on the phone. When talking to anyone at DirecTV, they cannot give out their last name, however ALWAYS GET THEIR EMPLOYEE BADGE NUMBER.
commitment contract & cancellation of service
I have a problem with direct tv. I was a customer for 8 years and then my dvr wasn't working right. I wanted new equipment. Direct tv told me that I would have to sign a 2 year commitment contract to get new equipment. I told them no thanks. The very next day a dvr arrived on my door step via fed ex. I called them to make sure that I would not be agreeing to a 2 year commitment if I used the dvr. They said no problem, no commitment!
I continued to have problems with the new equipment and called several time. I was never informed that I was under a new commitment agreement and they did not offer to do anything to fix my problems, so I went with another company. After installation of new equipment from a new company. I called direct tv to cancel. Now they tell me that I am under a commitment agreement and will have to pay extra to cancel. What should I do next? I never agreed to the commitment.
I SIGNED A NEW CONTRACT WITH DIRECT TV AT A PRICE BETTER THAN DISH, WITH LESS CHANNELS, BUT WITH SUPPOSEDLY BETTER RECEPTION. 3 MONTHS LATER THEY INCREASED PRICE TO 69.98 PER MNTH- AND THEY SAID THEY WERE ALLOWED TO. I DISPUTED WITH MNGMT ABOUT ETHICS AND BREACH OF CONTRACT. THEY DIDNT BUDGE. RECEPTION WORSE NOW- VERY POOR IN RAINY DAYS. NOW I'M MOVING- THEY WANT TO CHGE 50.00 FOR REINSTALL-/TRANSFER. EVEN WITH MAINT PCKGE. THIS COMPANY IS LIKE DEALING WITH THIEVES- CROOKED AND STAB YOU AFTER THEY ROB YOU. I'M GOING TO SCREW THEM FIRST.
installer theft complaint
Installer stole laptop, and left without completing the installation, no paperwork signed. directv refuses to accept responsibility for the installers actions but sent another technician out to finish his work. Police cant do anything because i did not physically see him take it. it was there when he came and gone with him when he left. buyers beware!
deducted charge before due date on my credit card
Directv mailed a cancellation bill for $26.75 after I disconnected service. I had no problem with that. Due date was Sept. 3rd. Started receiving past due notices before it was due. Even received what appeared to be a collection letter from a third party and it still wasn't due. Paid the bill on the due date as I have always done with my bank automated bill pay. Got my credit card bill two weeks afte I had paid. Directv had already deducted the payment from my credit card on Sept. 1, BEFORE the due date. I did not authorize and when I called to complain, I was told it would be 6 to 8 weeks when I would receive my refund for overpayment. Unethical, deceitful practice. They have no right to take my money before it is due, and to hold the funds for so long before reimbursing me. My point is not the amount of money but what they are doing to me and many others.
unauthorized billing
This company took my money for an auto extended warranty and basically sold me a $1500 piece of paper and no warranty! I called the name on the paperwork they sent me and guess what? The other company on the paper said I should talk to the company that sold it. Well, after a lot of research on the net I found out that these are the same scam companies with different websites! They take your money and then run! I spoke to some guy kyle? That said he was the manager and nothing got resolved. I tried to dispute with the credit card company since the charge on my credit card is from another company entirely!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I am the CEO of DirectVSC, Inc and challenge this claim. Our Credit Card charges show up as DirectVSC, Inc. on all credit card statements. I am asking the person who posting this to provide us with the Contract Number of the policy written, the date of purchase of this VSC sale contract and the name of the salesperson whom sold this policy. We have no one employed by us that is named Kyle. Please respond to this request.
obsolete equipment, unauthorized credit card withdrawal
Direct TV customers Beware
Having had our Direct TV discontinued we decided to switch to Cable for several reasons the first being every time we had a storm or snow we lost our connection, when we called about the service we were told wed have to pay a 80 Dollar’s for a service call to repair or readjust their satellite, the service man said it was OK, thus we had to continue to experience the continual disruption, when we signed up for this service some 14 years ago we had to purchase the receivers which we understood would be refunded when service was discontinued, we asked how to return this equipment we where told it was obsolete and they didn’t want the receivers back or their satellite dish, I wonder how many other consumers out there are using obsolete equipment and are receiving poor service. When we received our last Bill we didn’t pay on time and without authorization used a credit card number they had on file to pay the amount due, the card used wasn’t even the debtors, so they withdrew money from someone who wasn’t even a customer. The point to this is that Direct TV will withdraw their fees without notice or permission to satisfy their Bill, but they will not honor their customers with updated equipment and continuous service. So Please contact Direct TV and insist they update your equipment and don’t pay with a Credit or Debit card, or personal check because they will transfer the needed funds without notice from these financial instruments.
Please stand up together we can make a right thing
We will open a campaign to force Direct TV to provide their services to consumers rightful and Direct T V should obey the fed or/and state regulation that should protect consumers. Direct TV, They are running a big scam right now by giving out misleading information and flyers all over Medias. By many and many scams from Direct TV’ false advertisement, wrong billing, poor and incompetent customer service, Unauthorized over charge, cancelation fee and 24 hours only policy for cancelation, Harassing calls, scam selling, property and roof damage and more to notice. It is ridiculous for consumers that are allowed only 24 hours to cancel the services from the first day installation if consumers are not satisfied.
We need stand up together to ask our Congress representatives, our senators, our local force law force, our State General Attorney to sent a clear and strong message to Direct TV. We want State and Federal open investigation on all over Direct TV misleading services to our consumers for many years. We should not allow this happen in our society today.
We will collect all the problems you have, are facing with Direct TV and we will sent letters to all official agencies and Congress. Please have your name and address if applicable.
Best Regards
Kent Phh
[protected]
Student6991@yahoo.com
don't use
This is in complaint to Verizon and DirecTV service. Which Suck! They have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with in my life. I ordered a triple bundle package through Verizon I finally received it 2 months later and the TV and the satellite never worked never had a *** signal. Direct TV wants me to pay a $500 early term fee for something that never worked. Even to fix it they told me 4-5 weeks that was insane. We had already waited to long to begin with. I recommend any other phone or TV service but them they are the worst and don't know how to take responsibility.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I signed up with Verizon and DirecTV for the "Triple Bundle, " and was told that I could receive high speed internet. After I switched from DISHTV to DirecTV, then I was told by Verizon that I could not receive internet in my area. Basically, I was lied to about the high speed internet and then my bill for long distance and and DirecTV increased by about $27.00. I am very unhappy with Verizon because of being lied to about what they could offer me with the "Triple Bundle."
I had been thinking about using them, glad I noticed your complaint. You should file a formal complaint with one or all of the following agencies, depending on which state you live in:
Your state public service commission (which in my state oversees TV, phone, cable services, electric and gas companies--many states have online complaint forms.
Your state's attorney general--most states now have online complaint forms.
If you have one in your region, the Better Business Bureau.
poor service and false advertising
Signed up for service in November of 2007. Signed up on the internet for a one year agreement for service plus local HD channels. Now it is September of 2008. Still no HD local channels and I was told by customer service that I am now locked into a 2 year contract. They also told me that I would have to purchase an external antenna for local HD channels. I contacted an installer for a HD antanna and he laugh when I mentioned DirecTV. He said it would cost $250.00 for an antenna with installation. I was also told that DirecTV uses this as a scam to sign up new customer's. Customer service at Directv has an excuse for everything when you call them. I can't even get reception whenever it rains. DirecTV informed me that the dish was installed wrong ! They are the ones who subcontracted the installation when I signed up ! This is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with. I will not keep this service and I have an attorney looking into my complaint.
fraudulent sales reps
We canceled the service within 3 days of setup. I was told by two different phone representatives from Direct TV that there would be no charge for cancellation for the first 30 days. I have called Direct TV two more times since that and was assured both times that the cancellation fee would be waived. The most recent call occurred on Sept 4, 2008 at 5:25 pm. Once again I was assured by a representative from Direct TV that the cancellation fee would be waived. I called the sales line on Sept 4, and was again told that I could cancel the service with no fee for up to 30 days. Direct TV and their representatives are telling me that I owe no money, and then submitting a claim to a collection agency who is threatening to take this matter further.
they have no idea what the others are doing. right hand has no idea what left hand doing. contact the collection agency notify it is not a valid bill and if you get more notices send info to your attorney general and the federal communication commission.
dish just got hit with a multi thousands fine.. let these goofs of frauds be heard.
directv took money from my account w/o permission
When we first got direct tv, they said we would be charged $53./month, up to one year, so my mom ordered it over the phone and they said they would need her credit card number for the charge... That was the only authorization she made. We only had direct tv for 3 weeks and they charged us $97., instead of the $53. That was discussed over the phone. So right when my mom received the bill in the mail, she got on the phone with them and explained everything. 4 times the customer service reps. Said they were transferring her to their supervisor and 4 times she was hung up on.
For them being so horrible to deal with and for them obviously ripping us off she decided to cancel the service right away and they said they would bill her $440. For an early cancellation fee. On the phone she even stated not to take any more money from the account number that they have and to please send a bill to her in the mail and she would gladly pay it to get rid of this horrible service.
Well, today we received a receipt in the mail for $518. Direct tv took out money from my mom's atm account without any authorization what so ever.
Now she is currently still on hold with them on the phone...
This is illegal! It has to be! Taking money from someone's account without their knowledge or agreement/permission is illegal! And the way they deal with people is by hanging up on them. What do you do? Who do you call because of this?.. This is not right and it needs to be stopped. Direct tv cannot get away with this!
-if direct tv has done this or anything similar to you please contact me if you have any information that you think may be helpful in this kind of situation. I want to start a class action against them. Thanks all.
Email: [protected]@yahoo.com
well direct tv took money out of my banking account for a third pary ..my girl friend had an account thru them in her name only mines was not ever on it but the way they got my number was when i bought a nfl remote control i did not give them permission to take out anything other than what the remote cost ..i called to rell them and talked to 5 differnt people and they just hung up on me and when i finally talked to someone they told me that her credit card has expired and they seen mine and just took the 307.66 from my account ..and i just talked to some lady at visa fraud department and she said she knows that direct tv wont take money out of someones account unless they have permission . hello i dont have a account with direct tv and i sure did not tell them to take my money and i will be willing to take up a class action suit aginst them if i could find one
I would like to file a class action suit against them as well. For over a year, they reported a fraudulent amount on my credit report which they later admitted was fraudulent. I did not even know about the amount until they disconnected my service becasue I did not pay the amount that was fraudulent. They continue to harrass me about the amount due and approximately six months have passeed before they allegedly took off the fraudulent amount off my bill. I am now with the local cable company, who has great customer service.
we have had similar problems with direct tv. they are a total rip off. had same problem with unauthorized charges to credit card. would like to investigate/initiate class action. i'm sure there are others out there as well. maybe we can create a blog. please email us.
unauthorized debit
Well I can see from this list that I am among many who have had questionable dealings with Direct Tv.
Mine is for unauthorized charges today on my bank account for services that were supposed to be turned off on June, 1, 2008.
I paid my last bill online on May 19, 2008. On June 1, 2008 I called Directtv and told them I was closing my account and I also got the runaround but was assured that the service would be terminated. Keep in mine I was calling 1400 miles from where I live. Now today I find a debit on my account for the months of June, July and I am assuming August. I have called my bank and because the hold on my account is slated to be deducted tonight they cannot do anything to stop this. I have to let the funds actually clear from my account. So tomorrow I am taking this to the Fraud Division of my bank. I assume responsibility for the balance owed on my account from May to June but I will not sit idleily by and let them do this to me.
My bank also mentioned that they have a lot of Fraud complaints against Direct Tv. So Truely Buyer beware.
In this horrible recesion our family had the choice to eat or have our service cancelled. Of course we chose the latter. Only to find that Direct TV charded the card that I had on file with them back from the begining when they charge you the small fee to begin service. BEWARE they hide this information in the first bill that you receive. You agree by default to allow them to charge any money owed to them to this card. They charged my account 650.00. I am not sure what these charges were for. I assumed it was for the 325.00 I owed for the bill and the early canncelation fee, but I just received another bill for an additional 975.00 which includes a 320.00 early cancellation fee. Of course I am now in the negative in my account because the bank takes the highest amount against your account. I called to see if they at least would spread this amount over a few months and they said "sorry". I feel angry and cheated and most of all duped! I realize that I have to pay my bill but I never would of agreed to this automatic payment. In addition I have no idea as to how much more they are going to bill me. I had to change my debit card # to be assured they would/could not charge it again. I have never had any company ever do this before. Just BEWARE and always read every contract very carefuly and dont forget to read the backs of your bills either!
I don't like their service either and it is so damn expensive. The rate goes up yearly. They must think that everyone is getting salary increase yearly.
Submit your details to the attorneys of the pending class action suit on DirecTV: email to dtvinvestigation@sprengerlang.com
If you try to cancel DirecTV charges you a cancellation fee up to $480 depending on how much time they determine you still have left on your 'contract'. They will make 3 or more unauthorized withdrawls on your checking account without your consent or knowledge and think this is all legal. I got charged a $280 termination fee in 3 unauthorized debits and overdraft fees as an added bonus. Really, really GREAT company! Please post to this forum before more 'valued customers' get swindled out of more money!
Direct TV charged me $280 in cancellation fees, taking 3 unauthorized debits on my checking account while I was out of town and incurring overdraft fees from my bank.
Details of complaint:
I have volunteered the past 9 months to put my account with DTV in suspension because I have been unable to afford the $76 per month payment. Currently I am on unemployment insurance and my suspension has expired. Since I still cannot afford this expensive service, I decided to terminate the service. I was charged in 3 debits the balance of my account totaling up to around $240. A $280 charge was on this bill for an early termination fee. These debits were made unauthorized to my checking account while I was out of town causing over draft fees. When I first signed up with DTV, I was never informed that there was a 24 month contract or that any termination fees would be accessed if I were quit my service. I was also not informed when I decided to suspend my service that this would lengthen my contract time by the amount of time I suspended my account and that would affect the amount of my 'early termination fees'. All that was said when I decided to suspend my account was that it would not cost me anything. I was shocked that they just automatically withdrew money from my account with out my permission. I had no warning from them that this would happen or for what amount(s) they would do it for. Why three separate transactions, as well? This seems extremely punitive to me. Surely they must know that each time an account had insufficient funds an overdraft fee is charged to to the account. I heard that there is a class action lawsuit with a law firm. Can anyone provide me with some assistance to this matter? Direct TV claims that I can appeal these charges, however in the way they have already handled my situation and the situations of countless other customers I am reading about on the Internet, I can't see how they would be very sympathetic to my situation. Already I pleaded with them not to charge me because I can't even afford to continue their service and they heartlessly did it anyway. Please help. Unemployed and overcharged!
I agreed with you totally. DIrect tv is scamming as much as they can.
just the past sunday I installed directtv for my parents house and they didn't even mention that it will take at 2 to 3 hrs for installation. It turned out it took 6 hrs and the technican is inexperience. She drilled an extra hole into my wall and didn't even patch it back before leaving. With Comcast they will screw in a cable wall plate at the point where the cable enters your house, so it will look professionally done. My mom is now worry about her house roof. It is a new roof that was done summer of 2007. She is afraid that they put holes into her roof since they did it to her wall needlessly.
They also scam me on the prefer choice package. This package you can get if you sign up with any international package that is counted as a stand alone package (expensive 36.99 for only 5 chinese channels). They told me it will be $9.99 for 12 months, but they did post anywhere on there website 3 weeks ago that it can take up to 60 days to see the rebate. This mean that I am going to have to pay for $32.99 for the prefer choice package that is for 120 channels (many channels are just radio channels and not tv channels - - - another scam of directtv) for two months before I get the $9.99 deal. So they are holding me for a total of at least 14 months committment. The next scam was I saw on their internet advertisement over 3 weeks ago that they can install up to 4 receivers free of charge. I found out that this is not true today cuz my bank to find out that they charged me for 2 of my 3 receivers. These are the basic receivers. They are not the fancy ones that you can upgrade with directtv. When I call directtv up today, they told me the first one is free and the additonal ones are $4.99 each per month. They told me it is called the receiver fee, so then why did I saw an ad that up to 4 receivers free... Today I also went onto their website and saw this ad gone. This is really dishonest for direttv to operate this way. Even trying to get them on the phone is a long, long wait. Sometimes, it is over 60 minutes... If it wasn't for the chinese cantonese dialet channel I would just cancel them off today.
I am wonder why Directtv is getting away with so much lies and frauds.
trying to make me pay someone elses bill!!!
I signed up for a verizon/directv bundle for phone, net, dish (U all know the deals) and after receiving a confirmation for installation letter in the mail I waited the 10 days it was supposed to take them to come out. On said day, they never showed so I called to see what the deal was. Apparantly someone who had our phone number before (Remember this is a new number assigned to us by verizon days before) and some previous customer named andrew (Andrew who hmm? I know no andrew's!) owes directv a balance of 200 or so. I ask, how is that my problem.. Of course no logical or reasonable answer, but if I would like to pay this andrew's bill, they'd be glad to come hook us up.. I say why do I need to pay someone elses bill? It wasnt my problem ol andy didnt pay up. I tell them, no I wont pay, ive never had directv in my life.. We have no dish of theirs, equipment or previous bill... Why oh why do I need to pay of andy's mistakes? They have no answers either, they just want their money. So to these directv customer services people, I say I work in a customer service office... I dont want to hear your excuses I want results!
I ordered direct tv. Went thru credit check chose package then was told the previous tenent left an outstanding bill that was in collections.and I would have to pay it before I could get service ..I'm not paying a bill that I'm not responsible for. This is crazy
The exact thing has happened to me. Direct TV approved me for services, came out to connect services, and then stated that I could not get the services unless I paid a bill that belonged to my mother. Her account was in her name and under her SSN. It had nothing to do with me. I am very angry. Direct TV's customer service is awful and I hope that someone/anyone from that company reads this post.
I agree I have the same problem that is going on now. I lived with both my mother and father whom raised me for most of my life so when my father fail ill I stepped in to help take care of him so he stayed with me for a while. During this time he setup Directv services for himself under his name and ss# and when he past away back in December the services were shut off. Here it is now five months later and my children wants more high def channels and since I've setup my home phone services and DSL with Qwest I decided to order Directv. Now, this was done with them having run my credit using my name (I am a Jr.), my ss# and because I never had service with them before and my credit was well enough that they offered me the HD DVR equipment for free with no deposit we were up and going! But, not for long My children and I came home this evening to find that they had shut us off because of my recently deceased fathers bill and told me because he lived with me at the time that I am responsible for the bill just as stated above but they told me that if I would like to pay my deceased fathers bill, they'd be glad to reconnect me or I would have to be inconvenienced by waiting 24hr for me to get the death certificate, 7-10 business days for it to be received by them through US Mail and another 24-72hrs to get it cleared out. Now, I see why folks told me to go with Dish Network.
false sales tactics
When Direct TV states that when your 2 year contract is over and you cancel your service you get to keep the dvr...this is a blatant lie! I have been told by at least 3 sale reps that it is true but when I cancelled my service they demanded the equipment back or I will be charged for it.
They also state that the dvr will not work without their service. My question is "why would you not tell a prospective customer this information and instead tell them that it will work and that you get to keep it after the contract has expired" I spent hours on the phone. They are using false or misleading information to make a sale... Do not believe what they tell you when they come to sell the service to you.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
The complainer is telling the truth! I'm a new DirecTV customer and the ONLY good thing so far is the lower price. I think I've paid for it now by having to spend HOURS (3+ already) on the phone with their customer service, because I've found out that what the salesman told me was blatantly untrue.
Specifically, he told me if I had 2 DVR's, they could "speak to each other". In other words, if I recorded a show on one, I could then watch it on my other DVR in a different room. NOT TRUE!
Second, although I made it explicitly clear that I only needed 3 TV's set up right now, but might consider expanding to a 4th in the future, he recommended that I go ahead and have the 4 receivers set up now, because it was free for new customers. He said that after the first month, I could cancel the service for the 4th receiver (having only been charged $5), but would at least have the equipment if I wanted to expand in the future. This directly relates to what the original guy is saying about keeping the equipment. Customer service now says that if I cancel service for the 4th receiver, I have to send it back, and if I want to expand in the future, I will be charged $70 for a new receiver.
Third, the salesman also convinced me to try out HD, because they were offering me a free upgrade to an HD DVR. He made it clear that I could always cancel the HD service, and then the DVR would just function as a standard DVR, and at that point I would only receive local channels in standard def, not HD. Sounded good to me, b/c I would consider getting HD in the future, when money is not so tight, and at least now I would have the equipment. Today, when I called to cancel HD, they told me that I would have to turn in that receiver, because if we have any equipment that is capable of HD, we will be charged the HD access fee ($10/mo).
Basically, after much complaining to customer service reps (who were all very nice), they have managed to cancel the HD service on my HD DVR, but allow me to keep the receiver and just use it as a regular DVR. Obviously this is possible. However, I will have to return my 4th receiver, and I had to spend hours on the phone to get to this point.
I will be calling a marketing supervisor tomorrow and possibly reporting to Better Business Bureau. The thing is, I would likely have still gone with DirecTV if they had been forthright with restrictions in the beginning. But I would have been a happier customer, because I'd know what I was getting and only signed up for the features I knew I would use, instead of being duped into buying more, without being told of the costs that come with canceling them.
So, buyer beware with DirecTV, and if possible, speak to a customer service rep OUTSIDE of sales to verify what a salesperson tells you before you sign a contract for 2 years.
i work for directv sales and what you are saying is ###. i know for a fact that we tell each and every person that the equipment is leased and you never own it. why would you want something that doesnt work if you decide to cancel service. its made for directv not DISH! you just heard what you wanna hear and they pissed you off and now you wanna get back at them, grow a pair dood and stop telling the lies...you just want something that doesnt cost as much thru us as it would thru dish or whatever becuase our prices are the cheapest. and your a penny pincher. get a life and get off the internet.
fraudulent business practices
I had DirecTV from Nov 2005 through August 2008. I honestly never had a problem with my service or the customer service until a few weeks ago(Aug 08). I purchased a new flat screen tv, and wanted to switch to HD service. When I called, the rep I spoke with informed me it would be $200 for a new HD DVR and $100 to install a new dish. Thinking this was a ridiculous amount of money to ask me to pay, I asked if they had any specials available to keep me as a customer. He said no. I then called Comcast, my local cable company, who offered me a pretty good deal to bundle my internet and cable services. A week later, when Comcast had completed the installation of my new cable service, I called to cancel DirecTV. I was told that I would have to pay a $400 early termination fee, because I was only 4 months into a 2 year contract. Well, I knew I had a 2 year agreement beginning in Nov 05, but I was long done with that, and I told the rep I was dealing with. He then proceeded to tell me that when I activated a new DVR back in May, that I went to Best Buy and paid for, that I entered into a new agreement. When I had trouble back in May with my DVR, I called their customer service people, who couldn't get it working. The girl on the phone offered me a free DVR, with a two year commitment. I told her I did not want to extend my commitment, and then asked if I went to Best Buy and paid for a DVR, would that require an additional commitment - she said NO. The rep who was handling my cancellation told me that was wrong information. I wrote them a nasty letter that day, telling them I would not pay their ridiculous fee. Below is the second letter I wrote them last week.
August 22, 2008
DirecTV
Billing Disputes Department
PO Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 80155
(via Certified Mail)
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is a follow-up to my initial dispute letter sent August 7, 2008 (see attached). On Wednesday, August 20th, I received a bill for service for DirecTV. Since I had canceled the service on August 7th, I called the phone number on my bill to make sure my service had indeed been canceled. Amanda, the representative I spoke with, informed me that the disconnection had not been completed. I found that odd, since I was very clear with the individual I spoke with on August 7th that I no longer wanted DirecTV service. Amanda proceeded to make numerous offers to keep me as a customer, including a free HD DVR, free installation of a new satellite dish, and free HD service for a year. I informed her that when I called on August 2nd to inquire about switching to HD (see attached August 7th letter), the representative I spoke with told me there were no specials available to keep me as a customer, and that is why I decided to switch my service to Comcast. Amanda put me on hold, and spoke with her supervisor. When she returned, she asked what my cancellation fee would be with Comcast, and offered to credit that amount to my DirecTV bill if I would agree to stay as a customer. I told her I am not interested in continuing my relationship with DirecTV, as I believe your business practices are questionable, have received poor customer service in the form of wrong information not once, but twice, and Comcast had made me a much better service offer.
Yesterday I visited the Best Buy store where I procured the DVR I had been using for the past few months. In the area where DirecTV equipment is displayed, there is NO mention of a required two-year commitment service. I took photos of the tag under the DVR I purchased: again, no mention of a two-year commitment. I asked the Home Theater sales representative at the store if he was aware that an additional two-year commitment is required for existing DirecTV customers who purchase equipment from the store, and he said he was not. He scanned the DVR, so we could see what was displayed on the electronic signature pad at the time of purchase. Again, there is NO mention of a two-year commitment. It does say that by signing I verify I am a current DirecTV customer, and that lease fees and HD service fees apply. It does not mention any two-year commitment.
So, my question is this: since I specifically asked your customer service representative on the phone if purchasing a DVR at Best Buy would require me to extend my commitment, and was told no; and since I saw no signs at Best Buy, and no employee informed me, that an additional commitment was required; and since there is no mention of an additional commitment when signing for the purchase at the time of checkout; and finally, since I activated the DVR via your customer service department over the phone and was not told it required an extended commitment, how exactly is it that I should have known I committed to an additional two years of service with your company? Furthermore, I was told I would NOT have an additional commitment, so either your employees are untrained, or are outright lying to your customers. Either way, this is not my responsibility. I upheld my end of the contract I had with you, from November 2005 through November 2007. I notified your employees that I was not interested in extending my contract, and took steps to make sure I avoided doing so.
I was told by Amanda that you will automatically charge the $400 early termination fee to my credit card 7 days from the day of disconnection. Be advised that if you charge anything to my credit card, I will file complaints about your fraudulent business practices with the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, the State Attorney General’s Office, the Better Business Bureau, and the Boston area Consumer Affairs television reporters. In addition, I have contacted an attorney whom I will be retaining should you decide to pursue this matter.
I look forward to a speedy resolution of this issue.
cancellation policies
WARNING If you sign up for Direct TV and decide it is not for you, you have 24 hours to cancel or they will charge you at least $460.00 to terminate the contract. They tell you this after the fact and there is no mention of it in the contract by the installer or in the contract information he leaves with you for the service. My two days of Direct TV cost $230 a day! Even one of their reps thought I had the usual 3 day grace period. WRONG I guess they need to get their money fast before the customer finds out that they've been ripped off.
I am battling this same scenario with Direct TV right now. I signed up for a bundle package of cable, phone and high speed internet with a 30 day cancellation and found out from the installer 2 weeks later that I couldn't get the high speed. So I cancelled services and went with ComCast for a bundle service. Direct TV has said they have a 24 hour cancellation policy even if I was told 30 days, and have turned this over to collections.
I can't imagine that this is even legal.
Any other opinions out there?
Deb in CO
installation & public relations
Today a DirectTV installer name "Mario Martinez" came to install a dish on my neighbors house, the dish was not only in front of my back main window of my house, but was not according to our Neighbors Association Rules which saids the dish most be on the back of the house... I try to explain this to the installer and did not have the chance... he did not let me talk and said "If you don't like it close your window!"
I am following with out Homeowners Association, we will see what happens... the moral of the story is 'DON'T GET DIRECT-TV' a company which does NOT care of its image or customer service.
...and YES I did call the many 888s and 8OOs numbers!... I was disconnected every single time!
DirectTV?... give me a break!
I recently got my bank statement and noticed two charged on it on of which I did not authorize. I recently purchased the Bundle package through Verizon which included the internet, phone and direct tv. I was informed that I had a previous balance with Direct Tv of $102.27, which I gave authorization for payment through my bank account that payment was taken out on 8/25/08. On 8/11/08 I have another payment on my statement of $132.76 which was not authorized nor that I owed. I would like to be contacted regarding this matter immediatley at [protected]. The deduction of $132.76 needs to be credited back to my account, it was not authorized. Thank you
property damage
Property damage by direct tv:
Three years ago I had direct tv contractor come to my condo to install direct tv service. The worker was inexperienced and unaware of proper installation procedures. He went to the attic of my walk in closet in the search of cable points and stepped on the fire sprinkler system causing my two bedroom condo to flood. The flooding caused loss of valuable materials and sentimental memorabilia. The entire place was inhabitable for a month... As my condo was being worked on.In the meantime I lived in a hotel, with family and friends when the bills got expensive. At the same time I filed a complaint with direct tv for expenses incurred. It has now been three years and I am still fighting this legal battle which has cost me thousand of dollars.
Bottom line: direct tv through their lawyers have dragged this case on and on claiming they hire contractors who hire sub-contractors to do the installation.In fact the two companies contracted by direct tv don't have license to operate legally in virginia. Direct tv was unaware of this. They claim they are not liable and that I should go after the contracting company. But I didn't call the contracting company j&j I called the direct tv number as advertised and promised to have professional installation done. I am still fighting... But to all of you there please hire someone else...
Rukhsana amiri
Sterling, va.
Please stand up together we can make a right thing
We will open a campaign to force Direct TV to provide their services to consumers rightful and Direct T V should obey the fed or/and state regulation that should protect consumers. Direct TV, They are running a big scam right now by giving out misleading information and flyers all over Medias. By many and many scams from Direct TV’ false advertisement, wrong billing, poor and incompetent customer service, Unauthorized over charge, cancelation fee and 24 hours only policy for cancelation, Harassing calls, scam selling, property and roof damage and more to notice. It is ridiculous for consumers that are allowed only 24 hours to cancel the services from the first day installation if consumers are not satisfied.
We need stand up together to ask our Congress representatives, our senators, our local force law force, our State General Attorney to sent a clear and strong message to Direct TV. We want State and Federal open investigation on all over Direct TV misleading services to our consumers for many years. We should not allow this happen in our society today.
We will collect all the problems you have, are facing with Direct TV and we will sent letters to all official agencies and Congress. Please have your name and address if applicable.
Best Regards
Kent Phh
[protected]
Student6991@yahoo.com
auto billing scam
I have recently signed up for Direct TV. First of all, the reception is bad, as I am sharing a big dish with neighbors in the apartement. Do not get satallite service this way by sharing a big dish with neighbors, you will have nightmares getting good reception. Second, I also signed up for auto pay and paperless billing. I was furious when I noticed that my credit card was deducted for 2 months payment with a late charge. I called and customer services responded to me that I had not pay my previous bill and that it takes 1 to 2 billing cycle for the auto pay to kick in. I checked through my statements and surprisingly, I didn't get my last billing statement nor was notified through email notification. Therefore, trying to be hassel free of writing a check every month and being eco-friendly of switching to paperless, I was charged a late fee. The customer service didn't not even explain things will and her English was horrible. I have now cancelled auto payment and paperless statement because I just cannot trust what Direct TV will do to take money from your account without your authorization. After 1 year, I will cancel the service. Never again Direct TV. I'm going back to Cable.
haha you said "The customer service didn't not even explain things will and her English was horrible." I you ment the following: The customer service Rep instead of "The customer service, " Did not explain thing well instead of "didnt not even, " explain thing well instead of "explain things will, " and she had poor English instead of "her English was horrible." Wow all that in one sentence! I think you have poor english
rip off
On December 21, 2007 I signed up for the Qwest/DirecTV bundled package. After 12 years with the DISH network I felt it was time to leave as they also increased their pricing, not concerned about their loyal customers. As the Qwest 'on hold' message states, 'one bill, one payment for all services'. Well that isn't exactly true. It took over 6 months of phone calls to both Qwest and Directv, many hangups, many on holds, many screaming support people, just to have continued problems with billing and tech support. I was told that the 'one bill' wouldn't take until my account was current. HELLO! It is current. Qwest didn't do something on the 21st of December 2007 and I'm left holding the bag. The customer, who is always right, EXCEPT WITH QWEST and DIRECTV, is still paying more than what the advertised price states. And get this, I contacted the Attorney Generals office, they can't help either. I will stick with this absurd contract until the end and then I will leave these 2 companies. They will never be in my house, hand, ears, eyes again!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I completely agree! My wife and I have had the same problem since August 2008, it's now almost Feb. 2009. The newest problem is that we phoned in a payment for the directv bill and it was applied to the qwest bill, and now they sent us a disconnect notice for our Directv! Those idiots!
I have had the exact same issue with Qwest since February 2008. It is now August 2008, and I have called 3 different customer support numbers EVERY month and wasted plenty of minutes. NEVER go with the Qwest/DirecTV combination. There is NO SAVINGS and will only cost you time and energy in the end.
no picture
Directv advertises that there a only short and momentary loss of picture. That is a flat out lie, because every time there is a heavy overcast ( it doesn't even have to be raining) my sound and picture disappear. As I type this it has been 25 minutes since the picture died, and this is momentary?
They sent me a new receiver which their tech aligned and this problem still occurs.
I cannot ever recommend Directv to anybody who is looking for trouble free viewing
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Same thing for me. The scam continues. I didn't even sign up for "free" I do not watch football or sports. I call and they keep transferring me to someone else and after about an hour they just disconnect me. No way out.
Same thing happened to us multiple times. This must illegal. I can't believe they haven't been sued yet or maybe they have and make more money counting on the fact most people are too busy to look at all their bill to make sure they aren't being charged for something they have never ordered or authorized.
I also had this experience, except I have specifically asked to know if these charges/packages would not show up on my bill the following year. They would NOT guarantee that, and instead encouraged me to "watch my bills" to see what is happening. Said they didn't have control over that. Utterly ridiculous. Sure enough this year the sunday ticket package showed up on my bill again, and I had to call and cancel, and yet again they would not guarantee that it wouldn't show up next year again.
In addition I have now been receiving numerous phone calls telling me how they wanted to thank me for my patronage by providing STARS or some other movie channels free for a month or so, and then quickly threw in how it was going to renew going forward. I said emphatically I wanted NO new services. They kept pushing and asked what I liked to watch, and I said sports, and so then they tried to pull the same trick with some sports packages. They seem DESPERATE to get me to add more channels. All this while my bill is due to go through the roof anyway due to the end of my promotional period. I fully believe this is an intentional act to try to obfuscate the additional charges when the bill goes up next month, and I will think the increased charges are merely due to the second year of my contract beginning, when in fact I would be paying for additional premium channels as well.
We never ordered Sunday ticket and it showed up on our bill. I called and spoke to 4 people to get it removed. They said because we didn't notice that we had to pay for it. I said it's like your taking money out of our safe deposit box and because we didn't notice it for a few months or years you're allowed to keep it. We never signed up for and we never authorized it. The direct TV employees said if it's on your bill & you didn't take it off it's your fault. So Direct Tv believes they're allowed to add anything to your bill if you don't notice that they're allowed to keep it. They also added some kind of insurance for $24.99 we never ordered. they said we had the initial insurance at $7.99 I never ordered that either and somehow upgraded to the triple price version of something we never use or ordered. I'm still fighting for that. It's been going on for years. We set up automatic payment so it's easy to pay bills and you want to trust the company. Direct Tv is untrustworthy and they are thieves. There should be a class action lawsuit against them.
Same exact thing happened to me and they tried to say they sent me numerous alerts I never received I was lied to by att saying I had internet overages and didn't get it squared away till I had already paid for the entire package this is a serious fraud..
Something needs to be done about Directv as the same thing happened to me. They said Directv had a free offer of NFL Sunday Ticket when I got my install appt. scheduled. I told them I don't want it as I would never watch it. The guy said well it is free you should just put it on your account anyway. I said I didn't want it on my account. I only watch the local team so why would i want it. He said Ok he would not add it.
Low and behold today (july bill) has nfl sunday ticket charge. Well I call up the number on the website. As evidently you cannot remove services on website only add them. Well the guy on the number they gave me can't do it they have a special number to call if you want to remove NFL sunday ticket. Well I get transfered to that number and I tell that woman the story and she says well we have a deal for 6 payments of 29.99 you can keep NFL ticket. What part of I don't want NFL ticket even if it were one cent don't you understand. She says it is her job. Well I will be complaining to FCC and Attorney General.
I had the same problem. I go online to check my bill and saw it was nearly $300 which was outrageous because i usually pay about 80 bucks a month. I just added HD service and I was thinking that they added installation charges for the tech to come and install the new satellite dish that I needed when I was told that installation would be free and all I needed to pay was an extra 9.99/mo. for HD service. I wrote down the cust service rep name and her extension just in case they tried to screw with me.
Well guess what they did! When I called to inquire about the $300, the cust serv rep put me on hold for nearly 20 min. just to come back to tell me that I was subscribed to NFL Sunday Ticket. I was furious. I yelled, cussed, threatened, etc., you name it! They gave it to me free for 3 months back in 2006 when I first had directv installed I think and I was told that I could cancel but I had to do it before the next season starts, which I did. They even had it documented that I cancelled it back in Aug 2007 and now these jackoffs want to charge me again. Well she told me they put it in my bill that I had to either say yes or no if I wanted to renew but I failed to do that. That was a lie. On my Sept bill, it clearly stated "NFL SUNDAY TICKET-Will not auto renew in 2008" I told her that and I also told her whatever shows up on my bill is also in your computers too and that they better quick playing (that was not the word I used) with me and fix this quick! I got put on hold for another 20 min. She finally comes back and says they cant give me a credit for it because the season already started. Then I got even nastier. I told her to put me on with a manager/supervisor before I really lose it with you! On hold for another 20 mins.
Finally the manger, her name was Jennifer, came on and basically told me the same thing. The season already started and they couldn't credit me the charges and I failed to reply about the auto renew thing, etc. etc. etc. I called her a liar, I told her she was blatantly refusing to take responsibility, and that this is illegal! She still wouldn't cooperate. She told me I had to write to directv to dispute the charges. I told her Im not doing that and that she's obviously is gettin a kick out of screwing with a customer and I ended the conversation with "How do you sleep at night?", then hung up.
I collected my thoughts, had a beer, calmed down some. I called back. Much different experience this time. I did not yell, scream, and curse this time. I was still put on hold a lot but the cust serv rep, her name was Nicole was 100xs more helpful. But she told me something that the last girl didn't tell me. When I called to schedule an appointment to have the hd satellite installed, the rep took it upon herself to add NFL Sunday ticket without my authorization! It was added on Sept. 24 which was the same day I called about having HD service installed. I told her about how i had it cancelled and about the "will not auto renew" on my bill, she verified it put me on hold this time for about 5 mins. and not only told me they would credit the service on my bill, but she apologized! I breathed a sigh of relief. I told her thank you and that I wish i got to her first instead of the other barracudas I talked to earlier. I filed 3 complaints on the all 3 cust serv reps: 1) the one who activated NFL Sun ticket without my authorization, 2) the one who put me on hold for so long that wasn't helpful and appeared inept and outright held back important info. i needed to know, 3) the manager Jennifer who refused to acknowledge any wrong doing on directv's part and blatantly refused to help me. Hopefully one of them wont have the same job anymore and maybe cleaning bathrooms or something. LOL. I highly doubt it though. But I did leave a lovely compliment about Nicole.