Complaint

0
Johanna
Country: United States
I signed up for Direct TV in August 2005, with a one year contract. I'm a grad student, so I knew I would be graduating in June 2007. After a year of interrupted service, and a summer during which my service was disconnected (even though I was paying for it in absentia), I called Direct TV in October of 2006 because my service was interrupted for a few days. As an apology, the customer service rep offered me 6 months of $10 off/month. I agreed, a little happier. When it came time to cancel, I received no less than 3 incorrect bills noting that I owed additional money as well as an early cancellation charge. To my surprise, apparently, the rep signed me up for another year's contract, even though she never mentioned it, and I certainly never would have renewed it since I knew I was moving 8 months later. Because of this, I have spent hours arguing on the phone with the customer service reps, who either cannot or will not help me. The end result is that I will have to pay the early cancellation charge, even though I never agreed to a new contract. There is no proof on either side because they claim it was a "verbal agreement". Truly the worst service experience ever. I will never use Direct TV, and in fact, I plan to be an anti-Direct TV evangelist to spread word for people never to use it.

Comments

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  • 0
    Billy b
    It's affirming knowing so many other people have had similar problems with Directv.  I just went through an ordeal with them.  My bill would be anywhere from $600 to as low as $212...each month I paid in full.  When I asked why my bill was so high (my plan was $104/mo + 5 payments of $59.95 for NFL package, $5.99 for the dvr receiver and $4.99 for an extra receiver) and why there was any fluctuation whatsoever, the customer service manager told me I hadn't been paying my bill in full and my total due was $180...$245 if I wanted my service reinstated.  I rebutted with, I pay the "total amount" on the website.  He said, many people make the same mistake and continued to tell me I hadn't paid in full.  I went over my bills with him pointing out that in fact I had OVERPAID by nearly $1000.  He became angry and told me I wasn't understanding and he was doing his best to explain.  I went over the math with him again and finally said I was going to need to speak with someone in the corporate office.  He sent me to collections when my bill wasn't actually due for another 7 days.  Yesterday I got the fed-ex box to return my equipment.  Today I went online and saw they'd charged $425 to my checking account.  I called the bank immediately and they said it needs to post before they can fight it.  Well fine...I don't even think that's legal and I'm sure I can win this one but I can't believe they have the audacity to treat customers like this.  I'm going to terminate my service and advise anyone looking to switch service to stay far far away from Directv.  It's not worth the headache just to melt my brain in front of a television.
  • 0
    Glen T
    I also HATE Direct tv, do yourself a favor and run, do not sign a contract with this company.
    We signed a two year contract for choice extra for 34.99 month, what they dont tell you is that after 1 year the cost doubles, and when you call them they happily remind you that you are under contract and you have no choice but to pay them for the service no matter what they charge you.

    Dont fall for there front, none of this information is on the contract that you sign, they just send you to the contract that is on there web site, you know the one you did'nt sign.
    Direct tv is nothing but a front to rape your wallet, We are just waiting for Feb 2010 so we can tell them were they can shove there equipment.
  • 0
    organized criminals
    I agree, Direct TV is a sham operation. They quote a $34.99.month price,. I have had my direct Tv for all of 42 days at that rate. My first bill was $80.24 and my second was $115.99. Because I demanded that they explain the padded charges they told me I would be credited after the first fraudulent bill. They do that to appease you so that you get well into your contract and can no longer get out of it. Then they arbitrarily send you an elevated random bill and demand payment and threaten disconnection. When you complain, they really do not care because they have you on the hook for a two year contract. Unconscionable and unethical company!! Run dont walk when they call you asking you to sign up....Also, they seem to be committing tax fraud. They charge you taxes on the exorbitant bill and even if you are so lucky to be credited for the difference between that and what you really owe, they will NOT give you the difference you paid in taxes...They just keep that...
  • 0
    Suzanne O'Brien
    CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT FOR BREACH OF CONTRACT DUE TO INEPT HANDLING OF CUSTOMERS?  How would we start this thing?  Anybody interested? After having been with them for 7 years, we asked for the HD upgrade.  We advised them we were getting offers from attuverse with $200 cashback, free DVR and that their price was better.  The long and short is that after they installed one HD receiver and them cracking a huge board on my house and just saying "sorry" I spent each month arguing about getting the DVR and 2nd HD receiver I never got.  Finally, I cancelled service (May 5th) and it was ONLY when I said "cancel it today, now!" that the teledudette offered to provide the DVR and additional HD receiver and match ATT Uverse price! I asked her why now...afer ATT had been here and finished up their install, after months of complaining about this...why suddenly now?  She had nothing to say to that other than telling me i was somehow under a 24 month contract and would be charged $300 bucks to cancel!  I have filed a complaint and they charged my credit card anyway.  If they refuse to accommodate me, and steal my money for services UN RENDERED, I will NEVER EVER try them again!  Greed will be the destruction of their company.  They are inept and greedy, hense the loss of their customer base.
  • 0
    Lynn Neese
    Go to my new website: www.against-directtv.com!  I hate them more than you do!
  • 0
    Ree Thompson
    5/26/09    Called to cancel Direct TV. Tired of poor service, defective equipment and prices going up up up. They informed me that we had renewed our contract for two years when we have a defective HD receiver replaced in Nov. 2008. The last contract we had with them was 1/4/08, leaving us seven months. They claim we owe $350.00. The contract says at the most $300. They say they will take it out of our account, however, our credit card number has changed so good luck with that. I have spent nearly an hour with them already today and they (in India somewhere) just keeping repeating the same phrases over and over. I have now talked to a supervisor who promised to call me back in two hours. What are the chances? How does a company like this keep doing business? We need to get the word out. Class action suit? Works for me. They need to be stopped.
  • 0
    Ree Thompson
    5/26/09    Called to cancel Direct TV. Tired of poor service, defective equipment and prices going up up up. They informed me that we had renewed our contract for two years when we had a defective HD receiver replaced in Nov. 2008. The last contract we had with them was 1/4/08, leaving us seven months. They claim we owe $350.00. The contract says at the most $300. They say they will take it out of our account, however, our credit card number has changed so good luck with that. I have spent nearly an hour with them already today and they (in India somewhere) just keeping repeating the same phrases over and over. I have now talked to a supervisor who promised to call me back in two hours. What are the chances? How does a company like this keep doing business? We need to get the word out. Class action suit? Works for me. They need to be stopped.
  • 0
    Ree Thompson
    5/26/09    

    Called to cancel Direct TV. Tired of poor service, defective equipment and prices going up up up. They informed me that we had renewed our contract for two years when we have a defective HD receiver replaced in Nov. 2008. The last contract we had with them was 1/4/08, leaving us seven months. They claim we owe $350.00. The contract says at the most $300. They say they will take it out of our account, however, our credit card number has changed so good luck with that. I have spent nearly an hour with them already today and they (in India somewhere) just keeping repeating the same phrases over and over. I have now talked to a supervisor who promised to call me back in two hours. What are the chances? How does a company like this keep doing business? We need to get the word out. Class action suit? Works for me. They need to be stopped.
  • 0
    mada
    I had direct tv since january 09 and everything was fine, but around april I started losing some channels, since they could not relocate the dish, they told I could cancel w/o paying an early termination fee, now I received the last bill and it says I have to pay $380 for the etf, I called them and told them that tey said they were not going to charge me the fee since it was not my falut, and I have to wait for their answer next week. I really hope that we dont have to pay this fee. I just hate this company and I will never have direct tv again even if its really cheap.
  • 0
    Sarah in Pensacola
    Has anyone tried disputing these charges through their credit card company? Direct TV told me they were charging me $69 for my new receiver but they charged $198.30. They are listing all these [***] charges to me as to why it was that much but they never mentioned those to me in the initial conversation. I just submitted a letter to my credit card company disputing the charge. They have those calls recorded so they can easily listen and see that I was only told $69 but they are just refusing to refund anything saying these are valid charges.

    My plan now is to somehow get this $198 refunded on fraud terms. If not, then I a going to change my bank account and all my credit card numbers and then cancel my service. They won't have any way to charge me the termination fees that way. Then, I will hold all the receivers and DVRs for ransom in my house until they give me back my $198.

    I am so angry that I feel that I feel like I could actually murder the people I just talked to on the phone.

    It has been one thing after another this last 6 months and I am so tired of it. I have to get these people out of my life before I have a breakdown.
  • 0
    Tom
    I hate Direct TV for not waving the Early Cancellation Fee for my deceased mother.  I purchased Direct TV for my mother, as a gift and had the bills sent to my home. When my mother was diagnosed with untreatable metastatic colon cancer in Jan 2009, and since then moved into Hospice, Direct TV would not wave the $300 Early Cancellation Fee because I was the one paying the bill.  On several other occasions by phone, they had my wife in tears even when my mom passed away they still charged our account $286.97.   Direct TV had no compassion and when my wife asked the Direct TV employee (Luis - Employee #10036244) what he would do if it was his mother who passed away; he said that he would pay the bill.   I would NEVER recommend them to anyone.
  • 0
    Craig
    I can not agree with all of you more.  The complete lack of "customer service" is beyond ridiculous.  I even had one of their yahoos straight up lie to me.  Then for them to tell me that a $122.14 is more important than the income they could receive from a long term customer was more than I could accept.  All of this because we could not prove that we canceled our account when we said we did because their system did not show that we called.  I am done with them.  I just whish there was a better way to get the word out about their crappy service.
  • 0
    James Moore
    I LOVE MY NEW DIRECT TV DVR. i HAVE BEEN WITH DIRECT TV FOR TWO YEARS AND i AM ABOUR TO RENEW MY CONTRACT. THE DEVICES AND SERVICE HAS ALWAYS OPPORATED PROPERLY.
  • 0
    Melissa
    I hate Direct TV.  We signed up in January 09 and they told me that I wouldn't be charged for the extra reciever. When they came to install it, they only had one reciever.  We rescheduled the installation. I was told I would be charged 150$ because we were not a new customer. The stuff had wasn't in the installers car! We ordered it and they didn't have it. Tell me how this was my fault? After arguing with an indian woman for about 15 minutes, she kept insisting I had been a customer since Nov.08.  I finally demanded she tell me the address on the account she was looking at. It wasn't even my account. Finally I asked to speak to someone about cancelling. They then rescheduled the installation.  The indian woman had put over 500$ of bills on my account. The person in the customer service department fixed it. Finally it was installed. We still have been arguing with them over the package we got.  They are giving us a lower programming package than we wanted. But, I have to resign if I want to upgrade. I just want Dish back. And, because it is an auto draft on our credit card, I wasn't really paying attention to the bill. They threw in a subsciption to a magazine that was 4.99 a month and a protection package that was 8.99 a month. I called and complained but they would not reimburse me. They just took it off for future bills. I hate this company and just want the contract to be up.
  • 0
    kbs
    I don't even have the strength to write my whole story down. Bottom line is Direct TV and also Consolidated "Smart" Services is the most bull [***] company on earth. I hope they tank, sooner than later. What a joke
  • 0
    Chris
    I don't even have DirecTV and I already hate them.  I have gone up to their website at least a dozen times in the past 3 or 4 years trying to find an even somewhat affordable way to get the  NFL Sunday Ticket.  Every time, I find what seems like a good deal...until I read the fine print.  They nickle and dime you on ever possible thing.  Discounted rates turn out to be rebates you have to submit for every month.  The contract terms favor them in every possible way.  And...oh yes, by the way that'll be a 2 year contract (they try to hide that quite well).  It is absolutely ridiculous and every time I come away pissed off and vowing to never do business with them.

    And then I come to a site like this and I start to feel glad that I've never actually pulled the trigger.  Because as bad as the "deals" sound when I look at them ahead of time, it sounds far worse to actually have the service and do business with DirecTV.

    It's unfortunate, because DirecTV would have gone out of business years ago if they didn't have the exclusive deal from the NFL for Sunday Ticket...and the only reason they have it is becauase the NFL is a part owner of DirecTV.  It's really a shame because the NFL could be providing a real service to their customers (and still make plenty of money) if they just let cable companies and other satellite providers have access to Sunday Ticket rather than forcing people to do business with an unscrupulous company like DirecTV.

    My heart goes out to each of you who are stuck with them.
  • 0
    Dean H.
    I could not agree more - they are absolutely the worst company ever - I don't possess the verbal ability to say how much I hate them without using profanity. They lie repeatedly, they deny that you contacted them even when you have documentation of it, they are simply the worst entity I have ever dealt with. DO NOT GET DirectTV whatever you do.
  • 0
    Ann
    I am in the process of trying to find an alternative to Direct TV service Seattle. I had a bundle pkg with Verizon for TV,Internet & phone - O.K. No problemns . Second year Verizon offered the same Pkg; but said it would actually be $4 a month cheaper - Fine. Then, Direct TV upped thier portion of the Pkg: Many,many phone calls to them & to verizon plus wasteful hours spent all I got was being passed from one to the other. Start Boycoting Direct TV. What other choices do I have? I am a senior 70 plus & cannot encourage such deceit & Greed. I hope they go "belly UP"
  • 0
    mom c
    Was so glad to find this page,thought I was in this alone!!!! They cannot furnish you with a contract stating your length of time.  Watch your credit card they will charge your early cancellation fee to your credit card almost immediately.  There is got to be something illegal to their actions!! We are senior citizens on fixed income,we feel we were duped...
  • 0
    Stacey B
    Direct TV did the same things to us.  Took $300 out of our BANK ACCOUNT.  First it was $119 and we were told nothing else would be removed from our account and then 4 days later they took another $179.  We sent a letter to their "President Complaint" address, and we got a call from a guy who got our lease money back for the receiver we PURCHASED, but had to return anyway.  Even after arguing with him he still said the receiver was leased, however our bank account shows a $150 withdraw at the time we received the new receiver because ours broke.  And OF COURSE we ended up with an 18 month "verbal" contract which I know no one spoke of.  Whoever has heard of an 18 month contract?  12 months, yes, 24 months, yes...
    They are a joke..I want their eyesore of a dish removed from my house and I want to smash it in my front yard and send it to them in pieces.

    And then they duped my mother into getting some sports channels she won't even watch and they never did explain to her how much it was going to cost.  They are manipulative little wormy thieves.  I will be so glad when somebody buys them out because of customers being so unsatisfied, but that probably won't happen because they charge your account $300 when you decide not to use them any more.  

    I HOPE DIRECT TV ENJOYED MY $300 and the fact I couldn't make my house payment because of it.
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