I would like to hear from others about how they have been treated by Direct TV when they chose to cancel their services with them.
We had been customers of Direct TV for 9 years. Many times during those years, we had problems with service, and finally, enough was enough. Last August I called Direct TV to see about cancelling with them and they told me it would cost $300 for an early cancellation fee. We decided to wait until July of this year as the cost to cancel would only be $80.....the amount I was given on 3 different phone calls to them. I kept notes of those phone calls with dates and to whom I spoke. I was also told that the fee is reduced by $20 per month.
In July, we cancelled our service with Direct TV after being hooked up with Comcast. We immediately received a bill from Direct TV with an early cancellation fee of $180. I called to advise them that they had overcharged us by $100. They advised they would check it out and return our phone call. They did not return the phone call, but four days later, we received a statement from them showing they had charged our credit card company the total of $180 (unauthorized as far as we are concerned). Previously, we had let them apply the charges to our credit card and thus, they still have the number (scary, isn't it?). I called the credit card company and they advise that once you give them the card info, they are able to use it to collect,and unless we have it in writing from Direct TV of the amount of charges they told us, they are unable to do anything to correct the situation. They both indicate that the charges are not unauthorized because they had been given the credit card info, and even tho we had stopped paying by credit card several months ago, they tell me they are unable to remove the credit card information from their system.
I called Direct TV and spoke with a supervisor (?) who was unable to reduce the charges. He stated that the original contact signed 9 years ago allows them to make the charge upon termination, and there was nothing he could do.
Funny thing happened when I called the credit card company.......the same thing had happened to the lady I spoke with and she was also unable to have the additional charges removed from her account. A similar situation also occured with a family member who just had to pay up!!
It is hard to believe that large companies operate in this matter, and harder to believe that they are still in business. I plan to contact the Better Business Bureau and any others that I can learn about. Any info that you or any readers can provide will be greatly appreciated.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
33 comments:
I've NEVER had a problem with DirecTv. I even got a free HD DVR when I upgraded this spring, calling about their offer related to the DTV switch.
And since Comcast and their wonderful monopolistic powers in Wicomico Coutny REFUSE to wire my house, even though they have a cable that ends at my mailbox, satellite was the only recourse (Don't even get me started on that waste of money called PAC 14). And I have been pleasantly surprised in the last 12 years just how good their service is. And their HD signal is amazing.
That doesn't sound right I have cable at my mailbox and Comcast wired my house for a small fee and I too received an HD DVR but I 'm glad it's not mine after a power surge from a lightning strike fried it but they replaced it free. No complaints so far and it's clear even when the weather's not.
i avoided directv due to customer service issues ive read about online.
i have had nothing but wonderful issues with dish though.
ive had 2 contracts with them due to upgrading, but usually run under a month to month, where im at know.
their equipment is much better,and usually free at an install
just an fyi -
better business bureau only COLLECTS complaints... they do nothing but report the complaints to someone who inquires...
contact the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) here https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
The FTC will contact the business and attempt to reconcile the situation...
Good luck!
B
I don't find it hard to believe at all. They're greedy, and know they can give you a good spanking any time they want and get away with it. Can't remove your credit card info from their system? BS. They're lying to you.
Duck, I totally agree with you. I'm in the same situation with Comcast's "wonderful monopolistic powers." I use Dish Network and am completely satisfied with them, but can't afford the rates for internet through them, so here I stay in the Land of Dialup. Oh, well.
Wow! I thought someone took my story and wrote it on here. I had direct t.v. cut off about 3 months ago. I was told they would send me a bill with any cancelation fees that I may have. I got the bill in the mail a little over a week later. However I also got a bank statement that showed me being in my overdraft fee. Online showed the payment to direct t.v. I am unsure of the total amount but it was close to the $180 you speak of. In my case I used my bank card like 3 times when I forgot to send the check in the mail for the payment. And the used it for this money. I needless to say was very ticked off. I made a phone call or two but was so mad that I just left it alone because I didn't want to deal with them anymore.
Why on earth would you have an early termination fee after nine years? Was it a twenty year contract?
Duck, I too have a similar situation with Comcast. As far as me and my money are concerned I'd live with 3 channels before I'd hook comcast in my house, even if it was free. That is how much I dislike their service and their lack of customer service.
I have direct tv and have been happy with them for the past umpteen years. We had Primestar until Direct TV bought them out, that is how long we've had their service. Although I pay all my bills online, except Delmarva Power, I do not have auto pay on anything and I do not give them the right to access any of my accounts. Wouldn't do them anygood if they did so unauthorized. I have a checking account for bills only. Monthly I deposit just enough to pay my bills and a couple bucks extra to keep the account open. I decide when I pay and how much I pay. I love the convenience of online bill pay but don't trust anyone with my money and technology. However, if I did cancel Direct TV, they would play hell getting an early cancellation fee out of me, I didn't sign a lifetime agreement with them. That is one fee they would have to eat.
Call up your card company and report your card lost (on a monday). You will receive a new card with a new number before the weekend that charges to your current account. Then, in the future, only use it for "one time" payments. If they keep your number after that, they are violating the law. I NEVER, allow automatic payments from any of my accounts.
12:12: Trust me, I call once a year, after I received about 12 mailings from them offering their latest deal.
I ask for service, they pull up my address on their computers, and say "We are not currently offering service in your neighborhood."
But the cable ends at my mailbox?
"We are not currently offering service in your neighborhood."
One CSR did let me know if I paid around $10,000, Comcast would pull the wire the 130 feet from the road to my house. I respectfully declined. She then hung up on me.
I hate Comcast.
Well, Direct TV lost my business before they even did the install. I had scheduled to have it installed and when the technician came out, he was completely unprepared and clueless to do the install. First, he did not have the materials to drill through or mount cabling to brick. Second, he wanted to mount the dish on my roof. He could not gurantee that it would not leak but told me it was my only option. Third, my phone was not scheduled to be hooked up until the following day and they wanted to charge me $20 per box becuase I did not have a phone line.
Ok, let me set this straight, it was not Direct TV but the contractor they hired. Direct TV still was not very helpful. The contractor wanted to reschedule for the following week, I had already waited 1 1/2 weeks to get the install done.
I called DTV and informed them about the $20 and they informed me that it was not there policy and to not pay the contractor. I asked them to reschedule for the following day and they could not do it. I asked for another conttactor as well and they were the only ones in the area. I forget the name of the company.
I ended up cancelling my whole order and called Dish Network. They came out the following day and I have not had an issue since then. They were very courteous and helpful. Also, something to note, DishNetwork does not contract out their installations. The installers work directly for Dish which is a plus. I will NEVER consider Direct TV for my satellite again in the future.
From experience, you will have more problems with COmcast than you ever had with Directv.
You should talk to your credit card company again. I had a similar situation occur and my card company fought to get my money back. They said that in terminating my contract I was also revoking their permission to charge my credit card. The date that I requested the contract be terminated was the last day they could charge the card. If I still owed them money past that point it was up to them to find other means of obtaining it.
I have had DirecTV for the past year and I absolutely LOVE IT! The HD picture is WAAAAAAAYY better than Comcast's "HD"! I'm also a huge football fan (Go Skins!) and DirecTV offers the NFL Sunday Ticket, which Comcast will never get! Not to mention, my bill is way cheaper than comcast ever was! My internet is through Verizon DSL so I'm not paying an arm and a leg for internet! It is obsurd to spend $120-150 for Cable, internet and phone! oh, and you HAVE to bundle because if you don't it'll cost more! I pay $80/month for DirecTV (better than Cable) and Verizon DSL! Not to mention that the reason that I left Comcast is because my cable and internet service was out 25% of the time! They tried to blame it on old wiring in my house, but my house was only 3 months old!
I must say though, the ONLY problem I have with DirecTV is service response time-if I have problems with my service (Which I've only had once in about year because I wacked the dish with my cub cadet!) They don't exactly get out to you quickly or conveniently. However, they will credit your account for the days you went without service. Comcast would NEVER do that!
One more thing that pisses me off about Comcast is that you see all these great deals on TV for new customers ONLY, but what do the old customers get? A ridiculously high bill is what they get! I was with Comcast for over 8 years-and never had a late bill, but they would NEVER hook me up with a "Deal."
Say what you want about DirecTV, but I'll never have to worry about the cancellation fees because I will never have to cancel! Alot of people worry about storms knocking out their service, but hear this...I didn't once lose service during all the severe storms we've had in the past couple weeks! DirecTV is the way to go----SCREW COMCAST!
Just because there are a few bad experiences does not mean that everyone at DirecTv has poor customer service skills. I know one tech in this area that is fantastic! No company is perfect.
1:07
I have the same issue,only the local cable companies lines end about 3/4 of a mile from my home.Yet I continue to get fliers in the mail on a weekly basis advertising their cable/internet deals.Go figure!
Directv has its drawbacks-it IS expensive in my opinion and like cable,you cannot get channels "ala carte" if you want a particular channel you have to get an entire package sometimes that you otherwise do not need.
And NEVER opt for automatic payments because when you want them to stop they have a habit of continuing.
I had DirecTV for four years and when I lost my job last year that was the first thing to go. In the four years I was with them I had no problems at all and when I decided I needed to cancel, I had no problems then either and I didn't have to pay a cancellation fee. I've been living without cable or satellite for a year and it's not that bad plus I'm saving $100 a month! I'm sorry to hear people are having problems with Direct and I will have something to think about before subscribing to them again in the future.
Duck Comcast does not charge for running a service line unless it's over 500 feet that's a fact I just had mine put in today and asked the guy.
Personally I love Comcast; never have any problems with them at all and pay $99/month for internet, cable and phone. If ya want the deals all you have to do is call them and when they say it's for new customers only ask for a manager and tell him you've been a customer for years and you should be entitled to the discount also and you'll get it with no problem.
And Duck Around...10 grand? I think that's a bit of a stretch there bro; my brother had Comcast run back to his house and it's well over 500 yards off the road and it didn't cost him nowhere near even a third of that. I think you just like to disagree.
Jim Smitz
4:18 and Jim:
All I can go on is what the Comcast CSR Supervisor I spoke to told me when I last called about 2 years ago.
I even said....
"Let me get this straight - I want to give your company about $130 a month in American currency for your service, you have a cable that ends at my mailbox, and yet you won't take my money?"
"Sir, we do not offer service in your neighborhood at this time."
"What would it take for you to offer service?"
That's when I got the answer about $10,000 to run the cable to my house.
I'm only telling you what they told me. I'd love nothing better than to fork over $100 a month for cable internet and HD DVR service to Comcast, but apparently, school teacher money isn't any good to them, they just want lawyer and doctor money from all these new developments in the county.
The same thing had happened to my family with Direct TV. It took 3 months for them to hook me up with the package I chose. I had called at least once a week to find out when they were coming out to my house to finish the hook-up. Their employees were very rude, they did not have none of the information in their system correct, I was put on hold many times and spoke to approx 20 employees(repeating my account number; which they had to give me a new account number due to their error, name and etc.) Having partial service for less than 2 weeks my first bill was over 500.00 dollars. When they could not hold up to their end, I disconnected my service with them. They did take money out of my account without my consent so I called my bank which allowed the withdrawl and told me to cancel my card so they can not make further charges against me and that I would not be charged for a new card. People who have had this issue with Direct TV need to complain to the better business bereau.
They sent me a bad receiver for "free". There customer service put me on hold, hung up on me, put me on hold again for 20 minutes. I called on my friends phone and let them here my phone still on hold and they had no way of knowing who left me on hold that long. The woman said her name was Kenneth and that she would call me back.... After serveral emails they say sorry to hear I'm having trouble after using there service and I have to explain to them that I never had service from day one. I was smart, tho. I cancelled that credit card that I gave to them because I figured that the way their customer service was handling my problem that there billing would be just as fradulant.
Had Direct TV for years and they never could get my bill correct? We'd get bills for $200 a month when it was suppose to be $100. We finally gave up. Shut the service down and asked for our overpayment to be mailed to us. We got a statement in for -17.62, (now that’s a credit) in June of 2009. We waited for months and nothing. We contact them and they informed me I had a bill of hundreds of dollars due to the fact the never received the receivers from us? They never asked and instructed us to do so. They sent a box fed-ex to us and we mailed the two receivers/remotes in. Weeks again past and no correspondence, we called September 3rd. They informed us that one box did not arrive to the equipment department and we were turned into Collections for the balance of the one receiver? They instructed us to track the box, the same box they already had with the other receiver? Spent the following days on the phone, transferred, disconnected, and yelled at, Told to write a letter in to the collections department, All this for their mistake again? With the way the economy is we can afford to be turned into collections, my advise for the world, NO DIRECT TV.............
I've never heard of a cancellation fee from DirecTV. After needing to move, they disconnected my service and I wasn't charged for anything.
BUT... that being said, I'm in a big city and when moving, not all apartments will allow the satellite dish. Now my family who lives in more remote areas must go through a subcontractor for their service. The channels change all the time and my parents were so fed up w/ the hassle of how they wanted their bill paid, they canceled the service and went to Dish. My brother and his family like DirectTV, but are constantly annoyed by the changes in their channel package. They have no recourse because they have to go by the subcontractors choice of channels.
You should contact DirecTV in El Segundo:
To reach Heywot Bitew: Email:HZBitew@directv.com Her direct phone line:310-964-6508
To reach Ellen Filipiak, Sr VP of Customer Relations: Email her at: eafilipiak@directv.com
And you may want to send a copy of your EMails to DirecTV's investor relations. Their Email is investorrelations@directv.com
I was able to get my mother a refund of overcharges by the subcontractor, but only after I made several calls to the main office, not the mean people that she was forced to use/install service because of their rural residence. Those who don't live in a larger city are worked over by the smaller companies who take on the rural customers.
Good Luck.
We had some minor but consistent issues with Comcast TV so DH decided to get Direct TV. The selling points were that it was cheaper for the first year, we got free DVR (DH works 4 jobs, so we were very excited about that!) & that signal reliability was 99.9%, "rain or shine". They installed it last week & it has rained at least every day since. When it rains, even lightly, or when the wind blows, even lightly: we get no signal or messed up picture or signal popping in & out several times during a show. We started reporting the problems to them the first day & they told us (several Direct cust service agents, several times) we will have signal problems when it rains. (The automated voice on the phone even tells you to wait for the weather to clear & call back if the signal doesn't come back!) I said I live in TN & it could rain every day & when not raining, there is likely to be wind, etc. I asked them to come pick up the equipment & close my account. They said they would disconnect, but I had to pay $480 disconnect fee for early termination. I pointed out their 99% signal reliability "rain or shine" claim (I have it in writing!) & that I had not even had 10% reliability since day 1. They said I had to give them a chance to fix it before they would disconnect without penalty & that I need to call & request a credit for when it isn't working. I agreed that was fair & waited 3 days for a technician to come, he said even he has signal issues when it rains, that it is "part and parcel of owning a satillite dish" then moved the connection from our dish to a neighbors, & the signal strength went up to 95%. He said should be fine now & I was thrilled. That was yesterday. Today it rained. NO SIGNAL. I called and they again said rain will affect the signal. I went through all the issues again (total conversations with Direct so far: 13 in 9 days) & pointed out that I gave them the opportunity to fix it. They now say we have to pay $480 to disconnect regardless of issues. They also said they can't issue credit until the issue is resolved & not to call to report outages because they already know there are issues! How on earth can this be resolved? It rains a lot here. Their service doesn't work when it rains. They claimed, verbally & in writing, before we signed up that it worked in the rain. That is obviously not true in many cases based on their comments & our experience. We live in a tornado alley & have a child! When there is severe weather, we can't see a weather report! They have our debit card number, & we use most of our money to pay for cancer treatments. Our TV is the one luxury item we have left &, in my opinion, this company is financially holding us hostage, forcing us to accept extremely poor service for the next two years. If they take $480 out all at once, we would have nothing left for rent, groc, med bills, or medicine & would incur overdraft fees at $35 each. At this point we have no choice but to accept the situation, but I heard there are several lawsuits against them & I am looking to join a class-action suit.
I am fed up with Direct TV. I suggest the everyone fed up with Direct TV take their web site survey and give them a 1 on all their request. Lower their ratings and see where they go. The claim to be committed to the principles of honesty and integrity (web site) yet they are very dishonest. They have a policy unless you pay them an extra $6.95 a month for a service contract that they will not send someone out to move your antenna. You have to pay them $49.95 to do it. THis is an outrage. They give you a 90 day warrantee on their initial settings, but that is not good enough if they place your dish up during the winter and leaves grow in the spring. I also do not get any signal when it rains and they have only one option for me, charge me $49.95 to have someone come out and fix it. The power company might get away with this because they have a monopoly! They say they are not responsible for nature. Well neither am I! I should not have to be charged for them to fix their signal strength. Last time they came they changed out my receiver and also reset my contract. If I did not catch this myself some time later, I would have been paying for many more months then I signed up for in the first place. I don't believe this was an honest mistake!!!!!
My husband and I are also victims of Direct Tv. We had the service for about 1 year when we decided to switch (poor reception). We called the company, the sent boxes to return the equipment. Apparantly there is a very short time limit to send them back and we went 5 days over. We discovered 2 charges on our card for $240 and $71. When I called they explained these were for the unreturned boxes. I was told that when I returned them my now nonexistent account would be credited within 72 hours. Then it would be another 30 days before I recieved a refund on a card they never had permission to use. (we paid one bill with it) I called three days after sending the boxes and was told it can take up to two weeks for them to recieve them. (I know FedEx doesn't work that slow) I was also informed I would only be refunded $45 dollars! Apparantly late fees and charges really rack up these days! I will NEVER use this company again nor will I ever recommend them to anyone!!!! Very sneaky and greedy!!!!
I had some of the same problems with Dish Network. They were making charges that I was not told about after intensely questioning them about what my total charges would be before I took out the service. I tried to cancel the service, but was told I would have cancellation charges of $200.The only way I got them to resolve my issues was to write to the Better Business Bureau. After weeks of getting the run around from Dish, they responded within days after writing the BBB. I highly recommend this approach if you do not get a satisfactory response from any company!
I agree with you all that Direct Tv is no good!!! oops-I was told this is slander but I told them it is a fact and that I am just stating MY problems with direct tv. Ever sense I made the decision to try out direct tv was the worst decision I think I ever made; it just has been problem after problem. First of all I was not told the whole story in the beginning about the contract or even that I would have to pay for installation (which I fought); I was even told that the signal would not go out if it rains, so I guess its ok for them to lie "NOT!!!", then the box went out after 8 months. In addition, dealing with customer service has been a nightmare when you ask to speak to someone higher they give you to the supervisor who is just as rude so you ask them if their is someone higher up to talk to and of course I get the spill about you can go on the web site and voice your opinion Hah right!! I guess I better stop due to steam coming out of my ears.
I canceled my account after 3 years because of a move and then got a call from a collection agency saying DirectTv had sent a $35 bill to them. I contacted DirectTv and they said they don't call customers to collect the money or mail out the final bills they just send it straight to collections. What a crock of shit. What if I would have not realized I had a $35 balance and it would have hit my credit report! That just doesn't seem right. I was always pleased with directv but will not use them again over a lousy $35 bc they put my credit report in danger.
Thank you for offering this forum. I have had a nightmare of communication issues with Direct TV. After having a bundled packet, moving, and canceling I received months later late fees. I went back and forth with Direct TV because the other services were successfully canceled but the Direct TV service was not. When I would call they would say that I needed to talk to the other bundled services and the other services would say that I needed to talk to Direct TV. Then they attached a fee for ending the contract even though I had Direct TV installed at my new address. I am still getting harassed by collections from Direct TV.
David Evans http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/getNFLback Would you reward a kid for stealing from your purse? Of course you wouldn't.Then why is the NFL rewarding Directv with exclussive rights? They lie , cheat , and steal.They charge you to lease their equipment , then charge you upto $5.99 to protect it against repairs.T...hey will also make unauthorized charges to your credit/debit card.This is 100% accurate , google directv complainsts , it will blow your mind , they had over 20,000 complaints in 3 years , thats a BBB record.They have 3 lawsuits pending , in California , Washington , and Oregon.This does not include the silent suits.My goal is to get congress to open the NFL Sunday Ticket to cable companies , And all Satellite companies , At the top there is a Petition , my goal is to get 10,000 signatures then I'm sending the petition to congress.America needs competition , what if there was only 1 electrc company , gas company , Or auto maker?You Get the point , Thanks for your support!
I had bundled my home phone, internet,wireless internet,& directv all through qwest. I had gotten a great deal intill I stopped receiving a bill in the mail(oh & i was being over charged on everything except my home phone)for almost a year. I paid what I believed to be very close to what was owed. I had called qwest numerous times to find out why I wasn't getting a bill in the mail.I was told that the problem was fixed & thatI should receive a "bill/statement" in the mail soon,oh & that my account was still in good standing.all new services started in mar. 05,well in oct 05. My directv was shut off when I called directv I was told that they hadn't recieved payment from qwest.So my directv services were now being canceled I was able to reinstate service.I had also called qwest to find out why they wern't paying directv.Come to find out that directv was getting paid & all the while being over charged by about $44 a month(+ or - taxes) well exactlly one month to the day
directv once again shut off my service.One week later I received
a bill in the mail from directv stating that I owed directv $715.
& that they took it just took(stole it)via my bank debt/check card which I had never given to them.I got all that money back but only after ten business days.Which now made my house payment late cost me $100 late fee plus my qwest bill was now late & there gose my internet,wireless,my phone was the one thing that Qwest didn't shut off.Plus try to charge an early termenation fee.Qwest was very helpfull in getting me back over $600 I had over paid them,+$150 in a visa gift card I never received & last but not least fixed
an hit on my credit score that they
put on all three saying that I owe them $315.I had over paid them & also tried to help talk with directv & 2 CSR from qwest & I got absolutly nowhere.I had sent them back their HD DVR & directv took off $200 but to this day they say I
owe them $515 for early cancelation
fee.Now about every three months I get a letter from a collection agency trying to collect for directv.I told them take me to court.Without even realizing it every time I get one of those letters (a diffrent collection agency each time,4 diffrent ones used over & over again)That there is a negitive hit on my credit scores.I've tried to talk with directv many times & gotten nowhere.They would rater keep destroying my credit rather than admit any wrong doing on their part.I written the BBB they(directv)close the ticket saying it was resolved.Which they had done nothing at all they never even contacted me. So
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