It Might Be Legal, but It Sure Isn’t Ethical!
I don’t rant often, but I must warn you. There’s a doozy ahead.
My Initial Contact With DirecTV
As you all know, we moved in September. At the time, we signed up for a bundle package through Qwest that included our home phone and DirecTV. When I agreed to the service, I was told by the Qwest representative that I would receive 200+ channels for $44.99 a month, as long as I agreed to an 18 month contract. I asked a whole bunch of questions. In the end, I agreed.
He then asked whether I’d like to receive Starz and Showtime free for 3 months. I said no, as I was sure in the midst of moving, I’d forget to cancel. Plus I don’t watch Starz and Showtime anyway.
The day came for our service to be hooked up. The technician came out and hooked up our service. He handed me a poorly photocopied paper, wrote the web address and customer service number on the paper, and said I’d need to fill out the information online if I wanted an $18 rebate. He then pulled out another paper, and fully explained why I would want to pay an extra few dollars a month for a service protection agreement. He completely explained what that would cover and all the details.
Fine. I signed up for it.
I tried to fill out the rebate form online, but something was wrong with the site, and it wouldn’t go through. I honestly don’t remember if I ever called it in. I was in the middle of moving, and I very well might have decided a one time $18 rebate wasn’t worth the hassle.
DirecTV’s Customer Service
Fast forward to yesterday. I received my Qwest bill, and it was quite a bit higher than I anticipated. Upon further investigation, I saw that I was being charged $23 for Starz and Showetime, and my basic package had gone up to $62.99! I immediately called Qwest, who forwarded my call to DirecTV.
I explained the problem to them. The woman on the line explained that she could cancel Starz and Showtime, but I would have to pay a prorated fee of $17 something. And then she explained that there was absolutely nothing she could do about my package price, because I hadn’t turned in the rebate form within the 60 day time frame. What??? I told her I had no idea that I needed to turn in a rebate form to get the special price.
She then asked if I filled out a rebate, and I told her I’m sure I probably did. She asked how I submitted it, and I said I’d probably mailed it in, because that’s how I normally submit rebates. Then she informed me that that was impossible. After thinking about it, I remembered the aggravating night on the computer. Yes, I tried to submit it. It didn’t work.
Frustrated, I asked to talk to a supervisor. She said it could be a long hold, but she’d transfer me. After 10 minutes on hold, she hung up on me. I was not happy.
I made another phone call and got the same song and dance from a different person. I contacted @DirecTV on Twitter. I must say, he impressed me with his quick response. He took my account number and told me a customer service specialist would be calling me shortly. And someone did.
However, like all the other customer service representatives, she said “the system” would not allow her to make the necessary adjustment to bring my rate back down to $44.95 a month. However, she did assure me that she could offer me a $5 discount every month. $5??? Are you kidding me??? What an insult!
I asked how much it would cost to cancel my service, and she said it would be $320, since I was on a 24 month contract. Did you catch that? I was initially told I’d be on an 18 month contract, but suddenly I’m on a 24 month contract. The sad part is, I’m seriously thinking of paying the cancellation fee, so I can be done with them.
I’m Not Alone
I promise, I’m getting to my point.
One of my blogging buddies, David from My Two Dollars, had the exact same experience with DirecTV. And upon further investigation, we’re not the only two people. Qwest customer service said they had another complaint just like mine yesterday. (And don’t think I’m letting Qwest off the hook. They’ll be getting another call from me today).
A quick internet and twitter search found:
- Someone who was told one thing by DirecTV customer service at signup and another when he tried to cancel.
- Lots of complaints about customers being told they were in contracts when they tried to cancel, even though they were never told by DirecTV they needed to enter a new contract when someone came out to fix their equipment.
- Another person who was not told about early termination fees, despite being a long time customer. And the only reason they wanted to cancel was that the DirecTV installers were not able to install the dish!
- And a person who was not informed he’d need to enter into a new two year contract when he upgraded to a DirecTV HD DVR.
Apparently DirecTV’ s reputation isn’t great in my home state of Oregon, or with the BBB. According to the article, the Oregon Attorney General has received over 200 complaints about DirecTV (“a large number”), and the Better Business Bureau rates DirecTV as a “C”. When I filed my complaint last night, they were down to a “C-”. One more step down, and the BBB won’t consider them acceptable anymore, unless you are aware of the issues with the company.
Charter, to my surprise, has an “A” rating. Comcast has a “B” rating. Dish Network, which I left in favor of DirecTV, has a “B” rating too. I should have read the ratings before I switched my service.
Is it Legal?
The short answer is probably. All three representatives informed me that legally all they had to do was hand over the rebate form, and that was considered fair notification that I had to submit the rebate to get my promotional price for the duration of my contract. That’s it. The form doesn’t even have to be legible. They just have to give it to you. It doesn’t matter if the person who signed you up failed to mention the necessity of submitting a rebate. It doesn’t matter that the person who hands you the form makes it sound like it’s a one time rebate, not a monthly thing.
Is it Ethical?
Not on your life. I don’t know most of the people I linked to above, but I do know David of My Two Dollars. I know that both of us are intelligent enough to talk about personal finance on the web well enough that people are willing to read our sites. Both of us are fairly well educated and I might even add…smart.
I find it strange that both of us would feel taken advantage of by DirecTV. If DirecTV can fool two reasonably tech savvy people like David and I, I wonder how many others have been fooled. And taken advantage of.
Whatever happened to truth in advertising? When a price is quoted me, with no stipulations mentioned, I expect to get that price. When a service agreement that puts more money into DirecTV’s pocket is explained in detail, yet a rebate form that will save me money is handed to me on an illegible paper with no explanation that it’s really important, it makes me wonder if it’s intentional. I can’t say for sure, but it feels that way.
And when I’m hung up on by a customer service representative and told that “the system” can’t help a customer, then that system needs to be changed. In fact, I mentioned that to the “customer service specialist” that I talked to last. I told her that I know of at least two other instances where this had happened to other people, and that if the same issue kept arising, perhaps they need to look into the way they’re doing business.
Her response? “Perhaps you’re right. We’ll look into it.”
Maybe she will, but I’m not holding my breath. And that doesn’t help those of us who have already been taken advantage of.
In this season of our country, when companies are fighting to stay alive, you’d think customer service would be more important. I got better treatment at a used car dealership.
Photo by brianc.
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By Lynnae McCoy, on Feb 18, 2009
I'm Lynnae, wife of one and stay-at-home mom of two. I'm committed to getting out of debt by being frugal with my choices in life.
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These scam artists work on the Law of Large Numbers . . . they will “get away with it” enough for it to be profitable.
This is apparently the New American Way . . .
@John – great idea! I actually had to look up EECB. For those wondering, here’s the definition: http://consumerist.com/2007/05.....-bomb.html
I may just have to do that.
This is SO ridiculous. I got all angry just reading it. I don’t understand companies and policies that don’t allow customer service reps (or the supervisors) to resolve a situation in the customer’s favor. That should be the idea each and every time. Cable companies suck.
I’m sad to see another post like this. I’ve been a DirecTV customer since 2000 and have had very few problems with them. I’ve even converted at least 3 of my family members into customers of theirs. After all this, I still think that DirecTV is better than the cable companies…
Did agree to pay for the service with your credit card, by chance? If so, simply dispute the charge since they can’t prove you agreed to the charges any more than you can prove you didn’t. This is one advantage to using a credit card to pay for things — the dispute process almost always goes in favor of the consumer.
Good luck.
I thankfully have never had any service with Direct TV. We used Dish Network and did not have those problems. But I did have a similar problem with Nextel year ago. We canceled and refused to pay the early cancellation fee. We bought two houses since then and it didn’t hurt our credit. I still get mail from a collection agency wanting us to settle for half the bill. I would rather eat glass.
Coco
I would just not pay it. You were railroaded into something that you would never have agreed to. I would take all the equipment to Qwest and drop it at their door – after all they are enabling the scam.
I had this same stupid thing happen with Comcast. They’re hoping to wear you out. Go to the BBB, the EECB, and the AG. Write concise, non-attacking letters, explaining how you were wronged, and then…
most importantly…
Never EVER, EVER, EVER use their service again. Tell everyone you know how awful they were to you. Rally the troops. The best way to slap sense into these big companies who think they can get away with this BS is to take business from them.
I had a funny thing happen to me in regards to my cable internet. I had received a deal for $33 for a 7Mbps stream for one year and then it would go up to $38 for a year after that.
Well, I initially signed up for it because DSL in my area HAD to include local phone service (I only have/want a cell phone) so it ended up being more cost effective to go with the cable. After the year was up, my rates went up but after some investigating I found that I could get DSL for half what I was paying at the cable company AND without getting a home phone line! Even though it was for a lower speed than I was getting I was considering it as our service was spotty at best.
I called the customer service people. I asked them flat out if I could get a better rate. They told me “you are already in a special now and you can’t get another one until this one runs out.” Then I asked if they could lower my rate even just the 5 bucks back down to $33. She said she couldn’t. Then I told her if I couldn’t get a better price with them, I would go somewhere else. She didn’t even care.
So, I canceled and switched. Glad I did. I did think the same as you Lynnae: I wondered why they wouldn’t be trying to keep me as a customer in this economy, especially when things like high-speed internet are luxuries and easily cut out of a budget.
In short, it just reinforces a policy of mine. I go to places/salepeople who give good customer service. For me, it is even worth paying a little bit more for some good care vs. wasting time gettin’ the run around.
Hmmmmm I’m thinking it’s time for a class action law suit here.
Hi everyone – just wanted to say that I’m very much enjoying my free – over the air television. I live in rural PA, about an hour and a half away from the nearest city, and I still pick up 11 digital channels worth of content. I’m about 60 miles from the nearest transmitting station, so I did have to put up a tower beside my house and an outside antenna (cost me a one-time fee of about $250 to do it right, for antenna masts, cabling, the actual antenna, a rotor (motor to adjust the antenna without having to go outside), and an amplifier. I get a lot of quality television with no additional costs. I’d suppose this system will last at least 10 years without maintenance, so if i take that $250 initial cost and spread it out over 10 years, I would pay about $2.08 per month. Anyone who lives nearer to transmitting stations would not have nearly my set-up costs.. many folks would be fine with a set of $10 rabbit ears on their TV (yes – the rabbit ears will still work for digital TV if you had a solid analog signal) – and if its an older TV, you’d have to get one of the digital tuners (which are about $10 after use of the coupons the government offers)
To be honest – the 11 stations that I have tend to carry just about every show that gets talked about ’round the water cooler at work, so I don’t feel left out at all.
I suppose if you NEED 200 channels, go for full dish or cable service, but if you truly want to live frugally, you may want to consider the Free Over the air service…
One more thing – check out tvfool.com and antennaweb.com to see what stations you are likely to get at your residence.
I’ve been having problems with Sears on a warranty I purchased in October. I bought my elliptical 10/26. It broke 1/20, so I called the service number. Had I realized I would have had such issues getting it fixed I would’ve just returned it because it was within the 90 day window for returns with receipt. It still isn’t fixed, they’ve ordered parts and more parts, been to my house twice, cancelled an appointment, booked me for an appointment that I never agreed to because it is on a workday, etc, etc. And I paid for this priviledge. And they don’t care when I said I would not be a repeat customer.
@Jeanette – there’s a huge difference between not explaining a rebate well and not mentioning it at all. I was told that the $44.99 price was based on a bundle with Qwest. The rebate never even came up until the installer handed me the paper…after the equipment was installed.
And I don’t have an HD receiver, so that doesn’t explain the change in contract length.
@neal – I’ll definitely be speaking to Qwest today. I would have talked to them last night, but after my three calls to directv, the qwest offices were closed for the day. It kind of sucks, because I have been a longtime customer and fan of Qwest. But if they can’t help me resolve this, I’ll probably just drop them all together.
DirecTV is just as bad on the east coast, although most of our problems have been with equipment/installation. My husband is the one who ‘needs’ DirecTV so he can have his beloved NFL Sunday ticket, but the service has gotten so bad that he has even agreed it’s time to give up on them (of course he decided this right after we signed a 2 yr agreement and upgraded all our equipment to HD!). I have a page in a notebook fulll of case number, supervisor’s names, promises to fix things, and un-returned phone calls. It’s a shame to have to spend so much time getting what you originally sign up for, but don’t give up!
@Sal, see my experience with Qwest has always been good. Whenever I’ve had a problem, they’ve been quick to fix it. I may change my tune depending on how today goes, though. This is a pretty big problem, compared to the minor issues I’ve had before. If they can’t help get it resolved, I’ll drop Qwest, too.
Wow, my husband and I signed up for DirecTV when we moved in September. He always pays that bill. I will definitely have to look it over and make sure we’re getting the deal we were supposed to get. We bundled our dish service with Verizon phone and internet.
I’m starting to think that all cable and satellite providers are a racket. My mom had problems with Dish TV, and the reason my husband and I switched to Direct was because we had two horrible experiences with Comcast. Argh!!
I’m so sorry to hear about all your troubles with DirecTV. We recently switched as well, but like the previous East Coaster, we had more problems with equipment. They failed to mention that our new HD boxes would not be compatible with our exisiting TiVo. Well they are, but we can only record or watch one thing. No more two tuners. We finally resolved it, but not without some headache. If you want to give the customer service lines another shot, I would ask to speak to the retention department. I finally worked my way up the ladder over several phone calls to get our issues resolved and this department as all the overriding capabilities you might need.
As far as your issues, I know some of the CSRs are better at explaining the rebate. Ours was very clear on the phone that we get info on the rebate with our first bill and would need to submit that to get our advertised low rate. Hopefully they will let these CSRs train the rest!
And the only reason I can think you might be on a 24 mo. contract is that the regular boxes are 18 mos. and the HD boxes are 24 mos. We have two in the house and each is a different contract length.
I hope you’re able to get this all worked out and I can completely understand your frustration!
Welcome to the world of DirecTV…. I have been a “loyal” customer of direcTV since 2002 and I hate it (OK, love the signal but hate the customer service). I am also one that “has” to have it because of NFL Sunday Ticket for my husband. I have had so many issues with them I can’t even list them all. My biggest issue was about 2 years ago when they changed their receiver policy where every one that you bought was now leased from them. I had gone to Best Buy and spent $300 on the HD receiver only to find out that DirecTV owned it. I called them screaming saying that Best Buy never told me this and I never would have paid $300 for something I wasn’t going to own. UGH. (It is clearly marked everywhere receivers are sold now but not back then.) I have had several more issues with them and I am sure that my account is marked with a “lunatic screamer” scarlet letter. I threaten to leave them all the time. If you never have a problem they are fine but to deal with customer service is horrific. I would keep calling them until you get what you want. Take it from me… if you call enough, you will eventually get what you want.
Lynnae – Try contacting The Consumerist (http://consumerist.com) and then search their website for DirecTV’s executive’s contact info and send them an EECB. Good Luck with them, I hope you get your problem solved.
Lynnae: Put the charges on your credit card so that you can dispute them. You didn’t get what they promised you when you signed up, plain and simple, and it’s not likely that they can prove what you agreed to.
I’ve had a poor experience with DirecTV too. I can’t wait to be done with them. They billed us incorrectly month after month. We had to call over and over to get them to fix it. Frustrating.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
While I admit I’ve never dealt with Direct TV as I use rabbit ears.
I can tell you I’ve dealt with Qwest for years with my home phone & every time I try to take advantage of a promotion or change to a better package my bill gets screwed up for months sometimes to the point I’ve left them in disgust.
The latest deal was DSL but I found out I somehow got locked in for 12 months instead of being free to leave :(
As soon as the 12 is up I’m leaving Qwest completely – too much grief. They keep saying their service has changed/improved but it hasn’t & I’m not willing to give them another shot. It’s like their sales reps say what ever they need to make a sale.
Update. Talked to Qwest, and I got the same song and dance with them. Time to consider the EECB. And I’ll call my attorney general, too.
Having worked in customer service myself, I must say that most big companies like DirectTV and the credit card company I worked for do plenty of unethical things and get away with it in the fine print. The way everything is written and done legally, everything works in favor of the company, NOT the customer. I can tell you that the people who answer the phone have absolutely no control over how the business is run and have no contact with anyone who could actually change it. When I worked in customer service, it was through an outsourcing company, and while we all technically “worked” for the credit card company, all of the “big” bosses in my building worked for the OUTSOURCING company. We had no way of getting in touch with anyone with any power. So, everyday we heard endless complaints of everything the company was doing wrong, but there was absolutely nothing we could do about. The “system” we worked on only allowed us to do certain things, so when they tell you the system won’t allow them to do something, they’re telling the truth, they simply can’t do it. And if they get caught telling you any of this, they’ll get fired. If they don’t follow the script exactly, they’ll get fired. Basically if you’re ever caught making a mistake, you’re fired. Also, most of the supervisors are just one step above the customer service agents, so they can’t do anything either. It really is all about taking advantage of the customer, they’re in it to make a profit, not help people or provide a service. I talked to one poor woman in her 80′s who didn’t have enough retirement to live on, so she got a credit card to make ends meet ($200 credit limit) and ended up with late payments, which in turn made her go over the credit line, and then incured ANOTHER fee and there was nothing I could do to help her, no matter how much I wanted to. I was so miserable at that job, I STILL have nightmares that I have to go back to work there. It is the ONLY job I have EVER had where I just told my supervisor I couldn’t do it anymore, filled out a form, and walked out. My parents run a DishNet business, but unlike a lot of retailers, they make sure that all of their customers know every minute detail before they sign a contract with them. Furthermore, instead of punishing their long time customers with more fees, they send them gift cards as a way of saying thank you! My advice would be to find a retailer you trust and work directly with them, they know how to handle the big company, and the big company will listen to them more than they will a customer. Hope all works out for you!
Oh Lynnae I can rant with you on this one! Glad to hear we’re not the only ones with Directv problems. Our trouble started with the installer who was making personal calls to his girlfriend while doing the install. And I’m talking he had his cell phone on in his pocket while she told him what she was going to do to him that night. (mm hmm can you say ewww) Then he wanted to use our phone to call his next customer to cancel the install. Of course I didn’t know this until he was making the call. He said he needed to call Directv from our phone to initiate the install process. Then I proceed to listen to him completely LIE to the next customer about why he needs to cancel the install. (not to mention he just lied to my face) I can hear the lady on the other end of the line start yelling at him that she took time off work for the THIRD time to get this install done and that he better show up or she’d cancel permanently. His reply, “Sorry but I don’t have the dish on my truck for you.” Meanwhile the truck sitting in my driveway clearly has three dishes in the back of it. Unbelievable! They did damage to our walls too. So we called to complain about this and were basicly told “we’ll look into it”. No apology, nothing. Here we are nine months later and we still were never compensated for that. Every time we’d call it was the same song and dance.
Now a month ago our receiver started acting funny. So we called in about it. We were told we’d need a new receiver and they’d send that right out to us. Good that was easy. Until the ‘specialist’ informs us that we’ll have to pay to $20 to ship it. Come again? Why do we have to pay to return your faulty equipment that we are leasing from you?? The faulty equipment we’ve only had eight months?! My husband fought with them for a half hour about this. He talked to “supervisors” and they all said, “Sorry that’s company policy and we can’t do anything about it”. When my husband threatened to cancel the ‘specialist’ didn’t even care. He said “if that’s what you want to do I can process that for you too.” My husband was fuming by now and asked how many months were left on the contract. We signed up for an 18 month contract so we knew there was 10 months left. But the ‘specialist’ says it’s a 24 month contract. Whoa stop the boat, what?! No, no we signed up with a 18 month contract. Again three supervisors later and they all say we have a 24 month not 18 month. And the only form we have from the install doesn’t state the contract length on the barely readable paper.
To say we are upset with them would be a huge understatement. We don’t have the money right now to cancel the contract though. Especially considering they want 6 more months of a cancellation fee. Needless to say once the contract is up we’re done with them. (unless I can find the money to cancel before then) We were just flabbergasted that they didn’t seem to care about good customer service at all. Not one teeny bit. It was pathetic.
Sorry to hear you (and others) have had the same problem.
I had a similar experience with Verizon FIOS and left them because they had NO customer service. That seems to be the law of the land these days – annoy the customer until he/she leaves. I actually had one person from Verizon start our conversation by saying; “First let me warn you that if you curse during this conversation, I am permitted to hang up on you”. Wow – can you imagine how irate their customers must be to have THAT be the first line of conversation! When I took their equipment to the UPS store, as I had been instructed to do, the UPS person snickered and said “Another happy Verizon customer”. I asked if they were getting a lot of returns, and her answer was “Every day”. So it’s not just DirectTV, I guess all the TV companies have problems. Makes me wonder where they find so many rude people to work for them!
This story makes me both angry and sad. I read your blog so I know you are smart and careful yet they were still able to take advantage of you. Other people who are as smart and careful… how have they hurt them?
I just had to add my comment too. I’ve had awful experience with DirecTV also. I can’t wait for my contract to be over so I can cancel! The last time a technician came to my home, they were rude, tried to con my husband into giving him extra money in order to do what was required in the work order! We told him no. AND, he didn’t do what was required. We called quickly to complain. They also didn’t set up the TV correctly. I had to call tech support myself. They didn’t leave a receipt, so I have no proof of whatever they did. They offered us 2 months free showtime (which we don’t watch)..and it reminds me that I have to cancel before they start charging me!
I was also offered a $50 credit that took 3 calls to reflect on my bill! Each time I called, they would say that it would reflect within a day or so, but it never happened, so everytime I got my bill, I would have to call again. I’m so fed up with them.
Lynne, you have probably already thought of it this, or maybe someone has suggested it, but I would call your state’s attorney general office, they take consumer complaints and act on them. You have so many followers of your blogg, that I would suggest you consider a class action suit…sounds like there would be a lot of interested takers. Considering how many people are suffering financially in this this tight economy, we have to make every penny count and not allow scam artists to do business in our country anymore. Like you, I have been down this road way too many times to count, but I don’t have a blogg and you do, might be a good time to show just how much clout the average, intelligent, well-read citizen actually has.
Those of you who have mentioned getting service through local retailers are spot on. When we had Dish Network, we went through a local retailer, and he was fabulous!
The only reason I didn’t this time, is because Qwest offered me a better deal, and I’ve always had such great experiences with Qwest customer service…until now.
@cgbascom – I’m so sorry that happened to you. Again, what they did to you is totally legal, but not at all ethical. Why should you have to pay a cancellation fee, because they told you to cancel after they couldn’t deliver service?
If I can’t get this resolved, I may just pay the money to get out of my contract too. In the long run, it would probably be more cost effective to bundle my existing cable internet with cable TV, and drop all DirecTV and Qwest services, even considering the fee. I’ll have to check into that.
Y’know, DirectTV must spend $18/month advertising to our household. We get direct mail, flyers plus all the other promo pieces I see.
And still, the stories of lousy customer service? Far, far more powerful than ANY offer they could ever put in the mail. I don’t care how cheap it is, DirectTV is not for us – not unless I start hearing tales of their outstanding customer service.
Hi Lynnae,
My husband and I are Dishnet Retailers and we’ve heard similar stories about Direct Tv and also even about Dishnet. It really does come down to which retailer you sign up with. Pick a good local retailer and they’ll help you be sure you get the service you signed up for and they can intercede for you if something goes wrong. Ask around your community for the best retailer. Our business is mainly word of mouth but we’ve done well here because we’ll actually stand up for our customers to the parent company if need be. I think the worst way for anyone to sign up is over the internet or if someone comes to your door – lots of retailers will send out contract workers to sign up people and once they’ve signed them up, if anything goes wrong, you can’t find them – they may even be in a different state. Also don’t assume that any 800 number is the correct one. Lots of retailers use an 800 # with DISH in it – this is not the parent company. Find out where your local retailer is and find out their reputation in the community.Also be sure that they give you a copy of your contract and be sure and read it first. We also provide our customers with an information sheet that explains all rebates, promotions, contract period, and billing and we have them read it and sign it so they know what to expect.
As for your problem with DirectTV – I would call again and ask to speak to a supervisor in the Customer Service Dept. – keep trying until you get someone to listen to you. You might get someone that can actually help you – maybe not but it’s worth another call!
Hope this helps someone!
Blessings!
Oh one other thing – apparently these huge companies with such awful customer service have never heard the old country saying — “you can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin him once.” nuff said…..
In my area of the Upper Peninsula, I am unable to receive regular network progamming. Last year I switched from Dish TV to DirecTV because of the great deal they could give me. The service technician, who worked for an independent contractor, came down from Marquette to put in the dish and hook everything up. Because we live surrounded by trees, we knew that the placement of the dish was critical for viewing the progams. We also knew that whenever the wind blew hard, we would have spotty reception. The tech placed our satellite dish in the best place he could. We were skeptical. The leaves were not out on the trees fully and we knew the dish might have to be moved. He assured us that if that happened he would come out and move it.
Guess what? It happened. We called DirecTV and told them about the issue and they made arrangements for the technician to come back out and move the dish. Well, he called me from his mobile phone and told me that he could not find us. It was another technician. So I gave him directions from where he was at and waited. An hour later, he called again and told me he still could not find us. I asked him where he was and told him I would come out to him and lead him back to our house. We passed each other on the road, but he finally got to our house. He looked at where the dish was, got a ladder, and climbed onto the shed where it was located, wiggled and jiggled it, got back down, loaded his ladder back onto the truck, and then informed us that the last technician hadn’t installed it correctly and that it would need to be tightened down, then left. We told him about the tree issue. But he seemed more concerned about the amount of work he would have to do.
I called DirecTV and told them about the problem and how the tech had ‘solved’ it. They were sorry, they would call the company again, and would we be available next week to have a new technician come out.
The company called and made an appointment to come out and they never showed up. I called the company figuring that something may have happened, the technician got lost again, etc. No one answered the phone and there was no answering service to take a message.
I called DirecTV, again. They were apologetic and told me that they could give me 3 months of HBO (which I would never watch) for my troubles. I reminded them that I was not receiving any signals so I wouldn’t be able to watch HBO anyway. They apologized again and said they would look into the issue. I waited three weeks. They called me twice offering some compensation, but no one would come out to move the dish. Finally, I told them to cancel my subscription. There was no use in paying for something I couldn’t watch.
Two weeks later, a charge of $430 showed up on my credit card. I called the card company and they put a hold on the payment. I called DirecTV and they put me on hold then hung up on me. I called again and insisted that I talk to someone about the charge. When I explained the situation to this person, he laughed and said “Well, the charge stands. You cancelled the contract.” And you know what? I did. They used my words against me and all because I could not get a service technician to move my dish. When the credit card company called me to ask about the charge, I told them to pay it. The woman at the card company (the same one I had talked to about the charge) seemed upset and asked me was I really going to pay it. I told her yes. The company had me on tape cancelling the contract. It apparently does not matter why. It just matters that I did.
We had a similar problem with Dish TV. When tried to cancel that said we couldn’t until we talked to a cancellation specialist(?) who could not be reached for a long time. When finally contacted we were told he would send a box to return their stuff. When the box finally came it did not have the promised address form. Then it took another 6 weeks for that. On and in and in…we got rid of our TV. Enough already.
We had multiple problems when we had DirecTV service when we were in VA. First when the service tech came out to install the plans had apparently changed and when we told him the price of the plan (because he had no knowledge of the details of the plans) he jotted it down. Later that night we had like 50 channels when we were supposed to have some 150 or so. So we immediately called & the representative said that since we weren’t new customers anymore they couldn’t give us the special monthly price for our package. We had had our service less than 24 hours and called when we noticed that something wasn’t right.
Then apparently someone decided that we needed HBO & Cinemax so when I told her we hadn’t asked for those she took them off. I noticed on my bill they charged me almost $20 to cancel the channels, channels I had never asked for. I wanted out immediately, but we just couldn’t afford it. I was so thankful when we moved that we could get out of the contract with my husbands PCS orders & a bit of a stretch of the truth that our landlord wouldn’t allow a dish on the house or in the yard ;) Much happier with my cable service and ability to use the DVR features I was paying for.
I would never recommend their service to anyone.
Ugg! This just infuriates me! I have never had Direct TV or DishTV. Comcast is enough of a hassle and I have heard worse things about Direct TV and Dish TV. Every month our comcast bill goes up, just slightly, like a dollar or two. When we call, we get such a run around that we just end up paying it. I just don’t understand. As someone said earlier, cable is one service that people can live without and could cancel to trim expenses, so you would think that they would offer excellent customer service to keep you as a customer. Although I guess they figure that hosing you into a contract is the best way to ensure they make some money off you.
Oh, and I forgot to mention their lack of follow-through when we were trying to return our boxes when we moved. It took 3 weeks & 5 phone calls (due to waiting for supposedly shipped boxes, etc) to be resolved. I called 1 month prior to our move to find out the proper procedure and followed the instructions, each time we called the instructions changed. I was so worried that something was going to happen and we would end up owing them for the boxes.
It’s sad to see so many people having such similar problems with such a large company.
The phone companies and cable companies all work the same switch-a-roo scam. Best stick to free TV.
When the CSR and supervisor tell you they can’t help you, be sure to ask for the address where you can file a formal written complaint and keep a copy for the written complaint for your files. The company may not respond promptly – or ever – to your formal complaint, but at least you can prove that you followed their procedures and exhausted all of the available avenues before obtaining outside help (such as following up with a legal suit or filing a claim with the better business bureau).
I am so tired of these customer service stories (and particularly of them happening to me).
Best of luck!
I know it’s not for everyone but an experience like this is why I ditched Dish satellite for OTA HDTV and Hulu… and I haven’t looked back!
David, are you sure you weren’t a victim of the rebate scam, too? The only reason I ask is that the dollar amounts are so close to the amounts of my problem. It almost sounds like the same problem, and there are tons of complaints about vague details about rebates necessary to get the right price.
It stinks when a company can say one thing and charge you another, and then send you to a customer service call center that doesn’t have the power to help you.
I am still being charged $62 a month, even though when I signed up I was told it was $41.99 a month. Phone call after phone call, email after email, complaint after complaint – nothing.
I have DirecTV and love it. I’ve even had several customer service calls which ended very well. I did weeks of research before scheduling an install. Being an informed consumer is a smart consumer. When something you are going to purchase requires a contract, research and read everything r,about the product or service before signing the dotted line. Call customer service 20 times if you have to. When you aren’t their customer they’ll try their best to make you their customer. If you want the contract info in writing, they’ll send it to you.
Thanks for letting us know about having to call to cancel the extra free package for three months of Movie channels…..I didn’t know we had to cancel. I called today and canceled, even though we had two more months. I didn’t want to forget.
I had signed up through My Points for 10,000 points but never got them, still trying to get them. My Points is working on it. I kept the conformation number the night I signed up.
I also called last month and asked for a paper billing, I didn’t want it on my credit card. This month I didn’t even get a bill. So I had to call again. She said there was no record I had changed.
Thanks again for the warning, hope you can get some help. I’m in Central Washington
Yup, we had the same problem. We were promised the moon. We got junk.
We haven’t had CBS in over a year now, even tho we were promised ALL local stations when we signed up.
I had a horrible experience with Dish Network and a bad enough experience with local TimeWarnerCable (North Carolina) to forgo paid TV altogether. DirectTV is the option I have not tried. I appreciate the comments regarding using a reputable local retailer, and I can see how that could help insulate one from the bad service that the main outlets provide.
Has anyone had experience getting DirecTV through Costco?
How Qwestish.
Here’s a human being in Qworst’s home office who actually can do something to help:
Julie Lane 303-896-4003
This person’s telephone number came forth after I wrote snailmail and e-mail protests to Qwest’s upper management and cc’ed the state corporation commission and the state attorney general. Try this worthy:
Paula Kruger
Executive Vice President, Mass Markets
Qwest Corporation
1801 California Street
Denver, CO 80202
paula.kruger@qwest.com
The CEO’s name is Edward A.Mueller; he’s at the same street address, but his published e-mail address (for obvious reasons) doesn’t work.
Go to Consumerist and search Qwest executives. Also search in general at that site for complaints about Qworst…you may find something you can use.
I also highly recommend a tape recorder. Talk to these people on a squawk box and quietly turn the recorder on. Do not tell them you recording them; if you do, they will demand that you turn off the recorder and refuse to speak to you until you claim you have done so. This is a situation that could escalate into a lawsuit — if you are lucky someone else has already started a class action against the SOBs. In that event, tape recordings and careful, accurate notes of telephone conversations could come in very handy.
Qworst is the most hellish evil corporation I have ever had the misery of dealing with. Good luck to you!
Try filing a complaint with your state Attorney General. I got ticked off enough once at Burger King (their advertised $1.99 breakfast meal was $3.29 by the time I pulled up to the window to pay) and I got a very fast reply from my state’s AG telling me they were investigating – within a week or two I had a letter in the mail from them giving me BK’s take on the subject (their register didn’t KNOW it was supposed to be $1.99…duh) and my AG’s assurance that BK would not let this occur in the future…LOL Like they don’t have other worse problems but I’m sure that caused BK to take notice! That was Michigan, but that is the job of every AG’s office in every state – to investigate false advertising, etc.
File a complaint – it was an online form and only took 15 minutes to fillout, and I uploaded a copy of my receipt right to their website – and see what happens! It sure can’t hurt!
I’ve had awful experience with DirecTV also. DirectTV is not for us.
I”ve had trouble with the local phone service. If I don’t do all of the research at their website on prices and services they will take advantage of my lack of knowledge. I’ve called 3 months in a row to lower my bill and I’d love to find an affordable plan that includes internet service. I don’t watch TV thank goodness I can’t believe what people pay for that crap.
I have DirectTV, but not though anyone. They have always been fast to fix anything. The service i have is 7 years old with no issues so far. Also…do not get tangled up with DISH. What a nightmare. No customer service, no response to calls, no show for 4 separate appts. I would rather be without TV service and use hulu.com.
thanks for the heads up.
Know you don’t want to hear this, but stop blaming others for your incompetence. Guess you thought it was much easier to blindly sign a contract agreement from a stranger than to actually read it. I hadn’t had cable in about 15 years and decided to splurge. I did have a billing issue with DirectTV, but it was promptly rectified. I just couldn’t justify paying so much to watch TV when there’s so much free broadcasts on. I canceled my contract, paid the 300 or so cancellation fee after 3 months of service and will still have over 800 dollars in my pocket in the end. Get a digital converter and an antenna. Rent free movies from your local library. Record the best shows to watch when there is not much on. And stop complaining for “your” stupidity.
My guess is that Chuck either: A) Works for DirecTV, or B) Is one of those amazingly perfect people who goes through life and never makes a mistake, so he thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to be rude and throw stones at others.
I agree with Chuck. Everybody should realize that companies will try to get more money any way they can. Signing paperwork without asking questions is the worst thing you can do. If you’re too busy to ask questions, then put off the purchase.
If you feel so strongly that there’s a scam going on, get a lawyer and file a class action lawsuit.
Wow, what horror stories with pay TV! I live in a condominium which decided to buy a bulk package for cable. We each pay about half what we would pay if we each contracted separately for the service. Those of you who live in condos, townhouses or even apartments might want to see if this option is possible where you live. We’ve had this for about 12 years. At first it was annoying because the cable would go out periodically, and you could never get them on the phone. But now that they have competition (there are now 2 companies in Chicago), this has not been a problem. It sounds weird that the 3rd largest city did not have cable for years; then there was 1 company; now there are 2. But this city is weird in some ways.
Some of you mentioned that one can go cold turkey and use just free TV. Sometimes in big cities that isn’t possible. Our building is in a neighborhood with lots of high rises (though our building is low) which interfere with TV reception. If you don’t have either cable, an antenna or satellite in this neighborhood (north side, near Lake Michigan, for those of you who know Chicago), you just don’t get reception. In the bad old days (until about 2 – 3 years ago), when the cable went out, we got nothing…only CBS, in pink and orange snow, with sound. So some people must have a pay service to get any TV at all. I realize this is a situation probably unique to major cities full of high-rise buildings.
I’m about ready to dump Comcast because the price seems to go up around $6 every six months or so. Most TV is horrid anyhow so why should I pay for it if I can watch online. I do need my high speed for my laptop though. I wouldn’t have Dish Network or any satellite since I have seen enough of that bait and switch from family and friends alike. I would say never sign something arbitrarily without understanding what you are agreeing to. It seems some of the cell phone companies and cable/satellite are notorious for this game. Keep on complaining to the BBB and Attorney General and maybe some of these companies will buy a clue or a class action suit may yield better results.
I have to agree with you that Qwest & Direct TV are a nightmere. We have had nothing but service issues with Qwest that they can not resolve and have stopped coming out to fix. Direct TV has charged me fees for things they gave us free to make up for destroying our sprinkler system when installing their dish at our home. When we moved they said we would get three months free of HBO and Starz and I called for three months in a row asking where the channels were with no fix. We finally gave up. So we are at the end of our contract in July 2010 and I will dump both companies and try to find someone who lives up to their claims. I get so angry everytime I see Direct TV’s commercial for great customer service and problem solving. IT IS A LIE! They do not do what they say so beware if you are considering going into a contract with Direct TV or Qwest both company’s get an F for being honest!
I have received extremely poor service from your Direct TV. The sales team assured us that service during windy/rainy conditions was uninterrupted except during extreme conditions. Our experience is that even during mild wind and rain the service is problematic. The initial installation was so poorly done that the dish had to be realigned within a week and the entire installation had to be redone within two months. Incidentally, the company has no record of a technician coming to our house the first time. That is Scary. While I was deployed, my wife had a hard time getting proper service and had to get help from our neighbors in getting a service tech to come out and fix the issue. The result was weeks with out proper service. Finally, my wife gave up trying to get the problems fixed and waited for me to return from my deployment. Direct TV took this as a sign the service was trouble free. I was also overcharged for movie channels I had not ordered and had to argue over a long distance call from the Middle East to get the charges corrected. I called customer service and spoke to a Ms. Raychel (Employee # 100363549) who said a supervisor would call me within 72 hours. There was no call back. I called customer service and asked to speak to a supervisor. I was transferred to a Ms. Jennifer (Employee # X3136) who claimed to be a supervisor. She gave her supervisor’s name as Ms. Lashonda but that she was not available then transferred me to a Mr. Sergion (Employee # 210221). Mr. Sergion was unable to give me a job title and claimed to be the highest level supervisor at Direct TV. Mr. Sergion told me that customer service was not answerable to customers and rather that the customer was to act according to what customer service directed. SO THAT’S WHAT THE DIRECT IN DIRECT TV STANDS FOR. WELL SLAP MY BUTT AND CALL ME CHARLIE. Direct TV has not kept the promise of good service. We have suffered through faulty installations, bad service, and rude service representatives. Don’t ever deal with these clowns. EVER.
We remarkably are having issues trying to become direct tv customers again. You would think that they would be thrilled to have another sucker come back and over charge us. Not the case, they say one thing and when you agree to it and pay the money they change everything around and want even more money than what you already have paid. So we are now out what we originally paid them and still have no resolution. 19 customer service reps. and every dept. in the place and we are still out 100 dollars and they want more. Lovely guys!! Nice of you to hit people while they are down.
How directv is still in business is beyond me.I’ve had them for 7+ years , and besides them leasing their equipment then charging an addintional 5.99 to protect it most of them were good until 2 years ago.Well the final whammy all happened in the past 3-4 months.I lost a job i’ve been at for 10 years , due to the economic times , in November work slowed down so bad it was pay my diretv bill or feed my family.Well I called directv to cancel and explained my situation.The CSR seemed so nice , gave me credits so my bill was far less.Well the end of the year work shut it’s doors , I got a new job working for a condo building , part of package I have to live on site , well they dont allow satellite , so I called directv to cancel , the CSR says ok , I said send me a final bill and I’ll pay it in 2 payments.She said no problem sir , well less then a week later directv used my debit card (without permission) to take out an outragous amount forcing me to go overdrawn.I called and emailed directv , noone helped me , So I filed a complaint with the BBB , and atty’ general’s office , and of course disputed it with my bank.All the directv CSR say is , we dont need to give you a notice , or paper bill it’s in our service agreement.
Direct TV…$100.00 visa pre-paid card be careful…. We have been with dish 25 years and then decided to move to Direct TV partially due to the $100.00 rebate…well after 3 months I still had not received it… I contacted Direct and of course they said I did not agree to have auto pay…which I was not told that… I also ask to speak to a manager and was told there was not anyone higher than her and that it just the way it is… BAD BUSINESS…when asked about canceling my account she said for $400.00 I could do that..what about customer service….
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 need to talk to a REAL person about changing my package, now!
I have the “NFL Sunday Ticket…..I have the option to change it , now. I can’t get into your system to get you all my account number
and change it to: Choice Ultimate, please help me make this NOW.
I’ve called the 1-800-531-5000 and ge nowhere with this system.
It tells to go to this web site and this is the first time I can put something in writing, but what will I get?? I talked to a REAL persom at the on set, but now, nothing!! I need your help, pronto, please?!?!
I am so sorry that I did not see these posts before I signed up for Direct TV for our business… I called the 800# and spoke to a friendly representative and told them that we were moving our business and that the new place did not have cable reception so we were investigating our satellite options. He said great! and went on to give the sales pitch of his life. I signed up for the $24.99 package and scheduled an install date AT OUR STORE and the tech came and installed the dish AT OUR STORE. One week later I get a nasty call from the “fraud department” from a nasty, uneducated girl named Brittnay – telephone number 310-964-2886 if you want to harrass her – telling me that I was committing a fraud by having a residential acct at a business… I said EXCUSE ME?!? FRAUD?! I gave the name of my business, I gave the address of my business, I told the guy it was a business and a tech came to my business to set up the service by drilling a HOLE in the side of my building – How did I commit a fraud?! DirectTV is commiting a fraud by selling me a on lost cost package and then once everything is installed switching on me to a “business package” which is nearly 3x the price .. I said to her — who do I CALL about a fraud perpetrated against me?! And she of course – with her high school education continued to read from her script… refused to transfer me to anyone and told me if I did not call the Commercial Accts dept my service would be suspended…The person at the commercial dept was very understanding but said that yes, I would need to switch to a business acct for $69.99 a month … and I said no – that unless they figured something out they would have to send a tech to my BUSINESS and take their equipment back — and since THEY were changing the terms of the contract I would not pay anything… We’ll see… I am cancelling my credit card today so they cannot start charging me for things like happened to the people on this site … at least I read your notes in time for that! I’ll keep you posted as to how things progress…
Don’t know if it’d help but I’m wondering if it might be a good idea to file a complaint with your State’s atty general or whomever takes bad businesses complaints?
The Better Business Bureau won’t do anything unless the company is the member – so it’d need to the govt office that takes & possibly consumer complaints. For me it’d be the atty general.
That way if Direct TV tries to take any action against you, you’d have something of a paper trail to show that they were in the wrong to begin with and that’d you’d already taken action against them?
Just an idea – don’t know if it’s a good one or not…. my son’s Dad used to get mixed up with places like that a lot & I just kinda adapted a “nip it in the bud” perspective so that if it got ugly they’d drop it & go away.
Have had Directv since ’07, and somehow my 24 month contract is not expired yet, as I replaced a faulty receiver in Jan ’09, so I chose to cut my losses and pay $320. penalty, which they erroneously posted as $520…so another phone call to correct that! If contract renews whenever equipment needs replacing, contract could be life-long! I think I remember paying them a cancellation fee several years ago due to dissatisfaction with customer service and company policies. I don’t live in an area with cable access.
Yes, DirecTV revulses me also, although this post is not another rant, but notification of possible relief. Among the issues I have had is a similar story to what has been mentioned above. Upon attempting to cancel service, DirecTV told me that I would have to pay an early termination fee. I told them that I was looking at the contract that had been signed 2½ years ago, and that it was for 24 months. I never signed a new contract. How could there be an early termination fee? THEN the rep said, “Oh, I see what happened. Somehow your contract re-set itself when we replaced a faulty receiver. You are absolutely right: you do not have to pay the early termination fee, and I will get that fixed in our system.” I thought it was just a quirk, and had no idea until reading this blog that this was their standard operating procedure. They must have ripped off thousands of people using that line.
I hope this information helps somebody avoid hundreds of dollars in bogus fees. Wouldn’t it be great if somebody had enough energy to start a class-action lawsuit against them for this type of fraud? It almost makes me wish I had been charged with that fee so that I could be part of the team that bites them back.
I have had a similar experience with this company and I am 27 and in all my years have never felt so swindled by a company. They told me that I could fill the rebates out online which I did and then when the tech came, it was discovered that my order was all wrong so the old acct had to be deleted for some reason I don’t understand and then a new acct # had to be reissued. Well I was never told I would have to go and fill out the rebates AGAIN with the new account #. So I was quite shocked when my 34/month deal ended up being a 90 dollar bill. So after calling in and telling the customer service about this they acted like I was lying that I hadn’t been told to fill out the rebates and told me finallly I had to go online again, which I did and the website didn’t work. After a total bill of 180 for 2 mos and at least 2 hours on the phone with this company they finallly believe me that the rebate submission didn’t work and after numerous attitudes of apathy from supervisors finally one person realized that why it didn’t work online for the rebates. I still don’t know if this issue is resolved because there was a credit given and it went to the research department where there was vague answers given to me about what would happen.. Talk about a nightmare!!! The early term fee is 480 and I feel completely trapped. After looking at the BBB, this company now has an F for a grade
Direct TV is a horror show. It isn’t so much Direct TV as the low bidder outsourced technicians that DTV sends to your home.
Our service has been out for the week. Saturday was the only time that we could cut out of our calendar. They still give 4 hour windows for service at this company. So we canceled our plans to sit home on Saturday morning. They were supposed to call an hour and a half ahead of the visit. That time came and went.
I call them back after 12. And am told “sorry” but the best we can do is Monday. After several phone calls I get a cancellation for this afternoon with a window between 12 and 4. I cancel the date I have with my wife…and sit in. For three hours….again no phone call. I call them and ask what is going on. They tell me that I called and canceled the appointment. Uggggg…….
DTV doesn’t really honor their contract to provide you TV service. But yet they will charge me $400+ if I want to cancel this. I didn’t think that you could find customer service worse than Comcast. But wasting an entire day and more of sometime next week….I want to cancel.
Direct TV has been in formed of all this. They said I have two choices. Pay the $400 for cancelation and eat the cost of all the equipment. $280.
~direct tv customer 083308966
I’m a current DirectTV customer as well. I did not know that many people had this much complaints with them. I don’t have as much of a terrible experience with them but I still don’t like it that much.
I got the international package with the basic choice.
I just find out today that I had this one other channel on my international package (never knew I had this before). I was just absent minded and didn’t know my package. I was gonna ask for a credit for the past year without this channel … but decided not to since it’s my fault. I figured this out because I was gonna call in to order this channel, that I apparently already have, and after looking online I was supposed to have it!! But every time I flip through it, the screen says CHANNEL NOT PURCHASED!. Apparently I should have called in so they can send the signal to my receiver! SO that’s my year plus without this one channel (and 5 of them cost $24.99)… international is so expensive!
Also I saw on tv and online some deals for the base English channels, and a bundle as well, BUT apparently these new deals are ONLY FOR NEW CUSTOMERS!!
I can’t stand it! JUST TRY TO KEEP YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMERS HAPPY INSTEAD OF RIPPING THEM OFF!
Oh, and I also bought the protection plan since there were toooooo many times when there were no signal and I had to get a technician over. and after 90 days these repairs were no longer free so i had to get protection plan. And I haven’t called a technician since i started the plan. what a waste of money! And i’m supposed to keep this plan for i think 12 months? or so…
My contract is 24 months (which i found very weird at the beginning) because usually tv contracts are 12 months. but i signed up anyways because my parents wanted international channels.
DirecTV = IFC ( Incompetent F*cking C*cksuckers)… I had the exact same experience, and it’s not do to lack of consumer knowledge as I run a business and have in depth experience working with contracts. This company is run by criminals, period. Once my lawyer contacted them, they still tried to wiesel me for half of what they supposedly deemed necessary to illegally overcharge. I highly recommend straying far away from this company and their floating contracts. They should be shut down, but our government breeds upon corruption.
I am the latest victim. I should have known better. All of the above comments about DTV is so accurate.
DTV IS THE WORSE EVER COMPANY I HAVE DELT WITH IN THE PAST 2 WEEKS
Wasted…. total of 8hrs waiting for technician to arrive (2 separate occassions) because the quality of initial instillation is so bad; total of another 6hrs of being on the phone with many different CSR who can only say: “I appologize…. I understand….”
Why will anyone in thier right state of mind go to DTV? Me, only because I was suckered in by $250 rebate with Best Buy after buying a Samsung 3D 55″ 8000Series :(
First I want to start off saying that it is sad for me to hear stories such as yours and so many others, and I want to apologize about the poor experience you have had with Direct TV. My name is Miranda, and I wanted to let you know about some things that I know on a first hand basis. Starting with being a long time DISH network customer, I really like it. I was hesitant at first to get it because I heard horror stories about losing service often- that hasn’t been the case what so ever! I haven’t lost a signal in over a year! Being a consumer myself I understand and appreciate your caution when approaching a big change with providers such as this. Not only am I a long time subscriber of DISH network (9 years ) , but I am an employee as well and I can honestly tell you that I personally strive for excellence. DISH is the leading provider in HD, Customer Service and Loyalty. As I am sure you have heard, three strikes and your out? Direct TV has more then three strikes and I think that you need to throw them out and keep them out. DISH and I are always more than happy to help our existing customers, our new customers and our future customers find and keep their satisfaction. I would be more than happy to help you in your quest to find a new provider, if there are any questions I can answer for you please feel free to message me back at your earliest convenience and we will get this resolved!
I cringe when I think of watching TV in my bedroom because it will start with hitting the red button for a reset. Then who knows how long I can watch TV untill I hit reset again. None of my shows will record, this has been happening for 6 months. I explain to Mark in Oregon, that I am not happy, that I travel& that instead of calling I just use the Living room TV. I dream about a time when I have a service provider who cares. Mark explains that he will charge me if he sends someone out to fix the problem even though I pay the $5.99 a month for that service. I need to troubleshoot with him. He says, that the last time I called in was Dec. 9th & then three months before. I explained that I have resigned myself to my living room or resetting the red button &then going through the tips/tricks I was emailed. I’m calling to get someone out, so I can resolve this. He insists on helping me troubleshoot- I give in- he tells me to reset the red button. I will not renew in Sept.-but as Mark explained-DirectTv does not care how much I pay or that I have to call in every time to use the satellite reciever. Just hit the red reset button, finish the contract and go somewhere else to get cable.
@Julie- That would be super frustrating, really believe you me that I would not handle that. I don’t care if it is satellite, cable or my microwave I would not put up with it! Now that that is out of the way, if you have to continuously reset the receiver, and the DVR functions do not work that typically means their is hard drive failure and that you do need a new receiver. If you call in and ask for a new receiver, or a technician make sure you understand all restrictions and guidelines because DirecTV is known for extending customer contracts without notifying the customer prior. They will install the equipment happily (if you ever get a CSR that cares to do so) and then once you think your contract is up you will be surprised with the extension. On top of that, you NEED to send that receiver in and tell them you DO NOT want to be charged the service fee on it ($7-$21 depending on model), for the time it hasn’t been working. Which in their notes they should be able to see when the problem first started, don’t let them fool you!! Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you in your adventures of trying to find a new provider, and get DirecTV to pay you what is owed! Miranda.Barela@DISHNetwork.com
DirecTV- similar bad experience. My husband and I had locked our credit so when I signed up with DirecTV I was told I had to “deposit” $300 with them that they would refund at $5 a month (because they couldn’t run a credit check on us). I then signed a 2 year contract with them. 2 years later, I called to cancel service (contract was up) and I asked that the remainder of my “deposit” ($180) be returned. They said they could not do that because what I was told was a “deposit” 2 years earlier was actually a “fee”, that they are entitled to collect and refund as they deem appropriate- at $5 a month, effectively converting my 2 year agreeed upon contract into an actual 5 year contract. I was so fed up with the high cable bills, mediocre programming (riddled with ads), and clumsy remote that I took the $180 loss. Buyer beware indeed!
I signed an agreement with DirectTV in January, 21st 2010 for 24 months. At that time I signed for one DVR and two basic receivers and after about ten months, I called customer service and ask if I can upgrade one of my receivers to HD one.
I was told that if I do so I would have to either rent one from them for $99.00 with the contract change in sense that contract will start again from the date of upgrade or I can by my own without changing the contract.
They told me that the price to buy it from them is about $380 (without changing the contract), but since that was too expensive for me, I asked what would happened if I find one by my own and buy it for less price. I was told that I can do so and my contract will not change.
So, after looking around, I found one for $160 and called DirectTv customer service again to double check that my contract will not change.
I was told that this is correct, I can go ahead, by the HD receiver, return one that I got from DirectTV, active mine and the contract WILL NOT CHANGE. Before I bought it I called them again just to double check since I have heard that DorectTV is capable of doing some bad things to their customers.
I did so, but after a year I called customer service to talk about some another issue and I found out that they changed my contract, starting from the date they activated MY OWN receiver. After I asked what is going on, I was told that since I paid for receiver less than $200 something ?!, it is still considered that that receiver belongs to DirectTV and that this is, actually, only renting their equipment. I was shocked since nobody mentioned that – I was only told that if I buy my own (no price mentioned, whatsoever !) it is mine and the contract will not change on activation.
By the way, the third party that I bought HD receiver from is NOT their office at all – that is just a third party shop that has all kind of receivers for DirectTV, Dish network and such.
Chuck,
Really? I am ALWAYS on top of my contracts and service agreements, and DirecTV screwed me too. Your suggestions about renting from the library, and getting an antenna converter blah blah blah are pious. I have been to my library, and the selection is outdated, and creepy men lurk in every aisle waiting to bug me while I make a selection. In a world where we are safer in the home than out there with weirdos like you, I would much appreciate getting what I pay for, and paying what I was quoted. So go sell righteousness elsewhere because the big company’s always win, and young, single folks on a budget pay the way. ALWAYS. Directv will do anything to get a friggin dollar out of anyone, backed by there “customer promise” which is as empty as your argument. These people aren’t stupid.
I have to say in my entire life (now age 63), I have NEVER had such terrible customer service and problem resolution from any provider of any kind. I am not one to complain too much, but the issues I have had with DIRECTV have been numerous, frustrating, and time-consuming — on top of an early termination fee that was through no fault of my own. I am now living with my mother, and DIRECTV keeps telling me that if I switch her cable provider to them, they will credit me the early termination fee. Do they actually think I would be foolish enough and cruel enough to do that to my unsuspecting mother??? This could just be the worst company on the planet as far as business practices go.
I am suffering too. I took DIRECTV service with Verizon bundle few months ago. Now they charged me service fee for outdoor maintenance. Dish installation is very poor top of my porch. When the T-storms come, dish move and they charge $49+ for onsite tech. I really like to discontinue with DIRECTV. They are proposed me to pay $475 fee for early cancellation.
I HATE DIRECT TV.
HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!!
AND WE HAVE NO CHOICE BECAUSE THE BUILDING ONLY OFFERS DIRECT TV. OMG! I HATE IT.
NJ