Complain about a product or service

DirecTV

DirecTV • Billing Problems • Installation • Maintenance • Rebates • Sales Practices • Billing for "Adult" Shows • About those "Adult" Bills ... --- News • DirecTV Takes Disputed Fees Out of Customer Accounts, Suit Charges • Major League Baseball, Cable Operators Reach Agreement • Major League Baseball Extends TV Deadline • Senators Object to DirecTV Deal that Shuts Out Baseball Fans • DirecTV Settles Do Not Call Charges • DirecTV Telemarketers To Pay $75,000 Penalty • Fired DirecTV Contractors Say They Refused To Lie To Customers • Outbreak of DirecTV Porn Charges Hits Philadelphia • DirecTV Fined $5 Million for Do-Not-Call Violations • DirecTV Will Reform Ad Practices, Pay Millions in Refunds • DirecTV Abandons Satellite Internet Plans

It all seems so easy. You go to the mall and emerge with a highly-discounted DirecTV or PrimeStar satellite kit under your arm. It only costs a few hundred dollars and you get great reception. Cool. There’s only one cloud: Chances are you signed a binding multi-year agreement that basically commits you to pay off the rest of the cost of the satellite gear and installation. (That few hundred you paid in the store is just a deposit). If you cancel the service, you still have to continuing paying for the equipment. It’s all in the contract – and it’s a lot better to read it now than later.

Steven of Springfield, MO August 20, 2009

I singed up for Directv and I knew that I signed a 2yr contract with them. The first bill I received was wrong, I was to get HBO, Showtime, and Stars free for 3 months. On the first bill I had to pay for the HBO, so I called them and they basically said that they had made a mistake but since it was already billed I had to pay for it and just deal with it. I did not make a big fuss about that just paid and went on.

4 or 5 months later I fell behind on I think one payment and they called me to make the payment I was fine with that so I did a check over the phone for the past due amount (41). I told them that were all I could afford to pay at that time because that was all I had in the bank. Everything was fine till I went to check my bank account; they took over 150 which had overdrawn my account. Like allot of people anymore my family is living paycheck to paycheck.

That was July 14th. As soon as I found that I called them and they told me that it had already been sent to a different department and I should receive a refund and they would take care of ant charges to my account that they had caused and it will take no longer than 8 days.

To make a long story short I had called them several time just for them to tell me sometime in the middle of August that the charge to my account was right because that is what I owed and it did not matter what I had authorized they to take when I did the check by phone, and that I would have to contact my bank to deal with the charges to my account. So I disconnected my account and they sent me the boxes that they send to get the receivers back and sent me another bill for 360 expecting me to pay that and return the receivers when the had already stole so much money from my family.

My mother also had Directv. They came out and installed it, and a couple of days later there was a big storm and the dish got struck. It took them 2 weeks to come out and fix it. It worked for 2 or 3 days and it quit again (no storm this time). She called them and told them that she did not want their service any longer because the 3 weeks to a month she had it she only had service for maybe a week. They charged he account 460 for early termination when they were the ones that messed up.

Jason of Twentynine Palms, CA August 20, 2009

Todd was the manager I spoke to after about the 5th contact that would give me any information. I wonder if the ID number he gave was even real. Anyway, Directv refused to work with us to get equipment in two other rooms of our home so we made the decision to leave the company for Dish Network. There are more HD channels, we would have service in each room of the house, and our bill would be cheaper.

While trying to cancel after 8 years of service, the operator 'Mel' who became extremely rude and hung up on my wife. Long story short, I've been hung up on and spoken rudely to, all the while, Directv charged my bank card 889.00 without my authorization and drained my bank account. After proving that I'm right about the equipment, Directv has credited my account by 775.00 however they are now going to take 8 weeks to send the refund.

Bill of Bend, OR August 19, 2009

I signed up with Directv on 7-2-09 and was told by installer I had 30 days to try service and opt out if not satisfied. I called numerous times, beginning on 7-3-09, trying to resolve receiving the HD-DVR I was offered for free, still have never received, and was subsequently charged 225 for. I was promised Directv would bundle my wi-fi service with the tv package and would charge 19.95 for high speed internet wi-fi service.

When I pressed them about this their customer service rep. admitted they "don't have wi-fi services, per se, but we do have a special agreement thought Quest in your area." When I called Quest their rep. lauged and stated "I don't know how or why Directv continues to tell their customers that, cause we don't have any agreement with them nor do we offer high speed internet for 19.95. Our lowest plan starts at 34.95 per mo. and has no ties to Directv."

I've spent over 23 hours on the phone trying to resolve these and billing issues with Directv, to no avail. I wrote numerous emails trying to resolve these issues. I finally called on 7-18-09 to terminate my service with Directv and was told "Oregon is a special state and our agreement only allows cutomers to opt out of service within 15 days and you happen to be one day past this." I wrote the corp. offc. on July 28th and explained the above unresolved issues to them "seeking resolution or termination without charge to my credit card." On Aug. 7th I called when I found I had no satellite service and was told I had been termninated. When I asked why they said they couldn't tell me.

When I asked who could tell me they said they didn't know. When I asked if I was being charged for termination they said they didn't know. I asked for a contact to apprise me when they did know and never heard from anybody. I never received any form of notification of termination of service. When I received an empty box this week from them to send their equipment back I called and was told my account had been billed 415.93 for early termination penalties. When I questioned why they, again, said they couldn't answer that and they couldn't offer me any further numbers or contact names to find my answer. I have read over and over testimonies that cite these same issues.

Are your offices pursuing or considering legal ramifications for these many same complaints?? Please let me know asap so I can make my own decisions in what legal direction to pursue.

clozell of orlando, FL August 18, 2009

aug.18 i have tried over and over to have good service with this company,and have come to relize that this is the worse company i have ever delt with in regards to t.v.The service never works when it rains,they never can do anything about it.Then when i wanted to cancel they told me i had a 2 year contract that i never signed.And would coast me 360 dollars to cancell,

Then i asked if i could have an additional box for my house,they informed me it would coast 200dollars.1st 69.95 for the box then,49.95 for the techto come out and install the new line 20dollars for the tech to bring the box with him an additional 49.99 for the tech to hook up the box,why would you charge me 49.99 for the tech to hook up the box i can plug it up myself they say it has to be done by a tech then 20dollars to bring the box he's coming to do the line. So why the 20.00 dollars thats just standard fee.

Louis of Molalla, OR August 17, 2009

my account has been screw up since day one . they say we will fix the problem but it never gets fix .this company likes to pass the buck . if i ran a company like this i would be out of busness, some one should audit this company to see just how bad they scwew there other accounts.

Taylor of Indian Land, SC August 17, 2009

I'm currently on hold with DIRECTV for the 4th time today. As a customer I was charged late fees even though I had autopay. I would randomly be billed for services I didn't have and then would have to file a claim to get my money back since it was autopayed. NOTE: They will deduct money in seconds but it takes up to a month to get it back! I canceled my DIRECTV to get Dish (which has been great!) and they charged me 482 because they didn't receive the receivers back (after I called them MULTIPLE times to tell them that I didn't receive the recovery kit they supposedly sent me.

saurabh of North Brunswick , NJ August 15, 2009

In July, 2009 I was shopping for new TV program service trying to get some better channel. In this process I also thought of DIRECTV, my worst life experience ever. July 29, 2009 I was talking to a sales representative of DIRECTV who told me that there service is best and they have vast variety of local & international channel s. I was little bit spectacle about the services & transmission part. He told me I can have the service and if I don't like it I can cancel it within 15 Days of opening the account. So I thought even after 3-4 days of installation I will get enough time to get a clear picture to stay in or not.

Aug 4, 2009 I got the service box installed at my house (dish was already there from the last owner). The installation guy only had black cable so I got him white cable as it was getting laid in light color wall. But I wasn't satisfied with the service I am not sure rain was the problem or the connection.

So I called on August 06, 2009 to cancel my service. The customer service representative this time was in different node it wasn't no questions asked any more. He was rude and argued to keep the service. When I completely dismissed the idea, he told me I will be charged the cancelation Fee.

I explained to him I was sold with the commitment that I can cancel my service within 15 days & I am way before that. After long discussion he ended that we will just cancel the service. I forgot to ask him how to return the box so called again and other customer service rep explain me how to return the box & also I confirmed with him about the billing so he told me that as being in NJ, I do get 15 day time to cancel therefore I won't have to pay any cancellation or charges. I got the cable activated, Fed ex empty box came & box, remote, card sent back, all set.

Aug 15, 2009 I was checking my card account there were charges of 463 on mine account from DIRECT TV so I went to the their website they charged me cancelation fee. I called the customer service again for the correction. But this time to my surprise they had a different story for me; that thou you can cancel you connection within 15 days only till your box is not installed, once the service is installed you have 24 hours only. Since I called 2nd day I am going to be charged with the cancellation fee.

I explained them all the previous conversation but they had deaf ear for me & were repeating the same thing again and again. I even talked to the supervisor, who was not even hearing me, even after finishing my sentence he will not respond back to me. Anyway, he told me that the cancelation information is provided on all the different location as flyer, advertisement, customer agreement & so on.

I haven't find it at any place yet, that within 24 hour of installation you need to cancel the service if you don't like it. Also provided me a address of their legal dispute department that I can take my issue. Can anyone explain why I have been panelize, was trusting the DIRCTV company sales rap was my fault. 463 was not a small amount for me to let go waste.

First they fooled me into it and then they charged me with even letting me know. All I can d by letting everyone else like me to know that don't fall for their prey. Once you will give your card or account number they will charge you whatever they want & all you can do is see yourself being robbed by your hard eared money.

Susan of Osprey, , FL August 15, 2009

Direct Tv, Deceiving, Conniving and Dishonest. This satellite company charged a cancellation fee per month for a 2 yrs contract without my knowledge. I have always been a cable person where this has never been an issue. I rent...so renters beware! When you sign up, which I did verbally by phone never was it mentioned that you go on contract for 2 yrs or is there a termination fee. I happened to move to a place where cable was included in rent. They had no flexability for this situation.

Talking to customer service is like talking to a robot. They say the same thing over and over with never listening to your logic. They went into my bank account and took almost 400.00 without my consent. They were very rude and frustrating on the phone. They made no exception. I have since been able to get my bank to have them put back the money but now they have put me into collections.

Direct Tv uses deceptive business practices by telling you that when you sign for the equipment the contract is on the back. I challenged that and said to fax me, the said contract, that shows my signiture and of course they could not come up with it. There was never any mention of cancellation fee or contract at the beginning of sale or even at installation. This proves they do not communicate their business practices honorable. Eash of us know how important service is in business.

I want the President of Direct Tv to know without us they will have no reason to be in business. It is just a matter of time before they will lose! Please add this to the pending lawsuit, so that we may help all of those who have been taken by this snaky company.

Sarah of Corona, CA August 15, 2009

I started service on 8/27/08 and have had problems with the box and signals ever since. Several technicians had been out and it would fix the problem for only a short time. I contacted them 2 weeks ago about canceling our service and they asked me to call in. When I called I was offered a deal and I told them I would need to ask my husband and I would call back. The Rep noted the offered deal on our account. When I called back to take the deal they refused to give it to me (although they did confirm the offer was noted on the account). They claim that person should not have offered what he did.

I sent an email to customer service (again) and I was just told 'sorry'. I told them to cancel the account and they told me to call back again. I corresponded with them several times about canceling and even told them I was having new service connected and to cancel the account on a certain date. I was not sure if the account was closed so I called in again and when I canceled I was told (for the very first time) that there was an early cancelation fee. I told them they should waive it and they refused.

Why did they offer me a deal to stay if I was in a contract and I would be breaking the contract to leave? I also told them they no longer had permission to charge the credit card on file and they charged next months service and tell me they will be charging the cancelation fee on it.

Theresa of Orlando, FL August 14, 2009

I received two letters concerning a final bill in the amount of 233.37 after returning the two converter boxes. After about 18 months of services, I canceled, with the understanding that I was under one year (12 Mo.) contract. I stayed with Direct tv after the twelve months because my monthly fee never went up. After the 12 months one of my receivers went bad, a service man was sent out to repair it.

Later, at the time of cancellation of my services I was told that I had entered into a new agreement when I received the new Receiver box at the time of the repairs. I explained that I had no knowledge of even receiving a new box.All I know is my service was restored by the Service man, how he fixed the problem I don't know. He only stated, your problem is fixed, I was not asked to sign anything. Today, 8/14/09 I spoke with about (4) different Direct tv representitives, all givening me a different story, I've never been so confused in my life.

I am extremely sorry I ever got involved with Direct tv and their deceptive tactics. My account also show a previous balance after paying my bill monthly, even if sometimes late I still pay to keep my services on. June payment was credited to my account on July 1, 2009 in the amount of 38.19, I also cancelled on this same day.So I really honestly cannot figue out this final bill.

Before this issue, I was receiving phone calls that my shipped receivers had not been received by their company. This did not bother me at all, because I was confident that I had followed instructions carefully, and had recorded and dated all shipping information. so, looks like that situation took care of it's self.

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