Complaint Rating:

Company information:
Direct TV
Greenwood Village, Colorado
United States
Phone: 1-800-531-5000
directtv.com

I was a cable (Comcast) customer and switched as part of the AT&T package bundle promotion. I received several rebates and thought I would be delighted with not having to deal with Comcast's sometimes bothersome lack of customer service. WAS I WRONG! I switched to Direct TV and whenever there was a bad storm in my area, I could't watch TV as it would pixelate and/or I would receive messages about receiver errors. I also missed ON Demand terribly! I called May 2, 2008 and cancelled my account with the billing representative. I signed on with Comcast and thought that was the end of it except to wait for the promised boxes to return the equipment in. I received two boxes on July 11, 2008 (ship date from whse indicated July 10, 2008) and returned all equipment on Tuesday, July 15th -- WELL WITHIN THE STATED SEVEN DAYS on the letter they place in each box that states "IMPORTANT: Make sure to return your receiver within seven days of receipt to avoid a charge of up to $470, depending on the type of your receiver." Also, "...Simply follow the steps below to send your old receiver back and AVOID ANY CHARGES." I called my bank on TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 (3 business days after receiving the boxes) and Direct TV had charged by debit account $758.42!!! Yes! They had my debit on file and charged me not only against their own stated policy of no charge for seven days but also from April to mid-June because they say I didn't cancel with the correct representative! Apparently, my crystal ball wasn't working that morning (or maybe their representative's aren't well trained) and I was suppose to KNOW somehow that when I said "CANCEL MY ACCOUNT" that it didn't really count because I had to speak with a SPECIAL person! This company is a joke! I devoted almost the entire day on Tuesday trying to sort this out. The first call to Direct TV and the representative hung up on me when I insisted on speaking with a billing supervisor. The second representative put me on hold --- eternal hold of 42 minutes before I finally got the hint and decided, hey, I think they are ignoring me!" Imagine that! Don't learn the lesson the hard way like I did -- get the hint. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! I called again (many times) and finally spoke with a billing representative that promised to take the bill down to $371 (aren't I lucky) and that charge (credit?) still hasn't went in but the $758 is still gone. Amazing how that works! They debit and hold the money immediately and the credit is still not in. I called Fed-X, they received all of the equipment at the whse and still no credit. AGAIN - DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY! CONSUMER BEWARE!