DirecTV review: directv sucks 820

Cannot receive local channels due to spring tree growth in my region. Asked prior to installation if a site discovery would be necessary... was told it was not. Asked how long the contract was; was told one year. It is 2 years. Asked if for some reason site position prevented from receiving channels if I could cancel subscription. Was told I could. Now told I cannot without penalties. Penalties are $400 to cancel subscription. Inquired about internet service but was not informed how expensive it could be in my area. Internet service in my area requires an additional dish and up to $400 to receive the service . There are only 3 days to cancel the subscription without penalties... hardly long enough to see if service will work as promised. I would and will not recommend Directv to anyone. I should have stayed with Comcast!

Switched from cable to Direct TV in December 2007. Ad states free DVD player and 1yr free protection plan along with some free premium channels for 3 months and HDDVR receiver. Sent in all necessary paper work, Multiple phone calls about free DVD player. They first denied that there ever was such a program. Then someone told me that yes it was coming in a couple of weeks. Never did get the player but after multiple phone calls got a credit. Now it seems they are giving me the same run-around with regard to the 1 year free protecting plan. First individual I spoke with said they never had such a program. I'm convinced they give you the run around hoping you eventually will give up. Might just be the worst company I have ever dealt with. They lie constantly. I cannot be the only one out there that has had this experience with Direct TV. My next contact is MN state attorney generals’ office.

For anyone who is expecting "cash back" as a consequence of returning to, or initiating service with Directv, be aware the fine print specifies that the "cash back" is actually $10 applied to your account over 10 months. Common interpretation of "cash back" meant to me that I would receive a check (sending cash is not advisable.)

I believe this is a form of deception that should be addressed legally.

ff246they took 346.00 out of my account without my permission or knowledge until i checked my account

I just wanted to talk to a customer service rep about getting some general information. I could not reach anyone without giving a phone number of where I wanted service first. I was on a cell phone and could not set up service for s phone number that I don't have. Also, I decided to tell the recording that indeed, my cell is a number that I want service so I could talk to some one and when I complained about the menu options, "Joseph" hung up in me. The customer service is a joke. I just wanted to find out how to be a customer and get some questions answered but it seemed that the didn't want to give me the info unless I was getting service installed.

I am totally appalled by the complete incompetence of DirecTV’s customer service. On June 23, 2008, their sales representative told me I could get 5 HD/DVR boxes and Priemer by paying for the first HD/DVR box and renting the other four for $4.99 a month. I repeated several times the order and how much the total equipment costs would be as I crafted a word document to ensure I'd remember everything. The total upfront equipment cost was $124.95 which I paid, and delivery was set up for 12-4pm on June 30, 2008.

I called back on June 25, 2008, to verify everything was on schedule for the 30th. It was not. Somehow the installation had been cancelled. I rescheduled the installation and then had the representative tell me what equipment I had ordered--I did not tell him because I wanted to ensure they had the correct order in the computer. He stated it was 5 HD/DVR, one purchased and four rentals.

On June 27, 2008, I called again to verify everything was on schedule for the 30th. This time it was, so I decided to order the NFL Sunday Ticket. Again I had the representative tell me what equipment I had ordered. She stated it was 5 HD/DVR, one purchased and four rentals.

On June 30, 2008, I left work at noon (five hours early) to wait for the installers. At 4:30pm, when no one showed or called, I called their support representative at the order support number [protected]. He stated that the installation company had cancelled the installation and gave me the number to call them, [protected]. I spoke with a young lady, who said that Direct TV had never placed the order for installation. She referred me back to Direct TV. It was at this time that I was told I would have to pay an additional $800 for the four additional HD/DVR receivers. I was shocked especially after asking repeatedly if there were going to be any extra equipment costs when I placed the order on the 25th (I spent 2-hours on the phone). Even with that I wanted the NFL Sunday Ticket so badly I offered to pay the $800 if it was spread over the 24-month agreement. But their representative turned me down. This after I lost five hours work @ $62.50 per hour (can not take vacations days unless I take a full 8 hours), which cost me an additional $312.50. The worst part is when those HD/DVR boxes become obsolete in 3-5 years they’re counting on me to pony up another $1, 000 to replace them.

This was simply the worst customer experience I have ever been associated with. I had to cancel my order. I can’t wait until the day that the NFL moves off this lame network and onto a quality network that knows how to treat its customers.

I was given a credit to remain a customer with Directv, I accepted and didn't cancel. A month later I found out that my credit was removed. I was told by a supervisor that the rep that gave me the credit used her own dicretion but other reps have the right to remove the credit. I am now being charged $207 when I thought I had a zero balance.

I have been with Directv since Nov. '07. I paid my bill religiously every month since the start of my service.My service was bundled with my aunt's phone from verizon at first but I called Verizon and told them to separate it and I will deal directly with Directv.In Aug. '08 I received a bill that was twice the regular amount.I called Directv and I was told that Verizon has sent them a charge to add to my account but they don't know what it is for and I have to call Verizon and ask them.I called Verizon and I was told that the charges were the difference from when I was paying a cheaper price in the bundle and now over 6 months later they are going back to recover it.I called Directv again and explained what i was told and told the representative that I want to cancel because I don't want to deal with a company that adds extra charges to your account without knowing what they are charging you for.Especially when I have been paying on time every month since I started my service.She agreed that the charges didnt seem fair and offered to give me a $150 credit to not cancel my account.I accepted and didn't cancel.I called Directv again about 2 months later to cancel and spoke to another representative who told me that she was going to remove my credit if I cancel.I told her that the credit was put on there to keep me as a customer otherwise I would have cancelled already.I asked for a supervisor and she told me someone would call me no one called and i cancelled a month later.

I signed up with AAA and was told the entire installation was free. I specifically asked for a ground pole installation and the lady told me no problem. When the installer called to let me know he was on the way I asked him if he had the equipment to install the pole. He said no problem he had it. BUT it was going to cost $75. I explained that it wouldn't be free in that case. I called DirecTV to complain and I am told its a standard charge but it is up to their installers if they want to charge it or not. After spending about 20 minutes on the phone the customer service rep and his supervisor let me cancel. I call back totally amazed that they let me cancel. The guy on the phone apologizes but said yes it is true. The installer shows up and gets belligerent because I didn't call him to tell him I canceled. I told him I told the call center to call him, it isn't my problem and I am not a customer anymore.

I send in an email and complain. I get a call back and I am told that they will credit me the $75. I said I was ok with that but had issues with be committed if I signed up and received such poor customer service. The guy on the phone said no problem he could renew my old account which I canceled in 2004 BUT I would lose the AAA deal of $10.00 a month for 24 months. I said well I don't want to lose $240 so lets just do the AAA deal. He said "oh just call the sign up number and go through the process all over again." Can you believe I need to re-sign up and he can't do the AAA deal? I said if that is the case I probably won't bother. I send another email saying ok guys I want to do it but I don't want to deal with the sign up process again. If you can just click a button and make it happen sign me up. A "customer advocate manager" calls me back and we talk. He tells me there is no way I can reuse my tenure since I am getting new equipment. I said ok I understand that it makes sense. He said ok but since you were a customer sometime in your life no matter how long you have been gone I am not subject to the AAA deal. He even said that account review would have recognized that I was a previous customer (I mentioned this when signing up originally). I asked him if they were going to come and install me and then after the fact tell me I am ineligible for the AAA offer? He didn't really answer. So now instead of arguing over a stupid $75 pole I am fighting to save my $240 service credit for the next 2 years! The guy just will not bend and won't honor the original deal. He even had the audacity to tell me he answered directly to the CEO, Board and Shareholders when I asked if there was a manager of his I could speak with. He said he couldn't offer it because he needed to make them money. I then asked him if the AAA deal was so good that everyone who signed up with it was costing this company money? Again no response and I wasn't eligible. So now the $75 pole that they will credit me is going to cost me $165.00. The problem is that they promised a price, promised a free installation and lied on both accounts. When you call them out on it they just stonewall you to the point where you start to lose credits and it starts costing you money. Sad part is I want the service but apparently my ruffling of feathers has caused me to be black listed. As a side note I found Ellen Filipiak's email address which apparently goes to the same customer service group. They have responded no one will discuss it any further and our company's position on the issue hasn't changed.

I called in early October to cancel my service effective 10/30/09. Originally I was moving out of the country and requested for them to mail me the kit to return my receiver. They told me they could not do that until after my service was turned off. I complained to a supervisor who said the same thing & suggested I go to FedEX and tell them to mail the receiver back & to bill DirecTV for the shipping - I repeated what she said as it did not sound right. I called FedEX and they said they cannot bill DirecTV, I would have to pay shipping charges. Called DirecTV back and got someone else, in the United States (they outsource their customer service to another country...they issued the foreign workers American names like Dave, Charles, Sarah and whenever there is a confrontation they say "sorry, our system is unavailable right now, please call back)...the lady in the U.S. said she would mail me a return kit that day which I received the next day. Mailed the receivers back and paid my final bill online. Received a second final bill showing my payment and zero balance and breakdown of my prorated charges...they charged me through 12/07/09 and prorated it back to 11/19/09 so I ended up paying an extra 20-days. The bill even showed my received was "checked in" on 11/13/09 even though I mailed it back on 11/03/09 via FedEX and I know it did not take 10-days to get to them...in any case, I was told my service would end on 10/30/09!

So now I call customer service again and get thier overseas office with some foreigh idiot that verified my service ended on 11/19/09. When I asked for her to correct the error, she said due to system problems she had limited access to my account information and I would have to mail a letter regarding my concern and once received I could expect a response in 14-21 days...WHAT?!?!? I asked for a supervisor, she said she did not have one available I said I will wait, I have ALL NIGHT. She placed me on a 20-minute penalty hold where she hit her mute button several times as I heard her typing away and co-workers laughing in the background...she came back to say her supervisor was "engaged on another call" but "he or she" will be with my shortly...I asked, which is it, he or she? She now said she has two supervisors...ohhhh, okay. She could barely speak English. After 5 more minutes she came back to say she would transfer me to her supervisor...I asked what is their name? She said it is a "he." I said, NO, WHAT IS YOUR SUPERVISORS NAME? "Charles" - of course. Needless to say, she hung up on my when she transferred me.

I called right back and got "Sue" as I interrupter her and asked to speak to the supervisor, Charles. Sue said she would not be able to find him...I am guessing they work out of their homes or caves. I said okay then, let me speak to any supervisor. Sue said she cannot transfer me to a supervisor becuase their system is down...I do not think they have supervisors...just officers making sure their ball & chain does not come off. I said, okay, then have a supervisor come to your phone, "oh, sorry sir, but they cannot do that." What?!?! Where I work, if a customer is upset & wants a supervisor, we get them one ASAP any way we can even if they have to come to our phone and plug in. Now I am overly irate and throw out a few choice words and hang up.

I called DirecTV's toll free number for Commercial Accounts [protected]) I figured surely they would not send thier large accounts overseas...Bingo, I got someone I could CLEARLY understand and very friendly in the United States. Unfortunately, she would not help me, a peon (former) residential customer...I tolder her how all I read about is how DTV cares about Great Customer Service and I can't believe they refer us to people (robots) overseas that do not care about us. She still could not help me and suggested I try again early in the morning...I guess the U.S. employees get the good daytime hours and the low-paid foreigners get the nights & weekends.

I had to vent here...I will try my luck in the morning. I will NEVER go back to DirecTV and I am going to find out what companies outsource their Customer Service and reconsider who I do business with. My next stop is the BBB for DirecTV's "home base" in Southern California...BBB of the Southland, P O Box 970, Colton, CA 92324, phone:[protected],
email:info@labbb.org, website:la.bbb.org, fax: [protected], Attention: Mr. William Mitchell

Another customer service problem for DirecTV. Spoke with four different representatives today between 'sales' and 'customer service'. Both calls ended with disconnects while on hold (representative put me on hold, and then after a time, I simply get a dial tone without them returning). I actually told the last one that was what had happened after getting transferred to two different people who couldn't help me the first time, and that she couldn't underperform her predecessors. Instead, she matched them.

The last call to DirectTV was simply to ask for a supervisor. After five minutes of hold, the CSR came back and said that it would be at least five or ten minutes more to wait because the supervisor was busy. I asked if she could take my number and have the supervisor call me when available. Apparently, that is too much to ask of DirecTV customer service.

What a frustrating experience. And the only reason I have to do this publicly on is because I don't sense that that there is any way to communicate with management as to concerns about service.

On Friday, Dec. 13th, I called to inquire about setting up an account with them, as well as bundling one of their partners for phone/internet service. I was told, by a Mr. Rudolpho Gomez, that "yes indeed we can set that all up for you". After scheduling an appt. for installation ( as well as being charged $214 ), I was transferred to their Bundling Dept. who informed me " their was nothing they could do until my service was activated". I decided to wait until Monday morning to call back, to give the system time. Upon calling Monday morning, I was then told that " they could not set up anything, until service was installed and activated". Later that day a man came and installed my service. I then called, for the 3rd time, to set up phone & internet service. I was once told this time by the Bundling Dept. for DirecTv that " we do have Windstream service in your area, and we can not help you". I tried to explain that not only did your sales rep guarantee me this was possible, but that the sales rep for Windstream also confirmed that they service my neighborhood. After countless hours on the phone, speaking to one supervisor after another, I was told "there is nothing we can do for you, other than cancel your service". NICE RIGHT? I am trying to STAY WITH YOUR COMPANY, AND YET YOU TELL ME TO CANCEL! I even tried having one supervisor get on a 3 way call with Windstream so they could in fact see Windstream serviced our area, but he declined. So, having now been exhausted trying to tell DirectV that they need to honor the agreement made to me, and being told by everyone I spoke with " they can't honor it, and to cancel my service...but...you will not be reimbursed for the equipment you purchased" After another 3 hours on the phone, waiting 45 minutes for the 1st supervisor ( Jesse ), then an hour for the next supervisor ( Raul ), I spoke to the Sr. Manager ( Homer ) who al told me there is " nothing I can do, I can cancel your service, but you will not be refunded the fees for the equipment and if you call back tomorrow you will incur a cancellation fee". I then asked to speak to Homer's manager, who I was told " was not there, but I will leave him a message to call you, and give you his voice mail".
In short, I would highly recommend to anyone considering switching to DirecTv to seriously reconsider, unless you like terrible customer service, a company that promises you one thing and delivers another, that you enjoy spending hours on the phone with incompetent people who will just transfer your call, or disconnect your call all together, and have them tell you " sorry, can't help you so cancel your service".
I have sent emails to anyone in an Executive Role at DirecTv telling them of my malcontent for their company, as well as write complaints to the FCC, and every other consumer affair web site. They pissed off the wrong guy...

rep refuse to give me a pay arrangment until sat when i called in on that monday. the rep refuse to let me talk to higher sups and told me i will not have service until i paid past due balance of 30.00. Told me I will not be given any credits either for the time of the few days I will not have service. I was signed up for auto pay and could not pay a few days before because it didnt full under my pay date. the first 2 rep where very rude, this call center is not even in the usa on top of it. this is not good since this services is in the unite states. All in All, all i wanted was a pay arrangement for 30.00 after i have been a loyal customer.

Obviously a relative of Direct TV has responded to my previous comment...so sad.

I disagree with the last comment to this complaint... Your Direct TV contracts are fraudulent to most consumers. I say fraudulent because the majority of the time the prices we are promised are never consistent nor is the service that great...dropping during stormy weather or whatever?. Do we really have a choice when we order your service? How darn Direct TV defend those ridiculous contracts that HAVE TO BE SIGNED in order to get the service. Consumers are really getting screwed here because of the satellite companies taking advantage of people who have no choice if they want TV service in their areas. Why are they not being investigated and regulated? These sites are full of complaints. I don't think every consumer is wrong here. If they provided the service they actually promised why are there so many complaints? Point made...

I have spent over 20+ hours on phone calls with this company since June 2013 trying to get my bill and account to what was promised to me when I signed on to them in June, 2013. I have been booted over to Century-Link for Direct TV's "bundle plan" which I found out doesn't really exist with Direct TV, only with Century-Link. When Direct TV can't resolve the problem they blame Century-link and transfer me over there. Century-Link blames Direct TV and transfers me back over Direct TV. Well, I fault Direct TV for false advertisement on a bundle plan and price they didn't honor! I think everyone at Direct TV and Century-Link are required to take a course on confusing customer's billings until they EXCEL at it. I have never heard of such nonsense in my life for the way they charge and lie to folks. I have been as long as 4 hours on the phone, dropped and transferred until my ears hurt. The billing numbers they come up with and the "in your face lies" they tell you at the time to justify it needs to be investigated. My account was transferred to Century-Link for payment and after 3 months transferred back to Direct TV and now Direct TV wants me to pay 2 months up front because the "bundle" was broken by Century-Link and therefore voided. They told me it had to be handled this way and I requested it in their notes!. They have raided my "NOTES" and twisted them to fit their needs. They act like the IRS! How much power does this company have anyway? I have paid my bill every month and on-time with Century-Link as billed FOR Direct TV. I'm not making a double payment to Direct TV or now paying 2 months in advance. Every time I call up there I get a different Rep and different answer. My advice is to seek a 3rd party for help which is what I'm being forced to do. I'm going to a news station as well, and let someone else witness this insanity. They must pay their people "big bucks" to mess the system up and to overcharge everyone. Now after reading all these post I can only imagine the night mare if I try to get service with someone else. They want these contracts on you so they can charge whatever they want in the process and collect even more when you've had enough. Is anyone looking into all this fraud? That is exactly what it is...

I have direct tv and I have only had it for a year and a couple of months and I have been having so many problems and when we vs they don't want to fix or they r rude also I regret having them I had so much better ti
e with dish I am making none of my family get direct th and I have a omg of family this is the worse.company k have ever felt with..its unbearable to have them..I thank God he gives us the patience we need because this company does so much wrong and never change I pray the Lord changes what they r doing to customers and how they treat them.all I know that k will never ever have direct tv again and ill make sure neither does my family..

Direct tv is the worst cable company ever I asked to speak with a manager & the lady told me there wasn't any available to help me & if ther was they couldn't help me no way.what the hell kind of cable company is this.a ###ing ripoff company that gets ur bank account info and get your dam money.!if you have direct tv cancel it.

I called about my next month bill. I was fine with that just out of couresity I asked about the deposit and the Rep told me I would receiv
e a visa in the mail in 5 business days. I get a call telling me that was false information its not my fault that they can't train. The reps correctly. And now they are trying to give me a 50$ credit not

DTV JUST DON'T CARE! BELIEVE IT!

When I ordered DTV 3 1/2 months ago I told them we don't watch NFL & was wondering if we could get the NHL center ice instead. The rep told me that it was out of season so she couldn't do & that I would have to call back before hockey started to do the switch & it wouldn't be a problem. Well 3 supervisors & 4 calls back I finally got it at half price. I was on the phone with them for 1 1/2 hrs today. Some of the reps were laughing & stated they lied to you just to get the sale. I told one of the reps that they are lucky I signed a contract because I would have cancelled my service to go back to Comcast. Then he has the nerve to ask why... Ummmmm hello your customer service sucks. If you want something resolved don't explain your problem to a rep, just ask for a supervisor & another supervisor if you didn't like their answer & don't forget to write down his/her badge number. Mr. Carey under cover boss was a joke. I actually enjoyed the show until I've had to deal with this.

i have been a customer for almost 10 years now and i am very dissappointed with directv now. Directv wouldnt listen
for a channel request of an AMERICAN COMPANY to put on and instead put a channel on (AL jeezera) tv that promotes terrorism and helped Osama Bin Laden with his messages. Lets put a stop to this madness and demand action to take this off the air waves of America. Please help out and take our programming back. Thank you dissatisfied customer

Well it's called credit card autopay, and you get a $10.00 dollar a month discount on your bill if you agree to let them deduct your bill from the card you provided at the time you signed up for the service. Should have called or visited a local dealer for infomation and consultation before signing up, they will give you the best service and explain all the requirements before you sign the 2 year commitment. They have a vested interest in making sure you are satisfied. Directv CSR's are just trying too make their quota for the day and could care less if you get what you are expecting.

I am so pissed off at Direct tv customer service. You see I had great signal, great install, great service from the technicians, then I rent my house out and start to build a house. We moved out to the sticks with my father, so direct moves service for me and installs the dish on the roof which ended up causing the roof to leak( the roof was not in great shape and need to be replaced but could have lasted until this summer). We put a new roof on and then he told direct that being the owner he would not allow them to mount it on the roof, the tech then tells me the only signal he can get is from the roof do we can suspend service due to no line of sight. So in December of 2012 we suspended service, week building a house sometimes takes a lot longer than you expect so out move in date is not until October. In June our acct gets debited $162 so I call and speak with Brandy who is a total ### and basically tells me oh well not her problem. I speak with a supervisor John who tells me the same thing direct only suspends 6mos in a calendar year and I told him I want to stay with direct that's why I didn't cancel when they have no line of sight that is why I suspended the service. This ### treats me like a piece of ### and if I could reach through the phone and grab his punk ### I would've so I asked to speak his supervisor and what was his name so he tells me I will be speaking with Chick, so then Adam gets on the phone... do these dumb ### customer service supervisors not know who there supervisor is? in the end I am still out $162 and an all pissed off they tell me corporate doesn't have a phone and I told him dumb ### this is 2013 everyone has a cell phone don't tell me corporate does not have a phone and expect me to believe it. I work for the department of navy and I am going to bad mouth direct tv for ever.

My husband and I just cancelled our service with DirecTV and have been told more than once that our early cancellation fee of #240 would be waived because they could not track where it was coming from (we had no contract as we have been with them since 2006 and have not done anything to cause it to be renewed). However every time I call they say it was not waived and there are no notes. This last time (after a 30 minute conversation) I was again told it would be waived and I made my final payment of a partial month of only $40. I SHOULD have requested it in writing. And I will be calling them back tomorrow to do just that. However I have a feeling that they will wind up trying to charge our credit card on file for the fee. I'm also tempted to cancel our cards and get new ones so they can't! And if they do continue, I WILL be filing a lawsuit (or arbitration) against them. And I will be filing a complaint with the BBB. They are a very scrupulous company and need to change their ways.

Having my system freeze up, set up a service call between 8-12 next morning, called to verify, they tell me no, it will be mailed to you in 3-5 days, you install it.wife cancelled her day for the service call.Called back shortly after, rep tells me, no it will be in mail to you by this weekend.By now high blood pressure has kicked in.Called back, rep tells me, we'll have someone out to your house between 12-4.There goes groceries & bill paying.@pm, rep calls, says it will be between 3-5.Keep in mind, this is within 18 hrs. of first call at 9:30 pm 6/4/13.That's not counting 4-6 times being lied to by reps saying they will file my complaint, having checked behind to find out they worded it so it was short & simple for them, not having any detail in the computer to what it pertained to.From 9:30 p.m. jun 4 to 7::30 p.m. June 5, I talked to 8-12 reps, burned upwards to 200 mins. off cell phone.4 p.m. June 5, supervisor offered compensation, still took additional 3 hrs. on phone to get a rep to honor his request.Sent e-mail to corporate June 5, no response yet.June 10.Nobody has access to corporate number, tells me write a letter or send e-mail.But yet they want referrals.They gave free upgrade & seems to think that's all that needs to be done.Without consent, put dish on roof, left trash in my house.What does a man have to do after signing dotted line?

Direct TV is the worst. I have been with them over 10 years. The minute I called to close my account because I was relocating, they changed. I am out of town one day and check my bank account and they have gone in and taken out 84.27. I called and spoke to a rep, he said well that is for your final bill. I was pissed. A few days later I get a bill in mail saying I owe more money on the final bill. I said this is a bunch of BS. I called to dispute it but would not budge. I told them I would be closing my bank account. I had to call 3 times to ask about sending the equipment back. Finally I get a supervisor that says you don't have to send the boxes back because we don't use them anymore, we only use HD equipment. I said I need you to send me that in writing. The supervisor says there is nothing we can send you in writing. I said this is bunch of crap. so when you wake up one morning and decide you want to take money out of my account for unreturned equipment you can act like our conversation never happened. This is ridiculous. They are only protecting themselves, they are crooks. I told them I was going to write to corporate. They tried to discourage it but I will be writing. I will never go back to them or recommend anyone.

I think your corporate office sucks. I think the entire company sucks. You are taking
money and when service goes down you say its the weather.EVEN THOUGH NO ONE ELSE IN LACKAWANNA NY SERVICE IS DOWN.
I think Direct employees play games with black people and tamper with their services.
I will be making a complaint to public service and FCC.
Directv records need to be checked as to whose service was down and when and what they did about it.
They follow the same processes as Verizon. Offering services they have no intention of
providing. B. Edwards [protected]

Just call DirecTV at [protected], reference "4. CHANGES IN CONTRACT TERMS" in the DirecTV contract and state you do not accept the changes detailed in the contract change notification that take effect June 24, 2013.

Don't say you want to cancel because your canceling incurs the Early Cancellation Fee (ETF), instead, simply state you do not agree to the change in contract terms and they will be forced to end your contract as they can not provide one customer different terms than another. If they don't listen to you, send a certified letter stating you do not agree to the terms. Remember *not* to say you wish to cancel, only that you do not agree to the change in terms and conditions.

This should work anytime they change your contract but you need to contact them right away. I have been waiting for a contract change for six months now!

We signed up for DirecTV in August of 2011 with a 2 year contract. In October 2012 I was strapped for money and called DirecTV's customer service line a few days before my bill was due (which came out of my checking account automatically every month) and asked for a 3 day extension when I got my next paycheck so my account wouldn’t be overdrawn. The agent in customer service assured me after I asked her repeatedly that my bill would not come out on its normal due date. My payment DID end up coming out on its normal due date and my account was overdrawn. The same day my account was overdrawn I called DirecTV asking why my bill was charged when I was assured it wouldn't be. After a conversation that got me nowhere, I asked for a refund of my money including the overdraft fee I was charged. The agent insisted it would take about a month to receive my refund after sending various documents to them. That wasn’t going to work for me so I asked her to transfer me to the cancellation department so I could be done with it. The agent in cancellation told me she could give me the refund back immediately and offered me 2 months free service and a free upgrade with an HD DVR. I was in no position to turn the offer down because I needed the money back in my account. What I was not totally clear on was that this upgrade included a 2 year extension to my already existing contract; so now I have a 4 year contract. Then we moved from Florida to Michigan. When trying to transfer my service it was far too expensive and we needed the extra money for moving expenses. We were presented with the option to place our services on hold for 6 months. Three months later my fiancée lost her job and 2 weeks later we found out she was pregnant. We cannot afford to keep our service and wanted to cancel. We were informed that the cancellation fee would be $400. I couldn’t believe this and when I asked why I was told because I have 4 years remaining on my contract. We are struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford this fee or even DirecTV’s services. The company is not willing to work with us at all, stating we’re locked into a 4 year contract and must pay the full termination fee all at once if we want to cancel. When I called DirecTV to explain our issues, the agent was incredibly rude and insisted that we were locked into a contract and there was nothing they could do and that we had no options. I couldn’t believe that a company that makes billions of dollars a year has to lock customers into contracts and holds outrageous termination fees over their heads in order to keep them.
I want the 2 year contract extension removed for the "free" HD DVR upgrade. Our contract was initially set to expire in September 2013. I have no problem with paying the termination fee through my original contract expiration date.

My husband and i had DirecTV for about 4 years and nothing but overbilling and the worse service you could have. I went with dish and i am happy so far 1 year and they have held up to their end. My mom and dad are with DirecTV and they have charged them late charges because they said the payment wasn't paid. I have it in black and white online with their bank that says they were paid in Sept. and they said they didn't get it. Well who did? They called my mom and then turned their cable off it was a saturday and i was out of town. Well i had to use my credit card and turn it back on and be on hold 2 hrs of my vacation time. Now these are two old people that has only TV to watch. I finally got a person that could under stand and she reimburse the late chard but they still keep sending a bill every month abd we are paid up 2 months in advance but of course they don't show that. I think we all need to have a class action law suit. Does anyone out there know how to get it started. I will be the first to sign up. Oh and by the way i going to cancell DirecTV this week and then wehn they turn it over to collections for non payment they can't do anything about it they are on social security. They don't need credit anymore. haha to them.

To Whom It May Concern,

My husband and I recently moved due to Military orders, from Fort Stewart, GA to Fort Richardson, AK. I was told by your company that we could suspend our service since we did not yet have an address due to being on the waiting list for on-post housing. Our service was suspended starting on March 13, 2013. We just moved into our new house on April 27th. I called to set up a new installment at our new home. However, they could not set a date and time so two days later a representative called me with that information. It took about a week and a half for a technician to come out. The technician arrived on the morning of May 8th and said he could not find a line of sight. Immediately after he left I called Direct TV to cancel our service. Being that we do have a Military clause in our contract, I knew we would not be charged a cancellation fee. However, the representative that I spoke with assured me that he would send a supervisor out to do a second opinion and if he still could not find a line of sight, he would cancel my service due to that issue. He assured me someone would be calling me in 48 hours to set up a time for the supervisor to come out. Three days later and still no phone call. I called Direct TV back and explained the issue. This new representative explained to me that the previous person I spoke with did not enter the information into the system correctly and it automatically closed out. No one was ever going to call me. He then assured me that someone would call me within 24 hours to set up a time for the supervisor to come out. Here we are and again, still no phone call. I then received an email stating that we had a past due bill of $166.86! When our service was suspended in Georgia our account balance had a credit of $8.48. How can I possibly have a bill when we haven't had your service since March 13th? I called back to your company this morning, May 11, 2013 and asked to speak with a supervisor. I explained the situation to 3 different representatives, one of which stated she was a supervisor. Her name is Angela and her employee number is 416956. Not once did she apologize for any inconvenience. She didn't apologize for your company dropping the ball on numerous occasions nor did she apologize for wasting my time. Not once did she take accountability for anything. Of course, she assured me that I should be receiving a call in no more than 90 minutes to schedule a time, yet again, for a supervisor to come out and re-check the line of sight.

I cannot begin to explain my frustration and disappointment with your company. Had I known that this is how we would have been treated, I would have cancelled prior to us moving to Alaska. The "customer service" or lack thereof, that Angela provided was sub-par. If these are the kind of people that you are allowing to supervise your company, you should be ashamed of yourself.

I certainly hope I receive a response to this email. However, seeing as how your company has handled everything, I won't be holding my breath.

Sincerely,

Kendal & Dustin Rhoades

I GOT OUTTA PAYING MY CANCEL FEES! I got out bc I’m moving and my landlord said no satellites allowed, but yet they said I would still have to pay according to the contract- I said I never signed anything… They said it was signed when the installation occurred… After thinking, I remembered my boyfriend was here when they came so when they looked up the signature it wasn’t mine and I told them I don’t know that person. So apparently I’m not in contract since he wasn’t on the account! So if you weren’t there when the installation happened and someone else signed your name, you’re not obligated by contract for ANYTHING! I’m so happy now to call EPB back and get their cable! Hope this helps anyone that couldn’t be home when the installers came:)

Ready to fight back? Consumer Fraud Legal Services has consumer rights lawyers who focus exclusively on defending customers from fraudulent billing, contracts, and service problems like the one in your consumer complaint. Using the Consumer Fraud Act, we will try and get you a refund. Regardless, our time is free. If we win, the law requires the company to pay our legal fees.

Contact CFLS at:
[protected]
attorney@fraudlegalservices.com
www.consumerfraudlegalservices.com

have had dtv for over 10 yrs.startedout as prime star..this past week some of the channels have been removed. dtv didn't even contact us just removed them..called twice and said we have old package that needed to be upgraded...so they want more money..no way they can keep the channels and repeats and ads...i'm switching...

You need to call the number on the receipt and see if it has been cashed.

Rakeisha, when you allowed your friend to use your card, did you personally speak with the customer service representative taking down the information? If so, you would have heard the CSR explain that the card would be kept on file and could be used if there were any past due charges, late fees, or unpaid termination or equipment return fees. This disclosure is made before the card is processed. DirecTV requires the card number, expiration date and security code, not the name on the card. So, either you agreed to the disclosure and agreed to allow your card to be charged for these fees, or you chose to just give your friend your card information and they entered you into a binding agreement. Your issue is not with DirecTV, it is with your friend. If they are not willing to pay for the charges they incurred on your card, then you would need to sue them and should consult an attorney about doing so.

Well, I am going to join the millions of complaints about directv. I have unfortunately had to move twice during my contract. Because I havent been a customer for a year they charged me $218 to move my service. DO NOT believe those movers package commercials, there is a catch to them. So, they did help with the first move and cut it to $118 but refuse to help with with the future ones. So I had to suspend my account until I can figure out what to do. I asked how much would it cost to get out of the contract and they quoted me $420. Laughing to myself and to them and told them it was actually cheaper to get OUT of the contract then it was to move the service. What kind of a backwards company lets that happen. I will be leaving this service and finding another. Not many choices to choose from but it won't be directv again.

I just checked with Walmart. Yeah, there are different brands of "boxes" you can buy---------but, you can only get those local channels as if you had an out door antenna. If you have 2 or 3 T.V. you need a box for each one. You can get Netflix of $9. a month.
Not any better off!

I just got off the phone w/DTV! what a bunch of jerks! I had to call 3 times after jumping through all their "I didn't understand that" non-sense, and their letting me know I could speak to them in Spanish (just in case I'm an illegal here in the U.S. on the take, after all we do want all the illegals to be comfortable here and take anything they want, just like we can just walk into Mexico [who would want to] and do as we please, rape, rob, kill, then run back across the border).
After waiting 33 mins of my cell phone time I actually got a Super dooper visor! Who, by the way, had the I.Q. of a turnip!
I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with cable/satellite T.V. providers. As well as those cell phone robbers! We are all getting ripped off! Yeah, I get 200 channels, but only watch 5 or 6 of them, the rest is garbage!

I would stongly advise you DO NOT GET SERVICE with DIRECT TV, their customer services reps are taught to lie, they have you give them you bank information to get the service with some lame excuse about if you do not return the equipment they will then bill you for it. then they help themselves to your BANK ACCOUNT, they are not helpful at all. A good company would be willing to help their customers out in order to keep their business. What it seems to me from reading all these complaints is they are running as many customer off as they can. Well you know where they will eventual lead. Be SMART and DO NOT GET YOUR TV SERVICE THROUGH DIRECT TV. You can get internet service through a company and go to Wal-Mart and by a box, there are different brand names that you can hook up and get over 200 channels do this instead, the only bill you will owe is for your internet. UNBELIVABLE that company’s run their business like this. I work for a very large company and I am a client service rep myself and I finds ways to help our clients and we have 90% client retention. And you don’t see any web sites out on the Web like this one actually we are one of the Fortune 500’s best companies to work for in America. Guess that tells you something about how a company should runs their business and it’s DEFIANTLY NOT what DIRECT TV does for their customers.