DirecTV review: very poor service and unacceptable contract 1397

I can personally tell you they lie, steal and cheat. Treat their cusomers poorly. The absolute worst cutomer service I have ever had. To those of you who think they are so great...wait until you have a problem. Do not try to tell those of us, which are many how wonderful they are, you are very wrong.I had the local number to the Presidents office in Greenwood Village Co. They have since closed that line down. Jill, at Corporate if you are reading this my problem is still not resolved. You made some promises that still need to be made. You know the situation, I am sure your offices monitor these sites. My next step is to the PUC, not that that would bother you as so many before me have filed complaints. Then to the AG of Colorado and the Governors office. Losers!

With DirecTV you have a $199.00 up front fee for HD DVR (with nothing to show for the money) plus 2 year contract with threat of charging up to an additional $480.00 if you break the contract early. You still won't own the DVR after paying that $679.00. And then at the end of the 2 year contract you still don't own anything. I discussed these things at length with 2 DirecTV customer service reps. This, in my opinion, has got to be the stupidest business model, from the customers point of view, that I have ever seen. Even with a 2 year cell phone contract, you own the phone after the contract period. But not with DirecTV. You own nothing. You're still leasing! Because of this I went with cable. They charged me nothing up front for their HD DVR , except a small installation charge, and did not lock me into any kind of contract. Of course I still don't own the DVR, but this is a much more sensible deal than the DirecTV deal.

Get a lawyer and sue there butts off. Remember to document everything, even copies off all these complaints.
I'm starting a e-mail boycott.

I have had Direct Tv service for over five years. I had my service moved and upgraded to my new home on Dec,7th.2007. The installation was very messy, they left wires hanging everywhere inside and outside the house, never connected the ground cable outside for electrical safety, and we lost signal every few minutes. I called and complained and Direct TV sent another tech out almost two weeks later. He stated the first tech was fired and he “fixed the service”. Within 15 minutes we began to lose signal again.

I called and e-mail Direct TV about this, offering pictures to prove the service was installed sloppy and didn’t work.
I e-mailed them several times, it’s easier because their call centers have people that can’t speak clear English and are very hard to deal with and understand. Finally I told them to cancel my service because they couldn’t meet there commitment to me and provide a working service. I also asked for a return autho# to send their receiver back to them.

Around a week later Jan 11th.2008 I received a disconnect e-mail and bill for 93.00 .I e-mailed them saying I had no service for that month so how do I owe them.

On Jan 18th.2008 a box with return instructions was delivered to my house for the receiver.

On Jan 22nd. 2008 I saw Direct TV was pulling $562.83 from my checking account. I took of work and went to my bank to stop this from happening, I signed a stop pay but my bank had to investigate it first. I was told to contact Direct TV and ask them to stop the transaction.

I called Direct TV several times, I was told the charges were for an early termination of service. I told them again I never had a working service to begin with. I got nowhere with the call center, the language problem was just to much, I asked for some one that could speak better English and I was repeated the same thing again. Direct TV used a check card I had used before to pay my bill on-line and charged my account without my authorization $562.38.

When I got home that evening I received a bill from them stating what the charges were and it was due immediately.
No one that speaks good English will talk to me from Direct TV, THEY broke the law pulling money from my account without authorization, caused my account to bounce checks, left me unable to buy groceries this week for my family, I’ve lost two hours work as of today trying to clear this up. Tommorrow I have to go to my bank again and to an attorney.

What a nightmare, please pass this on to everyone to warn them about direct tv’s practices
Richard C. Morrison
Boatdoc1963@yahoo.com

My subcription with direct has expired. I have had alot of trouble with thier upgrading system. I have cancelled my account, I have a bill due and they told me that they were going to take it directly out of my bank account. I asked them not to, that I would pay it myself but they will not allow it. I do not reccomend direct tv to anyone.

Everything everyone says is true. We to have dealt with new recievers, poor customer service and everything else. They are the biggest rip off company ever and all they want is your money. I could type a big long story but everyone here has covered every problem I have had with them. If anyone gets a class action law suit going I will be the first to sign up!

I have been trying to get a refund check for $213.00 for six months. I canceled my service because it was so bad . Apparently the accounting department is no different. I have been promised a refund by at least 10 of their customer service reps during the six months. Still no check. I am going to take out a full page ad in our city newspaper describing the terrible experience I have had with all facets of this band of theives. I am considering assembling a class action suit with several other people in my area against this so-called "company".
I have Dish TV now and I can at least call someone when I have a problem. Direct TV average call time for me was 45 minutes.
Radio is better than dealing with them!

DIRECTV is still the best provider, with their awesome HD channels and friendly customer service, I cant say anything againts them. I've been a DIRECTV subscriber for 10 years and I want to keep their service as long as i live. I'm very particular when it comes to programming and I can't live without watching TV.

please stop posting untrue and unjustified messages here.. i know some of you guys are employees of DISH network.

DIRECTV FOREVER!

I have been trying to resolve a dispute with directtv but cannot find anyone to communicate with. I am going to file a complaint with the FCC and suggest that anyone with a complaint do the same. It has been helpful in getting disputes resolved with Sprint on a number of occasions. Don't give up!

Direct TV needs to be put in their place. I don't have a clue how they get rated number 1 in customer service. I think it is time that former customers start sending chain e-mails out letting people know what is going on with Direct TV.

I was referred to Direct TV by my co-worker because of nuggin channel that they have for /babies/children. that was the worst decision I ever made, the technician who came to my home was very rude, he kicked my things around, broke my baby picture frame. went to the basement and open something in the wall and never closed them back. went to the guest bedroom and drop more picture frame on the floor, he didn't care, he just dropp something on the floor which was on my dresser. when i mention to him if her need anything to be moved just let me know, he ignored me. and sat on my couch taking off his jacket without asking me if if was k for him to sit there(this is my house, you are not my guess, you came to do a job) at that point i started to feel very uncomfortable and just wanted him to leave. so i told him to install the 3 boxes on the first floor because i didnt want himto go upstair in my bedroom. he bought to my house his friend and a 12 -13years old(the boy told me he was 16, but doesn't look ) who was installing the box. the day after which was october 8th, I went away and came back home on the 14th and one of the receiver was not working. so i called direct tv and told them that i needed the receiver to be move upstairs in my bedroom and want someone else to install it. (and I did complain the same way about the service that i received and the told me to call the consulting company which i didn't call in the first place to install my service, direct TV called them and they should be the one calling them back and telling them what had happen) anyway I called them , telling them the reason why I didn't want that box because of the way the installer was behaving i didn't want him in my house for much longer. they told that i have to pay $99 I told them that I want to cancel the services and mail them back their boxes, they said there will a charge of $350. that was 7 days ago that order the services. they had me on the phone for about 2 hours spoke to supervisors. and she told me that they can not do anything it was not their fault, i said the installer who came to my house reprensented direct tv if it was not for Direct tv they wouldnt be at my home. I keep going on so nothing was done. I WOULD ADVICE ANYONE THINKING ABOUT GETTING DIRECT TV DO NOT GET ITS A SCAM AND HEAD ACHE THEY JUST HIRED ANYONE FROM THE STREET AS CONTRACTORS.

Direct Tv specifically instructs their reps to lie and misrepresent. They will not provide written proof of their quote. I wrote every detail down and reviewed my final price repeatedly. I scheduled installation. i called back 2 hours later and my monthly price had doubled. I was told that I had misunderstood. I cancelled installation. A manager did not attempt to disagree that we are being lied to in order to get us to hand over the credit card number.

GOOD GRIEF THERE SEEMS TO BE A PARADE OF US WITH A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS.

THEIR ENTIRE SYSTEM IS A CONVOLUTED MESS. THE PEOP-LE WE HAVE DEALT WITH HAVE BEEN ILL TRAINED, INCOMPETENT OR BOTH. THEY PROMISE THINGS THAT DON'T HAPPEN THEN TELL YOU SORRY TOUGH LUCK. IT WOULD REQUIRE FAR TOO MUCH TIME DETAIL THIS DISASTER.

I WAS WITH AN INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION FOR ALMOST THIRTY YEARS AND HAVE SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS COMPANY.

Same damn thing happened to me, except they took even more! I was told about the 3 days also and that was the only reason we did it. We even asked them when we called to cancel and they said we were all set, except for the $199 deposit for the HD box which at that point we were ticked off about because the rep never told us we wouldn't get the deposit back- later they said we didnt ask... This company is disgusting and I don't know how they get away with this- DO NOT EVER TRY DIRECT TV UNLESS YOU WANT CRAPPY SERVICE AND HAVE YOUR MONEY STOLEN! TRUST US!

OH MY GO_!
I can't believe it! I have had all the same type of problems with DTV. I switched from a plain receiver to DVR. My daughter is working on getting into acting. She did several shows that I taped. One day the dtv completely wiped it out! I was stunned. This was a recording that can never be replaced as it was the first show that my daughter had been in.

After much complaining, I found out that there was a known "bug" in their receivers that they hoped would have been fixed by last summer. (They never told their customers that when you order). Similar to everyone else, they also offered me many " programming" credits because they wanted me to be satisfied. They also offered me a 2nd receiver at no charge so that I could have a back up of my recordings. Well, needless to say, they have continually charged me for a 2nd leased reciever fee of $4.99. Everytime I called to take the fee off, I was told that it wasn't really a lease fee but a mirror fee. Excuse me but my bill specifically says lease fee. The receiver that I had in my bedroom was one that I owned prior to them installing this "free" back-up. I also find it incredulous that you buy an advertised package for a fixed price and then they had on "lease fee" of 4.99, "service fee" of 5.99 and "protection plan" for 5.99. I believe their advertising is very misleading. When you see the ads for their service, the print on those fees is so tiny you can't even see it with glasses. I didn't want the protection plan by my machine was breaking down all the time and they said they would charge me to fix it. In the meantim, that are so generous to credit me $10 here and there for programming credit to make me happy, etc.

I also have had incredulous experiences with their customer service. I have had representatives from India (they told me that is where they were) where I could not understand them. I have been transferred to so called "supervisors" consistently, I have spoken to people who say they are the supervisor and they can help me only to find that they can't. When pressed, they finally admit that they aren't a supervisor but a "resolution specialist." I got so angry that I confronted the man about flat out lying to me. I dealt with them enough to know there are supervisors but I am consistently told there isn't anyone there to help me. When this guy said he was a supervisor with the power and he wasn't I confronted him about flat out lying to me. He tried to get around it but I just said to him "Did you or did you not tell me you are a supervisor?" Of course, when I wanted a supervisor I got the same run around but finally got one when I pushed. However, I can not tell you how many times I too am mysterially disconnected after spending hours on the phone. My phone has a timer on it and I can tell you that my call to them have ran as long as 3 hours!

They still haven't stopped my leasing fee. Then, I asked when my contract is up so that I could change services without a termination fee and they gave me a date that was 6 months past what I saw it was supposed to be. Well, not only did their machines breakdown all the time (and they still are as I just had someone out last week) but they extended my contract when they replaced my broken receiver!
I was furious.

Of course, the supervisor couldn't do anything about it so I asked where am I supposed to mail a letter to. There was an address on the bill. I wrote a letter outlining my complaints. After being a paralegal for Legal Aid for many years I am well aware of documenting. Although I am disabled and not able to do paperwork like I used to I have records of almost all my contacts including dates, who I talked to and what transpired and believe me there are many.

Anyway, to make matters worse, I wrote up my complaint history and sent it to where I was told and to the address on the bill. GUESS WHAT? I got a call from DTV by a "so-called supervisor" who proceeded to tell me once again that there is nothing they can do and I am still locked in to the extended contract they made when they needed to replace my broken receiver!

In the meantime, I am trying to send the letter to another address I got (right now I can't find it) to try and get some satisfaction.

Although I feel bad for other people this happens to, I am glad to see that this is a pattern for them and I am not alone. Frankly, I have gotten so tired sitting on the phone for hours only to get people who claim they can do what they can't, to then get disconnected when they try to transfer to the supervisor they had just told wasn't there (changed their mind when I pushed). The stress has put me in tears many times and I haven't resent the letter yet because I am just feeling defeated and have to ask myself whether it is worth the stress and my health to keep doing it. If I were healthy, I would never, ever give up. As I said, I fought "city hall" for a living. One of the reasons I still try fighting is because I know that I am not the only one that these things are happening to and if I can get them to change a bad practice and let them know that we know, perhaps things would change. Wishful thinking, I guess.

By the way, one post said to send your complaint to Greenwood, CO address. That is the address I sent it to and got a call from someone who wasn't able to do anything. I wonder if you had better luck?

I really wonder how many of us are out there?

My directtv/HD service disappointed me very much. I have a $29.95 family plan and a $9.95 HD access plan for over 1 year. I was able to view about 10 HD channels between channel 70 and 90, but channel 70 to 78 are no longer available since December 2007.

DirectTV customer service explained my HD access plan only gave me 6 channels (three of them are 231, 276, 284, I don’t remember the rest) which are HD channels broadcasted in regular TV signal, so DIRECTTV had the right to cut off and “preview” HD channels between 70 and 90. If I want these channels back, I shall upgrade my plan and pay something like extra $76 a month.

Well, I was told I would get Discovery in HD (channel 76) when I signed the contract. Now DirectTV broke its promise but the two-year contract still holds. Guess what? I would rather paying the early termination fee and switching to another HDTV service provider than throwing $76 a month to DirectTV.

Junjun

Did you return their equipment? Sometimes they will charge for their equipment which is not good but that is what they may be charging you. Did you receive the bill? What were the charges for? It's kind of hard to say you don't owe the charges without finding what they are for, but I do agree with you to cancel your card if you think they were going to charge without your permission.

Pablo

I was called by Directv to do a swap on my receivers due to a change in their upgraded HDTV lineup. I bought my receiver from Circuit City for $350.00. The technician took my receiver and left one of theirs. I told the tech that the receiver was one I purchased from a retailer. He told me that I own the new receiver. I was told to call and activate the box. When I called I was told that I am now leasing a receiver from Directv. I explained the discussion I had with the technician. I was informed that the technician was mistaken and the new receivers belong to Directv. Now they have told me that I have to return their receiver if I discontinue my service with them. So now they've absconded with my $350.00 receiver and are ALLOWING me to lease their receiver. I have repeatedly asked for my box back but have been told that I am out of luck. I asked for some type of compensatin for my receiver and was told that I could have Cinemax free for 3 months. Hardly fair compensation for a receiver that I initially paid $350.00 for. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was repeatedly rebuffed with the explanation that this was the highest level of support I could expect. I asked for a name and was given only a first name and no employee number. I asked for a Corporate Office phone or address and was not given any information. I was called back by a 'Supervisor' the next day and was told the same things (too bad). I advised that I was going to start recording the conversation so I could have something for my records and he refused to talk anymore and pretended that he couldn't hear me anymore. This was more comical considering the fact that I only picked up and put down another handset in the house to simulate that I was really recording the conversation.The level of service I received from them is nothing short of reprehensible. They are thieves.

Right now i have to be neutral i haven't so far had a problem but i'm sure i will after hearing all of this i've only had direct 2 months if i had of known all of this i wouldn't have gotten directtv. I don't need no more problems in my life one thing i will do is tell anyone that's interested to check into it first.

If all of this is true something needs to done to people like this ripping people off. Yes i agree a lawyer needs to get in on this something needs to done you just can't take people money. One thing you can take to the bank "GOD SEES ALL AND HEARS ALL HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THE WRONG DEVILS" PRAY FOR THE WRONG THEY GET FAR .

My husband and I are discusted with Direct TV! We had decided to switch from our previous carrier to Direct TV because of the good HD service we had heard about. My husband called them and had them come out and hook everything up. My husband even removed a huge tree limb so we would have a signal. The installer was here for three hours or better. Well, after everything was hooked up, the installer calls in to get the service and they tell us they cannot hook it up because of a woman that lived here before that has an outstanding balance of 138.00. It just so happens that she used to be married to my husbands brother, therefore they think that we are decieving them. Because we will not pay someone elses bill they will not give us service. Well after this we have decided to not use Direct TV! Simple, Right? Nope! I called to see if we could have somebody come pick up their equiptment and the Direct TV rep told me that unless I had the personal phone number for the guy that came out to install, that she couldn't have anyone else come out and pick it up! I am so furious with customer service! She tells us that we are stuck with the equiptment for 28 days before somebody will come pick it up and that we would have to get out previous carrier out here to hook back up what they unhooked to hook their epuiptment up! To add to this, they will not refund the money that we paid previous to hooking up all of equiptment totalling 299.00! We were told that we should get in touch with our financial institution about a refund! Oh my gosh never in my 15 yrs of being an adult have i ever been treated like this by any customer service! Unreal!

I Think Everyone should take LEGAL ACTION!

The same thing happened to me,but I was charged for someone else's account. My name is not on the acct.They took $377.79 out of my bank acct.I caught it the first time before it cleared.I didn't know they would turn around and do this again.Here I am four days before christmas without $377.79 that I desperately need to pay my bills. Thank God! I already bought my kids presents. This is wrong and I dont see how this can be legal.I had used my debit card to purchase a ppv,thats how they recieved my acct#.Direct TV told me that the person should have told me that I would be responsible for they're past due balance,effective april,may.2007. and anyone's card # on file can be held responsible. This is WRONG! I will NEVER use direct TV and STRONGLY recomend KNOWONE use direct tV or pay anyone's bill buy credit card. This is still unresolved!

Please file your complaints with your state Attorney Generals Office, FTC and BBB. Also make sure you dispute any "unauthorized" charges with your bank.

Everytime DirecTV received a billing dispute (chargeback) they are charged $20-$40 per dispute by their bank. If 5% of their transactions result in chargebacks, their bank will have serious problems with DirecTV's billing practices.

Start sending your disputes, file your complaints and get a class action lawsuit going!

I'm sticking with DishNetwork, much cheaper n better service.

Same deal with me, but better yet the account was not under my name. I paid for a Direct TV bill once for my friend that was in financial problem and bam his balance was deducted from my checking account a couple months later. WTF is that! Is there no Law? I called my bank to file a fraudulant charge on my account and filed a report to BBB and other reporting agency and I hope you all do the same.

To hell with Direct TV! ADD me to the Class Action. Even if Direct Tv/Banks credit your money back, dont back down. Theres other innocent people out there that dont know what to do when this hits them, its our duty to make a stand and watch each other backs!

The contract between customer and Direct TV is one sided. The contract agreed upon is a one sided binding contract which is illegal. If you have a contract that stats they have the right to increase fees for service over the two year contract then they have no right to charge you deactivation fee. The only way to make it a legal contract and not one sided is to offer to you that if they raise there fees you have the right to cancel with no deactivation fee. This complaint you have is a classic case of CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT. They say in contract that if you continue to pay your bill you then agree to the new terms. So don't over look your monthly charges on your bill. They have this in the contract so they do not need to have verbal or written confirmation. One more thing they have in contract which is they use the words MAY BE. Just because they have got you signed up with them on a contract does not mean it is a legal contract if it's a one sided contract PERIOD. Anyone interested in CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT?

FYI dish network does not have the NFL ticket. Direct TV has a Monopoly exclusive right to have NFL ticket. Another class action lawsuit. But very unlikely you would win in court regarding NFL ticket monopoly.

Direct TV SUCKS! We should all take them to a class action. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE. I AM NEVER TAKING THEIR SERVICE. I JUST SENT TO 35,000 EMPLOYEES IN MY COMPANY REGARDING THEIR POOR BEHAVIOR.

YOU ALL SHOULD DO THE SAME. LET THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT THEM.

I signed a one year agreement with direct tv last dec. I called to cancel this month and had already paid this months bill. The lady I talked to said my contract was not up til the end of this month. I already paid for this month. today they stole 121.00 out of my checking account. When I called to ask for my money back I was told I had a two year agreement. They are theives, and they know it.

Called Direct TV today to cancel my service. I just moved into a new house and do not feel like having holes drilled into my walls and roof and probably left unsealed again.

Was told that I would be charged an early termination fee for not fulfilling the 24 month contract that I was never made aware of and never agreed to. I picked Direct TV specifically because I could find no mention whatsoever on their website that specified that you would be signing up for a commitment of a certain duration.

If there were in fact such information buried somewhere in a click-through license agreement it was never stated on the main pages that outlined pricing and conditions.

I was further informed that "for my convenience" the termination fee would be charged to my credit card on file. I informed the CSR that that credit card was used only for one time payments and they were not authorized to make any charges against it. That did however not seem to concern him the least. I then asked him to kindly remove my credit card information from the file but he said that was impossible because it was in my _file_. While I realize these CRSs are paid to just repeat the scripts they have been given, this company seems to have no regards for laws whatsoever.

One question, did any of you that had Direct TV charge your accounts call your bank to inform them that the transaction was not authorized by you?

We just went through the refurbished scam. Got a new one, but only because of an honest service man.

### Direct TV. Have you ever tried to get through to someone. It's near to impossible and if they need to transfer you, you will alway get disconnected after long wait times. And forget asking for a supervisor. They don't exist.

I believe DT is run by Apes and chimps... I hate these cheating ###.

Im in a similar situation. I cancelled my service and I specifically asked for information on the previous balance I had with them. Their customer service representative said that Direct TV doesnt do payment arrangements and that I will have to pay all at once when I can pay. NEVER DID SHE STATE OR IMPLY that it would be deducted from my account..$202 thats what was missing from my account yesterday not to mention overdraft fees from the bank...

CLASS ACTION... Im down and I just need to know what to do next...

In September 2007 Verizon offered a package deal includeing Direct Tv for an extra $15.00 a month. 3 months later and we are still paying $62.94 a month for Direct tv basic package. We have tryed several times to get this matter taken care of both through Verizon and Direct TV and they say they have no record of the offer. My advice to everyone is Never get involved with any offer through Verizon for Direct Tv.

I also have had the same issue, deducted $160 from my bank account with out authorization. I have spent over 15 hours on the hone with their Customer Service people, spoke to various "supervisors", was "accidentally disconnected" along with being spoken to like I had an IQ of below 70.

I just sent my receiver boxes back that same day, so I am just waiting for another debit for "not" getting the receivers back, in their pre-paid boxes. I am also ready for a CLASS ACTION SUIT. Needless to say I am not sure who to contact about a SUIT. Of anyone can help please let me know.

Thanks.

I have had Direct Tv for a long time I paid my last bill however the representative failed to let me know there was more that I owed. Needless to say they cut me off. I called their customer services hoping to get some help instead I got two rude ladies with one that told me I should pay bills. Well at this point I was very upset I have had enough that was out of line to talk to a customer like this however the two witches can ride there broom south because I plain on paying this bill and filing a large complaint. Direct tV customer service sucks.

CONTACT YOUR STATE ATTORNEY GENERALS OFFICE ASAP - THIS IS A CRIME... and these are the only people who can help.

I can't add anything different, $ 200+ deducted with no human contact options. CLASS ACTION seems like the only option for any of us. Let me know the next step. Good luck all!

I have recently had several problems with Direct TV. My ex-husband upgraded to HDTV. When he paid $100 for the receiver, he was never told is was a lease. He moved out and cancelled the HDTV. He had to send the receiver back or I was going to be charged. Second, my service got cut. There was a $212 early cancellation fee on my account, I have had the service since 2000. When I called, I was told that when he upgraded to HDTV that extended our contract till Feb 09. This was never relayed. Now, I called on 10/19 and made a payment over the phone. At that time, I was told they needed to have a credit card on file. Two days later, another charge was taken out of my account I did not authorize. I have called 4 times, received 4 different responses and the last call, I was told that whenever a credit card is given, that is authorizing automatic payment. When I said this was never relayed, I was told that it is within their guidelines and it is posted on their website. Something needs to be done about them.

I am going to cancel my service with direct TV. Because they are adding additional charges to my account without my authorization.They have told me I am responsible for a old account that did not belong to me. That was account under my father name Willie Caldwell that was in the past. When I started with direct I paid them 112.00 that they don't have any record of my payment. They say I got started in April and a payment wasn't made until may. That is not right; APRIL PAYMENT-112.50 MAY-42.89 JUNE-61.89 JULY-76.89 AUG-8984 SEPT-48.06 OCT-78.06.OCT bill was not paid, do to the additional charges of $265.91 That I was not responsible for. In all they won't me to pay$346.67 to keep my service. If needed I do have all my bank statement. They also bill me for magazine special price for 12 months for 2.99, that I didn't ask for. Please let me hear from you if I can get some help.

Unbelievable! These people treated me like a second-rate customer, refused to work with me to pay my cancellation fee rather than charging it to a card that had sufficient funds (thus causing me overdraft fees) then had the nerve to keep calling asking me to come back!

The same thing happened to me, only on the day I canceled they told me they'd charge me $120, I told them even on that day I wouldn't have the money in my account, can I pay half now and half in two weeks. I was canceling not because I wanted to, but I had no choice it was due to circumstances beyond my control. Not only did they not care, they automatically withdrew $160.33 and caused me overdraft fees. I talked to TEN+ reps about this, and everyone's reply was the same "It's our policy." STAY AWAY FROM DIRECT TV! CABLE MAY COST A LITTLE MORE BUT I TRUST IT'S BETTER SERVICE!

I had a very similar experience a couple days ago.

(keep in mind I haven't had a contract with them for SOME time, i completed it successfully)

Last summer, and this summer, I had a whole bunch of reception problems with my dish, which kept going unresolved, I figure it was due to placement since the leaves are gone in the winter maybe thats what it was, but this summer it kept happening, so I got some people to come out (from DirecTV) to look at the problem, they basically told me they couldn't move it because they didnt get paid enough money that the "real" guy would have to come out and remove the dish and re-install it... he came out and basically said that there was "no need to move it" that it was due to this one tree (which I doubted), I broke all the limbs off it, and still had the problem... I wrote them and said "this problem cant be resolved then I will be forced to cancel"... nothing... so a short time later, I ordered cable service and sent them an email (through their website) stating i specifically wanted to cancel... at the time i owed them about 63 $ ... I waited... nothing... (at the time I couldn't call them oh a home phone, and basically could only contact them through email).

I emailed them back and said "I WANT MY SERVICE CANCELED"... finally after a month and a half or so went by I got an email from them saying they couldn't cancel until I called them on the phone... I said, Ive told you i cant call you, this is the only way I can contact you, they basically said thats not good enough... (ridiculous)... so another month went by... I notice my termination date was changed and my service was continued... again and again... and then all the sudden the other day I receive an email saying my service was gonna be cancelled and that my balance was like 200 $...

Last night i looked at my bank account and BOOM 204.75 was taken out of my bank account without my permission... I was LIVID to say the least... furthermore it OVERDREW MY ACCOUNT and I got charged an overdraft fee...

Long story short I called their customer service [censored]ing at about 3 am and was basically told that it would be sent to the billing dept and they would contact me in about a week (or less?) to see if they could "help me somehow".

I dont believe for a second that Im going to get my money back... I dont mind paying them for the month i owed them in July but I refuse to accept that the rest of that was my responsibility since I specifically asked to be disconnected more than one time, in fact numerous times.

What can I do?