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DirecTV Complaints Summary

537 Resolved
1650 Unresolved
Our verdict: When using services from DirecTV with a poor resolution rate, be vigilant. Understand the common pitfalls other customers have faced. Prepare thoroughly for any interactions with their customer service, and consider alternative solutions if your issues are not addressed satisfactorily.
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12:00 am EDT

DirecTV failure to refund cost for hd receiver

To Whom it concerns

Alert: Be Careful about the New ATT&T Bundle Package w/ DirecTV

To everyone desiring to take advantage of the new ATT&T (BellSouth ) Bundle package that is now being offered by the recent merger of both company. With this bundle package one of the offered items is a connection with DirecTV. I did not mind trading my TV cable service for another as long as I received the same quality of service from DirecTV as I received from Dish Network. Inquiring before committing myself I asked BellSouth about the programming and what they offered. Since BellSouth is the selling agent and you must go through them to get the bundle package. I was informed that I could get comparable programming through DirectV and I could get local channels. This I felt was most important to me to know whats going on in my area. So I accepted the deal and schedule installation for the following day. The next day everything seemed to go well with the installation. My Dish Network dish and equipment were removed and the DirecTV equipment was installed.

Then came the big surprise. After the insulation the technician called in to program the equipment including a HD receiver I had to prepay for through a credit card. Well everything was programed in except the local channels. When I asked about the local channels the technician began to show signs of becoming nervous. He immediately responded that he had another insulation to do and I must call DirecTV, Then he left. I suspected that something was wrong but at the moment I couldn't do anything.

As soon as he left I called DirecTV reference the local channels programming. I was told that without question there was no local channel programming through DirecTV offered in my area. Bellsouth was contacted about the misinformation that I was given and asked how this problem can be resolved. At first nobody wanted to acknowledge responsibility for this bad situation. After cancelling the whole deal and talking to approx. 17 different people { never the same one) I finally got ATT&T complaint resolution. ATT&T did agree to pay the cost to reinstalled my Dish Network equipment which was quoted to be $200.00 by Dish Network. DirecTV, however refused to reimburse me for the cost of the HD Receiver I paid for, which I returned. They said that the instillation was completed therefore I was not entitled to be refunded.

As far as I'm concerned this is stealing. This has cost me a lots of time aggravation and money. The lesson to be learned here,is be careful before ordering any TV cable service. Don't take for granted that you can get the same quality of service from every cable service. They are all different. Before ordering the bundle package or any service make sure what's available in your area by calling the cable Co. direct and verifying whats in your area or zip code. Especially with DirecTV which has very restricted areas for Local Channels. If you know anyone that thinking about getting a TV cable service or the BellSouth Bundle package please pass this on.

I live in Hawthorne Fl. This might apply to all Central North Fl. areas as well as many other areas throughout the country. So be careful check first before you buy.

Concerned Consumer
Prentice Cooper

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gilda mandl
Columbia, US
May 01, 2009 4:30 pm EDT

I called AT&T thinking they were a reputable company. However, I was misled into thinking I was going to get a bundle of phone, internet, and television for $105.00. I was so exited, I told my friends and family about the great deal I was getting.

I called AT&T around April 25th to try and lower my bill, because I lost my job back in September ‘07. I was informed that I can get all my services bundled for $105.00. That is my DSL, long distance calling, and cable for up to four TV’s. To my surprise, I get a bill from DirecTv, not AT&T, five days later for $93.76. The bill states that I have a service agreement for 24 months! Nobody ever voiced that little bit of information. I am from Canada and might return there if I cannot find a job, so signing a 2 year contract was completely out of the question.

I then called AT&T on May 1st, 6 days after the installation of DIRECT TV, and spoke to Miss Simons, who transferred me to Ms. Edmonds, who transferred me to Shawna Johnson who then had a conference call with DIRECTTV and myself and still nothing is resolved. DIRECTV told me that I would be charged $480.00 for an early cancellation fee. I do not believe I am responsible for this fee. The lack of communication and crooked sales tactics misled me, and I am sure, many other people.

In short, I never called DIRECTV, I called AT&T and they misled me into thinking that the Directv was part of their package! I am so disturbed by these two companies, that I do not want anything to do with them. I want to send back their equipment and have no further dealings with either of them.

The public does not deserve to be taken advantage of at a time like this, they should be ashamed of their sales tactics and policies.

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12:00 am EDT

DirecTV worst customer service ever!

On Jan. 27th, 2007, I called to cancel my service with DTV because I was moving and needed a cheaper television company. I was persuaded into staying with DTV by their cancellation department. A representative offered me a 6-month discount of $19.99 for Total Choice Monthly and $2.00 for HBO. They also offered free Stars and Showtime for 3-months. I thought this was a great offer and decided to stay. I had DTV installed at my new home shortly after. When the first month’s bill came, it was $27.96 but when April 2006 came, I received bill for $42.96. I called DTV at [protected] on 4/10 and spoke to a representative who said there was no such offer that could be given to me and advised me the $42.96 was a good deal because of the number of channels I received. I advised this was not what was agreed upon with the prior representative and after many minutes of my time on the phone asked to speak to a supervisor. I was advised after being placed on hold, again for several minutes, there was not supervisor available for me to speak with and I would receive a call back. A call back was never made!

The next day, after giving 24-hours for a return phone call, I called back. I asked to speak to another supervisor. I was given a male supervisor and I explained my story. He, instead of listening to my complaint, went on to tell me that the deal of $42.96 was a great deal and that I should be satisfied with that. He also advised me of all the prices and channel line up of other competitors as to show me what a wonderful deal I had. I, again, said I understand and did not care what other’s had to offer and wanted the deal that was agreed upon in January 2007. He said he would have to transfer me to the cancellation department. I was again on hold for several minutes and received a new representative. I explained my story again and asked for a supervisor. I was placed on hold and a male supervisor came to the phone. I explained my story once again and was told there was never an offer made to me, as I stated, and the offer that was given to me and noted was a free receiver. I attempted to explain I did not need a free receiver, as I already had 2 of them and this was not correct. He was very rude and condescending to me. And basically called me a liar. I asked him if this was the case and I was lying about the package offered, then why did I pay a smaller bill in March. He advised me to “do the math.” I told him I could do the math and was not stupid. The supervisor never offered to explain why my March bill was for the correct amount. I was very angry by this time but never raised my voice or used fowl language with him. I asked him what type of operation they were running because no one was listening to me. I asked him to disconnect my service because I was tired of dealing with them. He said fine and that my service would be disconnected and started over talking me every time I tried to speak. He hung up on me while I was trying to find out how much my final bill would be I called back and explained my story to another rep and another supervisor, who are not really supervisors but resolution specialists. She told me that they could not honor the deal made in January and the rep that I spoke with only gave me enough discounts for 1 month to make my bill be $19.99. I told her that was not right and I wanted to file complaints on the original rep and the so called supervisor who hung up on me. She advised me that all the calls are recorded. I also asked her to reconnect my service until I could find another television company. She said she would. On April 12, I wake up to find NO SERVICE.

I am very angry and disappointed at DTV. This is the worst company that I have ever dealt with and cannot believe that they are allowed to treat customers this way. I will be writing a complaint letter to the president of the company, not that it will do any good I would like to request that all my calls be pulled and reviewed so they can hear what POOR customer service their company is giving. I will never recommend this company to ANYONE!

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aunt2seven
Lansing, US
Mar 30, 2009 2:45 pm EDT

This is the WORST! They came to install and they only properly installed 1 of the 3 tv's. I caught one before they left, but didn't catch the third one. They called the next day to set up an appointment to have the tech come back to correct the tv. I wasn't home, so when I called them it took 1 hour and 20 minutes on the phone, and YELLING at them to get someone to come out. They wanted to do it over the phone.! I called to cancel within my 30 day time frame, and they informed there was no 30 day cancellation. That I am STUCK with them for 1 year! The WORST.

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cruisercruisin253
arlingoton, US
Sep 13, 2010 6:31 pm EDT

Direct Tv has to have the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. Today I called to start service and let the lady know that I was not going to pay the $21.65 shipping charge and would not get service unless it was waived. She said that customer care would give me a $20 bill credit to take care of this fee however she would have to transfer me to the customer service center. After getting me signed up for service and again telling me i would receive a $20 bill credit she transferred me. I then talked with a guy that told me a credit like that was not possible. After asking him to cancel the service he told me maybe a different department could take care of the credit so he then transferred me. After the 3rd time on hold I talked with another man, told him my story and he said i would have to talk to his manager. He put me on hold and told me his manager would talk to me right away. After about 5 min on hold a lady picked up and did not know anything about what was going on. I started to inform her about it and over the phone was a bunch of noise some foreign language and then the dial tone. I gave her the benefit of doubt and waited about 5 min for her to call me back; she never did. I then had to call Direct tv back and start all over. I was finally about to cancel my service after telling the 5th person my story and again she tried to talk me into how great of a deal i was getting.

I will NEVER recommend Direct TV to anybody. What a poor poor operation they have. I hope they are soon another forgotten business that fails in this economic down turn.

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so so bad
dddd, US
Dec 23, 2009 6:09 pm EST

Direct TVcustomer service was the worst I ever deal with any kinds of business company in my life.
Their answers were just "they don't know."

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Dump Them
Yorktown, US
Nov 08, 2009 4:56 am EST

I am dealing with them now. I am cancelling my contract and my credit rating will probably suffer because I am refusing to pay the early termination fee. They don't deserve it because they did not keep to their part of the contract, customer service was rude and promised to resolve the issue to no avail. Five months after trying, I have had enough. I am really thinking about handling this through legal means. I also think customers should ban together and write our representatives about these early termination fees. It gives them the ability to treat us without proper respect, and threaten us with the fees if we refuse to be treated that way. If the equipment is returned, a marginal fee for installation might be due, but not the $400, they are now charging.

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john Hudson
,
Jul 28, 2008 9:47 am EDT

They are the worst.
When our service stopped working they took 12 days to come and fix it. Now they have just cut us off as we could not pay our bill because according to DirectTV (ha ha) our account is now held by Verizon although we have not authorized this. Verizon have no records of it.
As far as I am concerned they are the worst company I have ever dealt with, we cannot get resolution to this issue between the two companies because it is our job to do so not theirs!
I would recommend that any one considereing DirectTV do anything but sign up with them, they are not only incompetent they are unethical, they lie to the customer, will not deal with complaints and pass you from one department to another while conveniently cutting you off!
I hope they go bust

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Alan Gralla
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Feb 14, 2008 11:08 am EST

... I purchased Verizon telephone's 99 dollar deal that includes internet ,phone and Direct tv satellite service -this was suppose to be installed on dec 28 07, on 12/28 Direct tv guy showed up and installed the service,a Verizon guy showed up to check my phone line and the phone service was turned on ,but computer internet service was not. I called Verizon few days later as it was NewYears weekend and they tell 1/28 they will turn internet service on. My kids need internet for school work ,it became such a hassle I cancelled the Verizon package ,the Verizon rep tells me that I have to cancell Direct tv myself ,she can't do it ,but- they can turn it on with no problem. I canceled the service 1/ 3 /2008 the service was off morning of 1/4/08 ,NowDirect tv wants $ 317 dollars early cancellation fee's ,they tell me that they have a 3 day termination policywindow , I tryed to explain that I never delt with direct tv [directly] it was thru Verizon,and that that with NewYears Day and the weekend ,It was like 3 days of service anyway ,I allways heard that contracks were baised on actuall working days , I feel that since Direct tv is doing business thru Verizon they have to share some liability ,what I mean if Verizon screwed upunfortunally Direct tv looses too . your comments are welcome thankyou -A.G.

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glenn cernicky
,
Oct 06, 2007 3:19 pm EDT

I feel almost lucky. I dumped this company over 3 years ago. I insisted that Cable was definately superior to them. It obviously fell on deaf ears. I refused to ever pay my last bill (slight credit risk) and they tried to collect through various agencies to no avail. I would sell that company "SHORT" on the stock market. Only that profit would make up for the B.S., that I like many others went through.

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Andrea Peebles
,
Oct 06, 2007 2:49 pm EDT

This is absolutely the worst Company I have ever dealt with as well and something should be done about the way that they are allowed to lie to people and the false advertising to get you signed up and then pull every stunt in the book. I have had a similar experience and cannot get it straight. They should be shut down and sued. If everyone would get together and file suit - I bet this mess would stop.

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Jodi Lynn Schrade
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Jul 25, 2007 12:16 am EDT

I have requested for the last 3 months to send me a bill so I know when my bill is due and what I am paying for. I can get no answers from this company. The last two months my service has been interrupted, because I haven't received any bills therefore my bill is late every month. From my experience on paying bills most company's send you a monthly statement. The only thing I receive is a statement saying PAST DUE PAY IMMEDIATELY! Then I have like two days to get it payed or it gets interrupted. I do not have a checking account of any kind therefore I have to send money orders. So my service is then shut off. I am having a real hard time why no one at that office can send me a bill. Why does tv have to be such a hassle? I will not suggest the company to any one because it's a hassle. All I'm asking for is a monthly statement so I can pay my bill on time and not have to get upset with this company. I am not a mind reader who is suppose to know when my bill is due.

Jodi Schrade.

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Jim Noble
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Jun 11, 2007 7:21 am EDT

I canceled my account with Direct TV on March 8th of this year. I had an overpayment of $47 dollars owed to me. When I called about this, they informed me it would take 6-8 weeks to process. At the End of April, I called again and was told that I should wait the full 8 weeks to for the check to be processed.

I called again today and was told that the check was being processed and should be receiving it shortly. At the same time, I had emailed customer service about the problem to get an update on the situation. They just responded that the request was received on May 2nd, and I should get the check in 6-8 weeks from that date.

I fully expect to not EVER get my money back. But I will tell EVERYONE I know for the rest of my life how terrible Direct TV is and how poor their customer service is. I have called the Clark Howard show in the hope that he will relay this information over the airwaves and let his audience know about this practice

Jim Noble,
Taylorsville, GA.

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12:00 am EDT
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DirecTV - Stay away - direct tv sucks!

My friend and I had been considering changing from cable to Direct TV. Since my friend is from the Ukraine, she was very interested in the Russian channels offered by Direct TV, I called Direct TV to inquire about the channels. After I called and talked to several different representatives, I was offered a 30 day trial period. I asked the representative if...

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12:00 am EDT
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DirecTV - very poor service and unacceptable contract

I have had direct TV now for about three months and have had one problem after another. I had initially switched from cable to DirectTV because I thought that their high definition service would be superior. Big mistake. Since the time of install I have been through 4 high definition receivers, each one failing for a different reason. When your service...

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12:00 am EST

DirecTV bad installation and reception!

Direc TV- bad installation and reception most of the time. 5 months after signing up for 2yrs contract with direct tv their monthly service rate went up high. I called to find out my contract it does not matter, they said they can hike up as much as they want and it is on my contract. I couldn't argue because the rep who singed me up had a heavy Indian accent i did not understand half of the things she was saying at the time. I kept telling her I do not understand her but kept on going and I gave up. I got screwed and I am screwed for the next 1 and 1/2 yrs.

Remember they can hike as much as they want and you do not have and choice but to swallow your bill until contract ends.

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Martin Corona
San Antonio, US
Sep 16, 2012 2:33 am EDT

I think that you guys got bad installers. I have been setting up satellite services for about seven years. I always take care of my customer without having the customer call direc tv. Its true that some people rather get installed by a professional installer in a company vehicle . A lot of people don't realize that some of these techs are rookies. If you get a rookie he's gonna be in your house for ever and the service won't be good. I suggest you go through a retailer. They have experience contractors that will take care of your needs. The last thing is if you see your tech struggling for hours to get that signal, don't sign the contract. Direct tv gives you 24 hrs to decide if you like the device or not. For all of you that can't get service from direc tv, try Craigslist. There should be a guy willing to take care out you for a few bucks. Hope this helps on your future installations. Go direc tv

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Sitnprt
Louisville, US
May 13, 2009 9:23 am EDT

We have had the same problems. It goes out alot. Snowy days, rainy days, windy days, sunnys days, clear blue sky days!
It is the worst reception ever. It took the technician hours to install. "Technician" used loosely. He showed up in an old beat up truck with one of those magnectic signs attached. If my husband wasn't home he wouldn't have stepped a foot in my doorway.
A very dissatisfied, trapped customer

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Richard S
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Oct 09, 2007 9:55 pm EDT

You are not "screwed", signing a contract for service where the person providing the service can change the terms of the contract (i.e. fees) at any time, is called an unconscionable (sorry for spelling) contract. It is illegal to have something so outrageous that they can say we can charge anything at all we want at any time.

Contact the BBB at BBB.org and state your problem, set in the complaint resolution portion that you want out of your contract with no penalties due to them changing the rates without telling you up front the terms or amount that could be charged during your contract. You fill it out on line and it is quick and easy.

Use the following address in your complaint:

DirecTV, Inc.
PO Box 6550
Greenwood Village CO [protected]

Attention: Ms. Jill LaVigne Vice President of Direct TV

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Marie Roger
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Jul 18, 2007 2:04 pm EDT

We have called Direct TV numerous times about all three of our TV's having problems with the Direct TV services. We have been paying for a year of HD services and rarely even have HD channels working. We should have known that Direct TV was an awful choice when the guy installing it took 6 hours to install and cut our neighbors TV cables. Not good to meet your new neighbors with a cut cable. We highly recommend not using Direct TV as your service provider. We could go on and on about why not to use them...

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Jerjes Saliba
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Jun 28, 2007 11:23 pm EDT

Bad Service, no signals, lots of charges every time the service person shows up, forced to buy a service agreement, Rip off. Never again. I wish there is a way out of this stupid contract. I am going back to cable.

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Mar 10, 2007 5:51 am EST

I have called direct tv... numerous times my wife took off from work and they never fixed it.

I had no service for a week let alone when its windy bad weather etc etc...

Managers could care less and the corporate office even less... I called corporate numerous times only to get railroaded... here is a num in californoia see if anyone will call you back for your complaint and anger.

[protected] post this num everywhere maybe they will get the hint. Call this number and they will help...

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Stacey
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Feb 21, 2007 12:52 am EST

Direct TV for the Maryland Area.

Direct TV installed a satellite on my neighbor's property that clearly impedes my property by facing over top of my deck wall. I have contacted them several times about moving it and they fail to do anything about it and pass responsibility off to the consumer (my neighbor) who claims they refused to install it elsewhere. I have made a complaint with the FCC as they are in violation of the FCC's Over-The-Air Reception Devices Rule which states that equipment must be installed wholly within the "exclusive use area" of the customer. I have contacted my homeowner's association to see what they can do. An attorney will be next. If anyone has any suggestions, please contact me.

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12:00 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

DirecTV referral bonus program is a rip-off!

I have been with Direct TV for the past three months and up until this morning, I was pleased with the service.

When I signed up with Direct TV three months ago, I told them that we wanted to take advantage of the $100 referral program that they were offering at that time, and stated that my parents had referred us.

They explained the program to me and said that my parents would get $100 off their next Direct TV bill. They instructed me to call a different phone number to give them my parents' account number in order to complete the offer. I immediately did this upon completing my phone call with the first Rep.

This morning I asked my parents if their bill reflected any money off, and after reviewing their 2 most recent bills, they said no. I immediately called Direct TV to report this.

The Rep told me that it was too late for them to do anything because their records didn't reflect that I had ever completed the transaction by calling the other phone number! I told the Rep that I did indeed do everything that I was told to do and that I expected them to make good on their original offer. After I stated that I was sure it was an error on their part, I was shocked when she said that even if it was their error, it was too late for them to correct it! I asked her why she felt that the customer should be penalized for their error, however instead of answering me, she repeated the same thing she told me before about it being to late. I AGAIN asked her that same question and AGAIN she started to give me the same answer, so I cut her off and asked her to give me the address of their corporate office. She asked if I was going to let her finish what she was saying, I told her no, that I had heard enough and repeated my request for their corporate address. She hung up!

I called back to speak to a manager who told me the same thing, however as a "courtesy", he said he would deduct $10.00 off my parents bill for the next 6 months.

I told him that although I appreciated the offer, I was still very upset over how this issue had been handled, and that if I didn't know better, it seemed like they were trying to scam us. At the point I told him that I would pursue this issue with their corporate, he told me that he didn't have to offer me the courtesy that he had just offered, as if he was going to take that courtesy discount away because I was still going to pursue the issue!

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berger33
, US
Oct 27, 2016 8:43 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Please help me out and use my account #3313129 to get $10 off for 10 months. I really need the cash and you'll save too.

Brad Berger

zip 80403

Thanks

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Steve Gygax
, US
Oct 20, 2016 10:51 am EDT

My experience is similar to those above who failed to receive the advertised referral credits to their accounts. My son referred me to Direct TV. I was unhappy with my Dish service and chose to terminate it after paying a $270 early termination fee. I signed up with Direct TV at Costco and chose to bundle my services (TV, phone, internet, and hopefully cell services). First problem: no internet discount because I already had internet service with ATT&T U-Verse. I was not told that I would be unable to do this by the sales person nor did their literature mention it. Second problem: no referral credits because I took advantage of their bundling offer. My son knew nothing about this disclaimer when he referred me to Direct TV, a referral made in good faith. No credits for my son or me. Also, this caveat was neither mention by the sales people nor in their literature. I wish I stayed with Dish. My DVR or Genie box keeps giving me a blank screen (two weeks after installation). I would get about five seconds with the TV screen going black with no error codes--just a black screen. I am still trying to correct this with Direct TV Technical Support. Still can't convince them there is a problem with their desktop box. Tech Support on-line trouble shooting failed to show a "fault" with the box. Guess I can look forward to wasting more time trying to fix this.

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koke_no_ice
, US
Oct 06, 2016 4:07 am EDT

Get $100 with any deal or package from DirectTV, using the link and code below!

Link: http://www.directv.com/friend/AENM03MT0SF

DirectTV Referral Code: 7713215

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NickiM
, US
Sep 16, 2016 4:31 pm EDT

Directv are scammers they want new business but don't want to own up to their part of the deal...I have referred 3 friends and never seen 1 discount! so I asked to speak to a manager and they tell me there is no record and I need their account #'s to get the discount well that's not the way the deal works is it? So the supervisor is telling me all 3 of my referrals were screwed up? come on ...I will be cancelling service with them as well as AT&T now that they are one...I don't like scammers and thieves and I will take my business elsewhere I will NEVER recommend those thieves to ANYONE! I will only warn people of their dirty ways!

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mulehunt
, US
Aug 19, 2016 12:53 pm EDT

Jeff Arrington use my account get 410 off for 10 months off your bill

acct # [protected]

zip 24523

Thanks...

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Betty Morton Krause
, US
Jul 21, 2016 5:18 pm EDT

You can use my account number for $10 off your Directv bill.

James Krause
acct #[protected]
zip 76016

Thanks!

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Rene Kelly
, US
Apr 24, 2016 11:04 pm EDT

I referred my boss and was told to call with his account number after he activated his service. He activated on April 16, 2016. I called and gave all information requested on April 24, 2016. I was told that because he bundled his satellite service and phone service, we were not eligible for the referral credits. So basically they get a new customer for two services and we get nothing. Scam! Very disappointed. We have been with Directv for over 10 years with no complaints except the expense but now I'm really disappointed and WILL NOT refer anyone again!

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Jt7p911&!$
, US
Feb 28, 2016 12:52 pm EST

I love refer a friend program. But now at&t has made everything competitive and complicated there one company now or a family yet at&t is making offers to beat referrals so u cam only chose one promotional discount yet being refered by a friend to the cable company has nothing y too do w compeating its one company they shouldn't be making it a option to chose a gift card n all the great offers thry give to be with att not extra services in the same company not alot of ppl have friends to refer bit if they do why not wats the problem they sound like envious be one family y then

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berger33
, US
Jan 19, 2016 6:08 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Sign up with Directv via website and save $100. That’s $10 per month off your bill for 10 months. Please use my account as I still have 6 open spaces to refer. Copy and paste the link below. Signing up online saved me a ton of headaches. It's the way to go.

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/referral/referralProgram.jsp
Brad Berger account # 3313129
Zip Code 80403

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Ezzell
, US
Jan 13, 2016 10:40 am EST

I'm having some of the same problems. I referred my daughter, she called with my account number and was told to give it a couple of billing cycles to show on the billing, and that was October. Still have not seen anything so I called today. I was told that because she had bundled with AT&T that we would not qualify for the refer a friend. The technician that installed her system told them that would not be a problem.
I have been with Directv since 2005 and it continues to be a problem with the billing. Another problem is the statement, so pleased look at your statement closely. I have my checking account automatically drafted and when I receive my statement the amount received, which is the statement amount, is always different from what is shown as the previous balance, so I end up with a small amount brought forward to the next month. A small amount but if this amount is for every customer think of the profits. I requested an explanation but was told, I don't know.

Watch your billing

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DirecTV beware - installer thefts!

Beware of the contractors directtv sends to install your systems! They do not work for direct! They are not bonded!

My family recently had directtv installed in our our. We were quoted by bellsouth that there would be no extra charges to have two dvr's and four receivers installed in our home. The installers (Contract laborers from out of the state) arrived at our home at 4:45 pm to begin the installation. The installers walked into our home and immediately began spouting extra charges that were to be paid to them.. Not directtv.

Our home is very large so it was difficult to monitor two installers at one time.

When they left our home my dell axim pda was "missing"! I had bought this pda 6 months ago!

I called the contracting service that directtv sends to customers homes regarding the theft. They were totally unconcerned! Their reply to me was... Collect it on your "homeowners insurance"!

This incident happened in metairie, louisiana! 2007

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tori912
Palmdale, US
Feb 20, 2013 1:00 pm EST

had a direct tv independent contractor come in and do an install and 2 days later I had to have a direct tv employee come and fix the mess this Ind cont made...later I found I was missing a $5000.00 Rolex watch, NO one goes into my room and I have THOUSANDS of dollars worth of Jewelery (women's) that was not touched. I made the police report and talked to DTV and they said they would investigate...that was 6 months ago...had to call a number of times and nothing to this day! I told them I only want the watch back and they told me to go through homeowners insurance today! ...DTV sucks and when contract is up I am never dealing with them again...

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Sandra
Los Angeles, US
Jan 15, 2009 2:28 pm EST

I recently had a similar experience and totaly agree with Elizabeth. The only difference was that these two guys/ installers stole my i-pod and proceeded to make inappropriate passes at my 20 year old daughter who was trying to keep an eye on them and do her schoolwork.
Direct TV supervisors were totaly insensitive and have failed to rfeturn my calls or respond to the letter i sent to the direct tv CEO.
Maybe we should all get together and put a class action law suit against this company!
Sandra

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Bob
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Sep 24, 2008 10:08 pm EDT

Direct tv contractors go through extensive criminal background checks and drug screening and they make really good money. I'm a contractor for direct tv and I make $1500 to $2000 weekly. They wouldn't risk losing that kind of income for a pda. Give me a break. He probably left it at the hotel room where he was cheating on you and blamed it on the contractor to save his ###.

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DirecTV - beware! false promises!

I have had the worst experience with directv. They try to lure you with all offers before you join but fail to fulfil them. They promised me a free dvd player which they are still advertising on their website. I sent the redemption form in september. After following with 7 emails since november and 25 phone calls since october I still haven't received any...

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DirecTV - I hate directv!

When I moved, I called DirecTV for a mover's package. I was told that it would be over three weeks before my service could be transferred. When I inquired as to why so long, I was told they were too busy with "new customer installations." I didn't think existing customers should have to wait three weeks, so I sent them a certified letter requesting the...

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DirecTV hd dvr still stinks!

HD DVR still stinks, doesn't record, can't view. Need it picked up by DTV, $ I paid you returned to me, and expire date of contract restored to 2/2008 or I am suing DirecTV. And asking lawyer to try for a class action. I am not a tester for you second email: DCS: That's is why I feel a lawsuit may be needed. I did agree to the terms you mentioned, and have paid my additional monthly payment. I have not violated my agreement However, the agreement says you will give me a device that I can use to view broadcast material at a time of my choosing a device that can rewind live broadcasts, your DVR fails to consistently perform these functions and is unreliable. You have not kept your side of this agreement, and a judge will order you to waive the agreement, and make you pay me and potentially many other former viewers, punitive damages. Not to mention the bad press, that will overshadow the back to the future commercials I see. I want this box, but I need it to work properly or . as it stands now this agreement is "unenforceable" since you have sold me a dud. you failed to provide me with what I bought, and have violated the agreement you like to mention. You see an agreement cuts both ways, you get something ( a commitment, and more $ from me) I get a good or service from you, All I have is crap, that is not reliable and can not be counted on to function properly. You refuse to fix it, You lied to me and it appears many others, this agreement is practically void. And I want out. All the goodwill Mr Chase developed with me has evaporated due to this hardware mess. How many people have been fired because of this disaster ? Just yesterday it failed during football, and would not rewind at all. it froze and did not record 24 properly, even after a restart at 7:53pm when it showed some problems. Good thing I have an antenna for backup, it is needed with this product. I am not your tech, and this is not going to be me for the next 2 years. A copy of this email is being sent to [protected]@DIRECTV.com and chase.[protected]@DIRECTV.com third email to them:I will call your tech support people again, but since the first and only thing they seem to do is ask me to reset the receiver. I have bypassed the long phone wait by just resetting the thing myself. This is not what I wanted, I don't remember seeing your promotion of this product mention that the user needs to reset it on a daily basis. Judging from the hundreds of complaints I see scattered across the internet.All recent posts, about similar problems with this device,your tech support department has to be familiar with the issue and must have seen a pattern by know. I see you don't have a problem contacting me, you would think someone from your support department could take a look at it. Any SW download can be done without me present.The delay in fixing this problem is either that you won't or can't. Both are unacceptable to me.I will be posting this, and all emails regrading this problem online, as I solicit someone to represent me in a class action against the company you represent.

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Claire
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Jun 19, 2008 8:45 pm EDT

Over the past six months ago, I have experienced many issues with mostly local HD -- “771 searching for satellite”; pixellation; loosing picture; black screen; loosing sound; loosing guide; needing to reset the box at least one a day (this month).

I have had MANY service calls; they have redone the entire installation, and we now have a “homerun” (one single wire) from the dish to the receiver. We are still having the same issues. They sent a Tech Supervisor who confirmed the installation is correct and all our signal strengths are good and that it must be the receiver (they have software issues). We have been told about the software issues before and promised a box without these issues (“magic box”) but unfortunately, they cannot locate one.

Now I get a response from “The Office of the President” and their solution is that they will give us a HDDVR at no additional charge (provided we don’t use the DVR portion) and we must commit to another 2 years or I can have a Tech Supervisor come for another service call. Those are the only two options I am given –if I am not willing to “work towards a solution” (accept their offer) I can get out of my contract. They are not willing to send another receiver. I am concerned about the DVR because I see the same problems reported on this forum.

I have written to Suffolk County Consumer Affairs and the NY State Attorney General’s Office – both of whom are sending complaint forms. I think that this is a wide-spread issue, and after viewing the DIRECTV Technical Help Forum this morning, I can see that it is occurring all over the country! I would like to include issues from this board in my complaint – are you willing to share your information? If so, please email directly at cjsarser@gmail.com.

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Johnny
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May 27, 2008 6:31 pm EDT

I recently had the same experience with Directv. i want to switch an access card from a bad receiver to a working receiver. Spent over 2 hours on the phone with 4 different agents. I was very clear about what i want to do with my service and the very first two agents told me that they could do it. Got to the third agent, he informed me that what i want to do is not possible, this was 1 hrs and 30 minutes later. I then asked for a supervisor, he states that he was the supervisor and whatever he say is final. I told me that the power button on my old RCA Receiver is not working. He states that shouldn't matter, the receiver should work. I told him i dont want to have the unit on all the time, the reason is i go on long business trip. I asked him will you be responsible if the receiver cause a fire and he replies was "that would be your fault not ours". I then asked to speak to a manager, he put me on hold for about 15 minutes and come back and asked me for the last four of the receiver i want to activate and he told me that that receiver is link to a deliquent account. this is outrageous, i was paying for the service for that last 6months. Basically he give me a bunch of BS and treating to file a fraudelent complaint against me if he activate the working receiver. I asked to speak to a Manager again, and again was put on hold for another 15 minutes. A resolution specialist came and and i explained the situation and she give me so discount and offere to send me to a new card. I agreed. when put on hold again for 15 minutes and a access card specialist came on and he told me what was wrong with my receiver, i told him whats going on and he told me that he can fix it in 5 minutes. and to my surprise, he did. Why did i wasted over 2hrs to get a resolution.

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John R. Sarti
,
Apr 20, 2008 10:02 am EDT

Direct TV and their agents, at least the ones involved in my case are the most despicable people I have ever come accross. Not only have they violated various consumer protection laws, in my opinion they belong in jail.

Direct Tv has agreed to cancel the service but won't return my money for three HD receivers. I paid them $340 and they insist I return the equipment, and the $340.00 goes towards the cost of leasing the equipment.

I never signed any lease agreements of any kind nor was I told the $340 wasn't refundable. I only used the system for 6 hours, for one day. In my opinion the equipment may be refurbished.

I was using the Dish service, and had a problem with the antennae working the third set. The pi cture quality was poor on this set. The 622 from Dish is excellent, as well as the 211 HD receiver. The antennae off the 622 does not produce an HD quality picture.

So I went with Direct. What a mistake. Luckily I had an email from direct to cancel within 3 days. Their guide stinks, their HD Quality isn't as good as DISH, and DISH absolutely has more HD channels than Direct. With Dish you go to HD and you have access to all the HD channels. With Direct you have to hunt down all the HD channels. They also installed a seperate line claiming it was for five satelite coverage.

Then Direct took my DISH antennae away, so I am now without TV. I received a bill from Direct today charging me for additional boxes, HD service, and DVR service on top of the plan I was supposed to have. I have an email from Direct clarifying these additional charges would be include in the higher priced plan. The installer, who now claims to be an independent, and is the one who took the Dish away, claimed he would give me an $18.00 per month off the bill for one year to match the discount from Best Buy s. None of which appears on the bill.

These people will tell you anything to hook you into Direct TV.

If you're an HD person, I think DISH is the better service. Because Dircet TV took my Dish away, I'm missing out on John Adams. tonight. DISH is coming this week to install a real third receiver and a new Dish. I will renew with DISH for 24 months. So in my opinion, stay away from Direct TV.

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Ray Bishop
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Apr 11, 2008 9:58 am EDT

Dop not get invouled with directv.com for dish tv. charges and lack of living up to contracts

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Bill
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Jan 21, 2008 5:09 am EST

I was a recent DirecTV customer- went to Dish for a year and was very pleased with their receivers. I fell for a DirecTV promotion ad and went back to them, only to be HIGHLY disappointed with the inferior performance of their HD DVR's. Less than a week old, the HD DVR stopped recording, would freeze up constantly and often turned off and on by itself. In addition, DirecTV has to install TWO lines to do what DISH does with one line. The cutomer service reps are nice and try to help, but they are dealing with a very bad product.

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Roy Hagar
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Dec 26, 2007 9:08 pm EST

The Directv HD DVR sucks big time. I went from Tivo to this? Completely non-intuitive, ugly interface, undependable recording software skips programs, gives the viewer and "flash of garbage" screen EACH TIME a program is deleted from the playlist. Very inelegant design! The closed caption off/on tab is hidden away in the settings menu and takes a dozen keystrokes to access. What a disaster. It must have been a "low-bid" gets-the-job out-sourcing operation. The result is a cheesy, inferior product, not even in the same cosmos with Tivo's elegant software and features.

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sherry tremper
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Sep 22, 2007 1:48 pm EDT

I believe that a class action lawsuit should be filed against directv every since i canceled their service two months ago they won't keep their fingers out of my checking account. They keep taking money out of my account w/o authorization which is stealing first they took the final bill then the following month after i sent the receivers back they said i rented 4 pay-per-view porn movies totaling $ 50.54. I know there is people out there that is out more than that, it's the principle of it they didn't mind sewing when they were being stolen from.

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Candace Rushiddin
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May 14, 2007 3:49 pm EDT

This letter is in regard to my Billing. In Jan. 2007 I rec’d an offer in the mail for service. I accepted the offer for $59.99 total choice plus which included free for I year Starz, Showtime and a choice of DVR service or HD package. I choose the HD package. (Copy of mail offer enclosed). On your website I confirmed the offer and also printed a copy (copy enclosed)

To this date I have not received a correct bill. I call every month upon receit of my bill. I spend more than an hour on the phone each time. After being on hold 10-15 min I then speak with your first line person who in the end can’t help me after another 20min or so. . Again I am place on hold for 10-15min , the second line person has me on and off hold for at least another 20min. They correct the bill after much confusion and assure me my bills will be right in the future.

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Hobart J Crusenberry
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Mar 08, 2007 7:57 pm EST

Today, 8 Mar 07, my HR20 quit responding to the remote. A minute or so earlier it had produced blank screens for all the programs already recorded on the hard drive. After I reset, it still behaved erratically, not responding to either the rewind or the pause buttons. I reset one more time. This time, the HR20 started responding normally.

Another typical day with the HR20, which sux big time.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Feb 08, 2007 8:30 am EST

I had been a customer of DirecTV for about 10 months when my primary receiver (HD) stopped working. After hours with the customer service department and numerous telephone calls, it was determined that the receiver was defective.

I was given the option of having one of their service technicians come to my home for $75 to tell me it was defective or go to my local Best Buy to pick up a replacement receiver. I chose the latter due to the fact that we had already resolved all of the wiring and other equipment issues and discovered that the problem was within the receiver that was provided me by DirecTV. When I got home with the new receiver, I tried to put my existing smart card into the new receiver and found it would not authorize. So again I called customer service. I was told that was no problem that they could activate the card that came with the new receiver over the phone. Doing that, I was able to receive the programming for which I was paying for.

After 16 months of service I decided to switch to my local cable company that recently started to provide High Speed internet, which DirecTV did not provide, so I cancelled my service. I had a 1 year commitment that would have expired 7/26/06, and this was 11/26/06. I was told by the customer service rep that I would owe an early termination fee of $225. I told this person that I had fulfilled my one year commitment and she advised me that when I replaced the defective receiver, that constituted starting a "New" service of which I was obligated for another year. I told her at that time that I did not start a new service, but had merely replaced a defective receiver that they had provided me. I was at that time told me by purchasing (not really) the unit, I had agreed to their terms of service. These terms were not conveyed to me at any point during any conversation, but were posted on their website.

They claim that I am obligated to pay the charges, so I filed the necessary dispute as outlined in DirecTV TOS. According to this, all disputed charges are placed on hold until the dispute is resolved. I have not received any correspondence from DirecTV regarding my dispute, but had a collection agency contact me this morning 2/7/07 informing me that my account with DirecTV had been placed with them for collection.

In the process, DirecTV withdrew funds from my account for an additional month after my cancellation. In my response to them I requested not only that the charges for early termination be dropped, but the additional month of services which I did not receive be promptly refunded to me. If any one has any suggestions or comments, I would be happy to hear.

I am forwarding this to every consumer protection agency I can, and would appreciate any others with similar complaints to do the same.

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DirecTV piece of junk!

Don't but an hr20-700 unless you are ready to miss recordings and expect freeze-ups and system resets!

Below is an email sent to direct tv on my most recent double disappointing experience:

I just installed a hr20 two weeks ago. I am more than disappointed! I recorded the new orleans saints-eagles playoff game last night and attempted to watch it this morning.

But before I tell you what your recorder did, let me say I am a die hard saints fan that has been waiting 40 years to see the game that your damn box just deprived me of!

The recording was set to record 1 hour longer than scheduled. It played fine until the 2hr and 18 min mark; third quater - eagles 21-saints 20; then the picture froze and there was nothing recorded from that point on except short bursts of audio!

I know you can't fix my loss, but perhaps you could send me a dvd with the game on it.

I have 3 tivo's and 4 ultimates. I have neverhad this kind of problem with their equipment!

I have not decided what to do with your piece of junk!

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DirecTV do not honor their billing and services agreement!

I signed up with Direct tv on December 18, 2006. I looked over the packages on the internet prior to calling. I signed up for the total choice plus with free starz movie channel for 1 year for 49.99 and a $10 off a month after sending in a form (a type of rebate.

I also received a Greek channel for $14.99. they were also giving me a DVR for $107 with a rebate for $100. When the service representatives came I was not home my husband was. He called me at work (I am a teacher) to ask what plan I ordered because the service representatives did not know. I left school early. I came home a bit upset that they did not know what my order contained. they had put on the basic receivers not the DVR. I told them to forget about it. I had to call and get a reimbursement because the service men did not take care of it as they said they would. they only reenbursed me $100 not $107. I had to call about that. I had also called 3 to 4 times about getting DVR service free for 12 months. I did not know if the DVR box would work without the DVR service. 2 representatives said yes it would. One told me it would not. they would send me another one. Another one told me it would not work and they would send me a basic one if available and would be charged $49 or $59. Nobody semes to know the same information. the last representative told me that I would be locked in for 2 years with the DVR box, something none of the others told me. Finally for the hasel I was given Show Time movie channel for free for 6 months. wait theres more.

When the bill came the charges were different. They had given me a lower program the total choice programing for 44.99, the starz for $12.00, and the Mega Greek channel for 14.99. This added up to more money than what I was suppose to pay and less channels. I called and talked to a representative for over 4 hours.

She told me that she will upgrade me to the total choice plus for 49.99 but can't give me the promotion because it is past 24 hours of the activation. Instead she issued a credit for the starz for 6 months ( $10 a month and $25). She told me that I was to call back after 6 months to reimburse me for the next 6 months. The mistake was Direct Tv's. I shouldn't have to call back. They should of fixed my bill correctly especially after being on the phone for about 3 hours at this point. I asked for a supervisor. I waited for about 30 minutes and the representative checked how long it would take the supervisor to talk to me. She said I was the 12th person in line. 1 and 1/2 hours later I'm Still waiting. I spoke to the representative about canceling my contract. She said I would be charged over $100 for cancellation of the agreement. I can't see why, they did not honor their agreement to me why should I honor my agreement to them.

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Deb Ohio
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Mar 08, 2007 3:55 am EST

I signed up with Directv when they were offering a free portable dvd player. I never received the paperwork necessary until I called about it. I filled everything out and sent everything requested. Instead of a portable dvd player I received a cheap dvd player (one to attach to a tv).

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DirecTV poor quality dvr units

I have been a Direct TV customer for years. About 6 months ago or so I decided to go with the DVR service(Similar to TiVo). Since that date I have spent many hours of my time troubleshooting the units on the telephone prompt system, troubleshooting over the telephone with technical support personnel, scheduling replacement visits with technicians, meeting with the technician to replace the units, waiting weeks, yes weeks, without TV service for the technician to replace the unit, calling customer service to identify my complaints with no resolution, and I am under a contract for two years of service in which to date has worked properly only 50% of the time. When the units start failing you reset the units a few times a day, thereafter every 15 minutes to the point in which the units will not reset and even lose the ability to turn on and off or select channels or DVR programming. My experience suggests that the DVR units have a bug of some kind that requires investigation by DirectTV. If you are having issues such as this I would ask that you mail letters to the said organizational contact, Ms. Jill LaVigne Vice President of Direct TV, Office of the President, PO BOX 6550, Greenwood Village, CO 80155. I am hoping that if enough of us say we want quality service they will rapidly work on fixing the devices before installing another defective device. Direct TV has lowered the quality of service they in the past had been known for and this is not acceptable.

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Welby
Normal, US
Mar 21, 2011 2:56 am EDT

I too was lied to. It's still a better value than concast, but only w/o the dvr. Their ads tout 6000 movies and shows free on demand for no extra cost. The salesman told me I'd be getting them no problem, as did the tech that installed the 4 boxes. The picture is great, but I did just experience my first signal loss in a light rain(2nd full day of service), so there may be trouble there in the future?. My issue is that even though the salesman and the installer promised me to be able to get the on demand shows w/o the dvr(like concast), their tech support and customer 'service' tell me that this is NOT true. Minor screw up IMO, and easy enough to fix...or so I thought.

I expected them to just swap out my boxes and get me the service I was promised going. I was even willing to pay the extra $10/month for the service, but they will only replace 1 of my boxes and not all 4. The advert material given at the point of sale clearly states 'no equipment to buy ever', but they want $199.00 for EACH of the other 3 dvr enabled boxes. This is clearly the wrong way to treat a customer. Had the salesman (and the installer mentioned this) not screwed up, I would have been charged nothing but the $6/month rental for each of the extra boxes(same whether dvr or not). I've decided to not pay the extra $10 to get access to what is promised free in both their ads and my sales contract, and I'm not switching my boxes out. I have an old computer(newer harddrive) I use as a dvr, and I have no restrictions on what I can record(or for how long)! It does suck to not get the '6000 movies and shows free at no extra charge', but given that the call center people basically told me that most of the calls they had gotten lately were related to this issue(salesman screw ups), I expect that they will get a class action suit against them, and I can just hop on the bandwagon then rather than waste more of my time trying to get them to do the right thing.

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Jack2010
Stockton, US
Dec 10, 2010 10:37 pm EST

My box has never worked from day one, and all they want is money to fix it, I will not do it. It's a piece of garbage and this company is run by the MOB! Their tech dept is a joke, no help what so ever. I will be signing up with AT&T next month who provide a wonderful TV and they service their equipemt for no charge. They also have the app...and from seeing my neighbors who are all going this route, the equipment is awesome!
I am so angry, Direct TV is the worst business (and I use the term loosly) ever, they make Comcast look like saints!

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Traci hates Direct TV
, US
Oct 12, 2010 7:21 pm EDT

I just got Direct TV three months ago and HATE HATE HATE it!

Picture this: Bottom of the 10th, Yankees versus Red Sox, Robinson Cano at bat and the damn receiver froze. I had to reboot the receiver and by the time it did all that uploading garbage, the game was over. This has happened regularly since the first week I received their service.

Direct TV has been out twice. The first technician told me that it was my satellite placement and that my sat would have to be moved ten feet, but HE COULDN'T DO IT because a contractor installed the dish and Direct Tv does NOT guarantee the work of a contractor. He said he'd send out the man who installed the dish. However, a week later someone else came (not the original installer) and this person told me that I had strong signal strength and that the problem was with my electrical outlets and that faulty outlets would cause the receiver to freeze. WTF? My electrical outlets are fine.

I HATE direct tv. absolutely hate it so if you are contemplating getting it, DON'T!

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jaggz
Oceanside, US
Jul 30, 2010 2:43 pm EDT
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Direct TV is a bunch of gangsters. Got their service bundled with Verizon Triple Freedom. It has been a nightmare since Day one. First it was the "bills aren't synchronized, so you are paying more" scam. Then it was "the computer didn't put through the discount" scam. Then it was the "it's Direct TV/it's Verizon's fault" blame game where the customer is bounced like a ping pong ball between the two companies. Now it's the jack the rates even though we had a contract because we still have the $20/month early termination fee hammer over you head.

Direct TV's customer service is a joke and Verizon by association and guilt is no better with its massive electronic gauntlet to get through to its customer service reps.

It's a disgusting situation and I would AVOID let alone NOT RECOMMEND doing business with either company.

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beatscot
Metuchen, US
May 01, 2009 2:27 pm EDT

I am a new Direct TV customer. I got Direct TV due to signing up for the Triple bundle with Verizon. Since signing up 3 months ago, i have had constant problems with my internet & phone line service and had no choice but to cancel my account. Since I got my Direct TV as a bundle I have no choice but to cancel it as well since alone it si too costly. When calling to cancel, I spoke wih Robert in the Texas Call Center. He was very RUDE, not caring about my dificulties at all. He would just repeat, "you dont need to cancel Direct TV, just order internet & ohone with another provider. I explained that it was too costly that way and that I needed to sign up for the triple paly with Comcast to get the best deal. He was only interested in stting that I had to pay the early cancellation fee and did not care if it was Verizon's fault or not. WE would not let me speak to a Supervisor and finally got me one that only spoke spanish! After 35 frustrating minutes, I spoke to a guy named Ernesto, which started saying: you must pay the early cancellation fee and not caring about anything else. I do not believe that the cancellation is my fault! I signed up for a package and Verizon did not deliver! Direct TV technicians have been at myhouse 3 times already! in the past two months. The representatives like ROBERT # MX1542 are a disgrace to any company. They do not have common sense and should not be working in Customer SErvice. This has been a very dissapointing experience. I am telling everyone I know that thye should NEVER switch over to VErizon or Direct TV, it is not worth the hassle. I am writting to my Congressman explaing this horrible experience. It is in times like this that we should join to help each other and not try to trick you into a package that does not work for you. I am not a technician and would have never imagined that I would be facing all these additional fees and cost for something that is beyond my control. I have asked to contact a Manager and Robert alsways refused without giving me a reason. Is this the Company polciy? Please avoid this horrible experience by keeping away from these Companies. Robert, I am still waiting for a Manager to contact me. You have my information.

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Jake
Colonial Heights, US
Nov 18, 2008 5:49 pm EST

I had direct tv for about 4 years and i wasn't 100% thrilled with them. i complained because you could litteraly spit on the satellite and my reception would be lost i thought this to actually be amusing until it would rain ever so slightly. i left for school for a year and had it cancelled and had no problems i was actually rather happy with the cancellation i didnt see any charges or nothing. now that was atleast 4 years ago after comming home from school i decided to go back to dtv since cable just seemed to be getting ridiculously expensive so i signed back up and again i was moderately happy. well now here comes what really pissed me off and i would like to know if anyone else has had this problem. i went to best buy and bought 2 or the dvr remote boxes so i could record shows and what not. well when my contract was up i did the bundle thing through my cable company (tv internet phone) and upon cancelling this time dtv told me that i need to send my boxes back to the...uuuuuuhhhhh what i spent $120 each on those things well what best buy and direct tv dont tell you is that even though you bought them from best buy you are actually on leasing the boxes...so you can either get one of thier pos boxes that dont seem to last a month or you can spend a fortune and just turn it back in when you cancel.

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TaMaRa
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Aug 20, 2008 1:27 pm EDT

On Sunday 8/17/08, I called Direct TV to inquire about service for my new home. The representative I spoke to was Robert at the Texas call center. He told me he needed my credt/debit card info. and social security number to run a credit check. I was hesitant to give both of them, but felt secure at the time that they were a reputable company. I told Robert not to put any charges on my debit account. He said he had to place me on hold and then we would set up an appointment time. Not once did he state ANYTHING about a charge. He hung up on my while I was supposedly placed on hold.
I called right back and asked for a manager. Spoke to Pat in Miami call center and of course there was NO record of my call. I called back on Monday 8/18/08 and spoke to Tacho an account supervisor who advised me that there was an order number that was canceled from Sunday. However, I called my bank because I had a bad feeling about giving that first representative my debit card number. My bank advised me that there is a charge in the amount of $219.95 on my account from SUNDAY! I NEVER even set up an appointment time, never authorized any amount, NEVER even had an account number. Did NOT agree to even going with Direct TV at this point because I was not told what the monthly rate would be. It is a fraudulant charge and now not even supervisors can credit my account because there in NO account number. They are telling me to fax over my bank statement to them and they will look into it. In the mean time my account is in the negative and I have bills that need to be paid. I finally called the fraud department on the back of my debit card. They are doing a complete investigation on Direct TV. ADVICE to anyone looking for new service---DO NOT EVEN CALL CUSTOMER SERVICE TO INQUIRE ABOUT SERVICES THEY WILL CHARGE YOU BEFORE YOU EVEN AGREE TO SET UP SERVICE and you will be on HOLD for at least an hour each time! After 5 hours of being on the phone with them and wasting my cell phone minutes and getting nothing but aggravation. I am in contact with an attorney now and he can deal with them.

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R. R. Ristau
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May 01, 2008 6:28 am EDT

I changed sat. from Dish to direct. That proves how stupid I am. I never recieved a bill from direct tv. I called and they said one was sent out. I questioned them and found out it was sent to a wrong address. I corrected the address and still no bill. I called them again and was sent to asia by phone to speak to someone I couldn't understand. Good ole American company selling us out to another country to make executive look great? at our expense.I was then told that I would receive a bill on 4-18-08. If I didn't, Iwas to let them know. I never got the bill so I let them know. Their next move was to shut down my service. I was with Dish for about three years and never had one problem.

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L. Bamburg
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Apr 20, 2008 4:08 pm EDT

I am also having problems with DirectTV and wish I had never left Dish Network and my TIVO. Now I have a service that is far from what I expected and apparently will likely get worse as time passes. I recorded a pay-per-view movie and when I tried to watch it again I was prompted to pay for it again. I selected NO of course since I had already paid for the movie. When I called DirectTV to complain I was told some story that I have not been able to confirm so I believe it is a lie. The customer service rep told me that a new law was passed on April 15, 2008 that required the satelite companies can no longer allow any one to keep a movie they have recorded for future viewing. The rep told me that if you recorded a movie you would only be able to watch it again if it was within the 24 hour period, then the movie would no longer be on the DVR and you would have to pay to see it again. This is where the first lie comes in that I was able to confirm. I had recorded the movie the night before and it was still within the 24 hour time frame and I was not able to watch it again unless I was willing to pay the $4.99 again. I told him the movie had been recorded less than the 24 hours before and I was not able to watch it and all he could say was he was sorry about that. He claimed that if the movie was recorded on the DVR that 24 hours later DirectTV would erase the movie. That is another lie that I was able to confirm because more than 24 hours after recording the movie it was still on the DVR, but we could not watch it without paying for it again. So, we erased it ourselves! I told the customer service rep that we would be getting rid of the service and he asked me if we had a commitment of 1 year or something else. I am glad he reminded me of that because if you stop the service with DirectTV before your commintment is fulfilled they will charge you (according to the customer service rep) $20 per month for the time still left on your contract even though you have stopped the service. So I told him, ok as soon as the contract is up they can take there equipment back. I also told the rep that I would never be renting a movie from them again and I suggest the rest of you do the same. You can get much better movie rental service from Net Flicks and you can watch the movie as many times as you want to.
I was going to sell the equipment because I cought it, but with all of this and the problems I see others having I would not wish this on anyone else. Who needs it and why would I even want to sell it to someone else when I have not had a good experience with them. The only real reason why I switched to DirectTV is because they are the only ones in my area that offer the "NFL Sunday Ticket" otherwise I would have stayed with Dish Network and my TIVO! I got this sevice before football season was over, but was not even told which channels it was on until long after the season was over. I am being charged $23.99 a month for this season and have not even seen one game to date. I will be going back to Dish even though they do not have "NFL Sunday Ticket", because at least it always worked and they never lied to me!

DirectTV is just a big ripoff! Warning "IF YOU DO NOT HAVE DIRECT TV, DO NOT GET IT" because you will not be happy with it at all, ever.

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Mrs. B.Gaddis
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Apr 15, 2008 12:09 pm EDT

I was also ripped off by Direct Tv I signed up for one of their programs and was never charged the amount they said I would get the programing for after 3 months I cancelled but after I had paid for a month of service. Almost double what I should have paid. I was told in 6 to 8 weeks i would receive a refund but none came but I did get a bill for 18 cents they said I owed after they deducted some discounts from my money... All they could say was file a despute with them if I didn't agree.

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DirecTV - refuses to give refund

I recently became a new subscriber to directtv. After 4 days of having the service, I knew it in no way compared to the prior provider that I had had for years. I contacted directtv and was reassured by them that because I had the 30 day trial I would be refunded the $431.31 for the hd receiver, so I went ahead and canceled. Weeks later after returning the...

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DirecTV no accountability, more b.s. than a cattle ranch - satellite service

For those with Direct TV, please be diligent about checking your bills. Here is my horror story about Direct TV. I hope that others could avoid what I went through.

I was a faithful Direct TV customer since 2000. Because I of my job, I had to cancel my service in 2003. Back then, service was good and monthly basic charge was only $30, which include Fox sport channels. In any case, I decided to move closer to work and had my Direct TV reinstalled in the summer of 2004. At the time I got it, there was the special deal for the NFL package for $60 per month, which included the premium package. As many know, the premium package run about $90 per month. This deal only lasted for about 16 weeks, the length of the NFL regular season.

In any case, one month before the deal expired, I got a called from Direct TV if I wanted to continue with the premium package. I explicit declined and wished to go to the basic package and the end of the deal. I thought that was it and everything should be taken care of. Unfortunately, much to my dismay, that was just the beginning of my problem with Direct TV. During this time I had Direct TV had charge directly to my credit card. They had insisted so from the first day of installation. I think that was a mistake for the consumer such as myself.

At any rate I did not know that Direct TV has been charging me the premium package rate at the end of the offer. I found this out when I got my credit card bill. I immediately contacted Direct TV’s customer service and contested it. The gentleman at Direct TV agreed to credit the charge back on the next billing cycle and agree to change my package to the basic. Also, I requested that a paper billing statement to be sent to my home and Direct TV no longer charge to my credit card.

I thought that was the end of it. However, the next credit card statement showed the same charge from Direct TV. I was a bit steam, because nothing has changed. It appeared that all my requests fell on deaf ears.

In any case, I called Direct TV about my problem. This time the person assured me that this time my billing will be changed. The funny thing was that all my requests were noted in their record. This time something did happen, my service was changed to the basic and so was the charge. However, they did not credit me back for the previous charges. After 2 more calls back, I finally got my credit. Every time I called them, I asked for a paper statement to be sent. However, they never sent for whatever reason. So at the end of my contract, I cancelled my Direct TV service.

Just this June, 2006, I reactivated my Direct TV. Before I reactivated, I ask the customer service about what charges and requirement. It was simple since I own the equipment. At the end of June, I got a bill for the month of June and also for July. I did not understand why I got charged for the month of July when it was just the beginning of July. Generally, one would get charged for service rendered. However, service was not rendered and I was charged already. I called Direct TV up about the bill, and a lady look at my account and she said it must be some sort of mistake. She told me to pay whenever I owe for the month of June. That was what I did and way in advanced of the due date. This month I got a warning from Direct TV that I was late on my payment and that they are going cut my service off unless I pay the prior month and next month’s charges. So I called them up again, and the first thing that this idiotic of a customer service guy name Martin told me reason for the charge was that I still least the equipment. I shot back. I asked him what sort of BS is that. He told me, “Whatever you want to call it that is the company’s policy.” I told him how could that be because I own the equipment. I explained to him that I called up the prior month and one of his people told me to pay for the prior a month and I don’t need to pay for the month in advanced. He responded that she was not part of the company. I was pissed and shocked by the answer. I figured that I wasn’t going to get anywhere with this guy. So I asked for his supervisor. I’m not even sure if Flora was his supervisor. In any case, I did not get any satisfaction from her, but more BS. I decided to cancel once and for all at that point.

I will never use Direct TV services again. That’s my vow. Too many blatant BSs… I think that the company operate on a very fine line, very close to a scam.

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Update by Valerie
Aug 16, 2006 11:37 am EDT

All basic charges for my utilities are paid a month in advance with the exception of electricity. Overages, such as more calls than my phone plan allows, are tacked onto the next bill. Have no heating bill since it's included in my apartment rent. I wouldn't consider that BS--it's fact.

Update by Valerie
Aug 16, 2006 11:37 am EDT

I can't believe you went back to these people after they messed up your account in 2004. Consider it a lesson learned!

Update by Valerie
Aug 16, 2006 11:37 am EDT

directv and the dishtv being in the same family...deceiving to say the least...

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Micheal Gentry
,
Jan 12, 2008 6:51 pm EST

Direct Technologies in Dallas, NC contracts for Directv and they refuse to pay me the $3000.00 owed to me for working for them. The owners Jessica Long told me I was getting my money back in October 2007 and Stacy Long her husband will not pay me. He has a criminal record for being a thief. If I had known this when I was hired then I would not have worked there. This is a low life ### company. Please avoid them totally. They will rip you off! Why would Directv hire someone with a criminal theift record?

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DirecTV no service from direct tv!

Signed up for service and no one showed up or called. Contact customer service no help. I will stay with the cable company (Comcast), at lest they will show up and call.

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Tkunkel
Marion, US
Mar 16, 2010 9:52 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I cannot bad mouth direct tv I never had any trouble with them...

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Sara
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Feb 22, 2008 10:33 pm EST

I was a customer in love with DirecTV. Never had one problem in almost four years. I had the wonderful DirecTV Tivo box. While paying my bill online, I noticed that DirecTV were offering boxes that held up to 100 hours. My old box only held 30. So I decided to "upgrade". And while I was at it, I decided to have a DVR installed in our bedroom as well. So DirecTV sent me a box for the living room, and scheduled a tech to come out to set up the bedroom.

WORST MISTAKE EVER!
I did not realize before it arrived that this “new” box was not a Tivo, nor was it new, but refurbished. I was sent the R15 100. It was CLEARLY not a Tivo; the features could not even compare (where is my Season Pass? My wishlist?)! But I figured, ah well, I will learn to love this as I loved my Tivo.

Unfortunately, before I could start this new affair, the box crapped out. Right away it gave me problems: Black screen where recorded shows should be, freezing, etc. After HOURS and HOURS on tech support (resetting, re-downloading updates, finally re-formatting the hard drive- in which I lost all the shows I had been able to record), DirecTV FINALLY said they would send me a replacement box.

However, before it showed up, the installers showed up to hook up the bedroom. Now- while they were setting the room up for DVR, this room already had the regular DirecTV box in there. So when the guy from Ironwood Communications tells me he needs $75.00 before he will start work, I was confused. He mentioned something about having to wall fish and that being the cause for the charge. I felt it was odd since I had been promised “Free Installation” but ah well, I wrote him a check. He does the work, while the “new guy” he was training did god knows what. He sends the newbie out to have me sign saying the work was complete, and while doing so made some off color comments to me. At that point I just wanted them out. They leave, and I realize there is NO mention whatsoever on my copy of the receipt that I paid them any money or that any special work was done. Then I get to thinking, what the hell did they do that was so special? Wall fishing? Uh, there was already a cable going from the satellite to the old box, didn’t they just follow that? Eventually we were able to get Ironwood to shred the check, but I was still feeling a little ripped off.

But then, the next day, guess what? THE SAME DAMN PROBLEMS START HAPPENING IN THE BEDROOM. So I call DirecTV and ask them to send me a NEW box instead of another refurbished one, since so far, the two they had sent me were both faulty. They informed me that was not going to ever happen, if I wanted a new box I would have to purchase one (What was the $99 for, since I guess I am leasing these from them?!) And mind you, this is after night after night of dealing with tech support and lost shows. They do tell me that should any more problems arise, I will be assigned “CASE MANAGEMENT” so that I do not have to jump from tech to tech every time I have problems, and will be given one person who will know who I am and have been going through. That is great, but I hope the replacements will just WORK AS THEY SHOULD and I have no need for any more assistance.

Now, I might also mention that every time I have to unhook one box and hook up a replacement, it means losing any shows I had in my playlist. It also means having to once again set up the Prioritizer, remotes, etc. And it means having to wait for the Guide whiles it S L O W L Y gets the correct info. All of which is taking time and losing shows.

So they send me a replacement for the living room and a replacement for the bedroom. The replacements are R15 500s. The living room one is another refurbished one that is all scratched up, but luckily the bedroom one came brand new.

Everything was fine for about one and a half weeks. I was finally adjusting to life without the glorious DirecTV DVR, when BAM! The living room box freezes in the middle of a show. I had to unplug the box to get it to come back up. I hoped that was the end of the problems, but of course LMAO, it was not. Two nights ago, I happen to walk into the living room at 8:55. I look over at the box, which should have the “Record” button lit up as it was supposed to be recording two programs at 8:00. But of course, the whole box is dark and unresponsive. So I reset, and get the blue “Hello” screen. Then BAM! Back to black. I reset again and it finally comes on, but of course, I am out of luck on my two shows. I also notice that the 2 shows that were supposed to record at 7:00 actually did not start until 7:12, meaning I missed the 1st ¼ of them.

I am really upset now, because once again, I have lost shows and am having to deal with a crappy product. I head to bed, making sure the box is working. Then last night, I get home from work, about to head out to dinner, when I notice that the box is ONCE AGAIN dead. I reset, reset, reset, make sure my shows are all set to record, and then I call DirecTV. I explain the situation, and also mention that I would like to have the Case Management set up, especially since it took going through 3 techs before anyone was willing to help me. 1st, he asks me if the box is plugged in. SERIOUSLY. Can he not see in his computer that I have been through the ringer and have tried all the steps before I call? But whatever, not too big of a deal. Then he tells me as far as the Case Management goes, no problem, he will set that up and be right back. But OF COURSE, when he comes back, he informs me that I am not eligible for C.M. (even though I was previously told I would be) He says all he can do is send out a tech to see what the problem is, and that he will bring a replacement box. I explain that would be fine, however, I do not want anyone from Ironwood Communications coming into my house ever again due to the last incident. He informs me that they are the only company in the area that would be able to assist me (Really? In the whole North Bay?) Then he offers to just send a replacement, if I am comfortable hooking it up myself- which of course I am, I have already done it a couple times by now. And since I am now late for my dinner plans, I say fine, let’s just get this done.

So now I am ticked off about my ongoing drama with my once beloved company. I push past it though, and try to enjoy my dinner. Once I get home, I am relieved to see that the box is still up and running. UNTIL I CHECK THE PLAYLIST… and find that Survivor is missing. I guess the DVR just decided that I did not need to see it. You know, regardless of the fact that it is the top show on my Prioritizer. In the History list, not even a mention of it. That is bad enough, as I am ready to throw the freaking box out the window, but then when we sit down to watch Lost, about 10 minutes in, THE BOX SHUTS DOWN AGAIN. So, knowing the drill by now, I go and hit the reset button. Nothing. So I repeat. Nothing. This goes on for about 5 minutes, sometimes the box coming to life to say Hello, and then shutting down again, other times just ignoring me altogether. I finally unplug it, let it sit, and then plug it back in. It comes up, and we have no more problems the rest of the night. Oh, except the fact that one of the shows I was recording when the box shut down, is now completely gone, not a mention of it anywhere.
And now today. As I get ready for work, I head to the living room, and find that once again, the box is dead. I do my little song and dance with the reset button, and the power cord, but alas, nothing. So now, I am without a working box in the living room.

Will I be compensated? Hell no.

Will I have to continue to pay for service while I wait on the replacement to show up?
OF COURSE.

Will the replacement be another refurbished piece of crap that will in almost certainty screw up again? I would bet on it.

I might also mention that over the course of all my phone calls with tech support for each of the boxes, I have spent about 10 hours of my time and energy. When I asked a supervisor about any kind of compensation, he said all he could do was give me $5.00 off my Showtime for 3 months. WOW! A whole $15.00 off! So basically, my time, energy and such is worth a whole $1.50 per hour. Thanks DirecTV! Thank you so much!

How about this- if you are cutting ties with Tivo, and are going to offer your own DVR boxes, how about you MAKE SURE THEY DAMN WELL WORK BEFORE YOU SEND THEM OUT?! How about you don’t dick me around by sending me refurbished box after refurbished box and give me something that has even a chance of working?
Or better yet, how about you let me hook up my trusted Tivo again, and NOT charge me the $150.00 fee you say you will. I mean, crap, I agreed to another two years with you before I realized you were going to make my life hell, so you could at least do that.
Or wait, I know, what you really could do is check yourselves, and lick Tivo’s heals in hopes that they will take you back. If I had not agreed to the 2 more years, you can bet I would be long gone.

All I want is a product to work the way it is supposed to. And if said product fails to do so, that the company behind it remedy the situation. And if they cannot, then they should not be charging me for said product. In the whole time I had the DirecTV Tivo, I NEVER had one problem. Not one! Isn’t that pretty much how things are supposed to work?

Throughout this entire thing, I have remained calm, and friendly with the techs. I have not become one of those irate screaming customers, because working in customer service myself, I am fully aware that it is not the techs fault for the company’s bad business. HOWEVER- the buck now has to stop somewhere. I am LIVID and WILL be getting results, however I can.

All I wanted was to expand my hours from 30 to 100. That was it, simple and easy. And now I just want to be done with it. The pure and simple fact is that I am paying for a service that is not working, and that sucks. I want a resolution.

If you have read this far, bless you :> If you have any suggestions on how I could handle any of this, please let me know. I would greatly appreciate it!
Have a great day, and may Tivos be bestowed on all

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A bowling
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Jan 28, 2008 11:36 am EST

I signed up for direct tv service 2 wekks ago. They have promised to come out to set it up on 2 seperate dates and have been a no show both times. The direct tv costumer service has been no help. I am going to contact the better business bueau and encourage all with problems to do the same.

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Phillip Zagotti
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Jan 06, 2008 7:33 pm EST

I contracted with Direct TV to come out and do a installation for a system with a DVR. First, the Direct TV tech did not show for two scheduled appointments, (I should have canceled the service then). Finally on the third time someone showed up and installed the TV boxes and used the old dish on the roof from the previous home owners. After a few hours of playing around with the system I noticed that I could not record anything without having to watch it too. I scheduled another appointments for the tech to come out and do a proper installation and once again they did not show. I scheduled one last appointment and the day of the appointment I received a phone call form the service tech saying that because my home is a two story house they could not do the installation.

I want to take a moment out here to state something. If the tech had told me that the company did not do two story installations when they finally showed up on the third appointment to do the original install I would have never entered into the agreement. I am under the personal belief that if the service tech who did the original installation knew that a DVR system was being installed and did not do the cabling installation correctly and then enter into a contract for a service that he knows he has not set me up to receive represents the elements necessary to prove fraud.

After calling the corporate offices and talking to a manager I was told that I had two options. They could give me a $75 credit and I could get another company to come out and do that actual cable installation or I could do it myself but that Direct TV does not do two story homes in Houston TX. I informed that manager that he had two choices either someone comes out and install the system per the agreement or they cancel my contact. The manager then proceeded to cancel the agreement with me over the phone.

I know I will have to fight them when they try to charge me a early termination fee but I think I will cancel the credit card I used to set up the service just to make sure they don’t rip me off.

Long story short if you are thinking about going with this company DON'T.

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Tanya
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Aug 31, 2007 4:21 pm EDT

To Whom It May Concern:

I had such a bad experience with direct tv customer service. This is not on just one occasion, this is 3-4 times that I called and I get rude employees. I can’t even believe the way I was treated. I got direct tv with a 300 deposit because I had no credit and was informed that I will get all of it back, by them taking off a certain dollar amt off my bill. I was okay with that knowing that It would be credited towards my account. I was in the middle of moving and had a lot of other bills so the account went to collections. I called them back once I was finally settled and told them that I would like to get my service back on. The rep that I spoke to at that time told me that it would be 203.00 that I needed to pay. I told them that I would pay them as soon as I get paid. A week before I got paid which was a couple of days before I spoke to that rep, I got a phone call from a collections agency saying that I had to make a payment. I then told them that I would be getting my services restored. They said I can give them the payment and they will post it with direct tv. I called directv a day before the scheduled day for payment (talked to a rep name leah) , and they had no record because the collections agency has a different system then they do, which I understand. What I was surprised to hear is that they have no record of what collections agency my account was sent to. WOW! I was really surprised by the fact that an account is sent out and you have no idea where it went to. Not to mention how rude that girl was, I can just picture her sitting there rolling her eye as she’s talking. I got to the supervisor and he was a little bit helpful giving me the info that I needed to know but still didn’t know where my account was. Anyway, so I go through my file found the collections that my account was sent to and called them back and gave them the name of the collections my account is with. I get paid and still no money was taken out for like a week so I am thinking they are probably not going to take it out since it was an automatic payment and they haven’t taken it out. I spent some money out of that payment and then they take out the money, and over drafted my account which was partly my fault so I take the blame for it. I call and get a rep name Marquita who was so extremely rude & was even worse then the other one. She tells me “I do see a payment posted on the account but you are 17 dollars shy so we cant get the service back on.” At this point I’m upset so I say to her “ So I made this payment, that collections took it out late, so I now have over drafted my account 70.00 not to mention the fees that I am going to pay along w/ it and you’re telling me that I cant get my service back on because of 17.00”? She says to me… YES! I am telling you that very rudely. I said to her what type of customer service she has, she should consider taking a class on how to treat callers better, and she says well do you want me to transfer you to someone else since you want me to take a class. I ask for the supervisor and she hangs up on me. I call back finally get the supervisor on the line and he was rude, I was yelling because at this point I’m pissed. He says there is nothing I can do for you. I say okay for 17 dollars, can you bill my account or take it out of my 300 dollars deposit that I made? When they billed me they only take out 5 each bill which means I would have had about 285 left. He tells me I lost the 300 because my acct went to collections so I need to pay end of story. I ask to speak to a manager, director, or a department where I can file a grievance. He tells me that they don’t do them over the phone that I would have to write a letter, and I cant speak to a manager or director. I called the Better Business Bureau the next day and they needed the location of the call center that I spoke with. I call them back to ask if they can look at the notes on my account to see who I spoke with and which city the call center is located. They said names are not posted on the account so there is no way of telling who you spoke with and which call center it was. They really need to change their system so they can be able to track who you spoke with for quality purposes! The only thing which they were able to provide me was the address to send complaints to which is Attn office of the president Direct Inc. P.O box 6550 Greenwood Village, Colorado 80155. I advice anyone who is having problems with directv to report it to the better business bureau.

Sincerely,
Tanya Lodge

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Linda Kalina
Butler, US
Apr 14, 2007 2:03 am EDT

Sub: Billing and agreement

This is highlight the lack of integrity in Directv operations. I had called you direct tele sales and booked my account with direct tv on 3rd April 2007. The agent told me that I would get 20$ discount on my bill for 10 months and signed up for direct tv on 5th April.

Today i got a bill with no discount. I called retention department and they told me that there was no such scheme. I requested to get my account cancelled and they tell me that I have to pay about 12 $ per month penalty.

This is not a ethical practice. First their sales team promises some discount then they do not give that discount and charge for de- activation of service. Its just 7 days that I have used the service. When I call their call center I am put on hold by for hours and then disconnected. Now I am helpless and I cannot do anything.

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sheetal
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Feb 06, 2007 12:49 am EST

Dont get carried away by all the offers and promises they make at the time you become a new customer.

They promised me a FREE PORTABLE DVD PLAYER for which i dutifully sent the registration/rebate form and waited patiently for 3 months. After this i kept following up and sending emails for 3-4 months. After all that, they sent me a very ordinary, cheap basic DVD player instead of the promised PORTABLE DVD PLAYER. I still plan to follow up with them but i am already so frustrated about fighting for something that was promised to me.

My suggestion is that instead of the portable dvd player you should bargain for a cash back or something.

Dont trust them. They are cheats.

Good luck.

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mike hill
,
Jan 05, 2007 9:53 pm EST

Ironwood communications is a very lazy company, right now i am a sub contractor for them and the inhouse guys are the laziest half ### workers ever. ironwoods call center is always down and activation is also a pain, the people at the call center in salt lake never answer the phone, the training process is the weirdest where they make you ride with a guy for 3 days and kick you out on the street on your own, I've encountered situations where ironwood left some customers real pissed off for us subs and never done anything to help. George needs to be run out of business (ATI [install techs]) for his payroll deductions for non responders on telephone lines. and hes a weasel. he bought tables and plasmas for his office but takes money out of our checks and says its all out of his pocket, yeah right! and hes fat!

C
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Christina
,
Sep 13, 2006 11:04 am EDT

Copy of Letter sent to Directv

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to you to issue a formal complaint about services I received from Directv between May 2006 and July 2006. In order to best explain my complaint, I will describe the events that have occurred over the last 3 months in chronological order:

Early May 2006- I called Directv to schedule a “Movers Connect”. This was scheduled for May 27, 2006 between 1pm and 5pm.
A few days later I called to order DVR. For the sake of convenience, I asked that installation of the DVR be combined with my already scheduled appointment for the Movers Connect, but I was told that this would have to be a different appointment. Coincidentally, this was also scheduled for May 27, 2006 between 1pm and 5pm.
May 27, 2006: The technician for the Movers Connect (Anthony) and the technician for the DVR (Sal) arrive between 5:15 and 5:30pm. The technicians had difficulty deciding what should be done and who would install the satellite dish. It was eventually agreed that Anthony would install it. Sal decided that it would be best for him to leave since the dish was not up, despite Anthony telling him to wait and set up his wires. Sal told me to reschedule and left. Anthony finished his job of installing the Movers Connect. Evidently out of anger towards Sal, Anthony told my family and I that he arranged the wires so that it was easy for him and so that it would be “difficult” for the next person who came to install the DVR.
May 30, 2006: I called Directv to reschedule the DVR installation. I found out that it had already been rescheduled without my knowledge or consent. Despite this unconsulted and unilateral scheduling by your company, I rearranged my schedule to make myself available at the convenience of your technicians. The installation was rescheduled for June 1, 2006.
June 1, 2006: Technician arrives at the house. He stated that Anthony did not do a good job installing the dish. He stated that “the wires are a mess” and “they are not grounded.” The technician decided that he would need to put up a new dish. This created a situation where we would have two dishes on our home- one that was connected, and one that was not. Despite this fact, at 3pm, the technician stated that he would not be able to remove the original dish because there was no work order to do so. Between 4:30 and 5:30pm I was on the phone with Directv. After enduring the painstaking process of speaking with 7 different customer service representatives, and being passed around and transferred on the phone between the representatives for over an hour, I was told that the job to remove the original dish could be completed. I was given the following work order number- 213376. At this point, I had 2 satellite dishes on my house. Even with this work order, the technician at the house could not obtain permission from his supervisor to remove the dish. By 6pm that night the DVR was working, but 2 dishes, 1 of which was completely non-functioning, remained on my roof.
June 3, 2006: 7:10am- Received a call from technician from Directv. He stated that he would be coming in the afternoon to complete the job. Evidently, yet another appointment has been scheduled without my knowledge or consent. Since I did not know of any job that was rescheduled I called Directv. At 7:40am a representative from Directv told me that the technician would be coming out to remove the satellite dish. I called the technician back to confirm this appointment. I specifically told the technician not to come to the house unless he was going to remove the dish. He stated “I can do everything you need.”
3:30pm Technician calls to say that he will be at the house in ½ hour.
5:00pm Technician calls to say that he will be there in ½ hour.
7:00pm Technician calls to say that he will be there in a few minutes.
8:45pm Technician calls for directions.
9:15pm Technician finally arrives. During that day, a minor problem arose with respect to our ability to switch between video 1 mode (on which our Playstation could be played) and video 2 mode (on which we could receive Directtv programs). Upon his arrival, the tech was entirely unaware that this problem even existed, as we had not informed anyone of its existence. In a matter of seconds, the technician fixed this problem. We then proceeded outside to look at the satellite dish that the tech had agreed (14 hours previously) to remove. The tech stated that it was too dark. The technician then told me that he would only be removing the satellite dish as “a favor.” Although I was upset by this I explained to the man that after all day of waiting, this was the only job that he had been expected to do, and requested that he proceed to remove the dish. He replied “If you were nice, I would do it for you.” He was then asked to leave, but refused to leave until we signed a paper stating that he had completed his work (which he hadn’t, but we relented so he would leave our home). On that paper, we wrote in by hand that the technician had failed to remove the satellite dish, as we requested.
Shortly thereafter, we called to reschedule removal of dish. The dish removal was scheduled for June 11 between 1 and 5pm. When we called to reschedule, we requested that Tech 3811 not return to my house.
June 11: We received call from Ironwood Communications stating that due to “overbooking” they would not be able to keep scheduled appointment. The removal of the second unnecessary dish was again delayed.
The appointment for removal of our dish was rescheduled for June 17 between 1 and 5 pm.
Around 5pm, Ironwood called to say that Technician was running late, and would be unable to even arrive at our house by 5pm. Since we naively credited Ironwood’s statements that it would arrive in the time it promised to do so, we made plans for that evening. Although we had already been waiting all day, we were again forced to reschedule the removal of the unnecessary dish due to Ironwoods’ inability to keep a scheduled appointment.
The appointment was rescheduled for June 25th. This appointment was kept and the job was completed by a courteous technician.

As I hope you can appreciate, the experience recounted above left us drained and exhausted with your company. Each time that we call Directv, we are thanked for being your “best” customers. The treatment that we have received over the last 3 months has been anything but the best. Regretfully, we must inform you that we are sorely disappointed and frustrated by the continued incompetence demonstrated by your company. The associates you routinely send out are discourteous, unprofessional and untimely. These unfortunate facts have caused not only frustration, but great inconvenience.

In case you have any questions or interest in our experience with your company, please feel free to contact us.

At this point we must decide whether or not we will continue to use Directv. We have, and will continue to, let all family and friends know about the treatment and level of service we have received from your company.

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DirecTV - now I am the big loser in all of this and they still say, oh well!

I had direct TV installed in march of 2005. Unknown to me at the time the installation was done using my local cable carriers line. Our home owners association has a deal with the local cable company and for a small fee tacked onto our yearly dues, we get expanded basic for pennies on the dollar. Well when I called our cable company to have dsl set up, they...

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DirecTV is a digital satellite TV service provider offering a variety of channels and packages to customers across the United States. Their services include live television, on-demand content, and digital video recording capabilities. Subscribers can choose from different tiers, which provide access to sports, movies, and premium networks, depending on the selected plan. DirecTV also offers streaming options through its app, enabling viewers to watch content on different devices. The company caters to a diverse audience seeking customizable entertainment solutions for their homes.

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Pricing and Packages: DirecTV offers a range of pricing options and packages to suit different budgets and preferences. Their pricing structure is transparent, with clear information on the costs associated with each package. Customers can choose from various package options, including basic, mid-tier, and premium packages, each offering different channels and features. The value for money offered by DirecTV's pricing is generally considered to be good, with competitive prices compared to other providers in the market.

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Customer Service: DirecTV's customer service is responsive and effective, with representatives available to assist customers with their inquiries and concerns. Customers have access to various support channels, including phone, email, and online chat. The helpfulness of customer support agents is generally praised by customers. Based on feedback and reviews, customer satisfaction levels with DirecTV's customer service are generally high.

Reliability and Signal Strength: DirecTV's signal is known for its reliability and consistency. Customers have reported minimal disruptions or outages in their service. The signal strength may vary slightly depending on the location and weather conditions, but overall, DirecTV provides a strong and stable signal. Any reported issues or outages are promptly addressed by DirecTV's technical support team.

On-Demand and Streaming Options: DirecTV offers an extensive on-demand library and streaming capabilities. Customers have access to a wide range of movies, TV shows, and other on-demand content. The user interface is user-friendly, making it easy to navigate and access on-demand content. While DirecTV's on-demand library may not be as extensive as some other streaming services, it still offers a satisfactory selection of content. The quality of streaming is generally good, with minimal buffering or playback issues.

Contract Terms and Cancellation Policy: DirecTV's contract terms include a specified length, typically ranging from 12 to 24 months. Early termination fees may apply if customers cancel their contract before the agreed-upon period. The cancellation policy is transparent, with clear information on any associated charges. While some customers may find the contract terms restrictive, others appreciate the stability and benefits offered by longer-term contracts. Overall, DirecTV's contract terms are considered fair and flexible.

Overall User Experience: The overall user experience with DirecTV's services is generally positive. Customers appreciate the wide range of channels and packages available, as well as the reliability of the signal. The quality of customer service and support is highly regarded, with prompt and helpful assistance provided. While there may be some limitations in terms of on-demand content and contract terms, DirecTV is still considered a reputable and reliable service provider in the industry.

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