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2.0 2197 Reviews

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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DirecTV reviews & complaints 2197

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ComplaintsBoard
S
5:38 am EDT

DirecTV billing, false contract, raising monthly rate when signed a two yr. contract

I made the mistake of ordering Direct TV online. First they give you a caculator that gives you the exact amount (supposedly) on the site. Direct TV charged me above and beyond $30.00 more per month (the leasing of receivers, DVR, and taxes, etc.). Then I find out the contract on line was for two years. I thought anytime you get cable or Direct TV, etc. its month to month unless you get a special deal. I did this all in Sept. 2007. Then in March, 2008 Direct TV by way of "stuffing your billing statement" raised my monthly rate once again.

I want to terminate my contract with Direct TV due to fraudulent practices on billing, and intial contract stipulations. If there is anyone that has had this same problem please contact me via email. Maybe if enough people get together, someone in the consumer protection office will look into this and it will be corrected.

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Customer1234567
, US
Jun 14, 2013 4:57 pm EDT

I have had problem after problem with my three TV boxes (one is a DVR). I "reset" the boxes at least three times per week to keep them functional. My family has sat down to watch a movie or recorded show only to have to spend and hour or more on the phone with technical support to fix a problem (or by now I have had to do this so often I am able to fix it myself but it still takes 30-40 minutes of my off work family time to do this). I have had numerous technical people come up with numerous ways to fix our problems and yet we continue to have issues. At this point, planning to watch a recorded movie is stressful. You would think a company would reach out to a customer who had this many calls and offer to send out a technician (for free) but I was told at one point that there may be a charge associated if something is plugged in wrong or it's determined to be my problem (even though a Direct TV person did the original set up and all further adjustments were made to the best of my ability via instructions from Direct TV). I just canceled service and am paying the cancellation fee for the sake of my not having to deal with this anymore. GOOD RIDDANCE!

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JENNIFER JEANNETTE
Lakeland, US
Feb 23, 2012 2:37 am EST

poor, poor, poor, unknowledgable customer service. All freakin Indians from a call center. Thank God I refused to sign a 2 year contract today. DIRECT TV should be called ''DIRECT FROM INDIA''' HI JESSICA! YOU SUCK!'

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FedUpInABQ
Albuquerque, US
Sep 30, 2011 2:56 pm EDT

Everything you've all said is true. The service (both equipment and people) are horrible, and when we pulled out (after 3 weeks and multiple efforts to fix things), they charged is $465. Qwest, with whom the Direct TV service was packaged, was no help either - shame on them - which earned them a replacement as well.

This is not the end of my fight with them, but others should know. Avoid Direct TV!

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Stebbie
, US
Jul 10, 2011 4:30 am EDT

Direct TV is horrible! They lied to me over the phone as well about a special offer. Then, when I called to complain to upper management, this guy yelled at me and told me I was a liar...can you believe that? The guy who was supposed to come over and install our equipment never showed, then they sent someone else who drilled holes all in our ceiling and made a complete mess - what a nightmare! We then got in contact with Dish Network, they came over and set everything up in less than an hour and we have been happy with them ever since. Stay away from Direct TV - don't waste your time with these fools!

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ltate
Raleigh, US
Jun 19, 2011 6:18 pm EDT

They do suck. I called to negotiate keeping my current rate due to my personal economic issues after my bill doubled on my one year anniversary. I was approached by a competitor that was offering me a much lower rate than my interdictory rate. I decided to stay with Direct TV based on the agreement that they would keep me at my current rate. I was promised for 6 months. I was a fool for not switching! Every month after I have received a bill at the doubled rate and spend hours on the phone to have them remember and rectify my bill based on the promised rate. This is ridiculous customer service and I am feed up! I was even told that the better rates are given to new customers. What is up with that? What about your existing customers? Are they just there to screw over? It sure feels like it.

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jj31
, US
Jan 25, 2011 4:53 am EST

They suck big time! signed a 2 year contract for 39.99/mo...first months bill was 49.99...they tell me it's a new rule and they now charge $10/mo access fee! where did that come from you crooks! And they won't let me cancel without penalty. Can we file a joint complaint?

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jdmack
coal township, US
Jun 09, 2010 11:59 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I just dumped DirecctTV last week for charging me TWICE of what we agreed to.

I went back to DISH. They have always been a good service. I had them in California and was very happy. When I dropped DirectTV
and called DISH, They came the next day and hooked me up. I live in PA. now.

Thanks DISH.

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Shirleylu
Jasper, US
Mar 10, 2010 3:59 pm EST

What a sorry Cable company, they lie to you about everything. We were told we would have local news service. Again we get no local news. I'm just waiting for my contract to be up. If you are planning to buy this service, THINK. Then say no thanks.

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bercar
, US
Dec 01, 2009 12:41 pm EST

THEY SUCK SUCK SUCK SUCK!1

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bercar
, US
Dec 01, 2009 12:40 pm EST

NEVER CHOOSE DIRECT TV! I WISH THERE WERE SAME WAY TO GET THE "RECORDED PHONE CONVERSATIONS" TO PROVE I'VE BEEN CHARGED FOR THINGS I NEVER ASKED FOR!Theese people are out of control and should be stopped for stealing peoples money literally!

ComplaintsBoard
M
2:54 pm EDT

DirecTV charge for aboxing fight from may 5, 2007

On me bill statement dated 05-16-08. I have been charge for a boxing fight, that I nor my husband order. If we had ordered this fight I have know problem paying. But we did not. We have been good customers for many years, we pay our bill when it due. And I do not understand your billings policy to bill a customer a entire year later. To the broad as god as our witness we did not order this fight on 5-5-2007. Please review. Mr. And mrs brewton

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M
9:31 pm EDT

DirecTV misleading phone sales

I looked on the Dish Network website to change my programming. The number listed was [protected]. I accidentally dialed [protected]. The phone was answered "Fun Dish." Thinking it was some kind of subcontractor, I provided all the information. Never once do I remember hearing "DirecTV" during the sales pitch. So the next day, I got a call to confirm my order. The lady said "DirecTV" and I said "hang on a minute, I don't want to change companies." She transferred me to another operator for cancellation. Yeah, I expected a new sales pitch. What I didn't expect, though, was the literal argument I got from the operator. I informed her I had friends who had bad experiences with DirecTV, and just wanted to cancel the order. I explained to her how I obtained the phone number "Yeah, we appreciate Dish Network putting our phone number on their website" was her sarcastic response, then she obliquely reminded me I would not be getting the $50 fee back-- "How do you like losing fifty bucks?" I told her that it didn't seem like I had much of a choice since she was unlikely to refund it. More arguments. Finally, I told her just to cancel the service and hung up.

Okay, I accept the mis-dial. But you can't tell me that DirecTV having the exact same 7 digits as Dish Network is just coincidence. What a scam. For a company that claims to have a better product and better service, they seem like a bunch of scam artists and loophole worms to me.

And as to the $50? Well, they checked the validity of my credit card to two "pending charges" of $25 each, so that shows up on my credit card statement as well as the $50. What a joke.

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itsalright4me
, US
Apr 05, 2010 8:31 pm EDT

it was your fault you didn't pay attention to what number you were dialing! it was also your fault for giving up any personal information before you found out WHO you were giving it to! and it was also your fault you didn't take the time listen to what the person on the other end of the line said. there is nothing illegal about this number - and good for dish 1-up/fun dish. the did what it took to fight calm and get the sale!

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jrubero
Philadelphia, US
Nov 06, 2008 6:21 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Same thing happen to me. I have Dish Network and wanted to upgrade my package and dial [protected] instead of [protected] and I got Fun Dish which never said they were Direct TV. After I called Dish Network I was told that they had no records of an upgrade and I should call the 1-800 number and find out what's going on. I found it funny that I received a Dish delivered by UPS that had on it Direct TV that's when I knew something was not right. I called Fun Dish and explained that I was mislead by the phone number and they were not nice. I canceled and was told that I would lose my 29.99 for shipping and handling but I don't care they can keep it. The people at Dish Network are nicer and offered my an upgrade for about the same money but no DVR. So, what. I staying with Dish Network. When I got home all the channels I wanted were already active. Something should be done about that phone number when two companies and the same number but one is 1-888 and the other 1-800. This doesn't smell right.

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Susan W. Finlayson
,
Aug 29, 2008 7:10 pm EDT

The problem here is not Direct TV. It is FUN DISH. They claimed they were an agent for Direct TV, sold me a package exactly like the current Dish TV promotion and charged me $49.99 for equipment and installation. When the installation didn't take place as planned, I called Direct TV only to find that they had no such transaction in their records.

Apparently some retailers represent a number of satellite services. When I called to arrange a repair with my supplier, Dish Net, I was told that I would be better off to switch to Direct TV than to pay for Dish Net's repair. However, I was NOT signed to Direct TV. I was scammed off to Fun Dish.

After about 8 hours on the phone, I think I have it resolved. Eight hours for that $49.99...and my self-respect.

ComplaintsBoard
V
4:26 am EDT
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

DirecTV fraud charges!

I purchased my Direct TV equipment through Circuit City while buying a TV. When the installer came out he asked what I paid for the equipment at Circuit City. He said he had a better deal and instructed me to call the company and cancel the original order and re-order through his company, Direct Star. He said they would refund the original equipment cost. The end result is that I have paid $400 for equipment purchased from Direct TV through Circuit City and paid another $300 for the same equipment from Direct Star.

I have called them and sent emails requesting a refund. They have ignored it. Then I called VISA. During that process Direct TV and Direct Star acknowledge the double payment but refuse to remedy the problem. VISA will not do anything now because this happened more than 60 days ago.

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gayle griffith
Albuquerque, US
May 12, 2010 9:18 pm EDT
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Jake Moore and Bridget were going through my neighborhood to talk about Satellite TV.
They wore shirts with a Dish Logos. The car for installation of new dish network equipment had the name "dish" on it. I commented "Oh your with dish network". Great, I really like Dish Network and have enjoyed it for years.

They started talking about "how they can save me money." I called Dish Network the next day to thank them for reducing my monthly fee. Dish Network stated "No one from our office solicited through neighborhoods. I spoke with a gentlement in the Denver Cooporate Offices and found out that these individuals were employees of DishOn Satellite and signing customers up to Direct TV. I called DishOne and they say I have to talk to Direct TV, Direct TV refuses to cancel without charging me a fee of $400.00 and that I have a 2 year contract. Direct TV told me to talk with DishOne.

THIS IS A SCAM, COMMITTING FRAUD, AND EVERYONE IN AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW.

When I tried to call Direct TV Cooperate Office, they want you to sign up to pay a Managed Long Distance fee to talk to their cooporate office.

ANOTHER SCAM BY DIRECT TV - MANAGED LONG DISTANCE

DIRECT TV, ANDREW EMPLOYEE #428666 refused to give me his supervisors name and Jay Employee #[protected], and Justin in Alabame refused to cancel unless I paid $400.00.
I am going to contact the FCC, My in NM State and in Washington DC senators, the NM Attorney General's Office, and the Fraud Division of the Albuquerque Police Department, and I going to sue DishOne and Direct TV for Fradulent business practices. gayle griffith

ComplaintsBoard
D
8:28 pm EDT

DirecTV contracual issues

Here’s my directv nightmare…

I signed up in february 2008 through directech, an mdu (Multi-dwelling unit) installer/reseller for directv. Since we live in a condominium complex, we needed to go through the mdu people. Directv and cincinnati bell work together to combat the cable companies, and offered me an extra $6/month off my directv bill, provided you’re a cincinnati bell customer too. So, when I received my first directv bill, I called cincinnati bell and gave them my directv account number.

The first problem was that I was not receiving the free hbo, cinemax, starz, encore, and showtime I was promised for the first 3 months of service. I didn’t notice it at first, since we don’t watch many movies, but I had to call to have that turned on when I noticed it.

Within the first week or so, I noticed the picture & ldquo;flickering” on most channels, especially during commercials. This & ldquo;flickering” was occurring when the picture changes (When you watch tv, the picture is always changing). Sometimes, it was white/opaque vertical lines, and other times these lines would resemble the image that was just on the tv screen.in either case, it would just be visible for a fraction of a second. Nonetheless, it was enough to be annoying.

So, I called directech and had a technician come out. He installed some boosters on the lines. That did not work. Same problem. I was watching family guy the night before and it was really flickering during that show, so I threw a tape in the vcr so I could show the technician the next day. I played it for him and he acknowledged there was a problem, but he said, & ldquo;…I really don’t see much of a problem…” as far as I was concerned, it was blatantly obvious, but he just shrugged it off as nothing he was really interested in.

Right around this time, I realized I still had not seen my $6 credit for being a cincinnati bell customer. I just received my third bill from directv, but no $6 cincinnati bell discount. Hmmm. Back on the phone! I did a 3-way call with directv and cincinnati bell. They both reported that it takes up to 3 billing cycles for the discount to show up. Ridiculous!

Back to the flickering problem… frustrated, I took one of my receivers to a friend’s house and hooked it up to their directv dish and television. The flickering problem happened there, too! I wanted to rule out my televisions, coaxial cable lines in our condominium building, the mdu dishes, and even electrical interference in our electrical lines (Including power strips and surge protectors). Consider all that stuff ruled out!

I even left the receivers on all the time to see if that might make a difference. Nope, flickering still happened!

At my wit’s end, I called directech again to request new receivers. They sent out a technician again and he installed new receivers. It was the same guy as before (The guy I played the family guy tape for). Again, completely uninterested in the problem, he just hooked up 2 new receivers, called to get them activated, and left. He didn’t even take the old receivers. I asked him as he was on his way out the door if he wanted the old receivers, and he said directv would send a prepaid fedex box to me if they wanted them back.

Unfortunately, the new receivers were doing exactly the same thing. Talk about being disappointed!

Since the new receivers were doing the exact same thing, I decided that I couldn’t handle this; i’m canceling my service. That’s when the real fun started…

I called directv to cancel the service and spent 45 minutes on the phone with 2 people arguing over & ldquo;breaching the agreement. & rdquo; I explained to them that I had a signed agreement that says I can return the equipment within 14 days of downgrading or disconnecting my programming in lieu of any charges.

Here is exactly what my signed agreement says:

Consequences of your failure to maintain agreement: if you fail to maintain your programming commitment, you agree that directv may charge you a prorated fee of up to one hundred fifty u. S. Dollars ($150) for standard receivers and up to three hundred u. S. Dollars ($300) for advanced receivers. Within 14 days of downgrading or disconnecting your programming, you have an option to send all of your directv system equipment (Receiver [s] and remote control [s]) to directv in lieu of this payment. The equipment, including the access card inserted into each directv system receiver unit, must be returned to directv in good working order, normal wear and tear excepted. Visit directv.com or call 1-800-directv for details.

Now, what does that mean? If you ask directv, it means I can cancel my service within 14 days of being installed. If you read it, it means I can cancel my service and I have 14 days to return the equipment without being charged.

Like I said, I spent 45 minutes on the phone arguing over this signed contract. Even though I was holding it in my hand and reading it to them, they denied its existence by saying, & ldquo;we don’t have people sign anything; we have verbal agreements. & rdquo; I said, & ldquo;but I am hold it in my hand, it has your logo on it. & rdquo; he replied, & ldquo;the installers sometimes put our logo on their paperwork. & rdquo; whose fault is this? Well, this was 45 minutes of wasted time; all they would say is if I got billed an early termination fee, I could write a letter to the billing disputes department. I was offered another service call and/or $10/month off for the next 6 months.

I didn’t want to terminate my service, send the equipment back, abide by the agreement that I signed, and possibly get a bill in the mail for canceling early. So I kept the service on and slept on it.

Next day, I decided that I really did like the channel selection directv offers, so I thought I might try one of my parent’s old directv receivers, as theirs never presented any problems. Problem is, you need a new access card. So, I called the access card department, explained the whole situation, and that I was attempting to fix a problem directv or directech couldn’t fix. He was willing to send me out an access card at no charge, but he needed the receiver id. I asked him if I could do a 3-way call with my mom and she could just read off the information from the receiver. Unfortunately, she was not home. So, the guy I was talking to said he would document all this (Including offering me a free access card), and he would put it in the & ldquo;top notes” so they would see it right away for when I called back with the used receiver information.

Next day, I called mom and asked her to read me the receiver information and mail the receiver to me. I called directv right after that and was told that there was no way I could ever have an access card for no charge. Then I asked why I was told just the day before that I could, she said she didn’t know why I was told that but access cards are $20, and that was not negotiable. Before coughing up $20 to fix directv’s mistake, I said that I would take that $10/month off for the next 6 months that I was offered a couple of days ago.

Now are you ready for a good laugh?

Her response to me was, & ldquo;that was a time-sensitive offer, only good during the conversation with that person at that time. & rdquo;

After this whole thing blows over and is just a memory (More like a nightmare), one thing is for sure: directv has lost a customer forever.

doug
Cincinnati, ohio

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J
2:22 pm EDT

DirecTV deceptive practices and poor service

I have been a premium customer of directv for over 4 years.In that time, I have never been late on a bill. Last october I began using their hd equipment. Immediately I started having reception problems that prevented me from watching most programs; problems such as loss of sound, frozen pictures, broken-up pictures, lines across the screen, etc. Their local maintenance team, aerosat, came to my house on several occasions, which cost me a lot of time, money and aggravation. Most of the time they were either late or did not show up at all. Their crews were rude and inexperienced. Some of the guys had only been on the job a few weeks and had no prior experience at all. Needless to say, they were not able to resolve my issues. I ended up being given some credits to my account by a couple of customer service representatives at directv who felt sorry for me that I was having so many ongoing problems. Then, out of the blue, about a month ago, I received an unsigned letter with no name or phone number on it from p. O. Box 6550, greenwood village, colorado, 80155, demanding that I provide a written explanation for the credits that were given by their people. I was stunned but did as they asked and sent them a letter explaining the situation. I have a copy of that letter. Then, last week, I received via fedex an unsigned letter with no name, phone number or account number listed on it, stating that due to my failure to respond to their last letter, my service is being terminated on april 25th! How can they do this I wonder? I was told verbally that I would have to pay a large penalty if I tried to leave directv before two years was up, even though I never signed a contract or received a contract. Yet they are able to terminate a longtime customer like me at will with no penalty? First year contracts law explains how lopsided and unfair that behavior is. I have done nothing wrong at all and have spent several thousand dollars over the years with them, and now they are cutting me off so they don't have to give me my credit or provide me with any more service calls. They are also telling me that I won't get any of my credit back; that it's not mine to keep. This is an outrage in every sense of the word. I tried many times to reach someone in charge at directv to no avail. Not one executive or their immediate staff will take a call from a customer. All calls get routed to a customer service office in another state where no one is ready, willing or able to assist. I even sent a certified letter to them. Somebody, and I hope it is you, needs to hold their feet to the fire.In 2008 america no company should be allowed to walk all over customers like this. I know from reading hundreds of similar complaints that I am not alone in my plight. This would be a great story to run. There is also a secondary issue; and that is, that many customers who signed up for hd equipment and were forced to verbally agree to a 2 year contract were told that there would be over 100 hd channels on directv by the end of 2007. All of directv's national advertising promised over 100 hd channels by 2008. As of april 26, 2008 there are only 85 hd channels available; yet all the tens of thousands of customers who signed up last year are still bound to this one-sided, unwritten 2 year contract. Many people who have tried to leave directv have been hit with huge penalties, which are immediately sent to collection agencies if they are disputed. They are putting out cheap, inferior quality hd receivers made in china and mexico, which they make everyone pay $10 a month to lease, knowing that if the customer tries to leave they will be penalized.

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sara
,
Jul 19, 2008 1:36 pm EDT

I have been a directv cust for 14 years as well, I just got hd and its great. Frankly I am sick and tired of seeiong all of these complaints on directv. Do any of you work for a business? Are all of your customers happy? I am a manager for a fast food restraunt and I can tell you we get complaints everyday, but I can also assure you that %99 of my customers are happy. Every company is going to have the short falls or technical issues. If you are going to base your opinion to got to a company based on the complaints then you probably shouls stay home and lock your doors and disconnect any services you are currently paying for because I can garentee that company has nore complaints then compliments, its human nature. If we are gettting geat service we are quite but as soon as one thing goes wrong we are screeming and telling everyone. did you know that Diretv has the jd powers assosiate award for the outstanding service multiple years in a row. If you are going to do your research, you might as well complete it. If you are going to Directv becasue you want the best service you can get that is a great choice, remember that directv does not garentee to be the cheapest
Sara

ComplaintsBoard
W
8:49 pm EDT

DirecTV horrible

I called Direct TV and asked about their promotions. After a long conversation I thanked the sales rep and told her I was not interested in making a change. She offered a 4 month promotion that included introductory pricing and the NFL Ticket for free.

When I turned her down her offer went to nine months. I couldn't refuse at this point and I agreed to become a customer. Other than taking 30 seconds to change some channels and haveing problems in the snow, it was fine for 4 months. Than my promotion ran out. It turns out the sales rep flat out lied to me.

I called and explained the situation to a customer service rep. Than another and another and another and another manager and another manager, etc, etc, etc. After 10 calls and Direct TV failing to live up to their original offer I have given up.

Recently I noticed a $399.95 charge on my credit card. I called again multiple times to explain they were never given permission to bill my credit card. I just filled out an affadavit accusing Direct TV of theft and had to cancel the card to prevent further charges. They say I'm under a contract I never signed. I refused to sign after installation because the installer never heard of a nine month promo.

Today I received an $800 bill from Direct TV. They won't see a dime. This is the biggest joke of a company I have ever seen. DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM.

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Corinne Gossom
Mansfield, US
Jul 23, 2013 6:25 pm EDT
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Direct TV has no credibility. The internet and satellite TV bundle package that I was solicited for was quoted at a rate of $61.00 per month for 10 months, and $71.00 per month for the remaining 14 months of my contract. Although there would be no installation charge, I was required to pay $120.30 for a Direct TV credit check and $25.00 for a Century Link credit check. This process took less than 2 minutes and was taken directly from my checking account. Direct TV denied any knowledge that I wanted the internet service; however, they charged me separately for it. Since May 11, 2013, total charges are $435.00. The $61.00 quoted has developed into $175.00 per month. They have refused to rectify the billing; however, I have numerous saved emails from customer service and cell phone records which indicate my repeated attempts to resolve the issue. I have substantial documentation and will be pressing charges for theft by deception.

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chickees40
Beaver Dam, US
Jul 22, 2013 8:34 pm EDT
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CALLED BECAUSE OF EQUIPMENT FAILER WAS TOLD I HAD TO WAIT A WEEK FOR SERVICE. FIRST SPOKE WITH SOME ONE FROM GEORGIA, THEN SPOKE WITH SOMEONE FROM IDAHO. I LIVE IN WISCONSIN! CAN'T GET ANY SERVICE ON THEIR FAULTY EQUIPMENT! POOR SERVICE!

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DaveG73
Dunellen, US
Jun 19, 2013 12:46 pm EDT

Very deceptive company! There are so many hidden fees that they bind you to unknowingly! I suggest you read everything online first. all the fine print! All of it! Once you sign anything you are stuck for two years! It is a nightmare! You might see a 39.99 a month deal or a 44.99 a month deal and will wind up paying $80 a month after all those hidden fees. If you try to do anything, they fee you for it all. They even try to scam you with a equipment protection fee. It's if anything happens to the equipment, they'll fee you more! It's a scam! You think your cable company is a scam...Wait till you sign a contract with DIRECT TV! It's a nightmare! Know what you are getting into before you sign anything. DO it online, not over the phone! READ ALL SMALL PRINT...CLICK ON ALL LINKS TO FIND EVEN MORE SMALL PRINT!

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Jean
,
Sep 04, 2008 4:13 pm EDT

I just had a run in with Direct TV. I had been a loyal customer for 51/2 years. About 6 months ago I added an additional Tivo for my son's room. Time Warner approached me with a bundle package. Without knowing I was under contract I cancelled my Direct. I was surprised when I received a bill for 400.00 dollar. I was told that when I ordered the new Tivo that this enrolled me into a new 2 year contract. I was shocked. Nobody had told me this little bit of information. Not when I ordered the box, not when the box was installed. Direct said that they emailed me this information but somehow the word hotmail was spelled wrong, and of course they blamed this on me, and I never got the email. They also said that on the bill after the new equipment was installed that there was a little something saying that when you add equipment this enrolls you into a new contract.

I have made several attempts to get this this handled but they will not budge. In my eyes Direct TV has an unethical practice of decieving the consumer. This is how they can make extra money.

I won't be quiet about this. I only hope that enough people have been burned by their practices of being less than honest so that a class action lawsuit could someday be filed against Direct TV...

ComplaintsBoard
L
4:46 pm EDT

DirecTV bad advertising and practices

To chase carey president direct tv
Due to the high cost of your service in comparison to the quantity of viewing channels I receive, I am having my service disconnected. As a result of my experience using and trying to disconnect this service I will not recommend any one use your service because of this experience. Your advertisements and rebates are deceptive resulting in higher monthly payments. I have no problem paying the disconnect fee or last months bill, this will be recouped in a few months from the lower cable bill which gives me more viewing options for less money. I do have a problem with any one making unauthorized charges on any of my bank or charge accounts automatically. You have no signature from me or my wife on file on any agreement or installation contract. Send me a final proratred bill and I will promptly pay it. Attach my credit card with an unauthorized charge as your customer service agent implied and I will contest it and delay payment.

Another dissatisfied customer
Lonnie t. Walton

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Sylvia Treadwell
,
Jul 19, 2008 5:45 am EDT

I to have had a bad experience with Direct TV. I was there customer for 18 months and one of the DVR's quit working, I called them, because I had purchased a repair/replacement insurance they sent me a new DVR, I called the company to hook up the unit they walked me through it and hooked up new DVR, well this DVR did not work either, I called and complained. They told me they would send out a repairman to check my lines but this did not happen, after several calls. Due to the frustration and the terrible service I canceled the cable. They are charging me $200.00 for disconnecting the first bad dvr and $200.00 for disconnecting the other bad DVR, I have refused to pay as it seem crazy, as neither one worked in the first place. They are now tring to charge me a cancelation fee as apparently when they sent out the new DVR, the other one that did not work, I was charged 2 more years of contract, which I did not know about or agree to. This has been a nighmare with collection calls and they will not even try and talk to me and explain these terrible charges.

frustrated!

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Susan Shultz
,
Jun 25, 2008 6:24 pm EDT

I to have been deceived by this company since the first of the year. I not only have given them the code to the package I ordered and their confirmation. They still have not given me a good reason for why my account is charged randomly for what ever service they want to add of take off without our permission. I actually stopped a neighbor from installing their service for this reason. The tech was not happy when she asked him to go!

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bbbhelpme
, US
Jun 02, 2008 11:42 am EDT

DirecTV completely scammed me. In early 07 I called
to cancel my subscription. The rep I talked to in the
retention department told me that I could instead put
my account on hold until the next football season
started. I asked him if I at that time I would get a
phone call to ask me if I wanted to restart my
service as I was unsure I even wanted to restart service. He told me I would.

1 year later I notice many DirecTV charges on my
credit card for 5 months worth of charges. I wondered
what had happened not remembering the restart because
I was relying on DirecTV to call and ask me before
starting.

I can understand a retention rep wanting to keep
someone from canceling, that is their job, but that
doesn't mean that person can say things that are not
true, or make promises DirecTV does not follow through
on. DirecTV had a responsibility to right any wrong
their broken promises have caused and they have not
done that.

I contacted DirecTV and was met with indifference,
given the runaround, dealing with people that either
have no authority or no inclination to do the right
thing, mostly robotic-like "customer service" reps
towing the company line.

The "great" customer service that their commericials
advertise are a joke. They should take the millions
of dollars they spend on those commericials and use it
to revamp their customer service department to
actually try and do right by their customers.

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Ron Whit
, US
Jun 02, 2008 11:28 am EDT
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My Direct TV has not come in clearly from day 1. It is always searching for satelite. Because the cost for service is so high, I have waited till now to finally call for service. The service tech verifyed that the dish is improperly installed, that is why my service is so bad. Your people will not give credit for my past poor service. WHY?

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3:17 pm EDT

DirecTV lies and bad service

year ago i moved to palmdale, ca i tried to swtich my service to the new address and i call the company to change it and to have a new plan new chanels but at that time i was told if i get the dvr they will give a prize they never give nothing then i called to cancel the service but i found that i was i a contract and i never was imformed about it, then 2 months later a called to change the chanels to add more but i was charged more than i expected.moth ago the dvr broke down it just show a black square on the tv, i called they told me they will change it with no cost at all they never mencioned shipping or handling;now they charging me that amount and 2 more recivers because the thecnician never diconnect the old dvr, i called back again and the only thing they keep telling is everyboy has to pay shipping but iwas never tlod that.so as you can see they give only certain information ;only what the costumer want to hear from them, and they lie about the service and the prices they never gave.i like to cancel this account but gues i have to pay fee.and please do somthing thank you. lidia

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3:23 pm EDT

DirecTV unfair business practice

Where to begin...?

I had direct tv several years ago. They were ok, but I had to cancel service for reasons not related to direct tv.

Then, I got high def, and direct tv called me in 2006 and offered a deal: the new hr20 hd dvr system at a reduced price of $250 (Half price from the $500 purchase price). Ok, I signed up.

Problems began almost immediately. Color of picture would go green, system would freeze while recording or playback, etc., etc. Had to reset system every time. Direct tv replaced, three times, by mail.

This last time, they told me: you own the system, so you either have to pay a $79 fee for a technician to come to your home, or buy the extended protection plan. So I bought, technician came to my home, and dropped off a unit I had to plug in myself. Ok, it is working fine.

But, here is the problem. Now direct tv contends that if I cancel, I have to send this box back as it is a "rental". So, think twice before going with direct tv. According to them, the $250 price I paid was for the "privelege of renting; everyone pays it" (So it is now unclear why it was a special deal). When I called to inquire, I too was placed on hold so they could "research". I waited 36 minutes the first time, and 25 minutes the second time, before hanging up and going with email.

According to direct tv, the $250 "purchase" price was really a rental fee, so I am renting, but, I am also responsible if the box fails or is otherwise defective, and I have to pay for a new box, or repairs, if the box starts acting up. Go elsewhere, its not worth it.

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chuck hayes
,
Jul 28, 2008 10:50 am EDT

I was told I could operate my DVR from another room, same as dishnetwork. That was a lie by direct tv. 3 days later I found this out and called to cancel which of course they would not allow me to. That is when I had found out I had a two year contract. I was told it was a one year contract. They are just a rip off. Dish network is so much better.

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3:49 am EDT
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DirecTV I am so sick of them

DirecTV is a joke. I have been with DirecTV since January of 2008 and we have had nothing but bad reception the whole time. My son's box in his room causing problems for his TV and so I called for a tec to come out. When the tech called they wanted to try and have my troubleshoot over the phone because if the problem was my fault they are going to charge me. I asked the guy how would you know if it is my fault if you do not come out. He replied nothing. I am so sick of DirecTV that after my contract is up I will be cancelling and go back to Comcast. I would not suggest anyone use DirecTV.

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11:09 am EDT

DirecTV false advertising!

I ordered Directv Service December 2007. I was told I would receive a free portable DVD Player or a surround Sound set. Then when I set up my account online I saw I would receive a $100 Visa Gift card if I put my account on autopay with a credit card, so I did. Well it is April 12 and have received neither item, but a runaround from phone support and email support. I have called all the number they indicated and filled all necessary forms. At one point a CSR told me there was never a $100 Visa offer. So I thought that I must have thought wrong. Well as I read on another site, http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/directv--free-dvd-player-c4555.html There is a $100 Visa Offer. There are many other customers experiencing the same problems with this company. I was only asking for the $50 but now I know I was correct in the gift being $100. These gifts were a main reason I switched from Dish Network, since they would take away from the higher bill prices with Directv.

This is what I filed with the BBB

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AJones7750
Bossier City, US
Aug 12, 2014 8:17 pm EDT
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I terminated my services on or around 10 may 2014. On 9 may 2014 i paid $98. 82. I thought this was all that was owed or would be owed. I received another bill for $68. 18 or close to it. I'm trying to figure out why i owe this amount when i already paid $98. I returned the equipment. I received a call from directv on 10 august 2014 at 11:09 pm. Why am i being called this late by a directv employee? This is unacceptable behavior.

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1:48 pm EDT

DirecTV terrible customer service!

I am just going to include here the letter I just sent off to Direct TV, and let it speak for itself.

Direct TV Office of the President
P.O. Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 880155

RE: #[protected]

To Whomever Might Listen to My Case, and Stop Quoting the Customer Service Manual,

I could take you through the hours spent on the phone, the letters faxed and mailed, and the complete and utter frustration of just having spent valuable time speaking with no less than four of your agents/supervisors in Phoenix. But instead, I will tell you that Agent #1, Agent #2, Dexter and Alexandra all repeated the exact same information to me, ad nauseum, no matter how many times I explained to them that no, I did NOT receive notice of "pending programming activation", and no, I was NOT "fully and duly aware that service would resume August 12, 2007.

It would appear that what gets typed into a customer's account becomes sacred, no matter what misunderstanding might have transpired, and that no pleading of the customer to say, be human and have a heart, will be heard.

Bottom line. My account says we owe $80.17 in service fees I was "fully and duly aware of", and I say this is not true. Some mistake, somewhere, occurred. $80.17 means something to my family, with four children, on one income. It is probably not such a huge deal to Direct TV. I was told that no matter what my stance, "integrity is valued in our employees at Direct TV", so whatever note was on my account was there to stay, and influence the reversal, or lack thereof, of the fees aside from the early cancellation fee. What happened to the customer being valued? What happened to, oh, I don't know, giving a person a break and maybe admitting someone on Direct TV's end somehow could have misunderstood the situation?

To quote that last letter from Phoenix:

We could only assume service was satisfactory because we received no request to extend the suspension when we sent notification of the pending programming activation, and no statements were returned to us as undeliverable.

We suspended service in July of 2006 because we had to move to take a job. We moved in with my parents, who had their own TVs and systems. We had no means to use the services of Direct TV, and to this day, do not. I never received any notification of "pending programming activation", or interim statements, making me aware of compiling fees.

No matter how many times I tried to explain that I would have never allowed charges to add up, that until I started receiving bills in the amount of 164.17 in Sept. of 2007, did I even know this was an issue, I was repeatedly told "we have a notation that you were aware". I called in September of 2007 to be sure the account was canceled. I began disputing the charges in late fall of 2007, and in January of this year, received the letter stating that the charges remain valid, and therefore, should be remitted.

And really, while the money is an issue, almost worse is the most insulting, offensive tactic to repeat over and over "I understand, BUT..." as your representatives did today. If someone understood, I wouldn't have spent 2 hours on the phone while my baby was cranky and crying, and my neck got wrenched while trying to prepare lunch and simultaneously handle this matter, while being told each supervisor on up the ladder was going to be harder to convince to even take my call. Oh, and then the endless time on hold. Hearing the cheery lady tell me how great Direct TV is and how simple simple simple it is to sign up, and get what I really want in total entertainment. Really. Someone should really explain how difficult difficult difficult it's going to be if you have unexpected circumstances derail your plans to to be able to enjoy fast-forwarding and rewinding live TV for a contract minimum of two years. Also, you really should just tell your representatives to say, "tough ### sherlock", because that's really what they think. And honesty, while potentially brutal, is always so much easier to swallow. Or if they do care? Then give them the power to choose who they may think they might help out.

My dealings with your company over the last few months are exactly what all "The Man" jokes are about, and why we, who are not The Man, really love to hear stories about how somebody finally got to stick it to Him. Big corporations who play all that "we care about you, our customer" jazz on their automated phone systems, where it is nearly impossible to get a real, live human (and who does finally answer, is questionable, here) while we languish on hold, just waiting to ultimately be told we, and our case, don't amount to one tiny ant crap.

So yes. I am disputing the $80.17 in assumed satisfactory service. And you may decide I have not one child-clung-to leg to stand on, but I just couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't one person in all of Direct TV who might just have the power, the cajones, and maybe even the kindness to say, "Hey, we're sorry for all the trouble, the time, and effort. Somewhere, clearly there was a misunderstanding. Here. We'll take care of that, for you."

Wow. Wouldn't a little of that go a long way.

Very Unsatisfied,
A.T.

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Paul F. Zimmerman
,
Feb 02, 2008 12:00 am EST

I just spent an hour trying to find out what happened to an access card that I ordered on 1/23/08 that was supposed to be here 3 days ago. Rep/Cust Service found that the address that I have corrected at least 5 times since I moved 4 years ago is still wrong. So after several attempts, Rep says it is now fixed. However she had to transfer me to Access Card Distribution Team/ Rep there says card was sent to my old address and she would have to resend to my current address where I have
been for 4 1/2 years! Also I told them both that I could not access my account on-line due to a wrong E-Mail or Username error---they could not help with that and said I would have to call another dept. Talked to supervisor/ and basically was told the same thing. I said you either need to get your processes fixed or get people more training as this sort of customer service is anything but acceptable!

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extech
, US
Mar 15, 2010 2:45 pm EDT

having worked for directv for over a year and being insulted, cheated, lied about & to as far as products, training and administration of corporate ineptitude is concerned i can most assuredly predict that you will NEVER recieve any sort of satisfactory response from an organization that has spent every available resource and effort to exploit EVERY morsel on its food chain, from its products, personel, employees, and the absolute very LEAST of all its annuity paying clientel... its policy is EXPLOITATION...spare no expense...and return profit to the corporate bottom line...REWARDS to the employees that can wear out the complainers...keep putting them on hold...sell them refurbished as if its new... deny them required service... charge them more when they need it..act like its an unknown problem...on and on... best of luck with the liars

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Russell C Farnham
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May 27, 2008 11:44 am EDT

I have been frustrated with Directv owing to their ignorance toward MLB viewing. They automatically renew the following year even though they were not told or given approval to do so. Despite four (4) instructions to STOP the service they continue to plug it into my receiver and bill me. Four times! I am about to inform Chase Carey of this [trying to find her/his name is chaotic].

Despite repeated verbal and written attempts I have still not gotten a running [cumulative] tally showing the [unauthorized] MLB/MLB Extra Innings Service, a total of $55 each month! Now they have the audacity of hanging on another $5 late fee. I continue to pay my monthly authorized fee of $134.05.

They can go to hell. I am moving to DISH, after spending $10, 000 on Directv over several years.

They even had a woman from the Phillipines call me about my account being in arrears! OMG!

Incredible how all the airheads end up at Directv.

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2:34 pm EDT

DirecTV unauthorized debit, no notice of contract being generated for replacement receiver

Let me start by saying, I had been a LOOONG time customer of Directv, 12+. yrs. Back in 8/05, I had the company come to my house and put in the local channels. The receiver that I had when they came was from Wal-mart.
I was told by the techs that came to install the local dish, that the box would not work with the 2 seperate dishes, so I needed another one.It would still be the standard receiver, but getting the local channels would generate a 12 month contract. I said I understood... the contract ended in 8/06.
I was also told that no matter where the receiver came from, that they were all leased receivers and property of Directv. I had still been using this same receiver, until the first week of this past March.My tv screen would just go black, then I would get a signal stating "searching for satellite signal" I would get some channels, then no channels, then just the locals, then no locals...then the Direct channels, then no channelsAll the time that this was going on, the skies were clear, no trees in the way, nothing...
I called the tech support and was told to try to turn off, unplug, etc... the receiver. It worked for about 2 days, then the problems started all over again. I called tech support again, trouble- shot over the phone, and was told that the receiver was bad, that I would need another one.I asked were there any "strings" and the tech said that there would only be a $ 19.99 ship/handling fee, nothing else. NO MENTION OF ANY CONTRACT!
The receiver came, no papers to sign in the box. No Contract... we called tech support to get the card activated, and we started to watch tv. Within 2 days, the problems started all over again, but worse. WE called tech support, went through the same steps... and after being told that we would have to pay a service call of $ 80.00 we told them to just disconnect the service.
I have not had to pay for the only 1 service call in the 12+ years for them to come out, I wasn't going to pay then, either... After all, they had always told me that the eauipment was theirs.
Neither of the 2 reps that were spoke to that day, stated anything of a contract. It wasn't until that I notified the woman of disconnect, that she said that she would offer 6 months of Showtime and HBO, 6 months of service protection plan and waive the $ 80.00 service call. I told her that if it took my leaving the company to get a wavier that I had asked for 3 weeks ago, then the company wasn't worth staying with. Still no mention of any contract, or contract breach, nor any penalties. The woman just stated that there would be only an $81.99 + the 2 weeks of programming on a final bill. NO extra fees. This was on 3/21.
On 3/27, I looked @ my online banking statement to check my payroll check, and saw that Directv had taken out $ 469.41 on the 27th. You could say that I was mad. I called the co. and was told that I had breached a contract, to look at the customer agreement. There is nothing in the customer agreement that states that activating a replacement receiver generates a new contract, only that if you change you programming that you can be charged extra fees.
I asked how that they could take this money w/o my authorization and they stated that they can because they had my debit information on file from making previous payments, and that their " beloved customer agreement" stated that they could do so.After 3 weeks, 4 tech reps and numerous hours on the phone, I still was out my money and still had to dump Direct.
Take my advice, BEFORE you pay Directv, or any other company, don't do it on line w/ a debit card. My bank states to me that I might not be able to get my money back, because the ALMIGHTY DIRECTV COMPANY states that I had a contract. I won't know of anything for a couple of months, while the financial institution investigates the transaction I DID NOT Authorize. I have also been told by my bank that giving a company your debit information is like giving them a blank check. Also, if you are with Directv, and are planning to disconnect your service, cancel your debit cards with your bank FIRST and get new ones. The information that you leave w/ the company will no longer be valid. The bank states that if they try to draw out through a credit card or EFT through your check book routing # that these two methods can be stopped, but not debit...I have emailed customer service at Directv, and all of the emails contradict each other, w/ exception of one thing, I most likely will not see any of my money back. Also, I have emailed Chase Carey, the President and CEO, everytime I correspond w/ the customer service dept. The only response I get are the " read reciepts".
DO NOT GET DIRECT TV... THEY ARE CROOKS!

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jody
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Apr 10, 2008 4:37 pm EDT

my husband and i got direct tv in 1996 when you paid a fortune to get satellite. we were satisfied for 11 yrs. we were moving into a rental for a few months until our new home was finished so we decided to get cable instead of going thru with satellite. when i called to have the service disconnected i was told it would be a 250.00 cancellation fee, however we were never notified of any such agreement. we have asked for over a year now to see the proof where we agreed to pay the fee. they also are stating that because we had a defective receiver, that was a leased receiver, they were adding another 2 years onto the contract. i am not sure how any company can get away with this. we still have not received any proof of the contract we entered into and needless to say will never get direct tv again and have had many friends get rid of their service also. we have not paid the 250.00 and they are sicking a collection agency on us. i have filed a dispute with the credit bureaus so it will show that direct tv is in the wrong. i am really trying to figure out how a company can get away with this and how we can make it widely known that they do this. when i signed up for my cell phone they specifically told me i had a 2 yr contract and had me sign for it, why isn't the satellite company held to this same standard. they do have the worse customer service i have ever seen also. if anyone has any knowledge of what can be done to make this known and possibly get pressure on direct tv, i would really like to know. i am very upset about this and will not pay them since they are getting rich off of us loyal customers.

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6:16 am EDT
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DirecTV scam billing!

I had used Direct TV for at least 2 years. When I decided to relocate from California to Texas, I informed Direct TV that I would need to cancel the service because I was moving and would not need service any longer. A representative called me back and convinced to me to just 'suspend' my service and that when I needed to start the service up again, to give them a call. Well I never called, but I did receive a bill in the mail the second week of March 2008.

So of course I called to clear up any confusion, and I was told that the bill would be credited and that the balance would be zero. However that was not the case. Yes they did credit me 47.66, but still left a balance of 104.00. I called back and asked to speak with a supervisor, and she was very rude, she said that she would not send a payment dispute because she felt that I was responsible for the bill. So, I send an e-mail to try and get the balance cleared up. I receive an e-mail response informing me that the balance was still due and payable, however my information would be sent to management to inform them of my issue with the supervisor.

My whole issue is that they would not take responsibility for their error and are trying to charge me for it. Clearly, why would I call to reinstate service at an address that I no longer live? If I'm living in a home where the owner already has cable tv, why would I call to reinstate? This doesn't make any sense to me, but I guess that Direct TV sees no wrong. Issue is still ongoing.

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chris
,
May 12, 2008 12:48 am EDT

I have recently switched to cable, In the event i checked on one of my debit accounts and DirectTv has a charge of $75 pending. This was never authorized over phone or in writing. They stated to me that they have the right to do this, BULL S***. This is credit card FRAUD. I have used this card in the past as a ONE TIME EFT payment, but this doesn't give them the right to charge my account, instead of sending me a remaining bill through the mail this is what they do to people. I was with them for about 5 years, but will NEVER return. My charter cable is better and a lot more reliable.

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Tucson Fulltimers
Tucson, US
Apr 19, 2010 12:56 pm EDT

We are being scammed too, how to deal with these people and YES the supervisors are very rude as are the people who answer unless you are taking their product.

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richard pantale
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Sep 17, 2008 6:17 pm EDT

Recently I had to drop DirectTV because of a move to a heavily wooded area.
They WITHOUT PERMISSION WENT INTO MY DEBIT CARD ACCOUNT AND DEDUCTED $172.

They said they had a right to this SCAM.

Shouldn't there be a law somewhere that forbids using an unauthorized deduction from my account?

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1:30 pm EDT

DirecTV financial

My complaint is in the way Direct TV does business when you try to cancel their service. When you cancel service they send you boxes to return all of your receivers. After I closed my account they charged my acct. $119.00 until the receivers were received by return mail. I promptly did what they told me to do. I called a week later to see if they had credited my acct. They didn't seem them on my acct. I had to talk with two or three different people to finally make sure they got credited. When I asked them when they would credit the $119.00 back to my acct.- they said it would take 6-8 weeks. (It took them one day to take it out of my acct!) I waited 8 weeks- the money had not been credited back, so I called and asked where my money was, they appologized but made no excuse for the oversight. They said they would put a rush on it and I would receive it in no more than 12 business days. I finally received it after several phone calls and staying after them. I believe this must happen a lot. It seemed like DTV hopes you'll forget about the money they owe you. I will never use them again.

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kent phh
San Jose, US
Jun 17, 2010 4:08 am EDT
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Please stand up together we can make a right thing
We will open a campaign to force Direct TV to provide their services to consumers rightful and Direct T V should obey the fed or/and state regulation that should protect consumers. Direct TV, They are running a big scam right now by giving out misleading information and flyers all over Medias. By many and many scams from Direct TV’ false advertisement, wrong billing, poor and incompetent customer service, Unauthorized over charge, cancelation fee and 24 hours only policy for cancelation, Harassing calls, scam selling, roof damage and more to notice. It is ridiculous for consumers that are allowed only 24 hours to cancel the services from the first day installation if consumers are not satisfied.
We need stand up together to ask our Congress representatives, our senators, our local force law force, our State General Attorney to sent a clear and strong message to Direct TV. We want State and Federal open investigation on all over Direct TV misleading services to our consumers for many years. We should not allow this happen in our society today.
We will collect all the problems you have, are facing with Direct TV and we will sent letters to all official agencies and Congress. Please have your name and address if applicable.
Best Regards
Kent Phh
[protected]
Student6991@yahoo.com

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2:07 pm EDT

DirecTV billing after canceling service!

This Direct TV "Account" was terminated in September 2007 when I moved back to my home in another county in Mississippi. I never received another bill and assumed I was current. Somehow this account was continued without my knowledge and possible moved to another location. I am currently trying to contact CBE Group and/or Direct TV. I will pay their $678.00 blackmail in order to get this off my report. And if you ever see Direct TV on my report again I can assure you it will be fraudulent because I will never deal with them again. Note: I have contacted Direct TV's Costumer Support at phone number [protected] and after a hour they where unable to find my account. Isn't that a joke. They cannot find my account but they can screwup my credit report.

Damage Resulting:

The action of placing this on my credit report has affected my credit score by 70 points. This can possibly have an affect on a property purchase planned for next week. The legal ability for these people to do this is total and outrageously wrong.

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John Roberts
,
Nov 20, 2008 8:11 pm EST

After 9yrs.of service with direct tv.Icanceled my account with them.My stations kept going down in number.I also went through 3 seperate DVR's.The day after I cancelled service my DVR return box was on my porch, 2 days later they showed receipt of equip. Now direct tv is wanting to charge me 457.00 for canceling under contract.I know my contract was for one yr. only.I think that my payments that started at 63.00 and worked up to 108.00, plus 9 yrs.of service should get me out from under my 1 yr. contract. The man who installed my dish also made 2 sets of holes in my roof. That is not so bad, but he did not fill the first set of holes he made.Roof repair on a 12-12 roof is not at all cheap. I will go class action if need be. Thanks for the chance to tell this story to someone who will listen to me.Direct tv will not listen.

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hjloya
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Jul 29, 2008 10:37 am EDT

i terminated my service with DTV. while on vacation and checking mu bank account, noticed my account had been debited close to five hundred dlls. checking with DTV, i was informed that when i returned their equip, i would be credited. i had not received their shipping material. they said Fed Ex would be delivering within the next few days. when asked how long it would take for my credit, verbally and E-mail they said 4-5 working days after equipment was returned. equipment was returned on 7/11. on 7/23 checked with DTV, now they are saying my credit would take 6-8 wks. they are a big bully, seems they are punishing me for terminating service. didn"t take them long to debit my account, but somehow it takes a long time to credit, even when they did not send shipping material on time.

ComplaintsBoard
K
3:10 pm EDT

DirecTV non disclosure of fees

My complaint deals with the non- disclosure of fees and 2 year contract.
While speaking with the customer service rep, setting up the installation time and the program i was selecting, there was no mention of a two year commitment to their service. If i were to quit my service prior to the two year period, i would have to pay a fine. In addition i was not told that the equipment i was receiving was on a lease basis, and the reminder of the lease would be due and payable at the time of disconnect. All of this i would find out at a later date by complaining about their service, or lack thereof, that i was under contract for two years and would have to pay fines and prorated fees for leasing of the equipment.
When the installer came to my house, he seemed to know what he was doing, but spoke very limited english that was very difficult to understand at best, upon compleation of the install, he asked me to sign a paer showing he did install the equipment. Upon trying to get him to explain the system, he just handed me the book stating that his english was not too good.
I signed the paper only to find out later that he was to go over the entire set up with the customer and by sighning, i was agreeing to a two year contract. Once again, i was not explainded to or disclosed to this agreement. I feel that this is fraud!

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Howard Stokar
,
Jun 01, 2008 9:32 am EDT

I had a similar experience...These folks are beyond reprehensible...

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E
6:25 pm EDT

DirecTV scam and fraud!

I called to cancel service. Offered free upgrade to hd... Decided to stay. Installer came... Stated wrong work order... Needed a hd dvr... Work order listed a hd receiver only. Told them never mind... Person on phone said no problem... Will get you the dvr as promised. Installer left... Hd channels did not work... Called to complain... Told it would be 2 weeks... Said no. Sent a bill for $200 (For hd dvr) and $480 for cancellation... (Never agreed, never committed). Billed to my credit card... (Never informed). Disputed transaction... Money refunded... Directv pissed. Sent note to directv telling them to pick up their crap under provisions of the texas 3 day consumer cancel policy... Called bbb... Called ag. Sent email to ellen filipak (Vp of directv customer service)...

Ready to go to court... Cannot wait.

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Markedu9309
South Charleston, US
Aug 01, 2010 6:27 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Directv Service went out 10 times in 6 weeks. Cancelled service, wass charged $440. for early cancellation. Directv sent prepaid return tags through USPS. Immediately sent boxes back with USPS says "Picked up and processed by agent". Directv did not get their satellite boxes back and charged an additional $660. for boxes not returned. What is my next step. Directv says they will not accept anything less than the boxes in their possession. I wish that Directv never existed.

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PoopMonkey
Grand Coteau, US
Aug 14, 2012 3:21 pm EDT

DirecTv be needin' to kiss dat ### yo! Dey be chargin' all them cwazy fee joints and no be gettin' nuffin' in retun but da cwazy bill evy momf.

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Carnix
Dawsonville, US
Sep 14, 2010 3:07 pm EDT

Don't know if you've resolved this yet (I'd hope so!) but I came across this thread as I was researching what "Picked Up and Processed by Agent" actually means and since I've now figured it out, I thought I'd post a response that, even if it's too late to help you, might help someone else. The USPS has a program called Parcel Return Service (PRS) that does just that. It lets customers print out pre-paid return labels and the way it works, basically, is that the company contracts with a logistics company (or has internal staff) act as "Agents" who go down and pick up the return package from the post office, generally in the same city as it was sent from. When the Agent picks up the package, as far as the USPS is concerned, the parcel was delivered and the status of the parcel (in the track and confirm area) is updated to "Picked Up and Processed by Agent"

From YOUR perspective, this means DirecTV did receive the return from you, but probably the Agent screwed up, stole it, or just didn't handle things correctly. Hopefully all this has already come out in the wash for you, but if not (and if you can), go back to the return label because the Agent should be printed clearly and plainly on there along with the Agent's permit number.

Point is, DirecTV shouldn't have charged you the money -- they signed for the parcel from the USPS and therefore did, in fact, take possession of the return. It's of course possible you mailed an empty box -- but if that was the case, they'd have your label and an empty box... which they don't, they just have "we didn't get it" which is untrue on it's face. You should bring a small-claims court suit, plus post this whole story on Twitter and Facebook (I'm not kidding). You'd win the case by default judgement I bet, it's too small potatoes for them to even bother with -- if they even showed up to defend themselves, I'd be surprised.

ComplaintsBoard
R
11:28 am EDT

DirecTV bait and switch!

In november of 2006 direct tv was promoting a free ipod if we signed up. I thought "this is too good to be true", red flag, red flag! But being the trusting consumers that we were, we signed up. Several months later we received an off the wall brand portable dvd player, which of course wasn't what we signed up for. I want to point out that we never broke the seal to the box. We contacted direct tv who in turn had us call the mystery people that are supposed to supply the free ipod. The first guy told us to keep the dvd player and that they would send out the ipod, which never came.

So we called again and were told by another person to send the dvd back with the enclosed return shipping label, a letter of explanation, and they would then send us the ipod. We sent the dvd player back with the seal still intact and still have not received the ipod. I contacted direct tv customer service today to recant my "bate & switch" story and she told me there was nothing she could do about that. It is now march 18, 2008 and still no ipod.

I would love to hear if anyone else has encountered this same problem with direct tv.

Robert.

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Ron Smith
,
Dec 28, 2007 12:00 am EST

Below is a letter that I sent to Direct TV regarding their "bait and switch" policy:

I just finished a telephone conversation with several of your representatives and I am astonished by the lack of customer service your representatives exude. I have had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with your Alabama call center for the last 30 minutes and if this is how you train your employees to deal with customer concerns your need to re-evaluate your training department.

On November 15, 2007 my wife, Jennifer, transferred our account from California to Tennessee. The representative who established the account offered my wife the premier channels free for 4 months – there was no mention of the NFL Sunday Ticket package for $69.99 each month. This is where the bait and switch comes in and apparently Brandi in your Atlanta office condones this type of behavior as she wanted to argue the point that my wife had agreed to this. If the initial representative had offered this package with something to do with NFR (National Finals Rodeo) or some type of programming along this line she probably would have taken the package, but definitely not football. Neither my wife nor myself watch football except for the occasional college game. This is the reason I know that my wife did not agree to the NFL package.

After speaking to a representative that I did not get the name of, I then spoke to Adam who could not help me. Adam transferred me to Ashley who was able to assist me to a degree, she waived the December billing and canceled the NFL Sunday Ticket programming, but was not able to take care of the November 15th to December 16th billing. Per Ashley this is an agreement you have with the NFL? Ashley then transferred me to Brandi who wanted to argue the point and did not want to let me speak. When I asked to speak to her supervisor she refused. I finally was able to get out of her that the call center manager was Sue and that they were located in Alabama, but she refused to give me any other information or transfer me. She also finally gave me the office of the president, but very reluctantly.

The bottom line is: I want the $69.99 waived for the 11/15/07 to 12/16/07 billing cycle as we never requested this service. At this point it is not a matter of money, but it is a matter of principle as if this is the type of customer service your company condones, it is not a company that I would like to do business with. Up until our move to TN I was very satisfied with Direct TV, but since we have moved here, the installer showed up at 8pm on the second appointment – he missed the first one, and did not leave until midnight. You company did give us a missed appointment credit, but now I have to deal with this situation and customer service that is far below a minimum standard.

Sincerely,
Ron.

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The Sanders
Las Vegas, US
Feb 25, 2010 1:19 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My husband took advantage of the "Refer A Friend" promotion. He has since been on the phone at 3 hour intervals (including a call center in Mexico!) to find out why he is not receiving the $10 monthly rebate?!

He was told (a) It was not set up properly, but we cannot fix it for you. He should have talked to so-and-so...but how were we to know that when he called the number on their promotional flyer?

(b) That even though he was talking to customer service (this is Mexico) he could not be transferred to a Supervisor because of their procedures. So, if William could not help him, too bad, no suprevisors are to be bothered?

(c) That even though he called the 800 number provided, you need to talk to (1) new service (2) customer service (3) billing, etc. etc, all at the SAME 800 NUMBER HE ALREADY CALLED?

(d) DirectTV contracts out their service. Initial installing and customer service, so even though they answer the phone as DirectTV, they are NOT DirectTV...and we know this how? By trying to get something corrected that apparently nobody wants to take ownership of. EVERY department transferred him to yet another department, also known as Passing-The-Buck!

(e) He is now being transferred to the "Escalation" department. They are telling him that if their "Activation/New Service department" set it up incorrectly, too bad nothing can be done, even if it is DIRECTTV'S fault!

So, we ask for the Corporate Office phone number, can only get a PO Box number, and we all know what file that goes into...13!

Do we wish that we had read complaints before signing up...of course! Hopefully others reading about the dissatisfied service given to their customers, they will think long and hard before buying into their "Special Offers" programs, or any other new services.

Trust me, this company is good on Offering specials, but short on delivering on them. I mean really, should it take longer to get an answer as it does to give birth?

The "Escalation" department is none other than the other 30 departments we have talked to...totally useless!

Sorry to sound so bitter, but really, can all these complaints be ignored? Apparently, the answer is YES.

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Fed Up Mom
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Oct 04, 2008 8:25 am EDT

That’s not the only time they do bait & switch. When I upgraded to my HDDVR, I was told I needed a new dish, but that the upgrade was free. The tech came and installed my dish, but they charged me a 49.99 relocation fee, which they said was to move and set up the other existing DVR that I *physically* carried to my bedroom upstairs and that *I* programmed myself. I was the one who pointed the dish and programmed the new DVR. They did credit it to me.

The charge was incurred because after the tech came out and installed the dish, I realized I didn’t have two lines run to my bedroom for the existing DVR. I made a call to Direct TV to have them do this, and thus, was charged. However, the tech who installed my dish said I need to have a wall fish and that it would be $60. I called Direct TV with that information to set up the service call, and the rep said well, it’s only $49, so be it. That charge was added to my bill, and I paid it before the second service call happened.

When the tech came back out (a different tech, a different company this time), I was then told it was $120 because it was two floors and that I needed to pay him. When I explained that I was quoted $60 and that I had already paid Direct TV, he gave me a supervisor line to call. The idiot rep tried to tell me that the $52.36 on my recent bill was not for the extra line run charge, but was for pay per views because I had swapped my receiver (sent it back) and kept the card.

The idiot rep didn’t even realize I had kept the entire receiver and relocated it myself to the bedroom. She then asked the tech if there was any evidence of new lines ran.

When I asked her how he would have this information, she said there’s a database he can call up to to find out. I asked her if he would have received this information prior to coming to the call, because he was standing right there in front of me using MY landline to speak to her. She told me that no, he could use his cell phone to call another number.

I asked her how that was going to be possible while he was talking to her on my landline and I was right there in front of me.

Basically about 8 hours later of holding, screaming, sighing, and speaking thousands of foreign languages to figure out what the heck happened here, I realized that you don’t call Direct TV to have custom labor, like wiring a second line, done. You have to call their contracted installer, and you are at the mercy and whim of whatever tech comes out and quotes it.

If you don’t like that price, you can refuse service and make another appointment, but be prepared to wait three months and be given several songs and dances about how the hurricane has put everyone’s installation dates off even if you don’t even live anywhere near where the hurricane hit.

I asked if Direct TV thought that this practice was reasonable. If someone calls up a store, is quoted a price, makes the drive out to the store, and talks to a rep while at the store, and is waiting on this piece of equipment in order for something to work, and is the told at the register that it is double the price, I think most people would feel that is predatory business practices, and leave.

When I suggested to Direct TV that I get the quotes in writing first and decide who I want to install my cable, they asked me if I thought it was reasonable to cut them out of the deal, and I retorted, do you think the extra $60 is going into YOUR pocket?

Yes, I think it’s reasonable when I have someone drilling into my siding, stapling into my drywall and doing something not to electrical code that I DO HAVE a choice in whom I pay and WHAT I pay for that service.

I have had Direct TV since 2000, and in the last three years, I have never seen such customer service gaffes from a company. I explicitly went with this company due to the same stick-it-to-ya practices that cable was engaging in….

Now….I’m not sure I’m going to have satellite service again. What crap - if I ran my business as such, I wouldn’t have customers, and I’d be reported to several governmental agencies and sued out the yin yang.

Unfortunately, the only voice with have here is with our dollars and who we decide to give them to.

Try complaining here: if enough of us do it, maybe they’ll listen:

Senior VP Ellen Filipiak
Direct line (310) 964.6508

DirecTV Corporate Offices
2230 E. Imperial Highway
El Segundo, CA 90245
Attention: Office of the President

Chase Carey President & CEO

John Suranyi President Sales & Service

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Kay
,
Aug 07, 2008 1:26 pm EDT

I completely agree with the lack of proffesionalism that I recieved from this company. We have been customers with them for more than 13 years and have always paid our account on time.

The last times that I have called to speak with someone, I was blantantly called a liar and was treated with total disrepect by several of their representatives. No one would address my problem and extended our "commitment" with out any authorization. When I asked questions from different representatives, I was given completely different answers. When I asked them to produce "paperwork" to substantiate their claims, they told me that this was not possible and there was nothing that I could do and then hung up on me. Also, even though I have ducumentation to prove that I had previous calls to them regarding my issues, they again called me a liar.

I will be taking this company to task for treating me in such a unprofessional manner and urge others to not go with this company for their provider.

Kay

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Scott Johnson
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Dec 28, 2007 10:44 pm EST

I did some leg work & located their corporate office number which is [protected], try to call them. Explain the issue in a calm manner (don't be ### or angry) & explain why you think it's unfair & see if they will be able to assist you.

Generally that would be the final step with the company to get the charges reversed.

Pablo

DirecTV Customer Reviews Overview

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.

DirecTV In-depth Review

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.

Channel Selection: DirecTV provides a comprehensive list of channels, catering to a wide range of interests and preferences. Their channel lineup includes a diverse selection of entertainment, news, sports, and lifestyle channels. Additionally, DirecTV offers premium channels and sports packages, allowing customers to access exclusive content and live sporting events. The variety and diversity of channels offered by DirecTV are highly regarded by customers.

Equipment and Installation: DirecTV's equipment is known for its quality and reliability. Customers have reported positive experiences with the performance of DirecTV's receivers and remotes. The installation process is generally smooth and efficient, with professional technicians handling the setup. DirecTV also provides customer support throughout the installation process, ensuring any issues or questions are addressed promptly. While there may be additional fees or charges related to equipment and installation, they are clearly communicated to customers upfront.

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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