DirecTV review: directv sucks 820

I have posted a comment here a few months ago about DirecTV problems I have encounted when I terminated my service , I had a HD DSL receiver that I bought at Best Buy when I purchase my plasma HD tv they told me it would be better if I purchase it there they would take $200.00 off the price of the tv ,the receiver cost $300.00 plus tax , so I did when the receiver came in ( it took 2 weeks ) I was told to bring an ID or drivers license with me , I figured it was so nobody esle could say it was theirs , well when I got there and the salesmen had me sign a slip of paper again I figured it was proof that I received the item, I had DirecTV since 1991 I swap out the receivers myself call it in and yes I had HD tv it was great but than started to have problems with the picture 6 months later , there was a deal with verizon FiOS so I gave them a call and decided to hook up with them anyway when I called DirecTV to cancel all hell broke lose they said they wanted the receiver back and I owed them $185.00 for early cancellation fees because I didn't keep the service long enough , I said WHAT ! they said it was a 2 year agreement and that I only had it for 11 months they never said it was a two year agreement and if I don't send that receiver back I owed another $ 450.00 I talked to everyone there and it didn't help, I told them theirs no way in hell I was going to send them my receiver that I paid $300.00 for back to them for nothing , they said we understand but its a rental after a month of arguing I decided to call Best Buy and they told me it was a rental that DirecTV owns all their equipment and the paper I signed was the agreement after the 2 years the unit is yours I guess anyway they sent me the box and I sent the receiver back and paid the $ 185.00 I owed and that took awhile to all get cleared up I finally got a statment showing I owe $0.0 . The problem with DirecTV is lack of cummunication with its customers most can't speak good english and I sure don't even mention the two year commitment , in the past they would tell you several times and I thought that once your a customer for more than two years you don't have any more commitments and you can cancel at anytime I was wrong. ITS JUST NOT WORTH IT...

Having to pay a bill directv said i owe from 2003 for 500.00 but we had tem in 2001, that bill i admit to for 200.00. I paid it now they say i owe another 500.00, they are related to cox cable or just trying to make up for other people not paying there bills so they try to get whoever else to pay without question, i for one am not giving another a dime to directv till i get a copy of itemized statement as to why i still owe for services NOT rendered.

I agree, Direct TV is a company which people should be aware of. I ended my using them after using a debit card to pay my bills. Then upon leaving them I sent them back all three receivers as agreed. Then found on Christmas Eve that they had a computer error resulting in my card being charged for one of the receivers. This is after someone had called me from there days prior confirming that they had in fact received the receivers. I called them on Christmas Eve after finding they had charged my bank account for a receiver (over $200.00), they acknowledged the error, told me I will be getting credit but can't tell when. Joh Q Public should watch them and be careful what information they are given because they can have things such as this happen resulting in better profit margins in the event John Q Public doesn't catch it.

I called again today the day after Christmas spoke with a representative attempting to get her to tell me when the credit will happen, she put me on hold and hung up on me.

Great Company huh?

Have you thought about contacting your state or federal Representatives? They can make laws that impose penalties on companies that carry out frauds like this. If the Attorney General's office does not have a law that it can prosecute a business under, its hands are tied. The Better Business Bureau is fairly useless--the companies pay to belong.

You have an e-address on the back of your bill under "How to pay us:" but doesn't work or can't be found. Must have been set up by the same genius who suggested that "call center in India". How about sending me an e-mail containing an e-address which permits me to "How to pay you".

Also: I have a voice prosthesis which is not recognized by your automated phone system. I'm sure you can see how the combination of the phone system and the call center in India could formulate a lesser individual into a bomb throwing terrorist.

I, however, am not that type so you need not call the Homeland boys as they have enough to do. Besides their call center is also in India.

Sharing my inner thoughts with you, I am

Joseph Mannozzi

I signed up with Directv in March 2007. I was told it was one 1 yr contract and I was quoted a totally different price. When I got my 1st bill I called to complain about my bill. I had talked to a supervisor named Oscar on the Red team in Texas. He gave me a $20.00 credit per month for a year. He documented it in the notes. After 6 months I got a bill with no credit. I again called Directv and they basically told me that I cannot get that promo anymore, even though I was promised it and they saw it documented in the notes on my account. They said he should have never promised me that. I wanted to speak to someone higher up because I couldn't believe it. The supervisor said she had filled out a complaint action request form and that someone would got back to me within 24 hours. No one contacted me, so I called back. I got a real snotty supervisor. She too, said that there was nothing she could do. I told her that I would be contacting Time warner cable to get new services and that I would call back to cancel. This supervisor turned off my services right then and there. I had to call back once again and spoke with another rep that did apologized and said that he would cancel out too if he was me. Finally when I did cancel I was told I had a 2 yr contract and that I owe an early termination fee for 1 yr and 5 months. I am currently disputing that 1 year of fees. I have e-mailed the Better Business Bureau and two heads of Directv. I have NEVER in my life had such a bad experience with a company. I will continue to tell anyone who is thinking about Directv to "STAY AWAY!"

I understand your situation, however please contact Directv to confirm if your order was made through a dealer or Directv @ [protected]. I work for Directv and I assure you if you were billed through us we will refund you, however if you were billed through a private dealer which is often the case with online orders you would need to contact the dealer to receive a refund.

I completely agree w/ your comment about Directv and the blackouts. I currently work for Directv and have taken dozens of calls concerning blackouts on channels that should be showing the games. We are not trained very well to handle calls like this however we have a "system" that is supposed to give information on what channel the professional game is playing on. This so called system is wrong more than right. Directv is somewhat of a new company and has meant many bugs to work out (but you would think after 8-9 years the company would finally find something that works), I think the engineers that work for Directv are cheap laborers from different countries whom do not understand the expectations of how AMERICANS want things to work when their hard earned money is spent on certain products. Directv does have good and bad sides, such as the NFL Sunday Ticket(the only good part of Directv when it works!), I know for a fact if Directv looses the contract w/ the NFL it would probably go out of business. BOTTOM LINE DIRECTV IN MY OPINION IS AS BAD AS WALMART WITH THE PAY, BENEFITS, AND SERVICE PROVIDED! If you are looking for an excellent service with AMERICAN CUSTOMER SERVICE contact your local cable provider. Cable has a lot of features Directv lacks such as ON DEMAND services.

I had similar issues here recently. Had been a DirecTV customer for 3+ years. Went to upgrade my dish so that I could get local HD through my current receiver vs. my over the air antenna. Instead of just upgrading the dish, they offered me a full dish and receiver upgrade. I like many here do not remember any discussion of a 2 year contract extension. Then the first dish the installers put in was faulty so I only got partial signal but they did activate the new receiver. After a week of waiting for them to replace the dish, they did so and the new dish got no signal and I lost all service. They wouldn't resolve this in a timely manner so I canceled my service and was told that since the new receiver had been activated I was now under a 2 year agreement and was charged a cancellation charge. Not sure how they can consider the contract fulfilled on their side since the new service was never fully up and running, but they consider it so. In addition, they have informed me that they consider the new receiver a "leased" receiver and while I'm happy to return it, they have my old receiver which I purchased from Best Buy so I'm asking for it back (I'm sure I won't ever see it) along with the OTA antenna that was attached to the old dish that their installer walked off with.

I escalated the issue to their billing department and am being told that they won't reverse the charge. I was planning on disputing through my credit card and BBB but it sounds like from these are dead end channels. I'll probably just eat the money and file a complaint through the BBB so it's at least on record, but don't really want to deal with collections. Was considering maybe small claims court to see if I can at least force them to spend more in attorney fees then the charge, but not sure if I can file in local or would have to file in their state (need to look more closely at the T&C's).

So short of it is they have lost a loyal customer who pointed multiple people to them who will now point them away (meaning they will loose more in revenues then the $300 cancellation charges...) If anyone does start a class action, please contact me as well.

Call their main number then ask to disconnect services. Ask the disconnection agent for a supervisor. You won't get anywhere otherwise.

So tired of everyone complaining about the bill the received after the 4 month trial ran out... If you learn to read the full contract and listen when they talk to you on the phone when you set up your account... Because they are just reading out of a book. They tell you that you have To pick up your Phone and Call them to choose what package you want other wise you will be charged the full amount. Seriously, they are a company that wants to make money and if ###s let them then its the peoples own fault.Learn to Read/Listen to what your told or see and you wont have any issues.

Anyone want to start a class-action, I'm in, too! This "verbal contract" stuff is crap! And DTV should be held to a certain standard, too, contracts aren't just one-way!

I also have a complaint I recently had to move closer to my mother who is having serious health problems and tried to have my directv transfered but had no reception so I was told their would not be a shut off fee so what does directv do they use my credit card and debit my account with out my consent or permission so I now have bounced checks and charges from banks and creditors coming out everywhere so what can I do Thanks Debra Thompson 9/12/07

Canceling the package is a hassle. I called and canceled on 18 Jun and was still billed, and my credit card billed, the 45.80 + 2.75 tax for the package I canceled. I called again, got it canceled. Directv then charged me 48.55 + 2.91 tax to cancel the order. Had to call AGAIN on Saturday regarding the charge. When They got done with my account I'm still short $2.75. So when you cancel your package beware of Directv's hidden fees.

Good Luck.

I had a simular situation with Directv. We have had Directv service for over 10 years, and started have picture problems about a year ago. They came out 3 times and never resolved the issue. I thought it might be the television, so I purchased a new one, but the problems continued. I finally gave up and decided to cancel my service. They then informed me that I had to return my recently purchased receiver. They went on to say the equipment was leased. I explained the equipment was purchased at Best Buy, and I had the receipt to prove it. I told them there was no lease agreement discussed with the purchase, and never one ever discussed the possibility of us entering into a lease agreement. They didn't care and informed me, they did not require their customers to sign lease agreement and it didn't matter whether I was told it was a lease or not, they expected their equipment back, or I would be charged $420.00 for the receiver. I have spoken to at least 4 different people, but to no avail, this group could care less about making it right for the customer. Now I am left to file complaints with everyone who will listen, including the BBB and all email complaint avenues.

Belinda,

I am a supervisor at DirecTV. I read your comment. Yes on Monday 16th we had a horrible system crash. From 9 am to 5 pm. If you ever had the NFL Sunday Ticket before, all sports back auto renew every year. The season does not start until August 9th. You can call before then, get a credit back for that 45.80 and take the sports back off. Not a problem.

My free satellite receiver (H20) burned up and smoke was billowing from the unit. Thankfully it happened when I was at home. A fire could have resulted. After researching the H20-the unit suffers from overheating problems. Obviously I don’t want the same receiver with the possibility it could catch fire or burn up again. Directv explains that the Tivo model is the only other HD receiver they have other than the H20. I respond by saying OK I’ll add Tivo service to my bill if you can send me the Tivo model. So not only I’m I staying a customer, but I’m going to pay you more money a month for expanded service. Directv says I have to pay 200.00 for the Tivo unit. I am flabbergasted that your faulty equipment burns up, has a bad track record, and you will not replace it for free. Finally after getting nowhere I said that if Directv would not send me a new unit and give me some customer satisfaction that they could just terminate the service. Prior to this I was a premier customer and never had a problem. Directv had a chance to make the matter right and provide service to the customer. Instead they tried to squeeze a little more money out of the consumer for their error. To make matters even more frustrating you apologize and agree that the early termination is indeed wrong and will be waived and proceed to send it to a collection agency. I spoke with several managers who said it would be taken care of and it never was. Also wrote the billing dispute a letter. File with the BBB!

I had the same thing happen to me. I had a faulty HD receiver that I purchased over a year ago. I called and they were as nice as could be and told me they'd send a new receiver since they've had problems with this model. I received it, set it up and called to activate. All was well, until I called for another reason and was annoyed so I mentioned that I would just cancel since my contract was up Jan 2008. That's when you told me it was extended until Mar 2009 because I received a new HD receiver. I was livid, this was the first I heard of this. I spoke to about 10 people and nothing can be done. I put in a complaint with the BBB and was basically told too bad. They said I received a confirmation letter that stated there was a new 2 year contract. Well, I have the letter and it doesn't state it anywhere. I told them to send the faulty receiver back and take this one and I'll wait until my original contract was up and again no. I'm going to cancel and fight the fee. We'll see what happens. Class action? I'm in.

DirecTv did the same thing to me as to the two reviews I see above. I fulfilled my contractual obligation. When I was on a month to month basis my leased DVR failed, they shipped me a refurb, picked up the old one, then later claimed that I had agreed to a new two year contract. I talked with 3 DirecTv employees and wrote a letter. Then I had my attorney send a letter. They still don't get it. Now I've filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General. MY ATTORNEY SAYS SHE HAS RECEIVED SEVERAL CALLS COMPLAINING OF THIS SAME PHANTOM CONTRACT ISSUE. DirecTv claims they told me about it. I'm very anxious to hear the recording. They are welcome to bring it along to small claims court. WHERE ARE THE CLASS ACTION ATTORNEYS WHEN WE NEED THEM? C'MON GUYS!

I have been a DirecTV customer since about two years after they started the company and had always been very satisfied with their service until now. I signed up for HD service and received an HD receiver. Number one, HDMI does not work on receiver; #2 receiver goes out at least once a month and takes me over an hour to get working again. When I called DTV, they offered to send me new receiver (mind you, I paid $200 for the receiver), when I received replacement receiver it was refurbished. Their customer service lies to you - oh and by the way, I was never told I had to have 2 year contract when I signed up for HD, and I never signed any contract for the HD that I remember .. now they want to charge me a $240 cancellation fee.

I am done - I have changed to DISH Network