DirecTV
reviews and complaints

Cancelled by Dad's subscripton to Direct TV. One week later, Direct TV charged a $300 early cancellation fee to my credit card. I had purchased their service as a gift for my father and then we transfered the account over to his name. Direct TV rep said I was charged because he ordered a second HD receiver in January. Direct TV automatically will add another year to your contract if you do that, but not tell you about it (maybe it's in fine print). I told DT rep that his HD receiver was switch out by the installer. We did not request a new receiver. She said we were charged because the account did not have the protection plan. I corrected her and said we do have that and told her to research the account. She did and said that the charge would be removed from my credit within 72 hours. Their error caused my bank account to be overdraw. I asked DT rep if they would pay any over draft charges that I might incur. She said I would have to fax a copy of my bank statement showing the charges and only then would they reimburse me. Never, ever, not even once did she offer me an apology or say I am sorry. So unprofessional. Finally, she asked if she could help me with anything else? These reps are low paying robots, who only read from a script and make our lives miserable. Beware, be very careful if you have Direct TV or are even thinking about subscribing. Ask them alot of questions, get things in writing and speak back.

This company stole money out of my account on sept 5th. They said I never returned a receiver which I did. They found the receiver and apologized and said the money should have never been taken out and that it would be returned within 3-4 business days. Here it is 6 days later and I still do not have my money and now they are telling me that there is no proof that they took it out. I called my bank and they have the transaction but cannot legally fax any account information to them. So right now I am out $436.26 which is crap. How do I get my money back-i have bill's that are late and will have incurred the fees because of their "mistake" how can I make them pay?

I am an AT&T employee. I have had direct TV for almost 3 years. I have had multiple problems since the beginning. I have never ever experienced such horrible customer service and product quality. I don't recommend Direct TV to my enemies Direct TV was not helpful at all offered 5.00 off for 6 months. In this economy and due to competitive market conditions, you would think that Direct TV would fall hand over fist to keep their valued customers but this is not true. I signed up service to receive a free potable DVD player. Never received it … my employee discount was never added…..My receiver box went out…… I have been hung up on by your reps….lied too by your reps…poor customer service .been without service multiple times because of miss information or equipment not working…defective. Not to mention every time it rains my service stops working…..I pay an extra 10.00 for HD access monthly and my service had been out for 8 days. I called and stayed on the phone for over an hour unplugging and screwing wires only to find out some piece of equipment was not working properly. It took some more days for a tech to come out and replace it. I was given 2.67 credit and I also had another credit because my service call was not placed. Today actually took the cake…Was transferred to multiple people and then hung up on while on hold. Another 20 minutes down the drain! I called in to pay my bill and as I was holding noticed my AT&T discount was only $5.00. I looked on our website to verify the discount and it states 10.00. When the rep came on the line I informed her of the discrepancy and she explained to me that my discount went down because of my other discount…..That has nothing to do with that. This is a separate situation. I then informed her of my troubles with direct TV and how im billing over 100 a month and had been without service for almost 2 weeks and etc. I had AT&T and direct TV on the phone together and each kept blaming the other for the problems. I then asked to speak with a supervisor that informed me I was placed on a contract when my box went out and I can’t cancel the services without being penalized. Informed the supervisor Lakeia 33541 that I never signed a contract or agreed to one. She stated I was placed on one when my box went out. That is FRAUD…SCAM and UNAUTHORIZED ….How can you put someone on a contract without there knowledge and I pay 5.00 every month for 3 additional boxes. I am supposed to notify you all if it’s not working properly. I do not nor did I agree to be placed on a contract with Direct TV. I should not be charged due to your company’s faulty equipment. I did not upgrade and I don’t have a DVR. I have never signed an agreement…ever. I am tired of talking and holding on the line for the incompetent service reps that don’t have customer service skills. This is a shame….No customer should have to go through all this turmoil and trials for a service they are paying for. I want someone with common sense to please contact me and rectify the situation. I am filing a complaint with the better business bureau as well. I feel as though direct TV is not taking me serious and the issues just keep adding up. I should not make multiple calls in order to have a tech come to my house and restore my service… I should not be without HD access for 8 days… I should not be talked down too and told to pay my bill and maybe I will see the correct discount on the next bill…..My bill and my discounts should have been applied to my last bills…I should not have to take time out my day to type a letter explaining the terrible customer service I have received.. Sad part this is not the first problem I’ve encountered with your company but hopefully it will be the last. I can only say that in my many experiences with the customer service departments of many organizations, I am astonished at what DirecTV considers customer service and how I’ve been treated.

AT&T | DIRECTV Employee Offer Details
• Active AT&T management and non-management employees will receive an ongoing $10 per month discount off the CHOICE EXTRA™ or FAMILIAR ÚLTRA™ or higher programming package (AT&T retirees are not eligible to participate in this offer at this time).

• The $19.95 Delivery and Handling charge will be waived for employee orders.

• The credit card requirement will be waived for employees for orders that do not include an equipment upgrade fee.

• The employee offer can be combined with other DIRECTV promotions.

• The employee discount cannot be combined with the AT&T bundle discount.

After ongoing problems with dish network, I was going to switch to directv which purports to have superior programming and customer service. However, I canceled the work order before the installation after several days of dealing with directv and direct star reps. Trying to change the installation date. What an eye-opener: I thought dish network was bad, but the customer service for directv is horrendous.
After a high pressure sale pitch from direct star on b/h of directv, I was repeatedly urged to create an account, even before installation. Don't do it. I can only imagine how much more nightmarish my experience would have been had I actually created an account; as it is I am lucky to have escaped when I did.
My dealings with direct star were much better, but ultimately dealing with two entities made the whole process even more chaotic. I cannot recommend strongly enough that directv provide substantial training to it's representatives. Had they been properly trained, I might have given their service a try. However after spending several unsuccessful hours talking to multiple completely clueless directv reps trying to get a simple thing like my installation date rescheduled, I realized that if I actually became a directv customer, I could look forward to two years of the same incompetence. I consider myself lucky to have learned my lesson before I entered into a contract with direct v. Certainly if asked I will be sure to advise any and all of my negative experience.

I recently contacted DirecTV to cancel my subscription. I purchased it through a Verizon bundle and was told it was a one year agreement. I now need to pay an early termination fee of $200+. The customer service manager HUNG UP on me after she was extremely rude and I informed her that I was the Customer. I then wrote to the Office of the President and received a call today and it seems that they really don't care either how their customer service treats their clients. Given what I have read on this website and others, customer service is not a priority and that 100% Customer Dissatisfaction should be their motto.

Made arrangements to disconnect the service and choose another service provider and they will continue to store information in a database prohibiting customers from selecting another reseller or supplier of DirecTV services over a two-year period example AT&T provides DirecTV services they will block your address your name your telephone number preventing you from getting bundled services from one of their license resellers of their own product sounds like Russia to me somewhat of the tell you who your service providers want to be they are way out of control.

As a new subscriber to direct tv, I am definitely unhappy about all parts of their organization. I attempted to get installation done. They showed up with the wrong hardware. Rescheduled they showed up again with wrong hardware. The next time the installation tech indicated he may not be able to install and attempted to charge me $50 each for the installation of 3 wires. Rescheduled again, (Yep, I am an idiot) they never even showed up. The next time, they sent a supervisor who installed the system. I was somewhat pleased. I then got my first bill, instead of it being the quoted price, it was extremely excessive. They explained that the 3-3 month free preview offers were for "moving" accounts and not for new subscribers. Any rebates could take as long as 6-8 weeks to process.

Bottom line, buyer beware, not supid like me.

My husband and I have been loyal customers of Direct TV, Wahkiakum West for years now. We signed into their 2yr contract that basically holds us responsible for paying them monthly weather we are satisfied with their service or not. If we get fed up and decide that it isn't worth it, we have to pay apx. $20.00 per month until the contract has ended for canceling early.
I called yesterday and ask what the procedure was for adding the recording service to our acct. I believe it is called dvr.? Was told that even though they are offering it free to any NEW customer right now, that it would cost us $199.00. This is because Larry Hunter seems to feel that he has been ripped off by too many people in the past to offer it to everyone. So, let me think about this. He will offer it to someone just signing up to his service that has NO payment history with his company, but will not offer it for free to someone who has been with his service for years, always making their payments on time.
I really shouldn't be surprised by all of this, after all this company has all kinds of ploys to get extra $ from their hooked in audience.
Last year, just about the time that our contract was coming to an end... our cable box went on the Fritz.
Wahkiakum sent someone out to replace the box with a new one. Now mind you it is THEIR box. When we end our contract, they will take THEIR box. But because THEIR box had to be replaced by a new one. WE had to sign a new contract. Guess what! another 2 years!
To add insult to injury, they billed me over $300.00 for THEIR nonworking box that THEIR service tech took with him in the box that he brought the new one in.
This took several months of phone calls to get straightened out. Each time I called, I was told it was taken care of, just disregard the letters, AND the box that they mailed me to put the nonworking box in. My husband and I are looking at what cable alternatives are available out there unless Direct TV starts remembering their loyal customers and not just hooking in new ones.
We pay close to $100.00 per month for our package, that's a lot of money for us with my husband being on disability and unable to work. The TV is a large part of his life. My job requires us to be up by 2am and in bed by 6pm. So... the ability to record prime programs would be great for us. We just don't see the right in Mr. Larry Hunter's disregard for loyalty.
We will also be telling everyone who will listen to look on line and see how many unhappy people are out there prior to ever giving Direct TV any thought.

Just found out that KLKN tv station in Lincoln is in dispute over contract ending next Wednesday 3/31/10. I am extremely upset that direct tv and klkn cannot come to an agreement. It is the only ABC station direct tv offers for Lincoln and I am a fan of ABC. No more local news, soaps, LOST, Dancing with the stars, Greys Anatomy, etc if you (direct tv) don't come to terms with klkn. Where are Lincoln locals supposed to go for ABC programming? KLKN has agreements with Dish Network and cable but not you- the biggest satellite tv system. Please come to terms so we can have ABC programming.

We've been Directv customers for 14 years. About 6 years ago, we opted to buy a new DVR/HD box and dish rather than lease it as we didn't want recurring leasing charges. Instead of leasing the box at $99 we bought the box outright from Amazon.com for nearly $500. Things went smoothly enough until we moved to a location without HD reception and tried to downgrade our service to regular. DTV insisted they owned our box and wanted it back in order to go back to regular service. They couldn't produce any leasing agreement, as none existed BUT we were able to obtain the receipt from Amazon.com. We faxed it to them repeatedly, but they never acknowledged receipt nor would update our account with any of our previous calls. Every time we called, we had to start at the beginning and follow the chain up for about 2 hours. By week 2, we'd decided to cancel service. They still wanted us to send them back OUR box that we had purchased and held receipt to. When we refused and again faxed our receipt, they threatened to use our on file credit card to charge for the box AGAIN. I sent them an e-mail tonight telling them they didn't have permission to use my credit card for this purpose, but I suspect that they don't mind a little fraud here and there.

I'm so angry, I don't know what to do.

My husband ordered the service and they never informed him that we were signing up for an 18-24 month commitment and told him we could cancel anytime. We stopped using them because the basic channels we were getting were rubbish and the movie channels played the same movies all month long. We left with a final bill of $89.97 and that was in August. It's now six months later and the bill is now up to $656.31 including $420.00 for not fulfilling our contract and it continued to rise until the contract is complete. I just spoke with DirecTV and they claim that even though my husband was not informed of this contract, once the installer brought the equipment and signed off on the work, that was our contract. They were rude and are falsely luring people into multi-annually binding contracts without telling them. This is theft at it's lowest level and I would like to be included to testify if criminal charges can be brought against them because they're doing this to all families and especially marketing to military families who often do not stay in one place for the length of the contract! I'm surprised the Marine Corps allows these criminals to operate on our bases, I'm referring to the insurance scams that ultimately led to soliciting being banned on bases.

Here's the story on my horrible directv experience wich is still ongoing.

I called directv in the first week of march 2010 to order service. The man I talked to assured me of some things I would be receiving with directv service. Now a friend of mine has directv and on all the receivers there are capable of recording two separate channels while you watch a THIRD CHANNEL, now if its supposed to be that way or rigged or what I don't know. So when I called to order service, I specifically asked if they offered a receiver for me that can do the same thing. All I wanted was two HD DVR receivers AND the ability to record 2 separate channels while watching a third. I also asked that the dish not be put on the roof but the side of the house. I was assured this is no problem, that he was configuring a package to fit what I wanted.
All I asked for was the two HD DVR's and to have it function like my friends service did with the HD DVR's. I was told all I had to pay was the 20 bucks to ship the boxes to the installers and they would be at my place 3/06/10, a sat morning between the hours of 8-12. So far I thought I was getting what I wanted.
Saturday morning the installer calls a little after 8 asking for directions, and then tells me that he wont be there until 11:30 or so. He shows up a bit before noon and gets to work with the installation. Once he starts hooking up the boxes I notice that they are standard receivers and not HD DVR's. Also I notice that the spelling of my last name is incorrect on his paperwork. So he takes the boxes and assures me he will handle it. He asked me not to contact directv so that he could fix the problem and get paid for his job.
After being on the phone on and off with him over the next day, he says he checked and I was right, that I ordered two HD DVR receivers and schedules a new installation for monday morning. On monday morning I called him to confirm when he was comming and he said he could not finish the installation because of a problem with Directv. The installer then gets me on a 3 way call with someone from Directv because I apparently need to make it a new order and account # because of the receiver mix up, although the installer says he has the boxes in his truck for me. The man from Directv tells me that I was being overcharged for what service I was getting and told me he fixed it, then charged 125.88 to my debit card for the additional receiver.
So after this I was assured I'd get my two HD DVR receivers and my monthly cost for first year would be 56.99 a month and for the second year it would be 85.99 a month for the package I wanted, and then I was given a new account number. And again I request that they fix my mispelt name. Finally the installation is rescheduled for tuesday morning.
Come tuesday no call no show, so I call the installer and he tells me that he cant get released to do the job until he talks to his suppervisor who is in a meeting. More phone calls throughought the day just to have the installer tell me the work order needs to be reopened and he needed an acctivity number, which I heard the man from Directv tell him the number when we were on 3 way call. So more calls to Directv to have them fix my mispelt name AGAIN and to get them to reopen the work order and get the acctivity number wich I give to the installer and reschedule the installation for wednesday morning.
Wednesday comes, no call no show from installer, and I get an automated call from Directv confiming an installation in the aftnoon hours between 12-4. Now this was not the time I scheduled, but I waited and two different installers show up in the afternoon with my correct boxes and do the installation, albeit rudely. So now I have working service as I ordered, or so I thought.
I work night shift and 12 hours shifts at that, so I went all week so far with very little sleep. After a short nap I tried to record two programs and watch a third station like I was assured I'd be able to do with the original person I ordered service through. I could only record one and the other I'd have to stop recording if I wanted to change the channel. So then I go inspect their installation and find out both guys put the dish on the roof where I did not want it, and the second installers didn't even use the same bracket, they put an additional one next to it... it was the same exact bracket.
So again I'm on the phone with Directv and they tell me the equipment is working fine that there is no way to record 2 channels and watch a third. They told me my friend must not of had Directv or that I was lying. My eyes work, I can read. My friends house has a Directv Dish, a Directv HD DVR receiver, and gets billed by Directv... But regardless on the fact they sold me on 3 stations and then told me they cant do that, I could of lived with it if they hadn't put the dish where I asked It not to be and caused damage to my roof.
So now it has rained and I have water leaking into my roof. So I call Directv again every day going through department after department getting transferred until I talk to someone that can handle all my problems. I only talk to supervisors or managers mind you. Eventually I talk to someone by the name of Patrick who is very sorry for my problems and after almost an hour on the phone with him alone, assures me that my 19.99 for shipping the two boxes that were wrong, and the charge for the second HD DVR of 125.88 would be refunded. He tells me that my 19.99 has already been refunded and the 125.88 would be mailed by check in 8-10 buisness days. Patrick also tells me that he marked it urgent refund.
I then ask to make sure that I will not be charged for any termination fees and that my account is closed out because I will not deal with a company that treats its customers that way. He ASSURES me that he closed my account, refunded my money, and that the service people would be out sat morning to remove the dish and all the wires laying around my house. He also gave me the information for the damage claims, and told me he put it in his system and that they would be contacting me shortly to resolve the issue.
Saturday morning the 13th comes and no service people show up in the 8-12 window I was told. So I call Directv again. They tell me the sevice appointment was cancelled and I have to contact the instalation company, Directec. When I ask for a contact number they tell me they have no numbers or no ability to even transfer me to someone who could get me in contact with Directec. If they have no way of contacting them, then how can they do installations when Directv says they have no way to contact them?
I'm also told I still have an active account, and refuse to put me in contact with with anyone other than the supervisor at the cancellation department. They also tell me no one higher up in the company has the ability to make sure my account is cancelled, even the president. So this man cancels my account, although I was assured by Patrick the other day that it was already cancelled. This man also tells he has nothing to do with me getting a refund or if I will get termination fees for a service I never had but for a few hours, that didn't even work as promised. He tells me thats a different department...
So after checking my bank account, I see that the 19.95 for the shipment of the boxes was refunded to me on 3/9/2010, but I still have not received my check for 125.88 and still haven't had the installers come to collect there boxes and dish.
I have pictures of the roof and damage and, and the bolts they discarded into my yard and left for me to clean up. This is a horrible way to run a company and I will not rest until Directv fixes what they have done. I am contacting the better buisness bureau and am filling a complaint. I am also contacting all local newspapers in my area to have this story run for everyone to know what Directv does, and how they mistreat and ripoff thier customers. I also have the address for the office of the president of Directv and will be writing them uncessantly until they resolve the issue. And If all else fails, I will take Directv and they Installation company to court to reimburse me for charges and damage to my house.

I have purchased satelite direct tv and an amount us$49.95, but unfortunately I could not watch it, when I am click the down load switch an order form again show on screnn and required for information with credit # for charge again and I could not found any registration option
Purchase information.
Details of charges alreday mad as follows

Order number: 8er5mc3x
Order date: 03/08/2010 10:50 am pst
Customer name: haroon rasheed
Customer email: [protected]@cyber.net. Pk
Product: unlimited access to over 3, 500 hd channels - one time fee
Product id: 1

Payment details

Payment method: mc 4733
Subtotal: $49.95
Tax: $0.00
Total: $49.95

Regards
Haroon rasheed

I gave my son and family the gift of the down payment for service with Direct TV...used my debit card. Over a yr later my son cancelled the service due to a move and not working. Direct TV charged my debit card $614.41 to clear his charges. I contacted them and told them that I was not responsible for his charges as I have my own acct in good standing. I was met with nothing but rudeness and refusal to reverse the charges. I have a disabled husband and we live on a fixed income and I have had to dispute the charge with my own bank. Direct TV assumes no responsibility for their actions and will keep the money until the bank makes them return it. Beware...Direct TV is nothing more than thieves and should be prosecuted for fraud.

First direct tv cancelled vs channel, one i viewed frequently.

Second & most recently, out of the blue the music went from xm to some 2nd class music channels...As much as the music, the dj's on xm were as important to me as the music it's self...

I have been faithful customer & recommeded & got my rebates off my bill, but now i cant refer direct tv any longer because who knows what will change next...$60 some dollars a month is not that easy to come by...

What can be done?

I signed up online for directv services. We were referred by a friend for directv so we also got the 'refer a friend credit". I got my credit the first month, but have not the last two months. Everytime I call I get a different person with a different excuse as to why i'm not getting my credit. The last time I called the supervisor there told me that i'm not getting the credit because the company I signed up with didn't qualify for the refer a friend credit. I told him that I signed up online and did not go through any company. He more or less called me a liar and said well that's what my computer shows. He said I signed up through a company called inq, inc. But, he couldn't give me an address or a phone number so I could call them. He said he had to information other than the name of that company. I have tried looking up this company, and I find nothing! I am calling the better business bureau on monday. I'm tired of the excuses and the run around!

Directv markets it's business by advising customers on television commercials and elsewhere that if they are referred to Directv by a friend or family, both gain a $100.00 credit to their account. No details are offered, specifically, that the new customer needs the referring customer's account number, but a number is offered to the new subscriber to call for the $100.00 credit. In this case, I referred, in fact, literally sold my neighbor and friend Directv. Both of us had heard of this 'bonus', but neither of us was aware that this was in fact, a scam, a bait and switch, I am currently on hold for 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 25 seconds as of this writing, listening to elevator music while I hold for a supervisor that I have been advised will tell me the same thing as the rep I was speaking with, no bonus w/out the referrer's account number. Upon receipt of his service, my neighbor called the number that was given him to get his and my bonuses. He was informed that it was actually a $10.00/month credit to our accounts, and that since he hadn't mentioned my account number as required, but not advertised nor was the information given at the time of ordering or installation. I have visited the Directv website, went to the referrals program listing and found a lot of things, including the fact that this is a scam, a rip off, and no way around it. Bait and switch was not even a term the rep was familiar with, but it is illegal, I believe that this is what this is at least, and fraud at best. Sincerely, Patricia B. Rambin

So I am another of the DirecTv customers currently having trouble. I just moved to a new apartment and I brought my DirecTv from my last apartment. I had gotten it 8 months ago because where I moved to in rural TN, no company ran cable down my street and satellite was my only option. I'd been stuck with dial up as well. Anyways, I moved to my new quadplex, got the directv installed, and when I tried to go with another company to get cable internet (finally) they told me they couldn't because DirecTv took the only direct line in to my apartment and plugged their wires into this other companies box. My landlord won't allow the internet company to drill a new hole in to the side of the apartment, directv won't come out and change the wiring unless I pay them because they say it's a "special installment" and there's nothing wrong with my service so they don't have to do anything. Now I have been told by people that because I can't get the internet service I want because of DirecTv, I should be able to cancel DirecTv and avoid the early termination fee. I have been through the terms and conditions online and I can't find anything to that affect anywhere. And I can't check my original contract because I was never sent one (according to them they had my address wrong which I didn't find out until they disconnected my service for non payment - they were sending my bill to the wrong address too). Anyways, has anyone else been through this? Any ideas?

Direct TV is a scam. They will lie and steal from you whenever they can. I signed up for Direct TV in Nov 2008 and had to pay a $200 deposit. Now, after paying on time and in full the last 16 months, the Deposit has changed to a fee. The person that tricked me into signing up said over and over that I would get all of the money back through credits on my monthly bills. This was a total lie and the recording will show it. Who in their right mind would shell out $200 just to PAY these scammers another $900 over 18 months? You're right, it doesn't compute...So they have to lie about to meet their sign-up quotas.

I've filed complaints with the FCC and BBB, but what this company needs is a Class action lawsuit. That is the only way to stop it!

Read all of the complaints on here - I wish I had and I would have saved myself a bundle. We are real people who have been ripped off by Direct TV - STAY AS FAR AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM THIS AWFUL COMPANY!