Direct TV — fraudulent charges
My wife and I had our house on the market for 15 months. We finally got an offer and sold it. I contacted directv 2 weeks before we moved to cancel and let them know we were moving to a location where we couldn't have satellite service and we needed to cancel. I never received the box to return the receiver and contacted them again. The agent told me to sign up for the mover's package. I explained that we couldn't have satellite service at our new house and he just went off on how that was illegal and that I should sue my landlord, etc. I told him I was not interested in taking my new landlord to court 1 week after moving in - or ever for that matter. This agent would not accept my requests and continued to try to force new packages on me. He then said I would have to pay an early cancellation fee unless a representative came to the new place to verify that we couldn't have service.
Meanwhile, I updated my account information and removed my credit card from my dtv account file.
The next week, a person came out to install new service. I refused and he left. Since that day (Last week) , dtv has called my house 12 times. They also charged my credit card $280 for the new mover's package even though:
1) I did not have anything installed
2) I had previously removed my cc from my account.
Although I enjoyed their programming, this company is horrible. Their customer service is not customer service. It is self service and they simply will not listen to the customer.
Never again dtv. Never again.
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In January of this year, I leased an HD receiver from DirecTV. I was promised 12 months of free HD access (normally 9.99/mo). As I pay my bill online, I do not get a paper statement. However, I checked my statement online today, and noticed that I had never received a single credit for the hd access, and had been charged $60 so far. When I called DirecTV about this, they told me their policy did not allow them to give me a credit, and all they could do was extend the free hd access for another 12 months. They couldn't seem to wrap their heads around my issue with being charged $60 fraudulently, and why I didn't feel that their giving me what they had promised (12 months of hd access for free) would make up for charging me $60 fraudulently.
You can't tell your customer you are giving them a service for free, then fraudulently charge them for that service, and expect to "make everything right" by giving them what you promised all along. At the end of the 12 free months of hd service, I could have decided I no longer wanted that service, and thus never be charged for it. After all, their HD DVR often doesn't record a show... for no reason at all. Completely unreliable dvr. But now, I've already paid $60. Simply starting the free 12 months of hd access now does not give me back my $60. And the supervisor that I was finally transfered to treated me like I was being completely unreasonable wanting my money back that DirecTV had stolen from me. Very rude.
For all of you who have contemplated signing on with DIRECTV as your TV provider, I have one piece of simple advice: Do not WALK; RUN from this organization.
"Why"? you might ask. Well, let me tell you:
I had been a customer of DIRECTV for nearly seven years, since January of 2002. For the first six years of this period the service that DIRECTV provided was adequate; that is I had no real desire to change TV providers.
However, beginning three or four months ago, the service deteriorated to the point that I was having extended outages. Initially, I believed that they might be weather-related but the outages became so common that I was forced to contact the DIRECTV “Service” department. It is with considerable justification that I put “Service” in quotes as I will explain.
I quickly found out that the purpose of the IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system that DIRECTV utilizes is to delay interaction between the customer and a real person as long as possible. No matter the type and/or frequency of the problem, the customer is forced to go through a ridiculously lengthy menu of options in which the system does not recognize the customer’s verbal cues, is channeled into the wrong customer service scenario, or is completely cut off. It would be impossible for me to come up with an exact figure but I would conservatively estimate that each of my calls to “service” lasted more than an hour. (Incidentally, as a Systems Engineer, I have programmed and maintained IVR systems. I can safely state that DIRECTV’s IVR system is a complete joke.)
At any rate, after a number of calls, I was finally able to reach an actual human being who went through essentially the same scenarios that the IVR system did. Although I carefully followed all the representative’s instructions, nothing cleared up the problem. Finally, the representative announced that I would be sent a new receiver. At that point, I asked VERY SPECIFICALLY if there would be any charges associated with the new receiver. THE ANSWER WAS A CLEAR EMPHATIC “NO” DUE TO THE FACT THAT I WAS A “LOYAL CUSTOMER.”
When the new receiver arrived, I noted that it was a reconditioned receiver and not a new one. I also reviewed the invoice, noting that I was not being charged. I also flipped over the invoice and noted verbiage that the customer “service” representative had NOT told me about including the supposed “obligation” that had occurred with the “new” receiver. To tell the truth, had this “new” receiver cleared up the problem, I would have had no qualms about the whole situation.
However, the “new” receiver was “DEAD OUT OF THE BOX”. It would NOT power up because of a faulty power supply cord that kept dropping from the back of the unit. Looking back on it now, it is slightly humorous because each time I would firmly attach the power supply cord to the back of the unit and step back, the cord would simply drop out after a few seconds. I again called DIRECTV and went through the now familiar scenario of calling, trying to get the IVR system to recognize the English language, getting misdirected, being cut off, etc. Again, after a couple of hours, I was finally able to talk to a live person. When I explained the situation, I received a breezy “No problem. We’ll just send you ANOTHER receiver.”
After another week, I received the next receiver. This time, the receiver powered up and after another two hour call to DIRECTV I was able to contact a human being who validated the receiver to the system. For the next month or two, I had no further problems.
However, the problems soon came back. Again, I went through yet another bout of attempting to call DIRECTV to get to a live person. After the now familiar routine, I spoke with a “representative” and attempted to explain what had transpired and the symptoms of the present problem. After making a few ineffective suggestions, the “representative” said (and I am quoting him directly), “You know, this is really above my level of expertise. I’m going to have to transfer you to someone else.” When I finally got to this person of greater “expertise”, I was desperate to the point that I practically begged the person to send out someone to my residence to resolve the problem once and for all.
The “representative” said (and again, I am quoting directly), “Since you are a loyal customer, you are entitled to one free service call.” At that point, I truly thought that I was getting somewhere. Then, she informed me that it would be over a week before my “free” service call could take place!!
At that point, I could clearly see that DIRECTCV was not, in the slightest, concerned with the situation of a “LOYAL CUSTOMER”. They had not given me one reason to believe that they had any intention of resolving the problem. I certainly could not be assured that their “technician” would show up on the given date. Given their sorry record of performance, I had absolutely no choice except to do what I had previously sworn not to do and that was to return to Cable TV. (It was slightly humorous that, when I returned the receiver(s) to FEDEX/Kinkos as directed by DIRECTV, the shipping clerk took the package and stated “Well, you’re the fourth one this morning.” I looked behind the counter and sure enough, there were three other boxes containing DIRECTV equipment being returned!)
Shortly after I declined DIRECTV’s offer of two months FREE service to stay with them, I received a bill for $233.00 for an “Early Cancellation Fee”, a bill that I have no intention of paying. In a nutshell, my situation with DIRECTV is:
a) The DIRECTV’s “representative” intentionally provided false information to my question as to whether there was any cost or obligation for the “new” receiver. This “policy” of obligating customers while providing them with shoddy equipment and customer service insures that they will always have a “captive audience” while doing as little as possible. (It is very interesting that, when I asked the “representative” what they wanted me to do with the old receiver, the reply was “throw it in the garbage”. Yet when I cancelled my service, I was warned that my failure to return the latest receiver would result in a charge possible exceeding $700.00.) From this, it can clearly be seen that the supposed value of their equipment means nothing to DIRECTV. The equipment is used only to further obligate customers to DIRECTV’s miserable service and to serve as a possible source of further revenue by wildly overstating its supposed value.
b) DIRECTV’s decision to conduct customer service “on the cheap” (ex. their IVR system, inadequately trained technicians, reconditioned equipment, and refusal to dispatch on-site technicians when the need arises shows their utter disregard for their so-called “loyal customers”. If they had dispatched a technician promptly, I believe that all this would have been completely unnecessary.
c) I conservatively estimate that, all told, I had well over a month of outages due to DIRECTV’s incompetence. The total of the “credits” that I received from DIRECTV is totally inadequate.
Again, if you are even contemplating calling up DIRECTV, please fight the urge to do so. I can promise you, you will regret it!
www.gethuman.com has the numbers and methods to get around most company's IVRs.
I cannot believe all of the complaints that I have read against DirecTV. I, too just had the same experience. I had absolutely no idea all of this was going on with DirecTV or I would have never signed up for there so-called special offer. I had service with them for just 3 days. They did not get my order/equipment correct. When I talked to them regarding the incorrect equipment, they wanted to then charge me an extra $100 to get the correct equipment that I ordered in the first place. I canceled my service that day. I was told there would be NO additional charges. Several days later I received a bill with a $460 early cancellation fee. Of course this fee was never mentioned before, much less at the time I canceled. I called and spoke with a representative and was assured that the charges would be credited. Well, almost a month later my credit card is charged. I cannot believe they get away with this time and time again. I called DirecTV and what a nightmare. I spoke with 8 different representatives, got disconnected 3 times and was told about 4 different stories. I was told by the first Rep that my credit card would be credited and to call a number to verify that it had in fact been credited and to confirm it was the correct amount. The number I was given was a fax number. Another Rep told me that my credit inquiry was still with the "Account Management Team" and to give it another week. I insisted to be transferred to a supervisor and was disconnected. I called back again and spoke to a so-called Supervisor who then told me that this "Account Management" Team had all of a sudden miraculously came to the decision that if I reactivated my service the fee would be waived. Umm...NO! He asked me if I now had service through another provider. I told him that was none of his business and that was not the issue. I insisted on speaking with someone else and guess what...disconnected again! I called back. The next Rep stated that since I live in Texas - as well as 14 other states - that there is a law that requires DirecTV to give us a "trial period" without early cancellation fees. (I'm not sure if this is true, but was told this initially from the Rep I called the first time I saw the charge on my statement.) This Rep was going to transfer me to the "Customer Retention Group" - Disconnected once again. I called back again...the last Rep I spoke with told me that there was nothing I could do about this charge and there was nothing anyone could do and there was no one else I could speak with. I asked to speak with whomever made the decision on my account to deny the credit back to my card and she stated that the "Customer Retention Department" does not take phone calls!!?? She also stated that she did not know why the previous Rep told me that there was a 15 day trial period or about the law in Texas and other states. She did not know where they got this information from. Again - UNBELIEVABLE. How can this company keep getting away with illegally taking money out of peoples accounts? I really hope this problem is resolved and that people keep speaking out about it.
In January of 2006 I began my service with DirecTV. I had enjoyed one year of service with Dish Network, and as agreed they accepted my return of equipment and did not charge me for their expected two years of service.
I changed over to DirecTV because they had local channels on HD that Dish did not have at that time. I wish I hadn't switched. In April of 2008 after over two years I canceled and returned equipment through their equipment return program. I was told by a customer service rep that they would issue me a check for unused time for the next month that I had already paid for in advance. Charges had been made via credit card. Some time later I saw that they had charged me $360 for early cancellation. I phoned them, and they informed me that since my DVR had malfunctioned in December of 2007 and had been replaced, that I had an additional two years of commitment. They told me of an addendum to the customer service agreement that stated that each piece of equipment carries a two year commitment. I complained to the credit card company, and they reversed the charges.
DirecTV rebilled the amount the next month, and I am about to go ahead and pay the crooks just so I won't get any negatives on my credit. Before I pay it, I will check my credit report to make sure they haven't already blackballed me. Since I haven't found anyone who has successfully gotten them to retract this unfair charge I don't have the legal resources at hand to fight them. I have copied the Texas Atty General, and I will report to the BBB. Do not deal with these crooks.
they are thieves i don't have directv never did but my nephew did when he canceld they charged my card 857.94 for his account 20 States have opened up investigations and a lawfirm has opened a fraud and perceptive business practice investigation We should start calling los angelos Mon at 2:pm at 1-310-535-5000
If enough of us start calling it will overload the system and should shut it down
http://www.lieffcabraser.com/consumer/directv.htm The law firms letter to the public
In March of 2009 I received a flyer from Directv promoting a special of 150 channels for $29.99. I called to arrange for service. Their representative told me if I would allow them to debit my bank account I would get the "special" for $24.99., so of course I agreed. They then proceeded to debit my account for $58.99 per month.When I called to question them they said that was what my fees were because I didn't send in the rebate. What rebate are they talking about? I have never received a rebate. I have since contacted Clark Howard, The Governors Office for Consumer Affairs, the BBB, the FTC, FCC, Ripoff.com plus my local congressman. Up to now I have received no satisfaction. I closed my bank account & sent them a check for $24.99 which I informed them was our original agreement. They informed me that if I didn't send in the $58.98 they were going to report me to the credit bureaus . I went to my local magistrate & as soon as I mentioned Directv, he informed me that he had numerous complaints against them & the complaints were numerous through out every state in the country. His recommendation was that I write them cancelling my service. The credit card companies will then contact me & if I can show documentation that I am disputing their charges &" that there has been a breach of contract, this will not go against my credit rating.
directv is the worst in customer service and the are rip-off artist and i can believe how rude they are . service isnt good at all, the first time the tech came to install he left a mess, never told me how to use equipment, and also said i had thirty days to cancel so basically lied to my face. i called to cancel and i was told i couldnt or i would get charged $460. the lady said that i signed a 48 month lease and that theres no such thing of cancelations with directv, i asked to speak to a manager or somebody in charge and they laughed at me or she laughed at me so fine conversation over . i called again to make a complaint they asked me for the employee's name and what was said so i told them i felt like i was believed so i told her to here the conversation it should've been recorded for quality assurance. NEVER GOT A CALL APOLOGIZING OR ANYTHING I MUST ADMIT I KNOW DIRECTV DOESNT CARE ABOUT PEOPLES SATITSFACTION JUST MONEY
So its almost christmas and my brothers house burned down and everything was lost in the fire including the stupid direct tv boxes so now they are trying to cancel their contract and heartless direct tv people are charging the for early termination and for their boxes they are not geting back!! hello there was a fire that burned everything down they have nothing left! and direct tv wants them to pay over $500 to them! Hell no! they can use these $500 for something more important like diapers and clothes for there 9 month old baby! so direct tv be prepared for whats coming to you!
I am not surprised to have found the many many other unfair business practice complaints online, regarding DirecTV, including poor customer service, poor quality product services, billing disputes, and more. I have NEVER submitted or even researched complaining about something online, until today. I pride myself on being polite and respectful in order to get things resolved, which works almost all the time. Unless you are dealing with DirecTV.
My situation with DirecTV is unique, because I am not, and never have been a customer of theirs, however they recently charged $851.88 to my debit card. Apparently since I had at one point made a payment on behalf of a friend, 7-8 months ago, that person cancelled service, and DirecTV continued to bill him. Since his card on their files had expired, DirecTV elected to bill my card for the months of service that had long been cancelled, late fees, and cancellations fees.
I contacted DirecTV immediately, actually the charges were still pending. I monitor my bank account closely being on a very tight budget. I spent almost 2 hours, being put on hold, disconnected, transferred from one representative to the next and having to tell each person the scenario over again, being told they cant pull up my account information unless I have an account which I dont. Eventually I asked to speak with the highest supervisor there after again getting transferred by a representative to an out of service DirecTV number.
Finally, after additional attempts I made it to the claims department explaining that I wasnt a customer, and had been charged and believed it was not legal to keep my credit card on file, let alone charge it (which it is not). The claims person apologized profusely, acknowledging the mistake and said it would be submitted to claims immediately, which wont be processed for 8-12 business days... 8-12 Business days?! I explained my account is going to be overdrawn, that I am pregnant and very sick needing to make co-payments for upcoming dr. appts and get my medication. She said I am very sorry about your situation, there is nothing I can do. But once the claim is processed you can fax us your bank statements and submit another claim for the overdraft charges, I find this absurd. The claims person said there was nothing they could do to expedite the matter either and suggested that I contact my bank, which I did.
I spoke with my branch manager, he said the bank requires that I contact the party that charged my card to give them the opportunity to reverse the charges. I told him I had, and they wouldnt be doing so for 8-12 business days and I would be negative in my account if the bank didnt stop it while it was still pending. He said well if its pending they cant do anything anyways, and since DirecTV agreed to reverse the charges even though an undesirable amount of time, that the bank cannot do anything for 30 days. He even called legal, corporate, everyone he could to try and help me since I have a good relationship with my bank. Laws prevent the banks from doing anything once a claim has been filed for 30 days, that was a dead end. He suggested I contact an attorney because what they did is not legal. I spent about an hour in the bank, and another 30 minutes on the phone with the bank at home. Thats now 3.5 hours of my time.
I again contacted DirecTV, the customer service agents if thats what you want to call it... seemed as though they had been trained to read from a script, located in a foreign country. Each time you call their phone number, it takes 10-15 minutes going through the voice prompts and wait times. Again, I was disconnected time after time in the process of being transferred to the department that handles 'that'. Finally I got to an agent after asking for a supervisor who said she was not a supervisor, and she will not transfer me to one, because I am going to get the same answer no matter who I talk to. She stated that there is NO way to expedite the reversal of the charge fraudulent or not, because it is done electronically and their agents do not have the ability to over ride 'the system'. The agents were very snide, and had been trained to make no attempt to help, and to read a scripted 'it will take 8-12 business days'. That process was another 1.5 hours of my time, adding up to 5 hours of my time now.
I contacted DirecTV today, 1 week from the start of this (5th business day). I called to confirm the claim is being processed, how far along in the claim process it is, when I can expect it to be done, is it 8 or 12 business days? After explaining the situation to the representative, she said she if a claim was filed its in process and she doesnt have a way to pull it up and see how far out or when it will be done. I said okay, can you just pull it up to confirm its happening though? She said no, she would not because I already filed a claim and she doesnt have time to confirm something that is already being done. She is very sorry for my inconvenience, and to contact them if it hasnt gone through in 12 business days. That took me another 30 minutes, and 3 separate calls. 5.5 hours of my time so far.
I consulted an attorney who stated what they did is not legal, but the cost of litigating the matter would likely outweigh the winnings. Unless the course of their actions did result in affecting my pregnancy or compromising my babies health. Are you kidding me?
I dont even want money from DirecTV, I just want MY money back in my account today... I want a super aggressive attorney that wants to get rich suing the pants off DirecTV. Thats right DirecTV is so awful, that it would bring me vindication knowing that they had to pay a large sum of money fighting a legal battle and paying the attorney off. I just want justice. So, Mr. or Ms. attorney of my dreams, boy do I have the case for you!
If you are thinking about signing up for service with DirecTV - DONT! And if you are reading this because you are also fuming mad, contact me on this complaint forum... maybe I will have found my attorney by then and you can jump in on the action!
Directv double charged my account when I paid my bill. This caused some overdraft fees from my bank. Directv refused to resolve issue even though I have faxed multiple documents showing where my account was was processed twiced, therefore causing the overdraft. I faxed, and emailed and did whatever they told me I need to do. 10 days later I call them to check the status (something else they told me) to find out that they are refusing to resolve the issue even though it is in BLACK and WHITE showing the double charging error. I'm surprised a company this big and resourceful would show this type of neglect.
I agree Directv Has the worse customer service than ever, I believe they found their so called agents in the flaming fires of hell. I'm here to stay sweet and proper and nail them in court. If they can record the conversation so can we. Just remember before you hang up let them know you have recorded the little talk you had. My contract is up on June 16, 2013 and it has been the longest two years ever and I don't even have Directv in my home it's in my name at my grand childrens home in michigan. Because I called to have the services shut off on June 16, 2013 they have shut it off and played with it so far everyday since. The contract is paid in full and I am tired of being played
with!!!. HOT IN MICHIGAN
Directv has a habit of charging fraudulent charges to your account when you return the equipment. They charge you for porn channels even though you never watched them . They do not put the year the movies were supposedly watched just months. My phone cord was never connected to the box yet they say channels were ordered anyway. The same thing happened to my daughter when she had directv. She returned the equipment and they charged her the same thing. We do not watch porn. No one in our home watches it. There is no way to prove that you didn't do it so you have to pay them. So they make money off of you for each receiver and then take the receivers back. They have never billed for the movies they say were watched. You can have service with the company for 10 years and they don't bill during the month they claim the movies were watched but once you return the equipment they slam you with fraudulent charges for movies you never watched.
I have three accounts with DirecTV because I own some rental properties. I've spent six hours "chatting" with them to get them to remove fraudulent charges. They bill $7.99 for "DIRECTV Protection Plan" which of course I never asked for and they never told me about. It's just $8 a month per account for their profit. It takes literally hours of chatting to get them to remove it, then you don't know if they have removed it. Additionally I asked them to cancel expensive movie channels on a date two weeks hence (because I had a tenant departing then and didn't want to change service during his stay). They assured me it would happen on the specified date with no problem. Since I was already chatting about the fraudulent "protection" fee I asked them to check on the channel cancellation and was told it had not happened because they can only cancel channels on the day you contact them, which is of course completely contradictory to what the original person told me (and nonsensical anyway). All these lies--and they aren't even why I contacted them originally. They messed up my billing, crediting the wrong account so that I showed an overpayment on one account and a huge balance with late fees on another account. I'd been using the same online banking check payment system for years without problems. Each online payment clearly states the account number. The agent asked me five times if I had paid separately even as I answered each time yes, of course, in the proper amount and with the proper account number. I asked how we can avoid this problem again and he said we couldn't. They are completely dishonest.