DirecTV review: very poor service and unacceptable contract 1397

After working for Directv I've come to the conclusion that people are shady. They lie to get what they want and throw tantrums when they don't get it. They treat people like crap on the other end of the phone because they feel safe that it's not a face to face conversation. It states right on the paperwork that activating new equipment will reinstate a 2 year contract and that you agree to it. Whether you buy it outright from Best Buy or you go through directv. People are told this all the time over the phone and yet they will outright LIE and say otherwise. Learn to cover yourselves with ANY company whether it's cable or cell phone. Ask questions!

I am thing about droping direct tv for dish so that I can get a better deal.Your deal are for only new customers.

"HolyCow, " you are a poster child for all that's wrong with DirectTV. Contracts that have been fulfilled cannot then be unilaterally reinstated by ANY company simply because somebody got a new box. Hell, when I go in to get an upgraded cell phone, I AM REQUIRED TO SIGN A NEW CONTRACT! Otherwise there IS none. People who have fulfilled their initial contract are then on a month-to-month basis. A new box does not create a new contract.

All these stories sound the same. My friend just went through the same thing. I wouldn't be surprised if DirectTV did something intentionally to mess up people's receptions in order to get them to buy a new box, not realizing they were then re-extending their contracts. DirectTV is completely corrupt, and it's about time some attorney takes on the case of a class-action suit against them.

So they scam you into believing they have an awesome CHOICE package for only 30 a month, and offer way more channels than Dish Network, and blabla. Starz Premium for only 10 dollars a month! So you put your huge deposit down, and wait for the crazy maintenance, then you realize you dont get 5 or 6 of the channels you normally watch, and then every month you realize a channel you grew accustomed to is getting taken off your lineup with a 721 code to call and order the channel. EVERY month another channel we watch is no longer on our lineup. Also, we ordered STARZ for 10.99 a month. read the customer agreement, it says nothing about a price increase. I log on my account the second month we have it to cancel it because it just repeats the same movies over and over, and it says 24.99... How did the price of a package double with no notification, permission, and nothing in the customer agreement mentioning it? Right. They also start charging you for the free showtime channels they automatically put on your package after the first month if you dont remove them. Without telling you this in any way. ( I read every single document to make sure of things) Well, I go to cancel the Premiums and on the website theres a Remove button next to them but .. its FAKE! When you hit it it pops open a window saying Call us at 1 800 xxxxxxx to remove this channel. Total annoyance and BS. Then you call and they say only technical support is available, please contact someone during normal business hours, 8am-5pm. Then they tell you to remove the premium channel it will charge you a fee.
So here is the real deal on DirectTV. Total bs. They wither your channels, add fees without notification, make your life difficult if you want to remove something, lock you into a 2 yr contract, do NOT offer many more channels if any than the other satellite tvs, btw their cheap ON DEMAND... you have to buy a box for it. 180 dollars EXTRA dvr to use it at all. Everything about DirectTVs business ethics is failure. I am stuck with them for 2 years or until I can afford the crazy fees to cancel their service, and its so shady and horrible. DO NOT GET DIRECTTV. They sell it to you but you learn after the first month.

Why is there not a law suit against these criminals? they are liars, thieves, cons and have no ethics. We have also been though hell with this company the worst Company that anyone could ever deal with.

What can we do about this? We just canceled finally! We would like to shoot the dish to smithereens. We are worried that they are going to find another way to screw us once again though even though we have canceled, they are relentless... I think we should take them to small claims court one at a time and make them pay for attorneys fees and pay everyone one back the money they have stole from us!

I cancelled my acct with direct tv because the DVR they sent only recorded when it wanted to. Went to the bank today and found that they had withdrew funds from my account without my knowledge. I called them the customer service rep told me that it was in my contract that my card was going to be charged. I asked to speak to a supervisor this guy doesnt listen to me at all, keeps asking me to repeat myself ( I speak english) and I point blank asked him if he was even listening to me. He said mam' could you repeat yourself please. That made me mad by itself. He told me the same thing it was in my contract that my card would be charged AFTER I cancelled. I said okay a day a week how am I supposed to know when to make sure the funds are in my bank account. ALL I GOT FROM THEM WAS SORRY WE CANT DO ANYTHING, now I have NSF Fees b/c they took money without my ok. THEY ARE THIEVES!

Direct Tv is a a pack of Vultures. We have had them for over 9 years and were never once told that when you get REPLACEMENT equipment that your contract is automatically renewed. I don't remember any where in the contract where it says that. They are trying to charge us over $700.00 for the equipment and the early termination fee. This is ridiculous. We were on the phone with them for well over 6 hours and talked to god knows how many people. Its a nightmare. This company needs to be held accountable. Someone really needs to stand up and give them a run for their money about the way they treat their customers and how they handle their business. Honestly, i hope this company goes over. They have already deducted over $200 from my checking account and now want to take out more. These [censor]TARDS need to get their act together and stop ripping people off.

I've had DTV about 40 days, and can't believe how it treats its customers. They charged me a $5 late fee for not paying for an overcharge. Today I called "customer service" to request it be removed. A supervisor in Manilla, with script in hand read me this statement, "We will fight tooth-and-nail to keep your business" and then refused to waive the late fee, stating "the late fee is valid". I told her I then wished to terminate service. She warned me I would be responsible for a cancellation fee of up to $480. I'm leaving all the gory details out. First thing Monday, I'm contacting Alaska's Attorney General's Office. I plan on suing these shameless crooks, and cannot wait. Horrible, awful, unbelievable "service"! I want nothing more to do with this company, and will tell everyone I know. After this post I'm going right to [redacted].com.

Please !, Everyone that has been scammed by Direct TV file a complaint with the BBB and the FCC. You can do it online, its very easy and only takes a few minutes. Dont let these scamming liars get away with cheating you.

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, property and 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

Please help please help Please help
Where can we file a complaint about Direct T.V who is running a big scam to consumers, a cheating flyer with 29.99 flat fees a month every Medias right now?

Thank you,

Kent phh
[protected]
student6991@yahoo.com

Please help Please help Please help
Where can we file a complaint about Direct T.V who is running a big scam to consumers, a cheating flyer with 29.99 flat fee a month every medias right now.?

Thank you,

Kent phh
[protected]
student6991@yahoo.com

Where can We file a complaint about Direct TV. who is running a big scam to consumers right now?

Kent Phh
[protected]
student6991@yahoo.com

Yes Direct TV is a nightmare to say the least. What can I say on here that hasen't already been said. I can say that I have the same problem brewing right now. I did pay the 340.00 for "early cancellation" that they asked for just because I wanted the nightmare to go away! Now here it is a month later and I am still being billed as if I never cancelled at all. They have there excuses and they talk so fast and with such strong accents that there is no way possible to even undersgtand there explanation of BS they are telling me. They can bill me until the day I die if they so desire.

IF ANYBODY KNOWS WHERE I CAN GET REAL HELP FILING A COMPLAINT PLEASE EMAIL ME

Tomopt1@yahoo.com

My question is why Direct TV is not being investigated to the fullest extent?

i switched to direct tv from dish network, i woke up at 7.30 this morning to watch a show i wanted to watch well!the channels wouldnt
change i couldnt see the guide i couldnt do anything except the volume so i started calling from 730 in the morning to 10.00 fianally i got this [censor] that keep telling me hit the reset button, unplug the cable wait a few minutes then plug it back in .well from then on for hrs i would have to be doing this for it to be able to change channel it would work for a few minutes then it would stop working again .there explanation was we tried to rest sat. and we hit a glidge and were trying to fix it. i know sometimes they have trouble but be for real we have only been with direct tv for one month and 4 days i should never ever have switched!
very very disapointed with them

Direct TV takes advantage of the consumers. We need to fight back against these mother [censor]ers. They are taking advantage of the consumers. We are stuck without service from friday to Wed because they dont have anyone available in our area. However if we were to install our service they would be here tomorrow. There has to be something done against these companies so they dont take advantage of the consumers. Over $500 in early termination fee, are you kidding me? This is why they take advantage of the consumers because there's not much we can do. There is no regulations, so companies like Direct TV take advantage of the situation.

I signed with DTV on FRiday 8:30 Pm gave them my Debit Card # Canceld on Sat. 11:45 They took out $300.25 out of my Checking Acct without permission They only supposed to hold $25.00 for 24 Hours.There was some Money in my Acct.This was my Rent Money and other Bill Money. I must say they got me GOOD Hope they are Happy with all Cancel Money and and Rob the Poor who try to save a Dollar

It's the same thing every time I read these complaints. People hear what they want to hear. I worked for the Protection Plan Department for Directv for awhile and I can tell you right now that more than half of you people are full of it. Most of the time when a customer called our department with technical issues or any sort of problem they just wanted a replacement. They didn't want to trouble shoot. Or they just wanted this or that. They'd try and rush through the call while making dinner or driving or even using the bathroom. Here's what more than likely happened. You called and tried to rush through the process or got distracted and didn't hear the agent tell you exactly what you needed to hear. OR you got your paperwork and didn't READ THE FREAKING BILL. It's not rocket science. and I know very well some agents are to blame for things but I'm absolutely SURE most of you have no one to blame but yourselves.

should not advertise local channel, in thier advertisements marked with a small mark then you have to read the small print.give you only 30days to cance lsystem and still waited for local channels.service men keep telling you in the spring you will have local channels..

i really dont think early disconnect charges should be made.if company keeps telling customers they will have local channels, and then dont deliver them..

We have a big problem. Today our neighbor in the town house beside us had direct tv installed and the installer drilled holes and attatched thw wiring on OUR townhouse and put the dish on OUR fence. I called the customer service number only to see if it can be removed from our siding and they said they can't do anything about it and that they can't contact the installation location that did it and that it is up to our neighbor to call direct tv and ask them to remove it. Is this company for real? I've taken pictures and contacting a consumer lawyer in our area tomorrow. Customer service was terrible. They could have cared less that they drilled holes in the wrong house. Amazing.

I made a payment through my bank to direct tv for 92.97. yes they said our service would be shut off unless they recieved the money by the 7th. we woke up on the 7th and our service was shut off. I looked at my bank account and they sent the money to them and the money was taken out of my account. The say they can't turn our service back on because it was not posted my account. I told them that the bank sent it to them and it as posted to my account as taken out. Now they are saying i have to pay another 92.97 to get it turned back on. I called the bank and told them that dirct tv is saying they dind't recieve it. the bank was surprised. they told me to ask for a fax number and they would fax them a proof of payment. I called them and they would not give it to me. all i got was i had to pay them more money to get it turned back on. because the payment that have didn't et posted to my account. it wasn't even the 7th went the bank sent it it was the 6th. and it is posted to my account. just like i had sent them a payment any other way. it was recieved by them and it is being taken out of my checking account. but direct tv said it was not posted to my account.

Pardon the spelling in the above comment ***Lawsuit***

Direct TV is just a huge scam. They recently STOLE over 1000 dollars out of our account with out authorization or so much as a letter to inform us.
For charges that were not even legitimate. Ive called and spoken to numerous people at Direct TV none of whom were helpful. They blew me off and said there was nothing i could do they did not have to return the money. However i know thats ridiculous.
I am now in the process of hiring an attorney. I would like to make this a class action suite in the hopes that everyone who they have scammed and stolen from get justice for it and compensation! They think b.c. they are a large company they can get away with taking advantage of people. I think not. If anyone in california or anywhere for that matter would like to join this lawsuite lets make it happen and show them they cannot just steal from people and go with out legal consequences.

For anyone who was even considering switching to Direct TV. DO NOT!
They will SCAM you. They will STEAL from you. And they will LIE to you.

Direct Tv is the worst company I ever came across. They have absolutely no loyalty, and their employees are nothing but thieves and liars. They have stolen almost $1, 000 out of my checking account. I had made a over the phone payment for $129, and after that, I started noticing that they were taking out payments of $329 three times and using the name "Maria Garcia". Direct Tv claimed that there's no way they can find out who did it or what happened and when i asked for fraud departmen information, they swore up and down they didn't have one. When I would ask to speak to a manager, either I got hung up on, or I was put on hold and the same person came on trying to change their voice claiming they were the manager. Pretty pathetic! I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and one with the Attorney General.
After numerous phone calls I finally sent a notarized affidavid along with all my evidence to their fraud department, and after speaking to a detective and a lawyer, I was advised to file a lawsuit if nothing came out of my complaint.

I was going to get dish network but I got tired of dealing with them and so was the dish retailer company that I am dealing with close by to me. So instead we went for direct Tv. I was told that I need to pay a $ 200 deposit and he ran my card and then it only took out about $ 27 to verify my address and who I am. But they never took out the $ 200. Our retailer said they would take the $ 200 out during the time of installation. I thought that is supposed to be taken out at the time you setup the account appon checkout online. After talking to him on the phone I went online with the account number to setup the account online and it never said $ 200 under every thing that is due it shows the amount due is $ 0 and it says on top Unscheduled - Call [protected] to schedule I called to set up an installation date and time and they wont let me do it because I went through a retailer and only them can setup the installation date and time I told the rep. I want to pay the $ 200 deposit now and she told me they cant and I told her that the retailer told me they will take the $ 200 appon installation when setting up the receivers. The rep told me I would call the retailer back to double check on that one. So that $ 200 deposit was supposed to be taken out at the time you click on checkout. So why tell me that I cant pay that until the time we setup the boxes. I live in apartment complex Where I need a tripod to put the dish onto. The retailer told me that would cost $ 25 and I was like excuse me I can go to home depot and get a 5 FT. mass for $ 5 so why $ 25 now the $ 25 I would need to pay the installer now that would make since but the $ 200 should have been taken out appon online checkout as the same as on the phone.

Will not listen to my concerns, will not read all of my emails then send a generic response, send out techs. that know less about the system than I do. And can never speak to the same person twice so the whole issue has to be re-explained from the start!

Do you still have directv? Whats the problem you are having with your receivers?

It probably would not have mattered when you signed up for the rebate you would not have gotten it. I have read where many others have said the same thing.They tried to sign up immediately for the rebate online and was denied for one reason or the other. This is just a scam to lure people into taking their service for 2 years. Most people are not told they are under contract for 2 years it is in such fine print somewhere on the workorder or if they order by phone they are not told at all and are expected to go to their website and read all the fine print. Also they do not tell customers that any upgrade or replacement of their nonworking equipment will extend their contract for another 2 years. and too they don't mention the fact that they will automatically charge your bank or credit card (whichever they have on file)an early cancellation fee($20 for every month left on cantract) if you decide to cancel their service before the 2 years are up.Please don't make the mistake of believing anything their csr's have to say.They will tell you what you want to hear and do the opposite.Yep, this is the most predatory company you will ever deal with! Read some of the other horror stories and you will see what I mean.

SIX months ago I made a direct tv payment for a friend with my checking account. I don't even have an account with them, and I NEVER have.
I find a charge for $51.90 pending on my account on April 18. A real pity, that money was for my daughter's birthday gift. She didn't get much for her birthday because of direct tv. I hope they feel proud robbing little girl's of their birthdays. I called the bank and called direct tv who said to fax over a copy of my statement showing the charge and they apologized for the confusion. I put money in my account yesterday to pay my bills, which will now probably get shut off, because this morning when I looked I saw that they are once AGAIN trying to take out $166.00. This is such ###. I don't have an account with these tools and they're raping me anyway. I want to sue.

I to have been charged 400 dollars for early cancellation, I had their service for the conract time but had upgraded. They failed to mention the contract started anew. After a bad card incidant, they shut it off for over due bill of 8.00 dollars. This was not due till the next month. They claimed a computor error shut us off and shouldn't have happened . At this time I terminated the service, know Allied systems a collection agency is pestering me. To bad their isnt some way other then warning our freinds by e-mail. Just tellem to beware of direct tv contracts and why, ask them to froward it to their frinds and so on.

Ron Coon

Direct TV has made a $450 charge on my American Express card. I don't have an account with Direct TV, have never ordered service from Direct TV and couldn't have it in my building even if I wanted it. What's more, I have never in my life been a customer of Direct TV or ordered any of their services. This is the second time in a year they've done this to me. I have filed a dispute with American Express and put a "call for approval" on my card if they ever try this again. When you call Direct TV's customer service number you get a runaround like you wouldn't believe--transferred back in forth from Customer Service to Sales and back again. they kept asking for my phone number "to set up service", but I refused to give it to them because they'll use that to claim you ordered serviced. They repeatedly asked when I wanted to start service.

Then they finally gave me a fax number and told me to have my bank fax them a statement showing I was wrongly charged! My bank!? what does my bank have to do with it? they are a very slimy company with idiots for customer service reps...and you don't even have to initiate contact with them to get scammed it seems. Check your credit card statements carefully.

Hi., my I have the same problem or nighmare and would like to join the party against that
such a company

Direct TV is the worst compnay I have ever tried to deal with. I was supposed to get the service for 12 months at 35.00, plus 10.00 for HD. They have been charging me over a hundred dollars a month. When I called to complain, they said it was my duty to file for the rebates and that time to do so had expired. I cancelled my credit card that they were charging and have developed a plan to deal with them. When they call for their money, I am going to tell them to live up to the original offer or forget it. I am over 60 years old and never failed to pay a bill. But this is fraud and they can take me to court. In case you haven't noticed, this is the new world we live in. Almost all companies and especially banks routinely use fraud and deception to market their products. Most are overpriced and the economy cannot sustain this behavior, but that seems to mean nothing to them. It is get what you can now and to hell with the future.

Hey CEO of Direct TV! I hope that you are reading these complaints (however, I doubt you are because you could care less about mistreating most all of your customers).

I just had to cut and paste this review from another disgruntled customer (my experience did not happen exactly as the attached complaint however,
I have had so many issues and made so many phonecalls to correct THEIR errors and misleading information that I cannot even begin to recant the conversations, false promises & different responses, depending on who you talk to, which all conflict with each other). I am so frustrated (putting it nicely) that we are indeed, for a $400+ cancellation fee, going to terminate our service. I'd rather go with no TV than to deal with their company any longer. I only wish that I'd checked the internet before doing business with them. Take heed and spread the word!
P.S. If you know how to send these complaints to Direct TV's CEO, please let me, and the world, know.

False advertisement, wrong billing, poor customer service

I made sure to ask all the right questions about billing and cancellation. I was promised a 30 day trial period no strings attached, the salesman even told me they knock off another $10 from the bill if you pass a credit check.

Direct tv was installed on a friday in march-07. We signed up for the plus package- 185 channels/hbo & cinemax free for 3 months for $44.99, no dvr included. The following monday we received a bill from them for $59.99. I called to question and correct the amount. I had to speak with several people getting different answers and reasons about the bill amount. When i mentioned cancelling the service i was told i would be fined because i exceeded their 7 day cancel policy its not 30, then i was "accidentally" disconnected.

When i called back after jumping through several hoops, the next person tells me its not 7 days, you only have 3 days to cancel from activation, then i was "accidentally" disconnected again.

Several weeks later we get a second bill for $59. Now we owe them for 2 months and we've only had service for a little over 5 weeks. Several days later they shut off our service.

During this experience with direct tv i've learned several facts:

1- customer service is lousy, they are either all stupid or they are all lying about everything.

2- direct tv will terminate your service within a 40 day period or sooner if a single bill is not paid, even a new customer.

3- in order to get the advertised package prices, you need to mail in a rebate form that takes 6-8 weeks and no interuption of service to qualify. This redemption can be ended at the discretion of direct tv at any time which can send your bill back up.

4- the installer doesnt have you sign anything. Your first bill is considered your contract with the terms of agreement and is also your redemption form to get the rebate for a lower bill.

5- direct tv's billing is pro-rated, this fancy word means your actually paying ahead for the service before you use it instead of after.

6-after your service is shut off, they will obviously call and try to collect the money, but they will also try to get you to cancel so they can add another $300 to your bill.

My best advice to anyone thinking about ordering directv is not to do it. They smack of false advertising and hidden details and poor customer service. If you already have directtv, do not cancel the service because they will bill you $300 or more on top of the monthly bill you owe. Your actually better off just not paying the bill... this way if they shut your service off, and you dont cancel, they cant even ask for the box back.

If your service is shut off, make sure you unplug the box right away because they can actually keep billing you month to month. This is because they dont actually kill the signal to the box, you still get a couple channels, but the only thing you can really watch are pay per view and the 24 hour ad channels.

Satellite Direct TV is a scam - I only wish I had learned this yesterday. I downloaded the software, and found none of the channels actually result in an image or sound on my computer, and when clicked on the customer support link, it did not work either! I plan to contest the charge on my credit card bill because Satellite Direct did not deliver any of the 3500 channels to my computer as promised.

April 10, 2010

I just got off the phone, yet again, with my bank and Direct tv after finding that Direct tv withdreww $800.00 from my account for early cancellation. The kicker is, my service with them never worked! I paid for the month I first signed up for with them, last October 2009...but when I got the statement, it was for much more than the package I had signed up for and the receiver wasn't working...hence, no reception at all. Called them on it, they said they would send a tech out, he never showed...and said they would mail a new receiver...never got that either. I could go on but I am reading the exact same problem the rest of you here have posted. Want to know now, how to handle this problem with them...I'm out $800.00 and can't afford my rent now.

My name is Elmer Dean Malliot 4-5-10

November 2008 I called direct tv and signed up for the $29.99 a month for a year.
In december when they were to install it, I called them and ask them to change the date to install, because I had to go in hopital for a few days. they then changed the date
to Jan.3rd. I ask if every thing was the same including the $29.99 price .Iwas told all was the same. with inthree months they were charging me FIFTY EIGHT THIRTY EIGHT PER MONTH. When I called them they said I didn't sign up for the $29.99 per month.I told them I had all the papers with information on it for the $29.99 they continued billing
me for FIFTY EIGHT THIRTY EIGHT until I canceled their service . They then told me
that I owed them $250.00 for quiting before contract time was over. I still refuse to send them any money and they have different collectors call me. Is this law suit still open where I can get on it. mail address is 1609 Fairview, Wenatchee, Wa. [protected]
Phone# [protected] Email Address cba3cms0 last figure IS a zero on email.

I'm listed as DEAN MALLIOT WITH DIRECT TV.

I had to check who wrote this blog to make sure it wasn't me who initially submitted it. We have had the exact problem with them and their claim is that it was successfully installed when in actuality it was not. The guy who installed it did not have a working toner to check connectivity and left us his personal phone number and admonished us not to call the installation department direct when we encountered the inevitable problems. After we finally disconnected we tried repeated attempts to resolve the issue at a reasonable settlement that were met with total indifference to our complaint. Our State Consumer Protection Board was unable to settle for us or even obtain disputed evidence of our claim. They have informed us that our only recourse is small claims court. I'd like to SHOOT the president of this company... an e-mail, and have him have to resolve my issue personally. We might actually contact local news that has a business segment on scamming companies in our area.
One thing I forgot earlier to mention was 20 days after the supposed install I was in contact with their tech support via phone and successfully wired my own system to where I got all TV's working with the over the phone support tech, but when I asked them to make an appointment to verify that I had done it correctly, they refused, stating that I no longer had an issue with connectivity and that quite possibly I would be charged for what would amount to an unnecessary service call. UNBELIEVABLE, but true. Perhaps in these economic times they have created a new business model and policy for retaining their customer base.
BITE ME ! DirecSleezy
More than pissed, in Sun Prairie, WI

I just sent them a letter (Greenwood Village, Co 80155) and I'm waiting for their reply, I'll let the world know what their reply is and I'll share my letter to them.