DirecTV

I was pretty put off my the high pressure sales tactics the call center guy--who was supposedly just there to answer procedural/pricing questions--used to get me to buy a bunch of stuff I didn't need.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5645446/directv_high_pressure_sales_and_the.html?cat=46
Gotta be careful with these guys.

I am fighting the same complaint with directv and shoddy "professional installation". They tore a huge hole in my wall and left a large crack running across the wall from the crack. Customer service sucks.
Sent complaint to corporate office.

Try these emails: [protected]@directv.com, [protected]@directv.com, and [protected]@directv.com

Forbes lists these individuals as ceos and senior executives at directv - maybe is their inbox gets flooded with consumer complaints something will be done.

We have been a direct tv customer for almost 3 years, every year we have paid for the $300 nfl ticket, the price alone is a total rip off but anyways, if your a new customer you can get the premium package with movie channels, free dvr's and free hd for 59.99 a month, or 5 months free of service with the purchase of the sunday ticket. We pay 145.00 a month for the next to smallest package and ticket, so my husband called and spoke to a rep and she basically said your out of luck, your not a new customer, we could get free hd if we signed up for automatic billing, but that was it! I understand they need to make perks to get new customers, but what about all the customers they already have that keep their company running. We dont get squat, after this stupid nfl season were switching. Shame on you direct tv!

Direct tv has their customer service in asia.
They hardly can speak english, and direct tv's policy is that they won't send your funds that are due to the customer for 8 weeks.
This is unacceptable.

There was one customer service rep named jimmy that was cool ( from the us group). He was at least helpful and spoke english and was upbeat. The only bright side of this stupid company.

This company will not return your funds that are due to you from 6 to 8 weeks.
Do not use this company. They rape and pillage the average customer.
This company sucks, do not use them, they steal your money.

They tried to charge me several times for nfl sunday ticket without my consent. I spent hours on the phone trying to work it out multiple times. They would not credit the money back to my credit card and instead kept it and i had to work it off my bill. They said there were no options.

Here is how i dealt with direct tv:
-skip calling them initially.. Too aggravating - you'll spend hours like i did.
-followed them on twitter first and then announced my complaint with them regarding unauthorized charges on the general twitter stream which resulted in a direct message from them asking for my account number. They didn't call me and i was really pissed so i kept working on this by continuiing with these steps
-first went to the website and clicked on the fcc spot (Can't remember what it is called - at bottom of the page) - i recall someone saying they must track these clicks somehow because i got straight through with the next step
-followed someone's advice here who said to keep saying to the automated recording "complaint" in response to their inquiries about which department i wanted to talk to - after the thing on twitter
-filed a complaint with the better business bureau through the website. I did this before it got resolved on the phone with them and i'm glad i did because they tried to extend my contract based on adding a dvr. I don't want to stick with them any longer than i have to (Which was 18 months from the inception of contract) and i'm negotiating that with the better business bureau. I think i'll be successful - it's in process right now. I want out of that contract asap with no penalty and i think they'll settle to get rid of my complaint.
-put a password on your account so no changes can be made by phone at all
-have the representative that you speak to read back your notes - add anything you want clarified and make him read those back too. Get his name and badge number and make sure you make a note of it somewhere you can find it should they screw up again.

Note: now that i've shared this, if i have another problem with them, i'll go straight to twitter, then go to the website if i don't hear back in 2 hours and click the fcc button, then call and say complaint, then get the rep to read the notes back to me and make sure that they have in them that no changes will be made to my account without my express consent and using the password since i'm the only one who can change it here. It should take 15 minutes instead of hours.

This works - promise.
-got the information to file a complaint with the fcc.
-write an email to the vp with a high priority and read receipt

My name is james duncan acc. # [protected] i had been with brighthouse cable for many, many years and never had any trouble with the picture, service, payment ever until the price went way up just for basic cable so i decided its time for a change so at&t derected me to direct tv so they ( dierct tv ) came out and installed it in which the installer put a huge lag bolt though my 23.000 dollar siding i just had installed 1 year earier. But anyway the dvr works great the picture is great until it starts raining the the dish goes out even if its a light rain.Dish network was working in area 2 times in 2 days i told them my problem they said the dish just needs realigned so i called direct tv and they told me they would charge me to make a service call cause it wasent doing it now cause it wasent raining even though i do have the protection plan so what did i get myself into! Sounds like a company that dont want to back what they are installing cant wait until my contract is up cause this company will lose my business anyboby reading this stay away from direct tv

As a valued customer for 4 yrs, which direct tv acknowledge and offered their valued customers one movie a month for three months. I brought a computer and shopped around for the best deal I could get for internet and cable. I found that comcast/xfinity had the best price 72.00 dolars monthly for internet and basic cable 4 dollars more then I was paying direct tv for only basic cable. I called and e-mailed direct tv of my choice to close my account with them and my reason. I also stated in my e-mail that I had been pleased with my service over the last 4yrs and would stay if they had a package compatible to comcast. They did not.. I had my service disconnected 2 weeks before my last paid in full bill ended. I was sent pre-paid material to return there receivers. I was never told that there was a deadline of 21 days to return the equiptment, and if I failed to do so, I would be charged 150.00 (I had three receivers). Today they debited my account for 150.00
Dollars, which left me 9. Oo in my account. I called and spoke to a customer service rep, a supervisor, a supervisor at coporate headquaters and a account manager at coporate headquarters. The first rep I spoke to told me to return the equitment, and my money would be refunded, once I had took the the prepaid boxes to fedex. I went to straigt to fexex, and was told that the boxes were prepaid shipping by ups. I took them to the post office. I came home and called direct tv. I then was told that my money would not be refunded untill they received the receivers. I ask to speak to a supervisor, they kept me on hold for 20 minutes. When I finally spoke to the stupidvisor, he stated the same thing. I ask for the corporate telephone number, he stated all he had was an address. I told him to give me the coporate number or his supervisor. He put me on hold for 5mimutes and gave me a number that was disconnected, when I called it. I then went on the internet and found this web site which provided the ceo name, address and phone number. I called and spoke to another stupidvisor and then an account banerger, that told me it would be 3-5 days before the receivers reached the wearhouse and then my money would be refunded. I asked to speak to his supervisor, he told me his supervisor was not there, and there was nothing I could do but wait until they received the equitment. Screw that I was a valued customer, screw that I sent an e-mail congradulating the service they had provided. I failed to read the contract four yrs ago that stated I had 21 days to return equitment and that's the bottom line.. There is no difference between a valued customer requesting a disconnection and a customerdisconnected due to non-payment regarding return of equitment. No notice, no courtesy call. My daughetrs contract with direct tv will end soon after one year, and I will encourage her and several other people I know to switch to xfinity. I will also send a letter to direct tv' ceo.

On may 5, 2010 I called direct tv to compare their satellite package plan to the plans offered by dish satellite and comcast. I was described a package by the representative that I agreed to, so I provided him my credit card information for a 24 month contract. There were rebates offered and these rebates would of course modify the usual price for the services by direct tv. What I didn't know when calling direct tv was I was being directed to an independent retailer, namely "direct star tv." later, this became an excuse for direct tv not to look further into the shady business dealings by direct star tv.

When I received my first bill I realized there was a disparity between what the salesman on the telephone offered, even with the rebates involved, so I called direct tv on may 26, 2010, explaining my grievances. Though the 24 month agreement is with direct tv, I was being informed direct star tv is the one who provided the misinformation and I should take the matter up with them. I did so on my next phone call and contacted the customer service for direct star tv. Try getting through to the customer service at direct star tv, the two numbers provided were [protected] and [protected]. You may find as you make the phone call you would feel you've a better chance contacting an alien on another planet in the universe than their customer service. There are plenty of ways of redirecting you instead, some of which take you back to direct tv, who referred me back to direct star tv in the first place.

I spoke to someone in customer service for direct star tv named "lorraina" who said she would defer the entire matter to the research department for direct star tv. They would listen to listen to the entire conversation between their sales representative and myself on the day I agreed to the terms of the agreement. If the research dept confirmed I was misinformed there would be adjustment made accordingly.

I called back and learned in speaking to another sales representative their research dept confirmed I was misinformed. After this I received no adjustment to the charges in my agreement and it appeared there was no intention from direct star tv to do so by the various phone calls I made attempting to get through to lorraina in customer service. I never spoke to lorraina again, I couldn't get through to her nor did she ever call me back when I left messages for her to do so.

I looked carefully at the agreement and noted I had to submit a "claim in writing" to take my grievances anywhere at all. This was the first step in the arbitration process I will now have to go through to protect my rights as a consumer. I subitted my letter on june 4, 2010 to customer service for direct tv located in greenwood village, co. I am required to wait a sixty day period when direct tv has the opportunity to resolve my issues in what is described as an informal level. I recieved a call from someone named "greg" who indicated he was the account manager for direct tv. He told me the email they send out after the initial agreement is made by telephone is the method of confirming what the agreement consists of, so this should have cleared up any confusion

I looked again at this emailing greg spoke of. No where in the email does it clarify what the rebates consist of and what the consumer is responsible for once the rebates are included. Greg declared direct tv would continue holding me responsible for a 24 month agreement and would offer no adjustments in return. I asked greg if his response is considered the informal response to satisfy the claim in writing process and he indicated an affirmative.

During this interim period of sixty days, awaiting to satisfy the period direct tv has to respond in an informal manner i've recieved a notice indicating they were going to add on a protection plan without my permission. I called and inquired where and how did I agree to this added protection plan and got no explanation. I also got an email asking if I was enjoying the three free months of showtime and starz premium channels. Of course, further down in that same email, in much smaller print, there is a notice these premium channels will continue for an additional $24 dollars a month unless I call to cancel. Apparently, the method to capture more profit for direct tv is not to actually obtain your permission for something but require you to notify them you don't want it.

Is there any doubt in anyone's mind this satellite company puts the customer at the very end of their priority list? In my opinion, direct tv's efforts to rectify an injustice is very poor and every dealing requires the customer to carefully look at an email from them, looking for the small print below that will serve as your notice.

In early august I will need to file a lawsuit and defer this entire matter to an arbitrator. It seems, unless I wish to be intimidated and bow to the decisions and dealings of their personnel, I have no other choice in the matter. That will be my next step in the process and it will be a step I intend to take.

My boyfriend recently signed up for DirectTV (about 2-3 months ago) and they were awesome. They told us that it was going to be 65 dollars a month, NEVER mentioned a contract... shouldn't he have signed something if there was a contract?... Anyways, the next month we got our bill and it was over 120 dollars which was unbelievable! We read over the entire statement and noticed approximately 6 hidden costs on it that were NOT mentioned at installation. We specifically asked THIS price will be our bill right? THIS price will not be subject to change right? Well it did. I immediately filled out a paper they had there for 24 dollars off our bill for the next 12 months and sent it in, positive that this bill was just huge because it was the first bill and that our next bill would be the origional 65 that was agreed upon MINUS the 24 dollar rebate for the next 12 months. WRONG. Our bill continues to be larger than promised and now they are telling us we have to pay them 450 if we would like to get out of the contract. Someone please help? Isn't this illegal? Don't you have to sign a contract? AND furthermore false advertisement is a direct violation of rules the FDA strongly enforces.

I have sent complaints several times concerning the audio on ourT.V.s.
This affects all the the T.V. in the house not one in particular. The sound goes from being loud to real low, making it almost impossible to watch television. When you psy for a service you should receive it. I am at a point of changing service. We have been with direct T.V. for 10 years. They are totally unconcered and uncaring about this problem. Can someone help.
Jessie

Upon relocating to Louisville, Kentucky, we were fortunate to find a home to rent for one year only while the owner was out of state on a 12-month temporary assignment. The home was not wired for cable, which would have been our first choice, so we ordered Direct TV for 12 months only, because OBVIOUSLY, we knew the owner was returning in 12 months and we would be moving on. At the end of the 12 months, we notified Direct TV to cancel. They responded with, "You can't do that. You have a two-year contract." NOT TRUE! Why would we sign on for two years knowing we'd be gone in one? Direct TV cannot provide a copy of this so-called two-year contract because it does not exist. They are liars and outright criminals, and I can't believe someone hasn't shut them down already!

On November 13, 2007, I had Direct TV installed in the home of a lady I was staying with at that time. I had been homeless and had stayed with her for a couple of months while on Public Assistance. I was a victim of Katrina and of domestic violence and had to flee for my life to New York. I had only stayed with Grace Crawford for a couple of months and I purchased a small TV for the room she let me stay in, and had a telephone installed in my room. I was ill, diagnosed with PTSD and had to get help for the trauma I was going through. I moved out of Grace's house in December. At which time, I contacted Direct TV and informed them that I was leaving and wanted to have my service turned off. Since Grace had no cable, she asked if Direct TV would transfer the accout over to her since the equipment was already there. The customer service representative I spoke with said that she would close my account and transfer the account into Grace's name. In 2008, I received a call from my bank stating that Direct had try to take out
$1200 or so dollars from my account. I explained to my bank what had happened and was advised to contact Direct TV.
I called Direct TV immediately and was told that "my debit card "was the only number left on the account and that was why they were trying to get money out of my account. I told the representative that I had closed my account and that my debit card should have been removed from the account when I closed it and they transferred it to Grace's account.
I was told that the matter would be taken care of. I contacted Direct TV this past weekend only to find out that they have turned me over to collections for $700 or so odd dollars, for an account I closed when I left the residence. I have called them several times only to be told that I am still the one responsib le for the account, even though it was transferred to Grace Crawford. How can that be possible when I closed my account with them? How can they hold me responsible for an account and the activities on an account that was transferred to someone else? I told the representative that when they transferred the account the representative that spoke to Grace was getting her information after I had spoken with her and she agreed to transfer over the accout to Grace. My account should have been closed at that time and my card and all my information should have been taken off the account at that time. Now, since Grace ran up a large bill and had not paid it, they are trying to stick me with the bill that she made. I went into Gracie Square, a mental hospital, and am now on disability. I do not owe them for something I did not do. I did what I was supposed to do. I did not just walk away and leave the account open. I called and told them that I was closing my account. They agreed to transfer the account into Grace's name and she was responsible for the account not me. But now they have me owing them for the bill she ran up and telling me I'm still responsible for the account and that it has gone into collections under my name and social for something that I did not do. This is fraud and I am filing this complaint and also planning to take legal actions against them for fraudlent use of my name and my closed account for billing me for someone else's account.

I spent over two hours on the phone with direct tv today and got no satisfaction. They put me on hold twice and eventually just hung up both times. They also refuse to give a phone number or any names of executives at the headquarters in colorado. Every time it rains, the wind blows, or it snows, we have no service. The 200 stations we were told we would get comprise of 50% radio stations, 40% infomercials and pay per view channels and 10% channels that are pretty much lousy. Of the 200 channels we have in our "package", we have watched a total of 20 cable stations and 7 local ones in the last 1 1/2 years. When you call customer service, the only thing they know how to say is "i'm sorry ma'am", and "there's nothing we can do about it". I'm stuck in this 24 month contract that was sold with a pack of lies.
I can't wait to get out of this and go running back to cable tv. It's not much more expensive than this great deal i'm supposed to be getting, but at least with cable you get reliable service and the stations you want.
Direct tv is the worst satellite provider out there. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of them.

Yesterday I contacted your customer service department and spoke with a lady named Jamila I started off the conversation with Jamila like this. “I have one question and one question only can you beat my current service price that I am paying with WOW." Jamila asked me about my current service I advised her that I have 2 DVR's @ standard receivers and internet. The cable service premium channels are HBO and Stars with Encore. I am paying WOW 110 a month for all services. She said she could give me the same service for 96.00 and some change (can’t remember the exact cent amount) I was impressed and signed up.

You were able to come out today and hook up my order. When I came home I noticed that I received only one HD DVR and 3 receivers. I then checked my email confirmation and noticed that my HBO wasn’t listed and stars and Showtime is only good for 3 months also the internet wasn't in the price list. Being a little bit optimistic I called to speak with someone and to fix the order issue. I spoke to batch number [protected]. He told me that I would have to pay and additional 100 dollars to get the DVR and that after 3 months the Showtime and Stars would cost me and additional 24 dollars. Not to mention that he had no idea what my total bill would be with my internet as well. I then asked to speak to a supervisor, he refused to let me speak to one. He also implied that I was making this whole thing up. Which I found really rude, I then asked to cancel he had the nerve to tell me I was giving up and excellent package. I let the gentleman know that I am giving up a package that I didn’t ask for. I asked to cancel again and was transferred to Simon. Simon started to tell me that I was wrong again and that the package I got couldn’t be the new customer package. At which point I let Simon know I never asked for the new customer package I had no idea what the new customer package was. What I do know is what I and Jamila talked about can you beat what I am currently paying. Simon apologized for the mix up. He canceled my service as I requested.

I would rather pay 10 dollars more for the same service if I it’s with a great company who owns up to what they say they are going to do. For the almost 36 hours with your company. This has left such a bad taste in my mouth. The reality that your sales rep can quote one thing and send another plus nobody make good on the original deal is sad. Accountablity must not be part of your customer promise. I don’t want a handout. I do want great customer service. So I will stick with WOW. They may cost a little more but their call center workers offer customer service. You offer company service. That is where your workers only work for you the company and I the customer am not much more that a phone number to look up my account.

Direct TV is guilty of grand theft from what I can see. First we decided to cancel with Direct TV due to lousy programming options and the bill went up quite a bit. They informed us they would be deducting $316. out of our credit account, I froze my account at that point, then they sent us the boxes and because we upgraded in November of 09 with a receiver we "bought" at Best Buy they said that meant we had "extended" our contract for 2 years, ( ?), My husband spoke with a rep of Direct TV and he told us we had to send back all the receivers. Two regular receivers and two HI Def receivers. My husband informed him that one of the high Def receivers was purchased by us for $100. at Best Buy, he said we had to return that to them too, (HUH?)
We requested a breakdown or itemization of this $316.00 bill that we supposedly owed them, they sent us a copy of a contract with no signature by either of us on it and the only thing we saw was a $15. cancellation fee. It said nothing about a 2 yr. contract, early termination fee or anything. Do they just make these things up or what. What a bunch of crooked people running this company. Anyway, we decided to file a complaint with the Comsumer Protection people and we are definitely NOT paying these crooks another red cent.

I have been a direct tv custome for 3 years. My original contract was for two years. Last year I purchased an additional receiver on line. Yesterday I called direct tv to cancel my service due to high bill. They told me that my contract had been extended for two years becausen I activated a new receiver. The also stated that the receiver I purchased on line was actually theirs and that i'm only leasing it. Great racket huh? - - they extend my contract without giving me any notice or benefit for it. Does anyone know how I can fight this?

Since I have changed from Comcast cable TV to Direct TV (satelite), I have had many
problems with the service. There are frequent interruptions in my reception. I have
had a technician out to try and correct the problem to no avail. Sometimes, the
tv picture will go out without any storms in the area or any high winds. If I had
anticipated the problems that I have had, I never would have changed fover from
cable tv service. The reason for changing was the considerable difference in price
between the two services. I can see know that saving the money wasn't worth the
aggravation that I have experienced. I would certainly not recommend Direct TV
to anyone who is considering their service.

I signed a contract in june 2008 for the 29.99 a month fee. my 1st bill reflected a much higher charge - i was told by customer service it would be corrected on my next bill. my next bill was still not corrected ...called customer service again and was told it would be corrected by my next bill, again, still not corrected - i was not paying the full bill each time - only what i was supposed to be paying. after 2 more incorrect bills and more phome calls, my bill was never corrected to reflect the correct amount. my service were shut off because of the overages that i was not paying - when i called customer service for the last time i was told that it could be corrected but i would still have to pay for the overages because they said i "had the services and had to pay for what was given to me" i have been told since day one that the bills would be correct - they never were and now they are trying to charge me for services i never ordered. they also took over 300.00 out of my account for the payment - i have had them reversed. i would never recommend direct tv for anyone - not worth the time or the trouble - pay a little more for the better service, in the long run you will save money and get what you pay for. by the way, when they installed the cable in my home they left multiple wires exposed and just thrown over the bushes on the side of my house - horrible job.

I decided to rent my home out, and called Direct TV in 2009 to alert them I would no longer be requiring their services. Since I owned my equipment, and had met my contract obligations, I was told I could suspend my account for 6 months. I was also told I could do this twice a year. The purpose was it would be a simple "flip of the switch" and I would have my satellite service back - no hassle!

Suspension time was up because the tennants opted to stay longer - I decided to extend the suspension service which I was told I could do for another 6 months, via a representative by telephone. I was told, however, it would cost me 31.00 to do so. What? Really!?! Why am I paying just for the priviledge of having a suspended account, for service I am not receiving? When questioning the rep. what the 31.00 charge was for, the answer, I still don't understand. No one ever told me there would be a suspension charge, either verbally, or in writing. I don't think so. I refused to pay for anything, for any reason - I even had a credit when my account went into suspension - and asked the account and service be cancelled. I was transferred to the cancellation department, and after explaining the situation, and my frustrations, the representative was not listening to me, because she continued to pitch various services I could add to my account. Hello, I want to cancel because I do not like your customer service policies - and do not want your service. What part of that is confusing? I told the representative after cancelling, I have no intention of paying any fees of any kind, for any reason - and I would expect a refund for the credit. We shall see!