After my cable service monthly bill went sky high, I decided to switch to Direct TV. I signed up online and got basic package which I was told it was going to be $49.99 plus tax per month. They promised me a free gift as a new customer. I got my first bill and it was $84.75. I called and talked to one of the employees. Apparently I was not told about half of the charges they raked up. He kept saying how sorry he was for the mix up, but there was nothing he can do about it.
I finally had enough of his sorrys and went right to the manager. He was a little more understanding and discounted all the "mistakes" when they were finished my bill was $24. I wasn't sure how he got to that figure, but wasn't going to question it. For the next year my bills fluctuated from $65- $79. Every time I called and questioned it, they gave me some line like " It's because of different quarterly taxes". I wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but let it go.
I got HDTV and decided to get a HD reciver from Direct TV. To my surprise I was told that if I wanted it I had to pay $199 for regular reciver and $299 if I wanted a DVR HD reciver plus $9.95 monthly fee. Hmmm.. and I thought they wanted me as a customer. Finally my year contract ended. After all this I decided to return to my cable company. I called Direct TV and told them that I want to cancel my service. They asked me why and I told them the whole story. To my surprise they offered the HD DVR to me, free HBO for 6 month, all kinds of discounts. I guess all I needed to do is tell them I wanted to disconnect a long time ago and I would have had all this!!!! I stuck to my guns and told them that I still wanted to cancel. They checked my account, told me they were sorry to loose me as a GREAT customer, and all of a sudden there was a "Oh by the way, you have a DVR receiver." Ok, what does that mean? Apparently when you get the DVR you sign up for a 2 year contract. "They should have told you that when they installed your service, the girl said". Because of this if I was to cancel I have to pay a cancellation fee up to $300 for the DVR. Now, I'm no gineous, but why would you sell a service for 1 year, and DVR receiver for 2 years???? What do I need a DVR for with no service??? I was a little confused by the news, and decided to find my contract to see where it states that and when did i sign this. I couldn't find it and when I questioned the lady on the phone, again to my surprise her answer was " Oh, we do not ask for customers signatures, its a oral agreement." So for it to be a oral agreement, I need it to be told about it, and if I was not told about it, then there was no agreement, right? So you think. Well according to Direct TV, I was told about it, and it also states in my contract, which they DID NOT have me sign because they do not ask for a signature. Still after about 2 hours of arguing and going back and forth, they put me on the phone with a dispute specialist, who told me the same thing as the lady I spend 2 hours arguing with before her. It almost sounded like they where reading off the same list word for word. There is nothing they can do and if I want I can Email claims department to see what they say, it could take anywhere from 24-48 hours for them to respond. I emailed them, once again explaining myself to them. 2 hours later I get a response stating " we're sorry to hear about your situation, unfortunatly there is nothing we can do and have to charge you the cancellation fee up to $300." By the way I never got my free IPod for the activation gift!
I will fight them, and I'm not intending to pay for this fee. If you have any stories similar to this please let me know cause I know there a few people out there being screwed by Direct TV.
I see that basically none of you read anything a company sends out to you, first of all, with directv the discounts are only for your first year and only if you send in your REBATE FORM. Second of all any free gifts usually require a REBATE FORM and proof a purchase, usually the first bill or a receipt that says you activated/purchased it in time. And lastely if you ordered directv over the phone, in all the mombo jumbo that you tend to not really listen to but insted your just saying " uh huh, yep, uh huh, mmmm" they are letting you know of commitments. If you ordered online, they are letting you know of commitments, if you did it in a store, well directv cant controll them letting you know about your commitments but oh wait a minute that is why they ask that someone OVER THE AGE OF 18 be home for and install, how can you expect anyone to read to you everything on anything you signing that is what you should do to be AN INFORMED CONSUMER!!!! And not to mention directv sends you info about your commitment shortly after you are activated, OH MY GOD WHAT AN IDEAL CONCEPT THAT YOU MAY READ WHAT COMPANY SENDS TO YOU??? How randomly wierd that is. Nope instead you just complain because you dropped the ball and decided not to keep yourself informed and then you decided it was the companies fault and not yours. I understand everyone wants someone else to blame instead of themselves, because god who actually takes personal acountability now a days, after all no one in prison did it right?
Direct TV is doing the same thing to me. I've had Direct TV for almost 2-months. It's only worked correctly for half the time. I live in a windy neighborhood so apparently the dish is affected by the wind, it takes 6 DAYS for someone to come out and repair it, then they tell me that 'luckly it's still under warrenty and the tech visit will be free'.... so basically after warrenty I'd have to pay them to come out and service THEIR equipment.... UGH! I told them I wanted to cancel and they said I would have to pay almost $300 in cancellation fees. They CSR was really rude so I asked to speak with her supervisor and she said that I was not able to speak with her or reach her via email. I said, well who do I talk to about your attitude? She said that there was no one that I could complain to except for her. Direct TV is horrible! I'm going back to my local cable company. BEWARE FOLKS, these guys are a joke!
We have had direct tv for over 7 years, and although I have wanted to cancel it for years since the charges just keep going up and up i hadn't because my husband loves the football package. Things have gotten rough and we fell behind on our payments. We recieved the boxes to send the recievers back and we did. Our bill showed a $400 cancellation fee for early termination. My husband called direct tv and told them that we would make payments to them and they would be payed off by next month. Next thing I know I have over $800 taken out of my account without authorization. I called and asked how they could do that and he told me that it states in the contract that I wasn't aware I was under that they can pull from my card on file for any past due amount. "Sorry" you were given the wrong info about being able to make payments. I asked how I could have an early termination fee being that I have been with them for years. He said every time you activate a new box whether or not the box is working or not you restart your contract. I just can't understand how they can charge you so much monthly and for all these fees, and then charge bogus early cancellation fees. Then they can STEAL the money right out of your account. There has to be something that we can do. I am in a class action suit email me and let me know
Direct TV has NOOO idea what they are saying half of the time. I called in and advised them that I needed to cancell because a the Tech came out and said,"You don't have a Clear Line of Sight. I can build a 6ft apparatus made of cinderblocks and PVC pipe if you want service though." SERIOUSLY!!!!! I have kids and a 6ft unsecured apparatus is the safest new thing for kids to play around...
Regardless called them they charged me $300 fee. Disputed it and then they tried to pull out some crap about section 4 and 2 say balh blah blah. Well section 4 is about them chaning my contract and section 2 is about making payment and cancellation for not paying. When asked about where in ANY paperwork does it state that if I do NOT have a clear line of sight they can charge me $300 early cancellation fee, they sat there...and then procedded to tell me that there isn't ANYTHING that states that. All I can do is write corporate. Going to seek legal advice if anyone else wants to contact me in regards to this then by all means. I am willing to do this! Screw them and thier illegal $300 fees that aren't even in their contract! They're just taking our $$$ because no one is fighting for it. I'll do it email me and let me know if you want to be a part of this.
I'm serious about this and tired of companies like Direct TV taking our $$$ when their contracts can't even legally suport thier actions!
lol yes i have just been nailed for a 665 buck charge. i sent back there receiver. i was set up thru at&t on a one time bill, that was supposed to include my cell, dsl and satellite. att offered to match my price of dishnetwork. in the end the only thing that got billed was my dsl and cell phone. dtv was totally seperate. they sent me a dvr box, which i didn't even know i had. nor did i use it as i did not know how or care to know how. they told me because i got the dvr i signed up for a 2 year contract. this is utter bs. im down for the lawsuit. im fighting it with my bank right now and canceling my debit card. so they cannot rebill me if i get this cancelled off my debit card. if anyone is going after these guys. please let me know.
Got the quest/Direct tv package deal they want to charge me over $500 to cancel after only having it for less than a week. I canceled it cause it was not the service I asked for the internet access was slow as *** and the direct tv was not the package I asked for how can I pay a $500 bill out of no where how can you prepare for something like that.
Direct TV I am convinced is a company that is out there to scam the average consumer. I had a similar situation where I was not told I had to apply for a rebate when I first signed up and received over an $80 bill. After that their service went out and I am still in the process of waiting for a repair person to come out in which I had to sign up for their protection plan of 6 dollars a month and still pay $20 for someone to come out. If I didn't have the protection plan it would cost around $80. I tried to cancel as everyone else has also tried to do and I couldn't find anywhere listed in their contract on how much their cancellation fee was which is fraud. They wanted to charge me $400 to cancel because I have only been with them 3 1/2 months. How Ridiculous. There really should be a class action lawsuit against these crazy cancellation fees in order to scare people into keeping them as customers. I remember the good old days where people used good customer service to keep people as customers.
We are waiting for our HD to be installed. It says right on the back of the work order we got in the mail, that there is a 2 year contract. They didn't tell me that on the phone, and if you don't look at the back of this order, you'd never know about the contract. However, it is there, so I think the OP will have to pay it eventualy.
DTV is Horrible! From the time we signed up for DTV, it has been an absolute nightmare with customer service for us. Between installers not showing up for the install, and
then leaving a huge mess with packaging when they did, installers walking in our house initially without knocking, not hooking the correct dish up for HD on our roof, major billing screwups (charging us for two packages, wrong number of
receivers, wrong charges,etc.), and now the dish falling off of our roof due to a poor install job! We have spent many hours on fustrating phone calls trying to resolve issues that we should have never had to deal with, and we can't get that time back! On top of all this, now we see we have been charged $175 for cancelling our service. which they refuse to remove and say is valid. All they give me is an empty "sorry for your problems" , well, that is bull. I am fighting this because they shouldn't be able to walk all over their customers like this! Spread the word. DTV ***!!!!!!!
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