DirectTV contract.... oh how I hate thee

[AntiFreze]

So last year in July I rented a condo in a high-rise. I wanted to go with Cox Communications for TV and internet, but the building was contracted to a local broadband company. The internet was some crappy DSL that was shared throughout the building. The only choice for TV was through this broadband company acting as a third-party to DirectTV.

I had them install the boxes (Dishes are on the roof and shared for everyone), and they told me to sign this paper for a 2 year contract. I told them that I only needed it for a year since I would be moving and didn't want to keep it. They noted my account and over the course of 5 weeks I got someone on the phone at this broadband company to agree to just a 1 year contract. sweet.

Well, I'm in the process of moving and called DirectTV to cancel and they said it would be a $340 earl cancellation fee. I explained and they said that once I added the HD receiver that I was agreeing to a 2 year contract and there was nothing I could do about it. I said that I never agreed to that or signed anything. The supervisor told me that it was in the terms available through the website, and by accepting the HD service I was accepting a 2 year service.

This sound right? I'm trying to get a hold of the local broadband but they still won't return my calls. thoughts on this?

tl;dr - Screw DirectTV, how do I get out of my "contract" that I didnt agree to?

 

[BoomerD]

Unless you have the "one-year contract" in writing...you're hosed.

 

[zoiks]

That's why I never signed up with Directv. No way am I going to be locked in a contract. I currently have Dish Network month to month.

 

[SonnyDaze]

DirecTV can DIAF!!!! I fought a battle with them over cancellation fees and boxes that I supposedly didn't return (though I had a Fedex receipt with their warehouse address and a sig on it).

You're probably farked on this one.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: BoomerD
Unless you have the "one-year contract" in writing...you're hosed.

 

[Queasy]

Can you not go through the third-party company that you originally dealt with?

 

[nickbits]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
So last year in July I rented a condo in a high-rise. I wanted to go with Cox Communications for TV and internet, but the building was contracted to a local broadband company. The internet was some crappy DSL that was shared throughout the building. The only choice for TV was through this broadband company acting as a third-party to DirectTV.

I had them install the boxes (Dishes are on the roof and shared for everyone), and they told me to sign this paper for a 2 year contract. I told them that I only needed it for a year since I would be moving and didn't want to keep it. They noted my account and over the course of 5 weeks I got someone on the phone at this broadband company to agree to just a 1 year contract. sweet.

Well, I'm in the process of moving and called DirectTV to cancel and they said it would be a $340 earl cancellation fee. I explained and they said that once I added the HD receiver that I was agreeing to a 2 year contract and there was nothing I could do about it. I said that I never agreed to that or signed anything. The supervisor told me that it was in the terms available through the website, and by accepting the HD service I was accepting a 2 year service.

This sound right? I'm trying to get a hold of the local broadband but they still won't return my calls. thoughts on this?

tl;dr - Screw DirectTV, how do I get out of my "contract" that I didnt agree to?

New equipement=contract extension. I'm not clear if you got that on the original signup or you added that receiver afterwards. If the latter, they should have explained that when it was activated. I think the only way to get out of the contract is to move somewhere you don't have LOS. However I would push hard on them to provide evidence to where you signed up to that contract.

 

[boomerang]

If you're set up for CC billing, you may want to cancel that card and/or contact the card holder. I've heard similar horror stories with Dish and it sounds like Direct operates the same way.

I would make every attempt to talk with someone higher up the food chain and see if you can get this resolved that way. If it's not possible to get resolution through that method, you may want to consider having a dish installed at your new location and letting it run out. If you do not have a LOS, as was said, you are golden.

Good Luck!

Edit: They do not have to have a signature for you to have a contract. Ask a lawyer if you doubt this. I served on a jury decades ago regarding a contracts and signatures case. A sig is not required if both parties act as if there is a contract.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: zoiks
That's why I never signed up with Directv. No way am I going to be locked in a contract. I currently have Dish Network month to month.

errr wo whats the difference? how long have you had your sat service?


OP i have never heard of a 1 year contract with any sat service.

i jus switched from dish to direct last week and i truly believe that the picture is a whole lot better with dish, and i mean non HD channels.

 

[AntiFreze]

Thank you all for the response. I kind of see what you are saying about me possibly being screwed. Currently it's a shared dish on my roof, at my new place I wouldnt have this anymore. Do they have to provide me a satellite dish? will they try to charge me for it?

I'm still going to try and get a hold of my local company and see if they can get me out of it. I don't have it in writing though :/

 

[1sikbITCH]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
Thank you all for the response. I kind of see what you are saying about me possibly being screwed. Currently it's a shared dish on my roof, at my new place I wouldnt have this anymore. Do they have to provide me a satellite dish? will they try to charge me for it?

I'm still going to try and get a hold of my local company and see if they can get me out of it. I don't have it in writing though :/

You can move once a year for free (meaning no charges for new installation). You have to ask for Movers Connection when you call Directv.

Problem is, once you move you will be locked into yet another 2 year contract. It seems like every time you even say "Directv" out loud you are automatically locked into a fresh 2 year contract. You have to just ride it out for 2 years without ever ordering ANYTHING before it goes away.

Edit - If you move to a place that does not have access to the southern sky and they cannot get a signal, they have to cancel your contract.

 

[1sikbITCH]

dp

 

[boomerang]

You could buy a dish and hire someone local to install it. Keep it for a year and then cancel the contract if you wanted. No further commitment.

I have no idea which one you'd need, I'm with Dish.

Forums where you may get additional advice.

If you're handy, you could probably do this yourself. They have an inexpensive sat meter for like $16.

http://www.sadoun.com/Sat/Order/Signal-Meters.htm

Clear view to the Southern sky is the key - as was said.

 

[zoiks]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: zoiks
That's why I never signed up with Directv. No way am I going to be locked in a contract. I currently have Dish Network month to month.

errr wo whats the difference? how long have you had your sat service?


OP i have never heard of a 1 year contract with any sat service.

i jus switched from dish to direct last week and i truly believe that the picture is a whole lot better with dish, and i mean non HD channels.

The difference is the bullshit that they make you go through when you're locked in a contract. I've had Directv before. Glad that I switched. But I've had Dish for about 3 years now. I pay 35 for all HD channels excluding Premium channels.

 

[JS80]

DirecTV = evil.

At least Time Warner is m/m

 

[Ns1]

<3 DTV but the 2 year contract extension w/any equipment upgrade is pretty well publicized on the internet, and easily the worst part about DTV

Originally posted by: JS80
DirecTV = evil.

At least Time Warner is m/m

Too bad TW has half the HD channels (or at least when I was with TW)

 

[thescreensavers]

when you buy a DirecTV branded DVR or HD receivers they make you sign an agreement because you are renting the machine some bs like that. You agreed with out reading. So you are stuck.

 

[ar111]

Here is my 2 cents for bad experience with direct TV.

I signed up for direct TV like an innocent cat in July 2009, after repeatedly verifying with the guy on the phone that there is NO CONTRACT. But at the time of installation I wasnt home and my father signed off on a paper that had the contract in small print !!!

I moved that apartment in 3 months but there is no way they would cancel.

All this on top of EXTREMELY BAD customer service. The worst of any kind of business I have encountered !! The best part is that everytime you call, each representative will have his or her own version of the rules...none of them of course favor you. One person said that I have 4 months left, another says 6 months and another 1 year!!. And worst, some tell me that I only have the basic service which is not correct and must add another packages as a minimum.

This is just ridiculous.

Even the installation part was horrendously incompetent. I had to call 20 times to schedule an appointment. and each time there was no record of my previous call.

Now I am paying "Direct TV TAX", as I would like to call it, even though I havent stayed in that house for more than a year and dont use direct TV.

I heard that the better business bureau got 20,000 complaints between 2005 and 2008 about direct TV. They still gave them a B rating which is supposed to be good !!!

So it is up to us, the affected customers, to spread the message about direct TV and prevent new innocents from paying direct TV tax.

Thats the only way to shut their business down!

My mission starts NOW.

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: ar111
So it is up to us, the affected customers, to spread the message about direct TV and prevent new innocents from paying direct TV tax.

Thats the only way to shut their business down!

My mission starts NOW.

Fine. My mission also starts NOW.

I have DirecTV - they were extremely clear about contracts. You'd have to be an idiot to not get something in writing if you're attempting to deviate from the standard, well-published contracts. I've not had any problem with DirecTV. Their equipment is far better than Dish's, IMO, and TW doesn't hold a candle to either of them.

I still fully encourage anyone who needs a better TV service provider to switch to DirecTV.

 

[surfsatwerk]

I have DirectTV and they go out of their way to make the terms of the contract clear to you.

 

[Modelworks]

The reason Directv has contracts is because the boxes are not cheap. They can't just hand them out for free . The HD DVR is roughly $320, non DVR HD boxes are $120 cost. Add in the sat dish, LNB, switches and a HD DVR install cost Directv about $550 , that is with no markup. Add installers fees on top of that .
Anyone is free to purchase the boxes outright without a contract.


I'm not trying to defend Directv, I have had less than stellar customer service in the past, just pointing out why the contract is there.

Dish I don't like either especially after the stunt they pulled last year. I had their service. During the months I had service, my dad paid the bill using his credit card one month. Last december I canceled service and returned the boxes and was supposed to be credited. I wasn't . They sent me a bill for roughly $400 . Before I could call and complain they charged my card. I called the bank , got the funds reversed. A few days later I got a call from my dad who was mad as hell. I looked at his statement and Dish had billed his card for the amount they said I owed, only my dad had only $88 available credit, so they couldn't get the full amount. Instead on his statement they had 9+ charges from Dish. Starting at $1 and increasing by $10 until they hit the credit limit. I called Dish and they told me that they had a right to charge any card that appeared on the account for services due. I asked them where it said that and they said it was in the customer agreement I signed, then I pointed out that my dad never signed that. The customer rep , just acted like it was business as usual.

I had to involve the banks and dish corporate to get it resolved . Dish removed the charges completely and found the boxes I had sent, but never once admitted doing anything wrong.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
So last year in July I rented a condo in a high-rise. I wanted to go with Cox Communications for TV and internet, but the building was contracted to a local broadband company. The internet was some crappy DSL that was shared throughout the building. The only choice for TV was through this broadband company acting as a third-party to DirectTV.

I had them install the boxes (Dishes are on the roof and shared for everyone), and they told me to sign this paper for a 2 year contract. I told them that I only needed it for a year since I would be moving and didn't want to keep it. They noted my account and over the course of 5 weeks I got someone on the phone at this broadband company to agree to just a 1 year contract. sweet.

Well, I'm in the process of moving and called DirectTV to cancel and they said it would be a $340 earl cancellation fee. I explained and they said that once I added the HD receiver that I was agreeing to a 2 year contract and there was nothing I could do about it. I said that I never agreed to that or signed anything. The supervisor told me that it was in the terms available through the website, and by accepting the HD service I was accepting a 2 year service.

This sound right? I'm trying to get a hold of the local broadband but they still won't return my calls. thoughts on this?

tl;dr - Screw DirectTV, how do I get out of my "contract" that I didnt agree to?

i went through this with AT&T, more or less. i told them that if they didnt produce paperwork where i signed something, or a tape where i agreed, i wasnt paying a dime.

i had to call a few times and elevate to tier 2, but i did get someone to cancel my account for just my current monthly balance

 

[ar111]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The reason Directv has contracts is because the boxes are not cheap. They can't just hand them out for free . The HD DVR is roughly $320, non DVR HD boxes are $120 cost. Add in the sat dish, LNB, switches and a HD DVR install cost Directv about $550 , that is with no markup. Add installers fees on top of that .
Anyone is free to purchase the boxes outright without a contract.

Dont you realize that its a trick? they are getting back the boxes at the end of the contract.

For example, if this indeed the issue, why dont they have the option of taking a $320 deposit for the receiver and return it when we cancel at anytime? They WONT because they know customers are stupid and think "Oh we are getting a free receiver". But the RECEIVER IS NOT YOURS ANYWAYS. But then they have you locked in a contract for 18 months...which gaurantees them money.

DIRECT TV IS A SCAM!

 

[Rage187]

I've had Comcast, Charter and TWC and DirecTV beats them in awesomeness. The only paid TV service I will be a lifelong maven for.

AntieFreze, yep, new hardware=new contract.


ar111, how could you not know there was a contract, it is satellite TV.

 

[cheezy321]

Originally posted by: ar111

Originally posted by: Modelworks
The reason Directv has contracts is because the boxes are not cheap. They can't just hand them out for free . The HD DVR is roughly $320, non DVR HD boxes are $120 cost. Add in the sat dish, LNB, switches and a HD DVR install cost Directv about $550 , that is with no markup. Add installers fees on top of that .
Anyone is free to purchase the boxes outright without a contract.

Dont you realize that its a trick? they are getting back the boxes at the end of the contract.

For example, if this indeed the issue, why dont they have the option of taking a $320 deposit for the receiver and return it when we cancel at anytime? They WONT because they know customers are stupid and think "Oh we are getting a free receiver". But the RECEIVER IS NOT YOURS ANYWAYS. But then they have you locked in a contract for 18 months...which gaurantees them money.

DIRECT TV IS A SCAM!

Where is my free ipod?

Get the hell off our forums, you spammer.