DirecTV is trying to screw me out of $200

[WiseOne]

What I never understood was the protection plan. Correct me if I'm wrong here but you don't actually own any of the hardware. It needs to be returned after you disconnect service. So why am I paying to fix YOUR hardware?

 

[T9D]

I guess i'm the only one who didn't have a problem.

I had DirecTV for a year or so but then had to move. I didn't have a new place to hook up yet. So I paid the ETF.

Eventually I bought a new place about a year later. They said i'd get all the promo stuff. Eventually the bill came and I didn't get the promo prices. I'm like what the flip.

After a few calls I eventually talk to some manager dude. He says sorry and does give me all the promos plus credit plus some free channels for a while. I'm like cool.

Technically I guess I didn't qualify for those new customer promo prices (since I wasn't really new) but I asked like 4 times and they said I did before I got it installed. But they should honor it if no matter how low on the totem pole someone is that tells you something. It's not like I knew at the time which is why I asked and verified until they explained it AFTER I already got the service that I wasn't considered new again.

So I guess it worked out and they were being good customer service. I'd imagine some people get screwed though a lot by stuff like that where someone decides not to be nice. I bet it was on my recordings though of the phone calls where I asked a bunch of times.

For the most part I was always happy with DirecTV service. However it's all internet for me now. Screw those big TV bills. Save a lot of money and no contracts at all. Never have to deal with big companies or service reps again (well one less anyway)

 

[waggy]

What I never understood was the protection plan. Correct me if I'm wrong here but you don't actually own any of the hardware. It needs to be returned after you disconnect service. So why am I paying to fix YOUR hardware?

because they tell you that YOU OWN the hardware. until the end then they say send it back because its rental.

I think shit like that should be illegal.

 

[Doppel]

I don't get the protection plan either. It is $7 or something a month for the cheap one and yet when I had to replace my HD dvr it was only $20 to ship it since apparently my brief protection plan purchase never even applied.

Truth be told directv worked fine for me. A MILLION times better than cable with its shitty old ancient cable boxes. Now I have the Clearstream 2v antenna and Netflix and wht not.

I can't see myself going back to paid TV. It is a long slot disentangling ourselves from this because the powers that be are fighting tooth and nail to make cord cutting painful, but technology is filling in the gaps and will overrun their efforts.

 

[dainthomas]

DirectTV are thiefs.

My ex-wife had a bill she received AFTER the divorce. I went to get service and Prepaid for installation. They never showed up.

I called and they said they wouldn't come out and hook me up. fine i will go with dish (wich i did) but send me back my money. they refused.

I had to file a complaint with BBB to get my money back.

DirecTV is awesome. I pay $60/mo for their second highest tier + HD + 5 tuner DVR + an extra receiver. My girlfriend is stuck with Comcast and pays ~$130 for lowest tier + no HD + no DVR (but includes slowest internet and phone). I don't know who would choose them if they had any other option (she's in an apartment).

 

[Doppel]

DirecTV is awesome. I pay $60/mo for their second highest tier + HD + 5 tuner DVR + an extra receiver. My girlfriend is stuck with Comcast and pays ~$130 for lowest tier + no HD + no DVR (but includes slowest internet and phone). I don't know who would choose them if they had any other option (she's in an apartment).

Yes I have a neighbor paying similarly who cannot go to directv because of his all in one. I am like damn get OOMA stop with this $30 phone bill rubbish already that is embarrassing. As much as I am shamed for a 2 year agreement with directv I still do not understand paying for home phone at normal rates.

 

[Schfifty Five]

RESOLUTION!

I called the 310 number mentioned here: http://snappyliving.com/how-to-get-your-cancellation-fees-back-from-directv/

, spoke to a friendly guy, explained my situation to him and he agreed immediately that a receiver repair should not reset the 24 months. That is in fact entirely consistent with the agreement I had forwarded to me today that says "If you ordered a replacement for your defective receiver, your programming agreement does not change".

So the lady on the phone just didn't give a damn, really, and her job is to keep me on there or punish me with cancellation.

Anyway, not only did this guy sort me out but he also waived the legitimate 3-4 months I have left, thus cancelling me out free and clear.

20 minutes on hold, 5 minute phone call: $260 saved.




RESOLUTION!

I called the 310 number mentioned here: http://snappyliving.com/how-to-get-your-cancellation-fees-back-from-directv/

, spoke to a friendly guy, explained my situation to him and he agreed immediately that a receiver repair should not reset the 24 months. That is in fact entirely consistent with the agreement I had forwarded to me today that says "If you ordered a replacement for your defective receiver, your programming agreement does not change".

So the lady on the phone just didn't give a damn, really, and her job is to keep me on there or punish me with cancellation.

Anyway, not only did this guy sort me out but he also waived the legitimate 3-4 months I have left, thus cancelling me out free and clear.

20 minutes on hold, 5 minute phone call: $260 saved.

You're so excited you had to post it twice in the same post!

 

[1sikbITCH]

This is why I am never paying for TV service of any kind, forever.

You are in for a sad and lonely life if that's your attitude. Wait till the first woman fucks you over.

No such thing as free pussy!

 

[Cattlegod]

change your card number, then cancel

 

[Pacfanweb]

I'm sure they did too.

They are liars. Your choices are to pay the $200 or wait til it hits your credit and dispute it. That's just how they do business.

That's exactly right.

I tried Direct about 5 years ago. Back then, I paid a bit over 500 bucks up front for several receivers, and maybe DVR's. There was no contract, so you paid for the equipment.

Kept them for about 3 weeks, because it was April, and by mid-April, when the leaves came in on the trees, I lost over half the channels. The repair guy came out (took almost a week for an appointment, Time Warner is usually out the next day on the rare occasion we have an issue) and told me the install should have never been done, that the installer was "just trying to get that install money", and I was under 30 days so he'd notate in my account that it was un-repairable and I should cancel

So I did. They took about 2 weeks to send boxes for the receivers. I got tracking #'s. When they got them, I called, and they told me no refund. Basically that I just spent 500 bucks to watch Direct for less than 3 weeks, and I didn't even have any receivers to sell on Ebay to recoup my cost.

So I disputed with my CC, and they agreed with me. Then Direct sicced a collection agency on me. Long story short, I finally went to the sub-contractor that did the install, they sent out a supervisor who agreed that I couldn't get service, and wrote me a check for the total amount that I "owed" Direct.

Think I sent it to them?

 

[Newbian]

Rule of thumb: Any time you get new hardware from them, you get a new contract. If you hear otherwise from the rep, GET IT IN FUCKING WRITING OR NO DEAL. The onus is on you.

Still trying to figure out why people still forget about this every time.

Especially with directv as they are the worst with this.

 

[Genx87]

I was fortunate enough to have a terrible experience with their new sales rep and didnt sign up. He was a real asshole. The best part is them trying to setup a time to install after not ordering anything.

 

[SunnyD]

Yes I have a neighbor paying similarly who cannot go to directv because of his all in one. I am like damn get OOMA stop with this $30 phone bill rubbish already that is embarrassing. As much as I am shamed for a 2 year agreement with directv I still do not understand paying for home phone at normal rates.

As mentioned I cancelled DirecTV a month ago. Got sick of "playing the game" so to speak, plus Comcrap finally built out in my neighborhood. Mind you, I never had much of an issue with DirecTV, but the bills were starting to get a bit ridiculous.

Right now with Comcast I pay $49.99/month for 50/10 internet and basic cable (which is more than I need). I own my own DVR box (HDHomeRun Prime), got a CableCARD from Comcast and should end up with a $2.50/month credit on my bill for using my own equipment. I also own my own modem, so no $7/month rental fee there.

And I rolled my own VOIP service... so far my tally for the last 3.5 months of
"home" phone service in total is $16.99 (or less than $5/month).

I pay less per month for my "triple-play" than I did just for DirecTV service alone.

I don't miss DirecTV one bit.

 

[waggy]

As mentioned I cancelled DirecTV a month ago. Got sick of "playing the game" so to speak, plus Comcrap finally built out in my neighborhood. Mind you, I never had much of an issue with DirecTV, but the bills were starting to get a bit ridiculous.

Right now with Comcast I pay $49.99/month for 50/10 internet and basic cable (which is more than I need). I own my own DVR box (HDHomeRun Prime), got a CableCARD from Comcast and should end up with a $2.50/month credit on my bill for using my own equipment. I also own my own modem, so no $7/month rental fee there.

And I rolled my own VOIP service... so far my tally for the last 3.5 months of
"home" phone service in total is $16.99 (or less than $5/month).

I pay less per month for my "triple-play" than I did just for DirecTV service alone.

I don't miss DirecTV one bit.

man..

wish i could get in on that. i pay $69 for 8/4 internet though i do get free VOIP. then another $79 for Dish

ugh.

 

[SunnyD]

man..

wish i could get in on that. i pay $69 for 8/4 internet though i do get free VOIP. then another $79 for Dish

ugh.

Yeah, that's about where my DirecTV bill was creeping. After the last "referral credit" fell off I was at about $72/month.... for the roughly ~4 channels my family ever watched (NickJR, Sprout, HGTV and DisneyJr).

I was going to miss Sunday Ticket, but the Madden deal has me covered there. Even so, I was resigned to watching whatever local games were going to be carried.

I will say DirecTV customer service was pretty damn top notch for me though. Never really had a problem and if I did they took care of it fairly quickly without a fight.

 

[surfsatwerk]

"The [cable/satellite provider] treated me fairly and equitably."

..said no one, ever.

I went into my whole DirectTV experience with open eyes. After 5 years I dropped them without any hassle. Toward the end I was paying like $38 a month for their basic package with some HD channels, but I'm never home so no point in keeping it.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I've had DirecTV for more than a decade, and have always had their Protection Plan. It has benefited me many times, and I've had at least five DVRs replaced over the years, especially due to electrical surges or internal hard drives failing. None of this has reset my commitment period.

Also, DirecTV replaced an HD STB I owned with a newer (MPEG-4) unit on their dime, which I own and it never reset my commitment period, either. I have been out of contract for almost a three years. The only time I've had a commitment is when I chose to replace hardware (SD-->HD), or add a piece of equipment.

I've also had subscription/access cards fail and they were replaced and activated without a new commitment. I guess this is one of those Your Mileage May Vary conditions. I always log in online whenever something is about to change.

 

[JoeBleed]

The only bad experience i had with DirecTV was after canceling. They kept calling every week to see if i wanted to come back. I thought they would give up after a month, but they didn't. I finally told the last lady that called that i knew who they were, where they were, how to contact them if i wanted service, and if they keep calling i was going to consider it harassment. They finally stopped calling.

This was probably over 10 years ago now. I bought my own receiver in a retail store (for the RF remote) and never had to return anything, not even the access cards. Still have the old SD unit in a cabinet collecting dust. Don't know why i have no plans on going back, but if i did, i'd want HD. I should toss it out in the next electronics clean out i do.

 

[Joe C]

Rule of thumb: Any time you get new hardware from them, you get a new contract. If you hear otherwise from the rep, GET IT IN FUCKING WRITING OR NO DEAL. The onus is on you.

This is wrong. Replacing a defective receiver does not re start a contract. Calling a front line CSR can screw things up, you need to talk to the access card dept when activating a replacement.

 

[Joe C]

DirecTV just screwed me out of $200 too...We were DirecTV customers until we moved. The apartment complex where we lived after moving prohibited dishes in MOST cases, and we had so many trees on our side of the building that DirecTV service wouldn't have worked any way...so we paid our ETF

You screwed up. You should have called for them to have the dish installed at the new place. When the installer comes and see no line of site available you will be released from the contract without penalty.

 

[SunnyD]

This is wrong. Replacing a defective receiver does not re start a contract. Calling a front line CSR can screw things up, you need to talk to the access card dept when activating a replacement.

It's not wrong, it's CYA.