5/23/06
To Whom It May Concern:
The following is a description of the events that occurred when I tried to purchase HD service at my home.
Thursday, May 11th
First scheduled appointment to have the HD dish and box installed, scheduled time 1-5pm. I took off work at a cost of leave time to me. The tech did not show up and I did not receive a phone call. I was on the phone for an hour trying to find out what had happened. I started out calling 1-800-DirectTV and was transferred 3 times to the supervisor at the local dispatch, Philisha at 410-577-1960, x239. She stated that she would reschedule me for 5-17, from 1-5pm, and that she would make sure that it was a senior tech that would come to the house. I requested that the tech be at my house at 1pm.
Wednesday, May 17th
Second scheduled appointment to have the HD dish and box installed, scheduled time 1-5pm. I took off work at a cost of leave time to me. Tech David Mitchell, 443-456-7286, and helper Mike showed up at my house at 1pm. He asked if he could place the dish on the roof of my home and I said yes. David was at my house for about 3 hours. During that time he was only outside attaching a dish to my roof. He asked to speak with me and told me that he had a bad part (RDH? Or something that did not work) and that he would have to get a new part and come back.
He talked to his dispatcher on the phone and I heard him ask "so the job ticket will be mine." He got off the phone and told me that I had been scheduled for 5-19 from 1-5pm and that he would be doing the job and that he could be at my house earlier than 1. I said that I would be home at 12:45pm and that it would be great if he could come then. We said goodbye and see you on Friday.
Friday, May 19th
Third scheduled appointment to have the HD dish and box installed, scheduled time 1-5pm. I took off work at a cost of leave time to me. 1pm came and went and still no tech David Mitchell at my home. I called him 2 times on his cell phone and left messages asking what the deal was. 2pm came and went. I called Phlisia at dispatch and no answer. So I called 1-800-DirectTV and asked to speak with a supervisor. A conflict resolution specialist (a female, I forget her name) asked how she may be of help.
I was a bit displeased at this time and asked her not to put me on hold, and explained the situation as I have above. She said she had to go through all of the layers of phone calls that I had gone through on 5-11 to find out what was going on. She placed me on a 3-way call and called the tech David Mitchell. Now he answered his cell phone and I asked what the deal was, and he stated, "Oh, I remember you, they gave the job to someone else." She ended that phone call and then called the local dispatcher and asked who had the job and when they would be there. The local dispatcher said a tech named Will or Wills would be out in 20 minutes. So we ended that call.
Still on the phone with the conflict resolution lady from 1-800-DirectTV, she stated that she would call back in 30 minutes to make sure that the tech had shown up and to also talk about some credits on my account, and we ended the phone call. She never called back. Tech Will or Wills showed up and he was professional and pleasant, but there had been no communication by DirecTV as to what he was to be doing at my house.
So I tried to explain the best I could what the other tech had told me and what he was at my house to do. He then understood and went about the business of hooking up my HD dish. A short time later Will asked to speak with me and explained that the tech who was out here last did not know what he was doing, and that he had placed holes in my roof. He asked me to climb up on the roof to look at the damage.
Sure enough, it looked as if tech David had ripped up the mounting bracket and moved the dish to another location. In the original spot where the dish was placed there are 4 holes where the screws were, and some of the shingles have been ripped up, leaving the roof in a condition that compromises its ability to keep water out of my house. Tech Will or Wills went on to say that the guy should have never attached the dish in the first place because there was no signal. He then told me, to be honest with you, I would not even get the HD package because you have too many trees around your house and it is not possible to get the HD signals from all of the satellites.
He then called his supervisor and asked him to come to my house. Supervisor Mike Fitzgerald, 410-800-8952, showed up at my house, climbed on the roof and took some digital pictures, and stated that DirectTV would have to fix the roof and someone would be in touch. He also agreed with tech Will that due to the fact that I had many large trees on the SW side of my house, I could not or should not get the HD service.
I had an appointment so I could not ask the supervisor as many questions as I would have liked. What I did ask was if there was any paperwork to fill out, and he said no, that there was a whole department that took care of this kind of thing and that he would email them the pictures and they would contact me. I left for my appointment with no HD service at my house, holes in my roof and a useless dish on my roof.
Sunday, May 21
I returned the HD TV, at a cost of gas, time and $15 to me for not having the box I bought it in.
Tuesday, May 23
9:04am: I contacted Direct TV by calling 1-800-DirectTV to try to resolve my situation for the first time and asked to speak with a supervisor. 9:10am: I spoke with floor supervisor Aireale and explained that I would like to speak with her supervisor. She placed me on hold and then continued the call and explained that her supervisor Latoya Jackson was in a meeting and could call me back in an hour.
I asked if Mrs. Jackson had an email or an address that I could forward this document to so that she could review the details of my situation and have a better understanding of what had transpired to this point. Aireale informed me that she could not give out an email address and the only mailing address that she could give me was that of the president of the company. She then stated again that Mrs. Jackson would call me in an hour. It was 9:18 at the time, so I asked that she call me by 10:18am and she said yes. At 10:28am I had to leave for an appointment. Mrs. Jackson did not call, nor did anyone from Direct TV for that matter. Once again, more of my time wasted and more stress caused by my interactions with Direct TV.
Tuesday, May 23rd
I emailed customer service at www.directtv.com and forwarded them the current document.
Tuesday, May 23rd
6:17pm: I called 1-800-DirectTV to try to resolve my situation for the second time. I asked to speak with a floor supervisor. 6:25pm: I spoke with floor supervisor Kyle 100108182, told him of my situation and asked what could be done. Kyle said he was sorry but my requests below could not be met.
I asked to speak with his supervisor and spoke with Jamie in the retention department. I read her this document. She said she was sorry but they could not meet my requests, except the one taking the HD charges off my account. She told me I had to wait for the damage claim department to take care of my situation and gave me a long distance phone number for the damage department (303-712-5033) that she let me know had just closed for the day. I let her know that having the situation resolved by me calling a long distance number at a cost to me, with the damage department getting to the issue on their terms, was not acceptable, and that I wanted guarantees of when and how my roof would be fixed. She could not make them. I explained to her that I did not believe that the situation would be taken care of in a timely manner, due to the fact that I had been lied to by Direct TV before, and explained that rain was coming soon and I needed to get my roof fixed.
I asked to speak with someone that had the power and authority to do something. She said that I could speak to her boss but, "I tell you right now they are not going to comp you the NFL Sunday Ticket, that's $200." I was a bit dismayed and asked her if my time and holes in my roof were not worth $200. She put me on hold. It was now around 6:40pm. I spoke with Marina, Account Supervisor. Marina admitted that she was not used to handling these kinds of situations and gave me two phone numbers, one for the president's office (310-964-6598) and one for the same number for damage claims. She explained that I could get a contractor to fix the situation if it was an emergency, and she said that this sounded like an emergency.
I said that was great and that I had not been told that before, and that I would do so but wanted some sort of documentation stating that fact, because I did not currently trust a word that anyone at Direct TV was saying, due to my past experiences. She said she could not do that. She said she was sorry but that is why there are different departments that take care of these kinds of things. I ended the phone call astonished, with no credits to my account and not knowing for sure if they had even removed the HD charges from my account.
At this time I decided that I was going to try to contact the President of Direct TV, but the phone number that I was given was not the right one or I did not write it down correctly. I called the damage control department and left a message. I also made plans to hire a contractor to come out and fix my roof.
Wednesday, May 24
Response from Direct TV email:
Dear Mr. B,
Thank you for writing. I am very sorry to hear about the problems with your installation. We would need to ask you to send some additional information about this issue. We would also advise you not to complete repairs, as a local office may survey damage on a follow-up visit, unless the damage may be considered to have a real urgency (i.e. broken water line, loss of power, ruptured sewer line).
The information we would need you to provide is as follows:
- The name and phone number as they appear on your DIRECTV account.
- DIRECTV account number
- Professional estimate to repair damages
- Short, written description of how damage occurred
- Photographs of damage
- Invoice of any emergency repairs made and any other supporting damage claim documents
Please send this information to:
DIRECTV
Attention: Damage Claims
P.O. Box 4227
Englewood, CO 80155-4227
Once we have received the above information you will receive an Acknowledgment Letter from the DCT explaining the damage claim procedure in further detail and will be contacted by your local installer to start the resolution process.
When reviewing your account I found that the free programming and credit for service has been denied.
Thank you again for writing. Please continue to visit DIRECTV.com for the latest news and information about our service.
Sincerely,
Aaron H
DIRECTV Customer Service
My response to the email sent by Aaron, sent on Wednesday, May 24th:
Aaron,
Thank you for getting back to me. Your suggested solution to the situation will not do. There is bad weather coming to my area soon and I need to have the holes fixed now. I will contact a contractor and get the bill. Then do I send it to the address:
DIRECTV
Attention: Damage Claims
P.O. Box 4227
Englewood, CO 80155-4227
How will the contractor get paid? I am not going to pay for this. Thank you and I look forward to your response.
Direct TV response to my email sent on Wednesday, May 24th:
Dear Mr. B,
Thanks for writing back. I apologize for any frustration this experience may have caused. I do understand the urgency of your request for the damage claim to be completed as soon as possible. If you would like to speak with someone immediately regarding the damage claim, you can contact our Property Damage Claims department at (303) 712-5033 M-F, 8AM-5PM MT.
Please understand that the local installation office must survey the damage before it is repaired in order for the claim to be processed properly. In order to make sure that your damage claim is properly completed, you would need to follow the instructions provided in the damage claim packet that will be sent to you. Please be aware that if, by your prerogative, the repairs are completed before the damage is surveyed, and if not completed according to the procedures that will be in the packet that you will receive, we cannot guarantee that your claim will be accepted. Please be aware that in order to make sure your claim is accepted, please follow the directives in the damage claim packet that you will receive.
You will be informed how the repairs will be completed, and how any necessary payments or contracting will be done. If contracting and repair is done on your own prerogative, we can make no guarantee to the outcome of your claim. Also, please be aware that if contracting on your own to make the repairs, we cannot speculate how the contractor will be paid or if it will be paid by us.
Once again I apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused. I have noted your account that this issue needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. As a reminder, you can call our Property Damage Claims department at (303) 712-5033 M-F, 8AM-5PM MT to speak with someone immediately.
Thanks again for writing and stay tuned to DIRECTV.com for the latest news and information about our services.
Sincerely,
Lance
DIRECTV Customer Service
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