On or about Thursday, September 7, I opted for a DirecTV special for football fans, NFL Sunday Ticket. The technician who installed my service broke my television by installing a 6 foot analog cable from the DVR box to the antenna mount on the back of my 54 inch Samsung HD television. The tautness of the cable applied constant pressure on the antenna, and by Sunday it broke right out of the housing.
Over the next few weeks a total fiasco ensued as they sent one Spanish-speaking person after another to remedy my problem. I only speak English. In total frustration, I just gave up and purchased a new TV. The Samsung was 2 1/2 years old. I then called them to come and install the home entertainment system, since Best Buy was going to charge me between $100 and $125 to reinstall it.
I warned DirecTV that I was going to watch the entire process this time, that they were to bring only the correct cables to install, and that they had better send someone who completely speaks and understands the English language.
Finally, they sent a person who completely understood the language, but he couldn't install the system. I hired a guy off duty and paid him $65. My DVR was recording things I didn't instruct it to, and it wouldn't allow me to delete them. One day I would have a tech who knew of the problem, and the next day one who did not.
I literally spent 5 or more hours a week on the phone with poorly trained DirecTV personnel. The programming was erratic at best, and whenever I couldn't find the game I wanted to watch, every week, they had one lame excuse after another. My pleasure in watching TV was gone, and fed up with their lack of quality customer service, I quit them.
I returned all the equipment they asked for, and next they hired a collection agency. Unlike DirecTV, which never followed up when my TV was broken, the collection agency, Allied Interstate, calls me every day a couple of times to collect a bogus $429.75. I'm too lazy at this point to sue them, but if I can't get help soon, I may have to, and then I will sue for the TV too.
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