DirecTV
Weekly Problems, Bad HD Receiver, Hour-Long Activation Call

We moved to Pittsburgh in February. I have never written an online review, either positive or negative. But here it is... We had a "choice" of TV provider: Comcast or one of the satellite providers. My wife, God bless her, thought it would be nice to get a provider where I could get the NFL ticket... She picked DirecTV. It has been five months since we got the service, and I have averaged a problem once a week over those five months.

The problems range from having all my cable lines cut during installation (I have Comcast for my ISP), to no signal due to weather (as little as 1/4 inch of snow on the dish), to a busted HD receiver. It is the HD receiver that has pushed me over the tipping point to write this. After pushing the "reset" button daily for 3 weeks to get a signal, I finally called customer service to ask for a new receiver.

I was told, "We don't show any record of previous calls on this issue so I would recommend calling back each time this happens so we can document it's an on going problem." Ummmm, I'm not wasting 30-45 minutes every day so it can be "documented." I have a problem and I want a new receiver. So "I'd like to speak to your supervisor" came out when I heard the multiple call comment. The supervisor said that they could replace the HD receiver, but it would cost me $20 because it's past the 90 day warranty.

So let me get this straight: I am committed to a two year contract with DirecTV, but they don't stand behind their equipment for more than 90 days? So "I'd like to speak to your supervisor" came out again. Now they have waived the $20, and I received the receiver earlier today. After swapping it out myself, I called DirecTV to activate it. After being on the phone for over an hour, it was finally set up.

An hour may not seem like a significant amount of time, but after doing bedtime for my two kids, cleaning up the house and checking in for work e-mail, the last thing I want to do is talk to a customer service rep for over an hour. Oh, and for my inconvenience over the last few days, what do I get... "Thank you for calling DirectTV. Did I answer all of your questions?" It's been nothing but a headache, and I'm almost to the point of calling again and asking how much it would cost to get out of DirecTV. It was the worst decision we ever made about personal entertainment, and hopefully this review will prevent others from making the same mistake.

Company: DirecTV
Country: USA
State: Colorado
City: Greenwood Village
Address: P.O. Box 6550

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