Direct TV
Unauthorized $737 Equipment Charge Taken From Bank Account

Okay, so how does this happen? My husband has been a Directv customer for more than 10 years. We started having trouble with the service and decided that it was too expensive anyway, so we called to disconnect service. We were offered credits on our bill to the tune of 242.00 if we stayed with them. We thought, okay, not a problem. We knew we would be moving in a month's time anyway and would just hook up Comcast at our new house.

Two days after our move, my husband called to inform Directv that we had moved and gave them our new address so we could return all the equipment that we had "leased" from them. We have waited and waited and received nothing. After about 2 weeks, he called again. "Ohh, sorry, we don't show record of you calling. We will send this out right away." Two weeks later, still no box to return it.

Tonight my husband is checking his bank account and there is a charge from Directv for 737.00 for equipment. How is this legal? He called and spoke with a CSR, and she advised that they would not refund the money until the equipment was returned. He asked where he could take the equipment to get his money back and was told that he had to send it, which could take a week or more. The CSR on the phone stated that when he paid his bill on the phone one time more than 4 months ago, he gave authorization for them to charge all charges to his bank account.

This cannot be legal anywhere. How in the world is a company like this still in business with all the horrible things I have read on this site about this happening to a number of people? I am mortified that this company has been allowed to steal from people who can't afford to fight back. This is absolutely insane to me.

We have contacted our bank and been told that the only recourse we have is to dispute the charges and that we will have to wait for a hearing. I am so upset. We just wrote our rent check, which will be returned for NSF after our first month in our new apartment.

Can someone please explain to me how it is legal for a company to withdraw funds out of someone's account without authorization to do so? Nowhere in their contract does it say you give authorization for any future payments to be deducted from this account.

Company: Direct TV
Country: USA
State: Colorado
Site: www.directv.com

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