I called DirecTV at the beginning of December to get a price on satellite. I spoke with a CSR who informed me I would get satellite with 150 channels for 29.99 a month. There would be a $21 processing fee, but I would get free equipment, free installation and the first month free. I wrote down everything he told me when I spoke with him.
On Dec. 22, 2008, the installer came and installed Direct TV service. My husband was asked to sign a checklist saying the installer was here and installed services. He signed it, not knowing until later that it was some sort of contract, even though it looked like a checklist.
January came and everything was good. On Feb 2, to my surprise, we received a bill for January for a total of $57.36, which was due 1-11-09. Two days later we received the February bill for $126.79, and that same day they cut off our services. So we called on Feb. 5th and asked why the bill was so high and why we did not get the first month free. They said, "Oh no, you don't get the first month free, you heard wrong," and that to get the $29.99 a month price we had to call the rebate center. We went ahead and paid the $126.79 and got our service turned back on.
We called the rebate center and were told it was too late to apply for the rebate. They said that a major complaint in the rebate center was that customers didn't know they had to apply for a rebate until it was too late. So my husband tried to call customer service back to cancel our service, but he was getting disconnected every time he called. They never tried calling back, and they got cut off a lot.
He tried calling for 2 weeks before he finally was able to speak to someone about our account. The man he spoke with apologized and said that he would apply some credits to our account so we would be able to get the price promised. He even threw in free movie channels for our trouble. He informed us that the discounted price might not be on March's bill, but definitely on April's. We got March's bill. It was $65.29, with no credit.
We got April's bill 2 days before the cut-off date, and still no credit. I called customer service and verified my address. I verify my address every time I call, because this was the ONLY bill that I had a problem getting on time. I asked about the credit and was informed that there was some sort of error and that the credit would be on May's bill, so I paid $60 to keep from a service interruption.
I received May's bill on 5-2-09. I wasn't going to pay the full amount due until the price was correct. The cut-off date was 5-4-09. I called customer service on 5-3-09 and asked about the credit. She said that an email had to be sent to a supervisor to apply the credit, that she would send it as an urgent request, that someone would contact me in 7-10 days to confirm the credit being applied, and that we would see the credit on June's bill.
I hadn't received a call by 5-16, so I called to check up on the email that was sent. The lady I spoke with said that we didn't get the credit because it took too long for us to call. Since services started 12-22-08 and it was 5-16-09, it had been well over 30 days. I argued with her for a little bit, telling her about the email, so she finally looked up my account and said that she saw the credit and it would be applied to June's bill.
After getting off the phone with her, I informed my husband of what was going on, and he called back and told them he didn't believe them and he wanted our satellite turned off right then. They informed him that we would get a bill with an early cancellation. We disputed signing a contract, but the checklist that was signed 12-22 looked like a contract. We would also be billed for any past due payments not made, which we didn't dispute. They were supposed to cut our service off that night, but they didn't until 5-18-09.
We received the entire bill on 5-29-09, which was dated 5-23-09, for $352.39. Then on 5-30-09 we received a bill dated the same date the cancellation bill was sent (5-23-09) for $0.00 and saying thank you for your payment. I called the bank, and sure enough I'm overdrawn because they debited my account for that bill.
I called today, 5-30-09, and spoke with Grace in customer service. She said that they are allowed to debit my account 6 days after cancellation for the amount owed and that it's stated in my contract. I got out the checklist that we received on 12-22 and read it to her, and nowhere did it say that I allow them to debit my account for any reason without my authorization. Then she stated this information was on the back of my bill. I read the back of the bill to her, and it doesn't tell me they will debit my account in 6 days for the amount on the bill. I told her I wanted my money back, and she said no.
So I called the Office of the President and spoke to Angie. I told her the same thing, and she said I couldn't get my money back because, if I looked at my customer agreement, which is supposed to be my contract, it said I agreed to those terms if I didn't respond in 24 hours. I informed her I didn't get the customer agreement until yesterday, 5-29-09, and it says that if I don't agree, I should call and contest this. She said it was too late to contest because I only have 24 hours. I feel I complied and answered within 24 hours.
She said that I was supposed to get that agreement when my service was installed and that it's 24 hours after that. I told her I didn't get the agreement when service was installed. All I received was a channel guide. She said that it also came in my first month's bill, and it didn't. It didn't matter anyway, because I didn't get my bill until 2-3-09, which was also well over 24 hours. But she wouldn't hear anything I said.
If you look at the customer agreement, it's dated EFFECTIVE 4-24-09, and I received it yesterday! So how could I have gotten it in my first month's bill? The customer service rep told me that the discounted price was going to be on my June bill. I asked her whether she could believe that I would get a promised price after 5 months of being told it will be on next month's bill. But I informed her that I wanted my money back.
I have EVERY intention of paying the ENTIRE balance, because I don't want this on my credit. But my husband just got laid off and we have a newborn at home, so I'm not at work, and we didn't even have that money in our account. So who knows how many NSF fees we have. We are hoping that our rent and light bill don't bounce.
She said she could get my money back if I reactivate my DirecTV service, but I was going to have to go through the entire process of getting $29.99 a month again. I declined the offer. I did inform her that I would continue to call until someone gave me my money back. These people need to be shut down. They are liars and stealers! I can't believe they are allowed to do business this way.
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