I am writing about a scam that Direct TV is pulling on customers. I had an account from 2003 that went into collections. I received a notice from the collection agency that they would settle the account for a certain amount and it would be considered paid in full. I paid that amount in February of this year. Then a month later, my new service, which I have had since October by the way, was being disconnected due to a past balance from that other account.
When I contacted Direct TV, they told me the settlement was only with the collection agency, not with Direct TV, and they would still require the full payment in order to continue service. But to me, when a collection agency is collecting on behalf of a company, they represent that company. When they make a settlement offer, it should be honored as such. We are not talking about a huge amount either; the balance owing is $60. It's not the money, it is the principle that I made an agreement to pay a settlement offer to accept payment as paid in full!!!
According to the letter they sent me, why is it okay for Direct TV to come after me for the difference? Isn't the point of a settlement offer that you only pay a portion of the bill and it is considered paid in full? Aren't there any legal ramifications here? Also, they are now saying that I won't receive any of my deposit back because I didn't fulfill my 12 month commitment. So now they are not only keeping my $170 deposit but still not showing the $60 as being paid either. They also won't let me speak to anyone in the collections department where I made the arrangement. When I called the collection agency, they said it was passed back to Direct TV's collection department. They have no record of the transaction, and the debit on my credit card is from Direct TV. So Direct TV is saying I made a deal with the collection agency, and the collection agency is saying I made a deal with the Direct TV collections department.
If in fact I made the deal with Direct TV and they collected the money from my credit card, aren't they supposed to honor the agreement? Even if I made the deal with the collection agency, aren't they working as an agent of Direct TV, and wouldn't Direct TV then also need to honor the agreement? I am at a loss here. I have been getting the runaround for 2 hours now on the phone, calling several numbers just to be transferred over and over again. In fact, the supervisor Andrea Gilbert at Direct TV hung up on me, as did 1 other member of Direct TV and 1 from the collection agency, Allied Collections. So in the end I am out a $170 deposit, they will put the $60 into collections and then onto my credit, and I still don't have service!
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