DirecTV
$200 Equipment Fee Charged After Credit Check Name Mismatch

I called DirecTV regarding service for a motor home. It took four customer service agents to complete my request. The first three told me that DirecTV did not offer service to motor homes (I called them because their literature came with the motor home). I told DirecTV that my motor home came with a built-in dish and that I only needed the receiver.

The installer came out and helped me with aiming the dish on the roof of the motor home, installed the receiver and activated the system. He gave me the dish. I told him I did not need the dish, and he told me that it came with the service. That dish is now unused in my garage.

Later, I received a letter from DirecTV regarding "our requirement for requesting a fee to obtain DirecTV service. When we attempted to verify your credit information, we were unable to make an exact match based upon the information our agent typed into our system."

Later that week I received a bill from DirecTV for "$200.00 for a 18"x20" system."

I called the customer service number to appeal the charge. In a nutshell, my credit report reflects two different last names due to a legal name change. The reporting agency, Equifax, still records my previous last name because of an old loan that I took out under that name. So the DirecTV request for credit was submitted using a "different" last name, hence the "unable to make an exact match."

I spoke to four reps on 6/20 and was finally told a manager would need to call me because DirecTV's policy did not allow the agent to resubmit my credit information. I spent over forty-five minutes on the phone.

I did not hear from a manager. I called again on 6/26 and spoke to five reps. This time I spent fifty-nine minutes on the phone. The final rep I spoke to was named Philip. He told me that he would rerun my credit but that I would still owe the $200.00. He stated that the fee was charged to all customers and that I was not told the policy correctly when I signed up.

I asked him if all new customers were charged this, and he said that since March 1 all new customers are being charged this fee. I again told him that I was not made aware of this when I signed up. I also told him that I did not need the 18"x20" dish because my motor home already had a dish, and he told me DirecTV does not give refunds.

I provided Equifax with documents proving my identity as of 6/22. Bottom line, I simply asked over several calls to several agents for the $200.00 to be refunded or for a new credit request to be submitted, and they will not do it. I was, however, offered three free months of Showtime, which I declined.

Next option, class action or arbitration?

Company: DirecTV
Country: USA
State: California
City: El Segundo
Address: PO Box 1079
Phone: 8666789465

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