After being a customer of DirecTV for nearly 10 years, we finally said enough is enough! We had taken a lot of things for granted over the past 10 years, but we finally decided that we were going to change satellite providers. We were tired of our satellite constantly going out at intermittent times, not just during storms and fog. We were tired of complaining about the service, we were tired of the long hold times (sometimes as long as 40 minutes) trying to report the problems to a repair representative. Moreover, we were tired of dealing with 12-year old sounding technicians, who took forever to answer the phone, when their loud, collective laughter could be heard in the background. And we were tired of constantly getting hung up on while trying to make the in-home repairs the 12 year olds were reading to us off a card. The last straw came when I spoke to a self-proclaimed supervisor named "Jerry" who directed me to write to a P.O. Box in Colorado to file my complaint. He would not provide me with a physical address or a phone number and he eventually slammed the phone down in my ear during my last contact with DirecTV.
It all really came to a head two days ago when my satellite kept freezing and the television became unwatchable. We had already become accustomed to not utilizing our TIVO because every recording was choppy and interrupted, virtually unwatchable. When I called to get some technical support to report the continual locking up of the TV, I was hung up on twice by two young male and female technicians, who after putting my husband and I through the paces of attempting to repair our own system ultimately decided that the only resolution was for us to purchase a service warranty so that a contractor could come and rewire the system.
When we moved into our new home eight months ago, we transferred our DirecTV service, but were forced by DirecTV to pay some fly-by-night subcontractor to install the system (that was initially supposed to include free installation with the move). Now we are again asked to pay for a warranty because the subcontractor DirecTV required us to utilize installed the system incorrectly. Shouldn't a big company like DirecTV have enough confidence in their product to warranty it for at least 8 months? Shouldn't we expect DirecTV to provide a subcontractor with some kind of proficiency when installing their equipment? And shouldn't DirecTV then be responsible for subsequent poor workmanship?
To me this was just the icing on the cake that pushed my husband and I to cancel the service. We decided to try and bundle our services with AT&T, and hopefully get a quality system and better technical support and customer service. But much to our dismay, DirecTV decided to reward our 10 years as a dedicated customer by slamming us with a huge cancellation fee. They stated that I had a two year "commitment" because I was leasing a DVR and when I asked a DirecTV supervisor (named "Jerry") to provide me with a copy of a signed contract, he told me "it was not a contract, it was a commitment which was mailed to me eight months ago along with my bill." When I told "Jerry" that I signed no such contract and I was not going to pay the cancellation fee, "Jerry, " a self-proclaimed supervisor, slammed the phone down in my ear, but only after threatening to report me to the credit bureau if I failed to pay. Again, in their infinite wisdom, DirecTV decided to reward my 10 years of patronage by threatenging to report me to a credit bureau.
As a result, I am now forced to continue my service with DirecTV until May! How is that for adding insult to injury? Not only are they providing poor service, poor installation, zero customer service, rude "kids" and supervisors who slam the phone down in my ear... Now I get to keep paying for a service they are not even providing until the year 2009!
DirecTV has truly shown me how much it has appreciated my business over the past 10 years and I am going to show my appreciation by contacting the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint. And reporting their poor business practices to every person I come in contacty with. Take it from me, once DirecTV has got you... They've really got you! I do not recommend DirecTV to anyone who is expecting a quality product with quality customer service, but if you want to utilize a company who doesn't know the first thing about customer satisfaction... DirecTV is the right choice for you.
Cc: Better Business Bureau
Melinda
Fresno, Texas
U.S.A.
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