It began with lines appearing across the picture. I told my wife, "The TV must be about to die, it is 4 years old." A week later the system started dropping the signal (code 771) whenever I watched HD channels. Customer service told me to reboot the box by pressing the small red button, which takes about 5 minutes. It happened once or twice a week for about a month, and the picture kept getting a bit worse. I live in SW Florida, and this was on clear, sunny days.
Soon the "Lost Signal" (code 771) was happening every ten minutes, and each time I had to reboot the box. With 5 minutes per reboot, my HD channels were useless, so I called customer service again, this time keeping a log of the calls. For the next 5 calls the woman on the line tried to walk me through "checking all the connections" and replacing the little black box that plugs into the HD receiver ("We've had problems with the silver one's."). By then the lines were getting worse on all channels, and I was paying for HD that I was not getting. Within a week every channel showed the red lost signal code, and customer service was getting me nowhere. I would rather have a tooth pulled than deal with their automated phone service.
After 3 weeks of this (I do not know why I put up with it so long), I asked the key question: "When are you going to send a repairman out here to fix my problem?" The answer was that I would have to hire a repairman at my own cost. I told her I lease this equipment from Direct TV, so they should pay. She said no, I was mistaken, they do not lease the equipment. I wished her a good day and went to find my bill. There it was in black and white: $ 4.95 for HD.
Wanting more punishment, I called customer service again and was told, "No, that's a charge for the service, not the equipment." I asked, "But the bill says HD Receiver lease? And what about a warranty of the equipment? I've only had the service for 6 months?" and waited for a decent answer. I never got one, only "No, you'll have to take care of your problem."
Seeing no future with Direct TV, I called the local cable company and switched. Something funny happened: the ugly lines vanished and the picture was the clearest I have ever seen. When I called Direct TV to cancel, they asked why I was leaving, and I got a surprise. They said, "Well, we send someone out right away to fix your problem." I told them that was too late and asked them to collect their equipment and take the dish off my roof. They said they would mail a pre-paid box for returning the receivers, but I would have to pay someone to remove the dish because they do not do that. At that point they hung up on me.
Now I am emailing their customer service, and I keep copies. They told me they would charge $400 per receiver if I did not return them right away. Then I remembered the check card I had on file with them for movie rentals. I went to the bank and cancelled that card. Too late: they had already hit me with a $186 early cancellation fee. I had the bank reverse that charge (we are still working on it, with little hope), but at least they cannot charge me again.
I told them I was putting their equipment on eBay and asked whether they wanted to bid on it (money order only, since your credit is not good with me). Then I learned from an angry man, the person I sold it to, that no one would be able to use the equipment. Wanting to get back at them, I mailed the two equipment boxes back empty. Then I emailed them that I had made a mistake and asked them to please send me two more boxes. I wonder how long I can keep doing this before they catch on.
I own a business servicing yachts. If I treated a customer the way they have treated me, I would be out of business within a week. I do not see how they get away with being so contemptuous of their customers.
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