Direct TV definitely gets the award for The Absolute Worst Customer Service Ever. I have been with them for around 10 years and had no real problems until recently.
My mother became disabled over a year ago. She was still able to take care of her financial obligations until recent months, when I started having to help pay her bills. One of those bills was for her Direct TV service. I used my bank debit card to pay her bill online several times. Things finally got to the point of my not being able to keep everything going for her. She let her service with them go. Lo and behold, after a couple of months, they charged my debit card for her bill!
I immediately called them and was told there was nothing they could do, blah, blah, because the card was used to "open the account". I explained that it most certainly was not. Finally, after waiting on hold forever, they told me that it WAS their fault and that they would refund the money they charged me as well as any bank overdraft fees that my account might incur as a result of this unexpected charge. They told me to fax a copy of my bank statement with the charge, which I did the very next day. I then called them back to let them know that it had been faxed. They proceeded to tell me on this call that they could do NOTHING to rectify the situation!
I then waited on hold for *22* minutes to get a supervisor. The call finally disconnected without anyone ever having picked up. I called back, more than a little angry. I still tried to keep my cool as I was transferred to a supervisor. Well, as calm as I was, she was NOT. She talked to me like I was GARBAGE! As I tried to explain the situation, she kept cutting me off and talking over me.
I told her that I was really aggravated because I had been told one thing the day before and now they were telling me something else. She kept telling me to call my mother since it was her account that was paid with my card. I told the lady that I HAD spoken to my mother and that I had her bill right in front of me. She then kept telling me that she couldn't discuss my mother's account with me! I finally lost my cool. I told her that the only other call I would be making would be to an attorney.
She got very angry then. She told me that if I was threatening legal counsel, then she was done talking to me, and she hung up. I called back and told the girl who answered that I wanted a supervisor and wanted one right then. She was very nice, and she told me point blank that I would get NOWHERE with a supervisor if I hadn't gotten anywhere already. She proceeded to look over my account details.
I told her to just cancel my service with them completely. She eventually talked me into giving them a chance to try and fix the problem. She told me again that they would get my erroneous charge reversed, but that they couldn't do anything about the overdraft fees at my bank due to the charge. So she offered me a $10 a month discount on my bill and the movie channels free for 3 months.
I told her to do that and I would think things over. I am just going to wait and see what they end up doing. But as bad as I hate to leave them, I am pretty sure that I will be doing just that no matter what. I cannot stay with such a rude, dishonest company like this. Even though I don't like Dish network, I will probably be back with them within a few months.
I just wonder, does anyone think that there is class action lawsuit potential here? Direct is doing this kind of thing to a LOT of people, it seems. They keep telling me that by using my credit card to pay on someone else's account, I "attached" my card to that account and that it is perfectly legal for them to then use that card to clear up account balances. HUH??? I have read their "Legal" notices and can find NO place that says that!
One more little note: what do you want to bet that they end up trying to charge me for those "free" movie channels after 3 months, unless I "call and cancel them"?
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