Direct TV
Billed for 2007 Pay-Per-View Orders After Disconnecting Service

It is typical for a company to do this after I disconnect service and sign up with a competitor. I was a loyal customer for three years and had great service and okay prices. I had to call in several times for billing errors, overages on pay-per-view, or being charged when the movie was unavailable, but they always resolved the situation and the money was refunded or credited. I disconnected services in February, and my account had a credit (since they bill a month in advance and I pay my bill on time).

I got a bill from them on March 28th saying I owe pay-per-view charges from '07, two years ago! I quickly called them, and right off the bat I explained that there is no way I owe anything from so long ago. They gave me a scripted response about how the card in the modem or box tracks all pay-per-view orders and this charge was retrieved from the phone line connected to the box. I laughed and explained that my box was never hooked up to the phone because my phone line did not reach that far.

Plus, my orders were made via internet or cell phone. When I explained this to her, she responded with the same scripted paragraph. It was hilarious; every single word was read verbatim. She also included the remote control in her speech, and I explained how ordering pay-per-view via remote was impossible without using the phone line. So the response she and her supervisor gave me was exactly the same and bogus! Every account has space for notes, and in my notes it would clearly have stated how I ordered pay-per-view, which was not through the phone line or remote.

I even emailed customer service, and the reply was the same: they all claimed that the charges were valid. Ha! We kept track of every pay-per-view movie we ordered and paid for, since they had overcharged us in the past. They could not care less what I said or felt on this matter. But it seems clear: the customer service they boast about is terrible. Oh, let me not forget, the bill was dated the 28th, and I got an overdue unpaid debt collection letter dated the 30th! Finally they took the money out of the checking account unauthorized. No shame! Horrible!

Company: Direct TV
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: San Antonio
Site: directv.com

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