I have been a customer of DirecTV for quite a few years now. In either December or January, I contacted customer service to inquire about an HD DVR upgrade.
Prepared to pay full price for the upgrade, I was told that because I had been a customer for so long I qualified for a free upgrade (retail of which is $199.99), provided I sign a 2-year contract agreeing to stay a customer of DirecTV for at least another two years. I informed the representative that the weather was not great at the moment and I had two inches of ice on my roof. I told him that I did not want a technician climbing on my roof in those conditions and asked if I could call back when the weather broke. He said that would not be a problem, that he would make a note on my account, and that I could call back anytime.
When I called back less than two months later, I was informed that no such offer was ever made, implying that I was just making it up, and that there was nothing they could do.
I contacted customer service a third time, and after speaking with a "specialist," I was told that they do in fact have a record of that offer being made, but it was now expired. I informed them that the weather conditions were too dangerous when I made the original call and that I was told I could accept that same offer once the weather broke.
They informed me that the representative should have told me I would have to accept the offer then and there or it would not be valid. I was never informed of this. I asked why they would not honor their agreement, considering this was not my mistake but the fault of DirecTV. All they did was apologize for the misinformation and say I was no longer eligible.
I also attempted to e-mail DirecTV and explain the situation. Every time I replied to an e-mail, I was sent to a different person and had to explain the entire situation all over again. When I replied to something a representative said, I was sent to another rep who would repeat the same "Sorry for the misinformation, you're no longer eligible, nothing we can do" spiel.
I received no answers to my questions as to why I should be responsible for a mistake on their part. How do I know that the second representative was not mistaken in telling me there was no valid offer, since he was obviously mistaken when he said I never called in the first place? I also asked why this was becoming such an issue. I am a premium member paying over $100 a month for service, and they refuse to honor an agreement they made with me over $200. They would make their money back in a matter of months, but now I am cancelling my service, so they will be losing out on much more money than if they had just honored their offer.
"Customer service" at DirecTV is an absolute joke. You are bounced all over the place, nobody knows what they are talking about, and everyone will tell you something different. I strongly advise anybody considering signing up for service to reconsider your decision.
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