As I was reading other consumer complaintss about Direct TV, it was obvious to me that our situation was the same as others.
We purchased Direct TV when we moved into our new home. We were supposedly given the introductory pricing for 12 months. We also were told that our contract could be cancelled without penalties after 12 months of service. I think it is interesting how individuals all across the United States say they were told the same thing, but Direct TV states that each of these customers misunderstood the contract. We are apparently all wrong and they must be right... Our problem started with poor service.
From the time we had the dish installed, we were having problems accessing some stations. We would have mentioned it to the installer, however, he was too busy using a private bathroom in my house and helping himself to a bottle of water from the refrigerator. He didn't even bother to ask if we minded him using the bathroom or if he could have a drink? We have a common bathroom right on the first floor, however he chose to use one attached to a bedroom on the 2nd floor. Anyway, we were a bit taken back by his actions and didn't ask him to explain how to use the satellite service.
About 8 months into our contract, we started losing random stations. We disregarded it due to where we live, figuring we were having signal problems. 1 month later we lost all service to our televisions. I called repair services to report the problem and have someone come to our house to check it. I work during the day, so I had to call the repair line from my job. Since I didn't call them from my home telephone, they refused to assist me. They said I had to call from my home telephone so they could try to help me while I had access to the TVs. I did call them from my home and they did a troubleshooting session, but there was no response to this, so they agreed to send someone out. At the time of the repair, the service man told us that there was a piece that needed fixed on the satellite dish and that he had repaired it. We tried our TV's and they seemed fine.
Within about 1 week, we started losing random channels again and then lost all service. I called repair service right away to tell them what happened and they told me I would, again, have to wait until I was home in order to go through the troubleshooting process. I asked that they just send someone out because this was exactly the same problem as before and we were told it was a dish problem when they checked it the last time. The woman on the other end of the phone was very rude and stated that it didn't matter how many times they were out to make repairs, this was their procedure and I had to follow it. I explained that I understood that, but since it was a continuation of an all ready known problem, I felt they should send someone out as an exception. The rep told me that she would not even file the repair request until I called from my home and allowed them to go through the troubleshooting process. At that time they would request another service visit. Then I was told that since I didn't have a repair service plan included in my contract, it was going to cost me for them to service our dish again or I could purchase the repair plan and that would cover it and any further problems. I purchased the repair plan and then asked if they would please send someone out? They refused. I tried to call in the evenings from my home, but I couldn't get through due to the high volume of calls in the evenings. It took me almost a week to get through on the phone. I again, went through the troubleshooting process, with no success, of course. At this point in time I was without TV for almost 4 weeks. Now, in order to send someone out, I had to pay my bill in full to get my account paid. I requested a credit for at least 4 months of service that we didn't have. They offered to give me a partial credit, but they would not credit me for any time that I was not at home to allow them to do the troubleshooting over the phone. I explained that we had experienced channel issues from the time of installation and also how inappropriate the installer was in my home. They apologized for the installer and said unfortunately, they don't work for Direct TV, they are independent contractors we hire to do all of our installations, so there wasn't anything they could do about it.
At this time, I felt they should either credit my account for the entire time we were without service and send someone out asap to repair the dish or allow me to cancel my contract and waive the cancellation fee. They refused to do either. I also refused to pay for service we did not have. They told me that I signed an 18 month service contract and the cancellation policies are clearly written, so they could not waive those fees. This is when I reminded them that I was told it was an 18 month contract, but could be cancelled or changed after 12 months without paying fees. Of course, like everyone else who has filed complaints, I am the one who misunderstood the terms and should have read them more closely.
I decided that since I was within 2 weeks of 1 year on the contract I was going to go without the service and then cancel it. I also remember being told at the time of purchase that 12 months would release all fees associated with changes and cancellations.
I called and cancelled my service after the 1 year date and then received a bill for 3 months of regular service, which I didn't have, an early cancellation fee and a fee for not returning the digital boxes and a piece from the dish. The fees and bill were in excess of $300.00. After contacting the return equipment department, they did send me pre paid return boxes and then removed that fee from the bill.
I was in both phone and internet connection with this company with regards to them not providing the service they guaranteed on their contract, so I felt they were as much at fault of breeching a service contract. They agreed to provide service and we agreed to pay for that service. When we lost the service, I do not feel we should have to pay for it. They have since sent me to collection and are refusing to reduce the bill in any way. I find this company to be very dishonest and would not ever give them a good reference or recommendation. They definitely do not service what they sell.
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