I have had a similar nightmare with the Direct TV installation crew, but I didn't find out that Direct TV and the "Direct TV installation crew" were in a sense two separate entities until I was transferred several times through every department to clear up a cancellation order because their service was terrible.
First, I ordered Direct TV with premium channels. Second, they scheduled their install with the standard 4 hour window, OK. Next, they arrived and installed the dish on the wall, and then we found out my community HOA says it must be installed on a pole in the ground. Mind you, I'm not the first customer in my neighborhood. Shouldn't they have known this and been prepared properly? "YES," but that wasn't the case, and they wanted to charge me additional money.
Then they cut my original cable coax on the exterior instead of simply unscrewing the connection. After that, they proceeded inside to remove a splitter that looped my 1st floor with the 2nd floor cable outlets and said they needed to run new coax up the exterior, into the front bedroom, through my hall and into the second bedroom in order to install my two receivers for those bedrooms. Oh, and this wasn't going to be free. There was going to be a charge for this decorator cable running on my floor through my house.
Fortunately, my wife said no to all their ridiculous suggestions, and they left having installed 1 of the 3 receivers ordered, and with no evidence of a work order and the discrepancies discussed with their potential customer.
So I turned on my Direct TV to find out I have basic cable channels and no premium channels as ordered. At this point I was ready to cancel, which took me five days, including Saturday and Sunday, because of the absurd operators who transferred and disconnected my calls. Finally, when I spoke with an operator and canceled everything for poor service, they told me they were going to charge me for the days I used my Direct TV with basic cable channels. Mind you, before Direct TV my basic cable was on and working because of the HOA arrangements with the local cable company. And in order to dispute the charges, which would be around "$8.33," I would have to write a letter to another Direct TV entity. Are you serious?
It doesn't end there. Then I had to start on getting their equipment returned so I wouldn't get charged a ridiculous fee for the junk it is. That took another set of phone calls, only to be transferred and disconnected several times before reaching the notorious installation department, to find out why no one except myself knows I have only one receiver, not three. Finally, I hoped they had cleared up this cancellation nightmare. Nope. They sent three boxes for their equipment, only I couldn't figure out how to fit the satellite in the other two boxes. After more calls, I found out the other boxes are for 2 receivers never installed, and the satellite is mine. Like I want your satellite? "NO." I guess it really is that poor, since their own company doesn't want it back.
And so I thought it was over after they canceled the 2 FedEx labels that were prepaid by them. Thanks for something, right? "No," not quite. I got a bill for 137.00 for cancellation fees. Cancellation of what? I was never your customer because you never gave me customer service.
I didn't have a contract with Direct TV for one receiver, it was three. My suggestion to them is to stop hiring unqualified installers and trying to charge customers for unnecessary work. By the way, I have been doing electrical work for 15 years plus, and if I ever told a customer an outlet can't be wired properly and came up with a solution like running an extension cord through their house for everyone to see and for them to live with for an undisclosed amount of time, I'd be out of business. It's not the holidays year round, and cords and cables should never be exposed year round either. Direct TV installers need to go back to Disney with their Mickey Mouse suggestion. Knuckleheads.
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