DirecTV
Told Move Reset Two Year Contract, Then Charged on Cancelling

After nearly two years with this company, I was ready to move. In order to get my ducks in a row, I called ahead of time to see what I should do. I was navigating the phone tree when I realized that the best category for my question was the cancellation people, so I eventually spoke to one of them.

That was a mistake.

The people in this (cancellation) department were nothing like those in any other department. These are your typical collection-type people. They are no doubt put in this department because of their dirty, ruthless personalities.

Anyhow, I told the person I was thinking ahead to my cancellation, and that's when the lies began. The lady put me on hold, and when she returned she said that although I had had the service for nearly two years, the fact that I moved meant that the two year contract (which is in the small print and never mentioned, ever - I was under the impression I had a one year contract) had been reset from the date of my move, one year earlier. That is, because I moved in the middle of the 2 years, the clock had been reset for the contract. Again, no one ever mentioned this to me, and no paper stating that was sent to me.

So I called them on the lies. I told them I was never told of this rule, either by a representative (when I called) or by the installation representative (who moved my equipment).

The lies: First, they said I had agreed to this new contract on the piece of paper that the installation rep had me sign (except I did read this carefully). So I told them that I did read the paper and it did not say such a thing. She put me on hold, and hung up. [I think that by hanging up on you, they let it sink in and you may believe it. It gives them time, and if you didn't get their name and number, they can deny the lies.]

I called back, and a new girl told me a similar tale. I told her I read the installation papers carefully and that it does not say the contract starts anew. She recommended that I get a copy of this contract to verify [I smell something fishy]. She now added that when I ordered the move to a new address in the middle of my contract, I verbally agreed to reset the beginning date of the contract. She asked to put me on hold and hung up on me too.

I called back, and they agreed to review. Meanwhile, to get it on paper, I started asking if what I was told over the phone about the verbal agreement and the installation paper was true. I got blown off several times, but I demanded to speak to someone and I eventually got a call.

The person was apologetic but never admitted that those were lies. She simply agreed to review the whole thing.

If I had simply paid them, I would be out over 200 dollars.

At one point, I failed to mention, one of the first two people I spoke to added that I could instead pay 99 dollars for the installation and keep my original start date.

Later, while waiting for their decision, and to seem on top of things, I called them again. I was told I was correct on all counts. I asked the girl to send me what she had just said in writing. She said they do not do that. I was afraid that they were just saying it and going to screw me in the end anyway. She said that because 2 months were left on my contract, I could cancel for 50 dollars. I told her to cancel my account.

Predictably, they charged 280 on my credit card without asking.

I began a new campaign, and after over one week they returned all but the $50 plus tax. And when I complained about the 280, I had to put up with more reps hanging up on me by accident, and a few of them told me that the charges were correct (like starting from the beginning).

The lesson: When dealing with DirecTV, always take names and phone numbers at the beginning of the call. If legal, record these liars, fight back, tell everyone you know about their tactics, etc., or better yet, never deal with DirecTV, like me.

Company: DirecTV
Country: USA
Site: directv.com

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