DirecTV took $646.12 out of my bank account without my authorization to collect on my daughter's account, only because several months earlier I had made a payment on her account to help her out. I never signed a contract with DirecTV, and I did not give them my banking information to use on the account when it was opened a year ago. I had paid with my debit card when my daughter fell behind, and I had no idea that doing so would let them keep my information on file and use it this way.
I phoned and spoke with 9 different people and received 9 different answers. They ranged from promising to refund my money to saying there was nothing they could do, because a new policy introduced 4 months earlier means that anyone who pays on an account with a debit card is giving DirecTV permission to use that card information to collect past due bills.
The last person I spoke with was in the Office of the President. That person told me I would be refunded $203.50 for the return of the cable box, but nothing more, and that it would be processed right away. A week later I am still waiting for that $203.50.
Because of this, I cannot pay my rent, and an eviction notice could be served on me at any moment. My husband has been out of work for 4 months because of a serious health condition and may never be able to return to work, so what DirecTV did has put a severe financial hardship on us.
We contacted our bank right away about the fraudulent activity. The bank tried to help by faxing DirecTV the bank information showing that the debit transaction was on our account and not my daughter's. Now the bank says it can do nothing because of DirecTV's policy. We are not done with the bank either!
DirecTV should not be allowed to simply take money from people's bank accounts, least of all when no contract was signed and no authorization was given. Big companies like DirecTV need to stop doing this!!!
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