RateItAll: The Opinion Network

It seems all satilitte carriers suck.

Buyer beware and watch your statements closely.
Overall, the reception is pretty good when the sky is clear, but if it is very cloudy or there is even a little snow, it will go out.
The installer was great, and the customer service operators have been nice, but the hold time is quite long and the issues haven't always been resolved (i.e. never receiving promotional i-pod nano even after a few calls where I was told it would be sent, having cancelled or items not ordered or authorized show up on my bill even after calling about them).
The worst problem has been billing. They put the NFL Sunday Ticket Offer on a bill and I didn't read the fine print that says you will automatically be billed for the offer unless you call to tell them you don't want it. When I did call to get it taken off of my bill, the operator continued to try to sell it to me as well as other things I didn't want. I think it is unethical and just plain wrong for a company to put an offer on your bill then make you call them to cancel the thing you didn't order or authorize only to you with a hard-sell when you call.

Yep, every bad thing you've heard about them is probably true. So you end up having to choose between these losers or the other losers...like comcast...

Terrible!!! Customer service laughed at me when I called for service. The 3rd time in less than 3 months may I add. Then, on the last visit, they were 3 hours later than the 4 hour "block" they gave me. So I wasted my whole Saturday waiting for them to show up. I have been told my case has been "escilated", but it has now been 2 months and I have still heard nothing back.

We're on the phone right now with the bloodsuckers, similar to Frank's story: We just had a storm come through last night, of course we lost our TV during the story (another great feature of satellite), and waited for the signal to come back... never came back last night. Got up this morning, nothing.

We called the schmuck support, and they told us that we'd either have to pay $80 for a service call (first availability: five days from now), or sign up for their protection plan (sounds like the %#(& mafia if you ask me), and it'll STILL cost $20 (for the pleasure of waiting 5 until monday). We asked to talk to the disconnect dept, $340 to cancel, and then they offered to waive the fee, credit the time w/o service, and $10 for 6 months. I tell ya, it'll be the best $300 i ever spent.

And if you're reading this and thinking "awwww, these are just disgruntled customers, nuthin' makes them satisfied", try this: Unmentioned charges (as the converter charge / outlet, NEVER mentioned at the kiosk), charges popping up unsolicited (Protection plan, added when man replaced converter 1 week after installation), no TV when bad weather comes, and all around crappy service.

i have updated the websites

http://hatedirectv.blogspot.com/

and

http://ihatedirectv.wordpress.com/

please visit and share your stories of hate for this wretched company in order to save others from the misery brought on my their horrible practices.

You are not alone. I wrote a similar "Hate Blog" for DirecTV a year ago: http://hammerwords.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/hate-and-directv/ A search for "hate directv" turns up an amazing number of sites. These guys have really worked at being the most hated company on the planet. I LOVE their new commercial: it's an Orwellian response to the public's total loathing in which DirecTV trumpets its "#1 Customer Satisfaction Rating." In what universe is that? Wow -- a new low for the cynical advertising industry: if we say it on TV, they'll believe it (until the customer meets the seventh level of hell, DirecTV Customer Service.)

I created a website to share my story about how much I hate directv. please take a look and leave a comment.

http://hatedirectv.blogspot.com/

Directv has a very bad customer support. After the storm, my oval antenna was not able to receive signal and the receiver report bad reception. Called support, was put on hold for 30 min then was told to wait for the signal to come back for at least a day?!. Waited.. still no signal after a day, I called back and was told to have a technician out at my expense?! Since they provide service, isn't their duty to make sure there is no interruption of service? I was paying without receiving service. If anyone out there is experiencing the same inconvenience, we probably should get a class action against them. They are ripping us off. For now, I think I will cancel the service and go back to cable. A little more pricey but you get what you paid for...

DIRECTV
P.O. Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 80155-6550

July 8, 2008

RE: Order #53173816, Account #809281183

Dear DIRECTV,

In mid June I received an email solicitation from your company offering an introductory package for $29.99 per month for 12 months I have been a Comcast customer for many years but was interested in reducing my bill (Comcast was $120) so I called the number listed. I explained my situation, that I have 4 TVs and wanted 1 DVR. The female representative oh good Lord dont I wish I had her name and contact info now - that I spoke to said that would all be included at the $29.99 per month fee. At my request she also added a 3 month free trial of the premium package including HBO, and explained that after the 3 months my total package would increase to $52 but I could cancel the Premium at that time. She told me a technician would come to my house and install everything for free.

I reviewed all of the information above with her: 3 standard receivers, 1 enhanced receiver; Choice package; free install; 3 month Premium trial = $29.99 per month for 12 months if I committed to 12 months. She confirmed this was accurate.

I placed Order #53173816 and reconfirmed: 3 standard receivers, 1 enhanced receiver; Choice package; free install; 3 month Premium trial = $29.99 per month for 12 months if I committed to 12 months. She confirmed this was accurate.

Problem #1:
Installation occurred July 1. The installer said that if he had to get in the attic where the cables ran it would cost me $75. I was home, I didnt want to pay $75 and I didnt want to argue with the guy that I was told it would be free, so I climbed in the attic and spent 4 hours running cable in my 100 degree attic. Drilling, cutting holes with my saws-all, filthy dirty, wasp nest up there. Great, whatever, saved $75, all done.

Problem #2:
The system was not programmed for the premium package with HBO. I had to call and get that turned on. Whatever, all done.

Problem #3:
Got my first bill yesterday - $75.12! What? That doesnt sound like $29.99! So I called in and learned that I never filled out my rebate. Rebate? She never mentioned a rebate. I repeat, never, never, never did the word rebate come out of the ladys mouth when I placed Order #53173816. But the guy on the phone said he would fill it out for me. How much is the rebate? $23.00. But $75.12 minus $23 equals $52.12, and my deal was for $29.99? That is without the receivers, he says. The receivers were supposed to be included I reconfirmed the terms of the deal twice. Well, they arent, blah blah blah. (Turns out the actual terms of the deal were on the piece of paper I signed when the installer was done watching me climb around my attic. I should have read it better, stupid mistake, trusting DIRECTV to be honorable turns out you are actually dirty thieves.) So I told him: Listen, either you give me the terms of the deal I agreed to or send someone out to disconnect me. In fact I encouraged him Please, please, please just give me what I was told I would get so I can move on and we can all go about our busy lives! I really just want to stick with you guys and be done with it! No can do. He put me on hold while I was connected to the disconnect people.

Problem #4:
Disconnect lady says I am supposed to pay a $20 per month cancellation since I am not fulfilling the terms of the contract. To avoid this I had to cancel within 24 hours. Who cancels within 24 hours? The thing worked, I saw no discrepancy until I received my bill, why would I cancel? (In fact you know hardly anybody is gonna cancel within 24 hours, dont you, you sneaky little scumbags you trick people and force them to stay or steal their money even though you didnt provide a service. Well I cancelled that card this morning and what a fuckin headache that is going to be for me! But thats all right, youll never get a penny from me.) I told her, Look I really dont want to deal with this. Please, please, please just honor the deal you offered me so we can move on! No can do. So I cancelled the whole deal.

Problem #5
I have to ship the frickin things back!


It looks like Comcast will be around $70 per month, staying with DIRECTV would have saved me about $20 per month. But I cant stay with you because I think you are liars, and I wont tolerate that dishonesty. The whole thing seems like a big sleazy scam which assumes most people wont go through all this hassle and then cancel.

Maybe you think I am scamming you to save $22per month (that would be the $52 you want me to pay minus the $29.99 I was told I would pay). Really, I love saving money but Im not that poor or bored and I have better things to do. So now you dont get my $22 per month, but you do get a guy who hates DIRECTV. A guy who will take any opportunity to bad mouth you. I will never ever buy anything from you again. Ive already

Not only do the customer service reps give you different answers, they transfer you to places that do not even exist. I have worked in customer service for 5 years and I would never treat anyone the way I was treated. I will admit I was very upset with the customer service rep and I apoligized for being rude to her, but I was also on the phone with this company for over 3 hours. I was transfered and given a different answer with each customer service rep I talked with. I also talked to a person in a different state each time I was disconnected. What is going on with this company. I was also suppose to get the refer a friend discount and well I don't think anyone in the company knew how to enter this information into the computer. And the go green what a joke I was told I only had to give them my email address well you really have to go online and set up to pay your bill online before you get your discount - what a freaking joke. I would not have had a problem but I was NEVER told this by the sales rep - which is another joke when it comes to using direct tv services. Make sure you check your bill because to receive that discount you also have to go online and and I never given that information either. And make sure that the stupid person who is sent to your house to install the Direct TV service knows what cables they can and cannot use. They use whatever cable they feel like even if you notify them that you are going to be getting internet - which does not even matter to them because they will still use someone elses cable and then when you call in to complain about not being able to get internet service the freaking customer service rep tells you it is your fault becuase you did not tell them that the cable was going to be used by the internet company - well if I knew that freaking information I would have installed the stupid dish myself and not paid these morans to come to my house!! And yes like you all unless I want to get screwed up the backside some more I have to stay with this stupid company for 2 freaking years or just bend over and take it - EVERYONE BEWARE THIS COMPANY IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME - if the wonderful customer service rep tells you that a supervisor will call you back between 24-48 hours don't hold your breath they never call and they are not willing to help you out at all - I would not give them a star but I have to so it will post my comment

Check this, I'm enrolled in autopay and I haven't checked a bill in a few years. When I finally did, they've been overcharging me for 10 months! And to top it off (and this is good), they can only credit me back for 60 days!!!!! I'm done with this company, I'm going to start shopping around for something else.

DIRECTV is without a doubt the worst company that I have ever dealt with. They were so bad that I filed a complaint with the attorney general of Arizona. I do not know how they stay in business. They do not even rate a zero much less a one. Their customer service is awful. They cannot seem to get anything straight. Nobody knows what is going on. When I called they kept switching me from one person to another and I almost always got disconnected. It is like they intentionally hung up on me.

They promised me a $100.00 rebate if I signed up right away. After signing up, they refused to honor that commitment. They said that my monthly bill would be $29.99 Then, I received a bill for $62.96. They sent the wrong equipment to my home and I had to wait two weeks before I finally got service. They did not tell me that I had to pay extra for each additional receiver. And the reception was not that great.

I spent many hours on the telephone over a period of two weeks with them trying to resolve issues. I also sent email which they did not respond to. It is difficult to believe their incompetency and lack of comprehension. Every time I talked to someone, it was a bad experience. Finally, after wasting my time and accomplishing nothing. I decided to cancel them and to not even bother trying to talk to anyone from DIRECTV regarding the issues I was having.

Actually, they would not really cancel my contract. Instead, they suspended my service and then I would receive emails that they were going to reactivate my service. So, I would have to call in and stop the reactivation. A contract between two parties means that each party agrees to do something. Well, they broke their agreement but wanted to hold me to mine.

My contract was for one year. I called in a few days before my contract was due to expire and told them to cancel me just after the expiration date so that I would not incur an early cancellation fee. They cancelled me early (against my orders) and then charged me an early cancellation fee. Now, why would I wait 361 days and then cancel my contract. In fact, we had no contract the moment they violated their agreement.

I sent back their equipment via FedEx. They said they did not receive the equipment and charged me for it. I have the FedEx tracking numbers to prove that I returned the equipment.

I finally refused to pay them anything. They turned over my account to a collection group who started calling me on a regular basis.

When I switched to DISH network, everything went perfectly. They were efficient and had good customer service. I was with them for over a year without any problems whatsoever.

Buyer beware! You will be locked into a two year contract including the purchase of the satellite disc. Only 24 hours to cancel. Cancel after 24 hours and there is a $460.00 cancellation fee.

Maryland has a 15 day cancellation window. Reps are quick to charge fees. Check your state's policy.

I wanted to try Directv since I was moving into a new home and had been using cable for years, so I was open to trying something different. I already had my own receiver given to me by a friend so I thought it would be a good idea to use their service. Until they tell me they will charge me an extra $50 a month because I'm using my own receiver. They want me to "lease" theirs to me and charge me every month for it...wtf? On top of that they tell me I will need TWO dishes installed onto my roof...wtf again? Read the small print too, you will be charged an early cancellation fee if you decide it sucks, plus the monthly fee goes up after the "trial period". Looks like I'm going back to Time Warner cable.

They drilled up instead of down and put a hole in the middle of our family room in home we just bought. taking forever to get rug replaced. not to mention only 2 of our local channels in HD

EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED - Would have given zero stars if I could! We recently moved and scheduled the moving package. My installation appointment has been rescheduled 5 times now. Directv's satellite installation company is out of under eave mounts, claiming that they get them from Directv. We got a call from the installation company, Ironwood Communications, today saying they MIGHT get them in by July 8th - over a month after I scheduled the install! I've been calling Directv every day looking for answers and no one is able to help me with this problem. They claim that we have to wait for the installation company to get the mounts, which come from DIRECTV! The customer service reps are rude and not at all sympathetic to the fact that we won't have tv for a month. I just sent an email to the corporate office about this issue - we'll see if I get a response.

After about a year of service, my DVR failed for a second time. After 45min of troubleshooting with customer service, they requested 1 additional test, then they would send a new DVR. I called back after the test failed and was informed by a supervisor that they never replace DVRs with my troublecode without a service visit, which will run about $75. After further conversation, I found they had been billing me for an additional receiver that I never ordered or received. I finally cancelled my service, figuring I'd pay a termination fee and be done with DircTV. I was wrong. Apparently as the supervisor was messing and unmessing my account, she re-activated an existing receiver, which reset my contract date. After much discussion after receipt of the high cancellation fee, the service rep agreed that the service date was false, but would have to forward the info to investigations, who would then follow up with me. Weeks later, I received a call not from investigations, but from a collections agency. A call to DirecTV revealed that the investigator simply rejected the claim. I put in for further investigation... the saga continues

DTV CS is staffed by a bunch of bumbling idiots. So this is how they take care of loyal customers looking to upgrade their service: I ordered the HD upgrade for my existing service, (which includes a DVR), wait two weeks for the install, and the tech shows up with an HD receiver, not an HD DVR. Suddenly, my FREE HD upgrade has upgraded itself to $200 + shipping and another week of delay. The installer tells me this happens all the time and he hates it because he loses money showing up and then not being able to bill for the service call. We also changed our weekend plans to make ourselves available for their oh so precise sometime between the hours of 8am and 12pm window of installation opportunity. Customer dis-service plays totally dumb, apologizes, but is unwilling to issue any credits for wasting my time citing company policy. What a load of crap. Verizon, where is your FIOS?

Directive sucks:

Same case a everyone else, the only difference being one of their supervisors - Carol, offered to refund 120$, instead of the whole amount. I refused and asked her to escalate the matter to the "account management" for the second time. But nothing got resolved.

Just called them the third time today, I think it is really stupid that Directv does not address line of sight problems; for it is their inability to provide the service and we are made to pay for it. Even more stupid is the fact that Directv spends more money in the form of salaries of Customer Reps trying to talk customers into giving up the claims than to just pay the customers and keep them happy. Now they have to pay atleast 200-300USD to a CR for addressing this problem per customer, if the customer talks to Directv for 3-4 hrs in total, on different occassions. I also got them to reactivate my account so that the cancellation fee can be credited back by asking them to set up a new installation. This should cost them something more, for the technician like the 2 others before would report a line of sight problem. This would make Directv pay more .

There is no thing wrong with the Directv customer service, it is just their policy to levy an early cancellation fee in cases where they cannot provide service. That is what I am pissed off and intend to make Directv pay for that.

Please join me in calling their Customer service more often especially in the after hours so that they burn more money in trying to talk us out rather than just pay it and be wiser moneywise. :(

directv charge you fraudulently for contracts or equipment which you have not ask for or have returned.

Prior to ordering DirectTV, I called and asked if ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC would be available in HD, the customer service provider assured me that they were not only available, but that they would be installed and working before the installer left. The installer left and no HD was available. After an hour on the phone with cust service, I was told that the previous person lied to me and I could NOT in fact get these channels. Over the hour I spent on the phone, my wife realized that the sound was dropping out every 7-10 minutes. Unfortunately, I was informed that this was a "known issue" and DirectTV would need to send me a "refurbished" unit. At this point I cancelled the service... After being a proud owner for 3 hours, I'd been on the phone for 1.5 hours, explained the situation to 7 different people and can't imagine a worse experience. Maybe Cox Communications isn't so bad after all.

I know everyone has there own opinions about how service is rendered. Things can be frustrating on both ends of customer service. I read all of these reviews and not in one have I seen anything along the lines of how you treated us representatives. Yes I work for the protection plan of Directv and in your copy of the protection plan it does say you have to troubleshoot over the phone. You deal with one or two representatives if even that, try putting up with 100's of customers calling in cussing and screaming and treating you like a 3 year old child. No offense but we don't deserve it at all. Yes there are times our system is updating but we still try to get everything resolved over the phone. Yes you may be transferred but if you want to get around all of the headache of the phone system and being transferred a thousand times Press"0" and ask for the PROTECTION PLAN. Most reps in the protection plan do know how to setup installations and work with your billing. We do understand that as customer you can get frustrated with being transferred and put on hold and getting different stories, however we get just as frustrated as you do bc we are the ones being talked to like were 3 years old. I don't deserve that so what if your satellite is out for 5 minutes go play with your kids or do something with your wife. Yes you pay for it but we can always give credit. If the screen shows were aware of this issue you don't have to call in and bitch at us because hey we already know it isn't working. We do try to strive to please each and every customer but how would you feel if I called your job and because I made you troubleshoot you call me a racist threaten to come to where I live, start calling me Master and ask if I want to hang you in your yard or burn a cross in your yard? or How bout I call your job and cuss you up and down left and right and yes we do apologize because we can't convenience you but most customer service reps don't last long because they feel they shouldn't be treated like dogs or be treated like they aren't even human. I have had the privelage of working with the company for almost 2 years now, which means I have had the pleasure of dealing with a ton of customers considering we take anywhere from 50 to 150 calls in one day you do the math. If you call us on a Sunday especially during football season expect a wait of at least 30 minutes because its football season. During the Winter season, expect service calls to be a few days out or anytime there is bad weather. Its because you aren't the only one having the problem there are others too. If you don't know that your satellite is going to go out in the rain by now then its useless because you know its going to so why even bother calling. I can go on and on forever on how we as representatives are treated by each and every one of you consumers. I do have the hd as well as a DVR and where I am at I go through hurricanes and everything and not one time have I ever lost reception and its because I have tweaked the alignment just perfectly so get a compass and azimuth and tweak your alignment. The only overseas call center DirecTv has is in the Dominican Republic, yes we have Spanish reps and other speaking reps but get over it. we are nationwide and accomodate how many millions of people in this country. Act like adults please and stop treating other human beings like they are nothing more than a piece of shit. Unfortunately for us we can no longer transfer to a supervisor unless customers specifically ask so you get to cuss us all day long and there is nothing we can do about it because we can't hang up either if we do we lose our jobs so you customers have us all screwed into dealing with the cussing, the whining, and the absolute horrible treatment we go through. I love my job other than the cussing screaming customers which honestly isn't as bad unless its later on during football season.
One more thing, your protection plan doesn't cover 3rd party damage, acts of God, or you changing the installation. so if your dog chews your remote or cables its going to be a charge or if you move your receiver and it doesn't work its going to be a charge.

Directv Customer Service Representative

Had to give DirecTV one star because no stars was not an option. I can't say I ever had a problem with the actual service, however their customer service is absolutely horrendous! I moved and tried to have my service moved with me, however they were not able to get a line of site. I was told that I am responsible for a $350 cancellation fee. I told them that I am not cancelling because I want to, they just can't provide service. I can't figure out how this is my fault! Was I supposed to take a DirecTv technition to look at aapartments with me? Does that even make sense? I am tempted to let it go to collections, just on sheer principle. I don't understand how this is not considered shady business practices. I would sooner eat $hit than get service through this company again! All of the customer service agents I spoke to, and believe me there have been many, agreed that they thought this policy was wrong, but not one of them could do anything to help me...

I had direct tv. for about thirteen years. When these new people bought them out they kept raising the prices sometimes a couple of times a year. I wanted to stay with them but they got too expensive. The package I had started out about 29.00 when I first got it and jumped to 53.00 when it was sold. I was bought my dish and receiver when I got it. They tried to keep me with then but we couldn't agree on a price. They screwed my sister also. Jerks... I don't like dish either. There programing is awful. They need some compitition to keep their prices within reach.

This company's policy seems to be "the more information you can hide from the customer, the more you can screw 'em." The sales and technical people give you NO information on what you're actually signing up for --a one year discount, but a 2 year commitment. I have been lied to and dicked around by sales, billing and technical support. I had billing issues for MONTHs where they were not giving me the monthly credit I was entitled to and I had to call and call and call. They installed a defective DVR. When they couldn't fix it they suggested I return it and lose everything I'd taped so far. When I said I didn't really want to do that, they told me to just send it back when I was ready and they'd replace the defective unit. NO mention that there were any time constraints. NO mention that to get a new box, even to replace a defective one, would extend my contract. HOW on earth is THAT fair?? I feel totally screwed over and will never do business with this company again!

I will never use Directv again. This is by far the worst company that I have ever dealt with. I have been a victim to many of the issues that have been stated on this web page and I am extremely disappointed with the level of service that I have received. I have spent at least 8 hours on the phone with Directv over the past two months, whether it is dealing with improper installation, missing channels, faulty equipment, intermittent service, or anything else. I have never felt this strongly about a company in my life. I am warning anyone interested in Directv, do not sign with this company. If you want the NFL Ticket, go to a bar or restaurant. Eventhough, you may spend money at the bar, you will live longer because you will not have to deal with the stress of being a Directv customer. It is not possible to be more dissatisfied than I am with this company!

I used to work for them, in the customer service department. Wondrland, I feel your pain. And to your dismay, there are actually SOME people (one in thousands) who actually care about you. I did. And I got fired for it (well coerced into quitting). I took hundreds of calls a day, only getting a ten minute break. They outsource all of their "Customer Service" to outside company contracts. Mine was a company called "PRC - Precision Response Corporation". Precision Response my ass. I know how it feels to live off of one income. And they ousted me. Because I was the only one who would tell the truth. I would. under the radar, hint that customers should seriously think about going to another company.I felt horrible, to work for a company that was a complete scam. Just because a company has millions of dollars and a piece of paper from the government saying they are a legit business, doesn't make it an actual "business". It can be just as much as a scam as one of those Multi-Level Marketing pieces of shit. And if they have millions of dollars in their account, then obviously they either are a good company...or a complete scam. In this case, I would have to say, they are a scam. I've never had DirecTV myself, but I've worked for those assholes, and my parents have them. They are supposed to have the 34.99 plan...but their bill is 60-70 dollars a month. These companies they outsource to, will hire ANYONE. Any dope that walks off of the street, so that is probably the source of most of their customer service problems. Letting someone else do the "dirty work" (as they say in that business) for them. I will never take the side of the customer service reps, even if I worked in that business. I've seen people on these review sites who, working for them, speak up for themselves saying "that they are working really hard, and we care, and i am trying to pay bills yada yada yada" Well, if you really believe in what you're saying, start doing something about it. If these people have mouths to feed, work at McDonald's. It's a lot better place there, believe me. They may have their problems....but they will never have as many problems as Directv when people start realizing what a joke they are. I was more or less pressured to quit by higher ups spying on every move I made. Then I got a final written warning for "offending" someone, on an elevator...and whatever I said...I said it AFTER the person got off. And after a few days of harrassment, I stuck it to them and quit...and did it the worst way possible...in the middle of the day, when they need you most.

I've seen some wild things while working there. Things that you would be disgusted by. Overcharging, making notes on people's accounts stating false pretenses, just because the person was "rude", so they can't get any refunds, fee-waivers, etc. It's horrendous. But, it's not shocking to say the least. Integrity? Please. Directv has the integrity of an orange. Hell, even an orange has more integrity than those shitwads.

I think everyone should send a letter to them telling them how much they suck. What's 35 cents postage to tell them how much of pieces of shit they are. :)

I have had DirecTV for 1 year and have had nothing but problems. Poor reception from day one-voice sych problems. Mouth moves but voice is off. All of the CS rep are misinformed. They all have different answers. No consistency. Automatic 2 year contract and each time you change equipment they up your 2 year lease agreement for leasing the equipment. Can never speak to a supervisor only a service specialist. Calls take an hour or more if you have any problem- they transfer the call-put your call in a que or hang up on you. You have to explain your problem again.The HD picture is not as clear as Dish Network. * * * * * * * * * DO NOT SIGN UP WITH DIRECTV. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Directv does not deserve even ONE STAR * * * * Terrible. Worst company ever!!!!!!!!

Directv is the worst company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. I have had nothing but problems with them since requesting they alter my package (channel selection), and then they billed my account almost $400 saying I owed them for the receivers and DVR I had. Maybe that would have been true had I canceled my service, but I had not. So, when I pointed out the mistake they told me they couldn't refund the money, they're not set up to do that. Instead they offered to credit my account!! Who the he** wants that kind of credit on a service?! I had checks bouncing left and right because of the unexpected and unplanned for charge, one I NEVER gave them authorization for, and their customer service people are steady offering me upgraded packages (at regular price, I might add)! I swear Directv will never get another dime of my money once that credit has been tapped out, and I would strongly recommend others to steer clear of Directv. They're a shoddy service with horrible representatives and absolutely NO grasp of what customer service means.

My house burned down and direct Tv is charging me two hundred dollars for the box! They may also charge me an early caancleation fee. Everyone else has been very kind and understanding. Even Net Flix doesn't want their buned up movie back. I was shocked when returning to my burn up home to discover a return box from directTV sitting on what is left of my porch. I was so angry i went in and ripped out the burned and melted box from my burned and melted tv and will be sending it back to them today. Think they will still charge me for it? I do. I will never use dircet Tv again! THEY ARE HEARTLESS! I worked in customer service all my life and they don't know the meaning of it at all!

Technical problems have been small, but billing is a huge hassle.

Even if you do everything right, don't cancel your service, and nothing breaks you will still be forced to constantly call customer service to fix billing errors, receive sign-up credits that mysteriously stop nine months early, or chase down refunds.

Join at your own risk.

On 4/7/08,I called DIRECTV to cancel my account and much to my surprise, I was told that I was still under contract. The rep stated that if I cancelled my account, a cancellation fee would apply. I was told that my contract was extended for 18 months, starting last December. He stated that I would have to pay $20 for each month of the contract, that was not completed. In my case, that total would be $280.00. My first issue is that last December, I called DIRECTV because one of my standard boxes was malfunctioning (through no fault of my own). The rep stated that it sounded like a manufacturing defect. She said that she would send me a replacement box in the mail. Now, I pay for the Protection Plan for all of my boxes, every month. So if anything went wrong with any of the boxes, I'm entitled to a replacement box, with no cost to me. So THAT coupled with the fact that I wasn't signing up for additional service or boxes for a different room, there was no reason to extend my contract. My second issue was that the rep NEVER informed me that she was extending my contract. Had I known, I would have continued to use the defective box, seeing as how I was considering leaving DIRECTV for Verizon anyway. Under NO circumstances would I have agreed to extend my contract. I was told that I should email DIRECTV to dispute any cancellation fee that I may incur. I sent an email to them, only to get a response saying that when I agreed to have them send me a "replacement" box, I was agreeing to an extended contract. Apparently, ethics have gone down the toilet with DIRECTV if they have to stoop to this level to maintain customers. I am disappointed at their lack of integrity. I will bite the bullet and pay the cancellation fee. For it is a small price to pay for ending my business with such an unethical company such as DIRECTV. I hope Verizon claims ALL of DIRECTV's customers.

I'm just going to let my latest letter speak for itself...

Direct TV Office of the President
P.O. Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 880155

RE: #025697778

To Whomever Might Listen to My Case, and Stop Quoting the Customer Service Manual,

I could take you through the hours spent on the phone, the letters faxed and mailed, and the complete and utter frustration of just having spent valuable time speaking with no less than four of your agents/supervisors in Phoenix.

But instead, I will tell you that Agent #1, Agent #2, Dexter and Alexandra all repeated the exact same information to me, ad nauseum, no matter how many times I explained to them that no, I did NOT receive notice of "pending programming activation", and no, I was NOT "fully and duly aware that service would resume August 12, 2007.

It would appear that what gets typed into a customer's account becomes sacred, no matter what misunderstanding might have transpired, and that no pleading of the customer to say, be human and have a heart, will be heard.

Bottom line. My account says we owe $80.17 in service fees I was "fully and duly aware of", and I say this is not true. Some mistake, somewhere, occurred. $80.17 means something to my family, with four children, on one income. It is probably not such a huge deal to Direct TV. I was told that no matter what my stance, "integrity is valued in our employees at Direct TV", so whatever note was on my account was there to stay, and influence the reversal, or lack thereof, of the fees aside from the early cancelation fee. What happened to the customer being valued? What happened to, oh, I don't know, giving a person a break and maybe admitting someone on Direct TV's end somehow could have misunderstood the situation?

To quote that last letter from Phoenix:

We could only assume service was satisfactory because we received no request to extend the suspension when we sent notification of the pending programming activation, and no statements were returned to us as undeliverable.

We suspended service in July of 2006 because we had to move to take a job. We moved in with my parents, who had their own TVs and systems. We had no means to use the services of Direct TV, and to this day, do not. I never received any notification of "pending programming activation", or interim statements, making me aware of compiling fees.

No matter how many times I tried to explain that I would have never allowed charges to add up, that until I started receiving bills in the amount of 164.17 in Sept. of 2007, did I even know this was an issue, I was repeatedly told "we have a notation that you were aware". I called in September of 2007 to be sure the account was canceled. I began disputing the charges in late fall of 2007, and in January of this year, received the letter stating that the charges remain valid, and therefore, should be remitted.

And really, while the money is an issue, almost worse is the most insulting, offensive tactic to repeat over and over "I understand, BUT..." as your representatives did today. If someone understood, I wouldn't have spent 2 hours on the phone while my baby was cranky and crying, and my neck got wrenched while trying to prepare lunch and simultaneously handle this matter, while being told each supervisor on up the ladder was going to be harder to convince to even take my call. Oh, and then the endless time on hold. Hearing the cheery lady tell me how great Direct TV is and how simple simple simple it is to sign up, and get what I really want in total entertainment. Really. Someone should really explain how difficult difficult difficult it's going to be if you have unexpected circumstances derail your plans to to be able to enjoy fast-forwarding and rewinding live TV for a contract minimum of two years. Also, you really should just tell your representatives to say, "tough shit sherlock", because that's really what they think. And honesty, while potentially brutal, is always so much easier to swallow. Or if they do care? Then give them the power to choose who they may think they might help out.

My dealings with your company over the last few months are exactly what all "The Man" jokes are about, and why we, who are not The Man, really love to hear stories about how somebody finally got to stick it to Him. Big corporations who play all that "we care about you, our customer" jazz on their automated phone systems, where it is nearly impossible to get a real, live human (and who does finally answer, is questionable, here) while we languish on hold, just waiting to ultimately be told we, and our case, don't amount to one tiny ant crap.

So yes. I am disputing the $80.17 in assumed satisfactory service. And you may decide I have not one child-clung-to leg to stand on, but I just couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't one person in all of Direct TV who might just have the power, the cajones, and maybe even the kindness to say, "Hey, we

Directv service itself has been fine but their "Customer Service" isn't. It's so bad no stars is too many, but the system required a rating... I snowbird between the NE and Florida. Last year I called to have service disconnected permanantly at one address(cause I sold the property) and they put notes in to suspend for 6 moths. Maybe I didn't understand but.... I had the service disconnected at the other porperty in Aug 2007. Now why would a company reactivate service at an address that I told them 6 moths prior I no longer owned? Well it seems they don't care. What you tell them isn't what they enter and their sytem does whatever it wants. I can't see the logic in re-activating service for a customer at an address where the customer told you to disconnect it because the customer no longer owns there or lives there. Seems a simple logic in their billing system could have avoided this bad customer experience and a little give and take from the reps in the billing department could have saved a customer for future business. I can assure you I will never buy service from DirecTV again. I'm paying them their measly $100 dollars and counting my belssings. I learned a lesson for a lot less that the $450 the other guy is paying.

I upgraded our service in September of 2006 to include HDTV. At the time, we were told that to upgrade we would be charged 3 payments of $99.66. After discussing the many problems we have had with our service and deciding to switch to Comcast, the sales person quickly offered the upgrade for $150 only. Please note that nothing about leasing the equipment was discussed. In fact, I was told we would now "own" the receiver that has a value of over $700. Feeling valued, we happily accepted the sales representative's offer. Unfortunately, we continued to receive terrible service (ie: receivers not working, not able to get movies we purchased, not able to watch TV at all with one of our receivers). So, we came to the decision that it was finally time to leave DirecTV. On February 12, 2006 we called and canceled our services. I was told that if we canceled, we would be violating our "contract" and would have to pay $112. This was a contract that we were NEVER aware of. In fact, we have NEVER SIGNED ANY CONTRACT WITH DIRECTV! This representative then went on to say that we would have to return the receiver that we were "leasing". This is the same receiver that in September of 2006, was sold to us in order to stay with DirecTV! I feel that DirecTV is completely dishonest and outright lies in order to gain a sale. We are disgusted at the treatment DirecTV gives their patrons.
When I talked to a representative about upgrading, there was no mention of a lease. I was told it was $150 to buy the receiver. Why does Comcast not charge anything for the same receiver in that case? No paperwork came with the receiver, and you will not find my signature on any contract agreeing to such a lease. If DirecTV can produce a contract or paperwork with my signature that states I agreed to a lease, I will be glad to send the receiver back. Otherwise, I believe I am the rightful owner of the receiver that I paid $150 for. Secondly, DirecTV keeps credit card #'s on file even when a customer is cancelled. They billed my card without any authorization for what they believe is the cost of the receiver ($470).

Where do I begin. 1 year of hell this was. Right off the bat, I was getting charged for HBO when it should have been 3 months free. Took 4 calls to get the charges removed. Next, I kept getting charged for their magazine, when I never authorized it. In the FOURTH month it finally did not show up. Next, I had a roomate who wanted an HD DVR, so he called up for the new equipment. He was told we'd have someone over for installation. Come to find out, since he was not the primary he couldn't add the equipment, so we were charged but did not get equipment until I authorized it (which took 4 calls for them to figure out - 3 more than it should have). Lastly, I cancelled my service this month, and come to find out my final bill includes a charge for MLB extra innings, an auto renewal they tacked on without me knowing. So let me get this straight, my roomate can't authorize additional equipment because he isn't me, yet MLB extra innings can just show up without me knowing, and a stupid magazine? right. Now, because it took 3 people an entire weekend to remove the MLB charge, I lose out on credits for days remaining in the month. I'm a big sports fan so I was drawn to them for the MLB and NFL packages. ITS NOT WORTH IT. my username is directvsucks2 because directvsucks was already taken. no surprise there.

By far the worst company I have ever dealt with. They would have been out of business long ago if it wasn't for Sunday Ticket (NFL), which you can't get on any other provider. I can't believe that they've got these commercials talking about how great their customer service is- who the heck is doing these ratings!?? Please, for the love of all things good, stay away from DirecTV.

I wouldn't even give DIRECTV one star if I didn't have to. They do not deserve it! We signed up for DIRECTV in July of 2007 and cancelled 2 months later due to faulty equipment, lack of communication throughout that company, no follow thru and employees that have no idea what they are talking about. I would STRONGLY recommed that you shop for other TV options. I DO NOT recommend DIRECTV at all. We are disputing our early termination fee because of all the B.S. we endured throughout the whole ordeal with them. Customer satisfaction is not high on their priority list and apparently the IQ of their employees isn't either. I will continue to deter people from going the DIRECTV route. So far I know of over 40 that I relived our DIRECTV story to and they have found other means of TV service and are completely satisfied! DON'T GET SCAMMED! CALL SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

I have had DirecTV for over a year now. I have only had one problem with a receiver, and they just replaced it and it is all good. My setup is the Premier Package, with HD Access Service. I have 2 standard DVR's, 1 HD DVR, and 2 Standard, basic Boxes. I only called DirecTV twice once for programming question, and one for the problem with my receiver. I never had an outage, and never had any problems like you people mention in your reviews. People are never happy in this case with Satellite, or Cable. Try reading the horror stories in the cable reviews.