Over 1 year after signing up with DirecTV for a one year obligation to that service, we decided to upgrade 1 of our 4 set-top boxes from a standard box to an HDTV box. Unknown to us, when we did this (online, setbox delivered via FedEx) we later found that our obligation for ALL services and ALL set-top boxes was EXTENDED for TWO years. About 6 months later we were offered an outstanding deal to switch to Verizon FiOS and decided to take it. When we called to cancel services with DirecTV, we were told that we had to pay a $320.00 penalty for early cancellation. This is when I learned we had inadvertently extended our obligation. This was bad enough, but DirecTV took our debit card that we originally opened the account with and withdrew the funds from our account that night. We have always paid our bills with checks, always on time, never an exception... they just decided to take our money. We were simply very lucky to not have any checks bounce. Further, we never authorized electronic funds transfer for payments.

Then, adding insult to injury, we had a $71.00 credit balance for an overpayment on our account after cancelling services. We received an invoice showing this credit in October. In November we receive a refund check for $24.00, followed by a November invoice showing $47.00 of charges. When I inquired about these charges, I was told they were MISSED charges, over ONE YEAR ago, that they just found.

Unbelievable! We are good, honest people, and we take care of our obligations. My newest obligation is to make sure that I can influence as many people as I can for the rest of my life to NOT do business with DirecTV.

BTW... the DirecTV service is terrible whenever the weather becomes anything but sunshine with no wind. The move to FiOS is the best we ever made and the support services there are excellent.

Thanks for taking the time to read our thoughts.

I have recently moved into my brother’s house due to the fact that he could no longer afford the payment and choose to move to a rental. I called to get directv set up in my home. Directv told me that I would have to pay a $200.00 deposit and that each month part of that deposit would be applied back to my bill. That was fine, so I gave them my bank card information. They took the money from my account. I called to confirm my installation I was told to call another number. When I called I was told that my brother had not paid his bill from them in 2008 and until the bill was paid that they could not set up service for me and asked "Can you take care of this today". I told them it was not my bill and I was not willing to pay it. When I asked about my money I was told that it was nonrefundable and the only thing was dispute it through my bank. When I did this directv told my bank that my installation was never canceled so no refund could be issued. I called back and was given another number, then another number, then the second number I called yet again. They then told me that my account was pending and would remain pending until my brother’s bill was paid. I tried to reason with them telling them I do not live with my brother and will not pay his bill and that it is wrong for them to keep my money since I have never had service with them. They told me all I could do was contact my bank again or contact my brother to pay his bill. I do not work for directv and do not feel that it is my job to collect money on their behalf. I kept trying to explain myself and they said "there is nothing else I can do for you have a nice day", and at that point hung up on me. I have since then left a message with my bank, and filed a complaint with the better business bureau. I should hear something back within the next week. So as of right now I am still fighting for a refund of the money that was stolen from me. Be advised stay away from directv they claim to number one in customer service, but I have talked to many people who like me have had a very negative experience with them.

Ive had dtv for 6yrs and up to now no problems, the problem is that "YOU PPL" always call in asking for compensation for paying your bill or being a dtv customer for x amount of yrs, when in the real world what do you get when you pay your bill?..............services, idiots. The way i see it is that we have all probably been wal-mart customers for several yrs but we dont expect walmart to provide us with a free tv or steak for shopping at there stores, do we? Well same thing with dtv they are a business and in some cases theres certain dirt poor, freeloaders that are just a burden on the company itself and it actually cost more money to maintain you as a customer then what they get out of you, i mean some ppl i know call in want a free dvr upgrade and there acct is past due every month, probably has never been at a 0 balance...now why would dtv give this customer anything because i sure as hell wouldnt!!!!! quit being greedy and cheap you get what you pay for and maybe you should try being nice to your rep next time, i do and it always pays off. At the end of the day dtv will not make money by giving it away and the equipment they have in space cost a fortune to maintain, much less if you want the introductory price to last for the lifetime of your dtv services, and for godsake read the damn contract morons and you wont be having any issues.

I used to have DirecTV and the only reason I got it was NFL Sunday Ticket, boy was that a bad decision. They wanted another $100 for sunday ticket in HD ON TOP of the $300 i was already spending. I called to cancel and they threw all sorts of reasons at me why i shouldn't, but i pulled the trigger and i cancelled.

A relative of mine works at dish network and he gave me a special discount for friends and family. it was good for a $75 gift card. I thought why not since i had just cancelled with directv. i got it about a month after i signed up and it was great, the customer reps i worked with were very accomodating and polite.

Better yet, he told me the discount works for anyone because there's no validation process on the site, so you don't really have to be 'friends and family'.

if you're as fed up with DirecTV as i was, try dish network and get this $75 gift card too

http://www.dishnetwork.com/redirects/affil/default. aspx?kbid=friend

Absolutely the WORST customer service ever. I've tried and tried to work with this company for years (due to limited availability of options in rural areas.) Finally have had and am switching to a small local cable company, the customer service is the reason, period. From initial install, being delayed weeks, then the rep not being able to the math on where the installer was (hundreds of miles away and computing with time) telling me that they would be there even if it was midnight for a four hour install job, which of course I informed them they would not be, to errors on my bill, to being charged for services I never asked for and having to ask for them to be removed for a period of a year and half, finally received credit. Multiple issues of rude, arrogant, undeducated, unknowledgable, reps. Again this company has one of the worst customer service experiences ever, Avoid like the plague, the availability of channels is not worth the issues of dealing with this company, as well as being far over priced, hassles for networks as well as networks in HD. Plan to add six dollars a move per receiver on top of all other programming.

The most un-eductated about their product customer service reps ever. While watching the Major League Baseball package Ive had to call them numerous times when a game that should be broadcast is not available. They always revert to the "major league blackout" argument even when its clear that is not the problem. One rep even told me that MLB games were blacked out if they didnt sell enough tickets!!! LOL when I argued with her, she became indignant. I tried to explain to her if that was the case, there would be no games available on the package. She was confusing it with the NFL. No use. Usually after hanging up the games appears after a few minutes.

Also, dont buy the argument that you wont lose your signal during storms. Living in Florida Ive found out that every minor rainstorm will knock out your signal. Sucks when your trying to record something on the DVR.

Ever notice that you suddenly have to purchase a package upgrade to receive channels you used to with out it? SCI, ESPN Classic, FMC etc... all have been moved to a more expensive package.

Directv used to be at the top of the industry. Ive been a subscriber since 1996, but theyve taken their customers for granted and bled us dry little by little. This spring Ill be switching to FIOS since they now off MLB Extra Innings.
Happy Viewing

The PROTECTION PLAN is USELESS paid $5.99 extra every month for this plan but their TECHNICAL SUPPORT is NO HELP! I had an appointment for 8am -12pm and their Service Technician arrived at 2pm this happened to me twice! IT takes forever them to fixed the problem..

I wish I could rate Directv a 0! I realize that everyone complains no matter what service they have, there is always some sort of problem, bill, coverage, channels and so one. When we moved to a building that was not wired for cable we were forced to choose a satellite company if we wanted tv. We were told that the building was already for Directv and it was easy instillation with good service. I think you see where this is going.

As you might have already read instillation was not easy. No one showed up for multiple instillation request and even after it was installed we had a series of problems with connection, satellite interference and so on, and this was the easy part. So we sucked it up and just continued with the service.

Now 12 months later the promotional pricing ends our bill sky rockets up and we find ourselves in a bit of a pickle. (Just to note, throughout the 12 months we had several problems and could almost never get them resolved with one phone call.) We see all these promotional pricing and figure ok we will renew if we can get promotion pricing. NOPE! Can't get promotional pricing unless you are a FIRST time subscriber. So now I have to cancel my account and my wife has to sign up to get that pricing! This is just about the dumbest thing ever, and it all starts with our building and ends with Directv. This is the worst system we have ever had, and we have had just about every system from the East coast to the West coast. And to put the cherry on top they dropped Versus which is the primary NHL channel.

Summing it all up:
- NOT easy instillation
- Poor customer service with little or no resolve
- Non-competitive pricing after 12 months
- No more Versus
- Moving would be easier than signing up again

I would not do business with DIRECTV again if my life depended on it. I canceled my service almost two years ago and paid my last bill twice by accident. I have been writing, calling, and filing complaints to get my refund ever since. They acknowledged that I over paid by nearly $100.00 and have promised to issue the refund repeatedly. It is always the check is in the mail or it will be six to eight weeks. There representatives will lie to you and say I am processing the refund as we speak, but no check. Attempts to speak to a manager or supervisor will get you put on hold for several minutes and you will be disconnected before the supervisor gets on the line.

Don't believe the hype. Their satellite service is not that good and their customer service is horrible. If you are considering switching to DIRECTV, I urge you to reconsider.

terrible service. the installers cut the phone line into our house & STUFFED IT into the siding. When i called to cancel they acted like I had no rigth to be upset

WORLD'S WORST COMPANY!! Their customer service is horrible. I had to have the installation people come out 5 times, and all the while they charged me for service I didn't have. They have messed up my bill 3 times as well.

I moved and was not ready to do the move package. Rep said to put account into suspension for 9 months. After 6 months I noted that credit card was being billed. Had to pay for a month before entering suspended status again. Rep said I'd get an email notifying me that account was about to reactivate. No email. Same thing happened again several times usually about 3 weeks before suspension ran out. In all of this there was a credit balance (they owed me $$). Today when I canceled I was told there was no credit balance to refund.

Why did I not just cancel? I've been told for 3 years that DTV will have a TIVO box in just a few months. That's clearly been a lie. Rep said I'd lose my 10 years of good customer status if I canceled. Last week's rep said Oh no, that as long as I knew my old account number I'd retain that status.

On top of that I'd removed my credit card for auto billing. Today I was told any credit balance would be refunded to that card. How can they refund to a card that I'd deauthorized to them? Then I was told no credit balance anyway.

Today I canceled and I doubt I'll ever return, even if they do get a TIVO box. And I'd better not get a bill or a charge on my card!

I was switching from Time Warner Cable to DirecTV through Costco, so I called customer service to verify their package information.

Like others that reviewed here, the customer service rep that I dealt with was extremely rude, he kinda had an NYC accent lol

Yes, he answered my questions but kept insisting on having me sign-up over the phone instead of through Costco.com. He said that if I will still get the $50 Costco cash card, and he'll give me additional channels free for 3 months.

So he checked my credit and everything was good, and when he was about to finalize the order...there was "glitch" on his system that makes him unable to give me the free channels. I politely said I'll just do it through Costco, and he just went nuts!! I thanked him for his time and assistance, and he kept saying that I'm not welcome and to stop wasting his time....haha he went from ok and attentive to psycho in 2 seconds!!

Jeez if this is how DirecTV treats their potential customers, how would they treat you if you're a current customer and have service problems? So to wrap it up, STAY AWAY FROM DIRECTV!! If you do sign up with them, I hope you have better experience than me.

P.S. Don't waste your time asking for a Supervisor, they'll just transfer you to some Chinese customer service center, seriously.

DirecTV: 17 Reasons to Avoid It

For the past year, I've leased two high definition recorders and one standard def receiver and here's what I found:

1. Appointments are often either not kept, or when they are, are late. Phone calls are commonly not returned. Repeated attempts to resolve problems are futile. Some representatives are as pleasant as the Borg.

2. If DirecTV physically damages your audio video equipment on installation, they refuse all responsibility, refusing to pay for repair costs (after initially agreeing to do so and firing the installation tech). I'm out several hundred dollars in replacement costs for equipment the tech physically damaged.

3. Incomplete satellite dish installations, such as failing to replace an air vent screen thus allowing birds to nest inside your house, may occur. Expect black handprints on your walls.

4. Promised credits never materialize on the bill.

5. None of the equipment is guaranteed beyond 90 days; your choice is to either pay for an ongoing monthly service plan or the full cost of the repairs/replacements/dish realignments.

6. All too frequently the receiver must be reinitialized using the reset button; this takes 10 to 20 minutes, so if you are intending to watch a program, you're out of luck.

7. The remote is not ergonomically designed, with the buttons being unlit, very stiff and difficult to use for anyone with a joint disorder (and if you don't have one to begin with, you may by the time you've finished using this remote). Unless you hold the remote number keys down just the right amount of time, either the number will not register or it will be repeated (e.g., pressing channel 2 may result in channel 22). However, pressing and holding the up or down arrow key buttons does not result in cycling through a menu; instead you must press repeatedly to arrive at your selection. Response to commands is very slow. Unlike other remotes, this one is not at all forgiving if you do not point it directly at the receiver and TV. (Although one is located directly above the other, they may or may not turn on/off simultaneously.) It is white and dirties easily. On the plus side, the rubberized back keeps the remote from slipping around.

8. Only one channel is available from local stations that broadcast multiple channels. For example, the local PBS station broadcasts one hi-def channel and three standard definition channels, but only the former is available.

9. The audio and video are not always in sync; sometimes resetting the unit helps, sometimes not.

10. Changing channels is not instantaneous, in fact, not even close, taking 4-11 seconds.

11. Sometimes when the DVR requires resetting, previously recorded programs are not available.

12. Although you "purchase" the DVRs at $200 each when initiating service, you don't really own them and must return them to DirecTV or be charged once again for them.

13. Attempting to record only the new episodes of a series does not work if the same episode appears later in the day or the next day. The DVR will record multiple copies of the same show, unnecessarily using hard disk space.

14. At times, there is no reception when it is snowing; perhaps this is a problem with Dish TV, as well.

15. Unrequested pay-per-view program/movies sometimes appear on your list of recordings. DirecTV says these are “suggestions” despite the fact I’ve never used their pay-per-view service and certainly wouldn’t choose something such as “Monsters versus Aliens.” Be careful you don’t inadvertently click the wrong button or you’ll be charged for it. DirecTV says there is no way to keep these “suggestions” from appearing on your list of recordings.

16. They nickel and dime you to death with extra charges (e.g., more than one receiver, HD reception, equipment maintenance). The ultimate charge is far more than the advertised cost.

17. They bill for premium channels not ordered and then state since the channels were available reversal of the charges is not possible.


*** DirecTV is quite possibly the worst cable/satellite provider on the planet. In summary, if you don't mind shoddy & poorly designed equipment, missed appointments, and unethical behavior, you'll probably be delighted with DirecTV (the picture truly is terrific). However, given the overall inferior quality of its equipment and practices, DreckTV might be a more accurate appellation for the company.

*** If you already have the misfortune of being a DirecTV customer/victim and experience similar problems, it might be useful to contact the Better Business Bureau and your state's Consumer Affairs Division in the Attorney General's office, describing their predatory practices. A review on other consumer sites such as Angie's List wouldn't hurt either.

it sounds like some of you might be interested in this lawsuit.

Class Action Lawsuit Against DirecTV Regarding "Leased Receiver" Fees Allowed to Proceed

Court denies DirecTV's Motion to Compel Arbitration thereby allowing putative class action that alleges DirecTV improperly assessed "Leased Receiver" fees and collected excessive "taxes" to move forward.

Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 31, 2009 -- In an order dated October 28, 2009, United States District Court Judge Charles A. Pannell, Jr. denied a motion by DirecTV to compel arbitration in the case of Jones v. DirecTV, Inc. (Case Number 1:09-CV-1036-CAP). The class action lawsuit claims that DirecTV and The DirecTV Group, which are headquartered in El Segundo, California, have improperly assessed monthly "Leased Receiver" fees upon customers who obtained their receiver from an authorized DirecTV dealer. Judge Pannell also denied DirecTV's motion to stay the case, thereby allowing the plaintiffs to proceed with discovery.

The lawsuit has been pursued on behalf of named plaintiff Andrea Jones, one of DirecTV's over 18 million subscribers. According to the terms of DirecTV's contract with customers such as Ms. Jones, a lease fee in the amount of $4.99 per month is assessed for each DirecTV receiver being used by the customer. According to the contract, however, customers are supposed to receive a $4.99 monthly credit to their account for the first (primary) receiver. Ms. Jones' lawsuit alleges that DirecTV has failed to provide the monthly credit according to the terms of the contract.

In addition, the Complaint alleges that DirecTV also improperly charged its customers sales tax on these improper "Leased Receiver" fees. The suit claims that DirecTV also collects excessive amounts of sales tax on the leasing fees by charging customers for taxes on the credited amount and collecting a greater percentage rate of tax than allowed under state law. The plaintiffs allege that DirecTV is liable for all damages that have resulted from its conduct. Moreover, the Complaint seeks injunctive relief to prevent DirecTV from continuing to assess these improper charges.

DirecTV responded to the lawsuit by moving the Court to compel arbitration in accordance with DirecTV's customer agreement. Had this motion been granted, the case would have been removed from the judicial system and litigated in a forum more favorable to DirecTV. Enforcement of the arbitration provision of the customer agreement also would have prevented the pursuit of the case as a class action on behalf of all of the customers harmed. Judge Pannell found that the class action waiver contained within the customer agreement rendered the arbitration clause substantively unconscionable and therefore unenforceable.

The putative class action lawsuit has been filed by Atlanta attorneys E. Adam Webb and G. Franklin Lemond, Jr. of Webb, Klase & Lemond, LLC. The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this press release, please contact the firm via e-mail at contact (at) webbllc (dot) com or by calling G. Franklin Lemond, Jr. directly at (770) 444-9325.

If you read all the negative statements you will realize its the people who always complaint to try to get free stuff and when they finally get it they are mad because they have a new agreement. If they would stop being so damn lazy and making them selves the victum they might get some where in life but until then we will have to use them as stepping stones to our satisfaction. Man, the law of attractions sure does work and work well!

I agree with most of the reviews. AVOID THIS COMPANY. I am mailing in a payment for an invoice I received for $300.00. I am VERY UPSET about making this payment. I was a customer who never paid one payment late. I had to call them a couple of times because the box they gave me broke. They NEVER told me that everytime you call to activate a box your contract renews itself. BUNCH OF LIERS AND DECEITFUL PEOPLE. They are charging me for their crapy boxes that never worked. I am NEVER going to use this company again and I am on a mission to tell all of my friends, family and as many people as I can of how much this company cheats and lies to their customers.

BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT PURCHASE ANY SERVICES FROM THIS COMPANY.

Avoid DirecTV like the plague. Early this year, my wife and I cancelled DirecTV. Several months later, we suddenly received a $370.17 bill for service and equipment we no longer use! We had switched to Verizon FIOS, but were still getting billed!

Their customer service is horrible. They wouldn't even respond to our complaint, and instead, just moved us on to their Collections company. We were loyal customers who paid our bills on time. We didn't deserve their treatment.

I'm a full time RV'er and love my DirecTV! I travel the countryside with my Winegard RoadTrip satellite tv antenna and have excellent reception everywhere in the country. Love my DirecTV!

I have had the most frustrating 2 hour back and forth with DirecTVs many incoherent, rude and unfriendly customer service, rebate, billing and retention team. Customer lifetime value boils down to how quickly you can con the customer.

Here are the details
- July 18: Installation
- Aug 12: Called to question why my bill was so high and got the answer that the rebate is being processed and it will take another 6-8 weeks to process
- Oct 19 (today): Called to cancel premium subscription and questioned my rebate. Found out that they have no record of my rebate and since it is over 90 days they can do nothing. If i have reference number then they could do something but nothing since i have no record. So I am out of luck since they had a glitch
- I talked to customer service which apologized and gave me the number for the rebate dept (877-286-4808). Mentioned that this happens once in a while and they will take care of it he then even escalated it so that someone senior can get back to me with the resolution.
- I got the same answer at Rebate dept. escalated it to Rebate mgr Jody (Badge 2039).. they cant do anything and i need to talk to customer service.
- Frustrated for being shuffled between departments that dont talk to each other -- I got Jody to 3 way call in customer service.
- Victor (Badge 5727009) got on the phone and repeated the same thing.
- It then got escalated to Lori, customer service manager. Who again repeated the same thing
- Finally at my wits end, I asked to to get my DirecTVcanceled and then got transfered to the retention team
- Annette (badge id 100300729) on the retention team repeated the same thing. I am out of luck as they have no record of my submitting the rebate form online. So the best she can do is give me a $10 credit for 6 months. If i cancel i have to pay a $200 cancellation fee.


NET-NET: DirecTV has a great customer loyalty program. They have stuck to the old ways of finding ways to screw the customer. Make it really really hard to get rebates. I wonder why they dont implement similar systems for charging money (ex: PPV and other items). They get reflected before you hit "yes" on your dial.

Frankly I accepted better from DirecTV.

Dissapointed
Manu

I am an installer for DTV Home Services. I have read alot of comments on this page most of which were negative. First off, Damage claims are bad, wanting everything for free is bad. Just exactly why do you think you bill goes up all the time. It is hard on alot of houses I go to, I try to do everything perfect and the drill bit slips to the side a little and makes a nik in the entertainment center. Customer submits a damage claim for a full replacement for that center. Now multiply that by thousands of customers making damage calims for stupid little nik's, well your bill goes up to cover the cost. The average install costs DirecTV $750 to put in your house, it takes a little over 2 years to start making a profit on that (thus a 2 year contract). When they just give you crap for free it is more loss. If you own a buisness and you start loosing money what do you have to do, (common this is a no brainer), you raise your prices duh.

You can avoid a contract if you pay around $750 for the install.
DTV = 2 year contract period, pro-rated fee = $20 for every month that is left in contract if you cancel.

You want a bunch of custom crap done on your house by the low paid installer, DTV looses money for excess time because you get it for free (in alot of areas), more cost more bill.
Installers loose money the instant they are stuck on a house for to long.

I personally want to be a very good tech for my customers. On the other hand I don't make a living be a perfect tech. I have to pay a huge house payment, I have bills, I need groceries, so it is a choice between your perfect install or being able to financially make it. DTV HSP does not pay crap to installers and we have to do custom junk for free. Yay I almost went into backruptcy by being the perfect tech. Now I will not do anything custom to easly, I will fight you tooth and nail about it. I usto care, but now I don't because despite my previous best efforts and perfect installs I still got screwed by my customers and DTV.
The only thing I will say now on my installs is that the dish will be installed right, it will be grounded, and you will have the right wire in your rooms. After that I am not really interested in what you think because I still need to pay my bills to.
WE do not enjoy being late to any job, it will instantly crap out are day. If we have a small delay in the morning it cascades through the whole day and BAM!! home after 15 hours of work.

So you want to know why so many installs suck, it is easy, Dish or DTV does not care about the installers and so the installers don't care about you. If we do good things for you, it means nothing at the work place and make the bills hard to pay.

In an installers world, money is the game, not service, not you, flat out money. Greety I know but with all the little games from both side of the puzzle it is just how it is.
You might be amazed what an installer might do for you with a tip being involved, hey we need money.

As for contracts, READ THE DAMN THINGS, they are actually rather clear on what will happen. NEVER do anything AUTOPAYMENT, that is just stupid.
The dish points are satellites that are 23500 miles in space in the southern sky usualy between 30 to 45deg elevation. If you don't have that clear view that is how it is, these are NOT RF antennas and will not point through objects.

Most of the billing issues you have are normally your damn fault because you are either dumb or you don't read things like you should because you are mentally lazy.

Thus be the world of corporations, always a cascading pile of crap that roles down to the employee then you the customer.
Go work in a call center, it sucks badly, if you do that you will fully understand why the service somehow always sucks with companies.
You want good service then stop calling with every dumb question in the book and learn to read things. No call center rep likes there phone ringing like a crazy mofo all days of the week.

What I have said here applies to any company really, everything is by numbers in a corporation not by individual. If there is to much of something then it gets changed.

P.S. - If I made spelling or grammer errors, I don't care, I did not proof read because I should be sleeping and I typed to much to read back to my self at this time of night.

boy do I miss Direct TV. We switched to Dish to save money. I've had many of the same problems as listed below, but you really don't know poor customer service, a horrifically bad DVR user interface or a long list of serious and unsolvable technical problems until you go to Dish Network.

Just signed up and going on the 3rd day of waiting for installation!!

1st day - Appt for tech to come between 12 and 4pm. Never shows up!! When we call to find out what happened, they say the tech called us and nobody answered so they go to the next job. B.S.! If someone had called it would have shown on our cell phones "missed call". Liars!

2nd day - Appt for 8am to 12p. 11 am we decide to find out what is going on. They say they will contact the tech and someone will call us back in 20 to 30 min. Did we get a call back??? No! We call again at 12:15pm and complain. "We will find out and someone will call you back in 20-30 min." Someone actually returns a call! Yay! "The tech is running late and will be there in an hour." Grrrr....ok. An hour and 20 min pass... We call AGAIN!!! "someone will call you in 20 to 30 min to give you an ETA." Get a call back - "Oh, the tech will be there in about 30 min."

He finally shows up but "installation can take up to 4 hrs". We have to go to work and we can't stay. Somewhere in the conversation with the tech "Oh, honestly it could take up to 6 hours to install..." What!?!

Call again and set up an appt for attempt #3. Not impressed with customer service. Tomorrow I am not hopeful that they will show up for their appt....

Directv is false advertising. I recently signed up for a $44.95 a month plan, which has turned into a $70 a month plan. In order to get your rebate you have to apply for it online, and they will make sure your account doesn't qualify. Customer service is terrible, no one can help with rebates and the so called "manager" I spoke with was a huge bitch to me. DO NOT sign up for the service, and if you do plan on paying an extra $25-$30 bucks a month for it.

I had a combined bill with Quest, and while Quest was always wonderful, prompt and polite, I cannot say the same for DirecTV. Apparently, I had signed up for a 24 month contract when the lease for my apartment was only 12 months. Had this been verbalized to me, I would have declined the contract.

When my lease was up, I canceled my contract - which I thought was to both companies - and made sure all of my payments were current. I even received a check because I had overpaid them!

A few weeks later, there was a $700 dollar charge made to my bank account from DirecTV. They claimed it was for 2 months of unpaid service (at $170 a month - WHAT?? I never paid over $105 for combined service!), a cancellation fee of $180 and the rest in equipment fees. The supervisor was extraordinarily rude and told me I "owed" it to DirecTV, even after overpaying them several months ago? Well, everything I paid several months ago seems to have gone up in smoke because they can't find paperwork anywhere.

I returned the equipment and am still awaiting my credit. Every time I call them, they are rude, pushy and act as if I'm wasting their time. I will tell everyone I know how terrible this company is. They are crooks!

Everytime I get off the phone with customer service I am ticked off. I bought their protection plan, it doesn't cover "customer caused" problems. Just about anything they want to list can qualify as "customer caused".

If you buy your receiver at a retail store it is still leased, and you have to return it to DirecTV when you cancel your service. I bought my receiver from a private party four years ago, they tell me unless I can prove that I have to return it or be charged for it.

Their service technicians tell me my service on my internet is just lousy, and I need to live with it. This company stinks!

I had Directv for a year and a half. I wanted to upgrade to an HD-DVR after getting a new TV. Online the cost was $199 for the new box. I called and asked if they could do anything to lower the price, they said no. I called cable, got a better deal...Free HD-DVR. I called to cancel service with Directv. I was transferred to customer retention. They offered me a free HD-DVR to stay and a $20 credit on my bill for 6 months. I accepted that deal. The next day I received my confirmation email. It said I was to get a regular HD receiver for free and a second for $100. I called to straighten out the situation. The person told me there was no way I was offered that deal. I asked them to check the recorded conversation, they refused. They insisted I misunderstood what I was offered. That operator offered to drop the price by $50. I then canceled and told them cable would give me the HD-DVR for free.

A week later I received an email and letter asking for my business back. And guess what was offered...a free HD DVR. I called and asked why I couldn't get this when I asked. I was told offers change daily. It must have been magic that the offer "changed" the next week. I have since received 5 emails and 2 letters asking for my service back. I feel I was only important to Directv only after I stopped paying them. I have since filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

DirectTV is one the worst companies I've ever dealt with. They signed me up for NFL season ticket without my permission or request. I called to ask them to remove it and they refused which can only be considered stealing. This company stole approximately $300 from me.

They are more expensive than the competition. It's just a fact.

The service itself is inferior - If the weather is bad you will not be watching TV. It just the limitation of the satellite technology.

Customer service is terrible. Random charges. Long wait times. When we scheduled installation the technician didn't show up the first day. Then didn't bring a latter tall enough for our roof on the reschedule. Then drilled a hole in the side of our house that was large and very visible. Then filled it in terribly with silicone.

Please take your business elsewhere!

As long as you don't give them your credit card # and check your bill every month then you should be ok! I have had my share of problems believe me but they have always  taken care of it but remember they dont have my card #.  I think its time to use their Promotion 100.00 dollars toward your bill and 100.00 toward your friends bill! Please; let me be your friend. All you have to do is give them my account #  when you order not after. If you do this for me I will give you a direct phone # to customer service. That alone worth its weight in gold. Lets help each other!   Please call me for numbers you need John Philips (706)878-9280 or email drywalljohn@yahoo.com I could sure use the help.  Thank you!!!

After almost 14 years of trouble free happy commitment with DirecTv, I have had enough!
in the last two months, they have gone from first to worst. After a five day unexplained outage of service and promises of better service and some credit for our trouble, it happened again this morning! Five hours later, no service..... Dish Network is on their way out for my install tomorrow :)

Is there anyone who knows how to run a company anymore?

Indiana

If I could rate a negative I certainly would. This company is the worst there is. Customer service is non-existent. They automatically sign you up for lengthly service contracts without your knowledge, sneek agreements into your billing and then say you agreed to it and will take money out of any account they have on record without your authroization. They are extremely unethical. I feel a little better in knowing that in my job, I visit Homeowner associations and I've been able to share my DirecTV experience with these communities preventing hundreds from experiencing the deceptive practices of this company!

i've been a directv customer for quite a while and they have always followed through with what they say they will and as long as i read and understand my contract, they make it worth my while to stay with the company.

Directv Blows! I wish I could give Directv no stars, but this doesn't let me. My service dropped on Thursday, September 3rd. Directv couldn't get a service person to my home until Saturday the 12th. He spent about 45 minutes and found several issues with the installation, which was only done last December. I had service on Saturday. However, today, Monday the 14th, I, once again, have no service. It is virtually impossible to get a human being on the telephone; their phone tree is insane. I am stuck with a contract until December, 2010. Do yourself a favor if you're thinking about Directv--DON'T DO IT!!

Now I can't watch HistoryHd or ScienceHd because there's an error code 771. I get all the other channels with the occasional digital hick-ups but according to dtv my dish is out of alignment. Well guess what, now they want me to pay them $70 to have someone re align the dish. The dish is in the exact spot the installer put it and there isn't a tree or anything else even remotely close to it. It's bolted into the top of my roof through my roof shingles. It doesn't rain here much in Phoenix, AZ, so I haven't noticed it water is leaking into my attic. I guess after I'm finally done with them once my contranct is up, i'll have to call out a roofer to patch up the holes.

Don't give DIRECTV your credit card number! I cancelled my service with them, and was supposed to be charged $80 early cancellatiion fee, but they charged me $252 instead. It's been 2 months now, and I am still trying to get my money back. Very poor customer service. Every time you get a different person, and they tell you different stories.

HORRIBLE communication!!!! I cancelled my account w/ Time Warner cable and switched to DirecTV. They told me they would be at my apartment between 8 am and noon. When they finally showed up at 3:45 pm (nearly 4 hours after the latest they said they would be here), the serviceman immediately looked at my balcony and said that it was impossible to put a satellite on it because it doesn't face south!! I asked the person on the phone repeatedly whether DirecTV would be compatible with my apartment, and they assured me it would. Never was it mentioned that my balcony needed to face south. Now I have cancelled my cable package and wasted a full day waiting for a service that I can't have. WARNING: IF YOUR APARTMENT BALCONY DOESN'T FACE SOUTH, YOU CAN'T USE DIRECTV (something they fail to tell you when they're taking your money!!!)

Stay Away! Bait and switch! Very very bad customer service!. As soon as you sign the contract you are nothing to them. I didn't think there were still companies in business who treated their customers so badly. I asked for 2 HD receivers but only got one. They said that since they sent me an order confirmation and I didn't catch the mistake it was too bad and would now cost $165.00 to fix. What!!! I finally got a supervisor on the phone and she agreed to knock off $50. OK cool so what is the new total? She says $205.00. What!! It was $165 before you took the $50 off. She says oh, I'm sorry but the other girl didn't add it up right. After that I just hung up before I busted a blood vessel or something. I submitted a complaint on the web site but never heard back. To top it off I went online and I can get an HD receiver delivered and installed for $165 just like the first girl said. So to sum it all up: There was a bait and switch and when I called to rectify it a supervisor lied and tried to bait and switch me again. After the contract is up I’m out. Please, for your own peace of mind do not get DirecTV!

A DirecTV installer punched holes on my roof and mounted the satellite antenna. After mounting the dish, he told me that he could not get a good signal and left the dish on my roof.

It is a big eyesore, of course.

I called directv customer service and they told me that it is my responsibility to take it down. They would not do anything for us to remove their dish.

DirecTV customer service sucks like hell.

Directv is the only US TV provider that doesn't have the Versus (sports) channel. After your first year is up they DOUBLE your rates. I've been with them for 3 years and will switch as soon as AT&T U-Verse is available. They also have THE worst customer service I've ever dealt with......

Service no good!
Receivers are junk!
Had 3 receivers in less than 2 years all bad!
Price is to high!
Will quit them when 24 months is up!

copy of letter I just sent to Direct TV: I was told that this would be a free service call by the Customer Retention Departartment. Why am I seeing this on my bill! You say I'm getting something then switching the terms or make me jump through an additional hoop before recieving the service (e.g. reduced monthly bill with initial sign-up, "free" movie offers and now service calls apparently). I insist that you immmediatly credit the service fee for fixing a dish that was never installed properly in the first place!!!! I am so tired of crooked corporate tactics of bait and switch marketing. I have many regrets in my decision to change from DISH sattelite service to yours, when this contract is over I have little doubt that I will pull the plug on DIRECT_TV and return to the user friendly DISH service. signed a very unhappy Direct TV customer.

copy of letter I just sent to Direct TV: I was told that this would be a free service call by the Customer Retention Departartment. Why am I seeing this on my bill! You say I'm getting something then switching the terms or make me jump through an additional hoop before recieving the service (e.g. reduced monthly bill with initial sign-up, "free" movie offers and now service calls apparently). I insist that you immmediatly credit the service fee for fixing a dish that was never installed properly in the first place!!!! I am so tired of crooked corporate tactics of bait and switch marketing. I have many regrets in my decision to change from DISH sattelite service to yours, when this contract is over I have little doubt that I will pull the plug on DIRECT_TV and return to the user friendly DISH service. signed a very unhappy Direct TV customer.

I feel as though I have been scammed. When I called to order service I made it clear I was going to use a referal to get the discount. The customer service rep. was very nice and explained everything I needed to do to get it. Well almost, when I called a few days after installation, I was told I was supposed to call on the day of installation. Because I didnt call on the day of installation I could not get the referal discount. Now remember, this was just a few days after the start of service. I wasnt happy but I just blew it off.
Two months later, along with the bill ,I received a coupon for a free PPV movie. I ordered a movie and sent in the coupon. They did not and still have not honored it. I sent an Email to customer service and they replied with "call customer service". I called customer service and got nowhere.
I blew the first incicdent off, but now I am seeing a pattern of offering discounts to order services and then not honoring the discounts. I encourage everyone who has been cheated by Directv to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. I am.

Worst programming ever! Horrible customer service. And if you are any sort of sports fan...you are better off getting regular cable, or even a converter box and no cable at all! Otherwise, you will be left with 1 game (if you are lucky), while your friends at other companies get about 5 games.

Weaknesses:
customer service
search engines
ease of navigating server
sports programming is pretty much non-existent!

I only gave it a one start, because I am obligated and negatives are not available.

Not worth my time to talk about this pathetic company - stay away!, minus 10 stars.


Yep, It's Me!

Directv is awesome. I had it for about 5 years and loved it. I now work for them I hate to see all the Directv bashing on here. A lot of customers neglect to read the whole advertisement or their customer agreements and somehow that is our fault? Take the time to review what you are getting, ask if there is anything extra you need to do to get the promotional price (like fill out a rebate) don't sign anything the installer asks you to until you read THE WHOLE THING. There is a sentance stating you read and agree to all terms and conditions so READ AND UNDERSTAND them, make life a little easier for both sides.

If you are considering Directv in the area where you have cable or Verizon Fios, it is not recommended.
First, they made you pay for the harware (Dish/Receiver) and yet you still DO NOT own it. After spending 2-3 hundred for the equipment at Best Buy/Costco, at the end of day when you cancel their service, you will still have to return "their" equipment ?! Do not know about what you think, but I think it is ridiculous. Why is it I have to pay for the equipment and then I have to return it?
I called and asked them and was told that it is basically a type of "lease"... ok.. but I still have to pay the "rent" with extra receiver I added to the line (I purchase these as well)!!
That is not the worse... keep reading on the best is yet to come... Since the equipment "belongs" to them, is it going to be them to maintain it? In other word, if the equipment breaks down, are they going to replace it for free? Nope... you are on your own!!! I do not know what is going to happen when we return a malfunction equipment to them... They will probably charge you for "breaking it".... But wait! There is more... last week, their service somehow was not working. We could not view any of their channels (we do not really know what was happenning on their ends) we called them up that they told me to schedule a technician to come over and take a look. We did but 2 days later, their service was back online (we did nothing) and out of courtesy, we call them to cancel the appointment to save their time as we thought the technician was going to come out and check our equipment for free. Good thing we called to cancel as the service was NOT free and cost $49.95 BUT THE REP did NEVER mention that when suggesting a techinician to come out. They even suggested to have the technician coming out regardless. I would think this tech was either ignorant or had followed the company direction to mislead their customers to add a few extra bucks on the company bottom line. The company should be forbidden to do business in the US until they get their acts together and have a better business process to serve US customers.
Anyhow, if you are new and think of Directv. I have no good word for this company. The program is good but Cable and Fios offer the exact same programming. They may be a bit more expensive but Directv is not much cheaper as far as total cost is taken into consideration.

Our story is too long, and lucky for us, we reached the 18-month anniversary of our contract. Time does heal all wounds, because we have already been able to forget the horrible service and reception we received from this national company!??? We now have Cox cable and we are sooo much happier. If you live near any trees, don't get DirecTV!!

Sincerely,

ARB2

Deception!! I've only had Directv for a month and already I am so flustered!!

Don't get me wrong, i love the channels I PAY for and don't mind paying a hundred and so dollars for movie movies movies and channels i don't even know what to do with...that's not the problem!

Installation, other than black handprints was fine...I live in the boonies and understand how he could get lost...that's still not the problem!

The problem...the follow up to ordering my services. When i first called to order services, they ran my credit and said i would have to pay a two hundred and something dollar deposit...ugh...he then asked if there was someone elses credit i could use (can we say potentially condoning identity theft)...so i opted my dad's BUT ONLY after i repeatedly asked - even if the credit is ran in my father's name, the account and billing would stay under my name, the service rep assured me this and that it would only be ran to determine the deposit. I verified this time and time again throughout the ordering process...

Next...like i said, i live in the boonies and i know i do not receive mail at my home, therefore, I have to have my mail sent to my father and mother's address...so again, i verified that they had the correct mailing address.

Only one month later....still haven't received a bill so i call to make sure that they had my mailing address down correct...of course NO they did not and come to find out the account is in my father's name and there would be no way to transfer the account out of his name and SS# to mine. After explaining to the gal what had happen there was no resolution to this maddness...

In after expressing my frustrations to my mother she informed me that there is a 2 year contract that i somewhere agreed to and that it'd be $20 for every month that i cancelled on, running total $460 plus the $150 bucks i owe immediatly because I yet to receive my bill...and yes the amount that i ended up getting billed is no where near the advertised amounts!!! The rebate will be processed 6-8 weeks after i submit the rebate offer...lol...well after the deal is over....

yeah the small print really bites you in the ass with these guys....i don't mind paying for it, satellite is my only option, cable isn't offered where i live....but i do mind being lied to, manipulated into a deceitful contract or agreement, etc! Do NOT believe anything that these reps tell you...it is just their unethical job!

I know this is just the beginning to a very unhealthy relationship!! It's like battered customer syndrome...it's the only thing i can do so i'm going to have to try to make it work....totally not looking forward to this!!!!

The most unprofessional staff ever. They always play with their billing so that somehow you are always paying more. NOW they automatically signed me up for another 2 years and there is nothing they can do about it. STAY AWAY!!!!! I wouldnt even give ONE star.

Service sucks, if its drizzling outside the signal goes out.