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• 

  Eric Fischer, 5 Jun 2007 @ 3:40pm

  
  

  DIRECTV Scams

  Last month directv called my mother (73 years old and had recently had a stroke) and said they had bought out Dish Network so they sent a private contractor over and installed Directv and stole her Dish Network satalite dish and left the other Dish equipment in her house. She called Dish to find out Directv did not purchase Dish Network so Dish reinstalled their equipment at no charge. Now Directv has sent several bills for service,($71.60- & two for $336.88 in which $137.00 was for early termination,) and equipment costs in which I (her 40 year old son) am having to battle with Directv over. Directv even gave me a false address & phone number of the supposed "private contractor and said they have no record of the private contractors license number. Oh and someone from Directv called my mother the VERY NEXT DAY after Dish reinstalled their stuff and made the same bullshit lie of buying out Dish Network.If Directv is stooping to the level of scamming Senior Citizens how low will they go? Can Legal action be taken against Dirctv? Or will our Government just protect Directv like they do other "Big Business"?

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  • 

    ken, 5 Jul 2007 @ 9:01pm

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV Scams

    Man, that sucks! I can tell you this- They have records of who they paid out to on that install. no one is gonna go install it with no hopes of getting paid. It may take a short while to obtain, but they have it. Call DTV and ask the tech number who CLOSED the job out as being completed, Then track that tech. It more than likely is a private retailer, and btw- DTV doesn't waste time with calling customers back, theres no money in it. It couldn't have been a real DTV rep that called..just read the consumer reports and the threads- you have to call them.

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  • 

    James O'Brien, 3 Jul 2008 @ 1:37pm

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV Scams

    Directv took $324.10 from my Bank account! I siged up
    for a law suit against them by haven't received a response.
    How did they invade my acount? I am searching for
    others involved in class actions against Directv.

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  • 

    Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2009 @ 11:40am

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV Scams

    you can sue them for elder abuse and fraud

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  • 

    tech agent (profile), 16 Aug 2012 @ 10:35pm

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV Scams

    dude you or your mother are complete idiots for even believing that. directv CANNOT buy out dish because they would start a monopoly and the gov would not allow that. the fact you actually believed directv calls customers to get sales is so stupid. a group of people at directv(not directv in general smart guy) set up a scam to get installers paid more money which in turn they split between eachother. the fact you and your mother believed that directv actually bought out the second biggest sat company is beyond me. your in this mess because of your own stupidity.

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  • 

    Betty, 14 Mar 2015 @ 8:18pm

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV Scams

    Find an attorney who handles FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES AND ACTS. POSSIBLE LITIGATION

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• 

  Sam, 30 Jun 2007 @ 9:25pm

  
  

  Directv is horrible

  DirecTV is the worst and most repulsive greedy company I have ever seen.
  When you first try to purchase the service, you get a person who speaks perfect English. However, when you need help after you are stuck with them for a two year contract, you get someone from India who can’t speak a word of English. Also, it’s disgusting how they treat you over the phone after waiting half hour on the phone for a representative.
  They are very expensive, rude, greedy, unprofessional, and I can’t wait until my stupid contact is over so I can cancel the service.

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  • 

    frank, 31 Jan 2008 @ 2:02pm

    
    

    Re: Directv is horrible

    well, directv is the best. maybe you don't treat them good enough.

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    • 

      bob, 24 Apr 2008 @ 4:12pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Directv is horrible

      the best boy are you underinformed

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    • 

      Melissa, 18 Dec 2014 @ 10:47am

      
      

      Re: Re: Directv is horrible

      No, Direct TV is horrible. They outright lie to me on the phone, send me faulty equipment, promise to overnight equipment and they don't, etc. They aslo screw up my bills every other month. They are horrid. Maybe you are the lucky one, an employee, or just don't scrutizine things very well. Either way, don't take away from someone else's feelings and experiences.

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  • 

    Kat, 21 Jul 2008 @ 4:08pm

    
    

    Re: Directv is horrible

    In addition to any calls...Make sure you put your cancellation intention in writing and send it certified/return receipt. I've been researching and read that some people are having issues with trying to cancel via phone only (i.e....DTV claims service was not cancelled and then charges a early cancellation fee once you are past the 2 years as if you signed up again by default).

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  • 

    Anonymous Coward, 22 Jan 2009 @ 11:42am

    
    

    Re: Directv is horrible

    you are not alone, they treat bad their employees and sub contractors, dealers and so on http://www.directvclassaction.com/

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  • 

    tech agent (profile), 16 Aug 2012 @ 10:42pm

    
    

    Re: Directv is horrible

    so directv.. the company that has call centers based in the united states and some in mexico and the Philippines are now in India?? weird because.. they dont. did you know everyone in america doesnt speak good English? did you know america has immigrants? amazing how the most free country in the world has all these things huh.. directv is based in the USA for their call centers. which means AMERICA smart ass. also directv can hire anyone they want to.. which means what.. oh wow people who have a accent. look up convrgys and tell me what you see.. thats a company that works for directv that have people work from home. do we know where they are located? no because that isnt our company. you really want to complain about getting someone who cant speak good English? get on every other forum with and company and spread your shit. you are just like every other customer at directv ignorant and retarded

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    • 

      Anonymous Coward, 21 Apr 2017 @ 2:36am

      
      

      Re: Re: Directv is horrible

      what a moronic racist thing to say, your completely wrong here.

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• 

  katiemo, 3 Dec 2007 @ 7:54am

  
  

  Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equipment

  Directv charges a lease fee of $4.99 for each unit although I purchased the units. Directv indicated any changes to service after March 2006 would incur a monthly lease fee. This seems unusual for personally owned equipment.

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  • 

    Mark J. Tamblyn, 30 Jan 2008 @ 2:22pm

    
    

    Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equip

    My firm is actively investigating this issue and I would be very interested in talking with you about your experience. I am an attorney at Wexler Toriseva Wallace and would be most interested in discussing this matter with you.
    
    I can be reached at 916-568-1100 or by email at mjt@wtwlaw.com. Thank you.

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    • 

      Mary Gorman, 6 Jul 2008 @ 7:55pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equip

      I saw your post and am interested in being part of the class action suit. I was charged for lease fees that I never authorized on equipment that I owned. I was also put into a renewal contract when I was told that I had to change my personally purchased HD receiver with a new one. The company has deceived me in every possible way.

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    • 

      Chip Furr, 1 May 2016 @ 9:29am

      
      

      Re: Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equip

      I purchased a direct tv receiver but before I bought it I call direct tv to find out if it was a lease unit or a owned, they ran the RID number and told me it was a owned receiver. After my contract was done with direct tv I canceled my service with them, they sent me the return kit for there equipment, they not only wanted there receivers back they wanted the one I had purchased from a private party, I called direct tv and asked them why , they told me that the receiver I bought is a leased unit and I had to return or be charged for the unit.
      I feel they lied to me and stole the receiver I purchased. Is there anything I can do?

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  • 

    Patty, 1 Feb 2008 @ 7:25am

    
    

    Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equip

    I have the same problem, I have two leased receivers from Directv and one receiver that I own. I am getting charged for the one that I own, just as much as the leased ones. That sucks.

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    • 

      Fred, 12 Feb 2008 @ 12:01pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned e

      I agree 100%. I currently have 4 personally owned (purchased) HD DVR's in my house and I get hit for an extra $20/month. How are these actions legal?

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    • 

      ALICIA, 3 Oct 2009 @ 6:02pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equip

      I have 5 recievers (2 directv DVR's) and 1 reg. reciever & 2 DVR's I own and i pay the 4.99 for all of them. When I inquired why I had to pay for the ones I owned; I was told I was paying for the service through my box; in addition to renting their box. I still don't understand; so why am I also paying a flat monthly fee for directv service, inaddition to getting service through boxes I own? I mean no disrespect to directv. Sorry, I really don't understand. thank you.

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  • 

    rachel, 23 Mar 2009 @ 10:38am

    
    

    Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equipment

    Hey, they are still doing this...I purchased my own HD DVR, and when I saw the lease fee, they informed me it was strictly for insurance purposes ( since I paid for the insurance- yes stupid) and then they would credit my lease fee...(which they did), and now that I've cancelled my service they are telling me that I must send them my HD DVR since it actually belongs to them... and that wonderful customer service rep has the nerve to tell me that they will bill me if I do not send it in!

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  • 

    don, 31 Oct 2009 @ 12:10pm

    
    

    Re: Lease fee for personally purchased/owned equipment

    sounds like 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.

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• 

  David Weir, 17 Dec 2007 @ 12:48am

  
  

  HD Extra Now 4.99 more!!! For channels they TOOK f

  I have had DirecTV HD service for almost six months witch included ALL hd channels for $9.99 a month... without warning DirecTV took away 5 channels without informing me... I called to see what was happening with the channels I was missing that I had been paying for and they informed me that these channels now fell under a new HD service that I needed to now pay extra for, an additional $4.99 a month... I contacted DirecTV and they explained to me the new service fee for the channels I was already paying for that they have taken away was previous disclosed to me which is not true... they wanted me to "upgrade" to a new programming "base" so they could extend these taken channels to me for three months free... at this point I ended the conversation... thay have recently done this to ALL of their HD customers with no warning before or after this additional service was established...

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  • 

    tech agent (profile), 16 Aug 2012 @ 10:44pm

    
    

    Re: HD Extra Now 4.99 more!!! For channels they TOOK f

    umm smart guy. read your contract. it states that directv has the right to change programming when every they need to/feel. you really think it was our choice to do that? its called contract negotiations.. amazing that big companies go through that huh. we didnt choose to do that. Hallmark movie channel, Sony movie channel and so on made that choice. that was the only way we would be able to keep them. think before you speak next time.. you might hurt yourself if you dont

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• 

  Robert Dodson, 13 Feb 2008 @ 5:14pm

  
  

  Lease fee for owned equipment

  I recently upgraded to HD Directv. The first installer was to provide a free receiver but did not have the receiver I wanted (an HR20) and didn't have the antenna install listed on his work order. I canceled that install. I found a receiver on e-bay, and paid for it myself. The second installer still didn't have an antenna install on his work order (after I called Directv and specifically complained about the first installer not having one), but he had the antenna with him and managed to get the situation straighted out with Directv by phone so it could be installed using my HR20 receiver. On the next billing, the lease fee showed up. In my pre-install call to Directv to determine what my upgrade would be, the representative clearly stated that my old billing would only change by the DVR fee and the HD access fee - period. I confirmed that a second time. No mention of the lease fee. I did not sign anything that mentioned a lease fee and I never paid a lease fee prior to the "upgrade". If Directv doesn't waive my lease fee (in discussion with them at present), I will most certainly be in contact with Mr. Tamblyn relative to a class action. This is not only a hidden fee but it was not described and was excluded in the verbal contract I made with Directv. The 2 year contract was mentioned, and I accepted that under the terms verbally described since I planned to continue as a Directv customer anyway. However, from the above discussions, this smacks of the early cancellation fee charged by Sirius satellite radio and I feel without a written, signed contract both are meaningless. Film manufactures used to have a disclosure on their packages that a purchaser agreed to the fact that film deteriorates over time through the purchase, and therefore they weren't liable. That "contract" was broken in court and proved to be worthless. Directv may have un intentionally started a firestorm with their "lease" agreement.

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• 

  Robert Dodson, 17 Feb 2008 @ 4:37pm

  
  

  Followup on previous techdirt listing

  Previously I described the application of a "lease fee" to my upgraded Directv receiver. In the latest communications with Directv, they have indicated that as a "courtesy" they will not be charging a lease fee for the primary receiver and that amount was credited to my bill. Only additional receivers will incur the lease fee (I can see some logic to that) or a "mirroring" fee which will duplicate the primary service on that receiver. Additionally, they agreed to honor the 12 month waiver of HD access fees which was verbally agreed to in my original pre-upgrade conversation with them.
  I have to give Directv a thumbs up on this one although they still have some work to do when it comes to setting up an install contract and getting it right the first (or second) time.

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• 

  Alex, 24 Apr 2008 @ 9:19am

  
  

  Contract non-disclosure

  If there are any law firms out there that want to take this one as a class action, please contact me. Recently, I filed a complaint with BBB about DirecTV's secretive contract disclosures. There are utterly thousands more out there just like me who would sign on to this. In summary, DirecTV binds everyone who gets their service to a two year contract without a signature. This is a unilateral binding and is illegal. When I asked them to provide a copy of a document with my signature they couldn't do it, because according to them, sending you something arbitrary in the mail is good enough. Nonsense. They have no paper trail. Ask any other company with a contract this length and they will send it to you.
  Here is DirecTV's response regarding its so called contracts: "We advised you of the commitment at the time the equipment was ordered and when the equipment was activated on 01/06/2007. We also noted the commitment on the order confirmation we mailed to you. The commitment and early cancellation fee are detailed in the Customer Agreement at directv.com/agreements and we sent a copy of the agreement with your first bill. DIRECTV does not require a signature to complete this agreement. New copies were sent any time the agreement changed..." Notice the absence of any bilateral agreement here. You can't just shove something this big down consumer's throats without an agreement.
  They don't even keep a record of sending you any of this stuff. This is a slam dunk case in court. How a company this large can get away with this for so long I have no idea. When I signed up with Dish, they give you a carbon copy of a SIGNATURE with whatever it is you agreed or didn't agree to. I never signed anything of the sort with DIRECTV. These guys are toast.

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  • 

    Chris_USAF, 14 May 2008 @ 2:03pm

    
    

    Re: Contract non-disclosure

    I am ON BOARD with this! Contact me offline, and I will put everything I have into a class action against these jokers!
    
    My argument is the early cancellation fee policy:
    "If you do not fulfill your Programming Commitment, DIRECTV may charge you a fee of up to $360 for standard equipment or $480 for advanced receivers."
    
    Why is nobody challenging the "may" in that statement? Under what criteria are you able to cancel WITHOUT paying the fee? Obviously there is something there, but nobody from DirecTV will answer my question.
    
    They told me over the phone that I wouldn't be charged the fee to cancel, then turned around and ripped $438 from by bank account, forcing my car payment to bounce!
    
    I want to nail these guys to the wall!

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    • 

      Chris_USAF, 14 May 2008 @ 2:07pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Contract non-disclosure

      DirecTVAgreements@live.com

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    • 

      Ryan Bailey, 19 May 2008 @ 11:18am

      
      

      Re: Re: Contract non-disclosure

      I am getting screwed right now by Directv as well. I cancelled my HD service in April and am now being charged a $380 termination fee. I originally started with plain service in early 2005 and upgraded to HD in early 2007. My problem is the HD service hardly ever worked. 4 different DTV service techs said I couldn't get service due to trees (they tried 3 different locations on the roof). So I cancelled the service since I was paying for something that did not work. I am on board.

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      • 

        John and pat, 19 Jul 2008 @ 3:03pm

        
        

        Re: early termination fee

        We cancelled with directv because the HD never worked right. It always sounded like it was underwater. A representative tried to correct it over the phone, and finally set us up for someone to call us tomake an appt to come to our house to fix it. Nobody ever called. Then we started calling, got a recorded message for us to leave our name and number and someone would call us back in 24 hrs... never got a phone call. After 3 weeks of this nonsense, my husband got upset and said cancel them... so we did. Then they charged us $440 for early cancellation. We've been doing the "this isn't fair" dance now for weeks. Had they ever called us back and had they ever come to our house to fix it, we would not have cancelled. They claim we "didn't give them ample time" to come out to correct the problem.. how much time is "ample"? In the meantime, you can't enjoy what you're paying big bucks for.
        Wish us luck... last we heard is that we're gonna have to pay or risk having our credit ruined.
        I will never recommend them to another living soul. They are terrible! oh... I also had to make 3 calls for the return boxes... they never ordered them the first 2 times and finally, the third time they did.

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    • 

      Darryl, 4 Sep 2008 @ 4:51pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Contract non-disclosure

      The "may" may apply to the fact if you move and your new house apartment canot have dtv you can void your contract without any penelty. I little known fact, unless it has changed recently

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  • 

    Dorothy Gaeta, 25 Jun 2008 @ 8:38am

    
    

    Re: Contract non-disclosure

    Please let me know if there is a class action suit re "contracts". I have always ordered ppv thru my remote. Last night I received a message to call a three digit number. I am now informed that the "movie business" has enacted stringent rules and I must have a phone connected to my tv in to order ppv. When I discussed cancelling, I was told I would have to pay $20.00 per month until June of 2009. Thanks for any info.

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• 

  Mikhail, 20 May 2008 @ 10:03pm

  
  

  Receiver Fees

  Why is there a monthly receiver fee when you have to pay for the receiver? Then if you want the receiver covered in case it has any problems you have to pay another fee on top of that.

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  • 

    Rphillips, 1 Jul 2008 @ 7:09am

    
    

    Re: Receiver Fees

    That is because apparently you never actually bought the equipment, you leased it.
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Wexler Toriseva Wallace LLP files nationwide class action for purchasers of DirecTV satellite receivers.
    
    (PRWEB) February 22, 2008 -- The law firm of Wexler Toriseva Wallace LLP, with co-counsel Green Welling LLP, filed a class action complaint against DirecTV and Best Buy, alleging that the companies fail to adequately disclose that a purchase of a DirecTV satellite receiver is considered by DirecTV to be a "lease", for which it charges consumers monthly lease fees. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of consumers nationwide, further alleging that consumers instead believe that they own the receivers they purchase from DirecTV or its retailers, like Best Buy and Circuit City. Only later, according to the suit, do they discover that they must pay lease fees, and return their receivers if they cancel their DirecTV subscription. The lawsuit seeks recovery of all lease fees paid, and a judgment declaring that DirecTV's purported lease is invalid. The class action complaint was filed in Los Angeles federal court (Case No. CV08-00906 ABC (PJWx).
    
    According to Mark J. Tamblyn, a partner in Wexler Toriseva Wallace's Sacramento office, "consumers should be fully advised that their purchases of DirecTV receivers come with strings. They should not have to discover after paying hundreds of dollars for a receiver that their purchase is more like a rental, requiring continuous payments."
    
    Wexler Toriseva Wallace LLP (WTW Law Firm - Class Action Legal Services) is a national leader in prosecuting class actions and other complex litigation on behalf of consumer and business clients in state and federal courts throughout the United States. The firm is based in Chicago, Illinois and maintains additional offices in California and West Virginia. Contact: Mark J. Tamblyn (916) 568-1100.
    
    Additional Contacts:
    Green Welling LLP (Green Welling LLP - National Class Action Attorneys :: Home) represents a wide range of individuals and businesses in class actions and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the nation. This firm is based in San Francisco, California. Contact: Robert S. Green (415) 477-6700.
    
    Kershaw Cutter & Ratinoff LLP (Kershaw Cutter & Ratinoff | Northern California Class Action Lawyers, Personal Injury Attorneys) prosecutes complex wage and hour, consumer and mass tort litigation, and has obtained combined recoveries for plaintiffs of over a billion dollars. The firm is based in Sacramento, California. Contact: Stuart C. Talley (916) 448-9800.
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    
    I just got my bank hit for over $700 this morning because of this.

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• 

  Frank From Florida, 4 Jun 2008 @ 1:37pm

  
  

  Directv is a fraudulent company looking to rip people off!

  I signed up for DirecTv 6 months ago and have nothing put problems from day 1! To start, they lied about my set-up price. They told me I was getting 1 HD-DVR and 1 DVR. The installer shows up with 2 reg receivers. I contacted customer service and she noted that my install order had been changed and she could no longer honor the original agreement. The new tech had my correct order (after much yelling at a supervisor). He damaged my house and stated he did work that he did not do. My service never worked correctly. The third tech told me I had to repay him to redo the work the second tech said he did. Again, much yelling involved.
  Finally got my service working, but the DVR never worked correctly. Finally after 6-months of techs at my house, they offer to exchange my HD-DVR. Not thinking, I agreed. During the install, I found that one of the techs had the cable running through my Monster Power conditioner. I undid that and the service seemed to work ok from then on. Side note, they replaced me NEW HD-DVR with a factory refurb.
  
  Fast forward to a month later. I had another issue with the DVR not recording shows. It records an hour of black screen rather than the show and I know the show was on because I watched part of it and recorded it for my wife. So I call them again. After a good deal of hassle, I say, I have had enough of you guys. I want to know what it takes to cancel this crap service. The lady informs me that I would owe over $480. I ask why. She tells me that my 24 months restarted when I had my new HD-DVR installed. *The one that replaced the defective one.
  
  So, they screwed up my order, screwed up my house, screwed up my install, double billed my credit card, and to fix one of their screw-ups, sent me a refurb DVR, just so they could extend my contract without my knowledge or approval.
  
  This is the single worst company in the world! Had I known about their fraudulent business model, I would have never let them in my house!
  
  Other side note. At the start of the contract, they offered me a $50 visa gift card if I would sign up for Auto-pay and paperless billing. A month later they sent me a letter saying I was not eligible for the card, but gave no reason why. I contacted customer service. He looked over the account and said I was in fact eligible and he would resubmit it. A month later, another letter saying I was not eligible! CROOKS!!!

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• 

  Chris Villalobos, 6 Jun 2008 @ 8:11am

  
  

  Direct TV imporper install

  About a year and a half ago I got direct tv installed at my apartment. The intsaller was supposed to go and verbally confirm with the manager that we could have the service, but never did. He installed our service on the first floor grass area of the building (we lived on the second floor.). He could not attach the dish to any perminent structure, and because of the way our building faced we could only have it in one small spot. After about 9 months our apartment manager said their corperate office was inspecting the property and said we had illegally installed the dish on the ground. We talked with the manager and had the tech come back out and meet with them to have the issue of where to put he dish at resolved to no avail. Our aparment manager then "stole" our dish and hid it in their maitenence building garage. We called the sherrif and he said basically that it was illegally installed, but they should not have stolen it. Then 3 months later after we had it reinstalled in the same spot it dissapears. I was getting the it's not direct tv's problem, it's your problem speech. I found the dish next to the door of that maitenence garage and took it back. I called direct tv agian and informed them of what was going on and long story short, moved into another apartment, but now we face the entirely wrong direction for the dish. He told my wife and I that it's not their fault that our apartment does not face the right direction and that we would have to pay a early termination fee. I suspended my account until I can figure out a way to get out of the fee since where I live they cannot provide service.

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• 

  Randy Michael, 13 Jun 2008 @ 2:48am

  
  

  24 hour cancellation policy is a lie

  I had DirectTV installed 5/23/2008. Was told I had 24 hours to cancel if I didn't like the service. Called and canceled on 5/24/2008. Was told I would have to return all equipment but I would still have to pay $318.86 start up fees as they do not give refunds after the installation. So I have to pay them $318.86 for something I used less than 24 hours. I'm in for the class action lawsuit if it gets off the ground. I have also filed a complaint with the FTC.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Robert Bascom, 18 Jun 2008 @ 11:40am

  
  

  DirecTV early termnation scam

  DirecTV promised my son that he would have service when he moved. When they could not get service (no line of sight, 2 tries), they first said there would be no early termination fees (I believe to put us off until after they charged his card for the fees), then canceled the service and charged him early termination fees of $212.50. They now say write to customer service in Colorado and wait three weeks (not that I expect any positive response). I shorten the story as there were many calls made and many different things said (either misinformation or outright lies), but this is the bottom line. I believe they just want to wear us down and hope we give up.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Paul Lipscomb, 18 Jun 2008 @ 2:03pm

  
  

  Directv - unprofessional fraudsters.

  My advice - get your TV from anybody but Directv and save yourself lots of grief and frustration. Why? Let me explain. I got directv as part of my Verizon bundle last August when I arrived in the US (to work legally with your armed forces). As I came from the UK, directv could not get a credit history on me so demanded that I pay a $200 fee as a guarantee. This fee has then been repaid at a rate of $5/month. It doesn't take a math major to work out that it will take 40 months for them to repay the fee to me. Now the catch...I am moving house and will not be able to get directv at my new rental property (thank goodness) and informed them that I wished to terminate the service in August 2008 (that will be my 12 month contract completed). However, I have just been informed, for the first time, that when my account closes, I will lose the outstanding $135 credit on the initial fee as it has no monetary value! Forget the customer agreement para 5(d) which states that any credit will be repaid on account closure and forget the new customer terms and conditions letter which failed to mention any catches associated with this fee. Who in their right mind would sign up for a 12 month contract that tied you in for 3 years and 4 months (40 months) - probably nobody. Who in their right mind would sign up with directv if they knew how unprofessional and how fraudulent they were? I believe Directv misrepresented and mis-sold their product and are now behaving fraudulently and dishonestly, but don't know what to do about it. By the way the installation was a joke too - the subcontractor didn't show at the appointed time, I was promised $100 credit which they failed to deliver until I argued for over 2 hours on the phone 3 months later. When the sub con did eventually show - only after I had to re-arrange the appointment the following week, he promptly fell over in my rental basement (and is still trying to sue me for damages). Meanwhile his mate did the installation (while one of their 6 year old kids sat in the house waiting) and made a right mess of it, causing actual damage to the property. Professional - just who are they kidding?
  I watch the latest ad on TV for directv - showing a "rival" firms board meeting trying to figure out how to match directv's customer satisfaction statistics when one of them just laughs at the prospect. My guess is that the laughing man is a former customer of directv and he knows that the truth and finds their claim laughable! Or maybe he just knows that to match directv, all his company would need to do is lie, deceive, swindle, act fraudulently, cheat, fudge their satisfaction statistics and treat their customers who dare to challenge them with utter contempt. Take a leaf out of directvs ad campaign - refer a friend to anybody but directv.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Scott West, 14 Jul 2008 @ 1:33am

  
  

  Your All F'n Deadbeats

  On behalf of DirecTv, I am hereby authorized to send each and every account that has outstanding balances to CBE for collections. This is my job. Pay your bills on time and in full, and we would not have to do this. Being poor/broke is not an excuss, you ordered the service, you pay the bill.
  
  Scott West
  DirecTv
  Albany, OR
  1-541-926-4635 Field Office
  1-360-885-9669 Regional Office
  1-541-936-1908 Office
  1-800-531-5000 Customer Service

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    JT, 24 Jan 2009 @ 6:55pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    and..even if you don't order the service, pay the bill!

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Anonymous Coward, 13 Jul 2009 @ 9:51pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    This is the kind of unprofessional behavior that all of these complaints are talking about. Most people are willing to pay for what they knowingly agree to and when they get the service they are paying for. You are the dead beat that processes collections for a crook company.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • 

      Anonymous Coward, 13 Jul 2009 @ 9:58pm

      
      

      Re: Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

      By the way, Scott, I took down your number and intend on calling Direct TV tomorrow to report your behavior- not that they will care because they obviously don't care about customer service or professionalism once they have you locked into a 2 year unsigned one-sided contract.
      
      Tip, I think you are just angry because you have to make collection calls all day because you have a looser job. If these people are so called dead beats, they won't care if you report $200 on their credit- so you may want to find some other way to get your jollies.

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

      • 

        tech agent (profile), 16 Aug 2012 @ 10:50pm

        
        

        Re: Re: Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

        when you upgrade. we let you know about it. then get you over to a third party to make sure you know about it and get a verbal recorded agreement. dumb ass

        [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Victor La Fountaine, 15 Feb 2010 @ 9:05pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    I find your comment extremely inflamotory, and fits with Direct Televisions mis-leading treatment of myself. You were the ones that DID NOT HONOR the agreement I called and asked for, and WAS NOT GIVEN. I specifically called and asked about your rebate offer of $100 dollars to the person recomending you, as well as your offer of the $100 dollars rebate to myself. YOU said yes, I could get Direct Television for the agreed amount of $39 dollars for 59 channels, and when I tried to give YOU the rebate information you needed, was told I COULD NOT GIVE IT TO YOU until the equipment was installed.
    YOU then installed the equipment, and AGAIN I called and AGAIN was now told I could not give you the information for another 30 days. Not believing this? I again called and again was told the same thing. Now you send me a first month's bill for the amount of $69.41,,I again call, and ask if there was a simple biling mistake, and then you tell me I can NOW send the info by email. I asked okay, I would like to pay my bill, will you deduct the credit due for overpayment, as this is NOT WHAT YOU AGREED TO,, you SAID NO,,, AND THAT in fact it would not take affect for another 30 days after this,, I then asked you mean to tell me you promised me in the agreement of $39.95 a month, and now you want be to pay for two months at $69.41 because you would not take the information??? YOU said yes,, I TOLD YOU WHERE TO STICK YOUR SERVICE AND PLEASE COME AND GET IT, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO HONOR YOUR AGREEMENT, AND NO LONGER WANT TO DEAL WITH YOU IF YOU ARE THIS WAY. Fine you said,, three days later a salesman calls and asks 'WHAT CAN I DO TO KEEP YOUR SERVICE WITH US?" I said, easy,, just honor the agreement,, YOU SAID FINE,, I will refund you $50 dollars AND give you 3 months of movie channel for free,, I SAID THAT WAS FINE,, HOWEVER, I no longer trusted your comments, and to please send an email confirming your apology, and refund. YOU SAID FINE,, I never got any email or warning of one trying to me sent,, SO I AGAIN CALLED YOU,, and YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULD NOT RESEND THE EMAIL,, I SAID THIS IS RIDICULOUS,, SIMPLY RE SEND IT, AND I WILL BE HAPPY TO PAY WHAT I OWE,, YOU WOULD NOT EVEN LET ME TALK TO A SUPERVISOR, AND FLATLY REFUSED TO RESEND YOU AGREEMENT AND APOLOGY,,, I then for sure told you where to stick your antennea,, and now you wand to charge me $471 dollars for your not honouring your agreement in the first place,, I SUBMIT TO YOU, AND WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU IN COURT, THAT YOU ARE IF FACT THE DEAD BEAT, ESPECIALLY WITH YOUR COMMENTS TO EVERYONE,, IN FACT INVITE YOU TO LUNCH???? I WOULD GLADLY BUY??????? I have recorded all the conversations, and in fact also, American Express is waiting for you to take me to court, until then you can threaten bad credit, and am pursueing legal means against you for false credit reporting,,, VERY SINCERELY,, VICTOR LA FOUNTAINE,, extemely dissapointed and aggitated with you...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    directchitstorm, 12 Apr 2017 @ 6:15am

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    Let mne tell you something cuntbag! Shit happens. I have been a customer for 6 years and always paid my bill on time. I am on disability and this year one of my dogs dies and vet bills cost me $2300. I knew I would be late (by ONLY 5 days) and called to make arrangements. The man I spoke to said that would be fine and everything would be ok to pay the bill 5 days late. I woke up to find my services disconnected. These fuckers at Direct tv denied I even called and after speaking with 3 people said they could not do ANYTHING. The denied that I called and made arrangements and called me a liar. When I explained my situation they said "Oh I understand". Fuck you you understand what it is like to have to go on disability and lose one of your dogs. I am not a low life american like you are making anyone who can't pay their bill. I am an accountant with and MBA. I said I'll give you a $50 payment in good faith and they still said NOPE! You're turned off and owe us $35 for a reactivation fee and we won't waive it. You people are heartless corporate mother fucking pigs! You have shared me for services I did not buy, movies I never ordered an d increased my rates after a guarantee for a package for 2 years. So take that piece of paper with those phone numbers and shove it elbow deep up your asshole. This is the way corporate America is today. PIGS PIGS PIGS! You're a fucking pig who knows nothing.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Scott West, 14 Jul 2008 @ 1:33am

  
  

  Your All F'n Deadbeats

  On behalf of DirecTv, I am hereby authorized to send each and every account that has outstanding balances to CBE for collections. This is my job. Pay your bills on time and in full, and we would not have to do this. Being poor/broke is not an excuss, you ordered the service, you pay the bill.
  
  Scott West
  DirecTv
  Albany, OR
  1-541-926-4635 Field Office
  1-360-885-9669 Regional Office
  1-541-936-1908 Office
  1-800-531-5000 Customer Service

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Kat, 21 Jul 2008 @ 5:15pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    Scott, get real. I don't see where anyone is claiming they aren't paying because they can't. They aren't paying because they don't agree with the charges! That is a right all consumers have...disputing charges they believe are erroneous or caused unfairly/illegally.
    
    Everyone else...if you get sent to collections by DTV, be sure you follow your states process of Fair Credit Collections to ensure they don't harass you and work with you legally (i.e. they have to follow collection process or they could be breaking the law).

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • 

      Anne, 11 Oct 2009 @ 12:13am

      
      

      Re: Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

      Hey everyone. Do you really believe that "Scott" wrote that comment on behalf of Directv? My guess is that someone got frustrated with Scott and was happy to distribute his contact info so that he would receive a barrage of nasty notes and calls. After our calls this evening to Directv I can understand the strategy

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    matt lipps, 13 Oct 2008 @ 9:56am

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    people dont complain about paying thier bills. they complain of unwarranted charges. you are most likely a bit underprivileged yourself to not acknowledge that mistakes happen that are sometimes at the fault of directv. deadbeats are most often handled best by deadbeats. evidently you are unable to recognize the problem to be something totally different. u probably handle deadbeats well

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    paul j parfenovich (profile), 8 Sep 2009 @ 2:50pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    scott
    please get and read the small claims case against directv that was won against directv.
    in it the greedy co and its goons have paid for thier fraudulent actions ,sorry to say i did not get all of them.
    or all that was requested. the case was in HOT SPRINGS AR. order it up!
    more to be said at a later date........
    stand by

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Victor La Fountaine, 15 Feb 2010 @ 8:44pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Gabby, 3 Apr 2010 @ 1:03pm

    
    

    Re: Your All F'n Deadbeats

    This post by a Directv employee is so indicative of the problem here. This guy Scott thinks it's OK to rip people's money out of their accounts for $300, $400 or $500 when it is decided at Directv that they want to arbitrarily charge this huge cost. He thinks we are all deadbeats that won't pay our bills! Scott - I think you are missing the big picture: It is illegal to take people's money. It really seems these are incorrect charges. I cancelled and your company tried to tell me I owed $ for an early termination even though I was with the company for 7 years because I utilized the equipment protection plan I paid on for 7 years to replace a faulty DVR 1 year earlier. I fought that hard and was NOT on automatic debit AND you guys did not have a current debit card for me or your company would have probably taken it out of my bank account without authorization.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Chris P, 14 Jul 2008 @ 10:21am

  
  

  poor servive

  I just spent hours on the hold on the phone and was hung up on two times once I finally got to a supervisor. They use your children as a selling point to get their protection plan "If your kids damage something just give us a call and we'll replace it". My three your old damaged the receiver in his room, the basic receiver, and they tell me they want $170 total to replace it. After we pay in lease fees what the equipment costs why are they still charging us? If the cost of a basic receiver is $60 why are they still charging me lease fees after a year for it? I have been with them for years and have paid for my equipment many times over now.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Kat, 21 Jul 2008 @ 5:08pm

  
  

  Watch your bills closely

  Just a head's up to all DTV consumers. Watch your bills closely.
  
  After a huge installation mess I thought things would go better with the company.(I won't even get into details on that except to say that it took weeks to get right and hours upon hours of time on the phone....and dealing with a number of cust serv reps and contracted installers, none of which would give you the same answer as the prior or next one).
  
  Anyway..back on my point. I was watching my bills closely because we had a number of "credits" that were to cover the first couple month's fees. All that seemed ok, but then suddenly, on my 6/18 statement, I see this fee for "DTV Protection Plan" which I never signed up for.
  
  I call them on 7/11 ("Randy") and explain the issue and that I would like that service removed and fee refunded. He of course wastes my time with a sales pitch...and after way too long of a phone call and me jumping down his throat (frustration left over from initial set-up issues) he finally agrees that they did that erroneously. This was after he had me on hold looking for proof that I had signed up for it...which he couldn't find. So he guarantees I will have the credit on the next bill and that the policy would be canceled immediately.
  
  Next bill comes. LOL. The fee to be credited was $5.59. Well they only credited me $1.00 of that charge....and to boot, they charged me a $6.00 fee for canceling the coverage/DTV protection package that I never signed up for to begin with!!!!
  
  So, I call again ("Monique" this time). I explain the whole thing to her....of course she tries to sell me on the package again...just like Randy. AFter I finally get her to understand that I'm not interested in the package and am only interested in correcting my bill, she tries to tell me she can't do it because she has "exceeded her daily credit/refund limit". WTF? LOL sorry.
  
  So after pressing for a supervisor, she suddenly can apply the credits afterall.
  
  We'll see what happens next month.
  
  So be sure to double and triple check your billings from them because I'm sure I'm not the only one they have done this to...or even other bogus fees they've charged to others.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Doughboy, 21 Jul 2008 @ 9:50pm

    
    

    Re: Watch your bills closely

    holy h*** Kat, you just told our story TO THE LETTER. Not even into the first month of service, a box failed on one of our TVs (lil' POS kept rebooting, find a signal, rebooting, etc...). A couple bills later we saw that "protection plan" added to our bill. I(we) assumed it was the "donkey" who came to service us, that set us up on that plan (without telling us). Now you've REALLY gotten me P-O'd, knowing it didn't even take that!
    
    That was the first story, and NOW... We had a 'hard' rainstorm tuesday night (7/15). As always, when a storm comes, we lose our signal. It gets late, and time to hit the hay, and still no signal. Wed. morning I turn the TV on, no signal. We call dtv, and the soonest they could get a tech would be 7/21. We threaten to cancel, they offer $10/month off (6 months), waive the service call ($80), and their deepest apologies.
    
    Well, msg on the answering machine on 7/20: "Just confirming your appointment tomorrow between 1 and 4". Well, got a call from DTV this morning, and for some reason that very same "donkey" that was supposed to fix it today CAN'T MAKE IT. The next date available: Tuesday, 7/29. This time the offer is one month free, $100 credit, and the same $10 discount. Nah, they've had their chance, I have run out of (my) programs on the DVR, and if I watch (or even hear) another episode of "Oswald" (the only thing left, for my child's sake), then I will officially go insane.
    
    Needless to say, I'm PO'd (if you hadn't gathered that already), and while I'm not a Rockefeller, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet (et al), I make enough to let the cable company have their way with me... last time I remembered, the only time I lost my cable during a storm, it took a power plant going down to cut my electricity, and even then I got it back within five minutes...wasn't even the company's fault. We've GOT to get everyone we know to really understand what (fill in the blanks) they really are, and god bless the cable companies.
    
    --Doughboy
    
    P.S. Don't mess with the Dough, or I'll roll right over ya. Ya listenin, DTV?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Buddy, 30 Jul 2009 @ 3:24pm

    
    

    Re: Watch your bills closely

    Same exact thing here and my sister. Total scam. The lady at Directv asked me "Dont you remember signing up for it". I specifically remember not and have proof. Luckily I am aware of scams like this and saved all my original paperwork.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Steve, 22 Jul 2008 @ 5:47pm

  
  

  DirecTV Crooks

  I went to Best Buy several years ago, bought a HD DVR, paid $400+, didn't sign anything but the receipt, and walked out. I activated the receiver but then decided to return receiver because it didn't have our local channels. When I called to deactivate the receiver, directV stated that I had to return the receiver to them otherwise they would charge $500!
  I've called many times regarding this issue and they are adamant that there's some magical agreement that everyone should just know when dealing with these crooks. So now if I don't give them back the receiver that I paid a small fortune for.
  Just so I wouldn't have to deal with it, I just kept the receiver but because of their horrible service, deactived my service but now, again, they claim I owe $474 if I don't return the receiver. At first they said I signed something agreeing to this policy, which I didn't, then they said "Someone at Best Buy should have told me about it", which they didn't, now the latest is the box has a sticker which says "Property of DirecTV" which it doesn't, then that the receipt stated that it was property of DirecTV, which it didn't, then lastly they said that it's just in their policy that was sent out to all customers.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Jim Glass, 22 Jul 2008 @ 6:39pm

  
  

  Billing procedures?

  Every month my bill is pretty much screwed up. This months bill had a extra 42 dollar charge for NFL sunday Ticket!.. I do not watch football. they put me hold for 30 minutes while i waited for them to finally remove this charge.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Robert, 13 Dec 2008 @ 10:09am

  
  

  Getting Back DTV

  Here is a suggestion. I just went with Dish and began posting all this stuff on the finacial boards. I hope to get the Short Sellers to begin hitting DTV stock. If enough people poet on those investors will take a look. No investor wants to be in a dieing company. They are making the numbers by hitting everyone underhanded. Look at E-Trade.
  If everyone started going to the competition cable,dish whatever this shows growth on dish and DTV losing market share and investors start pulling out. Govt is not going to do anyhting. I tried to file that in Fl you have to have signiture to lease anything over 1 year as in most states.
  I have not heard back from them and figure I wont.
  As for Scott West I hope DTV goes under and I will work for collections free to hound that prick.
  Class Action I am in for lease fees and Free upgrades turning into long term contracts because a rep said my equipment needed upgraded.
  Tell the complaints to the investment boards and if you can short stocks this is a good to short probably only way to get my $500.00 cancelation fee back after they said they waived it and it went out my bank this morning. After telling them they were not autherized to do it.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  robert, 13 Dec 2008 @ 10:24am

  
  

  Calss Action Suit

  http://www.directvclassactionsuit.com/

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Wayne Westmoreland, 16 Jan 2009 @ 5:38pm

    
    

    Re: Calss Action Suit

    I have also been trying to get satisfaction from DiercTV's early cancellation fee. They hit me for $366.02 Which I was able to get back by having my bank refund it as unauthorized charge. This was time consuming and now they have turned me over to Allied Interstate Collections ( class action suit has been against them) I would like to be able to help with a class action suit against both of them . Email me or call 870 773-1213.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Chris Maynard, 22 Dec 2008 @ 9:21pm

  
  

  DIRECTV

  dtvinvestigation@sprengerlang.com
  
  Please send your complaints to this firm as they are assembling a case vs. Directv.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Royce Bidwell, 13 Jan 2010 @ 7:49pm

    
    

    Re: DIRECTV

    I will not get into details in this forum. However, was a former employee unrighfully let go, and would like contacted anyone regarding unfair employee treatment and letting go honest employees meanwhile keeping employees warned time and time again, they stayed because of sales numbers that looked good, but should not have been sales to begin with.
    
    Yet Directv let go employees who did their job honestly with integrity, even got raises and promotions for being company assets, but they became dispensible when they did not resort to cheating sales numbers.
    
    Myself and others need legal council, but cannot afford it. I am confident with research and interviews of current and former employees there is a legitimate lawsuit.
    
    I would like someone to contact me to see if there is a case here or not?

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Donald Marshall, 4 Jan 2009 @ 12:48pm

  
  

  Early termination fees charged by Directv.

  I was a subscriber to direct tv for many years. I upgraded my system to a dvr. I also had a service agreement for repairs should I have difficulty receiving a signal. I had three receivers. Two in my home and one in my Motor home.
  I had a problem receiving the signal in my motor home I called direct tv for repair. I was refused service they stated they do not repair equipment in a motor home. When I purchased the repair agreement I was told I would be covered should any problem arise with all the equipment including repair to the motor home equipment.
  I felt I had nowhere to go but to cancel my service, which I did. I returned my equipment as instructed. I also withdrew authorization to charge my credit card.
  Four days post, my credit card was billed $376.22. I disputed this amount and ultimately the amount was removed.
  At this time my account has been turned over to a collection agency who sent me a letter to pay the amount or my debt would be reported to one or more credit-reporting agencies. In my mind this amounts to blackmail.
  I would like to know if their is a Class action law suit on this issue, and if there is I would like to be a part of that law suit.
  I await your responses.
  Donald Marshall

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Need DTV Help, 22 Jan 2009 @ 9:03pm

  
  

  Class Action Against DTV

  We are having identical problems as everyone else. Two year contracts, early cancellation fees (after 2 years), collection letters, lease fees, must return equipment purchased. Want to get involved with class action before we go insane.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  GD, 26 Jan 2009 @ 8:37pm

  
  

  Poor business practice

  My Father moved into my home last February due to terminal illness. He arranged an agreement with DirecTV to provide satellite service. I wasn't involved with any part of it. When he passed away in June, I contacted DirecTV to discontinue service. The rep said I'd have to submit a DEATH CERTIFICATE to make any changes because my name wasn't on the account. I explained that a death certificate has information protected under the Privacy Act and would not be provided. I didn't have time to pursue the matter, so continued paying the bills even though I didn't want the service. Last November I started to receive communications from DirecTV stating that I'd need to take some type of action to prevent service from being discontinued. Since I didn't want the service anyway, I didn't take the action. Service ended on December 16. Since then I have not been able to receive local television broadcasts as I had before the satellite service started. I contacted DirecTV, told them to remove their equipment from my property, let them know they had voluntarily ended the service, and wanted them to return my television to being able to receive local broadcasts. Again, I was told that a death certificate was required. I submitted a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. The response was that they couldn't "service" my television because it's not their equipment, a $100 "deinstallation" fee would be charged, they'd send a box for the return, and that I'd incur charges if I didn't return their equipment within a certain timeframe. I left a message saying I didn't authorize them to send anything to my residence, but they did so anyway. I don't even have an account with his company, yet I've found it to be an unreasonable, bullying company. I hope the authorities investigate this company and either force it to close or change its business practices.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Shelly G, 17 Feb 2009 @ 1:40pm

  
  

  DirecTV- early cancellation fees

  I work at a class action law firm and we are investigating this issue. I would like to talk to people and hear their experiences. Please contact me at shelly1100ny@yahoo.com if you have been charged an early termination fee by DirecTV, or if you have any questions on this investigation.
  
  Thanks,
  
  Shelly

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    dxkeeling, 25 Aug 2010 @ 4:44pm

    
    

    Re: DirecTV- early cancellation fees

    Same Death Certificate issue this week, service still not canceled. This scam is equal to a person receiving a deceased persons social security check. Only difference that person would be held accountable if caught.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    dxkeeling, 25 Aug 2010 @ 4:44pm

    
    

    Re: DirecTV- early cancellation fees

    Same Death Certificate issue this week, service still not canceled. This scam is equal to a person receiving a deceased persons social security check. Only difference that person would be held accountable if caught.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • 

    Joshua D Stewart, 5 Jun 2013 @ 7:21pm

    
    

    Re: DirecTV- early cancellation fees

    I know this is an old post but I was just curious I let my girlfriend use my debit card to make a payment on her account when we separated she called to make sure i was off the account and when she cancelled her service they billed my credit card for that early termination $366.23. Anybody ever found a class action lawsuit where I can get my money back.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  George F Griepp, 27 May 2009 @ 12:26pm

  
  

  30 Months of Fraudulent Billing

  30 Months of Fraudulent Billing!
  Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:50 a.m.
  
  Called and spoke to David (U2631) at DIRECTV he informed me Amanda would return my call within 2 hours.
  Amanda (R9631) at DIRECTV called offered me 60 days credit I politely refused and again informed that I would be suing in small claims court and filing criminal charges for unauthorized use of a credit card. Amanda kept telling me that DIRECTV had spoken with me and I had not called DIRECTV to confirm the disconnect and that DIRECTV had billed me for approximately 30 months before I noticed. I stressed to Amanda that I had never been contacted by DIRECTV after my initial E-mail in July, 2006 and that I had never spoken to DIRECTV about this account until February 24, 2009 when I discovered the fraudulent billing.
  
  DIRECTVs position appears to be that I did not catch DIRECTV soon enough so DIRECTV intends to keep most of the funds that DIRECTV fraudulently removed from my bank account and that I did not catch DIRECTV quickly enough. The approximately $100 credit DIRECTV offered does not equal the approximately $1600 dollars DIRECTV obtained fraudulently.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  George F Griepp, 27 May 2009 @ 1:46pm

  
  

  DIRECTV 30 Months of Fraudulent Billing

  30 Months of Fraudulent Billing!
  Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:50 a.m.
  
  Called and spoke to David (U2631) at DIRECTV he informed me Amanda would return my call within 2 hours.
  Amanda (R9631) at DIRECTV called offered me 60 days credit I politely refused and again informed DIRECTV that I would be suing in small claims court and filing criminal charges for unauthorized use of a credit card. Amanda kept telling me that DIRECTV had spoken with me and I had not called DIRECTV to confirm the disconnect and that DIRECTV had billed me for approximately 30 months before I noticed. I stressed to Amanda that I had never been contacted by DIRECTV after my initial E-mail in July, 2006 and that I had never spoken to DIRECTV about this account until February 24, 2009 when I discovered the fraudulent billing.
  
  DIRECTVs position appears to be that I did not catch DIRECTV soon enough so DIRECTV intends to keep most of the funds that DIRECTV fraudulently removed from my bank account because I did not catch DIRECTVs fraud quickly enough. The approximately $100 credit DIRECTV offered does not equal the approximately $1600 dollars DIRECTV obtained fraudulently.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  suzanne, 29 May 2009 @ 7:08am

  
  

  DTV - extortion and unauthorized use of customer credit cards

  They also lie, and secretly lock you into new contract terms and then make unauthorized charges against your credit card, just because they have it on file.

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• 

  Ronnie Holmes, 1 Feb 2010 @ 9:05am

  
  

  DirecTv scam

  In Jan. 2009 I replied to a DirecTv mail flyer offerring Special reduced rate of $49.97 per monthh. I also had DirecTv add 3 additional months of ALL MOVIE CHANNELS for a total of $65.99. Purportedly after the 3 months I could cancel the MOVIE CHANNELS and return back to the $49.97 special. The dish and other equipment were installed on 2/7/09. I discovered AFTER THE INSTALLATION when I rec. my first bill that each reciever was costing me $5.00 dollars per month X3 and the SPECIAL intro offer was actually costing me $94.53 per month untill my "REBATE" kicked in 2 to 3 months?? My first payment was made about 2 weeks after installation for $86.58. Then I rec. a second bill on about the first week of March for $94.53... that is a total of $181.11 in just one months time?? On Sun. 3/1/09 I had no signal for the entire day due to rain and wind(I have a mailer that states, CUSTOMER QUESTION: "WILL I LOSE MY SIGNAL WHENEVER THERE IS BAD WEATHER?" DIRECTV ANSWER: "NO, DIRECTV DELIVERES WORRY FREE 99.9% SIGNAL RELIABILITY. DON'T BELIEVE WHAT THE CABLE COMPANIES TELL YOU") After that day I had intermittent signal and many of the channels would not come in. I called for maintenance on Sun 3/9/09 and was informed a tech. would arrive probably Wednesday 3/11/09. I spoke with the phone rep. on two different times on 3/10/09 concerning the huge bill of $181.11 at which she replied I had to wait for the REBATE to kick in for the savings... I then informed DirecTv that I was highly dissatisfied with the service, reception, maint and missleading advertising and for them to come and remove there equipment from my house. The rep. then informed me that my credit card would be billed for $500.00 dollars for early termination and LEASED equipment(I was not informed of any of this prior) I then had my previous provider come in and re-connect with their service. They informed me that DirecTv literally distroyed my existing cable in my house and they would need to re-run new cable. I then contacted my credit card company and cancelled my card so that DirecTv could not steal money from my account(how can any company deduct money from anyones banking/credit card account without authorization??)Since then I have been recieving bills from DirecTv for $513.31. I have contacted DirecTv to inform them I was reporting them to the Better Buisiness Bureau and searching for a Class Action Suit against them. The account was sent to a law firm for arbitration and I have been forced to pay $642.31 dollars to avoid going to court. When I first made contact with DirecTv via telephone because of a mail flyer, NOT ONCE was I told (1)there was a 2 year contract/early termination fee, (2)I would have to wait months before the REBATE to tke effect, (3)I would be paynig a monthly fee for each reciever, (4)in one month I would be paying $181.11 dollars, (5) I was not home during the installation...my girlfriend signed a document but no copy was left with her!! DirecTv's tatics are criminal and they should not only return the monies I have already paid for the bad to NO TV reception, plus the termination fee and threat to debit private accounts without individuals autorization but also compensate for the trouble and mental anguish they have caused me and thousands of other citizens.

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• 

  David, 1 Mar 2010 @ 7:41pm

  
  

  Sign petition on my site about directv we're not spammers!

  www.directvscams.com Would you reward a kid for stealing from your purse? Of course you wouldn't.Then why is the NFL rewarding Directv with exclussive rights? They lie , cheat , and steal.They charge you to lease their equipment , then charge you upto $5.99 to protect it against repairs.They will also make unauthorized charges to your credit/debit card.This is 100% accurate , google directv complainsts , it will blow your mind , they had over 20,000 complaints in 3 years , thats a BBB record.They have 3 lawsuits pending , in California , Washington , and Oregon.This does not include the silent suits.My goal is to get congress to open the NFL Sunday Ticket to cable companies , And all Satellite companies , At the top there is a Petition , my goal is to get 10,000 signatures then I'm sending the petition to congress.America needs competition , what if there was only 1 electrc company , gas company , Or auto maker?You Get the point , Thanks for your support! Earl David Evans

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• 

  Mark, 6 Mar 2010 @ 5:51pm

  
  

  Direct TV - Crooks

  I recently signed up for Direct TV. I was told I would receive a $100 Visa card. I asked "what do I need to do to get the card?" I was told nothing, just wait 60-90 days. As my wife followed up, she was told that we were not qualitfied as we did not sign up for automatic withdrawal. Apparantly it is in the fine print? Bull, they are crooks. The government needs to step in with these deceptive practices!

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• 

  Alex, 7 May 2010 @ 6:25pm

  
  

  directv

  I am not going to sit here and say directv is amazing or the best company in the world, i work for them as a customer service rep and they suck as an employer but as a tv service provider, everyone seriously? its in your contracts, its in the agreements you all sign without reading, i just had a customer retention course and i read it, yeah its lengthy but its all there, you all complain but its in the contract that YOU SIGN! i hate working for dtv, i found another job and will no longer be working for them next month. best of luck out there

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• 

  CARPAB (profile), 7 May 2010 @ 6:49pm

  
  

  lease fee disputes? read the agreement

  3) Up to $5.00 Additional TV Authorization Fee in connection with obtaining Service on each additional TV connected to Receiving Equipment you own, provided you meet the qualifications specified in Section 1(f) and the Receiving Equipment is located at your residence. Customers with leased Receiving Equipment do not pay this fee, but pay the Lease Fee specified in the Equipment Lease Addendum

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• 

  J. Gray, 24 Jun 2010 @ 6:30pm

  
  

  you pay a fee for the channels. not the box. come on people

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• 

  christopher deherrera, 17 Jan 2011 @ 3:20pm

  
  

  feedback

  It IS illegal to take people's money, and perhaps the act wouldn't be so bad but there are plenty of legal discloures that are glossed over or not disclosed at all. DIRECTV is infamous for their misleading ads and poor customer service. DIRECTV has had over 40,000 complaints from customers for false advertisements to the Better Business Bureau. I would at least do some research on DISH to see what we're all about you can go to DISH.com! –Christopher DeHerrera/DISH Employee

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  • 

    tech agent (profile), 16 Aug 2012 @ 10:47pm

    
    

    Re: feedback

    directv is #1 in customer service.. just saying

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    • 

      Jacq, 4 Oct 2012 @ 8:17pm

      
      

      Re: Re: feedback

      Um, not according to the 70 some odd people who commented before you.... Just sayin'

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• 

  CJ, 29 Nov 2012 @ 10:22am

  
  

  colections

  I called and cancelled direct tv almost three years ago, and they are STILL harassing me saying that I owe them money for two months AFTER my cancelation date. The "man" on the phone says they have no record of me canceling. What can I do? They call my friends and family, call me, and send me letters demanding payment. Will this nightmare never end?

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• 

  Charles E. Dockins, 14 May 2013 @ 5:22pm

  
  

  Complaint about direct tv extortion methods, to comell persons to not.

  direction tv threatened to bill my credit card, which has never been athorized; but extortion tatics ahve been used against myself a potential Plaintiff.
  The initial requirement of necessity of the use of a credit card to activate is a trick, deception and underhanded hidden ploy.

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• 

  Charles E. Dockins, 14 May 2013 @ 5:25pm

  
  

  complaint

  seeking to team up with others with similar oblems.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  Stacey, 19 Jun 2013 @ 8:37pm

  
  

  Direct TV Ripoff Artists

  I have the best programming Direct TV has to offer and I pay a prime rate for this service. One of my genie receivers started giving me trouble about 6 months into my 2 year contract. After being on the phone for over 2 hours per call many times they decided to send out a service tech. That is when she told me I had to pay for the service call and any equipment needed to repair the service. I stated I have the $7.99 a month protection plan, she responded that will reduce the service call to $0 but I would still need to pay for any equipment (average cost 100.00+). She also said the service calls are only 8 am to noon or noon to 4pm mon- fri. Now let me get this straight I pay for a service, I pay for the equipment and I pay for the protection plan each month totaling well over $200.00 but yet it covers nothing. In addition my time away from work, time spent on the phone have no value and if I want out I have to pay! This sounds like a completely one sided game and the only looser is me! They need to pay or make some serious changes, how do I complain to the right people?

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• 

  Johnny young, 5 Dec 2013 @ 6:57am

  
  

  direct tv, ripoff, early cancellation fees

  Direct tv is a rip off I had them for one year and the bill is high that even the service were very very bad on rainy days cant get my local channels call and complaint they want to send someone out and I hah to pay a fee, no way manager rude
  Dont ever even try they service very bad choice.

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• 

  Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2014 @ 11:34pm

  
  

  b

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• 

  Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2014 @ 11:37pm

  
  

  direct Tv with genie / kept trying to access my computer , had to have ted out showed them screen shots after he kept denying that could happen and he the disconnected the box rolled it up and left.

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• 

  tina, 12 Mar 2015 @ 12:30am

  
  

  Direct TV promised me my bill would be no more than advertised 25$. The first month it was 90$ I called I couldn't understand what the man was saying he didn't speak good English. They corrected bill the next month which was actually my third month again it was 90$. I was so frustrated I continued to pay this until contract ended 24 months later. I will NEVER recommend them to anyone. Now my elderly mother is going through same nonsense with them. Helpless feeling its so sad. Terrible customer service to say the least.

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• 

  Ling, 12 Mar 2015 @ 8:19pm

  
  

  FTC filed a complaint against Directv yesterday for advertising scam

  https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/03/ftc-charges-directv-deceptively-advertising-c ost-its-satellite?utm_source=govdelivery
  
  You should contact FTC to provide more info.

  [ link to this | view in chronology ]

• 

  AST, 17 Aug 2015 @ 3:32pm

  
  

  Unethical

  Got our final bill from Direct TV after there support accused me of Piracy, Cancelled service received Credit for $40.42 on final statement. Received a VISA debit card with $20.42. Puzzled?, called and asked why not credited for $40.42 as the statement reflects. In a short, stated it was due to Credit Retention. Just hung the phone up and chalked this one up as a learning experience. WHAT A BUNCH OF CROOKS! MY ADVICE, STAY AWAY. This organization does not have ethical business practices.

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  • 

    linda (profile), 12 Dec 2015 @ 11:34am

    
    

    Re: Unethical

    Like most others my dealings with Direct TV have been a nightmare to say the least. I signed up for them in 2013. During that time I called them every other month which they claim they have no record of. I always hear that I should have called them. I would call and say that I had not received my bill in the mail. They would say that it was mailed and ask if I had looked at my bill online. I would counter with if I wanted to be paperless I would say so but I don't so therefor I should have a bill for this month and last month. Which brings me to my not having paid and now am being charged for god knows what because the bill is higher than it should be. Then we would go through my charges and they would have to make corrections. Then I would complain about all of the outages. They said that the signal cannot penetrate cloud cover and they cannot control nature and that they do not issue a credit for nature related outages of this nature. On tv they advertise how easy it is to move with Direct TV so I call them when I move and they tell me it will be $200. I said that is more than the install cost. I just want to move not hemorrhage tv service. So they cut the price to $100. I say well I will cancel it then and go back to time warner. My boy friend called them after he got home from work and they dropped it down to $50. The billing and service issues begin again. I threaten to cancel and they work out a new agreement with me just to keep me promising to mail my statement and that lasted about 2-3 months. Then back to the same problems as my bill increases. In Sept. I call to inform them that my 2 year agreement is up and that I will be moving and cannot have sattelite service and therefor am cancelling my service and to ship out my return boxes, True to form I never received them. I call and they reship them and return the equipment, for 2 months they call and say they did not get the equipment. I offer to email a copy of the postal receipt which they refused. Yesterday I discovered that they pulled $212 out of my new checking account. I used that account 1 time to make a 1 time payment. I called them to discuss this situation and am informed that they cannot put my money back and that even though they clearly charged me excessively and have not ensured that I have received my bill they cannot give me a refund. Marge told me that they sent the bill and that they just got the equipment and that they have to revise my final bill and sent it out. Shirley, a billing supervisor, said that nothing can be done. Nikki said that the charges are for late fees. Elizabeth said that they charge any account that they find in the system. I told all of them that it is theft to bill more than 1 time to a card that was used as a 1 time payment. They said their contract allows them to use any form of payment that they have on file. I have to go to my bank on Monday to file a litigation over this whole situation. I must admit the frosting on the cake, so to speak, was their reps talking to me like I was stupid and did not know how to navigate the computer. Insulting people should be the last thing that they should do. I am going to contact the BBB and a few lawyers on Monday and Tuesday.

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• 

  april, 24 Apr 2017 @ 12:03pm

  
  

  rebate scam

  i have been scrammed they said they sent us a letter which I didn't get
  and now they say that im not eligible for it as I didn't make the call of contact on the internet before the exp date
  I never received a letter
  and im entitled to the refund and I should get it
  no matter what

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