Called Direct TV technical services and was told, after going through an endless set of instructions and steps, that the problem with my DVR (it would turn itself off and could only be reset by disconnecting and then reconnecting the power source) could be alleviated with a service call during which a technician would realign my dish. The problem was the dish!

The technician came out, I directed him to the dish, and he asked to go inside to check out the problem.
The technician discovered, as I suspected, that the DVR that I was "leasing" was broken and needed replaced. It should be noted that that's what I complained about to the online techie ("it turned itself off three times and I had to unplug it to reset it)!

Here's the scam: 1. I was never told that there would be a charge. 2. The issue diagnosed by the online techie was incorrect at the very least, and bogus as the scam unfolded. 3. I was never offered a "do it yourself" option, " which would have cost me nothing other than my time (I still wait time for the visiting technician, so...?)) 3. The technician who came to the house NEVER mentioned a charge for any service and/or replacement cost. 4. The charge was automatic.

I was automatically billed to my AMEX card and promptly called them to dispute the charge. I did call Direct TV and they believe it to be a "legitimate" charge. It is not, based on my specific situation.

Can't wait for my contract to be over in October. I count the days!
BTW: quality is terrible. It has never been better than cable. I made a terrible mistake signing up with Direct TV. I do not recommend it to anyone, and in survey, give it a 0 out of 10 in almost every aspect of the company. I hope to have another opportunity to evaluated them!

I would suggest no dealings with Direct TV. Their promotionals are misleading, their customer service stinks and they are unwilling to correct mistakes when it is their fault. I contracted service and the installers put in the wrong address for the billing. Accordingly, I never got bills from them. Service was disconnected and a customer service number I had would not take calls if the account was past due. I finally was able to secure another phone number to call, and the customer service center was unwilling to make allowances to accommmodate for mistakes their administration had made. I did get charged a termination fee, but that is cheaper than continuing a monthly service with a company that I feel is handling their customers inappropiately. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

I cancelled my Direct TV back in Dec of 2010. I made sure to call them direct to ensure this was my final bill and that no more charges would apply. The next month (Jan of 2011) They sent me a bill for $5. I called for an explanation of the bill and was told it was a charge for calling them in Dec to pay my final bill. Brian the gentleman for Direct TV apologized for the $5 charge and reversed it. Now I get a bill in February for $14. Again I called up Direct TV asking for an explanation and was told it was for a movie I purchased through my remote back in 2007 (3 years ago). I asked to talk to a superviser and at that time Amy got on the phone. When I explained what was going on she told me I had to pay this bill or she would make sure I was put in collection. What kind of garbage is this!! I personally would never use Direct TV again. I had their services for 6 years without one complaint but all it takes is something like this to destroy the relationship.

Direct TV and AT&T have been jerking us around for about 2 weeks now. Been a customer for about 18 years. Got tired of over paying they said they'd make it right. Bottem line they sold me a bundle for TV and AT&T high speed internet. They installed the Satellite on Feb. 16th I told the installer I would not honor a two year contract if they did not do everything their suppose to. He said that was up to me but I only had 24 hours to cancel. Four hours later called them up with a problem already and let them know then I did not except the agreement pull it out if they had to, or no contract. Well its Feb. 21st still have no internet thanks to AT&T, which it a whole nother complaint. As of today direct TV says they don't bundle internet with AT&T. Of coarse now direct TV says I am locked into a two year contract which if I break their going to charge me for boxes and install. When they set this all up there wanted a credit card for a one time charge of 10.00, which was ok but I check my online account alittle while ago and they have my card on file. I did not authorize this and when I ask them to remove it they refused. Been off work with surgery so I bet I've spent at least 20 hours or more on the phone in the last 2 weeks. Between direct TV and AT&T their selling bundles of services together but one does'nt know what the other is doing. What attorney do you call?

Direct Tv Watch out if you cancel service! Internet

I had Direct TV satellite service for almost 10 years. I cancelled service for a less-expensive tv service on March 17th. When I cancelled, the cus.service agent advised me of a $100 cancellation fee (which was fine because my new tv provider was giving me that $ to switch to them). I had a $12 credit on my direct tv account so the cancellation fee charged to my credit card was $88. This is not the end of the story.

Over a week later, I recieved the fedex box and shipping label so that I could return to them an HD reciever. No problem yet. I put the unit into its box and dropped it at a Fedex location. April 8th I recieved an email from directv saying that my account was past due. I called directv to ask what the late fee charge was. They told me that I hadn't returned the HD reciever. I quickly logged onto fedex.com and advised the customer service agent that fedex.com had a signature confirming receipt on April 6th. (signature from a J.Yohe). She thanked me, told me that it may take a few days once recieved in the warehouse for the records to reflect that I had returned my HD reciever. Fast forward to April 30 when I recieved a text from my bank that my credit/debit account had been overdrawn. Overdrawn? I logged onto my bank website to find out that directv had charged me 267.51. When I called directv, they told me that charge was for the equipment that they hadnt recieved but did see that they HAD already recieved it on April 26th. So why would they go ahead and charge my account on April 30 if they had the equipment already? The customer service person would not answer that question. They would have to do an investigation before they could refund my money and it would take 3-5 days.

Over a week later, I called back since there was still no credit. My problem had been turned over to "escalations" and now it would take a few more days to get my account credited. The key here is that they meant my "directv account", not my credit card account. Once my directv account is credited (remember i dont use directv anymore so having a $267.51 credit on my account does me NO GOOD), it takes 6-8 weeks 6 TO 8 WEEKS!!! for them to actually refund any money. They would not admit any mistakes at all and refused to give my money back immediately because that wouldn't be following "procedure". Oh, but I guess it is procedure to charge somoeone a load of money for equipment that is sitting in their warehouse already.

The worst thing about this whole situation is even if you catch their mistake, they will not correct it right away. They are quick to charge you, but are not quick to give the money back. They will hold your money for 2 months (even when it is clearly their fault). Does directv pay interest on that money?? yeah right.

In the end, I have filed a complaint with my bank for a fraudulent charge. My bank gave me my money back right away and they will go after directv for it. I have also changed my credit card number so directv can longer make any more whimsicle charges.