I just had to cut and paste this review from another disgruntled customer (my experience did not happen exactly as the attached complaint however,
I have had so many issues and made so many phonecalls to correct THEIR errors and misleading information that I cannot even begin to recant the conversations, false promises & different responses, depending on who you talk to, which all conflict with each other). I am so frustrated (putting it nicely) that we are indeed, for a $400+ cancellation fee, going to terminate our service. I'd rather go with no TV than to deal with their company any longer. I only wish that I'd checked the internet before doing business with them. Take heed and spread the word!
P.S. If you know how to send these complaints to Direct TV's CEO, please let me, and the world, know.

False advertisement, wrong billing, poor customer service

I made sure to ask all the right questions about billing and cancellation. I was promised a 30 day trial period no strings attached, the salesman even told me they knock off another $10 from the bill if you pass a credit check.

Direct tv was installed on a friday in march-07. We signed up for the plus package- 185 channels/hbo & cinemax free for 3 months for $44.99, no dvr included. The following monday we received a bill from them for $59.99. I called to question and correct the amount. I had to speak with several people getting different answers and reasons about the bill amount. When i mentioned cancelling the service i was told i would be fined because i exceeded their 7 day cancel policy its not 30, then i was "accidentally" disconnected.

When i called back after jumping through several hoops, the next person tells me its not 7 days, you only have 3 days to cancel from activation, then i was "accidentally" disconnected again.

Several weeks later we get a second bill for $59. Now we owe them for 2 months and we've only had service for a little over 5 weeks. Several days later they shut off our service.

During this experience with direct tv i've learned several facts:

1- customer service is lousy, they are either all stupid or they are all lying about everything.

2- direct tv will terminate your service within a 40 day period or sooner if a single bill is not paid, even a new customer.

3- in order to get the advertised package prices, you need to mail in a rebate form that takes 6-8 weeks and no interuption of service to qualify. This redemption can be ended at the discretion of direct tv at any time which can send your bill back up.

4- the installer doesnt have you sign anything. Your first bill is considered your contract with the terms of agreement and is also your redemption form to get the rebate for a lower bill.

5- direct tv's billing is pro-rated, this fancy word means your actually paying ahead for the service before you use it instead of after.

6-after your service is shut off, they will obviously call and try to collect the money, but they will also try to get you to cancel so they can add another $300 to your bill.

My best advice to anyone thinking about ordering directv is not to do it. They smack of false advertising and hidden details and poor customer service. If you already have directtv, do not cancel the service because they will bill you $300 or more on top of the monthly bill you owe. Your actually better off just not paying the bill... this way if they shut your service off, and you dont cancel, they cant even ask for the box back.

If your service is shut off, make sure you unplug the box right away because they can actually keep billing you month to month. This is because they dont actually kill the signal to the box, you still get a couple channels, but the only thing you can really watch are pay per view and the 24 hour ad channels.

My name is Charlotte Harris, I was pulled into a contract by Direct TV promising a package with a price of 2995 a month for 6 mos with 3 free mos of HBO and stars ect ect
Not only did they NOT honor their add it took them 2 weeks to install my receiver so i could even watch Tv and CHARGED me for this 2 weeks of no service.
And they charged me not the 29.95 a month they charged me literally 100 dollar bill from the first month till now.
I have called complaint center 4 different times, to be yelled at by one(supposedly) manager and she hangs up on me,
then i call back and get another manager and she helped me out and made things right, told me that she was gonna credit me all back that i was overcharged and for the mistake and stress the former employee put me through i was gonna be charged 48.98 for extra choice with 6 mos free starz and showtime, still yet, i get bills for 90 dollars, now 77 dollars and just got off the phone with them again, to hear one gentlemen tell me literally(there is no way in hell) we can or will charge that amount for the package i was givin.So i got lied to, i call back a 3rd time, and another manager says ok, your supposed to be charged 48.98+ tax which came out to 54 dollars and change, now the bill comes, its 77 dollars and change.
i have Multiple sclerosis, and are on a fixed income, and they take advantage of me every time making an excuse why they cant honor the 48.98, anymore.
I am calling the better business buero and going to talk to an attorney as well.
They take advantage of people and double charge people, knowing they are handicapped in the first place along with normal people as well.i have a good friend going through the same ordeal with a contract over her head she cant break like me, but are being overcharged 50 bucks a month.
DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE,
They will scam you, rob you, make up charges that don't exist and hang up with you on the phone when they heard enough.
Bad business and they are gonna feel the wrath of legal action by taking advantage of a handicapped person, knowingly charged me full price, which shows on their computer,
the credits they gave back to me were not even close to what they over charged me,

so don't give this business your patronage, it is a rip off and they are thieves .

I just wanted to let people out there know how these people treat and speak to their customers.
I am personally going to go back to time warner and tell these people to go to hell after legal action.

Thanks for hearing me out, and if you use these people, prepare to get screwed!

Charlotte Harris

We ordered a hd dvr receiver to be installed with direct tv. We only got the hd receiver not the dvr and we did not realize the mistake until the installer had left. We called Direct and they want 283.00 by credit card to send another receiver even though it was their mistake. They said they would then apply credit to the account for this amount but they would not credit the card for this amount. We think we were ripped off what do you think?

Their customer service is horrible. I have been without HD on many of my channels for over 3 weeks. When I made an appointment for service they simply told me Saturday. Assuming it was the following Saturday I waited. After 2 hours of waiting I called only to be told it was the following Saturday. They then set up a weekday appointment. The tech decided to show whenever he felt like it not at the apppointed time. Of course I wasn't home. I reschedule for today and was told I was a priorit and they would be here at 8. I had to call them only to be told they would be here between 10 and 12. It's almost 10:30 and I am still waiting. Can't wait to cancel this crappy service.

Direct TV has the worst customer service ever. I had my services disconnected to find that my account was charged $424.76. As a result to this they told me I have to wait up to 6 to 8 weeks for my account to be credited. The supervisor on top of that customer service was the worst of all. He had a horrible attitude and replied that he could not transfer me to anyone other than himself. His name was David and his employee # is 373488. His regular associate before him was rude as well which the reason I asked for a supervisor. His name was Freddy and his id was 432024. I would not use direct tv ever again, because they have the worst customer service that I have ever experienced.