Complaint Review: DIRECTV

Directv Early Termination Fees - Back Story

Note - prior to this I was a loyal customer of Directv dating back to Sept 2004.

In Sept 2008 my dvr stopped working. After troubleshooting with DTV tech, they sent me a replacement unit - Directv d11 digital satellite receiver selling for less than $75 new on Amazon.com.

At no point did I authorize a 2-yr contract extension for the replacement of this unit. Had they informed me of this i would have either bought it upfront OR switched to a new provider willing to give me a receiver.

Fast forward to April 2009, I cancelled my service. At no point did they tell me i would be subject to early cancellation fees. In fact the opposite, they tried to offer me money (credit)  and services to stay with them. I told them I was moving and may set up service again in a few months time. Additionally, I sent the device back to them in working order as requested by them in order to avoid being charged for the device.

Now they have added a hidden cancellation fee of $340 and customer service at DTV were unhelpful and ended up hanging up on me when I complained. I asked them to provide proof that i approved the 2-yr extension. They said they were unable to and were not obligated to do anything other than to send me a copy of terms and conditions for a 2-yr extension that i never agreed to.

This showed up on a directv statement dated 5/01/09 The unauthorized charge for $340 s labelled an 'early cancelation fee'. There is also a second charge of $65 earlier in the month from directv which should have been prorated for the month in which I cancelled . They said they did which is why it comes out to $311 - but this does not add up nor could a DTV rep explain how the $311 was calculated.

According to a class action case against Directv the early cancelation fee is illegal because  'directv failed to inform subscribers that they were under any contractual obligation to maintain service for a given period of time'. See Lieff Cabraser attorneys representing this.

How many other people have they tried to get away doing this to?

I successfully disputed this with my credit card company who reversed the charges

Directv actually owes me $340 - not the other way around. The $340 charge was a fraudulent 'early cancelation fee' which was unauthorized. This was successfully disputed and cleared with my credit card company who reversed the charge of $311 on one of the bills. The statement to the credit card company is summarized above.

Fast Forward To October 2011--

I received a negative hit on my credit report for $311 as Anderson Fin Network (AFNI). They used a very underhand collection tactic. Here's what they did:

1) They filed claim against me to register on my credit report.

2) My credit monitoring service notified me of the change to my credit --- this is the first time I had heard of Anderson Fin Network (AFNI). I have not received ANY calls or letters from them.

3) I Googled the company, got the number and called to complain;

4) A AFNI rep by the name of 'HERB SCHOPPER', EMPLOYEE ID 46554 made out like he was doing me a favor. He said they would settle it with me and remove the credit filing;

5) I explained that the credit card company review found in my favor and that Directv never provided me with any supporting documents or audio recordings that prove they told me they were renewing me in a new 2-year contract. He told me that Directv was under no obligation to do so and that Directv are standing behind this bullshit fee.

6) The decided to give in and settle this because 1) my time is worth more than this; and 2) i need a clean credit report; 3) i have no clear person or entity to complain to at Directv - AFNI don't really care as they have bought the debt.