Complaint Review: DirecTV

This report is not about why I cancelled my service with DirecTV.  It's about my experience of the cancellation process.

I knew that the last bill I paid was for service through 06/14/13.  I suspected that DirecTV would try to pull something sleazy if I didn't take care of cancelling in a timely manner (force me into another 2 year contract if I was a day late to cancel, etc.).  So I called on 06/10 to put in my cancellation notice for 06/14.  They told me they could do that, but they would have to charge me a $20 early termination fee because they would have to cancel on the 10th...they couldn't schedule the termination for the 14th.  They told me that I had to call back on the 15th to cancel.  I said "Are you sure it should be on the 15th?  I'm paid only through the 14th, shouldn't I call then?"  They said no, I had to call on the 15th.  Then I said "The 15th is on a Saturday, will I be able to get to that department on Saturday?"  They said that I could, that they were available until midnight.

So, as instructed, I called and cancelled on the 15th.  I gave them a few days to process the cancellation and the following week I called to make sure they would not automatically make the withdrawal from my bank that would have happened on 6/28. (I've heard stories - and once they take it out of your account, you can't get it back.)  They told me the cancellation had been processed and I had a credit of $5.65 which I would receive after I returned their equipment.

Then I received my final statement on 06/24 which said that I owed $4.01.  I called to find out why I owe them anything since I followed the cancellation process exactly as I was told.  You won't believe the explanation.

"Yes, you were fully paid through 06/14, but your contract ended on 06/15.  We were able to provide service to you on 06/15 so we prorated your bill for that one day."

After several minutes of explaining to them the power of Facebook and word-of-mouth, they realized it wasn't worth $4.01 to have me pissed off.  They agreed to reverse those charges...we'll see if that happens.

You can't win.  If you cancel on the day through which you are paid, they will charge you an early termination fee because it's the day before your contract ends.  If you cancel ON the day your contract ends, they charge you for that one day of service.  I guess you have to call at midnight between those two days.  The easier solution is to NEVER sign a contract with DirecTV.

I'm a TV junkie and I didn't know how I would survive without satellite or cable, but I'm tired of all of the providers screwing their customers with the constant rate increases and their term-contracts that only protects them.  So I bought a digital TV antenna for $40.  It picks up about a dozen channels that interest me (more that don't) and most of them are in HD.  The picture is crystal clear.  I also have an Amazon Prime membership that provides free shipping on all my orders plus video streaming.  Not the most recent episodes but it streams directly to my TV.  I've found that I'm not that invested in my favorite shows, I just need to watch TV.  I'll catch up on my favorites later, but in the meantime I'm watching shows from the beginning that I didn't have time for in the past and some fairly recent movies for free.  You can watch many of your current favorites online these days and that scares the pants off Dish, DirecTv, and cable companies.

You can do it!  Don't be held hostage by a term-contract for OVER-PRICED service.