Complaint Review: DirecTV

I had a horrible experience with DirecTV. And when no one would call me back as promised, I file a complaint through the BBB. Instead of calling me back directly, they replied to the BBB with generic response saying it would be forwarded to the appropriate parties. I did not accept their response. The replied back with an even more horrible response. Again, I did not accept their respose. And now they say they have no record of my canceled order. So how were they sorry for my experience and looking into my concern??

Below is the entire file from my BBB complaint. I cannot believe a company can do business like this. All I wanted was an apology from someone from senior management. I wasn't asking for money or for something free. All I wanted was an acknowlegment and an apology. They couldn't even do that. But maybe it's because "they weren't able to find any record of my attempted order".

Consumer's Original Complaint :

The customer service at DirecTV was inconsistent and rude at times.

On December 23rd, 2013, we decided to switch from Comcast. After some research, we decided to go with DirecTV. We were all set up for the TV portion but the internet portion wouldn't go trough. We ( my wife and I on speaker) had to call back in a few hours. I did and it still didn't go through. I called again after Christmas and they told me that only DSL was available through AT&T. We decided to go with that. But again, it wouldn't go through. We called again later that day and after it didn't go through again, the rep, Ray, said he would call us back in 15 minutes since we were already on the phone for 45 minutes, but never did. We called back 2 hours later and Diedra also had an issue. Then she quoted us $10 more than everyone did. After some back and forth, she said we get $10 off if we did paperless and auto pay. I told her he would do paperless but not auto pay. She said that's fine and we would still get the $10 off. She told us she would call back the next day at 3pm when her shift started to finalize the order.

The next day, Friday, came and at 5pm, we called again. I asked to speak to a supervisor because I was very frustrated at this point. When the supervisor, Kenny, got on the phone he was not very helpful. During many points on the conversation, we would talk over me. Then we finally agreed to the auto pay just to be done with it and he said our modem would take 3-5 business days to arrive. We asked why it couldn't be a priority since we've been trying to set this up since Monday and now our internet won't arrive at the same time our DirecTV will be set up. He just repeated the shipping timeframe. I explained all the trouble we have been through for the past 5 days and his response was "So would you like to go ahead and proceed with this order?" Really?? He said the longer we wait to set it up, the longer it will take to arrive. I told him not to talk down to us and he was being very condescending. We decided to place the order and thought we will handle this later since we were on our way out but we didn't want to talk to Kenny anymore. We finalized the order with the original rep, Luis. I called the next day to complain and talked to Shontel and she said she would escalate the problem. 

After some thought, we decided not go with DirecTV because if we are having this many issues and we haven't even started our service, why sign a 2 year contract. We called on 12/29/13 to cancel and the rep, Cheryl, was very nice and tried to help us but we told her we just want to cancel. Then I called the bundle number and talked to Lawanda. I told her I just canceled my DirecTV order and wanted to make sure my internet was canceled as well. She said I would have to call AT&T directly to cancel. I said even though I called this number to order it? She said yes, they are DirecTV. I told her this is exactly why I'm canceling my order and I'm glad I canceled and can I please have AT&T's number. I then heard her say "girl" and hung up on me. I didn't know that was an option for them to do. I couldn't be happier I canceled my order now. I called back to complain and talked to a floor supervisor, Teddy, who then put on a manager, Jeff. But apologized and said they would escalate the issue. I don't have any confidence this issue will be escalated or handled properly. I would like someone from senior management to get back to me regarding my complaints. 

Consumer's Desired Resolution:

I would like to be reassured someone from senior management follows up on my complaints with a phone call because I feel that no one is taking my concerns seriously. I have been dismissed by one supervisor and hung up on by a representative. I would like and apology for that.

BBB Processing

12/29/2013                web       BBB        Case Received by BBB

12/29/2013                web       BBB        Forward to Another BBB - OTTO

12/29/2013                Otto       BBB        Inform Consumer Case Transferred to Another BBB

12/29/2013                Otto       EMAIL     Inform other BBB Case Transferred

12/29/2013                Otto       BBB        Case Closed as TRANSFERRED to another BBB

12/30/2013                BBB      BBB        Case Received by BBB

01/03/2014                MBR      BBB        Case Reviewed by BBB

01/03/2014                Otto       EMAIL     Send Acknowledgement to Consumer

01/03/2014                Otto       EMAIL     Notify Business of Dispute

01/09/2014                WEB      BBB        RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE : Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns. We sincerely apologize for the poor experience you encountered in attempting to sign up for DIRECTV, as that is not typical of our service.

                              We value the feedback you have provided regarding our sales representatives. Please note that we will be forwarding on your comments for review to the appropriate parties. Your business is important to us and we regret to have lost you as a customer. If you do ever change your mind we encourage you to contact us at any time, as we would appreciate the opportunity to serve you.

                              Respectfully,

                              DIRECTV Office of the President

01/09/2014                MBR      EMAIL     Forward Business response to Consumer

01/10/2014                WEB      BBB        BBB REVIEWS CONSUMER REBUTTAL TO BUSINESS RESPONSE : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

                              I'm not sure if this is their final response or is someone from senior management will still be calling me as I requested. This is a standard response template used for all general complaints. It's not even addressed to me personally or signed by an actual person. This cannot be acceptable business practice. It states that my concern is being forwarded to the appropriate parties. So shall I wait for a more appropriate response? A supervisor was outright rude to me and my wife. A representative purposely hung up on me. I had to make several calls to get my service started. I received different quotes from different representatives. I had a week a frustration with this company to a point that I went through the BBB to help resolve my issue and all I get is a standard response from the "office" of the president. I'm sorry, but I do not accept this generic generated response. I would appreciate a personal phone call from someone from senior management. I would appreciate it if the company took the time to really address my concerns. And I would appreciate it if senior management acknowledges that their representative hung up on me on purpose and their supervisor was unprofessional.

01/10/2014                MBR      EMAIL     Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business

01/13/2014                WEB      BBB        RECEIVED BUSINESS' REBUTTAL RESPONSE : On behalf of DIRECTV, we want to extend our sincerest apology toward the recent events you encountered with your attempt to acquire DIRECTV services. As previously advised, the events mentioned have been addressed with the parties involved in the placement of your prior voided order. Please note that all course of action taken is considered proprietary to DIRECTV and will not be discussed. 

                              If you would like to discuss the option of obtaining DIRECTV services, we would be more than happy to review any offers that may be available to you. Please provide us with a valid contact phone number and best time that we may be able to reach you.

                              Respectfully,

                              DIRECTV Office of the President

01/14/2014                MBR      EMAIL     Send Business' Rebuttal Response to Consumer

01/16/2014                WEB      BBB        CONSUMER REJECTS BUSINESS' FINAL OFFER : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I'm not sure if anyone is thoroughly reading my concerns but it's still not being addressed. I never asked to discuss the course of action of DirecTV. And all I was told that my concern was being forwarded by the appropriate parties. I have yet to receive a phone call as I requested and I was told I was the last few times I called. If my concern was truly looked into, they would see my contact information and someone would have called me back by now. Is that an unreasonable request? The reason why I want someone from senior management to call me and acknowledge my concerns is to ensure that they are aware of how I was treated. I would also like a personal apology from someone from senior management. This has gone on way too long and has taken up way too much time for any customer. And although I canceled my service, I still deserve an apology. And not from a generic email from a call center representative that signs from the office of the president.  I cannot believe a business who says they take pride in the customer service has allowed this to happen.

 My contact information is ***-***-****. I hope to hear from senior management soon.

01/16/2014                             BBB        MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE BUSINESS : We appreciate your feedback regarding your experience. We are unable to find any record of your attempted order and therefore are unable to provide a resolution.

                              Please consider this to be our final word on the matter.

                              Respectfully,

                              DIRECTV Office of the President