George F Griepp
Hot Springs,#2Consumer Comment
Thu, May 14, 2009
DIRECTVs BBB initial response: Company's Initial Response - Posted 05/12/2009 We regret to hear of any misunderstanding. When I contacted you by phone on May 10, 2009, you were unable to speak with me. I have not received a return call nor was I able to reach you when I called back on May 12, 2009. On July 5, 2006, you sent us an e-mail requesting one of your two accounts to be disconnected. We attempted to call you by phone in response to your request on July 11. When you called us back you mentioned wanting to keep costs low because you were going through a divorce and your daughter was leaving for college. We suggested reducing your programming instead of disconnecting the account and you stated you would consider this. We could only assume your service was satisfactory because we did not receive any further communication from you regarding this account until February 24, 2009. On February 24, you requested to disconnect the account and it was effective the following day. Due to the various ways DIRECTV makes your billing information and specific charges known (i.e. paper statements, E-billing options, directv.com, and customer support) we are unable to credit monthly charges older than 60 days. Respectfully, DIRECTV Office of the President Initial Response Summary Due to the various ways DIRECTV makes your billing information and specific charges known we are unable to credit monthly charges older than 60 days. Thursday, May 14, 2009 In response to your reply above: There is no misunderstanding, only a total failure of DIRECTV to follow my instructions, DIRECTVs claim of initiating an improper marketing call, DIRECTV fraudulently claiming to have talked to me, and DIRECTVs criminal removal of monies from my account. When I received a call Sunday May 10, 2009, I explained to the woman who called (Lori? Loni?) that this was a bad time as we were on our way out to the veterinarians office with a sick puppy. She stated that she was off the next day but would call back. I have voice mail on both of my phones and I was NEVER left a message. I am still waiting for DIRECTV to call back. The history of DIRECTV's attempts to contact me has been an abject failure, even after I supply correct contact information. My July 5, 2006 E-mail order should have resulted in the service being discontinued and ceased any further removal of monies from my account. DIRECTV could have simply replied to my E-mail with the offer of reduced programming and I would have replied affirming my order to disconnect on August 1, 2006. On July 11, 2006 DIRECTV DID NOT call MY phone and I DID NOT ever call DIRECTV back regarding this account! I NEVER had the conversation We suggested reducing your programming instead of disconnecting the account and you stated you would consider this. I DID NOT talk to DIRECTV about this account after the initial E-mail of July 5, 2006 until February 24, 2009. DIRECTV fraudulently noted authorization to continue removal of monies from my account by claiming to have talked to me. I DO NOT have a daughter and was divorced in June 2006! DIRECTV should have NEVER called anyone in regards to this account! DIRECTV should have followed my initial instructions, disconnected services August 1, 2006, and discontinued removal of monies from my account. After all, DIRECTV received a hefty fine for DIRECTVs telemarketing activities and, from my experience and information obtained from the Internet; I now am beginning to see why this occurred. I am one of many who complain about DIRECTV billing after a request for service to be disconnected is ignored and DIRECTV does not want to refund any amount of the fraudulent charges. To summarize, DIRECTV criminally removed monies from my account for approximately 30 months and DIRECTVs defense is that I did not catch DIRECTV soon enough! I e-mailed DIRECTV asking for one of my accounts to be disconnected. DIRECTV failed to follow my instructions and did not disconnect. DIRECTV claims to have initiated a marketing call to someone other than me who stated they would think about it DIRECTV totally failed to contact the owner of the credit card and had NO authorization to continue removal of monies from my account. DIRECTV continued to withdraw monies from my account after specific orders to disconnect and stop removal of monies from my account. I assumed my order to DIRECTV was followed and that no further action was required on my part. DIRECTV made a totally unauthorized call and assumed DIRECTV could continue billing. I am still a DIRECTV customer, as I have been for many years, and am willing to accept a credit to my account for all the monies DIRECTV fraudulently obtained over those ~ 30 months. DIRECTVs failure to issue me a credit will result in legal action against DIRECTV for DIRECTVs criminal actions and civil damages. I expect a reply agreeing to a full credit within fourteen days of this response or legal action will be instituted.