Complaint Review: DirecTV - El Segundo California

In December 2012, I signed up for service with DirecTV due to the incredible prices they were offering.  I also elected to do a bundle through their website with AT&T DSL service.  I signed up for the top level of both DirecTV (All Channels, Genie) and AT&T (6 Mbps DSL).

On the date my DirecTV installer came to do the installation, I inquired about the possibility of installing the satellite on a pole next to my house rather than on the roof.  The installer told me that was considered an additional charge and asked me if I wanted to pay the $75.  I told the installer that I didn't want to do that and just do whatever is free.

It turns out that my house has a high roof line - probably higher than any ladder that he had available on his truck.  After figuring this out, the installer says, "I'm going to go ahead and install this on a pole and you can just owe me lunch."  I laugh figuring that is him being funny since he likely figured out that would be his quickest and easiest option.

Unfortunately for me, their installer apparently was not joking.  When he finished installation and had me sign my customer agreement, he said, "Where's my lunch?"  At this point, I was completely blown away by the conduct of what is supposed to be a professional installer.  I wanted him to go away so I offered him a ham sandwich.  His reply was, "Maybe you don't understand, I'm going to go eat at Golden Krust Bakery and it's going to cost about $6.  You need to give me some money for my lunch."  At this point, I was feeling very uncomfortable and worried about the safety of my property if I refused.  I managed to scrounge up a winning scratch off lottery ticket given to me as a gift and gave it to him.  He finally left my house.

If that was the end of my bad experiences, everything would be fine.  They continued though.

For those not aware of DirecTV service, they offer MANY features that work through a high-speed internet connection.  These features include On-Demand, Pandora, Facebook, Weather, and many more.  As I said at the beginning of my email, I signed up for AT&T DSL as recommended by DirecTV through their 1-800 number.  

Unfortunately, my neighborhood is a neighborhood that is under construction.  As a result, I get HORRENDOUSLY slow internet speeds.  They generally are about 25% of what is advertised.  I have made numerous calls to AT&T only to be told that my connection is fine and they don't guarantee any speeds.  They have even sent techs out to my house who have confirmed there is nothing I can do.

As a result, I am unable to use many of the features that DirecTV advertises.  

Additionally, I am having technical issues with DirecTV itself.  These problems include:

1.  Television goes out for up to an hour any time it is heavily overcast or there is rain.

2.  The remote controls have a design flaw in the battery compartment which frequently cause them to stop working.  The solution is that you have to hit them up against something to work.

3.  The Genie DVR constantly (as in at least once per week) has to be reset.  If you don't the clients routinely lose connection with the server and DVR programs will not play back reliably.

Given all of my negative experiences, I had come to the point where I no longer want to be a DirecTV customer.  This decision was not made because I want to just switch on a whim.  It was made because of consistently poor performance and horrendous conduct on the part of DirecTV staff.  

I have called customer service numerous times expressing my frustration.  Based off of my experience, I no longer have a desire to be a customer of DirecTV.  However, they have made it quite clear that there is no provision for me to be able to get out of my customer agreement based off of my negative experiences.  The ETF is $320 and they've agreed to let me go for $160.  

I have escalated this all the way to the "Office of the President" customer service and have explained until I'm blue in the face that I've been wronged by this company enough and should not have to pay an ETF.  As usual, all they care about is the bottom line and will not budge off an ETF no matter how horrible the experience.