Complaint Review: Directv - Internet

My time as a Directv customer was disappointing, to say the least. The two months that I was a customer were marred by hours on the phone with customer service, programming mistakes, and periods without service.

My experience began with my entire order being entered incorrectly, resulting in me not being Eligible for ANY of the promises made by the Directv salesman who took my order. Promised benefits included:

$100 instant rebate for upgrading to HD DVR, IN ADDITION to the $99 instant rebate advertised at the time.

$20 off per month of programming for the first 12 months.

$50 customer referral bonus.

$50 Visa Check Card for signing up for automated payment.

Free Premium Movie Channel package for 3 months.

Free NFL Sunday Ticket for remainder of season.

Again, as I mentioned, I was not Eligible for ANY of these promises after I had committed to the service. As for the HD DVR Upgrade, I initially DECLINED to accept the upgrade because I did not want to pay $200 for the upgrade. I ONLY accepted it based upon the promise of the sales representative that I would receive an additional $100 credit on my first bill as a rebate for the upgrade.

After having the service connected, I had to call in to find out why I was not receiving NFL Sunday Ticket or any of the movie channels. This concluded my first month headache until my checking account was automatically debited for a much higher amount than I anticipated ($0 due to the $100 rebate). Furthermore, I never received the mail-in rebate that I was instructed to complete to receive $20 per month off for the first 12 months.

Again I called customer service to find out why the rebate form hadnt arrived and none of the other promised discounts were being applied to the account. The reason I was given was that it took a couple billing cycles for that stuff to be applied. Patiently I awaited, second billing cycle came and went without a mail-in rebate form or any applied discounts. This time when I called customer service, I was informed that I was not eligible for anything because the order was entered incorrectly. I was instructed to take my case regarding the rebates to the Rebate Center. A customer service supervisor made changes to my account force a $20/month credit, via free HD Access and a $10 discount.

When I called the Rebate Center, my calls were immediately directed to voicemail where I was instructed to leave a message including my account number, phone number, and reason for calling. There was a promise that the call would be returned within 48 hours. I left the message, waited a week, no call. I left another message, waited ANOTHER week, no call.

Around this time, my service inexplicably stopped working, no signal. The earliest available appointment for a technician was two weeks away, DURING NFL PLAYOFF SEASON, so I went without service. On the date of my appointment, scheduled for the hours of 8am to 12pm, I sat at home wasting a half vacation day. The technician never showed up.

This time, rather than trying to call customer service, where I get nowhere, I called the cancellation department. FINALLY I was able to get a result regarding my ineligible rebates, I didnt realize I needed to threaten to cancel for Directv to honor their promises. A $200 credit was applied to the account to cover the $100 HD DVR rebate, $50 Referral Rebate, and $50 VISA Check Card. The gentleman in the cancellation department was also able to get an appointment for me for the following day to have my service repaired.

Next billing cycle, I am charged over $90 for my Directv service. Not only was the $20 discount not applied that the customer service supervisor had placed on the account, but I was also charged for HD Access and DVR service IN ADDITION TO MY HD DVR PLUS PACKAGE. I was also suddenly being charged for a protection plan that I had never authorized. Again, I called customer service to get the charge corrected, and the discussion I had with the customer service representative was INCREDILBE!!! She apparently had no knowledge of the programming packages that Directv offers. She insisted that I was SUPPOSED to be charged separately for the HD Access and DVR Service, regardless of the fact that my account showed that I was billed for the PLUS HD DVR service.

She then started claiming that I hadnt been billed anything, since my account had a credit! My Bill for the month was zero. I tried pointing out that my account credit had still been debited for the regular months billing, but she was unable to grasp this concept and couldnt understand why I was calling since my account still had a credit! After arguing with her for 20 minutes, I had to place her on hold while another call came in. When I returned to the line, she had hung up. I looked at my account activity and saw that she had disconnected the HD Access and DVR Service.

That night, when I got home from work, I went to check to see if she had just eliminated the redundant charges, or had in fact disconnected the service, for which I was still being billed for in the HD DVR PLUS package. When I turned on the television, I AGAIN had NO SERVICE. This was the final straw, the next day I called to cancel and it was explained to me that I could dispute the early termination fee.

I sent this letter, verbatim, to the Directv Billing Dispute department. I received a FORM LETTER saying I had been charged for a number of possible reasons!!! Then it is signed "Sincerely --- DIRECTV Customer Service" I feel warm and fuzzy seeing that!

The first person I called, Carlos, hung up on me before I could even start my inquiry. The second person I called, Grace, hung up on me while arguing the validity of the charges. The third person I called, Rebecca, told me there is nobody I can speak with, it can only be handled by mail.

In essence, much like the customer service person who said I couldn't complain about overcharges because I had a credit, I was told by Grace that "Directv had given me $200 for my troubles." Directv GAVE me nothing, all they did was give in on the financial promises they used to lure me into a contract.

They can keep their CREDITS, I just want back the EXTRA that they pillaged from me when I cancelled due to the poor service and customer service that they offered. I should NOT be required to spend 2 years dealing with incompetence, nor should I be punished for not putting up with incompetence!!!

Jason

green bay, Wisconsin

U.S.A.

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