DirecTV Direct TV solution, help, cancellation fees, keep them from charging cancellation fees, unauthorized debit, unauthorized credit, Internet

I am not advising people to do anything against the law.  The things I suggest in this report are for your protection ONLY.  If you owe money, you should pay it BUT without a court-ordered garnishment, NO ONE should be able to just TAKE IT FROM YOU!!!  The only way they get by with this is because you HAVE to agree to allow charges before they will close your account and allow you to return their equipment.  That sounds a lot like blackmail to me and, if it isn't illegal....IT SHOULD BE!!!

My uncle had DirecTV Satellite service.  When he initially got it they never said anything to him about a contract.  Now, I must mention something here, my uncle has very little education and is completely ignorant about electronics, satellite, internet, etc.  He doesn't have a computer and wouldn't know what to do with one if he did.  When the guy installed the dish he didn't say anything about the contract.  My uncle was used to cable TV and signing the form acknowledging that they performed the service.  He did not know that when he signed their form he was agreeing to a contract.  Even if he had read all the teeny tiny print on the back, I sincerely doubt he would have understood it.

From day 1 the service sucked.  When he called to complain he was put on never ending hold, given the run around and blew off.  He became frustrated and told them that, since they couldn't get his reception to come in, he was going to go back to cable TV.  This is when they told him that there was a contract and, according to the guy he spoke with, it was a one year contract.  So my uncle, who has numerous health problems, including strokes and high blood pressure, just paid them every month and squinted through the fuzz and kept his mouth shut.

At the end of the year, he was so excited!  He called and had the cable company come out and hook him up.  He was thrilled...he finally could see what he was watching...this was the first time in a year that he had clear reception. When he contacted DirecTV to cancel his account, he was informed that he had a two year contract and not one like their representative had told him.  They REFUSED to send him boxes to return his receivers and told him that they would keep billing him the monthly fee every month, which by the way was always about double what they told him it would be before they installed the equipment.  He was so upset he called me in tears, this was the first I knew about any of it.  Their representative had treated him so harshly and scared him so bad that I was concerned he might have a stroke. 

So...I called them!  I asked to speak to a supervisor when they again refused to send the boxes.  At this point they told me that I would have to agree to authorize any cancellation fees, charges, etc. before I could speak to a supervisor because they have to close the account before you can talk to one.  Knowing that my uncle no longer had the credit card he had given them when he started their service, I told them 'knock yourself out...that credit card isn't valid anymore'.  They then informed me they would bill him and I told them that it wouldn't do any good because my uncle's sole income is SS Disability and they can't get that. 

If your sole income is Social Security Disability, there are ONLY three items that they can take from your check, those are federal or state taxes, child support or student loans. 

HOW TO KEEP DIRECTV FROM TAKING MONEY FROM YOUR CHECKING ACCOUNT OR CHARGING YOUR CREDIT CARD

Let me give you all some advice on how to handle this situation... First, BEFORE YOU MAKE A CALL TO DIRECTV, call your bank or your credit card company and have your account number changed or close your account and have them reopen it with another number, or in the case of debiting your checking account, it is risky but you may be able to tell them not to allow any further charges from DirecTV.  I would feel much better having a whole new account number if it was me though. When that has been done and you are absolutely sure it is has been done, call DirecTV and tell them you are closing your account.  When they argue with you tell them you want to speak with a supervisor.  DO NOT CALL and ask to speak to a supervisor BEFORE you get your account number(s) changed because they will not let you speak with a supervisor until you agree to closing your account and letting them charge you (this is where they get by with charging you whatever they want because you have to agree to that before they will let you speak to a supervisor or close your account).  When you get to a supervisor, tell them to send you the boxes so you can return their equipment. They WILL bill you whatever they decide to and add late fees if you don't pay them, but they WILL NOT take hundreds of dollars from your bank account or charge your credit card.  This, at least, gives you a chance to fight the charges in court.

The Better Business Bureau has loads of customer complaints listed at (www.bbb.org) against DirecTV.  The Better Business Bureau's rating for DirecTV is a big fat 'F' because they have so many customer complaints.  What follows below is just a few of the legitimate complaints but, for these people, since DirecTV has already taken their money, if they can't afford to sue them, they are pretty much screwed!  What you can and should do, if you have encountered any problems with DirecTV is file your own complaints against DirecTV with first the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov/bcp/index.shtml, then with Consumer Affairs at www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php, with your State's Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division and finally with the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org.

EXAMPLES OF JUST A FEW OF THE ACTUAL COMPLAINTS AGAINST DIRECTV

A lady called to notify them that her mother, who lived alone and had their service, had passed away and requested they send her boxes to return the equipment.  They did but they also immediately debited her deceased mother's checking account for cancellation fees.  When she called to complain, DirecTV's representative told her he didn't know why she cared, it wasn't her money anyway!  THIS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! This is just about the lowest thing that a company can do.  A family is grieving the loss of their loved one and trying to take care of their business, paying medical bills, arranging for and paying funeral costs, paying other LEGITIMATE debts and DirecTV steals from the deceased person's checking account.  How much worse can you get than stealing from a dead person.  For anyone who objects to the word stealing in this, what do you call someone who takes something for nothing?  If it isn't criminal it should be!!!!

A man called to tell them the bank had foreclosed on his house.  Since he no longer had a place of his own to live, he was moving in with someone, he didn't need their service.  The man had lost his home!  They made it worse by taking the only money he had in is account and causing insufficient funds in his account.  The bills he had tried to pay were refused by the bank and he didn't have money to buy food, etc.

Another man had to move because the guy that owned his house, he was renting, sold it.  He was moving to an apartment and they wouldn't allow installation of a dish.  When he explained this to DirecTV, their representative told him that the apartment complex could not refuse to allow a dish because it was illegal for them to do so...WRONG!!!  An apartment complex has every legal right not to want hundreds of tacky dishes hanging off their buildings.

Another lady had been a customer of DirecTV for 13 or 14 years.  One of her boxes died so she went to Best Buy and purchased a new one.  When she called DirecTV to activate the box they didn't tell her that doing so would start her on a new two year contract.  When she wanted to cancel her service she was told that she had a contract and they would charge cancellation fees.  They treated a years long, valuable customer like this!

Another customer lived near a woods.  The guy that installed the dish had problems getting a clear path to the sky.  He told them that DirecTV would not be able to give them service if the trees grew much more.  So, when the trees in the woods got taller(not their woods by the way...so they couldn't even cut the trees), it cut off their reception completely.  When they called to cancel...you guessed it...they charged them cancellation fees.  DirecTV could not give them any service, it was not the customer's fault, but still the customer got screwed!!!

BEWARE of VERIZON's FIOS and AT&T's U-verse packages...the satellite portion is NOT Verizon or AT&T respectively...it is DIRECTV and you will end up with the same problems, if God forbid, you should die or something.  Also, BEWARE of buying from retail stores like Best Buy because all or most of them also carry DIRECTV exclusively and ... SAME PROBLEMS.

Please, if you know of someone thinking about DirecTV make sure they understand what they are getting into.  If you know someone who already has it, make sure they know that replacing equipment EVEN IF THEY BUY THE EQUIPMENT, will start a new contract. I don't know how DirecTV gets away with their business practices.  Their actions should be illegal.  If you sign up through their website, there is NO MENTION OF A CONTRACT all the way through the ordering process...UNLESS you click on a teeny tiny little link (about 7pt or 8pt font size) at the very bottom of the shopping cart page that says "Additional Offer Details".  Clearly, they are not being upfront with their customers.  When someone is agreeing to a contract, they should have to read that contract, in big print, before the order can even be processed.  They do NOT tell people that they are entering into a new contract when they have to buy a new piece of equipment, etc.

From the research I have done and my own personal experience, (((competitors' names redacted))) seem to be a lot more concerned about customer service and customer satisfaction.  I know, for a fact, that (((redacted))) will provide service on a month-to-month basis, though most of their service is on contracts, because I have a relative that is doing that right now.  I also know that (((redacted))) does NOT require a contract.  During some promotions you can agree to a certain length of time but you have to specifically request it and agree to it, after they explain it to you.  Personally, if DirecTV were the only way I could receive television signals, I would save my money and buy DVD's and listen to the radio.  It would be a lot cheaper and I could watch what I wanted when I wanted.