DirectV cancelled service & DirectV deducted $526.34 in fraudulant charges Middleburg, FL Nationwide

In Dec. 2012, signed up with DirectV. From the beginning I had picture problems (reception difficulty). For eight months they kept downloading new data to fix the problem but it never did. Finally after nine months they agreed to send out a repairman at no cost. The repairman, who turned out to be a personal friend of mine, did everything possible and said if it didn't work then the Genie must be defective. Nothing fixed the problem, so I called in to DirectV to replace the Genie. They ran a 60 second test over the phone and said there was nothing wrong with the Genie. So again I was stuck with a picture that dissolved into a moving Magritte puzzle every couple of minutes. After 15 months of no picture I decided to quit DirecTV in Feb. 2014. Their phone representative said I owed no current charges at that time.

One week later DirecTV deducted $526.34 from my checking account. I knew I couldn't possibly owe anywhere near that amount so I put the whole thing in dispute with my bank while I investigated. DirecTV claimed I signed a new contract for an additional 24 months and that I received new equipment that I never recieved. I asked4 a signed copy of the contract and they could not produce one. I asked for delivery documentation for the alledged equipment and they could not provide any. I asked when it happened and they said their technician dropped it off when he came to my house and that's why there was no documentation. I contacted my friend, their technician and asked if I had lost my mind and if this has happened while he was there. He said absolutely not, that I received no new equipment and did not sign for anyextension of the existing contract. He offered to go to court and repeat the same if necessary.

I went back to DirecTV and told them their technician would swear under oath I received no equipment and signed no extension at that time. I asked again where tgot their info. They had no answer for why they were billing these charges with no back up. Eventually DirecTV sent me a check for the fraudulant charges for the contract extension and the equipment never ordered.

That left $299.89. I has to file a second dispute with my bank for the remainder because I analized the billing cycle back to the first month and found those charges also to have absolutely no truth to them except for possibly the eight months left on the contract. In my mind, when they never provided a clear picture in 14 months of service they were not entitled to the $20.00 per month equaling $160.00. My bank's dispute team spent close to a month going over DirecTV's charges and they could not find any bonified (honest) charges due on the account. They agreed with me that DirecTV was not entitled to the $160.00 fee being charged to the end of the contract since DirectV had never provided proper service or a working picture for 14 months. PNC bank's dispute team awarded me back the $299.89 after conducting extensive research. 

I then received a bill where DirectV credited the $299.89 and billed only for a movie at $6.78 which they requested I pay online. When online, when I went to pay I noticed a surcharge of either $6 or 7.99 to pay online so I did not confirm the payment. I backed out my information as far as I could but it wouldn't let me back out the debit card number. DirecTV ran the payment without my authorization anyway. That is thefirst time I have ever had a company do that ever in my life. I tried to input four bad surveys on DirecTV and each one was bounced out of the system for supposed technical errors. I wanted to see what would happen if I placed a positive one and sure enough it sailed right through. I did not make any techical errors on all four bad surveys.I was extremely careful.DirecTV doesn't allow the bad ones to go through.

If you are a DirecTV customer and are thinking of closing your account a word to the wise. Cancel your bank information before you close your account. Protect yourself. This is the most disreputable company I have ever encountered. Even after the bank awarded their charges back to me, DirecTV has sent me another bill for $299.89 and threatened to ruin my credit with the credit agencies. Fortunately, I have all my information compiled to send to the three credit agencies.DirecTV even tried to bribe me to go back with them as a provider. They said all I has to do was to resign and the $526.34 in bogus charges would disappear. I told them why would I want to resign with a company that couldn't provide a working picture in 14 months. Why would I trust a company that has tried it's best to cheat me out of $526.34.

I am back with Dish. They have always been totally honest and forthright in all their transactions with me. I have never had an issue they did not fix immediately. When I call, I get a real person right away. I don't have to listen to a bunch of commercials and go through a bunch of fix it yourself steps. I even had to shut down the debit card DirecTV used when I wouldn't confirm the transaction on the advice of my bank, because they said any company that puts through unauthorized payments is liable to use that same card illegally to try and take back the $299.89 all over again. Beware DirecTV is totally unscrupulous.