While I have run this blog for a few years now, I haven’t yet knocked out an honest to goodness DIRECTV review. Many of the “reviews” on this site are primarily informational in nature – talking about pricing, content, and availability of different cable and satellite services. Since DIRECTV is currently the service I have and use, here are a few thoughts on what I like and don’t like about the satellite service.
First up in my DIRECTV review I will go back to the initial setup. DIRECTV was sort of my second choice in that I lived in an area served by Qwest where they offered their “Choice TV” service. This was an IPTV product which was discontinued, so I was basically forced to pick a new provider or I was going to have to go without cable TV service. In my area, the cable company was/is Comcast, and while I have had their service in the past it was really time to see what satellite TV was all about especially since I was also in the market for my first HDTV.
That of course meant going with either DIRECTV or Dish Network. My local phone and DSL carrier is Qwest, and they are a partner with DIRECTV as well, so that sort of sealed the deal. I placed my order and patiently waited for installation day.
Installation day came, and I was promised a morning appointment. Time seems to really grind to a halt when you are waiting for the cable or satellite guy, and of course I was not first on his list. Around 11 am I got a call that he was heading my way. Then around 11:45 he calls to say he doesn’t have an important tool that helps him point the satellite dish correctly, and has to go to the other side of town to get it. Finally, he gets to my house around 2:30. So much for my day…..
Installation takes about an hour and a half as he mounts the satellite dish, drops a DIRECTV HR21 DVR in the living room, and a standard receiver up in the loft for the kids television set. Though I don’t have my HDTV set yet, I notice immediately the picture quality improves on my current setup.
I went with the Choice Xtra package with DVR, and still have it to this day. While I initially did not have HD on the account, it was simple and quick to add a few months later when I did get my Panasonic HDTV. I have tried out the Premier package as well, and while it certainly offers much more content, I just don’t watch enough of it to justify the cost. One thing to be aware of is that if you do switch to the Premier package, you have to keep it for at least 30 days before downgrading your service.
One of the biggest debates going on in the satellite and cable market revolves around HD content. Overall, the HD content on DIRECTV is adequate, but once you start watching programs in high definition, its hard to go back to anything else. The reality of DIRECTV HD is that with the Choice Xtra package I only get about 45 HD channels. So where are the 130+ HD channels you see advertised on DIRECTV commercials? Quite a few of these channels are there if you go to the Premier package, in fact you get about 80 channels total in HD when all of the HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax channels are added to the equation. The rest of the so called HD channels are the regional sports networks and the Pay per view movie channels. While I get two regional sports networks in HD, DIRECTV counts the other twenty-something HD channels from across the country in their advertising. While the Sports Pack does offer access to these, all of the live professional games are blacked out so these channels really aren’t of much interest.
Now another feature that DIRECTV offers that I have tried out is their video on demand package. It is free, which is a good thing because I don’t really think I would pay for it if they tried to charge me. I had to hook my DSL connection up to the back of the HR21 DVR to get this up and working, but it was a fairly painless procedure. Once your high speed internet connection is plugged in, you can then access the DIRECTV on demand menu on channel 1000. Here you can scroll through available titles and select what you want to watch. While there is plenty to pick from, you may or may not be able to begin watching immediately based on how fast of an internet connection you have.
My 7 Mbps connection through Qwest seems to work adequately, though at times I have to wait a minute or two for some of the content to be saved before I start watching. The DIRECTV on demand platform is a bit clumsy compared to the Comcast On demand I have tried out. It needs a redesign as far as the menu options go to help you find what you want, and they also are sorely lacking in HD content. If you have premiums like HBO, you will have much more available as far as movies go with satellite TV on demand.
As far as customer service goes, my experience has been fair with DIRECTV. I have only called them once when we had trouble with our second receiver for a time. It wasn’t working correctly, and when we called they wanted to either bill us for a service call or add the DIRECTV Protection Plan for $5.99 a month. I politely declined and decided to replace the coaxial cable from the wall and reboot the receiver. Something I did worked resulting in the receiver working again, but they were not all that helpful when I did call them.
DIRECTV is extremely aggressive in telemarketing their existing customers. I probably get a couple of phone calls a month from them offering some sort of premium deal on HBO or Starz. I did take advantage of one offer over the winter when we were inside more, but dropped the premiums later when the deal was about to expire. These days I simply screen their calls as unless I want to hear what they have to offer.
One thing that takes a bit of getting used to is how slow the channels change with DIRECTV. Coming from cable, I was a speed demon when it comes to surfing channels. With DIRECTV, they slow channel change quickly gets you out of the channel surfing mode. I use the “guide” button now, which shrinks the size of the show you are currently watching and then brings up a channel menu. You can scroll through that fairly quickly and pick out your next channel by hitting the “select” button. Of course the DIRECTV DVR has reduced my channel surfing even further, as I prefer to skip through the commercials altogether.
A couple of features that are new to satellite TV are the DIRECTV Scoreguide and DIRECTV Apps. The Scoreguide is pretty helpful, as if you are on a sports channel you can hit the red button on your remote and scroll through scores from the major sports. On the other hand DIRECTV Apps are fairly useless, simply because they load so slow.
A DIRECTV review probably isn’t complete for sports fans unless comment is made on the premium sports packages including NFL Sunday Ticket. The football package is the only reason some people have a DIRECTV subscription, but the price just isn’t justifiable in my case. While I have considered as Sunday Ticket subscription, it just isn’t as valuable to me as I live in my favorite teams’ market and can always see them play. I have caught the NFL Ticket free preview offered the first weekend of the season and found it extremely entertaining, with the Mix channel and the RedZone channel being my favorites. Other packages like the NBA League Pass and MLB Extra Innings are also available for around $200 a season, with free preview weeks mixed in from time to time for the rest of us.
That about wraps up my DIRECTV review. While I am a fairly satisfied customer, I am still considering a jump to Dish Network when my contract is up. Getting a good deal on and saving money is always important, and to do that you almost have to switch your provider from time to time. If you are a DIRECTV customer, feel free to post your own review in the comment box below for others to read.
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{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t want to pay monthly cable charges to watch TV. Is there any software that can help to watch TV online on PC? Help me please…
Got suckered into a 2 year contract and had been going through hell since. Poor service and reception, equipment charges are ridiculous (don’t be fooled by promotion offers) promotion offers agrees upon were withdrawn! Customer service a joke! Tricky Billing! Most annoying automated system… hard to reach a live person… customer service is a joke!… (they transfer you around and bouce u back and forth like a pinball) so be prepared to spend countless hours of your life and minutes on your phone) Finally cancelled and specifically asked for final closeout bill and returned equipment. 2 months later when I thought the nightmare was over… direct tv calls with a recording saying I still have unpaid balance… More time spent on phone… more call transfering..Customer service is a joke! If your problem is a bit complicated and annoying…. u might accidently get hung up on btw… very. DO NOT USE DIRECT TV! WARNING!!! I don’t normally do this… or like wasting my time posting comments about anything…. but I am sick and tired of this company! Unbeliveable!
DirecTV did not honor their promotional rate. I signed up for Free HD-for-Life but they charged me $10/mo for it anyway. I even sent them the paperwork and they merely said “Sue us.”
Not as bad as Comcast, but is there no honor in any TV service providers?
Never use Direct TV. We signed up a year ago and started having issues with several of their units. There response to this was to continually test their equipment online. They would never send a tech out. In the very beginning the clicker stopped working on some units. They would never send a tech out once the equipment was installed. So we canceled the service. For 2 months afterwards they continued to charge our credit card listed on the account. Same fees but no service. We ask them to refund the fees and their response was, “once you sign up with us that gives us the right to charge your credit card or bill you for anything we please.” At the end they just laughed at us and hung up.
Whatever you do do not use Direct TV, they only want to steal your money.
Direct TV —
I ordered DTV through Centurylink as a bundle. On 7-20-10 the DTV technician did not install a dish and left no equip, saying he could not do the install. He said he would cancel the service. I also then canceled my Centurylink service within the 30 day cancellation period as well. I continued to receive mail from DTV. I called and was told the cancellation was done improperly. I went to the Direct TV website and filled out the cancellation form and received a Disconnect Order Confirmation #957940480. I expected to get a refund of $35.98. Today instead, I am charged $99.59. I get a call from my bank’s FRAUD DEPARTMENT asking if I authorized the charge!! I contacted Direct TV 3 times to get it resolved. Disconnected twice and continually rerouted to your call center in the Philippines no one can figure this out. I CANCELED WITHIN 30 DAYS!! REFUND MY $95.59 AND MY $35.98 INSTALL FEE!!
John 6507 stated he had accomplished the refund and I should see it in my bank within 3 business days. Please make sure it happens!
Your email reference # is #101020-XXXXXX. Please write this number down and refer to it in any future emails about this issue.
<<<<<<<<< Sent this email to them and got the confirmation number….bet I'm gonna have to report my card as comprimised as the bank investigator suggested and dispute charges through the bank.
YOU DECIDE IF YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE YOUR CREDIT INFO!!!!!!
i had dtv for a year allways mad payment on time. orderd another service for another house . payment was over looked for the mounth of sep 20010 direct tv billed my checking acount 488.56 for canceling my account . i didnt request my account to be canceled i didi nt give them permision to take it out of my checking account now im fight ing direct tv and my bank and other drafts bounced at 25.00 …. i talkt to a rep and she told me the money would be refonded in sep . the money has not been refunded i payed the 125.00 to have my account reactiveated and it has not .. now im out about 600.00 and dont have tv and the manager said it would be another 15 days and he told me he could only refund 380 of the 488.56 …. dirct tv really is just a scame
I have had dtv for about a year now and it is horrible. The price is outrageous, you sign up with all these promotions and promises and then you get nothing. The signal is bad, its always going out, customer service is horrible, and if you need a technician to come out you better be ready to wait 3-5 days for them to get your tv fixed. Rediculous. I was told that it would be 63.99 a month and you get hbo and showtime etc. free for 3 months. When they hooked it up, which took a week after i ordered the service for someone to come out, i did not have any of those promotional channels. So I called and after 30+ min on the phone it was finally fixed, but when i got my bill i was charged 12.99 for each of those 3 channels which was an extra $40. So I called back and their excuse was, your service was hooked up after the promotional period ended. are you freakin kidding me. When i called to order it the promotion was still going, i was sure to ask that. but since it took them a week to come out and it ended sometime between then i no longer qualify? I couldnt believe it. They also dont tell you that you have to pay for the dvr service monthly after you pay the $100 or so for the dvr itself. So I thought my bill would be about $70 with tax, but it really ended up being about $90 plus that $40 on the first bill which i refuse to pay. I am so sick of these people. Dont waste your time. All the promotions may seem like a good deal but its not, dont buy into any of it. Youll be better off with a different provider.
I placed the order on 10/23 chatting with a DTV rep in a chat room. Telling me I would have it installed 24 -72 hours. I place the order then the scheduling screen pops up which gave me the Nov 21 was my earliest date. So I called DTV right away and they told me not to worry it would be installed within the week. I was going to cancel the order but the rep talked me back into it. They called 48 hours later (monday) to set the date up. They said they’ll be there tuesday to install. We told the rep NO 3 times we had to make arrangements. So they’re answer was Nov 21 was the only option. However call us first thing tuesday morning, if you can be there then will get someone out there. I did get tuesday off from work. I called them 8am and they told me “we don’t do same day appointments.”
So he then offered thursday friday sunday for a date now that pissed me off. Nothing was available until Nov 21 that monday however tuesday 3 days opened up for me. They couldv’e told me that Monday then I could’ve scheduled it. So I took Sunday 10/31 Halloween 12-4pm. Sunday 10/31 came it was 5pm no tech so I called the Tech 1800 number. Rep asked me if I was waiting for my tech. I ended up telling him I cancelling order, I did not want a tech on my roof in the dark on halloween Sunday Night. Called DTV cancelled my order in which they did however the rep on the phone was very short did not apologize, I did give her a piece of my mind, telling her it has been lies since I placed the order and the customer service has been short and not helpful. She asked me why did I place the order then? What a jerk !! Maybe I wanted DTV. Now with reading and hearing nothing good about DTV I will never go there. I’ll stick with Time Warner never had a problem with them Cust service with Time Warner is always helpful. I just want the NFL to read these and listen to customers who want Sunday Ticket . Stop DTV monoply on NFL.
I have Direct TV for almost 2.5 years, I called to inform them that I am suspending my service account because I do not have a steady job (unemployed for 14 months). Direct TV responded that I have to settle my due in the amount of $103.36 before my billing cycle November 13, 2010. When I did my bill pay on line through US bank on November 10, 2010, I called Direct TV and informed them that I have the electronically bank receipt confirmation and thus they should go ahead and cancel my account ( I emailed them and attached the print screen of my bill pay). Direct TV sales and billing departments place me in a round around excuses. Direct TV will mess your day and Direct TV will make sure that they suck the last penny in your savings…
My experience with Direct TV is totally ruined and Direct TV lost my customer LOYALTY.
I will make sure that my families, friends, and relatives won’t experience what Direct TV has done to me.
Convince your families, friends, and relatives to get another cable provider/s if YOU CARE for them!
BOYCOTT direct tv!
I hate Direct TV and will never recommend it to anyone, we are locked in for two years, have had it for 5 months the reciever went out. Received the replacement receiver today and could not install, called tech support he tried to walk us through it and the replacement reciever does not work they are supposed to call after 8am in the morning with another technician who has more magic power than the one I spoke to today, I was looking at the box we received it in and it says it is reconditioned. Unbelievable!
Customer Service is horrible I don’t think it should be called Customer Service. It should be called Service from Hell! They do lie to you to get you to take their service but as soon as my time is up I am leaving and will return to Comcast again or go with ATT.
Don’t use DIRECT TV you will be sorry.
If they give me any further problems I am going to complain to the Attorney General for the State of California. They commit fraud with their promises.
I HATE DIRECT TV!!! I called to cancel our service. It is worth paying the fee to get out of the terrrible service they provide. If it is raining, searching for signal, if it is windy, searching for signal, if it is cloudy, searching for signal, if it is SUNNY, SEARCHING FOR SIGNAL!!! The kicker is that since I cancelled, I’m have been waiting 12 days for them to send the boxes for me to return their equiptment( only a 21 day limit). Plus, all their customer service is outsourced out of the country. The people are not like the TV show at all. Rude, slow, and unable to be understood. I can’t wait until I am completely through with this company.
I almost took the plunge. I was serously goin to talk to the wife about making the switch. I am glad I looked around for reviews before going through the process. I can’t begin to imagine the earful I would have gotten from the old lady if we went from from bad to worse. Can’t say cablevision is all that bad, but the monthly bill is killing me slowly and I don’t even have any “premium” packages or channels. Thanks to all here for posting your reality checks.
Thank god i didn’t go threw with Direct Tv. These Reviews sound horrible. I want a cheap and affortable cable television. But i rather pay more with Time warner cable. Thanxs for the warnings.
I was unhappy with our previous service provider so we switched to Direct TV. We were lied to about what we would be able to do with our system set-up. We were told we would be able to record in one room and watch in another, and we can’t. We also got the “free for 3 months movie channels” when I said we didn’t want/need them, then we got charged for it three months later. My husband called and cancelled it and we were supposed to get a $22 credit on our next bill. The next bill ame and we got charged for it again and still no credit. So I called, and stayed on the phone until they gave me my money back. I told them that one more problem with our bill/service, that we would be switching providers. Now our DVR box stopped recording my favorite show and I am researching other options.
I bought a new home and decided to go with Direct TV after a Direct TV clerk in Best Buy said how great it was. Two months after having Direct TV it has been nothing but a nightmare!! The service is ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!! Any issues with my signal were always my fault and they would never send a tech to my house. I have never written a formal complaint about any company, but I felt like I really needed to write this to help other people. If you are thinking about getting Direct TV, you will totally regret it if you do. They have the absolute WORST customer service EVER!!! Along with that, reception is TERRIBLE!!! Save yourself the headaches I have already gone through with this company. After two months on a two year contract, I GLADLY cancelled and paid the fee for the other 22 months left to leave this poor example of a cable company. A lesson learned, so learn from my mistake.
Mike B.
I used to have DirectTV and was really disappointed in the technology and customer service. It’s too bad that companies can get away with false advertisement regardless of whether it comes from marketing or inside sales. Obviously, I started looking elsewhere and where I lived at the time I was limited to satellite services only. I have found a big difference between DirectTV and DISH Network’s; price, programming, and equipment! I have awesome pricing for my programming and as an existing customer, I recently elected to get HD Free for Life which gives me all my HD programming for free. DirectTV does not use dual receiver technology, so not only do you need a receiver for each room of your home but you’re paying a lot more as well. DISH Network’s HD DVR is amazing, the features allow for rewinding and pausing live TV as well as enhanced features. The enhanced features range from getting TV anywhere you go to internet access. I recently got my Logitech Revue for my DVR which allows me to access the internet right from my TV. This is really helpful for me because I travel a lot and prefer to read up on the historical aspect of my destination as well as find out great places where locals socialize to learn from a different angle. I happen to work for DISH and have to travel a lot; I’ve been able to utilize some cool new technology to help me with preparing for my trip. After I’ve researched a destination for which I am traveling, I save it to my DVR for later investigation. The difference gap is vast and the customer service with DISH far exceeds my expectations which are very important to me when I need help or have questions.
I REGRET SWITCHING TO DISH NETWORK TO DIRECT TV IT IS SO SLOW COMMERICAL ADVANCE MAKES SURE U SEE COMMERCIALS AND THE REMOTE U HAVE TO STAND DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE RECIEVER TO WORK AS WITH DISH I COULD FAST FOWARD OR PAUSE FROM ANOTHER ROOM I HATE DIRECT TV THEY LIE AND THERE CHANNEL SELECTION AND SERVICE IS CRAP ALONG WITH INSTALLIATION THEY DID A HALF ASS INSTALL AND DRILLED HOLES IN MY WALL AND RAN UGLY LOOKING CABLES AND PUT A LOT OF HOLES IN MY WALL BECAUSE THE INSTALLER WAS TOO LAZY TO CLIMB IN THE ATTIC ALSO I WATCHED HIM FIRE UP A JOINT IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE BEFORE COMING IN AND THEN SMELLED LIKE WEED AS THE LAZY ASS INSTALL WAS PERFORMED I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST SMOKING BUT IN FRONT OF A CUSTOMERS HOUSE REALLY?
I LOVE direct tv. I’ve had it for a year and a half now and it is great. All the good channels are included, and I have never had a problem. The only bad thing is that im payin 60 dollars just for it.
It’s pretty lame that I can’t even shop around for tv where I live, direct tv is my only choice take it or leave it. Well, it has come time to cancel the service and just settle for no tv at all, as the frustration of dealing with them is no longer worth it. They siphon additional money each month (for no actual service provided) with trick billing, where every three months they force you to pay an additional $18 for b.s. “service” fees, upping the price of basic cable to the mid-$70 range. I have tolerated all this in my desperation to have basic cable, but that has come to an end as of today. It is just no longer worth it. I changed my billing account info online in December 2010 (due to change in primary checking) and discovered yesterday (February 11) that my account is overdue and they have been persistently trying to debit the money from my old account. I have entered the new billing info on the direct tv website three times now and as of my last check five minutes ago, they continue to stubbornly refuse my new account info (though they accepted the info to pay my b.s. “past due” amount for two months) and my old account info still remains. I sent them several emails calling their attention to the issue, though I don’t have high hopes they will make the proper changes in the future. Meanwhile, their attempts to debit my old account cause “overdraft” costs, as I no longer use that account to pay utitlities and once I shut that account down completely, maybe direct tv will finally step in and do the right thing? I guess they will if they wish to be paid. I am DONE with this silliness. NOT recommended, even if you are totally desperate. Good thing I like to read……………
In all my life, I can truly say that I have NEVER had a more TERRIBLE and absolutely DEPLORABLE customer service experience. After getting out of the hospital I checked though my backed up mail to catch up on my latest bill, etc… I did not have bill for Direct TV so I called the customer service number on my previous bill. After waiting on hold for 18 minutes (which seemed like an eternity), I finally got to speak with someone. Long story short- my billing address (which I corrected two months before….was still incorrect. The representative was suppose to transfer me to a supervisor and I was disconnected. After calling back, I had the privilege of being thoroughly disrespected and yelled at, I’d had enough!! I could here the rep laughing in the background. I can be disrespected for free…I’m not paying for it. By the way…if you live in a place where it rains……..hope you like playing cards because the reception sucks. The names and id numbers of the reps I spoke with are: Jospeh: 477649
And Mark-404955
Direct tv is horrible, is a rip off. I had problems with my billing from the start, they will give u one price and then when u get ur bill is a completly different price. If you happen to have some snow, wind or rain then ur direct tv won’t work. Their customer service people are HORRIBLE, RUDE, DEPLORABLE. And they have no clue about anything, Your better off going with someone else, i will never ever will get direct tv again.
i had spend hours of waiting and talking with dtv customer service which sucks and have been cheated over every single services i had i pay more than what they advertise and now i have been locked into two years contract without my knowledge please if anyone wanna switch to dtv consider a little bit research and you will know how rip off services they have. Please don’t buy this face that they will give you all the channels you want its entirely the opposite please please don’t buy your self a nightmare thank you
Just yesterday, March 20, 2011, in Best Buy, a pushy Direct TV clerk tried to get me to switch. I told her I needed to think about it and discuss it with my fiance. She said “what is there to think about or discuss?” I told her we are a team and discuss everything first of all and plain and simple I don’t want direct tv because I have heard horror stories. She kept pushing, my fiance had to get me out of the store! My fiance wanted to consider it; I am glad we found this website. No way! Best Buy shouldn’t associate themselves with incompetent businesses.
Just got off the phone with a very pushy sales person. She kept trying to get me to sign up even though I told her I was still shopping around. She said my “set up fee” would only be $1.00 if I signed up right then but if I waited it would change and could be anywhere from $19.00 to $100 something. I told her I still wanted to think about it and compare other options. She then told me I could set everything up and set the install day for 30 days out which would give me time so if I wanted to change my mind all I need to do was call and cancel. This went on and on.. This woman would not take no for an answer. She even started talking to me about Dish Network and all of their problems and even tried to give me their pricing. Hard pressure sell tactics just make me know there is a problem. If they have a good product, there is no need for high pressure sales…………I will not be buying Direct TV
Thanks to all people and their comments/ reviews.
It.s clear to me now and I certainly won’t do business with Direct TV.
I was at Best Buy and wanted to sign the contract. I was not be able to sign without
certain data.
I would come again a day later to sign but after reading all this I SHALL NEVER DO SO !!
Thanks to you all, Folks…Thanks
Hrm..almost looks like Dish TV employees started posting here.
I’ve been with DirecTv for 10+ years. Do I have complaints? Sure, the ones you get no matter where you send your business. All in all, I have no real complaints. We’ve had three tuners go bad over the years. It’s either been a totally free replacement or sometimes I pay a shipping charge. Usually have the new unit in 3 days.
On the telemarketing from DirecTv. Well, sorry but they never call me. Maybe you need to tell them ‘please do not call me anymore?’. Most large companies you can opt to be left alone.
Installs have never been an issue. I went through the whole dish replacement thing when HD came out. They installed a multiplier at no charge. (We have three HD DVR units). Multi-room sharing works very well.
My complaints at this point:
– System has become very slow to change channels recently. We are seeing this on all units. Supposedly there is a brand new HD UI coming out soon that’s suppose to address this. We shall see.
– No A&E HD
– Completely dropped G4 – this one pisses me off
Everyone’s mileage is going to vary. None of these companies RULES the other – that’s just silly. Pick one, try it and cancel it within the first 30days if you don’t like it. I’ve tried Comcast twice like that (and God does it suck). Most of the people posting here are little too fervent for my taste – I suspect there’s more at work here
My comment is regarding a fire hazard for their HR23-700 Receiver.
Last evening we lost power to our unit. We left it on in the event that the unit would recycle.
We were awaking this morning to smoke and crackling coming from our living room.
Fortunately, we were home and able to unplug the unit without any damage other than the smoke.
Please unplug your unit if you lose power or the unit is overheating.
We have been happy with our direct tv. We still have cable.
Why two services, cable provides our internet. Would have stayed with cable, but at least once a month we would lose service.
I have Direct. I will admit I had problems with billing at first but after talking to someone the issue was resolved and I have had great service ever since. Only time I lose service is when we have bad storms. Overall Direct has been good and I would recommend them to anyone.
My total and overall experience with Direct T.V. has been nothing short of horrendous. I have a tendency to write down who I am talking to whenever I deal with anyone over the phone and it turns out that it is a good thing that I do. In the end I used this service for two weeks and due to a family emergency had to move completely up the East coast. From the beginning my whole deal with this company has been a nightmare. Everything they promised didn’t come to be without a fight. I had to spend the first week fighting my way to a supervisor to get what I was promised and my rebate in time for the first bill. Fortunately, like I said I had names, dates and times of call and in the ends they tried to charge me more than what I signed up for. When I moved away unexpectedly due to a failing parents health and politely asked to waive the fee due to early release (I signed for a 1 year they are now telling me it was either an 18 month or 2 year, they aren’t even sure!) they claim that my bank refused first payment and cannot let me out. My bank tells me no payment was even remitted. Hmmm, interesting. Last week they also told me to expect Fedex to be at my door with boxes with return receipts to pick up the equipment so I will not have any charges for that either.. Still waiting on that as well….. Would I recommend Direct tv. ABSOLUTELY NOT!! Funny thing is I was told by several people before hand, “Anne-Marie, you don’t know what your getting yourself into, they will screw you… Well consider myself screwed. They say that I now owe them almost $500 for two weeks of television. Sure hope I enjoyed those shows…
Well, I ordered Direct TV on August 10th. Once I had established with the CSR what I wanted to order, he put me on hold while he searched for the next available installation date. Turns out it would be Monday, August 15 between noon and 5 pm. I had to take 1/2 day off of work to wait for these clowns. Anyway, while I was waiting that day, I strolled out to the mailbox to get the mail. In it was a letter (confirmation letter) from DTV. After scanning this letter, I realize that it says my installation date is for September 11th ??????? Here I am, sitting around on August 15th waiting for these jerks, and they are now sending me a confirmation letter telling me my install date ins a MONTH away??? Forget about customer service resolving your issues/questions. I got hung up on three times; two more times, I was on hold for a quite some time, and never once did an explanation come as to why the original CSR I spoke with scheduled me for August 15, but someone else scheduled me for September 11th (which is a Sunday..lol) Needless to say, I am keeping this September 11th appointment, but during the month I am waiting, I am searching around for other options, and I doubt very much I will be sticking with this Kangaroo company.
I called Direct TV and spoke to a rep. by the name of Armando to set up new service. Everything was going fine until I called later that day to cancel my service. I put everything in my husbands name and because of this the cancellation rep would not let me cancel the service. They didn’t need to speak to my husband to set up the service, but they needed to speak to him to cancel it.
Also, Direct TV offers the NFL Sunday ticket free for the first year. If you do not cancel this prior to the following season, you can NOT cancel it. This package cost $335 per year. These guys are trained to speak fast and slide these details in to the closing statement. I recommend calling a couple of times before making a decision. LISTEN to every word, make sure you ask questions and by all means, cancel the extras (NFL Sunday Tickets, FREE HBO for 3 months) as soon as the promotion ends or you will pay extra! They bill you automatically. One more thing – Ask what the cost will be after each promotion ends. The deal may sound great now, but will it be so great later?
FWI – I am currently with Time Warner Cable. I simply called them to renegotiated and the lowered my bill by $60. I still have all of the same services and channels I had prior to the call. I did give up two cable boxes, but who really needs five anyway? I was not in a contract prior to the call nor am I in a contract now. Don’t sign a new contract with anyone without trying to renegotiate with your current provider.
Good luck!
Okay, one more thing. If you do not set-up an account on the web-site they give you at the end of the call, you won’t get your rebate(discount). Make sure you do this as soon as you get off the phone so it will be reflected on your first bill. Just look above at the complaint from Anne-Marie Peck. You must LISTEN and ask questions.
Direct tv is a joke they are nothing but a bunch of clowns they are rude and a bunch of players they promised me two rooms and i got one. I called them and i was on the phone for 90 min for them to say that is your problem. The worst people and company i have ever used i will never use direct tv again and hope this dose not happen to any one else.
I ordered direct tv, and then was told by a friend how has that it is terrible, and then I found all these horrible reviews. No one has THIS many bad reviews on so many different sites w/o being crap. So I just called and cancelled the install, I am going to look into dish network some.. Cox cable sucks just as bad as direct tv…
I was with Directv for about 10 months before I decided to move. I called to set up my move date and have a technician come out. I let them know that I would be at work until 5 pm during the week and I need a technician out at my place at 6pm. They said they put the notes in my account and that wouldn’t be a problem. I got a call from the technician at 4:15pm telling me he was waiting outside my place. I called Directv when I got off work and they said that they contract the installations out and that’s why they give you a 4 hour window. I went rounds with her telling her that I work during the week and I explained this to the customer service person when I called and set up my move and they told me it wouldn’t be an issue. She said that she could have someone come out in 7 days and install, but I would still be in the same situation unless, I take time off work. I let her know that wouldn’t work and to cancel my service.
I called on December 14th to cancel my service and at this time I ask for a final bill so I could just pay it and get it over with. The guy said that he is unable to give me a final bill at this time but I will receive on in the mail shortly. He mentioned that they are sending me out boxes so I can ship the two receivers back so I don’t get charged for them. He let me know that I have 20 days to send the receivers back, ok no problem. I gave them my new address and told them to send them there (seeing as I am not living at my old address anymore). I called back on December 21st to ask where my boxes were,t he guy told me they were in Georgia and ensured me they were on their way. January 3, still no boxes, I called and I was told they were shipped to my old address!!!!!! The lady I spoke to said that she would have them sent out and I would get them in 2-3 days and I wouldn’t be charged the non return fee of 200 some dollars. January 9, I call back and ask where are my boxes, they ensure me that I will be receiving them today January 10th. Crossing my fingers!!!
Meanwhile, I received my final bill and within days, they took the funds out of an account I am no longer on. This wouldn’t have bothered me because I could just pay my husband back but I had just mailed a check to them. Needless to say they cashed the check and owe me my final bill, but won’t refund the funds until they get their recievers back and it could be up to 30 days after that. Excuse me: you would have received your receivers back if you would have sent them to the correct address in the first place. It was their mistake and I shouldn’t have to call 5 times to find the boxes to send THEIR stuff back.
I don’t know if this is what they do to get more money from people, but I will NEVER go through them again. I am currently with Dish Network and I haven’t had a problem with them. They were able to come out when I needed them too and I haven;t had any issues with their Customer Service.
Same thing happened to me with the boxes, they then proceeded to charge me for the DVR and over draft my account.
WARNING! Disaster experience! Delirious process ordering and bundling the services even more of a disaster. Hours on the phone trying to get full service, more hours to try and change and 3 hours to cancel service the same week! I was told after 4 days of service that I would be charged $400 for cancellation fee on top of $105 charge for service before I even had the full service. I was sold an Internet service through Verizon that did not exist at the price they bundled, but satelite service was in and there was no wat out! Extremely stressful experience! THEY NEED TO BE PUT OUT OF BUSINESS UNTIL THEY GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER.
Comcast has gotten so expensive I was considering trying satellite. After reading the reviews on this site I’m either going to stick with Comcast (I’d rather stick it to them) or go back to an antenna. The over the air HD signal is far superior to cable (because the cable companies compress the signal) and it’s free. Unfortunately you have to live within 60 or 70 miles of the broadcast antennas and of course your choices are limited. But with the expanding internet content you can now get on your tv it certainly is a consideration. I hear a lot of people are cutting the cable. I might just have to join them.
LIARS! The representatives lie to you when they try to convince you to sign up. You sign the contract. Then they add additional fees for things not in the contract. When you want to cancel these extra hidden fees it will cost you at least $50 for them to fix it. Not to mention when you call for help you get a automated voice. When you finally get a disrespectful representative they charge you for the phone call. Just when I thought cox could not get any worse…. DIRECT TV IS WORSE THAN COX! wish I could switch back but I am bound by a two year agreement after the representative lied to me and told me it was only one year. Extremely upset with my Direct TV and their customer service. I suppose this is how the company would like to be spoken about. Once they get you to sign their contract the treat you like you do not matter to them. I will never recommend their services to anyone!!!
OMG I am sitting here waiting on Direct TV man to come and install my service no way man after reading all these reviews I will wait until Wednesday for Comcast I will not allow that these people say happen to me I haven’t signed anything yet and plan not to. When he show up I’m just gone say thanks but no thanks sorry for the trouble. Dang I just hate I got to wait until Wednesday to watch tv….O well red box here I come lol
I was with Directv for 7 years and was never late with a payment. I purchased a High Def TV and wanted them to hook me up with High Def reception. They told me I had to pay for equipment, my monthly bill would be $10 higher and i had to sign another 2 YEAR AGREEMENT! Thats what I get for being a full priced good customer for 7 years! I went with my local cable, they hooked me up FREE with no CONTRACT…I actually get more channels with High Def for $40 less per month. I will NEVER go back to Directv and suggest you stay away from this company.
I was a customer for 3 years, during this time they signed me up for NFL package, when I requested to have it removed. I was billed and the would not dispute it. Also, upon leaving direct tv, they proceeded to charge my account with out my permission. They claimed that the small print said they could do this, which I did not see and was not told about till after the fact. I was pretty pro direct tv and was probably going to use there service again until this happened. I recommend not using there service due to unethical practices.
I’m currently fighting them, I had my installation on January 6th and they say my due date of the bill is the 26th of January. I called and asked why is this not prorated 10 days. The lady on phone say it is a 30 day billing cycle you have a 10 day leeway paying date so there’s your 30days. I told her logically its still a 20 day billing cycle. And I don’t get paid tell the 10th so that’s when I will pay. I truly do not think I should get dinged on a late payment when they can’t get there billing correct. Any ways it went back and fourth in her mind its a 30day billing cycle. I told her I’ll call tomorrow and talk to some one who can add from the 6th to the 26th is 20 days not 30days. So the headache will come back tomorrow.
So again did any one else get a 20 day billing cycle
DTV is horrible…and I hadnt even signed up for it yet. After spending 1 hour setting up my account and listening to all the “great” discounts I was going to get, the DTV representative said that I was going to be paying 32.99 a month BOTTOM PRICE. including everthing in the contract. She also stated that the discounrs would last for 2 years. I was a little skeptical about this (too good to be true) so I called back the next day. Got a representative to just read me back what I would be paying monthly and she told me it was going to be 55.99 dlls and the price would go up after the first 12 months. Absolutely ridiculous. They lie just to get you hooked. I cancelled right away and I am so happy I called back to make sure. That was a close one! I urge everyone who reads this to at least call them back the next day to see if what they offered on the first call is true. OF COURSE…BEFORE YOU AGREE AND SIGN THE CONTRACT.