Bank account accessed without permission

[melinda]

My daughter had to cancel her Directv service because she was moving. She never signed a contract, but was told when she cancelled that she had a two-year contract and must pay $20 a month for the next 16 months. She said that she could not pay it all at once, and was told that wasn't a problem, that she could speak with their payment counselors and work out a schedule. Then she discovered that they had accessed her bank account and taken the entire $400+ out of it, leaving her overdrawn. When she tried to speak to a supervisor, she was told that the supervisor was "busy" (in the Philippines) and that in any case, there was no way to reverse the transaction. what might be the recourse?

[meStevo]

She just learned not to enter into a contract she can't complete.

She was charged an early termination fee, simple as that.

Her bank account was not accessed, makes it sound all seedy and fraudulent. She allowed them to charge her an early termination fee for not completing her service contract with them, and signed to that fact when it was installed.

She was charged for service/goods, similar to buying a soda at a convenience store.

She can call and try to get through to a supervisor, minimizing it by suspecting where the call was to doesn't move the blame around any, and characterizing the transaction as fraudulent doesn't really make her case any stronger. She can dispute the charges with her bank, but she will lose because they are valid. She may have some options with suspending the account but if she's already moved and she's already canceled, she's likely not able to take advantage of anything there either.

[boba]

I like many others have no sympathy for people that enter into contracts and then break them expecting no consequences.. Your daughter could have shown more common sense than just cancelling a contract that was in force for only 8 of 24 months.

[oldford]

Contract gets signed right after the install, before the installer leaves, he has the customer sign the back of his "work order". The fine print is the contract.

If your daughter gave them her bank account numbers, that was permission to "access".

She probably has little recourse, a legal aid office might give her further advice. I assume a private attorney is beyond her means.

Wish her good luck.

[susanandmark]

I, like apparently not many others, DO have sympathy. We've been DirecTV customers since early 1999. We've never had DirecTV do any sort of install, and never signed a single piece of paper from their company. Yet, we're told we have a two-year contract stemming from a mythical 2008 upgrade that never occurred. (We last modified/updated our system in April 2007 and I have the paperwork to prove it.) DirecTV first said that, "we signed a contract at install". An "install" that never happened and they refused to provide any proof of. Then they said something along the lines of we, "purchased a receiver from them." Again, I have always bought my receivers from third parties and NEVER directly from DirecTV. They refused, again, to provide any proof, even when I offered to show them a receipt for my last receiver purchase ... from 2007. They then offered up a third bogus excuse I can't even recall now and cut off communications with me saying they had "done their research" and "considered the matter closed." So, without a shred of proof, they can claim I have an "unbreakable contract." (If anyone really cares I detailed the matter here, as it was happening, with all specifics. It's been a bit, so I'm slightly fuzzy on all the back-and-forth.)

Look, I don't know what the particular poster's situation fully is and I'm stickler for paying all your bills, but NO ONE would be happy to find $400 withdrawn from their account unexpectedly ... And no REPUTABLE business would do that. A good reminder to put all auto payments on credit cards that can A) be cancelled and B) disputed.

What other service do you pay for, in full plus up front costs, and then have them come back and say that full payment is not enough? (Other than cell phones, another opportunistic business, but even then you get to keep the phone you paid up from for!) I paid the same exact amount for my "leased" receivers as I did to purchase the SAME UNITS a few months earlier. So, no savings and, unlike with cell phones, no real subsidy by DirecTV either. (Those boxes don't cost them more than the $200 they charge to make, I guarantee.)

I'm a 10-year-plus customer at this point, always with the highest level of service, always paid in-full and on-time and yet they treat me like dirt. They've more than made their money on me and, yet, it's still not enough. And two MORE years every time you make ANY change? Really?! Greedy doesn't even begin to cover it.

You say you have no sympathy for people who, "enter into contracts and then break them expecting no consequences" and I would agree, if we were talking about a marriage or a mortgage or something equally grave. But TV? Really? C'mon!

Yes, you SHOULD read all the fine print before you sign anything. But how many people really do that with some glorified delivery guy standing there, tapping his foot and looking annoyed? Very, very few.

You enter into "contracts" with almost everything you do nowadays ... Playing a DVD, visiting a website, installing software, going to the dry cleaner.

And comparing this to a soda purchase is equally ridiculous ... Unless you think it's OK for the store to charge your bank account even if you don't buy soda one day, because they expected you to.

And what about DirecTV's "contract" with the consumer? Oh, that's right, their contract states they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and consumers have no recourse. But no leeway is allowed the other way. So, they can remove channels, fail to live up to written promises of channel additions, raise rates or whatever else they feel like, at any time, with no notice, and the consumer can't even leave, because it's on the "contract."

DirecTV is a very big, very profitable company ... They charge "termination" fees for two reasons. First, because consumers like the two posters above are willing to accept Draconian terms without protest (and even defend them) and secondly because IT MAKES THEM EVEN MORE MONEY! There is NO other reason! And as long as consumers continue to support such a business model, greedy companies will continue to act in ever more onerous ways in order to expand their bottom lines.

[meStevo]

A lot of 'down with the big bad corporation' here.

I, like apparently not many others, DO have sympathy. We've been DirecTV customers since early 1999. We've never had DirecTV do any sort of install, and never signed a single piece of paper from their company. Yet, we're told we have a two-year contract stemming from a mythical 2008 upgrade that never occurred. (We last modified/updated our system in April 2007 and I have the paperwork to prove it.) DirecTV first said that, "we signed a contract at install". An "install" that never happened and they refused to provide any proof of. Then they said something along the lines of we, "purchased a receiver from them." Again, I have always bought my receivers from third parties and NEVER directly from DirecTV. They refused, again, to provide any proof, even when I offered to show them a receipt for my last receiver purchase ... from 2007. They then offered up a third bogus excuse I can't even recall now and cut off communications with me saying they had "done their research" and "considered the matter closed." So, without a shred of proof, they can claim I have an "unbreakable contract." (If anyone really cares I detailed the matter here, as it was happening, with all specifics. It's been a bit, so I'm slightly fuzzy on all the back-and-forth.)

Don't know the details of your situation, but clearly more complex than someone who simply can't complete their service commitment they agreed to when the system was installed.

Look, I don't know what the particular poster's situation fully is and I'm stickler for paying all your bills, but NO ONE would be happy to find $400 withdrawn from their account unexpectedly ... And no REPUTABLE business would do that. A good reminder to put all auto payments on credit cards that can A) be cancelled and B) disputed.

Bank accounts can be closed and charges can still be disputed, difference only being it's money and not a credit line. DirecTV is plenty reputable for those who have reasonable expectations of it.

What other service do you pay for, in full plus up front costs, and then have them come back and say that full payment is not enough? (Other than cell phones, another opportunistic business, but even then you get to keep the phone you paid up from for!) I paid the same exact amount for my "leased" receivers as I did to purchase the SAME UNITS a few months earlier. So, no savings and, unlike with cell phones, no real subsidy by DirecTV either. (Those boxes don't cost them more than the $200 they charge to make, I guarantee.)

You own your cell phone because they are arguably cheaper to produce and are signifigantly less reusable. Otherwise yes, the business models are identical. Otherwise we'd have no contracts and everyone would pay $500+ for cell phones.

I'm a 10-year-plus customer at this point, always with the highest level of service, always paid in-full and on-time and yet they treat me like dirt. They've more than made their money on me and, yet, it's still not enough. And two MORE years every time you make ANY change? Really?! Greedy doesn't even begin to cover it.

You are a customer. Period. DirecTV is a very customer-centric company, but being an older customer only gets you so far. If you expect an installer to show up and wash your car because you've been with the company 10 years... you'll be disappointed. If your anniversary rolls around and you suddenly get a PPV or 3 months of Showtime, you may not be quite so disappointed. They just don't provide the kind of extraordinary service you're expecting I think.

You say you have no sympathy for people who, "enter into contracts and then break them expecting no consequences" and I would agree, if we were talking about a marriage or a mortgage or something equally grave. But TV? Really? C'mon!

It's a contract. Really doesn't matter how much you try and marginalize it because of what it centers around.

Yes, you SHOULD read all the fine print before you sign anything. But how many people really do that with some glorified delivery guy standing there, tapping his foot and looking annoyed? Very, very few.

Again, really doesn't matter. She entered into a contract, and likely doesn't have some elbaborate sob story about her installation to fall back on. She simply moved. That's it.

You enter into "contracts" with almost everything you do nowadays ... Playing a DVD, visiting a website, installing software, going to the dry cleaner.

And comparing this to a soda purchase is equally ridiculous ... Unless you think it's OK for the store to charge your bank account even if you don't buy soda one day, because they expected you to.

Then you missed the point. The OP is all but accusing DirecTV of fraud. The transaction is as legit as buying a soda at a convenience store. Your comparison to the convenience store then overcharging isn't equal to being charged the termination fee.

And what about DirecTV's "contract" with the consumer? Oh, that's right, their contract states they can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and consumers have no recourse. But no leeway is allowed the other way. So, they can remove channels, fail to live up to written promises of channel additions, raise rates or whatever else they feel like, at any time, with no notice, and the consumer can't even leave, because it's on the "contract."

Your point? And is any other service provider any different? All you're doing is dramatizing their CYA policies because adding/removing things are not always in the best interest or under the direct control of the company or it's customers.

DirecTV is a very big, very profitable company ... They charge "termination" fees for two reasons. First, because consumers like the two posters above are willing to accept Draconian terms without protest (and even defend them) and secondly because IT MAKES THEM EVEN MORE MONEY! There is NO other reason! And as long as consumers continue to support such a business model, greedy companies will continue to act in ever more onerous ways in order to expand their bottom lines.

They charge termination fees so people don't suddenly 'move' every x months and get out of service contracts. They have an investment into consumers and contracts ensure it is recouped.

ETFs help recoup an investment, they'd much rather have you as a customer for the same period of time, afterall, that's much more than the $20/mo they're charging.

[scoop8]

Good post above. Like you, I've always paid my DTV bill on time with auto-pay and before that, with a check on time. I'm a "model" customer (DTV's word, not mine ) .

Regardless of that, something a little similar happened to me back in Sept '08 when I upgraded to HD. Here's what happened:

About a month into my HD upgrade, one of my HDxx boxes developed an intermittent problem. I called DTV and they sent out a tech who replaced the box. He took the defective box with him when he left my home. I considered the matter closed and was pleased at the response time of the DTV tech. I figured that the tech's taking the DTV property with him to be routine and normal. Is that something we all should read in some fine print or prevent the DTV tech[s] from leaving a home with defective boxes?

The next month, I discovered a $400 charge on my auto-pay online acct for a HRxx box that I didn't return to DTV. Funny, right? Is this some kind of violation on my part of me breaking a contract? That, imo, isn't right for any Co to apply that kind of charge before checking with their own people to determine the location of their defective property. At the very least, I should have been contacted by phone about it. None of that occurred before the charge appeared on my credit card.

I got the matter resolved without a problem by calling a CSR and I was very polite in the conversation and all went smooth but I thought it was interesting that the CSR offered no comment in at least a "sorry" about what happened.

[vurbano]

Directv anti consumer business practices. She didnt sign anything there was no contract.

[stonecold]

Lesson learned never use a bank card for dtv. Pre paids work great for setting up service

[wildbill129]

My daughter had to cancel her Directv service because she was moving. She never signed a contract, but was told when she cancelled that she had a two-year contract and must pay $20 a month for the next 16 months. She said that she could not pay it all at once, and was told that wasn't a problem, that she could speak with their payment counselors and work out a schedule. Then she discovered that they had accessed her bank account and taken the entire $400+ out of it, leaving her overdrawn. When she tried to speak to a supervisor, she was told that the supervisor was "busy" (in the Philippines) and that in any case, there was no way to reverse the transaction. what might be the recourse?

She can try to dispute the charges with her bank. Depending on how the charge was originally set-up, bank routing or visa/debit, there is some time to dispute the charge.

This situation is unfortunate, and it is why DirecTV is being sued in a class action suit for their early termination fees policy. They can charge the ETF's, the dispute is if they are authorized to deduct that from a bank account without approval. We shall have to see how that plays out in court. Here are details...sound familiar?


http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news0...a_directv.html

http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/cour...?storyId=29649

Why did she not get DirecTV at her new place? She also could have suspended her account and tried to get DirecTV later.