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Background:
My wife and I are moving from Kansas City, MO to Ravenna, OH in the beginning of June. We presently rent a townhome where we have DirecTV (HR-20, Slimline dish) and a contract through Feb 2009. We have purchased a home which we will be taking possession of on June 7th. Two weeks ago I called 1-800-WAY-U-MOV to schedule our installation for Sat June 9th. I have to start my new job on 6/8 and we would like to unpack our belongings (TV, etc...) on 6/7. I thought it was going well.

Last week, I received a message from the installation contractor stating the requested installation date was too far out in their schedule and requesting me to move the installation date be moved up. I called them back the next day and explained to the nice lady on the phone the message I had received. I explained to her that it was impossible for me to have the satellite installed earlier because I would not be in the house any earlier.

The nice lady then explained to me that they would then have to request that I cancel my installation appointment and call DirecTV again one week before I move. She explained to me that the installation company has a contract with DirecTV to finish and close all installation requests within 5 business days of the order being given to them.

The problem I have with this is that my wife and I will be on a vacation in Hawaii the week beforehand (long story) and that I would rather not call from Hawaii to schedule the install. I'll be on vacation and would rather not have to worry about any of my utilities or services. My goal was to have everything scheduled by the end of this week.

I explained my situation to her and asked that my appointment be kept for June the 9th. She typed up an explanation into their computer system and read to me what she typed. I thought it said to leave the service installation date as is. I was a little concerned though and decided I better call a CRS with DirecTV. When I spoke with the CRS, I explained to her my concerns and asked that she verify my installation date was kept the same. She then put me on hold for 10 minutes, and when she came back on the phone, she explained to me that the order for some reason appeared to have been cancelled. I was irrate.

I asked her to then reschedule the appointment for the exact same time as I had before and I asked her about the "5 day" guarantee they had with the installer. I expressed my concerns in a very honest but courteous manner. She went and spoke with her manager for a few minutes to see what they could do to address the situation. When she came back to me, she explained that they have no control over the installer and to make up for my inconvenience, they would be deducting $10/ month for the next 6 months off of my bill.

I asked what to do if the installer comes back and cancels or asks me to cancel and reschedule my appointment again, and she informed me to ask to speak with the manager of the installation company and to immediately call DirecTV again. (This will no doubt happen while I am on vacation in Hawaii).

I am happy with my "DirecTV" service. I am not happy with my installation company service. What recourse do I have? I don't feel like DirecTV should be penalized for the stupid policies of the installation company, but if my installation date gets cancelled/rescheduled again, I will only accept 2 outcomes. 1) the installation will still take place on June 9th, the installer will install it with accordance to my specific instructions, AND I will receive free (or severely discounted) service for the remainder of my contract, or 2) my contract will be cancelled WITHOUT penalty so that I may start service with TWC so that I may receive a discount on Roadrunner which is the only HSInternet available at the new address (not counting Satellite - too much $$).

What are your thoughts? Am I being reasonable? What do you think my options are? Anybody else run into this "5-days" policy? The reason I scheduled my appointment so far out is that in KC when I requested installation or upgrade, the minimum wait I have ever experienced is a bout 5 weeks (which is the amount of time I gave 1-800-WAY-U-MOV).

Thoughts?