DirecTV is pissing me off

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DodgerKing

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Nov 14, 2007
16,776
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SoCal
The last two days have been my worst days I have ever had dealing with this company.

Day 1 (yesterday): I called DirecTV about replacing my TiVO which has missed every single scheduled recording over the past year. First department they connect me to is installation. The guy was trying to help but did not know what to do. He then connected me to the Spanish customer service. After explaining to the guy who spoke little English that I need to be connect to the protection plan, I finally got to the correct department. So far it is not that big of a deal.

Now, I am on the phone with the protection plan department with a lady who knows nothing about TiVos. I explained to her that I have already been through all of the trouble shooting several times already and I just want them to replace my TiVo with another receiver or DVR. She still made me go through all of the steps yet again. Afterwards, she tells me to wait 12 hours to see if the issue is resolved and to call back tomorrow. I was getting annoyed and explained that I have been through this several times already and I just want them to replace my faulty equipment since I am paying for the protection plan. She puts me on hold and says that I have promotions coming to me for a free HD reciever upgrade and I will need to extend my contract for 24 months. I am getting really mad now. I told her I was paying for a protection plan so I do not need a promotion and I should be able to get my equipment replaced without a contract extension. She said to call back tomorrow and if I still have the same problem they may have to change it out.

Instead I called back an hour later and talked to someone else. I explained what just happened, he read it in the notes and said someone should call me tomorrow (which is now today) about replacing the equipment. Long story short, I just called back and they wanted me to go through the same trouble shooting steps again. :rant: Just give me my friggen replacement already. I just hung up. What is the point of having a protection plan if I still have to extend my contract and use up one of my promotions?

Day 2 (Today): Noticed my bill was paid today and it was $10 more than last month. Looked at my statement and noticed there was no credit for my free 24 months HD. Guess what? I had to call again today. After being on hold for 30 minutes while the CSR looked into it, he came back to tell me that this is a known technical glitch and I should see the credit on next months bill. That my 24 months will now be extended another month. [For some reason I do not believe that. I know when I call back in two years (assuming HD is not free by then anyway) on the 23 month, they will tell me my 24 months has expired and they will know nothing about the glitch that occurred on this day].

Has anyone else had an issue with their free HD not being credited this month?

Now I am going to have to call again when I get home and basically tell them to upgrade my equipment with no charge or commitment or I am leaving
 
Has anyone else had an issue with their free HD not being credited this month?

Now I am going to have to call again when I get home and basically tell them to upgrade my equipment with no charge or commitment or I am leaving
Yes , My Choice Extra, MLB Starz Showtime Credits to 45 days after the date it was supposed to on the 2nd credit.

Now As far as the Tivo deal.. Make sure your call the proper D* number 18005315000.
I've noticed some of the Sub numbers tend to take you Overseas and they don't know anything.

Anyway , I wanted to swap my Tivo under the protection plan as well,
I just told them its own and its not powing up properly, They asked me to go through the Troubleshooting tips , I just declined and said the Machine isn't even tuning on.

OK On hold, They said they will send me out a New one Free of Charge, OK good. I got a R15, Not crazy about it but its about 4 years newer then what I had.

I got the R15 , called to activate and they deactivated the old Tivo and I was back in business.

I'm surprised your getting such a hard time over it.
 
Yes , My Choice Extra, MLB Starz Showtime Credits to 45 days after the date it was supposed to on the 2nd credit.

Now As far as the Tivo deal.. Make sure your call the proper D* number 18005315000.
I've noticed some of the Sub numbers tend to take you Overseas and they don't know anything.

Anyway , I wanted to swap my Tivo under the protection plan as well,
I just told them its own and its not powing up properly, They asked me to go through the Troubleshooting tips , I just declined and said the Machine isn't even tuning on.

OK On hold, They said they will send me out a New one Free of Charge, OK good. I got a R15, Not crazy about it but its about 4 years newer then what I had.

I got the R15 , called to activate and they deactivated the old Tivo and I was back in business.

I'm surprised your getting such a hard time over it.
That is what I will do when I call today. I will just tell them that it wont even turn on now
 
Thanks for the link to "Rush" !!!!
Now I'm listening to them for a while :up

I would do like you did before but try to go directly to Protection next time.
You are welcome. Rush is my favorite band.

About calling them. The second time I called I went directly to protection.
 
DirecTV called me back to replace my TiVO with an equivalent SD DVR. I ended up talking them into replacing it with an HD receiver instead. A tech will deliver my new receiver tomorrow. They said they need a tech to install because I am upgrading that particular room even though I already have HD access in the house.
 
$5 says you got a new 2 year commitment to go with the new HD receiver. I thought that you wouldnt get the extension only if you had them replace like equipment with like equipment.
 
$5 says you got a new 2 year commitment to go with the new HD receiver. I thought that you wouldnt get the extension only if you had them replace like equipment with like equipment.
They already told me I will get my contract extended, but I got another free receiver so I guess I will have to put up with them for another 2 years. :p
 
Which is probably why he could 'talk them into' the HD one;)

And if they didn't tell him that he'll really be pissed off!
I asked, and after going around and around and around, I ended up agreeing to replace my broken TiVO (which I still get to keep) with an HD receiver. At least the last lady I talked to was nice. She was going give me a new HD DVR and a new HD receiver for $50. I would have taken it except I do not want to replace my HR20 with a 21-23. I would only take it if I could be guaranteed an HR24.

I understand replacing only comparable equipment with other comparable equipment. That is not my issue. I will not get mad if they don't want to upgrade me for free. My issue was the hassle I had to go through just for them to realize that my equipment needed replacing in the first place. And on top of that, my 24 months free HD discount was not included on my bill.

When the guy actually called me today, I ended up being a little less angry. At least they did do what they promised they would do.
 
Replaced my last TiVo with an H20-600. Now all of my TiVo's are in the closet where they belong.

I do not believe how much better an HD picture on an SD TV looks. Even though the TV is SD, the HD channels through this HD receiver look much better than the SD channels on the same TV (plus I am able to watch my HD extra package channels on this TV now as well).
 
I can't believe they are still giving these out.:(

Sorry, I'll never let one of those in my house again.:rant:

Watch for overheating.
Works good so far. If it crashes, my protection plan will replace it with another and I will make sure they note that I prefer an H24.

I did notice that it is a lot hotter than my HR20-100. Maybe I can put a little fan next to it, pointing inside the vent holes?
 
I thought they recalled the H20-600 and got rid of them. They overheat and reboot much more than a receiver should.
 
I had a H20-600 all the way until I replaced it with a HR22. Mine never over heated, but it was sitting on top of a dresser in my bedroom and was in a wide open space so it had plenty of room to breathe. Also it had a great OTA tuner in it that could scan for channels instead of relying on D*'s database of HD locals for each zipcode.
 
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Can we just all admit that both D* and E* have horrendous customer service after the sale and WILL use the "letter of the law" to weasel fees and contract renewals at every turn?

I still Comcast has the worst CS ever, but despite their clueless people I never got on a call with them with one hand on my wallet.

I was about to say that all large companies have horrid customer service, but I just remembered that American Express has always been awesome with me... so it is possible :D
 
I thought they recalled the H20-600 and got rid of them. They overheat and reboot much more than a receiver should.
Only certain ones.

[Cached:13:25:08-13:25:08]H20-600 recall | High Definition Television (HD | DIRECTV Technical Help Forums

texasbrit said:
Look underneath your receiver. If there is a sticker with ECO2 on it, then your receiver isn't being recalled. No sticker, or (I assume) ECO1 means that the receiver will be recalled - this is a progressive recall, and many people have not been contacted yet (including me!)
 
Replaced my last TiVo with an H20-600. Now all of my TiVo's are in the closet where they belong.

I do not believe how much better an HD picture on an SD TV looks. Even though the TV is SD, the HD channels through this HD receiver look much better than the SD channels on the same TV (plus I am able to watch my HD extra package channels on this TV now as well).

It is surprising but HD does look very nice on an SD TV.
 
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