DirecTV phone call hard sell

[tvropro]

I just got a call from DirecTV that they value me as a loyal customer. Then they went into a hard sell sales pitch. They said they would give me free Starz and Encore and then said it will only cost me $11.99 a month. Then he insisted I must take this and more or less said your going to pay this and were adding this on like it or not. That really pissed me off, so I told him I don't want your offer and have no money for them. I also told them I just downgraded my service with them because their packages are too expensive and they're lucky I'm honoring my contract with them. He then backed down told me to visit there website, said thank you and hung up.

Is this normal for DirecTV to do? Has anyone else been forced into a hard sell? It seemed to me the way he was approaching this was to trick you up and get you to accept this with saying its free but not free. Don't seem right,.sort of a deceptive practice. :shocked

Am I going to be targeted now due to the fact I'm not spending a certain amount with them every month that they want?

 

[mini1]

Almost sounds like a scam to get your SS# and address or credit card number? That call may not have came from D*.

 

[tvropro]

I don't know they said they were from Direct and the call was being recorded for training purposes. he also told me to visit directv.com at the end. Where would someone else got my number from it's unlisted and on the do not call list.

I guess this was my anniversary gift.

 

[DodgerKing]

I get calls from outside companies whom are licensed to give deals for other companies, such as DirecTV. I usually turn down the deals because you do not get the discount right away; it usually takes a few months. You can always call DirecTV and ask them if someone called offering a deal. DirecTV will have records of things like this from outside companies. I have called them before and they confirmed. The number is usually from the 410 area code. The last one was (410) 774-8193 and another was (410) 774-8549. Both are legit and DirecTV did have records of both calls.

The last offer I got was free Extra Innings and 3 months free of Showtime and Starz if I change my package from Total Choice Plus to Choice Extra.

 

[JerseyMatt]

I'd almost say you should've *69'd them, but it's so easy to spoof a caller ID you'd probably actually get DirecTV. I'm with mini, that sounded like a phishing call.

 

[tvropro]

Wouldn't it make more sense to tell you we can offer you Starz and Encore for bla..bla,,bla.. then say were giving it to you free then say your cost is ....... I used to get calls from NPS years back offering HBO & Cinemax for a year for $99.00. There was never any trickery in what they were trying to achieve. Thats the part that really ticked me off about this call. Is there a way to opt out of Directs phone offers?

 

[JerseyMatt]

Cancel them, pay the ETF, and have fun watching SD on your BUD.

 

[charper1]

Wouldn't it make more sense to tell you we can offer you Starz and Encore for bla..bla,,bla.. then say were giving it to you free then say your cost is ....... I used to get calls from NPS years back offering HBO & Cinemax for a year for $99.00. There was never any trickery in what they were trying to achieve. Thats the part that really ticked me off about this call. Is there a way to opt out of Directs phone offers?

The same way you can stop all other calls.
1. go to you online accounts and opt out of everything
2. when you have them on phone (or can call them) tell them to remove you from any and all marketing calls; remove you from their lists
3. register your phone in the do not call registry
4. setup a DND and whitelist on your side on the phone system


remember there are legal exclusions/reasons biz can call, but I NEVER get unwanted calls.

 

[JerseyMatt]

When you have an existing business relationship with a company the do not call list does not apply.

 

[charper1]

When you have an existing business relationship with a company the do not call list does not apply.

Thus the other points mentioned and the disclaimer about there being legit reasons for them to call. I am not saying any one of those will solve it; needs to do them all as a best practice.

Like it says; I never get unwanted calls so those 4 steps are well worth the few minutes it takes rather than doing nothing. No real reason to argue the point.

 

[Mr Tony]

I just got a call from DirecTV that they value me as a loyal customer. Then they went into a hard sell sales pitch. They said they would give me free Starz and Encore and then said it will only cost me $11.99 a month. Then he insisted I must take this and more or less said your going to pay this and were adding this on like it or not. That really pissed me off, so I told him I don't want your offer and have no money for them. I also told them I just downgraded my service with them because their packages are too expensive and they're lucky I'm honoring my contract with them. He then backed down told me to visit there website, said thank you and hung up.

Is this normal for DirecTV to do? Has anyone else been forced into a hard sell? It seemed to me the way he was approaching this was to trick you up and get you to accept this with saying its free but not free. Don't seem right,.sort of a deceptive practice. :shocked

Am I going to be targeted now due to the fact I'm not spending a certain amount with them every month that they want?

has nothing to do with how much you spend. Its just one of those "try and get ya to add movie crap" on the account. I've had a couple of them calls.
Last time they called me it was to add Starz and Showtime for 11.01 a month (since I had sports pack) and send me $25 (same deal the D* site had) but it was a 4 or 6 month requirement. I told them no and hung up.

The number is usually from the 410 area code. The last one was (410) 774-8193 and another was (410) 774-8549. Both are legit and DirecTV did have records of both calls.

yep I have got calls from the 8549 # recently. I know its D* and I just dont answer I dont need any more movie channels

 

[tvropro]

Cancel them, pay the ETF, and have fun watching SD on your BUD.

I will not pay ETF. My bud SD blows away anything picture quality wise Direct has to offer. Hell I was watching DVB masters last night then fired up direct later for a movie on Encore. The degradation of the picture I saw on Direct was very noticeable. But then when your use to watching subpar quality all the time you never notice that

 

[charper1]

ease back to topic guys; please

 

[KimmiKat]

One of my cousins still have a bud as they don't care much for the small dish stuff.

As for upsell calls from Direct, they gave up long ago when I told them I wasn't interested in their special offers. Most of the time was the sports crap which I don't watch.

I will not pay ETF. My bud SD blows away anything picture quality wise Direct has to offer. Hell I was watching DVB masters last night then fired up direct later for a movie on Encore. The degradation of the picture I saw on Direct was very noticeable. But then when your use to watching subpar quality all the time you never notice that

 

[satjay]

The part of them saying you must take this package sounds a little weird coming from direct

 

[downthedoor]

So in another life I worked for a company that called current subs of a "cable company" and tried to up sell them on movie packages... We were a subcontractor but had a close working relationship with the "cable company". Back then, only the legal confirmation was recorded, so people would do things to get the customer to think it was free and then do the legal confirmation word for word... It didn't always work, but it would most of the time. I did not have to use such tactics, I could generally hit quota on the selling points of whatever package. But them d*, um, the "cable company" got greedy and raised the quota. Luckily I went to another department by then, but those left had to use such tactics to make the sales. The "cable company" could claim they had no knowledge of what's going on, on the subcontractor would do anything to keep the outbound program profitable. During the weekly conference call everyone would clean up the pitch, only to go back to whatever after the hour was over. The "cable company" would hire a few vendors and pit them against each other, and threaten to fire whoever was last in a given month.

If it was me I would call and file a formal complaint with d*, there will be a record on your account with the subcontractor of who called you, and I would also tell them you are going to file a complaint with your local secretary of states office.

These days who knows, the call may be recorded...

 

[joed32]

Had Directv over 10 years and they have never called me.

 

[tvropro]

Had Directv over 10 years and they have never called me.

They forgot about you

 

[joed32]

They forgot about you

Wish they would forget to bill me.

 

[markfp-1]

Although "opting out" of marketing calls from DirecTV should resolve the matter, just registering on the Do Not Call list won't. There is a specific exemption for companies you've had dealings with before. Same as the politicians that passed the law specifically exempted political calls too.