I'm livid! Service turned off...

[LonghornXP]

This thing was so bad I would really consider telling DirecTV to waive all fees paid for the Moneygram, allow CC autopay ASAP "and" knock at least one year off on your two year commitment or you will take them to small claims court and breach of contract. This was their error and you provided proof that they had the wrong CC number on file and they forced you to outlay additional funds to restore service. If this wasn't a breach of contract I don't know what the heck is. Trust me a DirecTV lawyer doesn't want to show up in small claims court and try to explain their justification on this whole mess. I'm sure the judge could start cracking up at any moment at the lawyer.

Everything I said above assumes that DirecTV doesn't handle this issue and IMO I bet they will handle it fairly with a decent I'm sorry credit. Just went I thought I heard everything I'm shocked yet again.

 

[Zynergi]

Did you ever get the Credit Card Number (or at least the Company) that's this all apparently started with?

Writing a Letter to the Office of President will definitely get some attention.

I would verify that you have X recievers that you ordered on your account and not a couple extras.

I still smell some issue with Fraud here, maybe not in the form of a scam call as initially presumed, but fraud that someone may be piggy-backing your account. Ie.. adds 2 HD receivers to your account, obviously Direct needs them paid for, uses a card and gets the receivers activated. Cancels the charges, knowing your in contract and will re-activate service.

 

[mattopia]

The online site says it's a Visa, and the last 4 digits don't match any cards I have in posession. All of my cards are and have been with National City -- I called their card services number, and they informed me that I would have had to have signed an affidavit to do a chargeback, and that they'd never process a chargeback otherwise.

I also verified online that the only three receivers are the ones I currently possess.

I had DirecTV several years ago, I'm wondering if somehow my card # was imported from that account. I remember the first time I logged into directv.com it took me to my old, canceled account.

TV isn't worth this much hassle! I totally could get 70% of what I watch OTA and buy the other 30% on iTunes...

 

[Zynergi]

Is your account number 8 digits starting with 80xxxxxx (Don't list your account number please )

If it is your old account number then yea they may have ported your old number and tried to force an authorization since you are not a credit case. Once the batch got processed it was declined, putting you in debt.

Did you give them a CC # when you placed this last order?

 

[cariera]

I had DirecTV several years ago, I'm wondering if somehow my card # was imported from that account. I remember the first time I logged into directv.com it took me to my old, canceled account.

Aha, I think we all assumed that you started as a new customer with Directv. Having had an account before, was that account paid in full? Could Directv have possibly linked an unpaid balance from your old account to your new account? Did you dispute any charges on the old account that were charged back or reversed? Did you have any returned payments on the old account?

This could be the reason for the limited payment options (Western Union or Money Gram).

Just spitballin' here.

 

[mattopia]

Aha, I think we all assumed that you started as a new customer with Directv. Having had an account before, was that account paid in full? Could Directv have possibly linked an unpaid balance from your old account to your new account? Did you dispute any charges on the old account that were charged back or reversed? Did you have any returned payments on the old account?

This could be the reason for the limited payment options (Western Union or Money Gram).

Just spitballin' here.

Old account was canceled in good standing and paid in full. No negative balance or history, and my address was different back then. This was like 7-8 years ago so they considered me a new customer.

My account # starts with 0021. I"m pretty certain it's a new acct # and not tied in with my old account. The only correlation was that when I created my directv.com login it didn't allow me because my e-mail address matched my old one, so I had to use a different address.

 

[dishcomm]

Well, my service is back on. The only way I could get through to anyone is via the toll free number they set aside for us "deadbeats" I guess...

The next girl I talked to said I could pay over the phone via check. So, I grab my checkbook.... Then she tells me "uups, no, since we have no payment history with you we need Western Union, MoneyGram, etc..." She at least apologized for the misinformation.

I gave up and went to a MoneyGram location. After about 2 hours my service was restored, and they tell me I can't pay with credit card for 6 months. I'm still irate about the situation and am still waiting for a "manager" to call me back... At least now with my service restored, maybe I can get through to retention and complain.

I am surprised at how poorly they've treated me through this process. I own a house, have great credit, and no significant credit card debt, no late payments with anyone. Yet I had to wait in line with a girl who was buying a money order for an STD test (I'm not joking....) and pay something like $70 in reactivation and chargeback fees to get turned back on. That eats a significant chunk of my new customer incentives.

I'm really hoping DirecTV makes this right... This is bull**** and I'm not at all happy with the level of service I've received. I can see why they require a 2 year contract...

I am considering a BBB complaint.

Don't consider it. DO IT...Complain to the BBB. Document everything and put in a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
This is odd though. If a similar situation occured over at Dish, there would have been people turning handsprings and begging to babysit your kids just to keep your business.

 

[rad]

Try sending an e-mail to ellen.filipiak@directv.com (she's the VP of customer service), this will get you to the executive offices (like sending an e-mail to ceo at Dish). Ive used it a couple times and usually get a phone call within 24 hours from someone to try to get things fixed.

 

[iwc5893]

Mattopia, I'm glad that you got your service restored, and I would follow rad's advice to see if she can help you.

Now, to play devil's advocate (and please understand that this is in no way directed at anyone in particular).

D* sets up service for a new customer, and receives a credit card number for the account. They go to charge the card, and are notified by the CC company that it is not a valid charge. They disconnect the account in question. Customer calls in, and corrects the problem but is upset he can't use a CC for future payments.

In today's age of identify theft, I can certainly understand why D* took the action they did. There are those customers unscrupulous enough to try and use somebody else's CC to get service for themselves. (I AM IN NO WAY SAYING THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED HERE). How is D* supposed to know if it was an honest mistake, or if somebody was trying to defraud them?

Given that perspective, I don't think a complaint to the BBB, the FTC, the FCC, or the SEC, or anybody else in the alphabet soup is going to do any good...especially if you haven't exhausted all of your resolution options through D* yet.

 

[mattopia]

In today's age of identify theft, I can certainly understand why D* took the action they did. There are those customers unscrupulous enough to try and use somebody else's CC to get service for themselves. (I AM IN NO WAY SAYING THAT IS WHAT HAPPENED HERE). How is D* supposed to know if it was an honest mistake, or if somebody was trying to defraud them?

I do agree with you, and I do see their side of things.

That being said, before they would give me service, they took every bit of information from me and did a full credit check. They got $300-ish from me for equipment leasing -- why would I charge back an $80 charge but not the $300 equipment charge?

I'm not even upset that they won't let me use a credit card for 6 months -- I don't intend to ever pay them via credit card again. What I'm upset about is that they turned my service off before calling me, gave me no option other than to go out of my way to a wal-mart to wait in line and send them a money gram (with gasp - a debit card) for restoration, put me through a runaround, waste a significant amount of my time, flat out told me that I "had" to have issued a chargeback, and wouldn't do anything for me to help.

In other words, I'm upset that they're treating me like a deadbeat instead of a valued customer. I understand they have to take this stuff seriously, but they could have most certainly handled the situation better.

I have not yet exhausted every angle at DirecTV, and as I've said I will not do anything else until I feel that I have. A wealth of valuable information and assistance has come from the SatGuys community, and I truly appreciate everyone's willingness to help, and more importantly, your understanding! But, if nothing else comes of it, I will at least e-mail the BBB to share my tale with them.

 

[mattopia]

I haven't heard back from anyone at DirecTV yet. Per rad's suggestion, I've e-mailed Ellen Filipiak. I'll post here whatever resolution I come up with!

 

[mattopia]

Well, I think I've exhausted my options here. I'm not overwhelmed with joy or anything, but I think I'm about as satisfied as I'm going to be.

First, I received a new statement that shows the "overage" I paid was actually my next month's service. So, the only overage I had to pay (other than hours of time) was the $6.50 for the "moneygram".

I received a call back from someone in the Office of the President. I received an "I apologize" and a "Since you are already receiving the AAA promo and other discounts, our system will not allow me to add any further credits to your account. He also mentioned that even though he worked in the President's office, it really didn't give him much power over a CSR.

I pressed that I should at the very least get the $6.50 I paid for the moneygram back. He said he was able to use a "back way" in the system to apply this credit. He also took the "bad" credit card off of my account, and says there are currently no payment restrictions on there.

I explained that I still have a sour taste in my mouth from the whole ordeal. Hopefully throughout the rest of my time with D* they will make it up to me with better service.

I've spent too much time to go much deeper that I already have -- time better spent enjoying the weather, watching some HD, and worrying about more important things.

Thank you all again for your advise, your PMs, and your understanding.

 

[jacmyoung]

Glad to hear the happy ending. I would check your credit rating just to be sure they did not put something in there.

 

[raoul5788]

Well, I think I've exhausted my options here. I'm not overwhelmed with joy or anything, but I think I'm about as satisfied as I'm going to be.

First, I received a new statement that shows the "overage" I paid was actually my next month's service. So, the only overage I had to pay (other than hours of time) was the $6.50 for the "moneygram".

I received a call back from someone in the Office of the President. I received an "I apologize" and a "Since you are already receiving the AAA promo and other discounts, our system will not allow me to add any further credits to your account. He also mentioned that even though he worked in the President's office, it really didn't give him much power over a CSR.

I pressed that I should at the very least get the $6.50 I paid for the moneygram back. He said he was able to use a "back way" in the system to apply this credit. He also took the "bad" credit card off of my account, and says there are currently no payment restrictions on there.

I explained that I still have a sour taste in my mouth from the whole ordeal. Hopefully throughout the rest of my time with D* they will make it up to me with better service.

I've spent too much time to go much deeper that I already have -- time better spent enjoying the weather, watching some HD, and worrying about more important things.

Thank you all again for your advise, your PMs, and your understanding.

You have obviously taken the high road here. Not all of us would have. Good for you!

 

[cmcnabb]

To top it all off about a year later I recieved a bill from a collection ageny for somewhere in the range of $185 for Direct TV service. This was after the account had been paid in full and the disconnected receiver was sitting in the garage.

I will never deal with Direct TV again.

I had a similar experience. Cancelled my service in '98 because the receiver got taken out by lightening, and I really couldn't afford a new one at the time. Direct kept billing despite promising more than a dozen time they would "fix" the problems. Finally had to get the commonwealth attorney involved, who threatened them and they fixed it.

Then, just two months ago, I get a bill from a collection agency for that same DirectTV account, which had been cancelled 10 years ago, and the billing problem had been alledgedly fixed 8 years ago.

Called the collection agency and they said they'd been getting a lot of similar calls from people who had these old directtv accounts they'd 'bought' and that they would mark it as taken care of and it wouldn't sho wup on my credit report. I check my credit report monthly, so I'll see if they are true to their word.

 

[eScNuK3r]

Yes that is sad that someone can do a simple task with a computer system that has come more advanced over the years. The improvements should be maybe to have the customer service reps listen to customer problems and wants, needs to make the company better. But they do the exact opposite...

 

[jcrandall]

Matt, glad they fixed - or at least did something - with your problem.


Sorry our contacts didn't call faster, not sure if was our stuff or your email to Ellen that got the call, but I'm glad someone finally called you.

 

[mattopia]

Matt, glad they fixed - or at least did something - with your problem.

Sorry our contacts didn't call faster, not sure if was our stuff or your email to Ellen that got the call, but I'm glad someone finally called you.

I'm glad I got the call too -- and I can't thank you guys enough for your behind the scenes work and assistance.