My DirecTV Experience So Far

[Bourbonman]

I have had a rather positive experience with Directv so far and I thought I would share it with you. I will have to give you some background info, so bear with me.

I called Direct in July to sign up for service, as I have reached my breaking point with Dish. I went through the entire order process and the CSR referred me to another department. This department informed me I could not sign up for Directv until I paid an old account off. I informed them I had never had Directv, and so began my journey. The short version of the story is my SS# was linked to another persons name. It has taken me 2 months to sort this out with all 3 credit bureaus, and Directv was the least of my problems (the other person had liens and multiple collections!) After this was sorted out I called Directv back to try again, but was told there was nothing they could do and I had to send a letter to 'Billing Disputes'. I didn't see how this would help, since it wasn't my account in the first place; so I scoured the internet for a contact phone number for Direct and came upon an email shell to the president of Directv. I emailed them in a professional manner and really didn't expect much to come of it- nobody really reads these things, do they?

They certainly do! I received a call that night from the customer advocacy team and they had the matter cleared by the next day. I signed up for Direct yesterday and my install is Saturday 10/6. They were able to process my AAA discount and are sending a supervisor to do my install.

So far I am very impressed. I will update after the install.

 

[macfan]

I have had a rather positive experience with Directv so far and I thought I would share it with you. I will have to give you some background info, so bear with me.

I called Direct in July to sign up for service, as I have reached my breaking point with Dish. I went through the entire order process and the CSR referred me to another department. This department informed me I could not sign up for Directv until I paid an old account off. I informed them I had never had Directv, and so began my journey. The short version of the story is my SS# was linked to another persons name. It has taken me 2 months to sort this out with all 3 credit bureaus, and Directv was the least of my problems (the other person had liens and multiple collections!) After this was sorted out I called Directv back to try again, but was told there was nothing they could do and I had to send a letter to 'Billing Disputes'. I didn't see how this would help, since it wasn't my account in the first place; so I scoured the internet for a contact phone number for Direct and came upon an email shell to the president of Directv. I emailed them in a professional manner and really didn't expect much to come of it- nobody really reads these things, do they?

They certainly do! I received a call that night from the customer advocacy team and they had the matter cleared by the next day. I signed up for Direct yesterday and my install is Saturday 10/6. They were able to process my AAA discount and are sending a supervisor to do my install.

So far I am very impressed. I will update after the install.

Smiles. Was that Ellen's office by any chance? She and her office are great!!! Just a note to others. Please don't use Ellen's office for the little stuff but only stuff that can't be solved any other way. Her office and staff are the best but will begin to ignore us if we misuse it or over use it.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I think Ellen wears a big S on her chest, because everything I hear about her points to her being Superwoman.

 

[Bourbonman]

That was indeed Ellen's office. I don't think my problem would have been solved any other way, as unique as it was. Scary thing is, Equifax actually has a whole department dedicated to this problem- the 'Mix' department. It wasn't identity theft, it was a clerical error somewhere along the line with all 3 credit bureaus. I highly suggest getting your 3 free credit reports every year.

 

[Bourbonman]

Sorry it took me a while to update after the install- I was on vacation. Here are my impressions of Directv after living with it for a week:

The Install- The installer showed up within the 4 hour window, but on the later end. I had no problem with the time, I was worried for his safety as we had storms moving in that afternoon. He was very professional, showing me his badge and Connecticut install license. He was on the roof for about 45 minutes and ran all new cable instead of reusing Dish's cabling. The dish was installed closer to the center of my house as opposed to the end of the house where the old Dish was- he was taking into account a tree in my back yard and said I would be good for about 10 years depending on the growth of the tree. I suspect this would have become a problem if I had remained with Dish. He installed the Home Media Center and 2 other boxes. With activation and showing me the functions it was probably another 2 hours. I was very pleased with the service.

Picture- The picture quality on my main TV seems a tad sharper but I wouldn't swear to it. The picture quality on the other TV's improved dramatically. One TV is an older CRT rear projection Hitachi hi def, so I thought it might just be getting old- The Dish box must have been going bad.

Equipment Functionality- I won't comment too much on this as I had 8 years with Dish equipment and knew it well. It's just going to take some time getting used to Direct's menus and such.

Programming- I was excited to get the Sunday Ticket (still am even though my team has lost twice since I got Direct), but for Dish subscribers thinking of switching- the RedZone channel is different (no Scott Hanson). Not a deal breaker for me, but I thought I would mention it.

 

[ejb1980]

I am a Colts fan. Last year was my first year with DTV. I feel your pain.