Oh.. My.. Deity... Directv is expensive!

[Reignfire]

They didn't deny me service and using my debit card was fine. See when I first applied for DTV through ATT Internet Explorer screwed up and my order didn't go through so after an e-mail to customer service they gave me a call letting me know my order didn't go through yet and that they could sign me up right away over the phone. I knew before hand that I'd more than likely have to leave a deposit since they do a credit check but what I didn't count on was that their offer for the free HD DVR was also only available if I passed the credit check (or so the operator over the phone said). After hearing it'd cost so much money for equipment that was advertised as free I asked them to not send the order through and they canceled it (I hope!). Credit isn't really the problem (I can pay the $300 deposit) it's that darn DVR. I'll e-mail DTV in a little while about it. The service I was going to get is: "AT&T Directv Plus HD DVR $49.99 for 12 months $75.99 Regular which includes HD access and free HD DVR receiver ($199 value)". Is this normal practice or did the phone op not know what they were talking about?

 

[DodgerKing]

What I meant is that a Debit/Credit card issued by your bank that is directly tied to your checking/savings account is not the same as an actual credit card as far as building credit.

 

[Reignfire]

I sent an e-mail to Directv and this is what they said.

Thanks for writing. Based on customer's credit history, a non-refundable fee may apply when ordering equipment. In line with this, all new customer equipment offers are subject to credit approval. The fee is being assessed based on your credit history. As a reminder, with this offer, there's a $5 programming discount per month for up to 40 or 60 months depending on the equipment you activate, and as long as you keep your account active and in good standing. That's $200 or $300 in programming savings to you

We have set up two ways for you to get immediate responses to all of your questions and begin enjoying DIRECTV:

For information about our current offers or to place your order online in just minutes, simply go to directv.com/getdirectv. You can also call us at 1-800-DIRECTV from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. ET daily to get answers to your questions.

Thanks again for writing.

Sincerely,

Michelle - 100175044
DIRECTV Customer Service

So basicly they're telling me that all of their offers are based on my credit? How is that fair? I understand the deposit but why must I pay for equipment that's supposed to be free in the package I want to get? Did anyone else have to pay lots of money to get DTV? Thanks for any advice.

 

[dslate69]

I sent an e-mail to Directv and this is what they said.



So basicly they're telling me that all of their offers are based on my credit? How is that fair? I understand the deposit but why must I pay for equipment that's supposed to be free in the package I want to get? Did anyone else have to pay lots of money to get DTV? Thanks for any advice.

Are you serious?
I understand you may be in a bad spot, but really you don't understand how it is in a companies best interest to minimize their loses? If someone has a history of not paying their bills, there is a higher percentage that a company that trust them to pay their bills will end up losing money. By giving a HUGE discount on hardware for new subs they need those subs to be around in a couple of years paying their bills. If they have to go to court it cost them money, if they use a collection agency it cost them money, just the depreciation on the equipment and install if they get everything back cost them money.

This has nothing to do with Directv's business practices and everything to do with your credit. Let it rest.

 

[comcast]

ask your friends to join you.

Go ask your neighbors & friends if you can join their accounts. you just pay cold hard cash back to the account holder. you need a partner who's willing to pay the bills with you.

 

[Jimbo]

Go ask your neighbors & friends if you can join their accounts. you just pay cold hard cash back to the account holder. you need a partner who's willing to pay the bills with you.

And this VIOLATES about EVERY rule there is with ANY provider.
That's called Account Stacking, in case you haven't heard.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

And this VIOLATES about EVERY rule there is with ANY provider.
That's called Account Stacking, in case you haven't heard.

I don't think he heard that.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Go ask your neighbors & friends if you can join their accounts. you just pay cold hard cash back to the account holder. you need a partner who's willing to pay the bills with you.

What do you have no morals? Why not just ask him for a loan or a credit card? You Must be F-en Joking!
Yea ask for a stick of butter,or cup of suger, Not a Satellite Subscription

I'm glad I live far away from neighbors like this.

 

[Reignfire]

Haha my nearest neighbor is farther away from me than the nearest Walmart. I just went ahead and ordered through Directv instead of AT&T to see what it'd cost me and the only thing I had to pay was the $300 deposit. I paid that and now on the 20th they'll be installing DTV here. Oddly I couldn't uncheck those free for 3 month premiums during my order so i'll have to cancel those within 30 days.. and pay a $10 fee.

 

[comcast]

it was only a suggestion.

if you don't like my suggestion, take it back to the place where sun don't shine. at least the OP got his issue solved by ordering directly from directv.

 

[shepp.dj]

Funny you mentioned U-Verse here. I was looking to have it installed in my home as my Direct TV DVR is quickly failing and I like the idea of the home DVR. Found U-Verse is roughly 4,400 feet from my home and they limit installs to 3,000 feet. Strange how I cannot even find a contact at AT&T that can explain if they have future plans for access to my home as I sit right in the middle of a sizable track and they can only hit about 1/2 the homes based on this length limitation. Guess the AT&T boys need to talk with Verizon to realize fiber is a viable product they could have planned in their design.

 

[Reignfire]

Uverse would have been my first choice. The service looks awesome. Unfortunately it's not in my area even though there's a main street near by with lots of houses and a Walmart that I can see from my front porch. It may be worth paying off the rest of my contract to get it.. when it becomes available. I hate waiting 8 days for the installation to take place.

Edit: Haha.. it looks like I was wrong. I checked out my account details and it says my installation date is April 13, 8 am to noon. That's odd since the calendar when I first signed up said the earliest date could be on the 20th but I'm not complaining.

 

[joed32]

Haha my nearest neighbor is farther away from me than the nearest Walmart. I just went ahead and ordered through Directv instead of AT&T to see what it'd cost me and the only thing I had to pay was the $300 deposit. I paid that and now on the 20th they'll be installing DTV here. Oddly I couldn't uncheck those free for 3 month premiums during my order so i'll have to cancel those within 30 days.. and pay a $10 fee.[/

Why do you have to cancel them within 30 days ?

 

[sonydude1966]

paying off your debt increases your credit score. Higher and higher debt amounts shown to be paid off raises your high credit score. Paying off early also raises it. carrying a bunch of debt is stupidity. The best thing to do is to make small charges on several credit cards and pay them off to keep the accounts open and active but do not carry a lot of debt. Also taking out a personal loan for a significant amount will raise your high credit score, then you can simply pay it back with the money you took out plus some interest, although you are throwing some of it away in interest. Your debt to income ratio will work against you if you carry it long enough and want to qualify for a large loan.

Sounds like being a FICO slave. I do wholeheartedly agree with you about not having any debt.