Problems downloading DirecTV pdf bill - am I the only one?

[BobStokesbary]

I am fairly new to DirecTV and tried to download a pdf copy of my bill. My browser reports it as an illegal pdf document since it does not start with "%PDF-" and will not continue the download. Am I the only one with this problem?

I would like to know before I call Direct with the issue.

 

[charper1]

I have not done one this month but will try. I have had no issues in the past.

 

[charper1]

You are correct. I get the same error.

 

[JerryVolunteer]

I have the same error as well

 

[dishrich]

It might be prudent if everyone noted WHICH browser you are using, since sometimes things work with one, but NOT the other(s)...
FWIW, I use FF & while I can SEE the PDF, it won't let me download it, either...

 

[charper1]

Happens with me on both IE and Firefox - its their link; it looked like it was not being redirected correctly.

 

[BobStokesbary]

Well, I just called DirecTV and reported the situation. They say it will take 48 to 72 hours to fix. So, I guess we will just have to wait. Thanks for the input so that I know it is not my issue alone. (The only reason I was going to download the bill was that I just dropped my "free" Starz/Showtime and my bill dropped by a dollar. I was trying to figure out why.)

FYI D* customer support apparently does not have the technology to duplicate this situation. I even asked both reps I talked with to log on to their accounts and try to print a bill. Either they have no accounts or cannot even access their personal information at work. This is such a simple issue to duplicate you would think they would have that capability.

 

[charper1]

End user and on-site CSR / rep systems are almost totally different. These people answering phones are not system or application techs; so this is not surprising; they are simply a phone bank.

 

[BobStokesbary]

I just received an email for D*'s technical support with a copy of my pdf bill. They still believe that I am too stupid to know that you need a pdf reader to open the file. Is there any way to get through the idiots on the phone to give them a message that their website is broken?

By, the way I just tried it and it is still broken.

 

[BobStokesbary]

Not that anyone really cares, but I think I found the source of the problem. The web designers at D* appear to have used an Active-X component of flash player to display the adobe pdf file in the window on the screen. Well guess what! Firefox, for very serious security reasons, does not support Active-X. So, the only browser that will work on this page is one that supports Active-X components and you have "Allow Active-X components" clicked on in the tools section. Really bad design. But, if you want your pdf files, as I do, use IE or some other browser that supports Active-X and it will work.

The folks at D* are still clueless as to what the problem is on this. They are stuck at saying you need to have javascript allowed -- which is another well known security hole. But, such is life.

So, if you are having problems downloading D*'s pdf bills, just use your IE browser and all is well.

I am so wedded to Firefox I didn't even think someone in the commercial world would limit their customer experience this way. Really newbie level programming.

 

[AwesomeDale]

I am using the Google Chrome browser and had a similar problem downloading the PDF of my bill last month. It looks like they've fixed the problem now. It took a while to load (at least 30 seconds), but the embedded Adobe plugin finally loaded the PDF version of the bill, and I was able to save the file.

 

[charper1]

I tested again with Firefox 3, Firefox RC4 , Opera 11, IE7 and IE 8 and all are working too.