For those of you considering DirecTV, this is my story which has thus far ended with no satisfaction. Here's a letter I sent to DirecTV corporate offices:
"My name is Kurt Boutin(acct. # removed for privacy issues) and up until recently I was a happy DirecTV customer. That is until the night of 12/12/2007. That was the night I received 17 calls (between the hours of 9:30pm and 11:15pm) from DirecTV on my cell phone. I make a point of not answering calls that are from a number I don't know. I figure they are likely to leave a message if it's important. That being said, I did answer the call that came at 11:15pm and said, "It's 11:15pm and if you wish to speak with me, please call back during normal business hours" and hung up. No more calls that night. The next day, my wife called back and was assured that I'd be taken off "the list".
On Dec 17th, I got 13 calls between 9:53pm and 11:43pm at the same number. My wife once again called and they once again assured her this wouldn't happen again. On Dec. 18th(yes, that's the NEXT NIGHT!), I got an additional 11 calls in the same time period. These are all verifiable via my cell phone records. The next day I called to cancel my service. I know that DirecTV is a business and really just wants to make money, but I can't see how this would be acceptable.
Now, my understanding about cancellation is that cancelling based on changes in programming as stated in Section 1(d) of the agreement is absolutely valid with the possible exception of a $15 service charge.
On Dec. 28th, my debit card was charged $307.12 without my authorization. I am infuriated by this. I understand that there is a process for disputing charges, but I gave DirecTV no authorization to automatically charge my account. I called DirecTV to complain and spoke with someone named Jesse (#100222434) after being hung up on by someone else. After spending time talking with Jesse I was assured that my card would be reimbursed within 7-10 business days. My wife called today to find out the status of this and was told that the rep gave incorrect information.
Now, I ask you, Mr. Carey and Ms. Filipiak, what are you going to do to rectify this situation? This IS going to turn into a huge mess of bad PR if I don't receive satisfaction in this area. I'm completely and thoroughly disgusted with DirecTV's practices and won't rest until this information is widespread.
Kurt"
This was sent to the office of the President and VP of Customer Service of DirecTV. I was contacted by a man named Chris (ID# U9931) who was a "Customer Advocate" who called to basically say, "We'll look into the 40 calls to try to make sure it doesn't happen again" and "We can't refund your money".
To me, this is POOR customer service. I really LIKED DirecTV, but I'm NOT liking the way they treat their customers. It's just wrong. This kind of abuse by companies has to stop!
Kurt
"My name is Kurt Boutin(acct. # removed for privacy issues) and up until recently I was a happy DirecTV customer. That is until the night of 12/12/2007. That was the night I received 17 calls (between the hours of 9:30pm and 11:15pm) from DirecTV on my cell phone. I make a point of not answering calls that are from a number I don't know. I figure they are likely to leave a message if it's important. That being said, I did answer the call that came at 11:15pm and said, "It's 11:15pm and if you wish to speak with me, please call back during normal business hours" and hung up. No more calls that night. The next day, my wife called back and was assured that I'd be taken off "the list".
On Dec 17th, I got 13 calls between 9:53pm and 11:43pm at the same number. My wife once again called and they once again assured her this wouldn't happen again. On Dec. 18th(yes, that's the NEXT NIGHT!), I got an additional 11 calls in the same time period. These are all verifiable via my cell phone records. The next day I called to cancel my service. I know that DirecTV is a business and really just wants to make money, but I can't see how this would be acceptable.
Now, my understanding about cancellation is that cancelling based on changes in programming as stated in Section 1(d) of the agreement is absolutely valid with the possible exception of a $15 service charge.
On Dec. 28th, my debit card was charged $307.12 without my authorization. I am infuriated by this. I understand that there is a process for disputing charges, but I gave DirecTV no authorization to automatically charge my account. I called DirecTV to complain and spoke with someone named Jesse (#100222434) after being hung up on by someone else. After spending time talking with Jesse I was assured that my card would be reimbursed within 7-10 business days. My wife called today to find out the status of this and was told that the rep gave incorrect information.
Now, I ask you, Mr. Carey and Ms. Filipiak, what are you going to do to rectify this situation? This IS going to turn into a huge mess of bad PR if I don't receive satisfaction in this area. I'm completely and thoroughly disgusted with DirecTV's practices and won't rest until this information is widespread.
Kurt"
This was sent to the office of the President and VP of Customer Service of DirecTV. I was contacted by a man named Chris (ID# U9931) who was a "Customer Advocate" who called to basically say, "We'll look into the 40 calls to try to make sure it doesn't happen again" and "We can't refund your money".
To me, this is POOR customer service. I really LIKED DirecTV, but I'm NOT liking the way they treat their customers. It's just wrong. This kind of abuse by companies has to stop!
Kurt
