Issues with Direc customer service-Once again. Your thoughts?

[lern4483]

Ill start off by saying I enjoy directs sports programming!
Every year I purchase without fail NHL, NFL and NBA.
I have the choice extra classic package...I think its not available anymore.

I have one HR44 and 2 HR24..
Ive been with direc since 1997...the early days.
My bill ranges to about 135 per month.
I dont pay out sports programming packages-I pay them in one lump sum.
Dont want bill to increase.

2 years ago I was having major issues with equipment.
They gave me apparently to many credits.
Since then I have received nor asked for anything.
All has been working ok until now.

My HR 44 is on the fritz. I called direc they said
they would replace at no charge-I have protection plan.

But when rep tried to credit delivery fee-I had
that good old 2 year old red flag show up???
Ive had zero credits since then.

I dont care about delivery charge but to be still flagged??
To me thats nuts.

Im thinking I love the programming but Im being penalized
for nothing.

I would pay 280 for ETF...Im on auto payment never ever late
on payments..

Contemplating cutting my losses....Im really that upset.

Thoughts?

Again, Im not a direc hater....just dont like being treated poorly especially when
i give a company my hard earned money.

 

[raoul5788]

Since you have the protection plan there shouldn't be any shipping charges.

 

[lern4483]

Since you have the protection plan there shouldn't be any shipping charges.

You would be right, However i was charged that...20 bucks.
They tried to credit acct and said I could not receive because of old flag???
Mind boggling?

 

[jcrandall]

Hard to say on the account flag due to too many credits or something of that nature.

You could email the president office and they will call you, you could pick their brain so to speak, but bottom line is it is just up to how DirecTV's system is programmed to treat your account.

I've read that in other cases where the account was blocked from credits even top-tier CSRs (president office, etc) couldn't do anything. We don't see much discussion on this type of thing, but I do remember reading something of that nature.

I think these type of things are typically time limited, meaning the flag goes away at some point, but two years is a long time to limit you.

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do, and likely not much any of the CSRs can do.

 

[Jimbo]

Lern,
I would contact Retention or the Prez office and explain whats happening and see what they can do for you ...
Talking with 1st level CSR's won't help you much.

 

[lern4483]

Lern, I would contact Retention or the Prez office and explain whats happening and see what they can do for you ... Talking with 1st level CSR's won't help you much.

About a year ago I called presidents office And they said it should just drop off. Funny it never dropped off. I am willing to call again to see if they have answers. Most likely they will repeat that the computer generates the flag and eventually drop off. But I wonder if I leave and stay away from Direc for a couple of years maybe my acct resets??
I'm really torn about leaving but this flag business
Is getting to me.

 

[raoul5788]

It doesn't matter how many credits you have, the protection plan means you shouldn't have to pay shipping.

 

[lparsons21]

About a year ago I called presidents office And they said it should just drop off. Funny it never dropped off. I am willing to call again to see if they have answers. Most likely they will repeat that the computer generates the flag and eventually drop off. But I wonder if I leave and stay away from Direc for a couple of years maybe my acct resets??
I'm really torn about leaving but this flag business
Is getting to me.

If you've been paying for the protection plan, part of that plan is free shipping. It doesn't have anything at all to do with whatever credits or discounts you may or may not have had over the years. I would email and tell them either credit the shipping charge off, or refund all the money you paid for the maintenance contract they are refusing to honor. Nothing less would be acceptable to me.

 

[DIRECT]

The protection plan covers replacements. There shouldn't be any shipping charges. I replaced 5 today alone and not one red cent was spent on shipping nor the received because of the protection plan.

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[acostapimps]

I had that happened recently, not about the red flag credit issue, but the shipping charge that they didn't credit the first time I called about replacement, But on the second call they did the credit correctly, I only used PP for that purpose then canceled after that, Not paying $7.99 for nothing, even if you do get free upgrade every 2 years, Well not really free since you're paying for PP which is like paying for a HD DVR.


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[Alondite]

It doesn't matter how many credits you have, the protection plan means you shouldn't have to pay shipping.

This is correct. When you request an equipment replacement in the system, the order management system should automatically recognize your account as having the protection plan. It's not supposed to assess the fees when it does.When you called in, did the CSR need to transfer you to make the order, or did the initial agent do it?

 

[Jam3s]

tl;dr, protection plans don't charge, issue will be resolved if you were charged.

So that you guys know what happens when these things come up, allow me to clarify the situation (as I understand it). I just got out of the protection plans department at directv, next week I'll be taking up another role in a different department (more hands on).

Protection plan customers are 100% exempt from shipping and charges related to standard items that have failed under normal wear and tear. Don't drop your protection plan because you heard about someone that got charged for something. You're just setting yourself up to get actually charged. Instead, put a claim in on an old remote that has a bad number "2".

The situation where a customer gets charged is kinda bunk, but let's look at a couple of examples and see how a customer got charged.

Call example:
Joe Satelliteguy calls because his HR44 is giving an error code 14. Joe has Protection Plan, but for whatever reason, the line routes him to Customer Care. Customer care rep is like "ok, Joe. This is a pretty serious issue, I'm going to transfer you to technical support." At this time, the system is supposed to route Joe to Protection Plans, but again, we're going to either pretend the system is having a bad day or the care rep is having a bad day and has to do a manual transfer and doesn't use the tech support extension. So now Joe is on the line with a Tech Support rep that works with standard customers. The rep can see that Joe has a Protection Plans flag on the account, and the actual rule is to give the customer another good transfer. The rep isn't going to do this, however, because he works in a big call center that probably is outsourced, and if he hits that transfer, it will reflect poorly on his stats, so he takes the call.

This is the fun part. Depending on the department, the system handles situations differently. Only Protection Plans and Retention (as far as I can tell) can create a claim on a receiver, so the the technical representative is forced to charge for the receiver and then apply a credit. But the account has a credit flag, so the system isn't going to apply the credit immediately. Instead, the agent will place the order, submit the credit, and the information will be forwarded to billing. Once it hits billing, an analyst will check the account, look for past credits, review protection plan status, etc. Usually from that point, the credit gets applied to the account.

So how do you avoid this mess? Easy, if you have a protection plan and you're talking to a rep, just make sure that you're in the protection plans department. You'll usually know anyways, because they'll try to get you to buy PPlan Premier (which isn't a bad idea if you've got nice electronics.)

WAIT! What if I have the protection plan and they want to charge me for a service call? Here's a list of things that aren't covered:
- Relocations (of any kind, receiver, dish, home). Doesn't matter if your landlord said it has to be moved or if you think it looks ugly. Once the dish goes up, it's yours and it is your responsibility.
- Additional rooms. You should have asked for these when you signed up. Who cares if you didn't have a tv, $6 for three months is cheaper than $99+.
- Intentional Damage. I don't care if your husband shot your receiver because Dexter's finale was a letdown, intentional damage is not covered (I seriously took this call).
- Damage related to extreme weather. File it on your Homeowner's.
- Theft. File it on your homeowners and submit a police report.
I saved my favorite for last:
- Refused to troubleshoot. If you refuse to troubleshoot with one of our awesome Protection Plans representatives, you will have to pay the standard $49 fee for a service call. This junk is in your home, odds are you unplugged something to cause the issue, humor us while we take you through 3-15 steps of standard troubleshooting to figure out what went wrong before we make you wait a couple of days to get it fixed. Besides, most of the time it can be fixed by something simple. I realize this doesn't apply to most of the people here, but it's a big deal for some people that feel like they're just entitled without following the policies and procedures.

That's all I've got on it.

tl;dr, protection plans don't charge, issue will be resolved if you were charged.

 

[raoul5788]

This is correct. When you request an equipment replacement in the system, the order management system should automatically recognize your account as having the protection plan. It's not supposed to assess the fees when it does.When you called in, did the CSR need to transfer you to make the order, or did the initial agent do it?

to Satelliteguys Alondite!

 

[mikedz4]

What ticked me off was the lady wanted me to wait til the frost cleared to make a service call. Saying frost can cause 771 error. I told her she was full of it and she charged me 50 for the call because I have a flat cable.
Why is it 50? I live in an apartment and last time they didn't charge me.

 

[raoul5788]

What ticked me off was the lady wanted me to wait til the frost cleared to make a service call. Saying frost can cause 771 error. I told her she was full of it and she charged me 50 for the call because I have a flat cable.
Why is it 50? I live in an apartment and last time they didn't charge me.

If you don't have the protection plan, you pay for the service call, it's that simple. You may be able to get it waived, but not always. Flat cables are notorious for causing issues with hd signals. It may be the cause of your problem. If you are running the cable through a window, then drill a hole in a piece of wood for the cable and place it at the bottom of the window. Then seal the gap at the meeting rails. If you are running the flat cable under a door, then you may be sol.

 

[mikedz4]

I have the protection plan and I live in an apartment. Can't be drilling holes in walls. I pay 8 a month for the plan.

 

[raoul5788]

If you have the protection plan there should be no charge for the appointment. How does the cable enter your apartment?

 

[mikedz4]

Flat cable under a window. She said a flat cable is custom install and she had to charge me.

 

[raoul5788]

Ah, that's different. I would try the idea with the wood and replace that length of cable before they come out. It might save you $50. At least replace the flat cable with a regular one temporarily to see if that's the problem.

 

[mikedz4]

Unfortunately I don't have a piece of wood and the window needs to be completely closed