Washington AG Sues DirecTV

[Ken S]

No one reads the fine print online. I know at least with online order you see the Terms of service before we finish the order.

Tele sales and other i have no clue as I cant stand those bozos.

There is no basis for the claim. Is Directv perfect hell no. Does directv have a policy that says screw the customer NO . Do mistakes happen where customer is not completely infomred leading to misunderstanding yes.

So you shouldn't be sued if you keep making the same mistake over and over again even after being alerted to the mistake happening?

You may want to read up a bit on negligence and gross negligence. DirecTV could fix the problem, but someone there believes it would get in the way of their sales effort.

 

[meStevo]

So you shouldn't be sued if you keep making the same mistake over and over again even after being alerted to the mistake happening?

You may want to read up a bit on negligence and gross negligence. DirecTV could fix the problem, but someone there believes it would get in the way of their sales effort.

Consumers are also the ones making the mistake, and you assume DirecTV is doing this on purpose, which isn't likely. There are specific steps to follow and clearly sometimes they are not and if the call is monitored the rep would have been docked in QA. There's too much liability to do it intentionally, so I'd stop assuming that.

 

[stonecold]

Consumers are also the ones making the mistake, and you assume DirecTV is doing this on purpose, which isn't likely. There are specific steps to follow and clearly sometimes they are not and if the call is monitored the rep would have been docked in QA. There's too much liability to do it intentionally, so I'd stop assuming that.

thank you for making my statement in a clearer fashion.


Not saying we dont make mistakes but we do try to correct there no intentional motive.

 

[ramimac]

I had been with E* for several years prior to D*. E Replaced 4 units with no porblem of extending a contract or any such thing.

I have had the PP since Day one.. on both E* and D*

my Service 3 or 4 months in had a D12 go bad. I am wondering if it is hard to find the PP active on an account because it was two supervisors later that they finally agreed that I have the PP and that there was no charge to me for the replacement, and also that the contract is not extended. But i am sure if i check into it it ha been extended because on my previous order screen it says commitment on my replacement unit request.

My only question is.. Do they even train these People..

 

[cfb]

The funny part is that fixing the system to make it more foolproof would probably cost a lot less than the class action lawsuit payout will end up being, and of course it'd be the right thing to do.

That having been said, as soon as you make something foolproof nature has no choice other than to produce a better fool...

 

[meStevo]

There wont be any 'payout', the most anyone should really be hoping for is a settlement that provides relief for the class in the form if clearer explanations and procedures being followed.

 

[stonecold]

I had been with E* for several years prior to D*. E Replaced 4 units with no porblem of extending a contract or any such thing.

I have had the PP since Day one.. on both E* and D*

my Service 3 or 4 months in had a D12 go bad. I am wondering if it is hard to find the PP active on an account because it was two supervisors later that they finally agreed that I have the PP and that there was no charge to me for the replacement, and also that the contract is not extended. But i am sure if i check into it it ha been extended because on my previous order screen it says commitment on my replacement unit request.

My only question is.. Do they even train these People..

The word Protection Plan is on the top of our screen if you have it. Now what they were probably researching is it does not say when you got it. We have to validate that you had proplan at the time of the erp. Now that only a issue with Own equipment replacement lease boxes the erp is pretty straight foward there should not be a comittment, unless you do something stupid like not wait for fedex and buy a box at bestbuy and had it activated and then canceled the replacment. Then call me up to complain when you get a new two year.

Customers do not read.

Customers who buy 1 single directv box get a recipt a mile long and they dont even read it. Had a arugment with a manger at best buy say iwas wrong that if I bought it there it was owned and I told him to ring one up and print out the recipt and read and he was shocked to find I was right.

This will continue to be a issue of people not reading everything even work orders.

I dont get service with anyone unless I read the service agreement., Be it cellphones , tv, internet service , mobile broadband , extented warrantys. We all know the fine print is some where but when you dont ask to see the fine print puts you just as much at fault. I still been trying to get an answer on procedure for tele and in person sales. Online it there before you order. My orginal DTV paperwork now just under 1 year old on the back it has the agreement but apparnetly not all techs use the same form? Third you can always call, I have read the entire contract to some customers.

 

[iwc5893]

The install should never take place without an agreement signed before hand. BUT, D* knows darn well that if they send the paperwork to consumers a few days ahead of time that 50% of their potential customers would decline after reading just how unfair it is. So what do they do? they install. The installer gets you to sign off on the install and a week later an agreement comes in the mail that you are somehow already bound too? What a crock of CRAP. If that agreement isnt present before the install then it should have NO weight.

I seem to remember making similar comments in this thread
http://www.satelliteguys.us/directv-forum/105571-upcoming-slimline-install.html
but I was told that I gave installers a bad name because of it.

 

[stonecold]

I posted the contract a while ago Vurbano I like to know what part of it you think is un fair.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Instead of blindly defending the company, which you always do (and I get it, you work there), why not realize that people who frequent the site, like Scott and I, have gotten screwed. Imagine how many uninformed customers are getting screwed everyday. Its bad for the customers finances, and its bad PR for Directv.

Do I think they do it on purpose? No. Do I think they are bastards and need to change their ways and better inform folks, AND stop making mistakes of hitting people with a 24 month contract after failure replacement? YES.

 

[stonecold]

Instead of blindly defending the company, which you always do (and I get it, you work there), why not realize that people who frequent the site, like Scott and I, have gotten screwed. Imagine how many uninformed customers are getting screwed everyday. Its bad for the customers finances, and its bad PR for Directv.

Do I think they do it on purpose? No. Do I think they are bastards and need to change their ways and better inform folks, AND stop making mistakes of hitting people with a 24 month contract after failure replacement? YES.

I do not blindly defend the company. It is apparent that your just another troll.

I am not going to restate everything about about what has happend to some people which were mistakes and systems and policies have changed to make sure those mistakes dont happen again.

To be honest what there is not enough of is follow up. As I feel if the company would allow the agent who dealt with the customer orginal to have follow up time with customer then alot of this would not be an issue.

It like scott issue. Was there a mistake yes. The crg cleared supposed cleared the ecf but did not check up the next day as sometime the billing system does not apply fees instanstly if he had checked back up with it 24 hours later then scott card would of never been charge for the ecf and scott would of never had to wait to get his money back.

The erp issue been fixed for about 18 months to so most of the issues so this will become anon issue soon. In terms of much less likely to happen.

Perosnally frankly I am not a company man and thats why I am here tring to help people work around the system. They with policy and systems so big yes there mutlipele ways to get where your going and some times it means thinking out side the box. Do agents do this some but not enough .

But the bottom line is this I get paid to be the whipping boy for the company and at least while I dont like it , it is an extra paycheck . Here when I get reated like a whipping boy and say I blindly defned the company yes A. it does offend me and 2. it just want me to stop helping people and just not be around. I dont get paid to be trolls whipping boy.

I will never bash Dish Netowrk, other then to say I was not happy with the quality of support but I state that as indivual experience and most people are happy with their support. They are a good company and just like directv are not trying to screw over the customer. But it seems like somedays common sense leaves the room. Now if some tech showed up at my house and did not have fine print for me to read I would question it. No one that in that class action can honestly tell me they had no idea there was not a contract invloved, we all know when such things are around just liek when I got my Andrio phone dirt cheap was a contract mentioned on the phone no..... but I knoe it was going to be one. Again directv made mistakes and well those mistakes are biting them in the butt They are not innocent in this case not completely . But niether is the plantiffs either. This is so not a case of directv 100% at fault.

What going to happen is thee goign to be some more policy changes some people will befired and issues corrected but people like you will still be around with some smart ass remark.

I am not against bashing the company I am against the mindless finger pointing that some do here.

I am actively against MRV fees and rate hikes and sales despartments I have a list I have even publish bashed the company in this very forum so Yes i am insulated by your remarks and I it may jsut be the one thing that puts me over from ever wanting to help again. As I am seriously considering it.

As I do not blindly defend anything and thats the bottom line.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Once you called me a troll, thats your credibility to anything else you have to say to me. Thanks for making it easy for me. And for the record, read your posts, and you'll see who tows the company line (if stevie wonder read your posts, he'd see the same thing). Not that its wrong, since you work for the tools (I was a D* sub, or troll, from 06 to 09), but sell the swampland elsewhere.

 

[ramimac]

The word Protection Plan is on the top of our screen if you have it. Now what they were probably researching is it does not say when you got it. We have to validate that you had proplan at the time of the erp. Now that only a issue with Own equipment replacement lease boxes the erp is pretty straight foward there should not be a comittment, unless you do something stupid like not wait for fedex and buy a box at bestbuy and had it activated and then canceled the replacment. Then call me up to complain when you get a new two year.

Customers do not read.

Customers who buy 1 single directv box get a recipt a mile long and they dont even read it. Had a arugment with a manger at best buy say iwas wrong that if I bought it there it was owned and I told him to ring one up and print out the recipt and read and he was shocked to find I was right.

This will continue to be a issue of people not reading everything even work orders.

I dont get service with anyone unless I read the service agreement., Be it cellphones , tv, internet service , mobile broadband , extented warrantys. We all know the fine print is some where but when you dont ask to see the fine print puts you just as much at fault. I still been trying to get an answer on procedure for tele and in person sales. Online it there before you order. My orginal DTV paperwork now just under 1 year old on the back it has the agreement but apparnetly not all techs use the same form? Third you can always call, I have read the entire contract to some customers.

The PP was part of my original order on the phone to set up service. I believe in them. I hate those who add the PP get a replacement and then cancel it a few weeks later. I have no issue with the comitment part.

What does bother me is that I had to ask when signing up(even though i know it was 24 months) what the comitment was and how much the ETF was.

I am not one to bounce services. I just like to know when my term is up.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Ok please don't bash Stone Cold, hes trying his best to help us out.

He's only one many froma big company and hes the only one man enough from the company to actually speak here. The rest of the DirecTV guys just sit here and hide all day. They are here, but they dont have the balls to speak.

Chears to Stone Cold.

 

[stonecold]

The PP was part of my original order on the phone to set up service. I believe in them. I hate those who add the PP get a replacement and then cancel it a few weeks later. I have no issue with the comitment part.

What does bother me is that I had to ask when signing up(even though i know it was 24 months) what the comitment was and how much the ETF was.

I am not one to bounce services. I just like to know when my term is up.

One of the things I wish our system did was show the date that protection plan was added on the account so it does not take a million + hours to shift though changes to so see when it was added. So that is our fault that it took so long to find you had protection plan even though you had it from the start.

I mean they just now added a new feature that makes giving credits easier and quicker so changes due happen just seem at a a snails pace at times.

 

[Ken S]

Consumers are also the ones making the mistake, and you assume DirecTV is doing this on purpose, which isn't likely. There are specific steps to follow and clearly sometimes they are not and if the call is monitored the rep would have been docked in QA. There's too much liability to do it intentionally, so I'd stop assuming that.

I was talking more about the "mistaken" extensions that happen after a repair replacement. How many "mistakes" do you get to make before it's not a mistake any more?

Is DirecTV hiding their terms on purpose?

Yes...and there's plenty of evidence. Look at the contract...why are the terms printed on the back in tiny print? Why do they wait for it to be delivered by an installer and then only after the install is done and the guy wants to get out of there?

Why do they have astericks that never lead to anything in their ads? Why do they put the conditions of their deals in tiny print on the TV for about one second?

How about for years they never let retail buyers know the boxes were leased? It took a lawsuit to get them to change that.

They go to great lengths to hide or minimize the ETF/Programming commitments.

DirecTV has an ugly history when it comes to legal problems with state attorney generals and the FTC...yet some people would still expect you to believe they really care about their customers. It's a shame they have to utilize such sleazeball tactics because it really tarnishes a pretty good product.

 

[stonecold]

I was talking more about the "mistaken" extensions that happen after a repair replacement. How many "mistakes" do you get to make before it's not a mistake any more?

Is DirecTV hiding their terms on purpose?

Yes...and there's plenty of evidence. Look at the contract...why are the terms printed on the back in tiny print? Why do they wait for it to be delivered by an installer and then only after the install is done and the guy wants to get out of there?

Why do they have astericks that never lead to anything in their ads? Why do they put the conditions of their deals in tiny print on the TV for about one second?

How about for years they never let retail buyers know the boxes were leased? It took a lawsuit to get them to change that.

They go to great lengths to hide or minimize the ETF/Programming commitments.

DirecTV has an ugly history when it comes to legal problems with state attorney generals and the FTC...yet some people would still expect you to believe they really care about their customers. It's a shame they have to utilize such sleazeball tactics because it really tarnishes a pretty good product.

I agree with some of what you said . I always seen asterisk lead some where but it usually fine print on a tv screen but it no different then any credit card / cellphone service / car ad I ever seen.

I am against fine print.

I still have my paper work from 1998 dish network when i first got there service.
They printed on the back too so is comcast business neter net services that tells me to go online to see the full contract. Companies do it just not directv. Not saying it right as you have a point but it just not directv

It helps if the retailers are trained too but i dont know much about the retail situration of then what I exprienced first hand with customers and idiot people at bestbuy.

Thing is this... If we known it was a mistake for a commitment we will remove it now I am not saying it easy yelling at the billign department not going to get it removed but most people like yelling at billing so I am use to it now.

I sitting her at my desk doing my monthly review on agents and yes there going to be some that I am going to lay into nothing that is dire or wrong but simply not up to my level of quality I like to see.

I do it so my agents have jobs in the future. Unfornatelly I dont have more say so then my agents i deal with . So is life and only thing I can do is keep pushing managemnt to see thing my way or get fired trying to do it.

One day I hope we get back to a better place in the company where these types of post are nothign but a distant memory.

 

[ChrisK114]

I don't have a problem with the programming agreement and the ECF fees. People need to take responsibility for their actions. If you blindly put your name on something and not know what you are getting yourself into, then the problem is with you and not the company. Do companies sometimes gloss over the details? Absolutely! Is it right? No! In the end, people need to put some blame on themselves. Dish Network does the same thing but people love to slam the biggest on the block.
Now i do have a problem with incorrectly extending someones aggreement and it taking an act of congress to get it fixed. The system needs to get fixed to where if a mistake has been made that someone can easily fix it. That is what gives people the impression that it is done on purpose. I am still not sure that mine has been fixed even though they say it has. Stonecold has said the system has been fixed to keep it from happening in the future, but what about the people that have already had this happen?

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Instead of blindly defending the company, which you always do (and I get it, you work there), why not realize that people who frequent the site, like Scott and I, have gotten screwed. Imagine how many uninformed customers are getting screwed everyday. Its bad for the customers finances, and its bad PR for Directv.

Do I think they do it on purpose? No. Do I think they are bastards and need to change their ways and better inform folks, AND stop making mistakes of hitting people with a 24 month contract after failure replacement? YES.

I agree with you 150%.

 

[stonecold]

I agree with you 150%.

And I agree with your 75%