# Just got charged $470 for an HD DVR



## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

I got email notification today that "a new bill is ready for your review".

Well, after the $10 a month credit fiasco from a year ago, I now check my bill every month (I have direct pay to a CC).

Imagine my surprise (shock!) when I see a charge for $470 for an HD DVR!!

WTF?!? I haven't made any changes to my hardware or services in over a year.

Of course it's Sunday, so can't talk to a human being until tomorrow morning.

Anybody else have this happen? And how did you handle it?


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## Crystal Pepsi Ball (Jun 29, 2004)

That charge is usually applied if you recently got a replacement HDDVR (and was supposed to send back the old receiver), or if an agent incorrectly sent a recovery kit for the HDDVR for whatever reason. You can call D*. D* is open 7 days a week from 8am-10pm local time.


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## Bofurley (Oct 11, 2006)

That happened to me several years ago. It seems they had not received my damaged receiver, but I had kept the FedX shipping info, to they cleared it before it showed up on my cc. 
At that time, I cancelled my cc authorization, and now use Bill Pay each month.
MY suggestion to you is cancell your CC authorization!


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

The lease agreement says that the charge for a non-returned/damaged HD DVR is $470.

Somehow DirecTV thinks you haven't returned an HD DVR. :shrug:

Did you make any changes to programming or hardware?

If so maybe someone hit the wrong key when making the changes.

Maybe some changes a while back somehow got caught by the system. e.g. service call for defective receiver and the tech took it with him. :scratchin

Ok, I'm not really buyin' any of this either but maybe this could give you an idea as to how it got screwed up.

Let us know and maybe it could help someone else. 

My guess...something got entered wrong and someone else, at some later point in time, interpreted it wrong.....Hey, it's a theory. :grin:


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## slideaway (Aug 20, 2007)

I had something similar happen about 3 months after a successful NEW install of HD about 2 years ago. Called up to get it back (setup for auto pay) and they did their beep boo bop bo beep boo bop and said it would be credited back. 3 calls later and the same senario, never got it credited back, just ran with a credit on my account for some months. In the end it wasn't a big deal since I'm still with the service but at the time I was in a good spot to just front them $470 for the next 5 months of service.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

MicroBeta said:


> Did you make any changes to programming or hardware?


Nope, no changes to anything in quite a while.

I'm on the phone right now with a "billing specialist".


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## HDTVsportsfan (Nov 29, 2005)

Happy Monday Morning.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Well, that was quick (less than 30 mintues) and relatively painless (only needed to talk to one front-line CSR and 2 "billing specialists").

Apparently a return box was sent to me (which I never received) for a return of my HR20 (which I never asked for).

The second billing person agreed that there was nothing in my notes that would indicate why the return box was sent, but she did not believe me that I did not receive it. What ever.

Bottom line is I should be getting a credit for $495.85 withing 72 hours.

And believe me, I will be checking.

Once that is confirmed, my next step will be to try and get out of auto-bill scam (I mean pay). I don't see any benefit on my end for giving D* free access to my credit card every month.


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## LOCODUDE (Aug 8, 2007)

Glad things worked out for you.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

What was the extra $25.85 for?


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

Boston Fan said:


> What was the extra $25.85 for?


Probably 5.5% sales tax.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> Probably 5.5% sales tax.


yep


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ATARI said:


> Apparently a return box was sent to me (which I never received) for a return of my HR20 (which I never asked for).


You didn't ask for the HR20 or you didn't ask for the return box?


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## AWAX1978 (Nov 24, 2007)

ATARI said:


> Well, that was quick (less than 30 mintues) and relatively painless (only needed to talk to one front-line CSR and 2 "billing specialists").
> Once that is confirmed, my next step will be to try and get out of auto-bill scam (I mean pay). I don't see any benefit on my end for giving D* free access to my credit card every month.


I just recently cancelled paperless sttements as well as the auto pay. Every month is a different balance typically a $10-$30 difference. I was recently told by a CSR that the online balances "are not as accurate as a paper bill". This is a bit off topic but after speaking with numerous CSR people to attempt a good explanation. I ended up paying my current bill but with a feeling like I just got scammed from directv. It rubbed me the wrong way.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

AWAX1978 said:



> I just recently cancelled paperless sttements as well as the auto pay. Every month is a different balance typically a $10-$30 difference. I was recently told by a CSR that the online balances "are not as accurate as a paper bill". This is a bit off topic but after speaking with numerous CSR people to attempt a good explanation. I ended up paying my current bill but with a feeling like I just got scammed from directv. It rubbed me the wrong way.


The monthly invoice is a snapshot in time on the same day every month. The online billing summary includes all transactions up to the current time you're viewing the site, so there is bound to be a difference. The difference could include PPV purchases, partial charges/credits for premiums purchased, etc etc. If the amount being billed every month is truly varying by as much as $10-30 and you're not buying PPV or any other extras you should go online and pull up the statements (not the recent activity, but the actual statements) to see where the discrepancy is coming from.


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## gnahc79 (Jan 12, 2008)

ATARI said:


> Bottom line is I should be getting a credit for $495.85 withing 72 hours.


Credit for your dtv account or will it be put back on your CC directly? Most likely the first, hopefully the latter .


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## Ken S (Feb 13, 2007)

Just a guess...DirecTV has a problem in their CSR group. There are people sending our receivers to friends and then ticketing others for returns. It may only be a few people, but this kind of thing happens. We had it at our tech support group. Microsoft caught someone who had stolen about $9 million worth of software through similar methods. Any large group is going to have a few criminals in it...unfortunately.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

gnahc79 said:


> Credit for your dtv account or will it be put back on your CC directly? Most likely the first, hopefully the latter .


They will credit my D* account. At which point that is verified I will call back and a) get them to credit back my card and b) remove my card from autopay.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

ATARI said:


> [...] I don't see any benefit on my end for giving D* free access to my credit card every month.


I pay by CC to get air miles  /steve


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## gnahc79 (Jan 12, 2008)

ATARI said:


> They will credit my D* account. At which point that is verified I will call back and a) get them to credit back my card and b) remove my card from autopay.


doh. Slightly off-topic, but that policy has always irked me. I haven't run into this issue yet, but I was holding my breath when I shipped my dead HR21 for a replacement a few months ago, hoping DTV would get it and mark it appropriately in my account. This whole "oops our mistake, we won't give you the incorrect $500 charge up front, but rather over 7 months as credit" deal is very bothersome. It seems to be entirely legal though (barely)...sigh.


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## Boston Fan (Feb 18, 2006)

You would, of course, be well within your rights to dispute the charge if they refuse to credit it back to the CC. After all, they were unauthorized charges for services/products not performed nor delivered.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

ATARI said:


> b) remove my card from autopay.


Note that some or all of your current discount structure may be based on having autopay set up.


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## mangust (Oct 10, 2006)

I have autopay with CC because I like the convenience. I would never do autopay with a bank account or CC with balance. What I don't like though, is that DirecTV charges the card as soon as the bill is ready. I have a few other things set for autopay, but only DirecTV does that. So, if there are issues with the billing - there is no chance to clear the issues up prior to the charge going through.


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## timmmaaayyy2003 (Jan 27, 2008)

ATARI said:


> They will credit my D* account. At which point that is verified I will call back and *a) get them to credit back my card *and b) remove my card from autopay.


Good luck with that one.:eek2:

I worked there for almost 2 yrs and never saw that happen.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

Ken S said:


> *Just a guess...DirecTV has a problem in their CSR group*. There are people sending our receivers to friends and then ticketing others for returns. It may only be a few people, but this kind of thing happens. We had it at our tech support group. Microsoft caught someone who had stolen about $9 million worth of software through similar methods. Any large group is going to have a few criminals in it...unfortunately.


:lol: That is like saying the Titanic had a mild problem with some ice!



Boston Fan said:


> You would, of course, be well within your rights to dispute the charge if they refuse to credit it back to the CC. After all, they were unauthorized charges for services/products not performed nor delivered.


And that is why I use "shop-safe" from Bank of America to pay each month's bill. I get a "new" credit card number authorized to only accept charges of what my monthly bill should be and its essentially a "throw away" account. If D* decides to come back and charge another $.01 to that account number, the charge is kicked back to them, so no "unexpected charges" on the account. 

Originally, I started using that feature of my MC with BofA for any internet or mail order purchases, but have since started using it with any company that has what I call "dubious billing practices" (of which D* is at the head of the list.)


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

timmmaaayyy2003 said:


> Good luck with that one.:eek2:
> 
> I worked there for almost 2 yrs and never saw that happen.


Sounds like some customers should grow some 'nads and file complaints with the AG's offices and disputes with the CC companies! 

Charging for something not provided sounds like fraud to me. Not refunding for an overcharge sounds like it should well fall into that category.


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## bjdotson (Feb 20, 2007)

I seem to remember that D has been known to cancel accounts because of a CC charge being disputed.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

bjdotson said:


> I seem to remember that D has been known to cancel accounts because of a CC charge being disputed.


If they do, they should be willing to pay you what they are wanting to charge you in the case of ETFs. 

Would be interesting to see what would happen in the case where you paid for your DVR or receiver and they canceled you because you disputed their shady charge practices. Hmmmm... sounds interesting to me, also sounds in violation of consumer laws in lots of jurisdictions. You can bet D*'s staff has already considered the consequences of such an action, so I would think that that happening is more of an "urban legend" than anything else. Not to say that some don't say that is what happened, but who knows what the facts are in those cases. D* may not be looking out for our best interests, but they are not run by a total "ship of fools", from my experiences with them.


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## bertjo44 (Jan 14, 2009)

This thread just reminded me, I have been waiting on statments from D*. Right now I have my D* included with my Verizon One Bill but last month it looks about $10 high. When I looked at the detail it looked like I was missing credits. The CSR at D* said he could see where they were applied but they weren't on mine. He was supposed to send me the copy he had but that has been over 2 weeks and I haven't gotten it yet.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

I checked today and there is a credit for $495.85 on my account.

Now to call and get the money put back on my CC.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Just finished talking with a CSR (didn't even get transferred to a billing specialist this time).

She assured me the credit balance would be transferred to my CC in 30 days.

Once that has been confirmed, I will procede to the final step of my plan, cancelling auto bill pay.


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## raoul5788 (May 14, 2006)

harsh said:


> You didn't ask for the HR20 or you didn't ask for the return box?


Why would he ask for a return box if he never asked for a replacement for the HR20?


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

One month later -- no joy.

Why am I not surprised? I've never had any problems with the technical support side of D*. But the billing side...ugh! Third problem the past two years.

So, here it is, one month later and I still haven't gotten the charges refunded to my credit card. I've got a nice big credit on my D* account, but that won't help me pay my credit card bill next month. 

The one thing I did do today was cancel 'auto bill pay'. No more taking my money without warning.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

After reading this I am a bit confused how something like this happened. A few people have asked you if you didn't ask for a replacement HR20 or a replacement box which I haven't seen an answer to. Did you at anytime have a replacement done? Did you have an exchange at any time? Did you call them about a "bad" box and that triggered a replacement? Something doesn't add up here.

What were the changes you have made? Even if they were "old" changes, maybe they have now caught up to you for a situation where a box wasn't returned, etc?

Bottom line is something triggered this and a bit more background would be helpful.


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## turbobuick86 (Sep 7, 2006)

Is D going to pay the interest their fraudulent charge is accumulating? Of course if you paid off the balance, then it removes the added drama.


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## Mertzen (Dec 8, 2006)

harsh said:


> Note that some or all of your current discount structure may be based on having autopay set up.


Indeed. Most recent discounts have been $xx rebate + $5 discount for autopay.


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## timmmaaayyy2003 (Jan 27, 2008)

ATARI said:


> One month later -- no joy.
> 
> Why am I not surprised? I've never had any problems with the technical support side of D*. But the billing side...ugh! Third problem the past two years.
> 
> ...


I hate to say "I told you so." The only way this is going to happen is a politely worded email to Ms. Filipak's [email protected] office. Even then it may take a while if it happens at all.

I normally am not one for recommending this last step, except in extreme circumstances such as this one.


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## paulman182 (Aug 4, 2006)

Ms. Killpack. Must be a new employee.


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## timmmaaayyy2003 (Jan 27, 2008)

paulman182 said:


> Ms. Killpack. Must be a new employee.


Sorry, edited.


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## taz291819 (Oct 19, 2006)

mangust said:


> I have autopay with CC because I like the convenience. I would never do autopay with a bank account or CC with balance. What I don't like though, is that DirecTV charges the card as soon as the bill is ready. I have a few other things set for autopay, but only DirecTV does that. So, if there are issues with the billing - there is no chance to clear the issues up prior to the charge going through.


You can go through a third-party autopay company, and set the date on which it is paid. Your bank or credit card company probably offer it.


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## w3syt (Feb 17, 2006)

Do keep your Fedex tracking # for quite a while.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

w3syt said:


> Do keep your Fedex tracking # for quite a while.


Yeah, and never, NEVER give Directv or any other cable or satellite company a credit card number...


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## Todd H (Aug 18, 2006)

I had something similar happen to me when I was with Dish Network. I upgraded my SD receiver to a 622. I sent them their receiver back in the box they sent me with time to spare. About 4-5 months later I find that they've charged my checking account for the price of the receiver (here's a lesson kids...never give D* or E* your debit card number when first signing up). I ended up bouncing a ton of checks because of this, costing me hundreds of dollars in fees.

When I called E*, they swore up and down they never received the receiver. Of course, I had the tracking number handy. I gave it to the operator and told her to check herself. She did and said they would charge it back to my account in 30 days. The hundreds in fees that they caused? They refused to pay that. One of the many reasons I left E*.

Lessons learned:

1. Never give E* or D* your debit card/checking number.
2. Always keep any tracking numbers for returned receivers for at least 6 months (I'd go as far to say hold on to them at least a year).


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## Balestrom (Jan 12, 2007)

Todd H said:


> 1. Never give E* or D* your debit card/checking number.
> 2. Always keep any tracking numbers for returned receivers for at least 6 months (I'd go as far to say hold on to them at least a year).


Just out of curiosity, if you did not keep your tracking number, couldn't you just call FedEx? They have got to have that stuff on file, right? I would assume (of course, that always gets me into to trouble) that as long as you provide them with your address etc... they could go back into the records and get that information.

I ask this of course, because I am sure my wife did not keep our FedEx tracking number when we returned a defective receiver a couple months back.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

Balestrom said:


> Just out of curiosity, if you did not keep your tracking number, couldn't you just call FedEx? They have got to have that stuff on file, right? I would assume (of course, that always gets me into to trouble) that as long as you provide them with your address etc... they could go back into the records and get that information.
> 
> I ask this of course, because I am sure my wife did not keep our FedEx tracking number when we returned a defective receiver a couple months back.


The problem is, if you didn't generate the shipment/label, then it is probably done under a directv account so you wouldn't be able to get access the the information from fedex.


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## Jon J (Apr 22, 2002)

bnglbill said:


> Yeah, and never, NEVER give Directv or any other cable or satellite company a credit card number...


Do you mail a check every month?


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

Jon J said:


> Do you mail a check every month?


When I was a directv subscriber, yes I did.


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## dmj1515 (Jan 16, 2009)

This happen to me a few months ago..keep calling until u get a understanding CSR.... it will pay off...


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## forecheck (Jun 13, 2002)

Jon J said:


> Do you mail a check every month?


You shouldn't need to mail a check with most banks online bill pay, just go in and tell it how much you want to pay. That way you have control how much gets sent to DirecTv, not the other way around.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

ATARI said:


> So, here it is, one month later and I still haven't gotten the charges refunded to my credit card. I've got a nice big credit on my D* account, but that won't help me pay my credit card bill next month.
> 
> The one thing I did do today was cancel 'auto bill pay'. No more taking my money without warning.


You can call your credit card company and tell them to put the charge in dispute. Then you won't have to pay it or any interest until the dispute is settled. You will have to explain why you are disputing it, such as it was an error and I'm waiting for a credit. Depending on the CC company, they may send you a document to fill out with the explaination for the dispute.


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## slideaway (Aug 20, 2007)

ATARI said:


> One month later -- no joy.
> 
> Why am I not surprised? I've never had any problems with the technical support side of D*. But the billing side...ugh! Third problem the past two years.
> 
> ...


That's the same problem I had. Every call they said the (remaining) credit balance would be put back on my cc. Never happened. Jerks


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

bnglbill said:


> Yeah, and never, NEVER give Directv or any other cable or satellite company a credit card number...


Learned that the hard way.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

996911 said:


> After reading this I am a bit confused how something like this happened. A few people have asked you if you didn't ask for a replacement HR20 or a replacement box which I haven't seen an answer to. Did you at anytime have a replacement done? Did you have an exchange at any time? Did you call them about a "bad" box and that triggered a replacement? Something doesn't add up here.
> 
> What were the changes you have made? Even if they were "old" changes, maybe they have now caught up to you for a situation where a box wasn't returned, etc?
> 
> Bottom line is something triggered this and a bit more background would be helpful.


I still have no idea what triggered the original charge for non-returned HD DVR. I did not request this, nor did I purchase or change anything with my hardware or programming.


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## 996911 (Aug 24, 2006)

ATARI said:


> I still have no idea what triggered the original charge for non-returned HD DVR. I did not request this, nor did I purchase or change anything with my hardware or programming.


I am stumped. I think somebody at D* should give you an explanation as to why this was triggered then. If it showed up on your bill then something in the system was alerted to charge you for it. If you have NEVER swapped out a HD-DVR then something should be in your history. If it's just a phantom charge with no explanation (which I find very hard to believe) then not only do they owe you the funds they charged you but some service credits for the inconvenience. Hopefully somebody can get you more detail on the matter.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

RACJ2 said:


> You can call your credit card company and tell them to put the charge in dispute. Then you won't have to pay it or any interest until the dispute is settled. You will have to explain why you are disputing it, such as it was an error and I'm waiting for a credit. Depending on the CC company, they may send you a document to fill out with the explaination for the dispute.


Yes, that is my plan. The bill to the CC is due 5/7. So if the credit hasn't happened by 4/30, I will file the dispute of charges.


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

ATARI said:


> I still have no idea what triggered the original charge for non-returned HD DVR. I did not request this, nor did I purchase or change anything with my hardware or programming.


You know what I just had a bad thought, you better make sure they also didn't start your two year committment again. This is something that happens a lot when they send a new receiver and even though they didn't send a new receiver, if they sent you a recovery kit to pick up an old receiver, then maybe the system also thinks you got a new one and reset your committment. Just a thought, I guess if you don't plan on leaving in the next two years then it doesn't matter but it's always good to have options...


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## Bane (Aug 15, 2005)

RACJ2 said:


> You can call your credit card company and tell them to put the charge in dispute. Then you won't have to pay it or any interest until the dispute is settled. You will have to explain why you are disputing it, such as it was an error and I'm waiting for a credit. Depending on the CC company, they may send you a document to fill out with the explaination for the dispute.


I did that. Then DirecTV was nice enough to then put the charge on my regular and threatened to cancel me for not paying it. I finally had to call the office of the president to get it resolved.


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## cbenedikt (Jan 22, 2009)

I recently had an issue with DirecTV charging my account $470 + 28.50 tax for a receiver that I sent back to them. They received the unit on April 7th and charged my account on April 17th. Go figure. Three rather long phone calls later and the threat of putting the amount in dispute with my cc company and they credited my account. You would think they could get their act together on this issue since it is so widespread. Why can't they let the local installers take the equipment back and issue a receipt so this wouldn't happen so often. That was one nice thing about having cable. Need to swap out equipment. Go down to the local office, get the new equipment along with a receipt showing the exchange and homeward bound you go. No issues with extra charges showing up on your account for equipment.


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## gnahc79 (Jan 12, 2008)

So exactly what needs to be said in order to get $470+ credited back to your cc (seriously)?


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

gnahc79 said:


> So exactly what needs to be said in order to get $470+ credited back to your cc (seriously)?


A method that has worked for some is to e-mail or fax them a copy of the delivery advice. Of course you had to have kept track of the tracking number...


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

harsh said:


> A method that has worked for some is to e-mail or fax them a copy of the delivery advice. Of course you had to have kept track of the tracking number...


I can't believe that this is such a problem. You have to think, we here at DBStalk are the informed and we are having these problems, at least we know to look for this and how to deal with it. I wonder how many people out there are getting ripped off by Directv because they don't check their bill closely enough or just think they really owe the money and don't question it. This issue really irks me because people are getting ripped off.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

cbenedikt said:


> I recently had an issue with DirecTV charging my account $470 + 28.50 tax for a receiver that I sent back to them. They received the unit on April 7th and charged my account on April 17th. Go figure. Three rather long phone calls later and the threat of putting the amount in dispute with my cc company and they credited my account. You would think they could get their act together on this issue since it is so widespread. Why can't they let the local installers take the equipment back and issue a receipt so this wouldn't happen so often. That was one nice thing about having cable. Need to swap out equipment. Go down to the local office, get the new equipment along with a receipt showing the exchange and homeward bound you go. No issues with extra charges showing up on your account for equipment.


If it was swapped out by an installer, he was supposed to take it with him.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

cbenedikt said:


> I recently had an issue with DirecTV charging my account $470 + 28.50 tax for a receiver that I sent back to them. They received the unit on April 7th and charged my account on April 17th. Go figure. Three rather long phone calls later and the threat of putting the amount in dispute with my cc company and they credited my account. *You would think they could get their act together on this issue since it is so widespread. * Why can't they let the local installers take the equipment back and issue a receipt so this wouldn't happen so often. That was one nice thing about having cable. Need to swap out equipment. Go down to the local office, get the new equipment along with a receipt showing the exchange and homeward bound you go. No issues with extra charges showing up on your account for equipment.


But, its also sooooooooooo profitable for them. A pattern of dishonesty by D*? Sure sounds like it to me.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

gnahc79 said:


> So exactly what needs to be said in order to get $470+ credited back to your cc (seriously)?


My experience is the best you can do is get DirecTV to credit your account. They will not issue the credit back to your credit card. The only way to avoid the credit card payment is to dispute the charge with your credit card company.

I recommend that you get DirecTV to credit your DirecTV account first and then file the dispute with your credit card company (but don't wait beyond the 30 day deadline to file the dispute with your credit card).


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

MIKE0616 said:


> But, its also sooooooooooo profitable for them. A pattern of dishonesty by D*? Sure sounds like it to me.


I wouldn't go so far as to accuse DirecTV of being intentionally dishonest. But there is certainly little incentive for them to fix the problem. They either keep the money, or the interest on the money. And they can't connect subscriber churn to the issue, since those who return receivers have already cancelled their service, or locked into new commitments as they activate their replacement receivers.

The financial incentive to fix the problem would come about as subscribers get fed up with continual problems, or if DirecTV is forced into large payments as a result of Attorney General actions or class-action lawsuits.


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## hobie346 (Feb 23, 2007)

MIKE0616 said:


> But, its also sooooooooooo profitable for them. A pattern of dishonesty by D*? Sure sounds like it to me.


This problem with D* charging for a non-returned box has been going on since the beginning of D*. It happened to me twice. The first time I hadn't kept the tracking number. A call to FedEx helped me track the box to D*. Took several weeks to convince them that they had the box all the time. I learned my lessen. The second time it happened I was ready. Call D* to complain about the bogus charge on my account. Two CSR and a billing specialist later had the charge removed.

What amazes me is D* knows about this problem but hasn't seemed to have solved it or worse doesn't want to solve it.

It also amazes me that D* can state to the press that they fully inform their customers, while they are on the phone, making changes to their equipment that the customer's two year contract is automatically renewed. NOT. It happened to me this past weekend. Nothing in the phone conversation even remotely covered contracts.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

24 hours and counting...

Either the cc charges have been reversed or I contact my cc company to dispute charges and the BBB to report D*.


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## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

ATARI said:


> and the BBB to report D*.


Don't waste your time with the BBB. If you want to make an official complaint to someone, contact your state's Attorney General or consumer protection office.


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## MIKE0616 (Dec 13, 2006)

Upstream said:


> *I wouldn't go so far as to accuse DirecTV of being intentionally dishonest. But there is certainly little incentive for them to fix the problem. They either keep the money, or the interest on the money.* And they can't connect subscriber churn to the issue, since those who return receivers have already cancelled their service, or locked into new commitments as they activate their replacement receivers.
> 
> The financial incentive to fix the problem would come about as subscribers get fed up with continual problems, or if DirecTV is forced into large payments as a result of Attorney General actions or class-action lawsuits.


Bingo! We have a winner! Sure sounds like a pattern of dishonest behavior to me.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

The end of the story -- I hope.

Checked my account this morning, and still had a $407.60 credit balance.

So I decided to call one last time.

First line CSR, transferred to 'billing specialist', transferred to another 'billing specialist'. After a considerable amount of discussion and threatening to email D* president, BBB and WI AG, was transferred to 'manager' Rick.

After explaining my situation for the umpteenth time, the charges were reversed to my cc.

I just checked online and my D* balance is now $0 and my cc has a pending amount of -$407.60.

So my question is "Why?"

Why did I have to call three times and end up threatening legal action before this could get resolved?

As proven today, they have the ability to reverse charges immediately, so why make me jump through hoops to get my money back?


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## bnglbill (Nov 29, 2006)

ATARI said:


> The end of the story -- I hope.
> 
> Checked my account this morning, and still had a $407.60 credit balance.
> 
> ...


Why? because most people will not fight it like you did. Most people will just pay and Directv has gotten used to that. this is one of the reasons I do not give Directv any more of my hard earned money.


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## ansky (Oct 11, 2005)

How do you cancel Auto Pay online? I don't see any option to do so in my account.


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## WestDC (Feb 9, 2008)

ATARI said:


> The end of the story -- I hope.
> 
> Checked my account this morning, and still had a $407.60 credit balance.
> 
> ...


Because they can, It gives the poor minium wage CSR's entertainment


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