# Installation cancelled email sent to directv (long read)



## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

Well my installation scheduled today from 8am-12pm is a no go. Below is the email i just sent directv which explains the saga if anybody would like to read. Long story short though is that the installers cancelled the appt for not having the broadband deca even though i explained to them they can use a regular deca with a pi. I was also lied to and had a hard enough time even scheduling an appt. I attached installation pictures and diagrams from here as well.


To whom it may concern, my name is " " and my phone number on my acct is xxx-xxx-xxxx i have been a directv customer customer since 2007 and i am in the middle of extremely poor service currently. I had called directv on 5/14 to order the whole home dvr service along with an upgrade from an sd-dvr to an hd-dvr. This rep was very friendly and got me all setup until the point of scheduling an installation date. She said the system was unable to schedule me and to check online under my account or call back within 24 hours. Long story short with this part of the story was that i was promised calls from directv and the installers office to schedule an appt which never happened. It took a week of me calling to finally get an installation date which was another week out, yet my credit card was charged from day one. So my install was scheduled for today between 8am-12pm. The installer calls me at 7am to go over the work order and informs me he does not have the broadband deca unit so i can access on demand. I explain to him that he needs to use a regular deca with a power inserter PS18 or PI-21 as that is how all the mrv installs have been done so far since the broadband deca isnt available yet. I must have been on speakerphone because i hear his boss in the background telling me that will not work. I politely explain to him again that it will work and if he looked in his training materials it would show him that is the correct method until the broadband deca becomes available. I have also attached a diagram and pictures showing this if you would please take a look. The installer tells me he will talk it over with his boss. I hear nothing else and its now 10am so i send a txt message to the installer as i had his number asking when he may arrive since it is very difficult for me to get a half day off of work. He tells me that his supervisor is handling the work order and that somebody else will be coming out for the installation. This all sounded fishy to me so i called directv and they inform me that the work order has been cancelled due to the installers not having the broadband deca unit. So the installation company had no intent on calling me to tell me that and i would have sat here waiting for somebody to show up. I dont like being bold faced lied to. Its a shame as it is that i know more about the installation process than the actual installer, yet they refused to listen to me and cancelled the work order without telling me and now i lost a half days work for nothing. The rep from directv stated i could reschedule but what is the point if they are just going to cancel me again due to a part that they dont have yet dont need. All i want is the service i have already paid for two weeks ago now. I want to give the installers one more shot to make this right but if there are any more problems i will want a full refund of $211.68 which is what i paid on 5/14. I will also look for an alternate service provider as i am no longer under contract with directv. Im hoping you can contact the installation company directly, get me setup with a prompt installation date that works around my schedule, and explain to them that their information is incorrect regarding the broadband deca. I can be reached any time at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Thank you very much for your time in reading this and im hoping this can be made right in the end.

Thanks.


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## Ken984 (Jan 1, 2006)

I think you did a great job keeping it to the facts and I hope somebody at DirecTV reads it and gets you hooked up. It seems some installers/companies are just too stubborn to listen to the customer.
The installer I had told me up front it was his first install of MRV/DECA and welcomed my input, maybe the next guy you get will be the same, good luck!


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## BattleZone (Nov 13, 2007)

Unfortunately, the Broadband DECA units are in VERY short supply, but DirecTV is trying to force techs to use it rather than a normal DECA unit. The installers are in a Catch-22 and can't do anything about it until production of Broadband DECAs ramps up.

I would recommend waiting a week or two and reorder. New equipment is ALWAYS in short supply on any DirecTV rollout, but that always improves over time.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

BattleZone said:


> Unfortunately, the Broadband DECA units are in VERY short supply, but DirecTV is trying to force techs to use it rather than a normal DECA unit. The installers are in a Catch-22 and can't do anything about it until production of Broadband DECAs ramps up.
> 
> I would recommend waiting a week or two and reorder. New equipment is ALWAYS in short supply on any DirecTV rollout, but that always improves over time.


The installer informed me they wont have the unit for "months" which i feel is unacceptable since my cc has already been charged especially when there is a work around.


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## dwcolvin (Oct 4, 2007)

BattleZone said:
 

> Unfortunately, the Broadband DECA units are in VERY short supply, but DirecTV is trying to force techs to use it rather than a normal DECA unit. The installers are in a Catch-22 and can't do anything about it until production of Broadband DECAs ramps up.
> 
> I would recommend waiting a week or two and reorder. New equipment is ALWAYS in short supply on any DirecTV rollout, but that always improves over time.


I thought the (real) Broadband DECA units weren't even supposed to be available _anywhere_ until next month. 

If it were me, I would immediately call "retention" and get to "case management". No waiting on service he was forced to prepay for. :flaiming


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

dwcolvin said:


> I thought the (real) Broadband DECA units weren't even supposed to be available _anywhere_ until next month.
> 
> If it were me, I would immediately call "retention" and get to "case management". No waiting on service he was forced to prepay for. :flaiming


Retention and/or Case management can't make gear magicly appear out of thin air.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

RobertE said:


> Retention and/or Case management can't make gear magicly appear out of thin air.


I completely understand that but they have the gear available, just not the broadband deca. If installers are "forced" to use the broadband deca then csr's should not be taking money and scheduling appointments for a product that is not available.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

njfoses said:


> I completely understand that but they have the gear available, just not the broadband deca. If installers are "forced" to use the broadband deca then csr's should not be taking money and scheduling appointments for a product that is not available.


That particular location is misinformed as to what to do if they do not have the DECA BB available.

Many locations just make stuff as they go along unfortunately. :nono2:


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## pabuwal (May 17, 2008)

I live in Central NJ and was also told that that the Broadband DECA would not be available for months. I had a second install scheduled for the Internet portion and they just never showed - no cancellation notice.

DirecTV mailed me a regular DECA but no power inserter so I guess I am still out of luck.


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## The Merg (Jun 24, 2007)

pabuwal said:


> I live in Central NJ and was also told that that the Broadband DECA would not be available for months. I had a second install scheduled for the Internet portion and they just never showed - no cancellation notice.
> 
> DirecTV mailed me a regular DECA but no power inserter so I guess I am still out of luck.


Contact Ellen Filipiak <[email protected]>, the VP of customer service and explain your predicament. Her office has been very receptive to those with on-going issues.

To the OP, I would also recommend e-mailing Ms. Filipiak if you don't get your issue resolved through the normal e-mail support.

- Merg


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## pabuwal (May 17, 2008)

The Merg said:


> Contact Ellen Filipiak <[email protected]>, the VP of customer service and explain your predicament. Her office has been very receptive to those with on-going issues.
> 
> To the OP, I would also recommend e-mailing Ms. Filipiak if you don't get your issue resolved through the normal e-mail support.
> 
> - Merg


Thanks. I've spoken to various departments and supervisors this week. They all promise a call back and resolution and I get nothing. I have also wasted an entire day on this. It's amazing to me how badly the Broadband DECA portion is being handled in this region.


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## Justin23 (Jan 11, 2008)

Regardless of if the Broadband DECA issue....they canceled the work order and told you that it was going to be handled by someone else. So, if you didn't call to ask if the work order was still active you would have been sitting waiting for them to show up...not good.


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## pabuwal (May 17, 2008)

Since I had a HR 20 next to my router, I hooked the Ethernet cable from the HR-20 DECA to the router and a second one from the HR 20 to the router. I am not using a broadband DECA and everything seems to work fine - so I'll leave it at that for now.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

The Merg said:


> Contact Ellen Filipiak <[email protected]>, the VP of customer service and explain your predicament. Her office has been very receptive to those with on-going issues.
> 
> To the OP, I would also recommend e-mailing Ms. Filipiak if you don't get your issue resolved through the normal e-mail support.
> 
> - Merg


That is who i sent the email to. What really ticks me off is that they never even offered to install everything else they just cancelled it without informing me. As of right now i have a new install date for june 9th which is the earliest they could provide. This is through tech support as i havent received a response back yet from my email. The rep also specifically noted the work order stating to use a deca and ps18 or pi-21 for the internet connection if the broadband deca is still not available. Hopefully that will help but im really not holding my breath. As long as i can get the rest of the system installed i will work with having a deca and pi shipped to me as the other poster did or getting directv to credit my acct for me to purchase one with the pi.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

pabuwal said:


> Since I had a HR 20 next to my router, I hooked the Ethernet cable from the HR-20 DECA to the router and a second one from the HR 20 to the router. I am not using a broadband DECA and everything seems to work fine - so I'll leave it at that for now.


Using the second jack (I'm assuming you have a -700) is generally a bad idea. It can cause weird issues on your network that you might not realize are related to that setup. Plus it uses CPU cycles of the DVR.


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## pabuwal (May 17, 2008)

I'm just using one ethernet jack on the HR20-700. Do these issues apply here?


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## dwcolvin (Oct 4, 2007)

pabuwal said:


> I'm just using one ethernet jack on the HR20-700. Do these issues apply here?


No, that _works_. But D* should install it *correctly*, with another DECA and a power supply.


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## xandor (Nov 18, 2005)

dpeters11 said:


> Using the second jack (I'm assuming you have a -700) is generally a bad idea. It can cause weird issues on your network that you might not realize are related to that setup. Plus it uses CPU cycles of the DVR.


That doesn't sound like what that poster did. Sounds like instead of connecting the DECA to the receiver it's connected to, they connected the cable to their switch, then a separate cable from the switch to the HR20. The HR20 would not really be in the DECA 'cloud', but coming from the outside in.

User should try to get another DECA and PI, and use that to hook to the switch.


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## pabuwal (May 17, 2008)

xandor said:


> That doesn't sound like what that poster did. Sounds like instead of connecting the DECA to the receiver it's connected to, they connected the cable to their switch, then a separate cable from the switch to the HR20. The HR20 would not really be in the DECA 'cloud', but coming from the outside in.
> 
> User should try to get another DECA and PI, and use that to hook to the switch.


Right, that's what I did. I have spent so many hours on the phone with various people at DirecTV, I am going to leave it like this for now until I hear things are going more smoothly in this area. Each call to them is a minimum of 1 hour just to be told "they will get back to me."

They did send me a DECA but no power inserter and no splitter.


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## dpeters11 (May 30, 2007)

xandor said:


> That doesn't sound like what that poster did. Sounds like instead of connecting the DECA to the receiver it's connected to, they connected the cable to their switch, then a separate cable from the switch to the HR20. The HR20 would not really be in the DECA 'cloud', but coming from the outside in.
> 
> User should try to get another DECA and PI, and use that to hook to the switch.


Got it, think I read it wrong or was confused by the method.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

pabuwal said:


> I live in Central NJ and was also told that that the Broadband DECA would not be available for months. I had a second install scheduled for the Internet portion and they just never showed - no cancellation notice.
> 
> DirecTV mailed me a regular DECA but no power inserter so I guess I am still out of luck.


You'll also need 2-way splitter, two coax cables, as well the pi. So call 'em back and have them complete the package.


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## kyledr04 (May 15, 2010)

This is an ongoing problem. We I had Directv w/ Whole home dvr installed they didn't tell me internet connection was an additional service. Installers are supposed to come do that Saturday. I'm betting it doesn't work out.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

njfoses said:


> That is who i sent the email to. What really ticks me off is that they never even offered to install everything else they just cancelled it without informing me. As of right now i have a new install date for june 9th which is the earliest they could provide. This is through tech support as i havent received a response back yet from my email. The rep also specifically noted the work order stating to use a deca and ps18 or pi-21 for the internet connection if the broadband deca is still not available. Hopefully that will help but im really not holding my breath. As long as i can get the rest of the system installed i will work with having a deca and pi shipped to me as the other poster did or getting directv to credit my acct for me to purchase one with the pi.


I received a phone call back from the customer service advocate team. After they spoke with the local installation office they had magically received a shipment yesterday and should have no problem now doing my install. The rep also confirmed they should have installed it the way i stated with the deca and pi. They also bumped my install up from 6/9 to this sat between 8am-12pm. The advocate rep was very apologetic and gave me a direct phone # to her if i have any more issues. I still have my doubts but we will see how it goes Saturday.


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## Sim-X (Sep 24, 2009)

So there is 2 kinds of deca adapters??


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

Sim-X said:


> So there is 2 kinds of deca adapters??


I was told it the same stuff, but in a pretty case. And another tech said instead of white. it's black.

It different so that when an inept customers calls in a problem, the tech on the telephone can send the inept customer to the correct DECA.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

njfoses said:


> I received a phone call back from the customer service advocate team. After they spoke with the local installation office they had magically received a shipment yesterday and should have no problem now doing my install. The rep also confirmed they should have installed it the way i stated with the deca and pi. They also bumped my install up from 6/9 to this sat between 8am-12pm. The advocate rep was very apologetic and gave me a direct phone # to her if i have any more issues. I still have my doubts but we will see how it goes Saturday.


So installer just called and of course its still the same song and dance. They do not have the broadband deca and are still unwilling to use a regular deca with pi. Im having him do the rest of the install and then its back on the phone with directv. This is very frustrating!!


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## T-Hefner (Mar 29, 2010)

njfoses said:


> So installer just called and of course its still the same song and dance. They do not have the broadband deca and are still unwilling to use a regular deca with pi. Im having him do the rest of the install and then its back on the phone with directv. This is very frustrating!!


Damn....I am pissed....I have my install june 7th ...WHY wont they use the PI and DECA....I dont get it...

That is how the rest of the country has done it...and Jersey offices wont do it??


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## njblackberry (Dec 29, 2007)

I'm in NJ (Central) and got DECA and the broadband DECA (using the DECA and PI) installed last week. Multibandusa.com actually did the work (and the installers did a great job).


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## leww37334 (Sep 19, 2005)

Every time I read one of these threads, I recall how we were told that the DECA solution would be much easier for installers to support than ethernet.

If these problems weren't so tough on customers, the situation would be almost laughable.


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## dwcolvin (Oct 4, 2007)

njfoses said:


> So installer just called and of course its still the same song and dance. They do not have the broadband deca and are still unwilling to use a regular deca with pi. Im having him do the rest of the install and then its back on the phone with directv. This is very frustrating!!


I would call/email D* immediately and flatten this problem now. :rant:

There appears to be a p***ing contest between D* and installers: http://forums.directv.com/pe/action...ID=10692821&channelID=1&portalPageId=10472402 :bang


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

dwcolvin said:


> I would call/email D* immediately and flatten this problem now. :rant:
> 
> There appears to be a p***ing contest between D* and installers: http://forums.directv.com/pe/action...ID=10692821&channelID=1&portalPageId=10472402 :bang


So heres the latest. They are sending a tech supervisor from a different part of nj who i just spoke with to now complete the order. What a breath of fresh air speaking with him! He has done a few of these installs already and is ready to go with the deca and pi for the broadband connection. It will take him a few hours to get here from where he is coming from due to jersey shore holiday weekend traffic but i will tip him a healthy amount for getting this completed. I will update tonight after everything is completed.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

njfoses said:


> So heres the latest. They are sending a tech supervisor from a different part of nj who i just spoke with to now complete the order. What a breath of fresh air speaking with him! He has done a few of these installs already and is ready to go with the deca and pi for the broadband connection. It will take him a few hours to get here from where he is coming from due to jersey shore holiday weekend traffic but i will tip him a healthy amount for getting this completed. I will update tonight after everything is completed.


Quick update, everything is wired up ready to go except sat signals on 99 and 103 are low to mid 70's which is a couple points lower than before the lnb swap.. Cant activate new receivers until signals are up to par Tech says new swm 3 lnb will not get good readings with older hd dish that i have. I tried to tell him it doesnt make a difference what hd dish i have but he swears it will. We have been waiting over an hr for another tech to bring him a "new" hd dish while he refuses to try to manipulate the current dish to receive higher signal readings.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

wow, just wow....
you have an au9 dish, what is going to replace it with


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

David MacLeod said:


> wow, just wow....
> you have an au9 dish, what is going to replace it with


I have no damn idea.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

David MacLeod said:


> wow, just wow....
> you have an au9 dish, what is going to replace it with


And remember this is a supervisor for my entire area.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

David MacLeod said:
 

> wow, just wow....
> you have an au9 dish, what is going to replace it with


Dont run him under the bus yet. Ive seen a couple HD dishes that while appearing to be ok, had been warped in shipping, and no matter how well it was peaked, would never get both 99 and 103 strong at a single spot. So perhaps a new AU9 will solve the problem. If it doesnt, Ill bet he will replace the coax next.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

Davenlr said:


> Dont run him under the bus yet. Ive seen a couple HD dishes that while appearing to be ok, had been warped in shipping, and no matter how well it was peaked, would never get both 99 and 103 strong at a single spot. So perhaps a new AU9 will solve the problem. If it doesnt, Ill bet he will replace the coax next.


that maybe i could agree with but he stated as soon as he pulled up and looked at my dish he knew it would be a problem with 99 and 103. He keeps saying my hd dish is old and the new one is shaped slightly differently which is designed for the swm3 lnb.:nono2:


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

an AT9 would need to be changed.


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

David MacLeod said:


> an AT9 would need to be changed.


Right, which i do not have. I dont think he knows how to properly peak 99 and 103.


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## rhipps (Apr 7, 2008)

Hmmmmm, all this talk makes me glad I decide to put this one on hold for a spell. That and the fact that when I talked to the CSR just now I learned that in spite of being a "valued customer" and a protection plan participant, it was still gonna cost me $152 to "get 'er done." Guess I will wait until I become more valuable to D* and then maybe they will cut me a better deal (yeah right)

Bob H.
Toano, VA


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## njfoses (Sep 15, 2007)

Well i guess i will eat some crow. New dish is up and signals are 90+ across the board. Mrv is working great. It was a long painful haul but in the end everything worked out.


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## David MacLeod (Jan 29, 2008)

hard to change dish w/o aiming it I think.
I could be wrong, happens every so often


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## T-Hefner (Mar 29, 2010)

njfoses said:


> Well i guess i will eat some crow. New dish is up and signals are 90+ across the board. Mrv is working great. It was a long painful haul but in the end everything worked out.


Thats good news man, Happy it got all worked out!

I live in North Jersey.....near Wayne, NJ. So I am hoping that supervisor came from that area...LOL...Being I have my install on June 7th....Im going to make it clear you can use a regular Deca Module w/ PI


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