# How long can you go without makign a payment?



## CarolinaGuy79 (Sep 9, 2009)

Ok so I am having a hard time and will not be able to make a payment this month and I was wondering how long can I go before they will turn it off? my bill this month is $167 and after the protions take out I would only owe $118 so can I wait another month and pay 2 months? I called Directv and she said if I didnt make a payment by the 9th it would be turned off (my bill is due on the 25th of every month) But I think she just wanted money so she was trying to scare me.


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## Mertzen (Dec 8, 2006)

Suspend your account? Probably better then late fee and possibly a blemish on your credit.


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## say-what (Dec 14, 2006)

If your bill is due on the 25th and they said the 9th, sounds like 2 weeks.


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## tworivers1 (Aug 28, 2008)

Do like a lot of us do and our government can't do, do with less cut some of the extras like HBO and the like. Lighten up your bill, get a smaller and less expensive program package.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

say-what answered your question, but the other suggestions about suspending or downgrading your package are certainly worthwhile.


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## hilmar2k (Mar 18, 2007)

Mertzen said:


> Suspend your account? Probably better then late fee and possibly a blemish on your credit.


DIRECTV does not report to credit unless the account goes to collections. Late payments have no impact on your credit score.


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## JLucPicard (Apr 27, 2004)

Mertzen said:


> Suspend your account? Probably better then late fee and possibly a blemish on your credit.


That's a reasonable option, but I think your account balance needs to be fully paid before they'll do that?


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## davring (Jan 13, 2007)

Sadly, your account has to be current before they allow you to suspend it.


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## maartena (Nov 1, 2010)

Usually companies wait at least 1 month after the due date to actually shut off the service. After about 2 weeks (the 9th in this case for you) you will probably start to receive daily phone calls about your bill, trying to secure payment over the phone. If you don't answer them, or ignore them before your next payment is due, chances are very likely your service will get disconnected when the next billing period arrives.

Since many people travel, go on vacation, etc, and being 2 weeks late can really BE an oversight if you leave for vacation for 3 weeks in Europe or something like that, they probably won't disconnect your service.

The only experience I had with this myself was actually a 3 week vacation to Europe, and I had forgotten to issue payment for my cable tv/internet bill right before, and I came home to a reminder bill in the mail, and a few voicemails.... but the service was still connected. A payment over the phone (+ late fee) and all was fine.

I cannot say 100% sure that DirecTV's policy are the same or different, but I would imagine that they won't cut you off RIGHT at the 2 week mark, but rather give you to the next billing period before they undertake action. In many cases companies have a grace policy.... e.g. if you mail in the check on the 24th, and it doesn't arrive till the 28th because the mail is slow, you technically speaking issued your payment in time. Most companies definitely don't take any action until a few days after the due date, might send a automated courtesy call or email reminder.

Bottom Line: My guess is that around the 9th, they will start harassing you, and they will disconnect you as soon as the next billing period hits.

If finances are expected to be tight for a while, you could suspend your account for a few months and use OTA TV only, until things get better and then reactivate the account. Of course, as others have said, the account does need to by fully paid before you can suspend it.


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## CarolinaGuy79 (Sep 9, 2009)

Just as an Update: I called Directv this morning spoke to Kim in retension and she told me if I made a payment today of $50 that would keep my account in good standing, so I did, I just hope she was telling the truth.


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## shadough (Dec 31, 2006)

I believe my account was shut off after 3 months. Cant quite remember. When I could, I paid the past due and cancelled D*. In my experiences w/ E*, they seem to cut you off around 2 months'ish', and usually once service is cut, the amount owed to re-instate is actually less than what they wanted before service was cut. But yes, a payment of even $50 shows effort on your part and they'll likely just work w/ ya on that.


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## peds48 (Jan 11, 2008)

DirecTV has a disconnection notice with a date when your service will be suspended on your bill when you are late.


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## DodgerKing (Apr 28, 2008)

$167? Wow! That is over twice what I pay


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## n3vino (Oct 2, 2011)

DodgerKing said:


> $167? Wow! That is over twice what I pay


That is high. If I were having problems with a payment like that, I would certainly look at cutting all those extras. Premium channels, in my opinion, are not worth it. Netflix is the way to go. I watch what I want when I want as many as I want. I use my internet ready Sony blue ray player for that. In fact in my home, in addition to the blue ray, there is also a wii and an Xbox that can connect, so we are not limited to one room for Netflix. I have UVerse internet so there is no problem with streaming HD content wireless.


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## joyandjerry (Jul 3, 2012)

I have Dish (which I will have to cancel b/c of the AMC situation), but I have the fee charged to my VISA monthly. I would assume DirecTV has the same option.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

joyandjerry said:


> I have Dish (which I will have to cancel b/c of the AMC situation), but I have the fee charged to my VISA monthly. I would assume DirecTV has the same option.


Yes, you can setup auto billpay.


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## Old_School (Nov 29, 2011)

DodgerKing said:


> $167? Wow! That is over twice what I pay


I would be willing to bet 40.00 + tax of that is for the Sunday ticket...

as for disconnection...

The OP seems to have the same due date as myself so i will explain how i was explained it by directv.

If your due date is the 25th as mine is than, the money owed by then is not considered "Past Due" till the 6th when your next bill comes out. After that bill is generated you will be have till about the 20th to pay or be shut off. At that point you would have had 45 days to pay since the bill was generated.

Now with that said, if you call directv explain the situation and are a customer that stays in good standing and rarely ask for things.. they they usually can cut you a break (as they did for the OP letting him pay $50) to keep service on till the next billing cycle..

My advise to you is when you next bill comes out make sure to pay in full and don't make paying part of the bill a habit every month. as said above if the bill is to high it time to look at what you need vs. what you want and trim the bill a bit.. i know its tough but, i have had to do the same myself.


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## scott0702 (Nov 25, 2006)

tworivers1 said:


> Do like a lot of us do and our government can't do, do with less cut some of the extras like HBO and the like. Lighten up your bill, get a smaller and less expensive program package.


I agree. Try to downgrade and reduce the bill. I have been wanting to downgrade Premier for over a year. The only reason I have the premiums is for the series on HBO and Showtime. The others I rarely watch. Everytime I call and most recently I was calling to downgrade to Entertainment with HBO and Showtime, D* ended up giving me credits for 6 months to offset the difference if I keep Premier. You can try that as well. So In my case, I will call again at the end of the 6 months to try downgrade.


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