DirecTV Customer Service Sucks.
As some of you may recall, a few weeks ago I wrote about how DirecTV pulled a bait and switch on the service at my house. After about 45 minutes on the phone with customer service I finally gave up trying to plead my case which was that the offer I had signed up for was for $41.99 for 12 months but that I was being charged $67.99 for 12 months…and they said I never got an offer for $41.99, so too bad for me. Nice job, DirecTV, way to care about your paying customers. Oh how I longed for the days of cable TV at that point, which I had had zero problems with since the beginning of time. But I digress. So what’s the issue with DirecTV customer service now? I am going on my third receiver that has not worked correctly in only two months that I have had their service, I have not had TV in 7 days because of it, they still don’t seem to care that a brand new customer is having any problems, and they were so kind to offer a whole $10 credit. Yippee! Ah shucks DirecTV, you are too kind.
Today I was on the phone with them for 1 hour and 42 minutes. Yep, over an hour and a half. I talked to a rep who had no idea what she was doing, would not transfer me to a supervisor even though I repeatedly asked to be connected to one, and then when I finally got mad enough for her to do it, she was in the background talking smack to the supervisor. Seriously? What is this, 8th grade? And you know what I got resolved? Nothing – and they are sending yet another receiver to my house…which should be here in 3 days. And then I get to call them back, go through this whole thing again, and probably have this one be broken too. So instead of them just sending a truck out to my house, they are wasting everyone’s time – especially mine, now that I have spent over 3 hours total on the phone with DirecTV. This company has the absolute worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with. I would rather stab myself in the eye while buying a new car at MSRP then deal with these people anymore.
At this point, I am starting to think that it would be worth paying the exorbitant cancellation fee just to set my mind at ease. I will warn you one more time as I did last time –
Before you sign up with DirecTV, please stop and look for an alternative way to get your television fix. Even if you have to go sit in Circuit City at primetime to watch your favorite shows, do that instead of signing an agreement with DirecTV. Seriously.
Oh, and it turns out that it’s not only DirecTV; Dish Network has terrible customer service too!
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I recently purchased two Ethernet Powerstrip Adapters from DirecTV to enable DirecTV on Demand, received them Monday, installed Monday night successfully, tested download speed Tuesday night (very slow!) and decided today to return the equipment to DirecTV. After talking to several CSR’s and a Supervisor I was told DirecTV has a strict policy not to provide refunds on equipment returns. I can’t believe they have such an unfriendly customer policy. There is nothing wrong with this equipment and it is brand new, it just did not perform as advertised. Any one else run into a similar situation? I plan to return the equipment anyways and dispute the charge on my credit card.
I have read numerous posts on 3 separate websites about all the problems with Directv.
I HAVE numerous misgivings myself, many of which have already been posted by others.
In addition to the problems posted already, I have some which I have not seen on the posts of others that I have read.
I cannot understand how this company continues to operate. Its’ days surely must be numbered.
I am a new customer, just signed on in the last 2 weeks. I am so VERY SORRY that I made such a mistake. My problems with this company are so numerous that I do not wish to elaborate with such a lengthy post; however, sadly, this post is extremely lengthy anyway because of the depth of the problems involved. My Directv nightmare began just 13 days ago. WHAT A MESS! These people are con artists. I see where someone is wanting for people to sign on for a class action lawsuit for the early termination fee problem. This would be a good thing, provided it was with a reputable lawyer: I have no idea if that is the case. However, the problem of them injecting themselves into peoples bank accounts and charge card accounts has not been much mentioned. It is their charging whatever, whenever they so choose, without consent of the customer that is the major concern of mine.
My contract is for 2 years. I read it. Okay, I am stuck for 24 months. Don’t like it, won’t bite again.
I originally thought that because this company had been doing business for so long that they were reputable. As it turns out, they do have (lately) quite a reputation all right. I did not check until AFTER I had run into all those problems, to see the massive complaints. I was not forewarned, and therefore, was easily duped. Keep in mind that unscrupulous business practices run their course: their ability to do so has a time limit; the word is getting out, albeit in a painfully slow manner.
One way to deal with some of the charging problems is to keep a close eye on it. You can do that by signing onto your account online and checking it frequently. And calling every time there is an unwarranted charge. And, then, continuing to sign on and check for the next debit or credit event posted. This way, you can call them every time you get ripped off. Take the name of the person you are speaking to, note the date and time of the conversation, and what was said. Those people will tell you that they are crediting your account: give them only 4 hours before you log on to your account to see if they lied. It could take 4 hours for you to see the credit. Yes, they will either lie to you or only follow through part way and drop the ball. Using the internet will give you eyes into what they are doing to/for/against you.
In my experience, most of them talk sweetly and friendly enough. But when you hang up the phone, they have either taken no action that will give results, or they have taken the wrong action which will give further damage to the ulcer they have already caused you to develop.
And in parting, I must tell you all that I had Dish for 3 years: never a problem of any sort whatsoever.
The monthly bill just crept up and up and up. I was up to around seventy some odd dollars per month and I am retired and on a fixed income: my income does not go up and up. I called them and they cut HD and they cut some other item that we do not use and were able to drop the monthly down by $20. But, even so, the bill was still about $55 something per month. Then I ran into the touted $29.99 that Directv was advertising and we bit on that bait. That package did NOT work with the viewing equipment that we had which was actually a large screen HD computer monitor. How would we know? We are not knowledgeable about such. Nobody ever asked us about our viewing equipment. Our awareness began when the installer showed up and that is when the nightmare began. He put me on the cell phone with a woman that was very hostile and quite surprised me. The experience was shocking and horrid. In the end, she had a vendetta against me and so to get me back for telling her that I would not pay for something that we already bought and owned, she tacked on a charge to my account (against my charge card) unbeknownst to me and not stated by herself a charge for an extra receiver. Now we live in a very small cottage (only one bedroom) have only one television, can never have more than that, but that charge posted against my charge account for the second receiver which never existed. This is not a real thing, it is only something that those people on the other end of the phone line do to/against you to harass and hurt you. It was malicious and intended. I still do not have my credit back, even after 3 telephone calls to 3 different customer service reps. I need to tell you that the installer was a good man and had no part in the problem, I like him very much and he did a very good job. The problem was with the woman on the other end of the telephone line, she was an evil and malicious person. She had umbrage because I was taken aback about the receiver which hubby had “purchased” 3 years prior and paid $100 for and which she was claiming belonged to Directv. Three years is a long time and now I needed to dig back into historical records and she was demanding an answer immediately. I was not there at the time of purchase, I needed to retrieve the records, she was extremely impatient with it.
In the end, I called BestBuy and they told me that the box was not “sold” to hubby, but was just a rental charge and did, in fact, actually belong to Directv. Now, there is many a man who could have explained that, but instead, I got this awful and hateful woman who explained nothing and just lashed out at me. We never used it, because we subscribed to Dish and never had need of it. All of a sudden there was a vehement woman on the other end of the line telling me that we had to pay rental on that equipment. What a shock! Right then, I knew that I was about to be ripped off, I was very upset about it. Also, whatever happened to that $100 “rental” fee for something that was never utilized? This is robbery. BestBuy are also tricksters, they never made it clear that was a rental, they came on like it was his, like he bought it. I am appalled at these tactics. Also, that advertisement said that there would be no charge for equipment, and now, all of a sudden, in the midst of getting hooked up, there was to be an unexpected charge for rental of equipment that we thought that we had purchased.
There is trickery here: BestBuy is guilty and Directv is also guilty. They both share in this guilt.
I do not care; if I had a choice, I would personally deliver this equipment to either one of them. It is the scam that I object to. They are both guilty of this scam. If I had a choice, I would immediately do whatever necessary to cut off all communications with the both of them and simply forget about them both. But they have hooked us, roped us in, and the law is not protecting us from their scams.
If I could backtrack just 2 weeks: Dish never tricked me, never lied to me, always gave me good service. My only problem was finances: I was trying to cut down on the budget expense. I would go back to Dish in a heartbeat, if I only had the opportunity to do so. Now, because of the scam, I cannot go back to Dish for 24 months. The button punching required to use and change channels with Directv is so much work and so user unfriendly, I will be counting the days in the full 24 months in eager anticipation of going back to Dish. Dish was so easy to use, it was so free of problems. I now feel so estranged.
Today marks a very new age in my life: we have now backtracked into an age that our ancestors knew, and we are all getting an education into the world that they warned us about.
I want to let you all know about my experience with DirecTv. I cancelled my account after less than 24 hours. We hated it. Hated the look, feel, everything. The CSR told me there would be no cancellation fees since it had only been less than 24 hours. A week later, they debited my bank account for $425.96! Without my authorization, hell I didn’t even know they had my debit card! I think AT&T had it and that’s how they got it. The first CSR I talked to was so nice. She said they would reverse the charges, would take a couple days. The second CSR told me she had lied and it would actually take 5-7 days. I got to a billing supervisor, who said that they had charged me incorrectly and he would escalate it. The next day I received emails stating I had been refunded $460 to my DirecTv account! But I have no DirecTv account as I cancelled it! The next CSR told me it would take 8 weeks to get a refund. When I blew my fuse and demanded to speak to a supervisor, he refused! He said he would talk to one for me. Now guys and gals, I AM a CSR and anytime you ask for a supervisor, you should get one, hands down. I finally called my bank, which I should have just done on the first day after the charge, and they are processing a chargeback for me. I cannot believe the poor customer service I have gotten from DirecTv! It’s almost as if they just don’t care at all. It’s really too bad. And they are Americans too! Usually I get this bad of customer service from India!
I totally agree with each and every awful thing said about Directv! They have you by the you know whats and they know it and take advantage of it! I am having yet another problem with them. I am being force to move from my home (new owners want to live there) and so I have to move, well because I moved just in November of last year they want to charge me $200 to move my service. Wow no one else is charging me to move ok well maybe my internet service is but $20. No the ridiculus part is that the house is completely wired and all they would have to do is put the dish up and connect wire maybe hal hour tops and the charge is still $200. Its BS really!
You, sir, are obviously a plant and have no credibility. I would be happy to dump this service if I had known better to begin with. I guess I just love football that much. The NFL package is all they have going for them, excepting, of course, you on their side. Hope you love the taste of DirecTV bone; don’t choke on it.
All of you people complaining about how bad the customer service is, and how awuful you experience with dtv was, is simply because you don’t take the time to educate yourself about how the service works. For real, if you’ve decided to go with directv, please study the agreement before doing it and I swear to you, you will be like NEO on the matrix. Seriously there is no better way to have a good service with any company than to know how everything works.
To the Directv CSR – where in you agreement does it state that you can charge a customer for multiple packages at the same time and rather than credit their account immediately you can keep doing it for 4 months and also turn their service off for not paying the entire bill. Or better yet charge someone for sporting events purchased before they even had service but wait to do it until they turn their receiver in! Should I continue? I guess somehow this is definitely the customers fault. I must have missed that in the agreement!
Tracie let me tell you that i don’t know how that hapened, that must have been someone’s screw up (of course someone in the customer service department), and i’m sorry about it, but please keep in mind that we’re humans, those sort of things must happen in every other satellite, cable, phone, internet service company out there. I read about your complain on the movers fee. I must guess that you are not aware of this (how ironic), but each time a customer decides to move it costs directv $300, we are saving you $100!. And of course if you decide to move again in the next 12 months, guess what?… that’s right!, you get a free movers!, but hell, i guess that’s not enough for anyone, isn’t it? Well i’m out now, i’ll deal with anyone of you tomorrow at work, see ya.
To the Directv CSR,
You are mistaken. I read my contract. I fullfilled my contract. I was charged for early termination because Directv extended my contract without my consent or knowledge. Wow! thanks for the advice…
Yes, I am still bitter about how Directv treated me and my contract. I never realized there was a company out there that could laugh at, hang up on, and lie to their customers until I had the displeasure of Directv.
I agree Trista – they are not very nice and not very helpful. If it had only been 1 CSR, that would be one thing. But almost EVERY single one of them I talked to was horrible. I for one cannot wait for my contract to end – if they ever actually let it.
I agree, DirecTV charged me more movies I didn’t even order (mind you this was AFTER i had already mailed in the receivers). I called customer service, they offered no help after being on the phone with them for over 30min, saying I had to mail a letter into the disputes department. I was NEVER able to talk to a person in charge who could have helped me on this matter. A week or so later received a letter from disputes telling me exactly what the CSR had over the phone. My overall experience with DirecTV was terrible, took them forever to hook up my equipment, failed to help me when the receivers would go out, then charge me for crap I couldn’t have possibly ordered. DO NOT waste your hard earned money on them, it’s not worth it, stick with Comcast.
WOW – doing my homework because I am unhappy with cable. But I believe I am going to stay where I am. Appreciate all the info I have read here – and I did go to the link for the customer service agreement and read it completely – and I am very uncomfortable with it. Had I “just gone” with DTV – I probably would not have read the agreement or contract very closely. There are to many hidden things that DTV appears to do without consulting or advising the customer before they do it. I wish everyone here good luck with their battles and hope things work out for everyone. JP
Have to post again – because I need some clearification(sp?) – anywho. From reading the previous posts – (#1) If I get a DTV system – just me paying the bill creates a “contract” with the DTV company – regardless if I sign anything or not. I’m still not sure if DTV required 1 or 2 year contacts – but…(#2) lets say for this question I have a “2″ year contract – I am with DTV for 1 year 11 months – and my receiver dies or needs to be replaced and I get new equipment – that automatically commits me to 2 more years of a contract before I can cancel the service without an early termination fee? I’m still trying to grasp how alot of what is going on is legal. Its mind blowing!
I agree with almost all the complaints in this column but who can you go to for help in actually solving these problems? Is there a gov. agency like the FCC or FTC that can really address the crimes? P.S I also was charged for PPV movies that I didn”t order. I returned there equipment and they claim after scanning the cards I ordered them.
Directv has given me the worst customer service in my life. They literally lie to get you in contract. I have been a Directv customer for over 10 years, not because I wanted to but because I purchased our receivers way back when, and I didn’t have monthly charges for the boxes. Let me put it this way, my receiver is a Directv Sony Tivo. I’ve always had issues with their service but recently, my Directv Tivo broke. I called to ask what I could do, seeing that I wanted to keep the fact I did not get charged monthly for the receivers. The Rep told me he would send me a brand new DVR receiver and I STILL wouldn’t have to pay monthly fees for it. They would keep me as is and believe me I asked several times to make sure. I told him, this was the best customer service I ever received by Directv and would write him a letter for his excellent service. Guess what?! As soon as I activated my new DVR, I automatically was fixed into a “new contract.” And I will now be charged every month for my receiver. When I called to complain, they literally told me to take it up with my lawyers. So pretty much, Directv lies to get you in contract and now I have to wait two years to get out, because even if I returned my new DVR receiver (that I have had for all of two days), I would have to pay a $20 monthly fee, regardless. And like LTJP said, how do they remain in business? How is this at all legal?
Hi all,
Just wanted to relate another *wonderful* experience that I’ve had with Directv. After clicking on a link to receive a $200 Jetblue gift card on June 9th, 2009. Today is Sept. 25, and I still have no gift card (it’s past the 30 days and 8-10 week waiting period). On their website it says that I have this coming to me, along with an ID number and a confirmation number. It also says that it is only good until Dec 31 of this year. After speaking with Don, Theresa (outright liar), Jessica, Amber, Sara, Carolyn (another outright liar- supervisor), and a number of other reps that have no clue or are still lying to me, they say I have to wait another 14-21 days to see if I am ELIGIBLE!!! It will cost $400 to quit their service. This is definitely a ripoff. I will be writing the atty general of fla and the better business bureau. TERRIBLE!
I also have had problems with Directv charging my debit card without my knowledge or consent and lying to me about refunding it, and also charging me for movies they claim I ordered at a time before I even HAD directv!! Where can we, the consumers (victims), go to rectify these issues and get some justice? Directv’s shady practices have snowballed and caused me numerous financial problems and I would like to be able to resolve these issues…who can I call??
Avoid DirecTV like the plague. Earlier this year, my wife and I cancelled DirecTV. Several months later, we suddenly received a $370.17 bill for service and equipment we no longer use! We had switched to Verizon FIOS, but were still getting billed!
Their customer service is horrible. They wouldn’t even respond to our complaint, and instead, just moved us on to their Collections company. We were loyal customers who paid our bills on time. We didn’t deserve their treatment.
has anyone tried addressing any of their issues with DirectTV using gethuman?
http://gethuman.com/DirecTV-customer-service_249.html
No, but I have never had a problem reaching a real person there. Whether they have been helpful or not is a different issue entirely.
You know, it’s the stupid customer’s that complain about DTV. The idiots that don’t know how to read a remote. I agree that DTV is not the best service out there but if people are gonna pay that much money for TV then they deserve what they get. I work for their customer service dept and 80% of all the calls are for some stupid reason that common sense should have resolved. Half the people that have DTV have no business owning a high definition tv let alone an expensive receiver.
dtv is a big ripoff. i ask for a superviser when i finley got a person on the phone. NO GO. i got “whats the problem” then its not our problem. well its there equipment thats not working ,so its my problem. im done with dtv.
Let’s see, John, if I understand what you are saying. You are calling everyone who placed a comment here stupid, right? Have you assessed your situations? You work as a Customer Representative for DTV… What level of intelligence does one need to get a job like that? Plus, no matter what you say, it will always be taken as a conflict of interest. Do you know what that means? The only reason you have a job is because all of us stupic people. That is the way the economy works: We get DTV, pay for the service, get bad service, they receive tons of complaints, DTV hires idiots like you to play bad cop and give us bad actitude, and so on and so forth. I put it plainly, so you can understand. Then again, you maybe too dumb to understand those basic concepts. In a nutshell, you are the idiot, John. Not us!
I just got off the phone with a polite rep who said she tried to resolve my problem. My outside cable box had finally disintegrated due to weather. It had broken off jaggedly numerous times. Good old duct tape resolved it until today’s strong winds blew it away. I felt the company should pay the service bill of $49.95 to bring and install a new one…silly me. I was told if I’d pay a “small” $5.95 payment per month I’d have the service calls covered…add that up after a few years. Buy the service which isn’t in force for first year (quote from rep)? I think not! So now to try to cover the cables myself. Thanks a bunch to a company that hasn’t given me notice of bill changes since ’07’s bills of $41+ to today’s $68+!! They should be ashamed, but I know that’s not in the corporate mentality. Thanks for letting me vent. Any suggestions out there to cover the cables??? Thanks if so.
ARGH,,,, I just spent over 3 hours on the phone with direct tv…. I am so done with them. They don’t listen and they don’t care. My contract is up and I am out of there never to return. I don’t think the other one is any better but at least switching will give me a year to cool off.