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DirecTV screwed me for the last time

December 7, 2006 -

DirecTVBack in May, I wrote about how DirecTV had screwed me over. Well, they've done it again, and much worse this time.

It seems that when we signed up for the current package we have, it happened to include NFL Sunday ticket. Neither Linda or myself ever watches football, but they included it free, so we just ignored it. Apparently, back in June, DirecTV snuck in some verbage about how they were going to start charging us $40 per month for NFL Sunday ticket. I'm sure it was in the fine print somewhere, because I never saw it. And since I didn't pay attention to the payment, we've been dropping an additional $40/month that I didn't even know about.

Last month, I got an email from DirecTV about how my payment was overdue. Strange, since I'd never received a bill. Apparently, they sent customers a (hidden) notice that bills would stop arriving in the mail and only come via email. Odd that I never received an email bill either - only the overdue notice. So last month, I paid over the phone and asked that I receive my bills via mail from now on.

This weekend, I got another overdue email. This is how I ended up on the phone with DirecTV yesterday and found out about this whole mess. They want $150 just to change our subscription so that we don't get NFL Sunday ticket anymore. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?

We're dropping DirecTV as soon as we find an alternative. I'm tempted to just stop paying and see what happens. They can't go to the credit bureau, can they? I can't begin to express the amount of hatred I have for DirecTV right now. I want to get back at them. I want to hurt their business. I want to do something to show them what happens when they don't value customer service. I'm so pissed off.

Comments on DirecTV screwed me for the last time
 
Comment Thu, December 7 - 6:09 PM by pmd
If I heard this from just some dumb guy I didn't know on the net, I'd just figure he ignored the pitch... Coming from you though ("Mister I didn't pay Long Distance for years because the phone companies were stupid and gave it away"), I'm pretty sure you got hosed.

I guess that's my VerDicT.
 
Comment Fri, December 8 - 9:08 PM by tagger
They _can_ go to the credit bureau. These days, almost anything can hurt your credit, and bad credit can mess up everything from your car insurance to the rates you pay for life insurance.

My (unsolicited) advice is to get in touch with the Better Business Bureau and the Colorado Attorney General's office. The BBB can give you information on other complaints and the AG can help you get some kind of redress if they feel you have a case.

For what it's worth, Sally the lawyer is a big fan of bitching to the AG.
 
Comment Fri, December 15 - 11:28 AM by Greg
Followup:

Linda had her sister call DirecTV for us and crack some heads, and got the sports package cancelled for free, plus got 3 months of charges reversed. Go Regina!

We'll still likely cancel DirecTV in January when Cable becomes available.