DIRECTV Fraud? My Story. If you have a similar story, I’ll add it here.
I’m pretty sure DIRECTV’s loyalty department knowingly lies to keep customers.
If not, then there is massive operational issues and gross negligence that makes it so we, the customers, effectively get lied to.
Here’s my story.
We’ve been DIRECTV customers for X years. On top of that we have AT&T Internet, so we pay both in one bill (AT&T merged with DIRECTV…or bought them or something).
On New Years Day 2018 I called to see if I could get faster internet (nice start to a new year!), and got convinced to try DIRECTVnow.com. I decided to do it, and asked to be transferred to cancel by DIRECTV (totally different department from DTVnow).
This is when it all started.
Christina, the DTV loyalty rep convinced me to stay by saying she could reduce my DTV bill to $6 and change per month.
That’s right, from ~$100 per month she told me they could reduce my cost to $6 per month.
I couldn’t believe it. I asked 3 times “Are you sure? You can actually reduce my bill to $6 per month?!” She said yes.
I took notes, including her Employee ID because I didn’t believe it:
I was happy and bragged to my wife and my friends that we got DTV for $6/month now.
Little did I know.
Here is my DTV billing history since then:
I kept getting billed $106.12 through the end of March. (My interent, billed together with DIRECTV is $30, making the total $136.12).
End of March: I call them to ask why $6/m is still billed as $106/m
I called them again, I spoke to Teanna (sp), employee ID TG9846. My notes here were limited since I called from the car, but she initially told me she saw no record of this $6/month promise I claimed I received.
Do you know how frustrating this is?
They basically are calling you a liar or an idiot.
$6/month for cable does sound ridiculous. But I’m not stupid. That’s why I asked Christina on New Years Day repeatedly “Are you sure?!” she said yes. Now I was billed $106.12 twice already and this rep is telling me I’m just wrong.
I tell this new rep Teanna, forget it, I want to cancel.
She tells me to hold more.
She comes back and says “Oh I see it in the notes” and that she actually does see the mistake: Christina did promise $6/month but didn’t actually do anything to make it happen.
Key Evidence of Lying or Gross Operational Negligence: They promise you one thing but it doesn’t happen. Either the promise was a lie, or they are grossly negligent.
Second Evidence of Lying: How did Teanna not see it in the notes the first time? Only when I threatened to cancel did she miraculously “see it in the notes”. Where was she looking before?
Teanna apologizes and says they’re going to “open a case” for me to refund me about $200 to make up for this. What the hell does that mean? I have no idea. But it sounds official and I’m happy about getting my $200 back.
I decide not to cancel thinking if I’m no longer a customer the chances of me getting my $200 is slim.
Teanna says I’ll get contacted by whoever handles “cases” like this.
I never get contacted.
On April 28 (the day I’m writing this) I call back again.
I get Alberto, Employee ID AM2090b.
I explain both previous calls and issue to Alberto:
- Jan 2018: Christina promises $6/m.
- Issue #1: I keep getting billed $106/m
- Mar 2018: Teanna confirms the mistake and says she opened a case
- Issue #2: I never get contacted. Nothing changes.
Alberto asks me to hold. He comes back and says exactly what I feared:
He sees no record of any of my claims. No promise of $6/m. No case filed.
Alberto and I talk off and on, with long holds for an hour:
Every time I say I want to cancel, he puts me on hold, talks to someone (often for a long time, 10 min or more) and comes back with a sweeter offer. Or he “discovers” something I said is true and acknowledges it.
In the end he says there is no case filed.
There is no record of a $6/month offer given to me.
They basically are claiming both of my previous conversations were false. I don’t know how to convey what they are doing. Are they saying I’m the liar? Are they saying I just can’t understand English and don’t remember the previous conversations correctly? Are they saying they’re previous reps are incompetent and didn’t do what they claimed?
He threatens me with contract breaking penalties. (Are these real? Or just another fake ploy to keep me.)
Finally, in Alberto’s final effort to keep me, he offers something unbelievable…
He says he can offer me DIRECTV for $5.45/m for 12 months and give me $100 credit.
I tell him I can’t accept and have to cancel because how can I believe this will actually happen?
All evidence to this point suggests this is not a real offer. It’s a lie to keep me. Nothing will change. I have no record the phone call existed. (Don’t they record these? Can’t we just listen to them together when there is a dispute?) I keep notes but what do they matter?
A month later I’ll call back and complain and they’ll say there was no $5 offer. What can I do?
I tell him I want to cancel.
He finally concedes, throwing one last guilt trip that he tried everything and spent an hour with me. It’s almost as though he’s explaining this to his managers who will listen to this call and not me.
So here we are.
Analysis: These old school companies (and their used car salesmen tactics) will slowly die
People complain the internet and Silicon Valley companies are taking over everything, gobbling up jobs, and we don’t talk to real humans as much anymore.
Well here’s what’s nice about internet companies: they don’t pull this stupid used care salesmen “he said she said” nonsense. There are usually no contracts, no penalties in their pricing.
You don’t need to play chicken and threaten to quit to get the best rate.
Watch…
We just signed up for YouTubeTV. Look at how upfront their pricing is:
It’s 100% straightforward. No gimmicks. 7 day free trial, and $40/m after that.
When this hits my credit card, it will be exactly $40/month.
(It’s not May 5 2018 yet when I write this but I can update with my actual credit card payment.)
In contrast look at my DIRECTV bill:
The advertised rate is $82.99. But you can’t just pay that. You have to pay more. (The regional sports fee is optional. But what about the protection plan? and What the hell is “primary TV”? I can’t escape those fees. Why not just advertise those?)
That kind of shady nonsense used to be how all this worked.
It’s how your phone bill works. It’s how your internet bill works (if you’re with the major companies). You’ll never pay exactly the advertised rate.
This is old school, sleazy business.
And it’s dying.
YouTube will charge me exactly $40/hr. If I cancel I cancel. Their product is better, their pricing is better.
Startups will continue to eat these old school companies and eat their jobs as well. You can complain about this job loss but this is how a free market is supposed to work. Their product is better. Their service is better.
Amazon is taking so many retail jobs (and yes, segregating wealth to a smaller numbe rof people, namely their shareholders). But their product is better.
I’ve accidentally ordered things I don’t want and they just refund me on the spot and say just keep it or donate it. That’s customer service. Not lies like “we don’t have any record of this”.
Others have stories just like mine about DIRECTV.
The best part is that other people have posted these stories on the AT&T forum.
- This person was promised NFL Sunday Ticket and a reduced price to stay. He never got Sunday Ticket. When he called they said they see no evidence of it. He, like me, was also threatened with an early termination fee.
- This person was promised a promotional rate that they never received.
- In 2010 the Arizona Attorney General’s office ruled that DIRECTV had to pay $185,000 in damages to consumers due to fraudulent business practices
- A local CBS news station investigated and found clear evidence of fraud similar to what I outlined here. Note AT&T’s contracts make us agree not to file a class action lawsuit, so there’s little we can do.
Both people say the calls are recorded but DIRECTV refuses to listen to the recordings. The reps say they are not authorized.
What are you hiding? Why can’t we listen to a recording together?
They are putting us on hold for 20–30 minutes, we could save so much time by just listening to the recording.
This is not an isolated incident. It suggests this is a pattern of lying to customers to keep them.
It’s sad.
If you have a story like this, mention it in the comments. I can also add them here in this story.
