Worst Experience Ever - Do NOT use Direct TV!

by Steven
(Houston, TX)

This has been the worst experience of any service I have ever purchased. My girl friend called Direct TV and told the sales representative on what she wanted, HD, DVR, etc.

The lady told my girlfriend a price for a package that would include everything she asked for. Our installation date was set for three weeks later.

When our date of installation finally came, no one showed up or called. When we called them back, they told us the tech went to the wrong place, and called some crazy phone number (you have to give them YOUR phone number on the account just to speak to a customer service representative).

I didn’t want to wait another three weeks for installation, so I spent two whole days on the phone and finally got a supervisor to approve an installation later that a week.

The tech shows up and starts installing a regular HD box, I asked to stop so I could straighten this out with customer service.

He refused and activated the equipment anyway. He needed to borrow my screwdriver as well, which I never saw again.

He also failed to seal up one of the two holes he drilled in the outside walls of our apartment. He left boxes, wires, and connectors everywhere. A mess I had to clean..

When I called after the tech left, they told me I had to pay $100 to upgrade to the HD receiver. I also discovered that I was in a 2 year contract, which I was not told about, and I never received the Terms of Service in the mail either.

I also found out that the rate we were originally told was only after a rebate (valid for the first 12 months ONLY) and that it takes about TWO months to process.

So basically you get the rate you were told about for 10 months, and you get ripped off the other 14 months.

Nothing we were told was straight forward at all. Needless to say, we canceled our service and they have already charged my debit card $550 for early cancellation fees without any opportunity to dispute the charge.

This company is not straight forward about selling you a package, and their customer service is HORRIBLE.

I spoke with so many different people in that past two months, and basically none of them have any authority to do anything to help you.

The actual picture is even bad as well. I bought an HD antenna from Wal-Mart and it gets way better picture. Please don’t fall into this trap.