DirecTV Review

I ordered DirecTV after years of being with Verizon. When I contacted the customer service/sales department, they were very big on making a very favorable and positive impression. I proceeded forward with placing the order and was initially told that I had to wait thirty days for the installation because they were backlogged. Please note that I live in a suburb of Baltimore, so it is in a major metropolitan city, so it was odd that the order was backed up that far.

In any event, I accepted the thirty days and called over the next few days and got a earlier installation date assigned. I have to also add that I have excellent credit and qualified for everything that they had to offer without requiring and security deposits etc and was under the IMPRESSION that I got the free HD DVR upgrade that they advertised everywhere. When the Tech's came out to install, I repeatedly asked them where the HD DVR boxes are and I was told that it wasn't in my order so they were only installing one standard box and two HD boxes without DVR.

So over the next week 7 days, I contacted DirecTV over email and telephone multiple times, even speaking to Supervisors. They REFUSED to provide me with HD DVR upgrades within the first week of the installation and I was told that I had to pay a total of $199 in order to purchase a HD DVR box, and again, this is within the FIRST WEEK OF INSTALLATION. So naturally, I asked if I could just go ahead and cancel the service and I was told that I had to pay $520 for the remaining 24 months of my contract. I was VERY tempted to do exactly that but I wouldn't give this company the satisfaction of collecting my $520.

Their customer service department was rude and argumentative and very non conforming and it was arguably the worst customer service experience I have had. Every month that I pay the bill, I feel satisfied knowing that I am another month closer to ending my contract with them and I look forward to that day when I can cancel without penalty and smile, knowing that I'm going to switch to a better satellite company.

If a company provides over the phone service assistance, the people answering the phone should have a basic clue about the services their company provides and how they work. This basic concept has escaped the folks at DirecTV, and they get downright pissed off if you correct them regarding their lack of knowledge about how their services and devices should work. Do not quote information from their user manuals, this just rubs salt in their already festering wounds. Do not ask to speak to a supervisor, they are less knowledgeable than their person that answered the call to begin with. They will usually disconnect your call.

Don't even ask for a credit for the services they are not providing. And never get tricked into signing up for their "Protection Plan", in which they claim they will replace devices when a problem cannot be resolved over the phone; but be aware you have to do a lot of complaining to get this to happen. They will tell you the problem will be referred to their technical staff with no commitment to ever tell you if or when the issue is or is not resolved.

We decided to move up to a DVR from a basic receiver after many years with DirecTV. They were easy to deal with and set the appointment up and installed the DVR in a short time. My rates have been climbing like crazy from them lately and I decided to switch to a local company for service. When I called to cancel my service, I was told I would have to pay early termination fees. I was never told I would be entering into a new contract to get the DVR or I would not have done it. They are trying to say I was told and notified when I know that I was not told. They said they will leave all of my information set up in case I come back, but I do not think they will have to worry about that happening.

I do NOT recommend DirecTV. If I had it to do over again, I would not sign a contract with these people. List of problems:

1. Overcharges -- double charges for Showtime & HBO when I hadn't signed up for either services. They were only going to remove charges for the last 60 days because it was my responsibility to check monthly and make sure they were charging the agreed to amount.

2. 2 broken receivers, which means no cable. Here's the kicker - if though it is their product that breaks down, no fault of you, customer pays shipping. First time I paid for service for the days I didn't have cable, this time I got them to credit my account for lost time. The first time it broke, they assumed it was the remote. So first, they tried replacing the remote… about a month into service, I finally got cable.

3. Watcha the promises they make when trying to get you to sign a contract. They will say whatever it takes and then not follow through. I told them no HBO or Showtime and I did not want to have to call & cancel after three months, I was told no problem, only to find out they added it and started charging my account.

4. Not if you Google DirecTV, call the number so sign up, it might be a 3rd party. So DirecTV will take no responsibility for the false promises.

5. The dish does not work during big snowstorms & blizzards. So those days you get off work because of a blizzard, your cable won't work. Nobody tells you this.

Note: By many people I've been told I have infinite patience, but really DirecTV has worn my last nerve. DO NOT SIGN UP FOR THEIR SERVICES!

I had DirecTV for almost 8 years and I was very happy with their service and it was a good alternative to Comcast with a full digital lineup for several years. My issues started when they decided not to partner with TV anymore and push their piece of junk DVR on everyone. I got their first generation non-HD DVR, and soon after, started getting skips, having to reset it constantly, etc. Had it swapped out a couple of times. Now this one won't rewind live TV unless I completely low level format it for 3 hours and then it will work again for about three days. Their HD DVR was a little better, but sure enough, after less than a year, similar issues and this one had to be replaced too.

When it got replaced the last time, they took away the ability so I could get off-the-air HD from my local stations unless I bought this new box from them that costed another hundred bucks, and they wouldn't give me the old model as a replacement. I finally completed my contract and scheduled to have it removed on Feb. 11th. They screwed up and disconnected me a month early.

Then, when I called them to restore my service for the last month I planned on using them, they treated me like crap, never apologized for their error disconnecting me a month early, and had the nerve to tell me how their crappy DVR is better than TiVo, and they couldn't give me my old service plan back. I was persistent, and after getting hung up two times by their supervisors, they finally gave in and restored all of my programming which the first two said was impossible.

Before this experience, I would have considered them in the future.Now, I will never do business with them again. So long jerks at DirecTV, you really need to learn something about customer service and trying to make things right. BTW DirecTV, I have a first generation TV that is now over ten years old and it has never skipped a beat (lifetime subscription baby) and yours is not better!

I ordered a DVR to my service which has outlived the initial contract. I WAS NOT informed there would be a new 2 year contract. When the Lease Agreement was given to me to sign - after the installer had spent over an hour installing it all - I asked what it was about. Placed a call to DirecTV and was told about the 2 year commitment. I told the installer (and DirecTV c/s) to cancel the order, and to remove it, which they did. The installer mentioned he wouldn't be paid for the job since I cancelled. He was very nice! I felt for him.

Spent over an hour on the phone with DirecTV today (since the promised 24 hour return call from a supervisor never happened the day before). Was hung up on two different times and was treated very rudely by a supervisor. She insisted I HAD been told about the additional contract in the ORIGINAL paperwork when I first signed up for Direct. I did receive a pathetic, "I do apologize, but that particular operator isn't in MY call center," but was again informed I'd been told about that when I originally signed up over 3 years ago.

I told her I was going to cancel my service as soon as I made a decision as to who to go with and asked if there were any cancellation fees there. She said no since I am not under a contract with them now. Oh, how I hope they remember that (HA!) Was told about FedEx sending me boxes to return their equipment and that I had 14-21 days from the time DirecTV sends the order for the boxes for them to receive the equipment! When I asked about the possibility of the boxes not getting to me and/or the equipment to them within that 14-21 day time period, I was hung up on - again!

I have been told by friends who have experienced that very problem when they have returned the equipment, they deny receiving it and bill you $400-$600! I am now remembering that I am pretty sure I signed some paper when the installer first came! I am sure praying THAT won't bite me later! All anyone has to do is google DirecTV complaints and you will read story after story about this and many other deceptive practices. If only I had done that first… but who would have thought! I can't wait to get away from them!

If you record a TV program using a DirecTV DVR, you may or may not actually be able to play it back. On several occasions, I have had a recorded program cut off in mid-viewing and send me back to the beginning of the program. There is no way past this problem. So be warned: If you set your DVR, it's going to be a crap shoot whether or not you actually get to view the program.

Several calls to DirecTV did not give me a fix. And, of course, if they come to my house, I'm the one who will have to pay to MAYBE get it fixed. Clearly, this is a problem either with DirecTV reception or with my recording device, both of which are company problems. Also, be warned that even a rain shower can affect your reception and cause you to have to reset everything, losing all your settings.

DirecTV telephone sales representative confirmed and agreed that there would not be a renewed two year time commitment due to a service upgrade to DVR. Acceptance of the upgrade hinged on the belief that there would be no renewed time commitment. After installation DirecTV did, in fact, establish a renewed two year time commitment on the account. Even after a return of the product/service, DirecTV will not remove the new time commitment. This practice is unethical, deceptive and deceitful.

DirecTV expects you to stay locked in with their 2 year contract even when their equipment don't work to basic standards and they expect you to keep on buying additional parts to have their DVR to see the remote control. About a month ago, we switched from Dish Network to DirecTV, through our phone company, to lower our monthly bill. Within 3 days of installation, we realized that the only way to use the remote control was to get off of our couch and move 4 feet forward and switch the channels.

I called them and got the issue escalated to "retention" department, who are ruder than the customer service. They insisted that I had to buy a "radio remote" for additional fee. Our Dish Network remote of 5 yr technology worked fine from the couch, our universal remote worked fine from the couch on Dish Network. Now the universal remote is not working from the couch either. I told him it was not the remote control. He insisted to send me another remote control that was exactly the same one I was using, for no charge. Of course, it didn't work and the bill showed up where they charged for it anyway.

I called them today, they said they'll give me credit for the remote but unless I paid for another "radio frequency" remote control or go to BEST Buy and buy another remote. I am stuck with the equipment that they gave me for two years. There is no guarantee that these additional remotes will solve the problem… the problem is from the DVR, which they won't admit it. I also found out today that I had only 24-hr window to call and cancel the service after installation. I was not told that.

Do NOT switch to DirecTV. They don't disclose critical issues relating to the customer, and once they got you in their 2 year contract, you are stuck with their substandard equipment for the entire time. Very Unhappy DirecTV new customer.

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA -- Few months ago, I signed a service agreement with DirecTV for the satellite TV with a DVR box. I couple weeks after the installation, the DVR stop working and my nightmares with the DirecTV customer service began. The DirecTV support admitted they have problems with the DVR system they offered, but DirecTV engineers were already working on the problem. Of course my reaction was, if the DVR is not ready for consume I want to cancel the service. Well, said the representative, you have signed a 2 years agreement and to cancel it, a fine of $480 applies.

After 5 months, finally, they decide to replace the DVR, but only if I paid $72 for the technician visit. When I refuse to pay, they say that either I paid or no service. Then when I threatened to go to court, Direct representative offered a deal: She said, "you pay and we reimburse the same amount in 6 installments". To avoid more stress, I accept and paid. So far, I have not received the reimbursements as promised by the customer service.

When the technician came home and saw the DVR, he promptly said that model was a lemon and he would install the new model. To make things worse, the new DVR also has problems and need to be reset often, but the fast forwarding function, most of the time, forwards to the end of the program. Needless to say, it's useless. I'm giving DirecTV one more chance to get things right, after I'll be putting a formal complaint with Better Business Bureau.

My advice for those considering DirecTV; before doing business with DirecTV, make sure to put in writing the conditions to be able to discontinue the service in cases of poor service; being it poor equipment, poor signal, etc... without penalties. The only and only reason I'm still DirecTV customer is because of the steep fine (and it quite possible I'm not the only one).