After many years of rising prices and dropped channels from Comcast, I decided to take advantage of DirecTV’s mid-level introductory package. I’m generally pleased, but I think when my commitment is over I’m switching to Dish Network. This will give me another year of reduced rates (then I can start over with Comcast and repeat the cycle ;D ), but I also have an issue with DirecTV that really annoys me. Here goes:
When you first sign up, DirecTV tells you that they will give you 4 satellite receivers for free. The first receiver has no leasing charges; each additional receiver will cost you $5 a month. I really only need two receivers, but, once or twice a year, I have out-of-state relatives who visit. When they’re here, I would like to be able to set up the guest bedroom with satellite. I explained this to DirecTV before I signed up, and the woman on the phone told me to 1) go ahead and order the 3 receivers, then 2) call DirecTV and specifically ask for a “temporary deactivation” so that “service will be stopped without the receiver being recalled.”
This sounded great, so I signed up and had the DirecTV guys come on out and install 3 receivers. After a few weeks, I called and asked for the temporary deactivation. There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a chilly reply that I couldn’t do this. Why not? Because DirecTV will only allow a temporary deactivation if you have purchased or otherwise managed to acquire your own satellite receiver and are not leasing one from DirecTV. Why hadn’t the customer service saleswoman told me this when I was in the process of ordering the three receivers from her? This new rep didn’t know, but it didn’t matter anyway because there was nothing she could do. I could either continue paying the lease for a box which would rarely be used, or I could pack the thing up and mail it back to them. I chose the latter. But before I hung up, I again explained the reason I opted for 3 receivers in the first place (relatives coming, would like to wire a room for only a month) and asked if I could still do this at Christmas. She said yes. I then went through it again, telling her that I would only need an extra receiver for a month and would then want to return it. She told me not to worry and that DirecTV would be able to “accommodate” me.
So now it’s approaching Christmas, and I’ve been screwed again. I called DirecTV and was told that these are the terms of their “accommodation”:
1. Additional receiver fee: $69
2. Delivery fee: $19
3. Installation fee: $49
4. Extra lease fee: $5 for this month, plus I would have to extend my overall contract with DirecTV for an additional year with all 3 receivers.
Some deal huh? A $19 delivery fee in addition to the installer fee? Very nice. And what would the installer have to do for his $49? Oh, you know, just take the coaxial cable which is already in the bedroom, screw it into the back of the receiver, then attach another short cable from the receiver to the TV. This would take about 5 minutes tops.
I had hoped that DirecTV would actually try to work with me. I was willing to pick up the receiver myself from any local distribution point, install the thing myself, and hand-deliver it back to them in pristine condition. I was willing to pay them as much as $50 for this one-month service, but I guess they decided it would be better to just gouge their customers. That’s their right, but I think it’s a mistake. For a limited investment of goodwill on their part, they could have had a mostly-satisfied customer showing a potential new customer how great satellite TV can be. Well guess what? That’s not gonna happen now. My relatives will still get satellite TV in their bedroom, but that’s only because I’ve been wiring up TVs and VCRs and stereos for years and know how to network extra TVs to my bedroom’s satellite receiver with a simple device called a remote control extender. This won’t allow independent channel-changing for the 2 bedrooms (i.e. whatever channel is selected on one TV is by default on the other), but we can make it work. Plus, I got a great remote control extender at Amazon for about $38. That’s a far cry from the $200 I would have to shell out for DirecTV’s “accommodation.” And instead of selling anyone on the benefits of DirecTV, I’ll just tell them how they’ve misled me and how they tried (in my opinion) to take advantage of me. Oh yeah, I’ll also tell them how, no matter what DirecTV says, their signal does go out all the time during inclement weather. What about those TV and print ads that boast a 99.9% reliability figure? Well let’s just say that I’m 99.9% sure my signal will be dropped whenever there’s a thunderstorm in a 10-county radius.
Anyways, that’s my rant. I will now yield for comments.
When you first sign up, DirecTV tells you that they will give you 4 satellite receivers for free. The first receiver has no leasing charges; each additional receiver will cost you $5 a month. I really only need two receivers, but, once or twice a year, I have out-of-state relatives who visit. When they’re here, I would like to be able to set up the guest bedroom with satellite. I explained this to DirecTV before I signed up, and the woman on the phone told me to 1) go ahead and order the 3 receivers, then 2) call DirecTV and specifically ask for a “temporary deactivation” so that “service will be stopped without the receiver being recalled.”
This sounded great, so I signed up and had the DirecTV guys come on out and install 3 receivers. After a few weeks, I called and asked for the temporary deactivation. There was a moment of silence on the other end, followed by a chilly reply that I couldn’t do this. Why not? Because DirecTV will only allow a temporary deactivation if you have purchased or otherwise managed to acquire your own satellite receiver and are not leasing one from DirecTV. Why hadn’t the customer service saleswoman told me this when I was in the process of ordering the three receivers from her? This new rep didn’t know, but it didn’t matter anyway because there was nothing she could do. I could either continue paying the lease for a box which would rarely be used, or I could pack the thing up and mail it back to them. I chose the latter. But before I hung up, I again explained the reason I opted for 3 receivers in the first place (relatives coming, would like to wire a room for only a month) and asked if I could still do this at Christmas. She said yes. I then went through it again, telling her that I would only need an extra receiver for a month and would then want to return it. She told me not to worry and that DirecTV would be able to “accommodate” me.
So now it’s approaching Christmas, and I’ve been screwed again. I called DirecTV and was told that these are the terms of their “accommodation”:
1. Additional receiver fee: $69
2. Delivery fee: $19
3. Installation fee: $49
4. Extra lease fee: $5 for this month, plus I would have to extend my overall contract with DirecTV for an additional year with all 3 receivers.
Some deal huh? A $19 delivery fee in addition to the installer fee? Very nice. And what would the installer have to do for his $49? Oh, you know, just take the coaxial cable which is already in the bedroom, screw it into the back of the receiver, then attach another short cable from the receiver to the TV. This would take about 5 minutes tops.
I had hoped that DirecTV would actually try to work with me. I was willing to pick up the receiver myself from any local distribution point, install the thing myself, and hand-deliver it back to them in pristine condition. I was willing to pay them as much as $50 for this one-month service, but I guess they decided it would be better to just gouge their customers. That’s their right, but I think it’s a mistake. For a limited investment of goodwill on their part, they could have had a mostly-satisfied customer showing a potential new customer how great satellite TV can be. Well guess what? That’s not gonna happen now. My relatives will still get satellite TV in their bedroom, but that’s only because I’ve been wiring up TVs and VCRs and stereos for years and know how to network extra TVs to my bedroom’s satellite receiver with a simple device called a remote control extender. This won’t allow independent channel-changing for the 2 bedrooms (i.e. whatever channel is selected on one TV is by default on the other), but we can make it work. Plus, I got a great remote control extender at Amazon for about $38. That’s a far cry from the $200 I would have to shell out for DirecTV’s “accommodation.” And instead of selling anyone on the benefits of DirecTV, I’ll just tell them how they’ve misled me and how they tried (in my opinion) to take advantage of me. Oh yeah, I’ll also tell them how, no matter what DirecTV says, their signal does go out all the time during inclement weather. What about those TV and print ads that boast a 99.9% reliability figure? Well let’s just say that I’m 99.9% sure my signal will be dropped whenever there’s a thunderstorm in a 10-county radius.
Anyways, that’s my rant. I will now yield for comments.
