Time to take these assclowns to court.

Absolutely. This is exactly what courts are for.

Mustache rides: $1*
*With purchase of two year agreement, actual price may vary depending on options.

I originally wanted to call this post "There's No Such Thing As A Free Mustache Ride," but Ben wouldn't let me.

Circular logic AHOY!

As soon as the rep from the office had said that he must have been notified because he is under a commitment and policy is to tell somebody about that, I'd have countered with somerhting along the lines of, "Oh great! Glad to hear that since I wasn't notified about this I'm actually NOT on a commitment."

No, actually while that would have been cathartic, it wouldn't have gotten anybody anywhere. I probably would have pointed out that his argument is using fallacies of logic, and therefore doesn't hold water.

What happened to the dog? I hope he/she is OK. I love Beagles.

He's got the perfect villain's 'stache. I wonder if he twists the ends while hatching his evil schemes.

I would sue for the amount. I would also move to have the court force Chase to shave the stash as punitive renumeration.

See how fast he gets a settlement then. Hit 'em where it hurts, Chuck!

You pretty much have to sue them in small claims court now. Nothing left.

But don't stop there. Write to the BBB, and send a copy of everything to your state attorney general.
And maybe to whichever government agency handles satellite stuff.

Finally, contact your local "___ On Your Side" news reporter (where "___" is the channel number) and keep politely calling till you find one that is interested and will broadcast your story. Or maybe your local newspaper or indy news source.

By all means, send written proof to your credit card company that you were re-billed. Make sure you share that part with everyone you come in contact with, as that seems to be fraudulent on their part.

Actually...start by informing AMEX...I bet they would have something to say about that...

The moustache is probably hiding a set of fangs.

@NoWin: The moustache has its own fangs...he doesn't need any :D

Also, contact your local postmaster as this may qualify as mail fraud.

I would bet that Amex would be willing to help you out here.

Am I the only one surprised that they have a line-item selection for "Credit Card Payment Reversal" in their billing system?

@marsneedsrabbits: One caveat. In some states the AG's office can't pursue action if there is a pending court case on the issue. They should check with the state on this in their state before deciding what to do first.
I had a dentist trying to run a scam use the court filing tactic to block the AG's investigation - twice.

1.) Nice mustache.

2.) Court time - refusing to pay the bill will just result in negative information appearing on your Credit Report, which you may not notice for several months.

@valarmorghulis: She essentially had no response other than to repeat that the commitment was valid and to reiterate the policy when I asked for proof. She was nothing more than an automaton halfwit who had to work on Saturday.

She called on my cell (which, in fairness, I gave in the letter), but I also got the pleasure of paying for the call.

They're still better than Comcast.

Former CSR here. It is policy to inform everytime that we issue new equipment about the commitment extension, however we are all humans and the CSR may have forgotten with no bad intention on his behalf. However, good negotiation with Retentions (Where you go immediately after saying "I want to cancel") Can get you a lot of freebies and discounts if your account is in good standing and I'm just assuming that when you said "I want to cancel" you didn't have the best of attitudes to let retentions give you something back for all your troubles (come on, they can waive almost anything, EVEN commitments if you are as you say a 4 year good standing customer).

On the other hand, ALL calls are recorded and are archived so they must have the call when you got the new equipment and didn't inform you of the commitment so they're pretty F.U. if you go to small claims, which I would do.

Not much is left to do with CSR and Retentions as you can't be saved they won't make a lot of effort to help you.

Yes, funny they have a billing line item for that. The only way I can think of legitimately using that is if you ask them to refund your credit card for some reason and bill you directly, perhaps when cancelling credit card auto pay?

In reference to this case, Chase Carey was quote as saying, "He'll rue the day he crossed me! MUUUUUUuuuuhahahhahhahahahaa!

Pay the bill with your AmEx, then reverse the charges again! Repeat as needed.

P.S. This is not a serious suggestion. Actually, do what everyone above me is saying.

@am84: The pooch is fine. It was the first time she had ever gotten out. We found her a few blocks over huddling terrified in a neighbor's driveway. For non-beagle folks out there, unless you hunt with them, beagles can't ever be let out without a lead - they get on a scent and track it until it ends.

At the time, we lived on the corner of a very busy 4-lane street. My dog isn't the smartest in the world, and my wife was terrified that she was a spot in the road.

@Crymson_77: @homerjay: I originally had mentioned that, but after looking at the Merchant Agreement, I was surprised to see that there is no requirement that merchants adhere to the chargeback or any other kind of good faith standard. That's really disappointing. Nonetheless, Chuck could probably pay the new charge with his AmEx, then dispute it, and just keep doing that until AmEx or DirecTV gave up, but I think even going to court would be easier than that.

I had many DTV people refuse my valid claim of an unjust termination fee. This letter resulted in them reversing it and sending me a check for my remaining balance:

Billing Disputes
DirecTV
PO Box 6550
Greenwood Village, CO 80155

Dear sir or madam:
I am writing to express dispute with an early cancellation fee charged to my account. The fee in question was in regards to a 2 year service commitment for discounts when upgrading from standard DirecTV service to high definition.

I have escalated this issue as high as they will allow me through the customer support line. This letter is to serve as notice that I dispute your assessment of a cancellation fee. Should you wish to discuss this issue with me, please do so by mail.

Should this issue move to collection or affect my credit rating in any manner, I will proceed by exercising my rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

oops. In the middle there was supposed to be -succinct statement of the facts behind my dispute-

@Crymson_77: I'd agree here. Send the bill to AmEx along with a copy of their own resolution letter. What's the point of chargebacks if all companies do is just bill you again? I'd say AmEx will probably have something to say.

And if that doesn't work, do go to small claims court. As the DTV rep says, sometimes people forget -- and that failure cost DTV a contract. It's their fault they didn't get that confirmation, and as a result of not getting it they've got someone who has every right to cancel service without penalty.

@Murph1908: Awesome. Thanks for the template. I'll take advantage of that, as well.

"After discussing the issue with one CSR on 12/13, he threatened that DirecTV would "post the amount to my credit report if I didn't pay the disconnect fee"."

Hello FCRA violation. I'm sure it's not the only one. Let them charge you the disconnect fee in exchange for the $1,000 per violation that they just ringed up.

agreed. nice mustache indeed

Court time, and while at it, make sure u sue for 10mil. just because it destroyed your sex lixe (making all those calls takes times) and therefore your marriage too. lol jk!

Yeah he should just go to small claims court, I think he already dealt with them long enough

@marsneedsrabbits: Small claims court won't work for me, as I'm an hourly employee. By the time I took off all the time I would need to go down and file a case, and then go to the trial, I would have lost more income than they're charging me. I think the best thing for me to do is to write the letter to DirecTV as Murph suggests, and call the BBB/Attorney General. I'll follow up with American Express, but without any expectations.

We had terrible trouble with Direct TV a few years ago. They even had the nerve to call us liars over the phone. We now enjoy Dish Network.

Small Claims Court. Get in touch with AmEx too. Their Legal will go up through 4 floors in their tower before coming to a stop, then drop the hammer on Mr. Mustache.
Oh, and all this sent to the AG would be a smart play too.

You know, after reading this site, I'm scared to shop or do business with anyone.

DirectTV used to be respectable a few years back. I guess they need to catch up to Comcast. How sad.

@m4ximusprim3: You can't actually sue for punishment damages under contract law. You can only sue for enough damages to cover your loss. Sadly, removing a squirrel's tail from a man's face just isn't covered.

DirecTV is scum. They don't care at all about the customer and have been historically known for extorting money out of people that have done nothing to deserve it. Remember all of 'the letter' lawsuits that they were sending out to every tom, dick, and grandmother? They are as bad as the RIAA. Extorting people for money with the threat of a lawsuit if they don't comply.

Sue 'em sue 'em sue 'em!

@Sam2k: You can sue for punitive damage if you're suing for fraud.

Reminds me of this guy
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[IMG][i10.photobucket.com]]

Reminds me of a time when I was a dumb college student and Allfirst (now M&T) Bank put a stop payment order on a check (for rent) when I called about funds. Their stance was that they don't put a hold order without consent, therefore I must have consented. Bah! It cost a lot of time, hassle and money.

DirecTV is a strange company. My girlfriend and I had the service for a year in separate apartments through the complex (two receivers, no dish, just through the apartments system.) We were satisfied enough with the service.

At the end of the year we were moving in together in a different complex, so I called their moving division to get me setup at the new place. That's when it went to hell. I just needed a dish, and I wanted a new DVR receiver.

Their moving department hungup on me a couple times, lied to me about how my account was setup. Then swore to me that my girlfriend had a dish already, and eventually told me that it would probably be easier for me to start over.

I started over with Dish Network. DirecTV billed me for a cancellation of $12 or something. I paid it. They still send "we want you back" letters every few months.

That CEO's workday:

8:00am: arrive in black carriage pulled by black steeds
8:15am: wax the 'stache
9:00am: make bundles of dynamite sticks, complete with alarm clock trigger
10:30am: tie maiden to railroad tracks
12:00 noon: lunchtime duel with archrival
2:15pm: wax the 'stache
3:00pm: review diabolical plans to take over the world
4:45pm: leave in black carriage pulled by black steeds
5:05pm: pick up black top hat from cleaners

I called their moving division to get me setup at the new place. That's when it went to hell. I just needed a dish, and I wanted a new DVR receiver.

This seems to be a common theme here...everything's great until the move. Customer gets screwed by the moving department. It almost seems worth it just to pay the ETF (if any) to get out of the contract, then start as a new customer at the new address. If they won't give you the new customer deal, go with the competitor who will give the deal.

@wallapuctus: I am beginning to feel the same. Is everyone out to screw everyone?

Now Chuck, follow each and every advice you've heard from Alex and some of the commenters here and Directv will have one heck of a mess to clean up.

Asshats. When will companies learn that if we didn't agree to nor signed a contract, they are not automatically binding to us. If we did, that's another story!

I'd call Amex and tell them that Directv is billing him for the successful dispute. They won't like that.

2 Questions:
1. When I signed up for a 2-year contract with DirecTV, the ETF for an "Advanced receiver" was "upto $300". It's now "upto $480". Which amount will I be responsible for - I'm guessing "300", since that's the contract I signed. Does DirecTV prorate ETF based on length of time "served"! as a customer?

2. When I ordered service, I asked what would happen if I needed to move to a new apartment where DirecTV could not be installed (because the patio/balcony was not South facing). The sales rep told me that the ETF would be waived in that case, but I have no written proof of that exchange. Based on people's experience with DirecTV lately, I'm guessing that was just a crock of sh** to get me to sign up? Will DirecTV bother/deign to look up that audio recording if I say so, just to help me cancel without ETF?!