Pete likes DirecTV and really has no intention of leaving, but he noticed a fantastic “$250 deal” for new customers only in his copy of AAA magazine, so he called up DirecTV and asked what they could do for current customers. This simple phone call saved him over $120 a year.
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DirecTV Installer Tips Himself By Stealing Your Roll Of Quarters And Gun
By 12.30.08
Reader Angel writes that a DirecTV installer in Oklahoma added a cable to her house, and subtracted $10 in quarters and a nine millimeter.
Executive Email Carpet Bomb Pounds DirecTV Into Submission
By 12.17.08
Reader Jesse was having an awful time explaining a simple problem to DirecTV. Thankfully, the EECB (Executive Email Carpet Bomb) was just the thing.
Reach DirecTV Executive Customer Service
By 10.2.08
Here are some executive email addresses and phone numbers if you need to escalate an unresolved problem with DirecTV:
DirecTV Debits A $446.60 Cancellation Fee — For Service You Canceled Within 24 Hours
By 10.1.08
Meet Brandon. He canceled DirecTV after less than 24 hours (the agreed upon time limit to avoid a fee, apparently), only to see that DirecTV debited $446.60 from his checking account.
Readers Share Stories Of Trying To Save By Threatening To Cancel
By 9.25.08
Yesterday we told you about a man who saved $238.92 per year on his Comcast bill by threatening to cancel and getting a discount to keep him around. Numerous readers chimed in in the comments with their tales of victory using the same method, tales of failure, and a few company employees shared their insider perspective. Ive rounded up the comments and sorted them by the aforementioned categories so you may learn from their tips and tricks to save on your cable bill. Some of the same tactics can be applied to other services, like cellphone or credit cards, as well…
Video: Whoopi Wants Her DirecTV Fixed, And Sherri Wants To Speak To Your Supervisor
By 9.16.08
If you’ve ever wanted to see the rants from angry Consumerist tipsters brought to life by the woman who played Patrick Swayze in “Ghost,” here ya go—although Sherri Shephard is actually a bit funnier, describing how the Time Warner CSR makes her go to an evil place. Seen here is Shephard letting out the evil because of the CSR who tells her, “Well my supervisor is going to say the same thing.” Video clip below.
DirecTV Install Imbroglio Makes Longtime Customer Want To Destroy Furniture
By 9.16.08
While we’re waiting on our video boys to harvest the clip of Whoopie’s rant against DirecTV on The View this morning, here’s a little reader-submitted DirecTV install nightmare to tide you over. Andy used to think DirecTV was pretty good, but his experience trying to get them to hook up an HD/DVR to his TV has felt him feeling like he is “going to explode, or destroy pieces of furniture.”
DirecTV Installer: You Can't Have DirecTV. Stop Trying.
By 8.24.08
Mark had an impossible request for DirecTV: a one-line DVR and a SWM (Single Wire Multiline) Dish. Sure, it might seem like a normal work order, but the subcontracted installer, Bluegrass Satellite, couldn’t secure permission to install the necessary components even after several three-way calls with DirectTV. One exasperated installer explained that Mark wasn’t eligible to receive the equipment and gently told him: “[You] cannot have DirecTV and should stop trying.”
DirecTV Force-Feeds You Movies
By 8.8.08
DirecTV customers are complaining that a software upgrade is shoving pay-per-view movies onto their DVR hard-drives, eating up disc-space and causing headaches. Tipster Buzwardo says, “I find it pretty darn annoying that DirecTV is sending me PPV content that I now have to make sure my kids don’t play.” More complaints can be found in the DirecTV Forums.
DirecTV Installer Faces Seven Years Behind Bars After Stealing $5,400 From A Customer
By 7.20.08
21-year-old DirecTV installer Arthur Christian faces felony grand larceny charges after allegedly stealing $5,400 from a locked safe while working unsupervised in a customer’s basement.
DirecTV Installer Arrives, Poops, And Leaves, But Doesn't Install DirecTV
By 6.18.08
It’s hard to fit everything you need to do into an average day, but this ingenious DirecTV installer found a way to show up late to his appointments, take a break for lunch, and drop the kids off at the pool—all before 5pm! Now if only he’ll remember to bring a ladder with him the next time so he can actually complete the installation.
Check Serial Numbers On Used Service Gadgets Before Buying
By 6.11.08
Reader Mike reports he got screwed buying a used TiVo off eBay. It turned out 1) It would need a new $20 access card for DirecTV to activate it and 2) DirecTV wouldn’t authorize sending a new access card because the box was linked to a defaulted account. The lesson Mike says he learned is that, “If anyone plans on buying any used DirectTV equipment make sure you call DirectTV with the Serial Number and RID number off the unit BEFORE you purchase it to make sure it’s not coming from a defaulted account. If not, you chance buying an electronic brick.” This is true when buying other used electronic service items with service contracts linked to them, like cellphones.
Emailing The CEO Of DirecTV Solves All Your Installation Problems
By 5.30.08
Reader Mark ordered DirecTV and waited patently for the installer. And waited. And rescheduled. And waited. Luckily, Mark knew that he might want to order DirecTV in the future, and he’d made a note of CEO Chase Carey’s email address when we posted it.
Dish Network Adds 22 Channels, Issues Bragging Press Release, Then Yanks 15
By 5.15.08
Want to convince people you offer as much HD as DirecTV without, you know, having to actually do it? Add 22 HD channels, issue a press release bragging about it, then yank 15 of your older channels while the press isn’t looking. That’s what Dish Network did according to TVPredictions.com:
DirecTV Makes You Pay Termination Fee Even If You Can't Use Their Service
By 5.6.08
DirecTV is a lying pack of liars. They told Ian that if he moved to a place where he couldn’t use his dish, then they would let him out of contract without early termination fee (ETF). Well guess what? He moved to a place without a balcony or roof access. Double guess what: Now DirecTV says he has to pay an ETF and they say there’s no record of all those reps telling him that, and that that’s not part of their policy. Triple guess what: Ian called up DirecTV sales and recorded their sales rep telling him that they DO let you out of contract if you move to a new place where you can’t use DirecTV. Are DirecTV retention reps just not versed on company policy, or are they a pack of scumbags? I dunno, but you know what they say, never trust a company run by a man in a mustache. Ian’s audio recording and letter to the CEO of DirecTV is inside…
Time Warner Wants $9,060 To Let You Have Cable
By 4.18.08
Reader “phillipe23” wants cable service, but because of his rural location it will cost him $9,060. He already has satellite, but his reception is very spotty. It seems that when the bad weather rolls in his service goes out. Clinging to the the hope that cable could be the answer to his problems, he contacted Time Warner for some relief. So what did the ever-sympathetic cable giant have to say? phillipe23’s letter, and our advice, inside…
