Was it an error, or a sneaky upsell tactic? When Brandon’s grandfather moved, taking his DirecTV service along with him, he declined an extended warranty. The final paperwork for the installation included the unwanted warranty, however. When Brandon pointed this out, the installer noted that most people don’t notice this stealth warranty. Oh, yeah? Brandon declined again–so, of course, the warranty showed up on the next bill. [More]
satellite tv
Dish Gives Prospective Customers Preview Of Its Stellar Service
By 1.11.11
Mystern encountered this error message, which reads “Acquiring satellite signal,” while strolling by an unmanned Dish Network kiosk at a Utah mall. [More]
DirecTV To Raise Rates Feb. 1 — Can I Get Out?
By 1.3.11
Chris wants out of his DirecTV contract, and hopes that the upcoming rate increase (PDF link) will let him run free. [More]
Dish, Fox Hug It Out, Give Customers Back Channels They Were Paying For
By 11.1.10
Ending a standoff that lasted nearly a month, Fox and Dish decided late last week to stop bickering over viewers’ subscription fees and return It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and related inferior programming to the masses. [More]
Dish Charges Fee To Cancel Free Channel I Wouldn't Have Ordered
By 8.31.10
A Dish Network rep convinced Tripp to add Cinemax for a penny on a trial period. When the trial ran out, Tripp canceled and said the company stuck him with a cancellation fee it never told him about. [More]
DirecTV Apparently Didn't Trust Me To Pay Final Bill
By 8.26.10
Ian writes that he was once a DirecTV customer. He wasn’t unhappy with their service, and would have considered going back if the stars aligned correctly one day. Switching to Comcast, however, currently saves him $100 per month, which is nothing to sneeze at. What has Ian sneezing mad, however, is that while DirecTV told him that he’d receive a final bill to pay in the mail, the company instead went ahead and charged his credit card for the final bill without his permission. [More]
Why Is Dish Network Billing Me For Someone Else's Account?
By 8.20.10
Liza tells Consumerist that she signed up for Dish Network about a month ago, but ultimately didn’t keep the service because she couldn’t get reception. She still got the privilege of paying for the service, though, since someone put her billing information down for a different customer’s account. [More]
DirecTV Left Me At The Altar
By 8.12.10
Jeff wanted to upgrade his DirecTV service and sign a new two-year contract, but the company changed his appointment to a time he wasn’t available, then canceled it, all without his approval. [More]
DirecTV Finds Out It's Overcharged Me By $400, Forks It Over
By 8.4.10
Lance has a rare story of a company finding out about its own long-term mistake, owning up to it and offering to make good on the error before it’s caught. DirecTV discovered it had been double-billing him for premium channels for months and told Lance it would give him all the money back. [More]
DISH Network Ditches 4 HD Channels Over Squabble With Disney
By 6.23.10
DISH Network customers may have noticed that some of their favorite channels no longer seem as high-def as they were a few days ago. That’s because the satellite provider has dropped four Disney-owned channels in a dispute with the Mouse over carriage fees. [More]
Satellite Companies Drop HD Fees
By 6.9.10
DirecTV and Dish Network have both ditched their monthly HD surcharges, cutting about $10 off monthly bills, High-Def Digest reports. It’s a key step to compete with cable for customers. [More]
Sorry, You Only Get DirecTV Referral Bonus If You Call Special Referral Number
By 3.6.10
David referred a friend to DirecTV. The satellite provider has a pretty neat referral program, promising a discount to both the new customer and the person who referred them to DirecTV. Well, theoretically. David writes that he and his friend learned that in order to get their referral discounts, the new customer has to either sign up on the Web or call a special number. He didn’t know this, and now neither he nor his friend will get their discounts. [More]
Dish Customers To Get Their Tetris On For $3 A Month
By 2.8.10
You can either buy Tetris for $10 or less on a billion different platforms, or you could decide to shell out a $3 monthly fee for the old standby if you’re a Dish Network subscriber, Industry Gamers reports. [More]
DirecTV Marketer Steals DISH Customers Via 800 Number Squatting
By 11.16.09
A sneaky DirecTV marketer has bought up toll-free numbers that end in “DISH.” When DISH Network customers call up, the operators make it sound like they’re from Dish and offering them a free service upgrade, but in reality, they’re switching the service and slamming the Dish Network customer into a DirecTV service contract.
Televised Sports Battle: Who Is Astroturfing Whom?
By 10.24.09
Front groups for cable and satellite companies pretending to represent the interest of sports fans? Mysterious “sources” and leaks? This is nothing new to Consumerist readers, but our estranged siblings at Deadspin have some great information on a lobbying and PR war between thinly disguised groups working on behalf of DirectTV and the big cable companies, and their battle over fans and fees. Or is it?
Reach DirecTV On Twitter
By 6.6.09
DirecTV is on Twitter. Tell them your problems, or how awesome they are. Whichever comes to mind first.
DirecTV Demands Nearly $500 For Canceled Service You Couldn't Use
By 3.21.09
DirecTV agreed to let Anthony cancel his service without an early termination fee because his signal would randomly fade away without explanation. What DirecTV really meant though was that they would let Anthony cancel if he paid a final bill of $446.69. After speaking with two agents who agreed that the fee should have been waived, DirecTV reduced Anthony’s bill to $445.42. A third agent told Anthony that he would need to negotiate any further deductions in writing with the dispute department…
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:
