Consumers Ask Court to Stop DIRECTV from Taking Disputed 'Cancellation Fees'

[deathmetal]

maybee the best way to cancel is to just stop paying your bill,it may pay to just be a beadbeat,they will shut you off pretty quick.you didnt "dump" them,you just couldnt pay.

 

[cfb]

They'd just charge your bill and your cancellation fee to your credit card or withdraw it from your bank account, which is the main thread topic.

Good profile pic though...

 

[charper1]

See thats where the problem is. At no point in the years of working with directv did anyone ever tell me "There is a contract period attached with this offer" or "we will take money from your bank account or charge your card a termination fee". Its in the lease agreement if someone takes the time to read it, and its in the fine print on the back of the installation documents.

When I signed up with directv, the nice lady asked for either my bank or credit card information and told me it was for credit approval prior to the installation. Never said it would be retained and used. I voluntarily gave them the other to facilitate automatic bill paying, and at no time during that process was I advised that it could be used to extract penalties or other fees.

I'm sure there was a link somewhere that led to a document that had this as the 37th paragraph. Customers need to be admonished regarding these fees and how directv may take the payment without asking. When engaging them online, this information should be right on the front page in 20 point font, safety orange.

But of course they dont. If they did that, a good number of customers would decide against signing up. I guess once those folks discovered that almost everyone whacks you with a long commitment they might come back.

All that having been said, the worst customer experience of my life came at the hands of Dish Network. They ran me through the ringer on cancellation including requiring me to climb up on my 3rd story roof to remove the lnb and mail it back to them, and the customer service people were absolute jerks to me.

So while I was up there, I took their dish down too, and right under where "Dish" is painted on it, I spray painted "sucks" and hung it with a piece of wire from the highway ramp entrance sign near my house...

(Paraphrasing) In the service agreements, contracts, or whatever we are calling them, there is a part about YOU (the customer) acknowledging that you have completely read, fully understand and AGREE to ALL the terms and conditions.

YES, the onus is placed more at the foot of the customer; but its in there. And most folk either skim or don't read the things and agree. YES, they should be better.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Read my article in Multichannel and read what happened to me today...

Something needs some serious fixing at DirecTV.

 

[Ayjent]

(Paraphrasing) In the service agreements, contracts, or whatever we are calling them, there is a part about YOU (the customer) acknowledging that you have completely read, fully understand and AGREE to ALL the terms and conditions.

YES, the onus is placed more at the foot of the customer; but its in there. And most folk either skim or don't read the things and agree. YES, they should be better.

Yes there is an obligation to read the agreement, but what if your understanding is different than DirecTV's? These are agreements that are a combination of (a) legal boilerplate that has understanding to legal professionals and (b) ambiguous provisions that are simply stretching the limits of what is legal to do to customers and have not been tested in courts.

For instance, as I pointed out in a previous post, Section 4 of the Customer Agreement makes it clear that a new agreement is being formed when terms and conditions change and a customer has the option to cancel; however, whether cancelation fees are to be charged if the customer cancels is very ambiguous. It does not definitively state they would - it makes reference to the cancellation fee provisions, but stops short of saying they apply.

This is just one portion of the agreement and there are several other provisions that cross-reference other provisions, addendums, and sections. It's a tangled web of legal jargon. Can you understand the ins and outs of every element of the agreement? Hardly, much of the agreement is intentionally ambiguous for legal wiggle room.

Back to the cancellation for new terms and conditions - Charging fees for not agreeing to the new terms and conditions of an agreement is a practice that I think courts would find unconscionable and would likely not hold up in court.

 

[Jimbo]

I can understand the original 2 year contract when one subs to D*. And I can understand them initiating another one with a major equipment upgrade.

But there is no way they should be able to hold someone to a new contract when such is nondisclosed on a failed equipment replacement or a programming change (again unless it is a significant promotional offer that fully discloses that you are entering into a new contract).

D* should have some clearly defined legal limitations within which they can impose a new contract obligation.

I agree 100 %. :up

After the initial 18-24 month period the sub should be FREE of ANY commitment ...
How much more of a commitment do they need, they just gave them 2 years worth.

You have to keep a close eye on things too, they are NOT suppose to extend your commitment for replacement of a defective recvr, but they often do without subs knowledge.

 

[thetech2009]

I agree 100 %. :up

After the initial 18-24 month period the sub should be FREE of ANY commitment ...
How much more of a commitment do they need, they just gave them 2 years worth.

You have to keep a close eye on things too, they are NOT suppose to extend your commitment for replacement of a defective recvr, but they often do without subs knowledge.

Hopefully they are changing things up a bit. As a Technician, with every work order we HAD to get a customer to sign a lease agreement, even on service calls. This is no longer the case, they are no longer required on a service swap. Mabey because they were getting in trouble for it. Who knows?

 

[cfb]

Cell phone companies tell you right on the offer page "With 2 year contract/commitment". Directv tells you what you're getting for free and the promo pricing in big letters, no mention of any commitment.

Sure, you're supposed to read all the fine print before signing. In my case the installer said "here, I need you to sign this to say that you received everything you signed up for and you're happy with the install, and I gotta go!!!". I didnt even notice the fine print on the back until a month later when I was filing paperwork. At least because I read these sites I already knew what I was signing up for.

Since the rest of their fine print says they dont need to actually provide any usable service and theres no 'out' for bad customer service, they're not motivated to do a good job to retain customers.

When a business starts making the stick bigger while not bothering to tell you about it, rather than making the carrot taste better, its not a good sign.

 

[goaliebob99]

Turns out that they have done it to a good number of subscribers with the protection plan or not as you have witnessed first hand.

I had it done to me!!!!!!!!

 

[Albie2]

Cell phone companies tell you right on the offer page "With 2 year contract/commitment". Directv tells you what you're getting for free and the promo pricing in big letters, no mention of any commitment.

And guess why the cell phone companies tell you that? A class action lawsuit filed and adjudicated in California. The defendants even tried to get the California action combined with a national class action but were rejected by the Ca courts. Maybe, just maybe, this lawsuit will get their attention.

 

[Albie2]

Read my article in Multichannel and read what happened to me today...

Something needs some serious fixing at DirecTV.

Scott your experience was almost the same as mine. I did e-mail approx two weeks prior to canceling to find out my contract fulfillment date only to have them acknowledge they incorrectly extended me due to replacing a defective receiver (and yes, I had the protection plan). I was referred to a phone number in the access card department to call and have it corrected. The call resulted in the excuse they could not change it in the system but would note my account. FF to Sep 6th, got an acknowledgement that my contract fulfillment date would be noted and the correct ETF would be applied by the retention specialist (I canceled 4 months early and did expect an ETF of $80). So when I was charged $320 I e-mailed, vice called which got the oops we goofed, your account will be credited and you will see your refund in 6-8 weeks.

 

[Jhon69]

And guess why the cell phone companies tell you that? A class action lawsuit filed and adjudicated in California. The defendants even tried to get the California action combined with a national class action but were rejected by the Ca courts. Maybe, just maybe, this lawsuit will get their attention.

That's the only way to get the attention of any company.DirecTV&Dishnotwork included.

 

[ChrisK114]

All I know is it is going to take something pretty special in order for me to upgrade any of my D* receivers. My contract is supposedly up in October and there is no way I will reup my agreement with them. In fact, I don't know what I will do when my agreement is up. I am mostly, and I say mostly, happy with my service right now, but if the decline in customer service continues and they fail to fix the "glitch" that causes the errant contract extensions, I will be searching for another provider. I just can't do business with with someone who operates that way. As much as I would hate it, I would go back to cable so I could avoid any contracts whatsoever. Can you still get Dish with no contarct by paying a little bit more for install?