[jnieman]

Hi all:

A very satisfied Direct TV customer for 6 years. Lately I noticed the bill going up a little here and there plus I added MLB Extra Innings for my husband to watch the Detroit Tiger games (cost $50). That put our bill up to $203 a month. We had no movie channels. I did some research and found out that with Comast for the same I would be paying about $80 less using one of their introductory packages. I called Direct TV and talked with the retention department and told them about it. I was offered several scenarios taking my bill down about $20 at a time. I held tough and finally in the end I got the following:

Direct TV whole house Genie HD, 2 additional HD DVR's, maintenance package, Ultimate Direct TV package with 240 channels, MLB Extra Innings, HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz, etc. and NFL Sunday Ticket! This is good for 1 year at $133 includes tax. That took my bill down $70 per month. I put it on my calendar to call again next year.

[Jima64]

You were smart to contact them abou the pricing from competitors. Unfortunately my wife is stuck on her comcast internet and will not budge. We dropped the cc television some time ago because of terrible pricing and customer service . They basically said tough if we did not like it, so we left.

[jnieman]

Originally Posted by Jima64

You were smart to contact them abou the pricing from competitors. Unfortunately my wife is stuck on her comcast internet and will not budge. We dropped the cc television some time ago because of terrible pricing and customer service . They basically said tough if we did not like it, so we left.

I am also stuck on Comcast for internet. I've not been willing to change to Century Link because we like the speed and dependability of Comcast at 75 mbp. We are on our computers all of the time and just don't want to risk it. I do plan to call Comcast to see if I can get them down $10 or $20.

[tuccillo]

I don't know what you are paying for Comcast but I have CenturyLink via fiber to the house and pay about $46/month (all fees, taxes, and a router lease) for 40 Mbits/sec download and 20 Mbits/sec upload. I work from home (I run software projects) and require a dependable connection. The bandwidth I have is overkill and I move some pretty large files around on occasion. Streaming Netflix in Hi-Def only requires 3-5 Mbits/second. You do have other choices.

Originally Posted by jnieman

I am also stuck on Comcast for internet. I've not been willing to change to Century Link because we like the speed and dependability of Comcast at 75 mbp. We are on our computers all of the time and just don't want to risk it. I do plan to call Comcast to see if I can get them down $10 or $20.

[joesin]

So what does internet cost you? Who do have that with?

[PennBF]

I had a good one today from Direct TV. I received my bill and it had $41.99 for the NFL Package which I did not sign up for ! I called them and the answer I received as they charged me in order for me to get use to the charges that will
be for NFL Package. I explained to them (1) I never ordered the NFL package and (2) there are no NFL Games until at least Sept. That is when they told me they understood but they wanted me to be use to being charged for the package so they started early. Again, I told them I did not want the package and I did not order it. In the end they told me to take it off my bill and they would credit me the $41.99. This was beyond belief. Its a new angle to charge the customer ahead of time for something they don't have so they would be use to the charges.. Wow that is beyond belief ! It is outrages !!!

[Jima64]

Originally Posted by PennBF

I had a good one today from Direct TV. I received my bill and it had $41.99 for the NFL Package which I did not sign up for ! I called them and the answer I received as they charged me in order for me to get use to the charges that will
be for NFL Package. I explained to them (1) I never ordered the NFL package and (2) there are no NFL Games until at least Sept. That is when they told me they understood but they wanted me to be use to being charged for the package so they started early. Again, I told them I did not want the package and I did not order it. In the end they told me to take it off my bill and they would credit me the $41.99. This was beyond belief. Its a new angle to charge the customer ahead of time for something they don't have so they would be use to the charges.. Wow that is beyond belief ! It is outrages !!!

To me this is just theft, out and out. These companies get so big they don't worry about reputation any more. How can this be reasoned out to getting you used to paying for something. Would be like going into publix and have you charged for something you are going to use this winter to make soup with.

[2BNTV]

I had Directv and I got tired of my bill being different every month and dealing with reps, who did not know their product very well. They tend to give you what you want after you threaten to cancel. Not a very good way to keep existing customer happy! They tend to treat new customers better and I got tired of having to call almost every month.

I got DISH several months ago. The bill stays the same and their "hopper" recording device is excellent. I am now a happy camper!

Funny how they send you literature to get you to come back but are unbending, in trying to keep you happy, unless you fight with them and threaten to cancel.

Too little, too late. Not a good way to run a business. IMHO

BTW - I called them a couple of times with technical issues and spent a lot of time trying to convince them I was right about a defective receiver. An hour on the phone is totally unnecessary, before they send another receiver.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

We have had Dish at our other home for several years and like it. Never have any issues. Out neighborhood is mostly Dish with a few Direct TV and the Dish people are a lot happier than the Direct. At the Villages we are on Brighthouse but that has gotten pretty expensive so we will be looking at options in October.

[John_W]

Originally Posted by PennBF

I had a good one today from Direct TV. I received my bill and it had $41.99 for the NFL Package which I did not sign up for ! I called them and the answer I received as they charged me in order for me to get use to the charges that will be for NFL Package...

The problem with that is, I don't believe you live in TV yet. So unless you're a fan of watching the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, your Eagles won't be on unless they're playing one of those teams or they are playing in prime time.

I've been with Directv since 2008 and since 2011 in TV and we have the Premier Package, that's all the channels they offer which includes about 50 HD movie channels, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, Starz, Movie Channel, the HD Tier, Sports Package, a Geni Box and a second HD box, maintenance, everything which runs $187 a month including tax.

I've had NFL Ticket since 2011 and every year they automatically put it on your account once you've had it in the past. I knew July they would be starting to bill me, so last week I called and said, don't add NFL Ticket to my account, I can't afford anymore. So after some figuring, the rep said I gotten your bill down to where it will be the same price with the NFL Ticket as it is now.

I couldn't imagine a better television setup than we have right now. Our Directv Geni box records up 1000 hours of HD, I've got so many movies recorded that I don't even have time to watch them all. I have never missed an NFL Football game that I wanted to see. Yes, they have flaws but nowhere near what we experienced with Comcast, and with our Century Link hookup for telephone and internet, we are very happy with our system. We have never had an outage with our internet or telephone, and our phone has unlimited free long distance. Which is great because I hate talking on a cell phone for any length of time.

[The Buckeyes]

Have been a Directv customer for over a decade in Ohio and Florida. No problems and my bill doesn't jump around every month.