[Velvet]

Yeah! Nucky!

[BobnBev]

Dumped both AT&T and DirecTV, no problem. Went with Dish and T-Mobile-----Life is good.

[CWGUY]

Originally Posted by BobnBev

Dumped both AT&T and DirecTV, no problem. Went with Dish and T-Mobile-----Life is good.

Fox Stations, Networks Go Dark On Dish In Carriage Dispute – Deadline

"Fox-owned TV stations in 17 markets as well as FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Deportes have gone dark on Dish Network in the latest carriage dispute."
Don't know if we are in one of these markets???

[santiagobob]

I had a similar issue when I canceled my service with Century Link. They kept telling me that in order to ship their equipment back to them I needed a shipping label from them. I waited weeks and never received the label
Each time I called the rep said they were sorry but that they would send the required label that day. Guess what, it took 3 months to finally get the label and each month they billed me for the unreturned equipment. I finally got a small bill for the partial month of service
that was all I owed and it is now closed.

[Buffalo Jim]

Some hope for an improvement at DirecTV . I have read a number of articles recently that major shareholders of ATT are putting pressure on Executive Management to divest it . Also DTV has a stated a objective to move away from the dishes and associated equipment and deliver their services via streaming by 2025 .

[Buffalo Jim]

For whatever it may be worth the Casualty Insurance Companies are using Credit Scoring as one measure of risk and factor it into determine the rates we are quoted for Auto , Home , Umbrella Liability and other similar types of insurance . They have their own industry FICO Scale . So ignoring an item such as an equipment dispute might cause an issue down the road that you would not expect .

[JGVillages]

Originally Posted by Two Bills

To be perfectly honest, I would have ceased all contact after the first phone call.
You had proof of completion. You had notified them of their error.
Ball in their court!

Non necessarily. If they put the $145 charge on your credit card then imagine the hoops you would have to jump through to get that reversed!

[Trayderjoe]

Good comments all. So a little more information, but first, I agree with CFFrance that you need to be proactive and protect your credit history. I vigorously defend my credit score as I want to be sure that should the unexpected happen and I need a loan, I can get it. It took me time to get my credit rating and I won't give it up lightly.

We used to have AT&T U-Verse prior to moving to the Villages and in our opinion, they had the best customer service. For example, our modem died and I called at 5 PM to report the issue. I did not get a run around, they did an overnight FEDEX and we had the new modem the next day. When we called about ending our service, we first inquired as to whether they provided service in the Villages, but were informed they did not. They canceled our service and there were no issues or follow-up come back to us communications. Overall a very professional customer service experience.

Now to DirectTV. Our contract had ended and we had a piece of equipment that was not functioning properly. We had a service call and the tech identified that the equipment was not being installed anymore but he called around looking for a replacement. He informed me that a replacement could not be found and that he would have to install a newer device. When I was told that I would need to sign a new contract to get the device, I told him to pull it and not replace it (no big deal to drop one of the units for us). A couple of months later, a similar second device started to fail. When the service tech showed up, I informed him that if it couldn't be repaired/replaced without me signing a contract, then forget it. First, let me state that the service tech was very friendly and was definitely customer oriented. He informed me that he was not told that a new contract would be needed, and proceeded to install the new device and tried to register it. He was on the phone talking to multiple people over 45 minutes trying to get the device to register. The last person he spoke to (you can guess what happens next) informed him that he would need to have me sign a new contract before they would initial the device. He put me on the phone with the DirectTV person who told me that I would need to sign the contract AT FULL FREIGHT. I asked him how DirectTV planned to provide the service to me for which I was already paying, given that THEIR equipment was failing. When he stood firm on the contract, I informed him that the service tech had done a great job, but that I was having the new device removed and would be cancelling my service with DirectTV.

After securing new service, I called DirectTV to cancel. They asked what they could do to keep me as a customer, then offered a reduced rate. I informed the rep that there was nothing they could offer me given their position that I had to sign a new contract to get working equipment, and on top of that, at the full service rate.

Given the poor handling of the returned equipment that I experienced, I would never go back to them, nor would I recommend them at this time. Granted, the last supervisor I spoke to was true to her word (my balance was cleared and I show no balance due, which included the late charge they assessed for the nonpayment), but I am going to periodically log in to the old account to make sure no funny business is going on, at least until DirectTV removes the old account from their system.

Caveat emptor!