Cancelled DIRECTV and was charged $135 even though I returned equipment and had bill saying I OWED ZERO. DIRECTV is a scam

Did UPS give you a receipt showing exactly what they took possession of? And you were not using a prepaid return box/label correct? And this was confirmed sent to DirecTV, not AT&T? (has been an issue before when someone canceled both DirecTV and AT&T and accidently included all equipment in the same return)

Once an account is canceled you shouldn't be able to login on the website. Do you also have AT&T services?

The $0 bill verifies you were up to date on the final month. Because they didn't verify the box as returned within the appropriate timeframe it later resulted in the one-time charge of the non-return fee (NRF). So the system sends an updated statement automatically.

My concern is you mention a UPS tracking number. There shouldn't be one because you take the boxes with just your account number, no packaging. They give you receipt, but it is a bulk return so no individual tracking number. If you got a prepaid return kit/label, then that goes back by USPS (which if given to UPS would be a problem). And if you arranged your own UPS order with tracking number, then that doesn't count as not an official return (very rare, but one or two mentioned in the forum doing that years ago).

If the equipment was returned 100% correctly, than this is a return issue that needs to be corrected. A problem with the return process does not make it "literally a scam", even if some others have had a similar issue. Since you've already tried normal support, I would go with a BBB complaint next. That sends the problem to the corporate level. Usually results in contact back from their Office of the President within a few business days.

I sent it with the prepaid label they sent me and it was confirmed by DIRECTV that it was received. I was only able to login to see that I had a collection on my account. I don't know what to tell you but it let me log in only to that page to show that there was a collection past due. On the prepaid label they give a receipt that allows to track to follow to make sure it is delivered, so again I don't understand why you said there would not be one. It was returned 100% correctly and DIRECTV had the nerve to first tell me it never arrived, which was not true then they changed there answer very quick to saying it was broken. It was not. This is not a problem with a return and they told me more then once that the account was disconnected and that I owed $0, yet this comes up more than a month later, with no bill in the mail and it is being sent to collections. I have read through 30 different complaints with the exact situation and they were all charged even after doing everything correctly. You don't work for DIRECTV apparently but are defending them. I was charged $135 for doing everything right and the customer service was trying to find a reason for the charge even though there was not one. It is a scam and being a customer for 30 years and to be treated without absolute disrespect is just plain rude. 

DTV doesn't send only a label they send a box, a label only is usually for sending it to a recycling center.  Unless DTVhelp sends you a DM/PM you can try a BBB complainant.

Hi Shannon,

This is what I meant. They sent me the box and label. Sorry for not clarifying 

Old return process was sending a prepaid return box by FedEx that you return by USPS (U.S. Postal Service). New process is taking equipment with just your account number (no prepaid label/box) to UPS (not the U.S. Postal Service/USPS). And once canceled (after last day of service), account access online is disabled.

Since you got a prepaid UPS label and could log in after your account completed canceling, sounds like the new co-owner is making additional updates. You've already tried calling support, so unless you want to give it one more time (no more than once) I would go with the BBB complaint.

Just for clarity: non-return fees cannot happen until a month or so after the account closes. That is because it doesn't charge the account until the return time frame has passed and then the bill goes out at the normal monthly time. So the $0 was your monthly bill up to date, well before a NRF (correct or in error) could possibly exist.

I am not defending DirecTV. If they have a problem with their updated return process it needs to be fixed. What I am saying is that a problem like this does not make any company a scam. It is a error they must resolve, simple as that. And the answer doesn't change for being with them 1 year, a decade, or 30 years. Your time with them has no effect on the situation.

I don't know what to tell you. They gave me a box and label to return the equipment in. I do not understand why are you are telling me I am wrong when that is what happened. It was returned to Directv and you are not reading what I said clearly. They lied and said it wasn't received until they looked and saw it was returned and then they just made it up that it did not work. Customer service had no idea what they were saying. It was returned. When you are a customer for 30 years and this is how your treated it feels like a slap in the face. Was not saying I should get special treatment because I have had it for 3 decades. Simply saying that they do not care about there customers no matter how loyal they are. The tone of your message is coming off so badly and clearly I have had a pretty awful day.

I am not telling you that you are wrong in how you returned the equipment or that you were billed incorrectly. Unless you got the prepaid return box to go back by USPS but dropped it with UPS (an error that has come up too often), then DirecTV needs to fix the issue. That is why I suggest a BBB complaint since you've already tried regular support.

Where I disagree with you is the "scam" accusation. And this error is not better or worse because of your 30 years. It is the same problem regardless of how long you've been with them. If an error on their end (as it sounds like), then it needs to be corrected. Someone only being with them a few years and getting an NRF in error is no different from one of 30 years. Has absolutely nothing to do with your loyalty (no special treatment). Just putting it into perspective.

I respect you've had a bad day, but there is no "tone" in my message. I just don't sugar coat my responses and keep them straightforward. Giving an impartial response, as opposed to one that words specifically in your favor, does not turn me into defending DirecTV.

(without going into details lets just say I could regale you with many things for me in the last year, and even just today, that a $135 error wouldn't even be a blip on the radar for an awful day. But life moves on)