New Member
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6 Messages
Charged twice for equipment I never had!
This is a current story, but the background is very important. (Please know now that we have only ever had ONE DVR box attached to a single television in the living room.) First of all, why does ALWAYS it take FOREVER to get anything done when you call for help? Anyways, I digress: This all started back in 2014 (really, I'm not kidding) when we changed our address. For some reason, DirectTV interpreted this...and one thing led to another...and they created ANOTHER account with our new address. This, I am sure, has continued to be the thing that's haunted us up to this very moment. So, in 2014, at our new house, we had to have the DirectTV installation man come over to put in the dish. No problems...then we moved again to another house in Feb 2019 and again had to have the guy come out and put in the dish, connect our DVR thing, etc... Then again in Sep 2020... We have always taken our single DVR with us and only had to just get a new remote when we got to our most recent address.
So, just the other day we got a DirectTV list of new changes to the prices and such and I decided to take a look at our bill. We are being charged TWO TV Access Fees and one Advanced Receiver Fee. First of all, we only have one DVR box...so two TV fees is already wrong. But I recall that the first TV is always supposed to be free from DirectTV. I looked back at two years of bills (all you can view online) and of course the TV Access Fees go back that far...and I'm sure they probably go back to Fed 2019 at least. So I decide to call the help line...which takes forever...and the nice lady on the other end tells me that "it looks like you have two receivers." Well, I'm on my account management page and I'm looking at the graphic that shows that I, indeed, have only the one receiver (obviously) and the lady says she's going to connect me to technical support... (Oh, its about to get better...)
While talking to technical support (i'm still looking at my Receiver Management page) and suddenly a SECOND receiver pops-up on my screen (a mini-genie). I ask the tech guy "what did you just do?" He tells me that his supervisor will call me back! It's been at least 30 minutes with no call back... I have a previous photo of my device management screen...
Issues and questions: 1) Isn't the first TV free? with no TV Access Fee? If so, Direct TV owes me somewhere north of $690 for at LEAST the last 3+ years of charging me double for what I never had. Not only that, but I'm now curious if I've been charged these fees going back to the original 2014 problem when I had the issues with having two accounts due to DTV's error. 2) Is it not true that the Advanced Receiver Fee only apples if you have more than one receiver? I've NEVER had a second receiver. The technician's notes from 2019 and 2020's visits would confirm our single DVR box. 3) Isn't it odd for my account to reflect the reality of our only having one DVR box, while the lady on the phone is telling me I have two...and then for my account suddenly show TWO receivers while I'm in the midst of talking to the tech rep?
shannon02
ACE - Expert
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21K Messages
2 years ago
Any DVR will have the Advanced Receiver Fee. Mini clients can't work without a Genie. What is the model number?
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godtol
New Member
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6 Messages
3 months ago
OK...this is NOT an attempt to resurrect an old thread!
I looked at my bill today (yes, it's been 2 years) because we were going to add some channels and guess what: The 2nd Mini-Genie has SHOWN UP AGAIN!!!! This is after the 2nd device had disappeared back in 2022 from our account. I've been still getting charged for the (Edited per community guidelines) thing forever now! You got to be kidding me. I wonder if someone is using the device and getting direct tv for free?
(edited)
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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21K Messages
3 months ago
They can't use a mini without a Genie so no. You can try filing a BBB complaint.
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godtol
New Member
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6 Messages
3 months ago
I do have a regular Genie (Gen 2 Model HR44-500...not sure if there is a newer one out there?). My issue was with how I have been paying for a 2nd device that i never had. I was wondering if they can see if someone is using the 2nd device...maybe they already have DTV and are just using the 2nd device also?
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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21K Messages
3 months ago
Nope. The HR54 and HS17 Genie2 are the newest models.
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godtol
New Member
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6 Messages
3 months ago
Are they any better...I mean REALLY better? Also, if you upgrade to a new device, do you lose your recorded DVR shows?
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godtol
New Member
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6 Messages
3 months ago
Can DirectTV track this mystery device and shut it down?
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shannon02
ACE - Expert
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21K Messages
3 months ago
Nope, Yes to losing you recordings. AT&T sold off DTV the new owners are working on improving things.
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Juniper
ACE - Expert
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22.9K Messages
3 months ago
Mini Genie cannot work by itself. It has to be paired to a main "Genie" of some sort. This requires being on the same cabling and account as that Genie. So nobody is getting service off you (unless you have a hidden room at home you didn't know about).
The HR44 is the 2nd generation Genie. Technically there are a couple newer models, but not needed unless you're looking into a 4K upgrade. If you have any DVRs besides your Genie, then the Genie-2 (HS17) is not suggested. This is because it forbids everything but Clients, as AT&T pushed DirecTV into a all-in-one setup. (Really hope now that AT&T sold of their part that the remaining owner will change direction on this).
Recordings are encrypted to their exact DVR. So if you replace by upgrade or warranty, than you lose the recordings only from that box.
Satellite TV is one-way transmission. They cannot see what you're using, only what you're subscribed to. (And of course if internet connected your PPV orders by remote as those are one-time transactions that affect the bill).
From your original post, you are on the old billing model. This means the first TV is "free", either showing $0 or Primary TV $7 but with a credit in the same amount wiping it out. It is then $7 for each additional TV, no matter what kind of box it is. For the account you have the receiver services of HD $10, DVR $10, and Whole Home DVR $3 (or $25 for all 3 together depending on when you upgraded).
If with that you have still are showing one more TV total than you have, like your issue a couple years ago, then I would file a BBB complaint. That sends your concern to the corporate level. Usually get contact back within a few business days. (Allow extra time for the holiday season of course).
Assuming this gets corrected, my suggestion is to check in detail the following 2 bills from the fix. This verifies any adjustments/proration plus what the bill should look like going forward. After that be aware of the amount of the bill. That way if you ever see an odd amount you can review and address any concerns in a reasonable time.
(edited)
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