Complaint

While they are owned by the same owner they are separate services, you have to call DTV to cancel the sat service.

Unless DTVhelp sends you a DM/PM you may have to file a BBB complaint about a refund.

Hi thanks for that reply,

We did call the satellite side Sept 11 to cancel,  and they acknowledged the call. They just never circled back, implying that once we switched there was nothing left to do to close it. Will gladly do BBB and spread the word, but trying to give them a chance first to do the right thing.. 

There is no process for switching. It is calling one provider to cancel and another to start. Just like stopping DirecTV and going to say Comcast or Dish you are dealing with completely separate accounts and services.

Calls are monitored for quality and training purposes, not record keeping. So there wouldn't be a recorded conversation to review. If the account was noted you were canceling, then they could work with that. DirecTV has had a 60 day billing dispute policy, as they require to be told in a timely manner if you find a problem with what you've been billed. The satellite bill would have also confirmed account being canceled, and when it didn't that is when you call in to address it instead of a couple months later.

You've already spoken to a manger who gave the answer (that you didn't like). So go ahead with a BBB complaint if you want it to be forwarded to the corporate level.

This is a public customer to customer forum, not a place to "give them a chance to do the right thing" as you already talked to a manager.

Thank you for taking the time to share that info.

Naturally I didn't like the answer because I paid for 4 months of a service I never used, after being told it would be cancelled automatically. If you were told that, why would you think differently? One certainly can't expect expect the average consumer to know that they are 2 separate companies that do not communicate with each other.

And in fact, when I asked the manager what recourse I had, I was told there was nothing I could do, but after googling I have seen customer service monitor this forum and weigh in, so worth a shot.  

Why didn't you notice you where still be charge ever month for 4 months?  Only DTVhelp, the moderators and a few employees on their own time reads these post

It would certainly be on the agent for giving bad info. On the other side, we as consumers have a responsibility for our own finances. That means verifying bills received and certainly know where our money is going (such as two separate payments for a few months).

The good thing is you caught this before it really went on very far. Some have shared in the past they let it go a year or more before they had a clue what they were paying.

I can certainly understand the average customer not understanding the services being separate, especially since they have overlapping names. My guidance is when you make a change to a service (including canceling), read the following bill in detail. This is to verify all as is expected, which would show confirmation of canceling (ideally a $0 balance reflecting last payment received to cover in full).

Since you may only be about a bill beyond the normal dispute timeframe (depending on when bill cycle ends), certainly go with the BBB complaint. Not a guarantee of even a partial adjustment, but worth a shot. And either way, take as lesson learned to be more attentive to finances especially when you start, end, or make a change to a service. Good luck.

Juniper, very well said and appreciated. In hindsight that is a lesson learned,  so hopefully will save me some $ in the future.   I still maintain they were negligent in the handling of it by telling me it was all taken care of. But yes, I agree I should have double checked. Definitely will in the future.

I posted to the BBB and 1 day later I got a call from the "office of the President" at directTV. They were both professional, and super apologetic about the handling of the situation and are sending a full refund of the satellite service I was erroneously billed. Posting my result in case it helps someone in the future. 

Glad it worked out for you. Sometimes the BBB is the way to go. Probably helped that you were only about a bill beyond the normal dispute, instead of many months (or even a year or more later) as some have done.

In addition to the eventual refund (which is normally expected on on a prepaid card), review over the next statement you receive. Should show the credits and resulting refund, reflecting a $0 balance for your records.