Tutor
•
2 Messages
DIRECTV - Early Termination Fee (ETF) Because AT&T Failed to Install the Proper Equipment at the Beginning of the Contract
I WAS a loyal AT&T U-verse customer for many years . In November 2017, I received an offer for DIRECTV that included 4K. When they installed my DIRECTV, I was told by the AT&T salesperson to make sure they installed the 4K package, which I did. The installer said he installed the latest equipment to be able to receive 4K. In late 2017 and early 2018, there was not much 4K programming that I was interested in......until the Master's golf tournament was advertised. In early April 2018, I went to turn it on to watch and it was not working. I called DIRECTV and they sent out a technician to investigate. He informed me I did not have the right equipment installed and proceeded to install what was supposed to be there. I happily watched the Master's and the programming on 4K.
So recently, my offer/deal expired ($70 off a month) which they would not match, so I decided to cancel. Here is the best part, they are now charging me an Early Termination Fee (ETF) because they upgraded the equipment to what was supposed to be installed in November 2017, on April 2, 2018.
This aggravates me so much. It is not only the dollar amount (I am a retiree on a limited budget) but the principle of charging me for something they should have installed day one. I talked with a Customer Service rep yesterday who told me it was my fault for not checking sooner, hence the new contract date when it was installed. She tried to give me a car purchase example, saying that you look over the car and get any problems taken care of immediately. I took her example a little further and asked her if she bought the car in June and did not use the rear window defogger until November and found out it was not working, could you take it back to get it fixed?
Any suggestions on getting AT&T to rescind the ETF because it was originally their mistake? Also putting it out here so that others do not run into the same issue.
mobilemax
Employee
•
38 Messages
5 years ago
Hello,
It’s signed for to start a new commitment when service call is made to upgrade devices, equipment, etc. you sign for it and get an email after. You have a short window to cancel without ETF, otherwise this far after you are looking at an ETF as outlined or waiting until April when your commitment is up to avoid fee. Tv support to see if any offers are available one more time is 800. 288. 2020
0
0
Juniper
ACE - Expert
•
22.9K Messages
5 years ago
@thomer41
You were installed in 2017, but did not even try any 4K until April 2018? When you sign off on the handheld you are accepting that order as shown on the confirmation and your install are correct. Though the agreement was secure within 24 hours of original install, you had a 2 week window to see about placing a correction order if there was a misunderstanding of equipment. However several months later would be too late for any company.
A change of equipment with different capability would be an upgrade. Upgrades come with a 24 month service agreement. Again signing off on the work order is confirming your acceptance of the upgrade, as well as it is in DirecTV Terms of Service.
The car analogy isn't equal. That is going back and having something fixed (if within whatever the warranty terms are). The better comparison is buying a car and then going back because you discovered it was not installed with the optional feature of a rear defogger and your purchase order did not list the feature was supposed to be there. So it is not that it was broken, but wasn't installed and wasn't even on the order to begin with.
No matter the company, read the paperwork and verify you got what you wanted within reasonable time (i.e. not months later), regardless of what a sales agent "promises" you. Sorry but everything is on their side on this one, so no getting around the ECF.
2
0