Ending service with Directv/ATT because of poor service, resolution and customer satisfaction

Hi @jimswoboda!

We'd love to look into this for you here, give us the chance to turn this experience around for you here! To fully assist with this issue further, we will need to look over your account and concern in more detail.

I am sending you a private message (PM) to help in this matter. Please check and reply to my message. I look forward to your response and the opportunity to help you!

Yetty, AT&T Community Specialist

By continuing with DTV you are agreeing to the TOS with contains the new policy of paying for and receiving service until the end of the billing cycle.  What are the receivers model numbers to see if they are returnable? 

Never received the same bill amount twice in a year and a half, just had NFL football added to my account,48.00 per month just out of the clear blue, never had it, never ask for it!!!!! bill increases every month ......I will be saying goodby to ATT Direct TV soon and never want to hear that name again! To many bd experiences to even start explaining,,,,77 years old and have never been scammed like this before!

There are many who are very dissatisfied with Directv/ATT. I am trying to hang on since I have been a customer for 30 years. I am just before having to end this. I am paying $700+ a month for phones and Directv and I am tired of less services, loss of channels, poor internet connection and increasing costs. I am sick about all this but I must see a difference or move on. 

Just went through the same thing. One rep said I was notified by email back in December of the policy change, another said the notice went out on February... Guess what, I never got any such notice. Cancelled 10 days into the cycle (equipment already disconnected and new provider service in place when I called) and I get same run-around. Responsible for entire billing cycle. 4 times now have been invited to PM a "Community Specialist" so they could look into the matter, and two times invited to chat sessions. All took less then 2 minutes for them to confirm, yep that's the policy nothing we can do. Basically they are just trying to get ticked off customers out of the public forums so prospective new customers will not see how they treat customers.

As for returning the equipment, I was told twice to take to any UPS/Fedex store and three times "no, a return kit will be sent". Even got an email about the return kit so contacted them again and was told no, we stopped sending the return kits take it to UPS. So that's what I did, and guess what I now have a return kit sitting here that I received with instructions on how to pack the receivers and take to the Post Office for return.

Well the final bill is paid 3 days ago and equipment has been shipped back. Does not mean I am going to let go of the 15 days charge they screwed me out of. They don't make amends soon and AT7T will lose my 4 wireless lines as well to another provider. I am under no contract so their choice.  I will also use every opportunity I get to discourage anyone from signing up for their service.

There is no excuse for the customer to get treated like this. Without us, their business fails. I pay too much money for useless channels that I cannot get rid of but the NBC channel we watch daily has been taken away. We overpay for bad service. Getting rid of Directv/AT&T seems the only way this company will listen. We’ve been loyal with satellite service, Internet service, and cell service. I can get all three for 1/3 the price. We are fed up and will terminate all services because it’s our only voice—our money!

So how much more will you pay to get it back?  The channel removed their feed because DTV will not pay them what they are asking to renew the contract.  All providers have this problem.

Thinking of kicking DTV to the curb too.  We can't get the local channel here that was taken away,  and don't have an antenna to get channel 4 on.    I see that the billing just keeps going up, even though the service we get keeps going down.  Reading the things above makes me think DISH might be a better alternative to Direct.   Even the local cable company wants our business.  (They have my internet now).   We have had DTV for quite a number of years, and no longer have a contract with them.  Like some of the others have said,  "higher and higher bills, and poorer and poorer service".

If you make no changes to service, then billing should be consistent each month. There is the annual rate adjustment, based on increasing costs from the networks, but that is only once a year at most. January is when the new rates apply, and this year depending on what you have it shouldn't have been more than a $10 difference.

Discounts are not permanent. If you have different promotions ending at different times, that would definitely explain when a bill is not consistent. Never rely on discounts to afford the service. If you are calling often to try and get new specials, then you should minimize the service since it would obviously be out of your budget at that point.

NFL Sunday Ticket like other sport subscriptions works on an automatic renewal. So if you had it the prior year from the intro promotion or adding it, then it comes back the next year unless you opt out. Renewal notice is in June confirming what the cost will be. The 1st of 6 installments starts in July. You have until start of season which is the 2nd Sunday in September to opt out (any installments already charged get reversed). So there is plenty of notification to remove the NFL Sunday Ticket before you are secured in for that season.

NBC/CBS/ABC or any other local, what is happening is agreement between DirecTV and the owner of the local affiliate (right now that would be Nexstar) came up and they are negotiating the next carriage deal. DirecTV cannot force them to return the feed during the negotiations. In the meantime using a regular antenna on the TV for the local broadcast, or streaming from the network's website (no local specific information), are the backups while negotiation completes. Depending on availability, you might be able to call DirecTV and get their Local Channel Connector (LCC) so that you can receive the free broadcasts through the 2nd/3rd generation Genie (HR44/HR54).

Since channels are not owned by the TV provider, there is no promise or guarantee that any channel (local or otherwise) will always be there. As such TV providers have a clause that informs us customers that programming/channels are subject to change at any time and would not be a violation of the service agreement. From the Residential Customer Agreement on their website:

(d) Our Programming Changes.

Many factors affect the availability, cost and quality of programming and may influence the decision to raise prices and the amount of any increase. These include, among others, programming and other costs, consumer demand, market and shareholder expectations, and changing business conditions. Accordingly, we reserve the unrestricted right to change, rearrange, add or delete our programming packages, the selections in those packages, our prices, technologies used to deliver the Service, and any other Service we offer, at any time.

Regarding cancellations, yes the policy has changed. Now billing continues through the end of the service cycle, regardless of when in the month you choose to stop service. So it is suggested to leave boxes hooked up and active through the end of the service cycle to get what you pay for. The new policy applied starting January 2019 with the notification November 2018. Since I expected there would be people who would still be unaware, I kept my email for reference:

Please read this if you receive DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse^® TV, AT&T Internet, AT&T Phone, and/or AT&T Fixed Wireless service(s). We want to remind you that you’re billed in advance for recurring service(s) and/or programming charges and applicable fees based on the terms of your current service agreement(s) with us. Starting January 14, 2019, subject to applicable laws, we’re updating your agreement(s) to include your recurring service(s)/programming charges and fees won’t be prorated if you cancel the above service(s) on any day other than the last day of your billing cycle. Your service(s) will continue until the end of your billing cycle but you won’t get a refund (prorated credits) for any remaining days left in your billing cycle. For products not listed above, refer to their terms of service for more information.

Questions about this change? Go to att.com/ProrationPolicy for more information and to see the revised section of your service agreement(s).

 Juniper 

This is so wrong! AT&T/DirecTV is collecting money for non-service. [Edited to comply with Guidelines]

Did you even read the posts?  You still receive service until the end of the billing cycle unless you remove the receivers but even then you are still receiving service.  

TXSkyBoss  

I agree , especially when you are "prepaying" for service. If a customer pays for a product in advance, then that product should be 'as advertised or a partial refund should be offered. Anything else is deceptive , plain and simple no matter how many times a couple of AT&T spin-doctors want to post otherwise here in the forums. Up to and including the email ONE received, that apparently many of us never got.

I have now returned to my local cable provider for TV. No more constant artifacting/pixelization , no more loss of HD on a cloudy day, no more loss of all service during rain. No more feeling like I am watching Max Headroom. And, by bundling back up with my Internet and phone provider, now saving $22 a month to boot. Will continue to fight for the credit from DirecTV for the 16 days of service I did not get after canceling and returning equipment. Don't get satisfaction, then next will be looking to moving my 4 wireless lines from AT&T to another provider as well.