Why aren't your people empowered to help customers?

DirecTV doesn't make A/V receivers as that is 3rd party external equipment.

Are you trying to return one of your satellite receivers? If so, DirecTV only sends you a return kit if you are over 10 miles from a participating shipper. That is if the box is returnable in the first place. What model is your box?

No protection plan premier. Paid the $50 to have a Denon receiver repaired under the plan. They send a box so you can securely pack the item. This reciever is going back for the 4th time. Last 3 times it has taken almost 1cmonth from filing the claim to receive repaired item. On the plan its states repair time usually takes 5-7days. All customer service reps apologize for the time frame but cannot do anything about it. The reciever is about 18 months old and has been broken for almost 4 months during the repair phase. Denon will not cover the repair under its factory warranty because its blown HDMI board. The HDMI was plugged directly into the DirecTV satelite reciever. THE $25 I PAY MONTHLY IS WORTHLESS IF THEY DONT CARE. I am a customer for almost 14yrs. Totally unnecessary. 

Ahh, gotcha. Sorry wasn't thinking of a PP Premier situation. I don't carry even the basic protection plan as the one-time costs for DirecTV related situations is cheaper in the long run. Any non-DirecTV equipment is covered by its own warranty, or their own extended protection in the case of higher purchases (like when I had bought my plasma TV). After those expire then I repair/replace as needed instead of a constant monthly cost.

There are some others around that are more familiar with the Protection Plan, and one I recall who mentioned they used to work in that department, so perhaps they can chime in with any guidance.

Ugh, I dislike hearing about equipment having issues a little over a year having them. Good luck.

The thing with Protection Plan Premier is that it's actually Asurion who handles everything but troubleshooting. I dealt with them quite frequently at a past job for Verizon Wireless, and...your mileage may vary. Home electronics insurance/extended-warranty plans in general I usually prefer to go through the manufacturer if I do them at all.  Speaking only for myself, I typically recommend the $8.99 standard DirecTV Protection Plan (for customers who may need service calls more frequently) and don't push the Premier.

Mark

@mark_mt 

I get that it is easier for some to manage a small guaranteed monthly cost in their budget. But it is the more expensive route.

Service Call $99

$8.99 protection plan a month, so for 12 months $107.88

So you would need 2 service calls, or 1 service call and either delivery of box ($19.95) or new remote ($15) every single year to make the protection plan cheaper than the one-time costs. And in my opinion, if you are needing those that often, something else is wrong.

Evening the cost out and peace of mind are a big part of it.  Also some of our customers require more frequent service calls for things that could be resolved with over-the-phone troubleshooting but it would be difficult or stressful for them to manage, so it's a good idea for them, certainly.  And you can use your 2-year Protection Plan upgrade after accepting a loyalty discount if you time it right.

Plus the customers with Uverse get cross-covered for home wiring, so that's nice.

'Mark

I do see the evening out the cost and peace of mind to be worth it for some. Definitely for a friend of mind as he was horrible at financial management. I can see it being more worth it for those that are overwhelmed by simple troubleshooting and want someone to do it for them. Cost vs personal value and I can certainly respect that.

As for the upgrade, though it is nice to have an exact date on the account, traditionally free upgrades were available 2 years after the prior one anyway. And once qualified it stays there until you use it, as unlike phones, levels of equipment are not advancing fast enough to warrant upgrading every two years like clockwork.

As for cross covered, that I am unfamiliar with, particularly because AT&T hardline services do not exist in my state.

I was a basic protection plan agent that worked from home (and yes it is managed via asurion btw so technically I worked for Asurion) but at the same time I took all of direcTV calls and everything was through direcTV except my paycheck, anyway, yes the premier claims take a LOT longer than what's advertised. When I had to file a claim for a laptop for myself it took like 4-6 weeks to actually get my replacement.

Oh and just an fyi I worked for direcTV two different times 😁 and BOTH times i wasn't actually a DirecTV employee but that's another story I won't bore any one with right now 😜

I also (believe it or not) worked for dish Network/echostar AND comcrap 🤭