Why do the costs for direct tv continue to rise disgustingly???

Bills do not go up every month. There is a annual (once a year) price adjustment per rising costs from the networks. If your bill is different more often than that, then take the time to read through your bills. You have promotions completing or have one-time charges as the bill should not change constantly like you claim.

And fuel has gone up over the years, regardless if you use the same amount or not. Certainly not averaging anywhere close to $0.99 a gallon like it used to be. Just another example of costs going up over time.

I do agree that customer support has taken a few hits. AT&T agents were still learning the DirecTV side and how it differs from their products and service. Now with Covid they are short staffed and using more outsourcing to try and make up for it. So this has a long way to go to get back to normal.

And per a false claim you made elsewhere, sorry but this is a public forum of other customers. The few who work for AT&T have the "employee" tag, but are posting on their own time. The rest of us are customers pure and simple.

Every month there is an increase and it it's not taxes it's just a plain increase to my subscription.  It's definitely not my discounts expiring cause I just checked my Bill.  This month was taxes and a plain $7.00 increase, with no additional explanations. And if this was a public forum, why is it that all of the responses to complaints here usually are from the same individuals?  I don't make false claims as you stated, the simple truth of the matter is in one way or another you are, (most likely indirectly), responding on behalf of AT&T....stop defending what has become a sham and a ripoff from a utility company! 

If your bill is going up "every month", then something is wrong. As pointed out, DirecTV raises their rates once each year, just like all TV providers. Those increases result from the networks raising their prices. Traditional cable/satellite providers are dying because of these increases, driving more people to internet streaming services. Of course, those prices go up, too. By the way, DirecTV is not a "utility company", like your electricity provider. TV is not considered an "essential service". 

The increase you just saw should be the annual price adjustment. Like the last few years they sent a notice in December and have a support page breaking down the specifics. TV Price Changes for 2021 - Bill & account Support (att.com)

Now if you are seeing multiple months of price increases, then something is going on. Either there is a billing error, or there are promotions completing or one-time charges that you don't understand. They have not been increasing their costs outside of the annual price adjustment. If reading through your bill still doesn't make sense, then give them a call to review it with you to figure out what is actually going on.

I got help a long time ago with some questions I had. From that I ended up spending more and more time on the forum sharing what I have learned so that others can get solutions or a realistic perspective. You may not like my answers, but they are given honestly with the intent to help. I am a customer, not a employee of AT&T, so your claim of my responding on their behalf is false.

This is a TV service, not electricity or water, so is not a utility but optional entertainment.

Thank you for reminding me that TV is not considered an essential service, but we don't live in the age of dinosaurs or cave man either....I'm sure you have television in your house as well, and it's not essential.  Never the less just because it's not an essential service, doesn't give the right for these companies such as AT&T and Comcast to rip off the public.  Rent for a Modem or a  TV box... LOL.. I would of have owned 100 of those with all the rent I've paid through the years. Thank you, for recommending streaming services though because I'm already looking to subscribe to Sling and get rid of all this trash equipment in my house...

You don't seem to understand who's ripping off whom. TV providers like DirecTV, Dish, Comcast, Netflix, SlingTV, etc., are at the mercy of content providers (Universal, Disney, etc.) for their shows & channels. Even "free" local TV stations demand $$$ for these providers to deliver their channels. TV providers, therefore, must pass along these costs. There's no escaping it. Unless you totally cut the cord and rely on old-fashioned over-the-air free TV.  

As the networks increase the costs to TV providers, then they have to follow suit. That is simple business, their costs go up then so do ours. I may not like it, but I do understand the reality of the situation. Personally I would prefer a al-a-carte situation to better manage my cost and channel lineup, but the networks have kept the TV industry in this status quo.

DirecTV has not rented their TV boxes. You pay receiver services (HD, DVR, etc.) which cover the account. You then pay a $7 additional TV fee as that is mirroring the service to each authorized TV on the account regardless if owned or 'leased'. Any lease cost is one-time up front if you didn't have a free upgrade. Have had both owned and leased boxes myself. Now I do understand that Primestar at one time had a rental option, but DirecTV itself never did.

If you don't like the pricing option, then go to a different provider or none at all and just use a regular antenna for the free over-the-air (OTA) channels.

I appreciate the comments of all the employees in this chat for being supportive of the company that pays their rent, it only makes sense that you all defend the company you were hired by.    Good Job!

@Sinbato 

Please join reality instead of living in this fantasy you've made up. Not an employee and they certainly don't pay my rent. This is more akin to a hobby of mine, when I am off duty from my actual job (which is no way in affiliation to AT&T/DirecTV).

No defense was given. Simply facts on how the billing works. If your bill changes over multiple months then something is going on that is unique to your account. Look into what really is going on instead of making up a fantasy in your head.

Direct tv goes up two to three times a year. I know because we had it. We could only take it so long. Then we switched to dish which only goes up 5.00 once a year. Also it is cheaper then Direct tv, and they have a great channel line up. 

Direct tv goes up in price two to three times a year. I should know we had it for a while. After a few years we were sick of the price increases on our bill. So we switched to dish. They go up 5.00 once a year. They have a great channel line up and we are really happy with them. We have been with them for three years now. Also they are cheaper then direct tv.