Direct TV - Are all providers this bad

[ToyMan]

I have A TracStar dish with a Direct TV DVR receiver. The receiver started acting up the first day of our 7 day trip and now has totally crashed. At the time we were in St. Augustine staying at a RV resort on the ocean. I called Direct TV to see how I could get the receiver swapped out. They said they would mail me a new one. I told them I was not at home and was on the road in my RV. Well tough luck, send it back when you get home.

Two days later now and we are in the infield at Daytona for the Coke Zero 400. There is a Direct TV repair van driving around the infield helping Direct TV customers so I stopped the guy (Paul) who was an actual Direct TV employee and not a contractor typically used by Direct TV. I expained my dilemma and he said call in and get a work order number and he could swap it out as he had plenty of them in his van.

I called and customer support said they could not give me a work order since I was not at home. I expalined what Paul had told me and they said it was illegal for him to do that for me. They told me that it could only be swapped out at the account address. Hello, I am not at home. Or maybe they are not at home.

FLASH. Just got off the phone with Direct TV again. They agreed to give me an "activity number" instead of a "work order number". What this means is Paul can come and immediately swap out the bad box but I have to agree to a 2 year extension on my contract, effective TODAY. The alternative again is to wait until I get home which there are no strings attached.

What a way to keep customers. I told the customer rep to forget it and that I probably would NOT renew my contract in April of 2012.

Do all satellite providers use these tactics?

[Sawbonz]

That's an unusual story, but I haven't been too happy lately with DirecTV and how they nickel and dime me.

Maybe the NFL lockout is a good thing. If I give up football I don't have to resubscribe to the NFL Sunday Ticket. Then I can change to DISH. :D

[Mark3101]

I could go on for hours about their bad customer service, but there isn't enough bandwidth to carry it all. They have lied, cancelled appointments and then said I did it, sent the wrong equipment, and had 2 lousy installers come out to do a less than stellar job, all the time bitching about working here in the winter and how little they get paid to do it.

I suffer through it because for me, Dish doesn't cut it.

[charlesebrownjr]

I left them 3 years ago. I wouldn't use Direct TV if it were free. Nuff said!!!!!!!!

[Seabyrd]

Wow !! So glad I haven't had any problems with them infact I switched from Dish to DTV 10+ yrs ago because Dish would (at that time ) only let me have 5 receivers on one account and when we decided to go from cable to satellite I thought Dish was the way to go. We took all the channels and paid a premium for them.... then we wanted to add 5 receivers on our boat in Galveston (180 miles away) and they said we'd have to have a separate account which would have been around $300 month so I switched to DTV and have never looked back.. we have 21 receivers with them all on one account and never a problem. Don't ever use their repair services.. I use local guys that know the business and I order what I need for self installation and they overnight it to me. When we go on a long trip I take a receiver from one of our bedrooms with me just incase I need it. We used to be able to buy them at Best Buy until they changed their policy... seems like all these companies are getting too greedy!! Dish used to be much harder to tune into the satellites than DTV but I think that has all changed now. Dish would never let me have that many receivers so I have to stay put.
I would have been mad too if I couldn't replace a reciever when travelling like that.

[Jerry Winchester]

While their service sucks, you should deal with XM-Sirius. They are about equal to AT&T for cluelessness.

[garyde]

Try Nextel/Sprint . If your phone breaks, tough luck. Theyll replace it , with a 2 year contract agreement.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I write letters to the Chairmen and CEO's of companies like that. Nothing really changes, but I feel really good expressing myself.

In the case of a regulated company such as ATT include a copy to your state's Public Utility Commission. We in essence allow if not encourage such shitty service by accepting it as normal. When I am forced to talk to several automated machines before even getting a human I am already spring loaded to explode so if I get the slightest hint of resistance I ask for the supervisor and work my way up the food chain by talking calmly and firmly about how I expect my problem to be resolved. Asking for people's names and the correct spelling seems to set the tone with folks to help them understand I am not going to be bullied.

So far there have been times when my problem was not immediately resolved, but by the time my letter to the Chairman is working its way down the food chain the cooperation I get is excellent.

BTW, I have yet to find a large company that has a web site for us mere mortals with the chairman's name and mailing address, but if you look for investor information you not only get the mailing address, sometimes you get his phone number and email address which significantly shortens the time between the problem and resolution.

[merle&louise]

Louise has found a way to cut quickly thru the recorded messages; just say customer service at each prompt! It gets you thru to a human and then they can put you on hold!

I have dropped DirecTV also. I just use the campground cable service or just use the local channels thru the batwing antenna when we are dry camping.

[phorner]

Guess I got lucky. I actually had excellent customer service from DirecTv.

We were in a campground in Arkansas when my receiver went out. After a call to customer service, they said that a replacement would be on its way overnight.

Sure enough, a replacement DVR receiver arrived by FedEx the next day, I called in the new access card number, and I've been in business ever since. Apparently, I happened to get the right guy, or a new guy that didn't know any better....

After reading this thread, I'm now hoping that my receiver lasts a long, long time!!

[edsaylor]

I have had excellent service from DirecTV. I have had receivers sent to me while travelling twice. We have a cabin in Dillard, GA and it has a different dish from the one at our home in Ocean Springs, MS. In May when I took boxes from MS to GA, I could not get them to work. DirecTV sent a guy out and got everything working plus changed out one box, all at no expense to me because I pay $5 per month for their box and wiring warranty. So far, my experience with DirecTV has been excellent. They know I have to houses plus a coach all on one account.

[Danss]

Everyone please note!!! 1-800-769-4635 is the Direct Tv number you can call an avoid all prompts. This number was set up to really service customers that have Rec. in the RV and the home. Suprise, they even know what an RV is!!!
I have never had a problem with Direct TV or there service. You have to have them ZAP your receiver if you haven't used it for awhile is the only problem.

[merle&louise]

Thanks Dan, I put the new number in my cell phone.

Just for the fun of it I tried calling the number - the guy hung-up on me!

Just kidding!

[CAPT MOGUL & Sandy]

Thanks to Dan, we have called them several times at the number and ALWAYS had the BEST of service!
Sandy

[rahangman]

800-333-3474 will do the same thing for DishNetwork, dedicated to RV's...used it twice and quickly resolved both times. That is a fact, at least for Dish, if you do not tune into Dish like once in 30 days, you have to call them and have them "Ping" it , wait for a couple minutes and the Satellite once again recognizes you.

[tpr]

When you call the Direct TV number,what country does it go to?

[truk4u]

I don't have to call anymore after inactivity. Using my cell phone, which is the account phone number, I just dial in and enter the 3 digit number displayed, usually 771 and after a few minutes I'm good to go.

[garyde]

With any Company, its always going to be about the person you get on the other end of the phone. If you reach an impass, hang up and call again. Sometimes thats all it takes.

[Orren Zook]

If you've ever accessed your user account online, you can resend authorization to your directv receiver(s) online from your computer. Simply log into your account, select tools from the help option on the main screen, then scroll down to the 'reauthorize your receiver' option. It's simple and fast.

[ToyMan]

I got a brochure at Camping World regarding Dish's "Pay as you go TV" Just for RV's. It looks like a good deal. No contract. Pay by the month for usage and don't pay when you are not using it.

That's what I an going to do in April when my Directv contract is up. You do have to buy the receiver.

Will their HD work on a TracStar SV-360? Their HD for life option is a one-time $99 fee.

http://www.campingworld.com/dishnetwork/

[Mark3101]

I got a brochure at Camping World regarding Dish's "Pay as you go TV" Just for RV's. It looks like a good deal. No contract. Pay by the month for usage and don't pay when you are not using it.

That's what I an going to do in April when my Directv contract is up. You do have to buy the receiver.

Will their HD work on a TracStar SV-360? Their HD for life option is a one-time $99 fee.

http://www.campingworld.com/dishnetwork/

The TracStar SV-360 will do HD with certain firmware versions. You should contact tech support and ask. They are very good at getting back to you if you need to leave a msg. if they are all busy.