Yesterday I told you part one of this story, here's part two.
On Saturday I was going over our finances, paying bills, etc.
I used to allow DirecTV to take the money directly from my checking account, but after some problem with the auto-payment I now have the payment being pulled from a credit card.
Then I make a BillPay payment through my checking account to the credit card.
I remembered last month that DirecTV was higher than it normally is – $62.99. I decided to log into the credit card account and see how much they charged, since I want to pay exactly that amount using BillPay.
I was disturbed to see a charge pending for $82.96. Now the month before I expected the bill to be about $20 higher since I told them to go ahead and tack on the shipping of the receivers to my bill. But there it was, a second month over $82.
I was really glad I checked, and very annoyed.
I put in a call to DirecTV and of course they have that automated computer voice trying to be all cheery and I just wanted someone on the phone who can tell me what the heck is going on.
Finally I get a representative on the line. He explains to me that I have to pay $5 a month for each receiver. Yes. I know that. I remember that from years ago, I know I've paid $20 for the four receivers each month. He needed to put me on hold and we got disconnected.
Now I'm really steamed. I call them back. I get a second representative on the line. She explains again that I have to pay $20/month for the receivers, and I tell her I have been paying $20 for the receivers, and why is my bill $82 instead of $62 like it was before I got the receivers? She says that I've been getting a discount and I'm no longer eligible for the discount. I asked incredulously, “I've been getting a discount for the last ten years?!” I told her I wanted to speak with a supervisor. She asked me if she could put me on hold.
Next thing I know we've been disconnected again.
I call back. I immediately tell the representative I get on the line – after answering the identifying questions correctly – I want to speak with a supervisor. She puts me on hold, then comes back and says she has to know more of the situation so she can brief the supervisor, so I reiterate my story for the third time.
Finally a supervisor comes onto the line. Interesting how she sounded like an American, and the tone of her voice was steady and confident. For the fourth time I explain my story. Finally, after examining my account, she explains that I am paying $5/month for each receiver because I'm leasing the equipment.
What?!
I then explained what happened initially. She countered, “Did you also know you have a new commitment with us?” I asked her to explain what that meant and she said basically it means if I want to drop DirecTV within the next twelve months I'll have to pay a fee for breaking the commitment.
I was not aware of this at all either. She was not pleased to hear that I knew nothing of the lease agreement and new commitment. She said the company is required by law to inform the customer and if representatives are not disclosing this information they would need to be retrained.
Next she told me in order to correct this situation I would need to return the new equipment; then she could put everything back to the way it was before the new commitment. She mentioned having a technician come out and take the new equipment. I asked her why a technician had to come out? She said if I was comfortable removing the equipment myself, then I could send it back without a technician needing to come out. I told her we always hook up the new equipment.
After talking a bit more, she came up with another plan. I won't go into all the details, but basically she was able to get my service back down to the original amount, which was actually $66.49. I remembered it being $62.99, and it was that amount in February. The bill went to $66.49 in March, but I just figured AJ had paid for a Pay Per View movie. Then there was the mix up with the auto-pay in April and I was double charged in May, so I didn't notice the amount had increased to $66.49.
She is also refunding the amount I was overcharged for two months, $48.81, and giving me a $5 monthly discount for the next twelve months. So my bill for August should be $12.68 and thereafter $61.49, until twelve months is up. She also gave me her name and her identification number.
I was much happier at that point, and I really felt like she meant it when she said DirecTV appreciates my business as a loyal customer.
I'm glad she was able to help me out. So what started out to be a disaster turned out to be a good thing in the end.
Wow, what a pain!
I’m amazed that they did that to you! I’m glad that you finally got ahold of a supervisor and cleared up the problem!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
July 18th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Money Reasons: Yes, it was a pain and frustrating as can be! I am pleased that the supervisor could work with me to resolve the problem. I am happy that customer service still exists for some companies. Thanks for visiting and commenting! Mrs. A
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Good grief! Sounds just like Qwest, except you got through faster to someone who (supposedly) will do something about it.
Good luck. I hope the adjustments she claims will happen actually come to pass.
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
July 18th, 2010 at 9:36 am
Funny: You’re right. I will have to watch my bill and make sure those credits appear!
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Mrs. Accountability- I always enjoy hearing happy endings like this. Working in customer service myself, and really enjoying my work; it warms my soul knowing people still care. Not everyone, but there are a few of us still out there! As of right now, I know you sound pleased (reasonably so) with your service and the outcome. I still just wanna let you know that I hope you will eventually give thought to another provider. Working for DISH, I hope that one day you will allow us to provide you will equally as satisfying service. Mrs. A, I hope you have a wonderful week!
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Mrs. Accountability Reply:
March 28th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
@Miranda, thanks for stopping by and visiting.
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