Guitarmonster
Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey
I have been a loyal DirecTV customer for about seven years now, have had no problems, not even a late payment. I recently moved to a different apartment and asked to have my service moved to the new address. They actually told me since I was such a good customer that they would waive the moving fee ($50) and install my service for free. I also asked for a new HD Digital video recorder box for my living room. They told me I would have to purchase the box which I have no problem with. However, I made it very clear to the salesperson on the phone that I would be unable to purchase the box in full, and I would need them to put me into a payment plan. The salesman agreed and said that each month I would be paying my full amount, plus an additional amount to go towards the box. My roommate warned me ahead of time to get the salesman to state everything pertaining to the order very clearly, therefore I literally had him confirm everything about 15 times on the phone. About a month later, I get a phone call from their delinquency department saying that I was past due. I made my full payment plus the additional payment towards the box on time so I was pretty confused. They said that there was no payment plan, and that I had to pay for the box in full immediately or get shut off. I argued with the woman for a while and demanded that she investigate further because I know I made an agreement for a payment plan. She then said that the only thing she could do was give me until the end of the month to pay the full amount. Less than a week later my service was shut off. I called and asked for a supervisor, the supervisor was very uncooperative and pretty much accused me of lying about this whole payment plan. I got so frustrated that I told him I no longer wanted to do business with them and to send me a pre-paid mailing box to return the dvr unit. About a week later my roommate said that even know we were 100% right about our situation, that we would just "bite the bullet" and pay the whole balance off and move on. I reluctantly called them back and told them that I was ready to pay the entire balance. They said I then owed over $500 because I was being charged an early termination fee for breaking my contract. I begged and pleaded with them to just let me pay the balance and move on but they said that the only way I was going to get turned back on was to pay the whole amount including their early termination fee. I explained that I never agreed to any contract and they said that it's automatic because I moved. I then told them to mail me proof that I agreed to a contract and they said "no problem". A month later and no proof has arrived yet. They have now sent a collection agency after me, they call multiple times a day. I remember years ago when I worked for a telemarketing company, we used to sign people up for contracts all the time. I remember specifically being trained that all contracts had to be recorded in their entirety, and that the customer had to very clearly agree to the terms, or the whole thing was null and void. I also remember something about customers being "slammed", meaning being put into a contract without their consent, being highly illegal in the State of New Jersey. At this point I don't know what to do, I keep getting more bills from them, and for some reason the amount of the bill keeps climbing. I finally sent an email to their "President's office" and got a call back. They apologized for what happened, but said the only thing they could do for me was waive the early termination fee if I came back as a customer. I don't think they understood what I said when I told them that I called Dish Network, which I am now in a 2 year contract with. If I go back to DirecTV they will charge me an early termination fee (I wouldn't want to go back anyway). I have read on the internet that there are a lot of class action lawsuits against DirecTV but i'm not too sure if any would pertain towards my situation. Doesn't direcTV have to prove that I agreed to a contract? If the contract was verbal, then aren't they violating their end (since I made a verbal agreement about the payment plan)?
It's almost idiotic what they did because you would think that when I called back to just pay the whole thing off they would have said "hey look, here's a good opportunity to just get this thing paid off and move on", instead they had to be stubborn and stand their ground so instead of it getting paid off, they got nothing from me. Also, I have called this collection agency and notified them that I no longer want to accept phone calls and to put me on their "do not call list", but they keep calling, isn't that illegal too?
I have been a loyal DirecTV customer for about seven years now, have had no problems, not even a late payment. I recently moved to a different apartment and asked to have my service moved to the new address. They actually told me since I was such a good customer that they would waive the moving fee ($50) and install my service for free. I also asked for a new HD Digital video recorder box for my living room. They told me I would have to purchase the box which I have no problem with. However, I made it very clear to the salesperson on the phone that I would be unable to purchase the box in full, and I would need them to put me into a payment plan. The salesman agreed and said that each month I would be paying my full amount, plus an additional amount to go towards the box. My roommate warned me ahead of time to get the salesman to state everything pertaining to the order very clearly, therefore I literally had him confirm everything about 15 times on the phone. About a month later, I get a phone call from their delinquency department saying that I was past due. I made my full payment plus the additional payment towards the box on time so I was pretty confused. They said that there was no payment plan, and that I had to pay for the box in full immediately or get shut off. I argued with the woman for a while and demanded that she investigate further because I know I made an agreement for a payment plan. She then said that the only thing she could do was give me until the end of the month to pay the full amount. Less than a week later my service was shut off. I called and asked for a supervisor, the supervisor was very uncooperative and pretty much accused me of lying about this whole payment plan. I got so frustrated that I told him I no longer wanted to do business with them and to send me a pre-paid mailing box to return the dvr unit. About a week later my roommate said that even know we were 100% right about our situation, that we would just "bite the bullet" and pay the whole balance off and move on. I reluctantly called them back and told them that I was ready to pay the entire balance. They said I then owed over $500 because I was being charged an early termination fee for breaking my contract. I begged and pleaded with them to just let me pay the balance and move on but they said that the only way I was going to get turned back on was to pay the whole amount including their early termination fee. I explained that I never agreed to any contract and they said that it's automatic because I moved. I then told them to mail me proof that I agreed to a contract and they said "no problem". A month later and no proof has arrived yet. They have now sent a collection agency after me, they call multiple times a day. I remember years ago when I worked for a telemarketing company, we used to sign people up for contracts all the time. I remember specifically being trained that all contracts had to be recorded in their entirety, and that the customer had to very clearly agree to the terms, or the whole thing was null and void. I also remember something about customers being "slammed", meaning being put into a contract without their consent, being highly illegal in the State of New Jersey. At this point I don't know what to do, I keep getting more bills from them, and for some reason the amount of the bill keeps climbing. I finally sent an email to their "President's office" and got a call back. They apologized for what happened, but said the only thing they could do for me was waive the early termination fee if I came back as a customer. I don't think they understood what I said when I told them that I called Dish Network, which I am now in a 2 year contract with. If I go back to DirecTV they will charge me an early termination fee (I wouldn't want to go back anyway). I have read on the internet that there are a lot of class action lawsuits against DirecTV but i'm not too sure if any would pertain towards my situation. Doesn't direcTV have to prove that I agreed to a contract? If the contract was verbal, then aren't they violating their end (since I made a verbal agreement about the payment plan)?
It's almost idiotic what they did because you would think that when I called back to just pay the whole thing off they would have said "hey look, here's a good opportunity to just get this thing paid off and move on", instead they had to be stubborn and stand their ground so instead of it getting paid off, they got nothing from me. Also, I have called this collection agency and notified them that I no longer want to accept phone calls and to put me on their "do not call list", but they keep calling, isn't that illegal too?
