DIRECTV Review: Packages, Equipment, & Prices

DIRECTV just might be the best TV service we’ve reviewed, even if it could improve pricing and customer support.

Overall Rating 4.25 out of 5

Nationwide availability

NFL SUNDAY TICKET

Price increase during contract

View Plans View channel lineups

Written by: Scott Teran

Published 04/28/2017

After AT&T bought DIRECTV, we wondered if DIRECTV would become more like AT&T’s U-verse TV, which is not our favorite TV service. Luckily, DIRECTV still looks and acts like DIRECTV. It’s arguably the best TV service out there, despite having what might be the most mind-boggling price increase. If you can handle the two-year commitment, DIRECTV delivers one of the best TV experiences.

It carries the NFL SUNDAY TICKET, which you can’t find anywhere else, and DIRECTV’s Genie DVR is easily one of the three best TV service DVRs. We’ve also tried the rest of DIRECTV’s equipment, and we learned things we wish we knew before getting it.

PROS

More HD channels than others
Exclusive NFL SUNDAY TICKET
DVR with 200 hrs of HD storage

CONS

Nonsensical price increases
Two-year contract requirement
Okay customer service

DIRECTV overview

DIRECTV’s all-inclusive pricing is still a bit mystifying.

DIRECTV packages & prices

Packages	Pricing	Channels	Details
SELECT™	$35/mo.	155+ Channels	View Plan
ENTERTAINMENT	$40/mo.	160+ Channels	View Plan
CHOICE™	$45/mo.	185+ Channels	View Plan
XTRA	$55/mo.	235+ Channels	View Plan
ULTIMATE	$60/mo.	250+ Channels	View Plan
PREMIER™	$110/mo.	330+ Channels	View Plan

Not long ago, DIRECTV changed its pricing to make it easier to understand—at least that’s what DIRECTV claims. It used to be that DIRECTV, like every other pay-TV service, would tack on a bunch of nonsense fees to the monthly service charge (DVR fee, receiver fee, etc.). The good news is that’s no longer the case: DIRECTV’s pricing is “ALL INCLUSIVE.” That means the price you see online is the price you pay. For the most part, we found this to be true, so we have to hand it to DIRECTV for no longer badgering customers with fees and more fees.

However, DIRECTV still does something we simply don’t understand—it increases the monthly service charge halfway through the two-year contract.

What a la carte programming does DIRECTV have?

DIRECTV carries MLB EXTRA INNINGS, MLS Direct Kick, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NHL CENTER ICE, and, of course, the NFL SUNDAY TICKET—DIRECTV’s golden goose of sports subscriptions. You can also find FOX Soccer Plus on DIRECTV, and even DOGTV (a TV channel for your dog).

Keep in mind DIRECTV service doesn’t change halfway through the two-year contract, but for some reason the price does. For example, if you go with the ENTERTAINMENT package, the monthly service charge is $40 per month for 12 months. We think that’s an excellent price for what you get (160+ channels and a DVR). But after the first 12 months, the monthly service charge for that same ENTERTAINMENT package goes up to $87 per month. Really. That’s how it works with every DIRECTV package: you pay one price the first 12 months, then a different, higher price for the remaining 12 months. To be fair, every TV service loves surprising customers with price hikes, but DIRECTV just might be the biggest offender. Don’t get us wrong, though—we still think there’s plenty to like about DIRECTV.

Looking for DIRECTV internet?

We hate to break the news, but DIRECTV doesn’t offer its own internet service. But you can bundle your favorite DIRECTV package with internet from AT&T! Check out our AT&T Internet review and see what you think.

We’ve harped on DIRECTV’s price increase long enough, but we should point out the first 12 months of pricing are actually quite good for what you get. The all-included price gets you the excellent Genie DVR.

Despite the odd pricing tactics, DIRECTV offers so much to watch that it can be overwhelming.

^{Video last updated Aug. 2018}

DIRECTV channel lineup

Prices
$35–$110

Channels
155–330

Contract
2 yrs.

View Plans

It can be hard to decide on a TV package, especially if each carries hundreds of channels. If you’re the type who has to have to have every single channel, then the choice is easy: go with the PREMIER package. Of course, because it has every channel, it’s also the most expensive package.

If you’re more like us and just want to keep up with popular shows so you can join in on water-cooler conversations, we recommend the ENTERTAINMENT package. It carries the cable channels most people watch¹—ESPN, USA, AMC, TBS, TNT, Discovery Channel, FX, etc.—so you can keep up with must-watch TV, like Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Suits, American Horror Story, Teen Mom, and more. There’s so much to watch with 155+ channels that just trying to decide can be a challenge.

The ENTERTAINMENT package’s 160 channels include some of the biggest—FX, ESPN, TNT, TBS, USA, and E! Network—at $40 per month.

View Plan

There are so many channels—and so many we’ve never even heard of—that we don’t blame you if you feel overwhelmed by DIRECTV’s selection. But if you’re the kind of person who wants to know every single channel available in a given package, you can head over to the DIRECTV channel lineup tool to find listings for every single channel.

We feel confident in our recommendation of the ENTERTAINMENT package, which should work for most people, but if you’re a sports hound, you might want to look at some of the niche sports channels included in the higher-up packages. (We’re fine with just watching highlights on ESPN.) Also, if you’re a movie fanatic, the top DIRECTV package, PREMIER, has about a dozen HBO channels, the STARZ Super Pack (STARZ and Encore channels), another dozen SHOWTIME channels, and a handful of Cinemax channels. It’s pretty much a luxury movie package for cinephiles.

What is NFL SUNDAY TICKET?

For NFL diehards, NFL SUNDAY TICKET is a must (or a necessary evil), but it can be pricey. It runs anywhere from $250–$350 annually. But NFL junkies have no choice: NFL SUNDAY TICKET is the only way to watch every single NFL game.

I want my MTV—in high definition.

If you don’t like watching TV or movies in standard definition (SD), DIRECTV offers more high definition (HD) channels than any other TV service we’ve reviewed. To compare, DIRECTV lists more than 200+ channels in HD, while DISH lists only 105+ channels. Finding how many HD channels you can get in each package is a little more complicated, but the lowest package (SELECT) includes 55+ HD channels. Both DISH and DIRECTV carry many of the same popular channels in HD (e.g. ESPN HD), but again, it depends on the TV package. You can check the online channel guide to find out what DIRECTV channels are in HD.

Equipment and features

DIRECTV’s equipment is easy to like because it doesn’t get in the way of watching TV.

We tested DIRECTV’s service with the Genie DVR (model HR54), and it worked just as it should, which is to say we had easy access to more movies and shows than we could ever possibly watch. The menus were simple enough to navigate, and after the initial setup of the DVR and remote, we were binge-watching in no time.

The actual remote and DVR are pretty nondescript (see photo). The remote, like the rest of DIRECTV’s interface, feels easy to use. For example, we couldn’t bother to remember 99% of channel numbers, so if we wanted to check what games were on, we just went to the menu and selected SPORTS. Simple. DIRECTV’s equipment (and interface) doesn’t feel as exciting as XFINITY’s X1, especially when it comes to sports, but we almost always found the channels we were looking for. (Most of the time, we were trying to find movie channels or ESPN.)

When testing the Genie DVR, we wanted to find out how well it could handle recording all the shows on our must-watch list. We’re happy to say we didn’t miss recording a single show, even during the very crowded Sunday night prime-time schedule. The Genie can record up to five shows at once, so we didn’t sweat missing out on anything. The Genie also boasts a recording capacity of 200 hours in high definition (HD) or 800 hours in standard definition (SD), so it was more than enough for us. The only thing that really hogged up the DVR was when someone decided to record what seemed like every episode of Law & Order SVU, which we’re pretty sure is always on.

We didn’t stop with just testing out the Genie DVR: we also got our hands on the Genie Minis (receivers you need to connect additional TVs). The Minis are quite small (see photo), and wireless models are also available at the same price ($7/mo). We didn’t notice any difference when using a Genie Mini compared to the Genie DVR, and we quite liked the ability of starting a show in one room and moving to another to finish it. The only thing we really worried about with DIRECTV equipment turned out to be the satellite dish.

DIRECTV’s actual satellite dish wasn’t as big an eyesore as we imagined (see photo), but it still needs to be put somewhere, so make sure it’s in the right place. We say this because we happen to live where it snows, and we made the mistake of putting the satellite dish where it wasn’t easy to access. So it snowed and we lost signal. Turns out if you put it close enough to reach with a broom, you can take care of the snow and get back to watching TV.

This is a mistake we made that you can learn from—do what you can to make sure you can easily reach the satellite dish. If you happen to live in San Diego or somewhere else with perfect weather, you don’t need to worry about a thing, except for sitting back and enjoying some cool DIRECTV features.

Going back in time to watch TV

We’ve all tuned in late and wished we could restart a show. Turns out DIRECTV has made this possible. If you can’t guess, we think the aptly named RESTART feature is pretty cool. It’s included at no charge, but there is a downside: it’s available only on limited channels.

Another DIRECTV feature that grabbed our attention has a somewhat similar concept: the 72 HOUR REWIND. The feature allows you to go back up to three days to check out a show you missed. We dig it! It comes in handy when we hear people talking at work about a TV episode we missed the night before. However, like the RESTART feature, it’s not available for every channel.

Customer service

We’ve come to expect subpar service from any TV provider, DIRECTV included. But for this review, we’re going to stick with how we were treated this time around.

Have a complaint? Make it count and tell the FCC.

We’ve heard some terrible customer service stories, but all we can do at Reviews.org is try to make our website better (and share cute cat videos). If you want your voice to be heard, tell the FCC. The FCC’s Consumer Complaint Center lets you easily leave a complaint or share your experience. Who knows, your words to the FCC could make a difference by demanding more from service providers.

To our surprise, DIRECTV delivered a pretty solid customer service experience. Without disclosing who we were, we pestered DIRECTV numerous times over a period of seven days. The service we received was almost always helpful. For example, when we asked how many HD channels were in the SELECT package, the representative responded with not only an answer, but also a PDF document with the complete listing of the channels in the package, including local channels. And the representative gave us time to review the document, which we appreciated. Other company representatives we contact typically continue with a sales script or question without hesitation. To be fair to others we’ve heard from who’ve had negative experiences, we may have had luck on our side—at least most of the time.

There were other times when a DIRECTV representative would try to sell or upsell us after we asked about packages, channels, etc., but none were too pushy. Also, when we asked representatives to explain fees, they usually gave us clear, no-nonsense answers. Overall, we can say our experience with DIRECTV was positive.

What others say about DIRECTV

We think the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is one of the best sources for unbiased research on customer satisfaction, and it rates DIRECTV as third in the entire television service industry²—but that’s not necessarily a great thing. TV service as a whole is known for poor customer satisfaction, so being third in an industry that could be better is nothing to brag about.

^{Source: American Customer Satisfaction Index}

Still, DIRECTV beats a handful of other TV providers for customer satisfaction, so we say take it with a grain of salt. DIRECTV is better than most, but it still needs improvement.

Here are the benchmarks ACSI uses to measure customer satisfaction. Keep in mind this is for all TV service providers and not just DIRECTV.

subscription television service customer experience benchmarks

^{Source: American Customer Satisfaction Index}

The bottom line—is DIRECTV good?

View Plan

DIRECTV is one of the best TV services, despite some pricing shenanigans.

Our recommendation: the ENTERTAINMENT package.

We say go with the ENTERTAINMENT package. It’s got sports channels (ESPN, ESPN2, Fox Sports) and all the popular cable channels and must-watch shows we need to stay in touch with pop culture.

DIRECTV is available nationwide, but if you want to see what other TV service is available in your area, you can use our ZIP code finder.

DIRECTV review summary:

Genie DVR is powerful
Best NFL programming
Available nationwide
Price-hike after a year
Owned by AT&T

FAQs

Q: Where is DIRECTV available?

Because DIRECTV is satellite TV service, it’s available nationwide.

Q: Which DIRECTV package should I get?

We recommended the ENTERTAINMENT package because of its channels and low price. If you want to compare DIRECTV packages side by side, you can go here.

Q: Which DIRECTV package has ESPN?

Every DIRECTV package has ESPN except the SELECT package.

Q: Which DIRECTV channels are in 4K?

DIRECTV has a 4K channel with 24/7 programming (channel 104), a Pay-Per-View 4K movie channel (channel 105), and a 4K event channel (channel 106).

Tell us what you think

Do you have experience with DIRECTV? Do you think it’s one of the best TV services? What’s missing from DIRECTV service? What do you wish DIRECTV did differently? What do you think of having a satellite dish on your home? We want to hear from you, and if you have any questions, please ask. If they’re good, we’ll even include them in our FAQs.

Sources

^{1. IndieWire, “Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2016’s Winners and Losers”}

^{2. American Customer Service Index, “ACSI Telecommunications Report 20167”}

Introduction
Packages and Pricing
Channel Lineup
Equipment and Features
Customer Service
The Bottom Line
FAQ About DIRECTV

Frank N Stein

Your article states there are additional fees for equipment with directv, however their website claims that all prices for packages include all equipment fees for up to 4 rooms of equipment. Which is it? what you say or what they say…
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hello Frank,
  Thanks for reaching out to clarify!
  
  The current package prices DO include all equipment AND advanced receiver service fees for up to 4 rooms (A Whole Home DVR + 3 additional receivers). This promotion ends 7/16/16.
  
  Our post will be updated to reflect this and other changes accordingly as they come.
  
  The FCC and cable companies are in dispute over DVR/Receiver rights. Promotional offers (specifically equipment pricing) across many brands have changed as a result. In essence, the FCC wants to allow for expansion of competitive third-party devices, whereas the cable companies prefer to have more control with proprietary equipment, citing both technical and intellectual property concerns.
  
  This is a complicated issue and there is much debate, so we expect to see these sorts of pricing and packages changes to continue. With that in mind, I’d recommend following our social media accounts for the latest on news like this:
  
  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reviews.org
  Twitter: @reviews_org
  
  -Trevor
upset football fan in SC

I like directv overall, way better value than cable. However, if you are an NFL fan, this is where you need to keep reading. I signed up at the end of the 2015 NFL season. Was automatically signed up for the season even though I didn’t want to because there were fewer than 5 games left. I was told I would get a huge discount for the 2016 season because of this. Low and behold, the max the nfl/directv supervisor person would give me was 20% off, which meant instead of $270 for the entire season, it would be $216. That is not good enough for me since I missed almost the entire season. Bottom line, don’t get directv during NFL season (aug-december), otherwise you will get screwed over, and not get your first season free promotional discount. completely pissed off……Honestly, if there is something better out there, please tell me, because I’m done…..
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  We feel your pain. We’ll add the heads up about signing up during the NFL season to our review.
  
  It’s a bummer, but If you want the NFL Sunday Ticket there’s nowhere else to get it but DIRECTV. It seems each year we hear it may no longer be exclusive, like the NBA League Pass, but until that happens it’s a daydream for football fans.
  
  If you’re looking for an alternative to DIRECTV, we’d recommend DISH. We rated DISH higher than DIRECTV, and if you select a DISH package with ESPN and the NFL Network (yes, it’s available on DISH), you probably won’t miss any NFL games. We checked the broadcast schedule for the 2016-2017 NFL season, and most, if not all, games are broadcast on NBC, FOX, CBS, ESPN and the NFL NETWORK. Of course, NBC, FOX, and CBS are major networks, so they’re included with any package. If you have those five channels and DISH’s Hopper DVR, which can record up to 8 channels at once, you’re covered if they’re multiple NFL games on at once. Also, for this upcoming season, Twitter will be live-streaming all Thursday night NFL games.
  
  Hope this information was helpful. If you have another question, let us know. Thanks for telling us what you think about the NFL Sunday Ticket, and again, we’ll be sure to make a note of it in our review.
Wireless vs Wired Genie

I have a question regarding the wireless Genies. Has there been any feedback on whether it is better to go with the wireless or “wired” Genies? I am nervous to use the wireless becuase it seems like anything wireless has connection issues. Also I wonder if it will conflict with my baby monitor. 🙂 Would love any feedback! Thanks!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hello,
  Wireless Genies are a great way to get to “hard to reach” areas of your house, but they do come with the possibility of interference. Many prefer the wireless system for the “clean appearance” or to avoid drilling holes into their walls. Video quality is essentially equal between wired and wireless.
  
  Wireless Genie boxes may have a $99 wireless set-up fee.
  
  According to DIRECTV, baby monitors could potentially cause interference, especially with remotes in RF mode. The baby monitor affects the remotes communicating with the Mini Genies more than the receivers themselves. In other words, your television signal should be fine regardless of the monitor, but you may run into trouble when using the remote to change channels, volume, etc. A wired baby monitor connection would not affect the signal.
  
  Hope this helps, thanks for your question! Definitely a useful tidbit for parents looking into DIRECTV and other TV services.
Angela Colson Cummings

We are very disappointed with Direct TV. I ordered 5 receivers for our vacation home. Was never told during the 45 minute ordering process anything about only being able to watch 3 tvs at a time. I pay for 5 receivers but can’t use but 3. We were told by the installation guy that we could watch 4 at a time. Come to find out you can only watch the main box and 3 minis ant a time, so when everyone goes to bed at night, (4 bedrooms) one can’t get service. This should have been explained. We will be switching over our home account and vacation home providers tomorrow. And the customer service, unless you are ordering new services is awful.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hello Angela,
  Just to clarify, you have 1 Genie + 4 Minis, right?
  Assuming your Genie is a “main room” (living room/entertainment room/etc) and then each of the 4 bedrooms has a Mini Genie.
  
  We found this information from DIRECTV’s FAQ section:
  “Genie can provide full HD DVR functionality and DIRECTV programming to up to eight connected TVs. However, only four TVs—including the TV connected directly to Genie—can show live or recorded content at the same time. If you expect to have more than four TVs in use at the same time, we recommend using HD DVRs for those extra TVs to ensure the best entertainment experience.”
  
  and then in the fine print:
  “In a Genie Whole-Home HD DVR setup, you and your family can watch live or recorded programming on four separate TVs at the same time.”
  
  So if that is the case, one of the bedroom TV’s would have to have its stream coming directly from the main Genie HD DVR running at the same time, otherwise you would have to order another HD DVR for direct programming.
  
  It’s unfortunate that you’ve had to go through the hassle already, but if you plan on staying with DIRECTV, our advice would be to clarify exactly what you need with a DIRECTV sales agent specifically regarding bedrooms and receivers, see if they’ll replace the current system with one that allows for individual watching in every bedroom. And we always recommend printable/savable records of your order.
  
  If you don’t stay with DIRECTV, we’d be curious as to what provider you went with and why, so keep us in the loop, please!
John Gabriel

I was a blind fool using Direct TV. I had the basic package for $39 then after one year it went to $70 I asked to reduce the price and they did for 2 months only then back to $70. The basic was a complete joke. It’s without a doubt the worst package there is with just a few channels. I just switched to xfinity I now have 3 times the amount of channels. I have channels I never heard of even the Sun channel for $39 and this is not a package. This price will NEVER go up. DIRECT TV IS COMPLETE GARBAGE AND A HUGE RIPOFFF. AND YOU HAVE A CONTRACT. Use your head people!!!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  We wouldn’t recommend the basic DIRECTV package either. The one-year price increase is the worst part about DIRECTV, but it still has great service and selection. It’s a bummer you had to deal with that and we’re glad you like your new TV service.
  - John Gabriel
    
    I asked direct tv if they could give me a better deal on the crap package I had and they said no. They didn’t even offer me anything else. I said well I am going to call xfinity and order there service and the Direct tv representitive said ok I will connect you with the department to have the equipment sent back. They figure they ripped me off long enough so we were all good. These morons should be coming to my house and getting that dish off my roof and patching the holes is what these a******* should be doing !!
- Really
  
  I am going to call about Xfinity. Thanks.
Mike Matthews

After 3 attempts at installation, I’m giving up on DirecTV. On 1st attempt installer refused to install dish. 2nd attempt no installer showed up because supposedly the installation was rescheduled by the system without informing me. On 3rd attempt, even after receiving confirmation calls and texts including a specific install time, no one showed. Customer service refused to escalate my issues to management to get resolved and I’m not wasting another day waiting for no one to show!

This has been the worst “customer service” experience I can remember!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Oh man, sounds like you got the run-around, that’s rough. Scheduling conflicts are very frustrating. In response, many companies, like Comcast, now offer a guarantee of somewhere around $20 if a technician fails to show up within a certain time frame.
  
  Just curious, did the technician say there was a specific issue regarding the first installation (i.e. placement, restrictions, etc.)?
  If there’s a potential problem we can warn people about before purchasing, that would definitely be helpful!
- BIANCA MORELOS
  
  Delt with the same situation for about 3 months now and nothing has happened
Nomi Harper

published review 8/18/16
DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY! They will tell you anything, will not note your account with any facts about your call, lie to you, promise you things they don’t deliver, insist on overcharging you, won’t acknowledge dates that are supposed to be entered into the notes of your account, and consume your time. DON’T BE FOOLED, DIRECT TV IS A CROOKED COMPANY!!
Never in my life have I been so deceived. I was sold a bunch of lies, prices and services I was promised were doubled. An AT&T representative went over my bill in May, 2016 and convinced me to bundle products of phone, internet, tv for a price of $89.99 per month. My service started on May 27. I was deceived when the installer told me that I wasn’t actually getting high speed uverse because my house was too far away from the central office, instead it was a faster DSL plus I was losing my landline and phone would now be going through my internet. I wasn’t happy about that. It’s more secure for a landline to be used as that is not connected with electrical outages. I should mention I used to be a customer service rep and knew all about the ins and outs of that job helping people establish residential service. I received 33 commendations in 2 1/2 years from very happy customers.
Direct tv promised a tv network that I didn’t receive which I noticed wasn’t recording to my DVR each time I tried to record a program. I called June 24th and was advised that network wasn’t part of my package and would cost me another $20/mo. I was very upset and shocked. I wanted to terminate my service. (you can terminate this contract within the first 30 days and leave without a termination fee, but they didn’t allow that, and I didn’t know this at the time) The next day, June 25, I spoke to the retention department of AT&T who said they adjusted my charges and that I would indeed get the network I wanted and was promised at no extra charge for the duration of my 2 year contract. I was very pleased. However, this didn’t happen. I was charged $161 on my next bill and charges were doubled from what I was promised in the bundle I was sold. After countless calls, I was told I would be charged an early termination fee if I disconnected. I contacted 7 On Your Side. They said they could help me and knew connections in the escalation department, but that they couldn’t do this until a week later, 8/12/16. In the meantime, I made more calls. Eventually, I spoke to a manager from the escalation department yesterday who called me and again insisted I would be charged $420 ETF (early termination fee) but I proved to her that I had called before 30 days were passed to try and cancel and was directed to the retention department. She was horrible, didn’t do her homework to study the notes on my account, made me repeat things so many times, didn’t listen, was talking as if from a script, offered me a $50 reduction from the termination fee, then a $100 reduction and I said NO, don’t waste my time and after more time, she finally offered me to exit without fees. My service was disconnected after 8 hours, though she said it would be done immediately. In the morning, I got an email from direct tv that a charge of early termination would be on my last bill. Unbelievable. I called this morning to find out she never noted my account with the facts that she promised no ETF. This has been one nightmare after another! Don’t be fooled. Don’t get involved with Direct TV. They are the worst Crooks ever!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Thanks for letting us know Nomi,
  Sounds like you had a rough experience. You definitely did well to push back, and it’s very unfortunate that no notes were made of your interactions. Perhaps if you make another call you could directly ask for a copy of your account notes? We definitely recommend getting any promises made in writing, or if nothing else, making sure you get the agent’s name and keeping a personal transcript.
  
  Out of curiosity, what other services are available in your area?
  DISH offers TV service nationwide, and is DIRECTV’s competitor. You might let them know your situation and see if they would be willing to “earn” your business. Otherwise, Comcast is the nation’s largest cable provider and my family’s been happy with our service for years, especially with the X1 DVR upgrade. Plus, they have no-contract options so you can pull the plug anytime without cancellation fees.
  
  We hope your current issue is resolved soon!
  - Nomi Harper
    
    Hi Trevor. I’m going back to Dishnetwork. I was with them over 10 years and they have been the best. Good suggestion to get a copy of the notes on my account. I think the real issue was that reps were not thoroughly reading the notes on my account and lazy.
Stanley Stephens

ATT/DIRECT TV IS BY FAR THE WORST COMPANY I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE. I HAD INTERNET SERVICE FOR A FEW YEARS AND NO REAL ISSUES, BUT IN JANUARY I DECIDED TO AD DIRECT TV TO MY SERVICE. (BIG MISTAKE) FIRST OFF I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO LOG INTO MY DIRECT TV ONLINE/ APP BECAUSE THE SAID I NEEDED TO LOG INTO IT WITH ATT, SO I LONG INTO ATT AND NOTHING ABOUT DIRECT TV SHOWS UP. I WAS ON THE PHONE FOR 4 HOURS TRYING TO FIX THIS AND 8 MONTHS LATER IT HASNT BEEN FIXED. NOW WHEN IT COMES TO BILLING THEY ARE A SPECIAL KIND OF STUPID. MY ATT IS DIRECT DRAFT NO PROBLEM, MY DIRECT TV SHOULD BE. WELL EVERY MONTH I HAD TO CALL AND PAY BECAUSE THEY WOULD CUT IT OFF. I WOULD CALL AND PAY DIRECT TV, SOMETIMES THEY WOULD SAY I HAD TO PAY ATT. WELL AFTER 6 MONTHS THE CANCELED MY SERVICE. I CALL AGAIN AND THEY SAY I OWE THEM LIKE $350 I SAID MY BILL IS ONLY $89. THEY SAID I HAVENT PAYED IN 3 MONTHS, SO I CALLED ATT AND THEY SAID DIRECT TV OWED ME A $80 CREDIT. SO I CALLED AND THEY TOLD ME YES THEY DO AND THEY CUT MY SERVICE BACK ON AND I AGREED TO PAYING $200 TO HAVE SERVICE BACK ON (WHY I DONT KNOW JUST TO GET PAST ALL THE BS) WELL APPARENTLY THE CREDIT WAS NEVER APPLIED AND NOW I HAVE A COLLECTION AGENT CALLING SAYING I OWE $500 AND ATT SAID THEY SHOW MY SERVICE AS STILL CANCELED WHEN I HAVE BEEN WATCHING MY DIRECT TV FOR A MONTH.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  That’s sounds terrible…
  
  We don’t like having to deal with customer service either. If it’s any help, we recommend using online chat. That way you have records of what a representative told you, and you can also put a movie on or enjoy a drink while you chat. (We think it’s better than holding a phone to your head for an hour…)
  
  Let us know what happens. We imagine things are getting messy as AT&T tries to bring DIRECTV and U-Verse services (TV, internet, etc) together.
  
  Also, do you have other options for service in your area?
  - Stanley Stephens
    
    It’s not a issue of talking to people it’s not getting a straight answer. It’s not getting what’s promised. It’s taking to long to resolve my problem and not seen any results
disappointed customer

Being an x Att employee I know what is expected out of the customer service reps. I’m not sure how Direct TV’s was before the buy out but I have to say the customer service now with Att is terrible and I’m so very disappoint with how Att is letting this happen. If I’m going thru this so are alot more customers and I’m sure they are loosing many. I had recieved a brochure in the mail “join now and recieve a 200 visa gift card” moving to the area it sounded good. Could use the gift card for a number of things needed for the new place. I called Monday and got a rep in USA that spoke english and was very nice and talked me thru it all and took $24.00 from me, which I know they ran a credit check (which by the way should have told me they were doing that) and no problems with the gift card, got me on a decend package. Then transfred me to “installation” no way was it. The guy got on the phone and was eating he put me on hold for 8 mins. and no music, I had no idea where I was transfred because he never addressed the call as Direct TV or Att, not even his name or dept. After 8 mins. he came back on (done eating) and said he could install tomorrow. By the way I told the first lady next week Friday. So I had to explain no next week Friday and he put me on hold again for another 5 mins. Came back on and confirmed installation date, This all took about an hour. Come weds. I recieve an email stating by order was canceled. I called the toll free number and got some guy overseas who I couldnt understand and had to keep asking him to repeat himself slowly. He couldnt tell me why my order was canceled.
Confirmed that he could place another order same everything and gift card, installation date etc….I placed the order and he wanted another $5.00 I told him I did not want another credit check, well they did it again. Got transfrd to another dept “installation” again, no music nothing. Installation date came and the tech was very nice and all went well. One month later I called asking for my gift card(we all know where this is going), another overseas person, call back in one week. I called back and did get a english speaking rep in the USA very nice said I should hear back by friday. Nothing. I now go back another week later and did get another english speaking USA rep that put a rush on my concern. I just got off the phone from another overseas rep that i couldnt understand and first started out with “I’m so sorry but we cant do anything because the order didnt have a gift card on it” Of coarse I’m extremely upset and told him to cancel the service because Direct TV broke the contract not me. He came back with “well I can give you a 100 credit on the account”. No way I still told him to cancel, thats NOT what the brochure said and I’m looking at it. He again came back with “well I can give you a 200 credit on the account”. So why is it that a new customer has to go thru all this treatment and why do I even have to wheel and deal for my gift card? I can not reccommend the service to anyone and I personally am very dispointed that Att would allow this treatment to customers.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  That’s a bummer…new customers should be treated better. Are you going to stick with AT&T? Let us know what happens.
GoFlyers30

Same as Mike Matthews. Installation took multiple attempts and they continued making brutal excuses why they didn’t show up.
Keep your comcast/xfinity account and save yourself the frustration of even worse customer service with att/direct TV.
Absolute worst experience I have ever had with a cable company… and we all know how low that bar is.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Ah, that’s rough. Luckily, we’re seeing more companies adopting solutions like technician tracking apps and/or money back guarantees that will hold the companies more accountable for keeping schedules.
  
  Thanks for your input!
Jen H

I love the channel options you have, and the ability to get Sunday Ticket, but, I am seriously considering leaving Directv when my contract runs out next year. Why? The Genie and mini-genie are TERRIBLE! Both freeze up on me at least once a week, prompting me to reset them at least once a week. I have had the Genie replaced twice, and the mini replaced once. That has been since June 2016. I never thought these words would leave my lips, but, the DVR for Time Warner Cable is 5 times better than the Genie and Mini Genie. That is really sad…
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hey Jen, thanks for your thoughts!
  Out of curiosity, do you know which versions of the Genie and Genie Mini you have? It’s unfortunate that you’ve had to replace them multiple times without improvement, but perhaps if you clarified which model numbers have not worked, they would have an alternative?
  There is also the possibility of opting for a third party DVR if you’re happy with all other aspects of service.
  
  We’d recommend contacting DIRECTV with your model number information and see if there’s anything to be done in the way of 1) absolutely ensuring you don’t run into the same problems with replacements, or 2) providing your service at a reduced rate since you will be not using their equipment anymore.
  
  Let us know what you decide to do!
  - Jen H
    
    Thanks, Trevor. I haven’t thought about looking to see what version I have. I will follow your advice and reach out to Directv with this information. Thanks!
Camila

Worst customer service ever. We signed up for international and regular channels. Sales rep guarantee they were going to install only ONE antenna on our roof. We signed up under this condition. When the technician finished his job, there were 2 antennas on our roof. They said they are not going to remove. We have to remove our own and pay for the damage on the roof.
Phyllis Hamman

Ok I just signed on To have Direct TV and it is to be installed this Saturday but after reading all of these reviews I’m scared to death I made the wrong decision. It makes me want to
back out of the deal if that is possible. I have Dish right now and they kept raising the prices and right now I pay almost $100 a month for two tv and 120 channels. Dish sounded like a good deal at $43.99 a month-didn’t mention it is only for one year and the second year it will go up.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  Phyllis, what DIRECTV package did you sign up for and how many TVs are you setting up? Also, if it helps, you do have 30 days to get a refund with DIRECTV.
  
  As we mentioned in our review, DIRECTV is pretty good TV service but its price can be a bit high.
Eric

I never write reviews on anything, but my experience with DirecTV was so horrible that I feel obligated. I moved from North Carolina to Ohio and decided to try DirecTV. After installation I never had any channels. I called 3-4 times and they sent someone out twice and they never fixed it. Finally after 3 months of not having cable and calling multiple times they finally realized my zip code in their system was for north carolina and not ohio which was why I was not getting service. I offered them an opportunity to fix it by refunding those months and giving me the package at the price promised but they wouldn’t do it so I cancelled my service. Of course they tried to give me an early cancellation fee ($420) which is the most absurd concept in this scenario. I had to spend over 2 hours on the phone with supervisor after supervisor in order to get my cancellation fee waved and to get refunded for the 3 months I wasn’t receiving cable but for which I was still paying. Oh and of course despite all of that they still sent me a bill for early cancellation which I again had to call and spend more than an hour again trying to get it resolved, which it still isn’t. I’ll be writing a review a day until this is resolved.
Mdjkieffer

I would give this a 1 star. For those of you who are used to cable, don’t switch. First, logically speaking, you would think when you buy an “upgraded” package it would contain the same channels as the cheaper package, only get more channels, right? no. Don’t assume. You get whatever DirectTV thinks is better and usually it’s not….What??? Then look closely at all the “extra” channels you get…those are mostly: shopping channels (endless amount), PPV (endless amount) sports (ditto) and religious channels oh and tons of porn, just what your little ones need… Oh and let’s not for get music channels–what is that? like about 100??? If I want to listen to music, I’d turn on the radio. I’m looking for ways to get out of this crappy contract…like if they jack the price up like I hear they do.
Nicole Mallaber

So where do I begin? Honestly if I could give this company negative stars, I WOULD. I am a very patient person and try not to get upset easily but I’m on my last straw!! I’ll start from the beginning, I switched to this company around June because Comcast was overly priced and at&t seemed to be a good company with good prices. I went to an authorized retailer (my first mistake) who signed me up and got me started. In the first month I was back at the retailer, Not knowing he was just a retailer, but anyways. So the first problem, They tried to charge me $186.81 for my first bill when I was told it would only be $119. after tax. So I walked in, Not upset just confused. He said he would email his boss and get it fixed said that I wouldn’t have a payment till August and everything was good. I even mentioned to him please get rid of the free movie channels because I don’t want a pop up bill because I forgot to cancel the trial. So he said he would…. A week later, MY SERVICE IS SHUT OFF. It isn’t my fault he didn’t do his job yet I was being punished. So I called the 800 number, They credited me, and turned it back on. Everything was great again right? NO! So then I start noticing that my tv is recording things I didn’t record and things I tried to, were gone. Like uh what ???? So I went back in to the store, (second time in the same month) They found two other people on the same account as me!! How does that even happen? idk. So they said they would take the people off and it would only be me, Also said again to shut off the movie channels ( because they were still on there) so I didn’t get charged for them again. Great everything is good again right? LOL no. Then I get a bill around August saying I owe over $200 dollars LIKE WHAT. Apparently he forgot to inform me that two months were going to be in one bill, and I couldn’t get around it. I went to the actual at&t store more than upset just confused about everything. They explained everything and mentioned that the damn movies channels were still on there, so I told them no, please I don’t want them on there. (one of the reasons my bill was high that month) so he had to credit me for those. I don’t like being told one thing and then being tossed around from this company. So I paid the bill and then THIS MONTH rolls around, Somehow the company decides to AUTOMATICALLY take $173. out of my account. First off, didn’t sign up for auto pay, secondly MY BILL ISN’T THAT MUCH. I haven’t had a correct bill amount since starting with this company. So i called this past Monday explaining how upset this is making me and I don’t like all the trouble I have to go through just to have tv and internet. He said he would credit me back my money because what do you know, charging me for movie channels that i continually beg to be taken off and he would pay my bill for the month for $119.. Today I look at my account, still no money, the transaction for 173 has went through and been taken out, my bill hasn’t been paid and I haven’t seen the money they owe me. I called in and the computer tells me I have a past due amount and I need to pay my bill before he can help me. SO I asked for a representative and I was put on hold for 20 min before I decided to give up on talking to anyone human. THIS IS RIDICULOUS…. I am so upset I could cry! my tv hasn’t been fixed, things still record without my power, and if one more month goes by and i’m charged for movie channels, I will go completely crazy. I’m ready to cancel, But I don’t want to be stuck with a $400 fee just because I don’t want to deal with any of this anymore. 🙁 This isn’t all the crap I have dealt with, I’ve had many more phone calls and visits…..
Angel

The first thing that irritated me about DirectTV was them not reusing equipment I already paid for. I don’t think I should have to pay to have new equipment installed when I had that done at the place I recently moved from. Just another way to nickel and dime you. To top it all off when everything was said and done they said they would ship boxes to me so I could ship equipment back to them so they wouldn’t charge me because God forbid I turn in the equipment to the DirectTV office in the city I moved to. Not to mention I was on the phone with several representatives prior to my move and not one of them said I had to turn it in to the office I received it from. I called several times to see where the boxes were and was told each time they were on their way…. right…. They supposedly sent out Fedex boxes that never arrived and they ended up automatically taking the funds out of my account every chance they got so when my account was at $0 and there had been 7 failed attempts at charging my account my back froze my account. Thank you DirecTV. I will never do business with you again nor will I ever recommend you to anyone else.
Myra

Most dishonest company I have ever worked with. Promises made but after installation last week found out what I was promised is not actually included and will need to pay more to get what I was promised. Not happy!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hello Myra,
  Do you have your contract/sign-up in writing? We recommend getting a copy of this if possible to hold the company accountable.
  
  If you’re thinking about cancelling your DIRECTV just be aware of the following:
  -According to DIRECTV’s terms and conditions “If you cancel your order prior to installation, we will issue a full refund.” so if it’s already installed it may be too late to get a full refund.
  -If you fail to maintain your 24-month programming commitment, you agree that DIRECTV may charge you a prorated fee of up to $480 (or $20 per month remaining).
  
  Our main piece of advice is to call/email customer service and see if you can get the issue resolved by escalating it to a manager/supervisor, letting them know you believed you were promised one thing but are instead getting another—they’d rather keep your business than lose it, so just let them know getting the original deal (in this case free installation) is how to “make it right.”
Dylan Campbell

The ONLY reason you should ever have Directv is if you want the NFL Sunday Ticket. That’s it. That is the only thing advantage that Directv has over Dish. I was a long time (5 years) customer of Directv. In September 2016 I had a new roof put on my house and needed a simple realignment of the dish after the work was completed. Directv told me when I called on September 21st that they couldn’t have a tech there until October 11th!!! Are you kidding me? Three frickin weeks to get a tech out for a 2 minute job? That’s the start of football season, beginning of the fall lineup, start of MLB playoffs, etc. So I called DISH and they said they could be there in the morning to do the full setup at no charge. I was set up by noon the next day. I was able to get the America’s top 250 package with DISH (best package) on 5 Tvs for $32 less per month than I was paying for the Choice package (middle package) with Directv. $143 vs $111 and my price is guaranteed for 2 years with DISH. Directv will always jack up your rates and then you have to call in and threaten to disconnect your service at which time they will give you some discounts. Despite the fact that Directv would not get a service tech to me for 21 days, they still hit me with a $120 disconnect fee. That’s what you get for 5 years of loyalty to Directv. Dish has better channels, better service, and better features. There is no comparison on the DVR and Joey system compared to Directv. DISH blows Directv out of the water with technology. You also get Netflix directly on the DISH Hopper (you still pay the subscription price) so you don’t need a Bluray or Roku in every room to get Netflix. DISH also has Sirius XM in their channel lineup. I’m getting them for free right now. I’m not sure if that is a permanent deal or not, but that would be another feather in the cap of DISH. Customer service? I get directly to a person within a few minutes when I call DISH. I called Directv yesterday and was on hold for a total of 48 minutes before I got to the person who could solve my minor problem (returning the equipment). The AT&T/Directv merger may have been the worst thing that ever happened to Directv. Their customer service has plummeted and they no longer give a damn about their customers at all. It’s too bad, because I would have never left and found out how much better DISH is if they had just provided the service you would expect from your satellite provider.
Candy N Bob Bussiere

We’ve had Direct TV for 8 years now.. We suspended for 1 year after moving to Washington for a year. We came back to our home.. Had direct TV activated but have had horrible experiences with ALL customer service reps to Supervisors not taking my calls. I finally went to the “cancelation Dept where I spoke with MICHAEL! He not only helped me with EVERYTHING.. But he also helped my son, whose bill changed 3 different times.. Michael even lowered the original lowest bill from a credit noone told my son about from $426 to $166! Micheal was not only was able to explain everything in layman terms, but was the nicest, most understanding rep I’ve spoken to with direct TV. In all honesty Michael should be training all the idiot reps AND supervisors who don’t take your calls! He informed me that the cancelation department is really called the “Customer Loyalty Department”.. And he truly is!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  It’s good to hear that you resolved your problems, sounds like Michael was great about explaining things that industry experts sometimes gloss over. Glad your persistence, along with rep’s understanding, paid off for both you and your son–awesome!
Troy Barker

Absolutely disgusting customer service and professionalism. The installer disconnected and moved my internet modem and home phone from another provider and it was not until after he left did I discover neither worked anymore. Then after getting in touch with my internet provider in attempts to fix the issue I discovered that the DirecTV installer actually broke one of my phone jacks inside the house. When I called direct tv for to cancel all my service due to the complete lack of customer service they provide they tell me it will be $480 because none of my issues were with my direct tv and that even though their installer broke and jacked up my other services, which they did acknowledge they did, they tell me it is not their problem because the tv service works. Again absolutely disgusting and I’ll see you in court.
Parker Odoms

when my contract is up with Direct I am so gone. I have never had a worst experience with a cable company! On my first install I ordered 3 box, however the tech only came with two. Then gives me a AV box, and says just run a spliter off one of the two boxes he did bring. When I realized this would not work, and call direct to re-order the 3rd box they said it would be a $99 charge!!!!

I moved into a new house, and Direct wanted to charge $199 to transfer the service! After about 3-4 calls the said they would take $50 off, and give me a free 3rd box. What happens? they charged the full $199 which I had to call back to get straight. And when the tech came to do the install, he tells me my free 3rd box would be a one time charge of $89. I call direct to resolved the issue the next day, and had to explain the issue FOUR time to FOUR different people to get that problem straight. So when things finally get to what i thought was the end of this nightmare I am told they would need to charge my card for $99, but it would be credited right back…… Yeah right…. 11 days later the money is still not on my card which brings us to today where I have been on the phone for 47 minutes now. Hate is a strong word which I try not to use, BUT I HAVE TRULY COME TO HATE DIRECT TV’S SERVICE!!!!!!
Denise Elizabeth Hunt

Direct TV promised me a $200 Visa prepaid reward card if I would switch from U-Verse to Direct TV but after 2 months and several hours on the phone getting the run-around, they stated they were out of the reward cards! And when I told them they lied to me and I wanted to cancel my service, they said that I am under a 2 year contract. So they expect me to keep my part of the deal even when they didn’t! I’m so mad!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Sorry to hear that Denise, do you have your original contract in writing (with the inclusion of the $200 Visa prepaid reward card)? If so you should be able to get some sort of direct compensation.
  
  Just curious, have you tried to find another provider?
  - Denise Elizabeth Hunt
    
    I would have to look and see if I have anything in writing about the Visa card. I just have my notes of all the things they promised me if I switched back to Direct from U-Verse. And no I have not looked for another provider since I am under a 2 year contract with Direct. The $200 Visa card promotion was actually heavily advertised at the time I signed up to switch back to Direct.
Really

This is the worst company that I have dealt with. They connect your calls to the Philippians and very often the people you speak with cannot speak English very clearly. I had to wait one hour to speak to a manager who spoke broken English. When I did speak to someone in the US the woman was very rude. They increased my bill by 50 percent and did not forewarn me. The discounts I supposedly had ended with no forewarning. Please avoid these people. This is a ruthless company with little morals. They care nothing about their customers.
- Kara Appel
  
  Yes I also got outsourced service. I inquired at to why my bill increased by $55 this month and was informed that I had lost $50 in discounts that I was also unaware of. After talking with my sister who has the same package as me I was extremely upset to find out that she pays less than me when she actually has more receivers! I wanted to know what discounts I could get now and they said I was eligible for a $5 discount. I think it may be worth it to get out of our current contract for $220.
  - Really
    
    They are a group of rude rogues. I wish I had never signed a contract. Never again. Good luck, Kara.
Really

DO NOT SIGN A CONTRACT WITH THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE A GROUP OF ROGUES. THEY CARE NOTHING ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. THEY DO NOT LET YOU KNOW WHEN YOUR DISCOUNTS END AND YOUR BILL WILL DOUBLE. THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE. THEY TREAT THEIR CUSTOMERS LIKE TRASH.
Kara Appel

I am a direct tv customer and have been for almost my entire life as my entire family has direct tv. This could be changing very soon. We are diehard Minnesota Vikings fans, however me living out of the state right now prevents me from getting the games. I called to inquire about purchasing 1 game or 1 team for te season and was told that it was impossible. That did not stop them from trying to sell me movie channels at a discount price. I am not a movie fan but a football fan thank you very much. In the past we were able to order one game during the playoffs for $40 when our friends and family were down for the weekend although it was during playoffs. We did this about 4 times in the past. When I informed the gentleman about this on the phone he pretty much called me a liar. I also inquired about getting a discount for ordering nfl ticket late in the season and he said it would be full price even if i ordered it on the last game of the season. This is not a good way to keep customers. As I am no longer in a contract, I will be searching for alternate tv services. Any suggestions?
Halem Albright

I don’t feel like writing a huge letter but they lied to us, ripped us off, Took $700 from us. it took months to get it back and we are still out $250. We just said whatever, it wasn’t worth the ridiculous fight that we would have to continue to put up to get that money back….directv is the absolute worst company I’ve ever had to deal with.
breadisalie

Subpar performance issue during the political season. Haven’t been able to get Fox News Channel and now I can’t even get CNN. We pay for the NFL ticket too and receive service like this. There is not a cloud in the sky either. It has been this way for the last couple of months.

They have monopolized the NFL coverage and have subversive customer service. I just tried calling here at 7:10am in the morning and was told by the autopilot voicemail I would have to wait until 8:00am. Save your money and don’t go with Direct TV. They will only get better when they have something or someone to get compete with their sports tickets.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  Did you end up switching to another TV service?
  - breadisalie
    
    I called to complain and they gave us a small discount. My husband likes the NFL ticket and that is why we have it. Myself, I don’t care for the NFL ticket price or their customer service. To answer your question, no.
    - http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
      
      Yeah, if you want the NFL SUNDAY TICKET, there’s nowhere else to go. It’s a shame.
      
      If it helps, there are services out there that will call and negotiate with your TV provider on your behalf. I’ve used one myself for negotiating a lower internet bill (I haven’t tried TV yet).
      
      Also, I’ll do anything to avoid customer service over the phone. I’d recommend online chat next time. It may take just as long, but you can put on a movie or show while you chat (I do it all the time). And you can save the chat transcript for later use, so there’s no “he said she said” type of stuff if the issue never gets resolved.
      - Anthony Franklin
        
        PLEASE ignore this advice. You do not need a “negotiating service”. I work for Directv and I can tell you how to lower your bill for free. First, if you are in a contract forget it. The only way to save you money at that point is to reduce services. However, if you are out of contract or 2-3 months from the end of your contract, call in and ask if you can negotiate a new contract. We WANT to help you. And now that you are out of your initial contract, any new contract you qualify for will have discounts that last the full duration of the new contract. We are not out to screw you, I promise. We are people and customers too, so as long as you can ride out the second year of your contract and if you are not too greedy or unrealistic in your expectations and finally as long as you get to the loyalty department (the contracts dept.) we will help you to the full extent of our possibility.
        (And as a brief side note, I wish people would quit thinking we will be more helpful if you threaten to leave. If does not work with us. If we have an offer available to you we will apply it. As I mentioned, we want to help you.)
Susan Andrews

Day 1: was charged for a genie go of which was never purchased. The intaller called to tell the company that it was indeed incorrect and to adjust our payments. This never happened. I had to call to ask for the approx. 100 credit back. It was guaranteed to be put back on my card. I called about 3 more times to check if it was as a month want by with no credit. Each representative had no idea what was going on. That told me it was my credit card company. I called my credit card and they said otherwise. Finally after calling directtv again they said they would credit my directtv accou t instead as they admittedly claimed they were wrong. Then, they have me the wrong credit back. I had to call again. Worst company. Also, charges are ambiguous. Our plan was the Choice plan and went up 50 dollars after the first year. Although this is stated in the contract to go up I was unhappy with the specific amount of increase. When I called to ask what we could do they claimed just to downgrade our plan. No other options were provided to us and so we did to save money. My husband then called to see if other options were available, we were told we could get a lower plan and just pay for the sports channels for a small additional amount. (so our introductory rate of 70 would now be 85 with a lower status plan, but at least not 120 of we stayed in the same plan) only to find out that the plan did not provide the sports channels that the man stated. So we had to call back yet again and change to the entertainment package for about 92. I found out the next day that they were charging us 10 more dollars for just this month as we were “in the middle of the month” how can this be possible when our year contract was up at the end of October and I called right away and it is only November 5th! Geez, can you at least spare the 10 bucks for all the call backs we had to make! Unfortunately, we cannot leave the agreement without paying 200 dollars. So, we are left completely unhappy with the plan (paying more than the introductory rate and for a lower status entertainment plan) I have to say, this is the worst place to deal with, I needed to express this on here to everyone. Directtv is not the type of place that tries to make you stay. It is a. Horrible experience.
Ginger23

I am a Cox Communications TV Customer. I have never worked for Cox and don’t know anyone that does. I’ve been caring for an ill friend for over a week at her home. She has (AT&T) Direct TV. Several months ago I cared for another ill friend with (AT&T) Direct TV.
DIRECT TV IS HORRIBLE compared to Cox (my home TV provider). All cable providers pricing is skyrocketing. Yes, Direct TV pricing is slightly less than Cox. However you pay for lower quality, the lack of efficiency and lack of programming such as with the Direct TV channel guide and channel selection (i.e. repetitively 3 consecutive channels with the identical show). Direct TV may advertise packages with “X” amount of channels or shows, but in all actuality you only receive a small portion of DIFFERENT shows listed on channels. Direct TV doesn’t even BEGIN to compare with Cox! Cox has very easy to use channel guides (including more program information); with Cox only a couple channels go “off the air”, whereas MANY of Direct TV’s channels go”off the air”; Cox Communications works very well and fluidly. Direct TV’s pauses when switching channels, rebooting, skipping, freezing and the reception are frustrating when you’re used to good service.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Thanks for sharing that with us Ginger,
  It’s unfortunate that your experience with DIRECTV wasn’t very smooth. Sounds like you went through a lot of different hang-ups with the service while you were caring for your friends and that’s gotta be frustrating. Just curious, have they considered changing providers, and if so, to which provider?
  
  We are glad to hear positive feedback regarding Cox, maybe you could hop over to our review to let our readers know your experience with it (http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/tv-service/cox-review/).
  
  Thanks again!
  - Ginger23
    
    Hi Trevor, I’m replying as you requested. The friend I’m living with now has a life expectancy of only 3-10 days. That service will be cancelled. The other friend (and I) are definitely switching her BACK to Cox when she’s better and my life settles down. She agrees she made a gross error when she took the advice of her newly-built apartment complex management that was promoting Direct TV at the time. In addition, I have another friend who has Direct TV.
    When visiting her I saw the exact same difficulties but I assumed it was either her ineptness, her TV’s, or the fact that there were 2 (legitimate) Direct TV television hook ups in her home. I did not use the TV remote at her house nor change the channels myself there. BTW Trevor, my Cox Cable bill is less than a $10-$15 difference for so MANY more channels and piece of mind.
    - http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
      
      Thank you for your reply Ginger,
      Our thoughts go out to you and your friends.
Aimee

I am right there with John Gabriel. I am a DirecTV customer of 4 years. When I first signed on with them they said I had to sign a 2 year contract. This included 1 year of locked in rates, the 2nd year the price can change of which it did… my plan nor equipment changed. I only lost some channels as they were suddenly no longer part of my plan. They offer all these “discounts” the 1st year which is the price they offer. They hide the fact these are discounts and your plan will jump on your next billing cycle on the 13th month. I moved with my boyfriend to his place. He had the account put in his name as I still owned my home. I moved back to my home, had to reopen an account. They had to set up a new account and BAM…. same thing happened…. here I am now on my 13th month on this new account and SAME THING HAPPENED! BUT WORSE! My house was struck by lightening which fried my cable boxes WHICH WERE LEASED! Nothing I could have done to prevent what mother nature had in store. I had the acct suspended until I was able to purchase new tvs, surround sound system, dvd players whole 9 yards. So my bills were put on hold. Well I got my new bill in and its over double what it was 2 months prior! Why?! I asked. Well ma’am your discounts and rebates ended. Those do not carry over even if you have your account suspended. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Every time I call in its a MINIMUM OF 1 HR conversation…. usually on hold most of the time. This company sucks the consumer dry, has hidden fees and has very poor customer service skills. On top of all this headache with my equipment being damaged they wanted to charge me $49.95 for a tech call to check my lines to make sure everything was fine and dandy. At that time the tech would swap even equipment. EVERYTHING WORKS EXCEPT MY CABLE BOXES NOW! Next issue…. my bill is $120+ where before it was $58 and change 2 months ago…. NOTHING CHANGED on my plan. So I said ok lets check other plans and options…. heres how that went….. right down the pooper!
1. lets go to the most basic package since I currently have 2 tiers up and paying $120+ now a month…. Ok well thats $60 + your 2 boxes, service fees and taxes TOTAL $103 and change. WHAAAAAAAT?! So I get foreign channels, home shopping shows, no music channels, none of the channels I watch and local channels? Sounds like a deal NOT!!!
2. Ok let’s go from the DVR main box and a standard box for my 2nd box and go to BOTH standard basic boxes w/out DVR… OK well you will have to pay for both out of pocket… $350+ for both YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!
The times I have dealt with this ripoff pos company they can take there scams, lies, and false promises and stick it where the sun doesn’t shine! I have been without cable since SEPTEMBER 17, 2016. NEVER DID THEY OFFER TO SEND NEW WORKING EQUIPMENT AND THEY STILL EXPECT ME TO PAY A MONTHLY BILL WHEN I TOLD THEM THE DAY AFTER THE STORM MY EQUIPMENT BROKE AND ITS UNDER LEASE SO THEY HAVE TO REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE…. I STILL HAVE NO WORKING EQUIPMENT! AND THEY EXCEPT ME TO PAY A DIME!? ARE THEY NUTS?!
** The only reason why I gave them another chance this last round was because my area doesn’t offer any other cable services. Two years ago I was just able to switch to satellite internet (Hughs Net again CRAP) to DSL. Well now I am going the antenna route. GUESS WHAT?! I PAID $20.00 for this antenna that stays in my house and its sleek…. I GET A TON OF CHANNELS AND IT COSTS ME $0.00 a month! GOOD BYE DIRECTV! NEVER EVER AGAIN WILL I DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THEM!
DONT GET SUCKED IN TO THIS COMPANY! YOU WILL REGRET IT UNLESS MONEY MEANS NOTHING TO YOU!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hey Aimee, thanks for sharing your experience, although it definitely seems like you went through a lot of heartache in the process.
  
  We hope the antenna route goes well, but if not, be sure to let us know if you switch to another provider and how you like them!
John Polanyi

Direct TV would not let me out of contract even though new apartment wouldn’t allow them in. Horrible customer service experience except one lady but charge still showing up on bill. Do business with them at your own risk and hope you don’t have to move.
Six Zero

I’m absolutely sick of the CONSTANT issue with directv. I live in the sticks, so we are stuck between this terrible service or dish network. So we have crap, and more crap. Think I’m talking about weather? Nope. Equipment is glitchy, recordings don’t happen when they are supposed to, sometimes channels are simply blacked out with no messages or outage issues. Customer service is lacking. Let’s talk about billing issues. Aside from the BS price increases, I’ve been charged for a movie I never ordered on multiple occasions. Lemme tell ya, as soon as I am moved outta this cesspool louisiana, directv is gone. Seeya. You guys are worthless. I have a hard time understanding how you’re still in business.
Linsey Nelson

We have had nothing but billing issues with Direct!! We have auto pay and every month our bill is different. My husband has had to call them every month for almost the past year to get it right and the problem is never fixed! I am beyond frustrated and want to cancel!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io Scott T.
  
  Have you tried their chat help yet? I stopped making phone calls and started using chat for help, and I’ll never go back. Plus, you can easily keep a record of your chats (I just save it to the computer). Hope it helps.
BIANCA MORELOS

This is the worst company i have ever delt with . spent three months reschueduling and cacelation on there behalf waisting my time, and stating lies to get by to not do an installation. They dont care about there customers or people wanting there service. I expect my full refund and additional credit do to all the incconvinience they have caused during these three months. But for sure they to cheap to pay anyone for incconvinience but charge to do installation at a high price and up there prices for tv entertainment and dont bother to show up. WORST COMPANY EVER… AT&T need to find somone else to partner up with instead of this idoit company.
- Jillxz
  
  This was a good company before AT&T bought it. Directv was ruined by AT&T. So don’t blame Directv .
Tony

I have been with Direct tv for over 3 years now and I canceled my
services with them because I was periodically being charged for
fraudulent charges, They have a different address for where the service
is being provided which must be a system error on their end. When I
canceled my service with them I was told that I am obligated to pay the
cancellation fee which I ended up doing, 2 months pass I get a bill
from them saying Ive ordered Nfl the day before I cancelled, I asked the
lady to please take her time to see if I have ever ordered or watched
such a thing in my history she said no you are correct but still we show
you owe us 49.99 if you do not pay we will send this into collection!
This company is a complete rip off and fraud, What can I or should I
do?
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hey Tony, that’s unfortunate to hear. Have you tried contacting the Better Business Bureau? Perhaps they can help you address this situation. Keep us updated, especially in the event you find the right person at DIRECTV to talk to, or a third party mediator who resolves your issue.
Donna Pena

My bank decided to update my credit card and since then, dealing with DirectTV to make a payment has been a nightmare. I gave them my new card number and they keep deducting the $40 every month, BUT sending a past due bill to the house. Everytime, I keep asking them to solve the issue, and they keep saying they will to make me go away. I don’t get why it is so hard, the company has the balance I need to pay, they have my card information AND my authorization to take the money. Why do I HAVE to call EVERY MONTH to try to correct the information?

The latest (and what prompted me to write this review) was when I had to make my monthly call because yet another past due bill was received, and I dealt with a “supervisor Bob,” he was condescending, talking over me, and then he hung up the phone. I had to call back again and when I demanded something be done with this, I was promised that it was going to be escalated. I highly doubt DirectTV will do anything about it, given I’m on month three of my bill nightmare and that doesn’t seem to end.

The company spends millions of dollars in marketing to attract customers, yet they have a HORRIBLE customer service. I will make sure I tell my friends and family to STAY AWAY from DirectTV. If I had treated a customer the way “Bob” did, I’d be fired. I can’t wait to be done with this company forever.
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hey Donna, sorry to hear that. It should be as simple as correcting the information in their system, as you said. Just curious how you’ll try to resolve this between then and now, perhaps a more formal letter would be easier to escalate?
  
  At any rate, keep us updated with your situation and let us know if we (Reviews.org) can help you in the event of finding a new service.
kendra

I hate Directv ever since AT&T took over. Customer service reps are not located in the U.S., so you cannot understand anyone, and they are rude. After not paying my bill and letting them turn my service off, they debited my account automatically without my permission for $990 and wouldn’t refund it no matter what. Said it was my fault for not paying my bill, but I was in the process of talking with them about restarting services. NOT NOW and Not EVER!
- http://dev-reviewsorg.pantheon.io/ Trevor Wheelwright
  
  Hey Kendra, curious if that is both Early Termination Fees and some sort of “penalty” fee?
randy

Absolutely hate directv…. I will NEVER GO WITH THEM EVER AGAIN! I hope this company fails. It has gone to crap since AT&T bought it
Kristi

Disgusted by Direct TV. In august, while intensively shopping around for tv/internet bundles, we stumbled on Direct Tv. They advertised TV, 8 Mbps of internet (not a lot, I know but we don’t need much) , and a trial of HBO and showtime with the Sunday NFL package with a free Genie AND mini geni. Their website was hard to navigate through, and every time I visited it seemed like the prices were different or the packages were different, and I much rather talked to a live person, so I called one night and talked to a man for about 20 minutes, he told me the package that included 8mbps and tv plus other stuff would be around $90. I got all the details and he was very detailed and polite. I’m very specific when I ask questions, and I ask the same questions multiple times to make sure there’s no confusion and that what they’re saying matches up. I told him thanks and that I would talk to my husband when he got home. We discussed it and the next day I was at work, my husband called Direct Tv confirming questions and talked to a different agent and the price changed to $79. He was excited and when I got home that night we sat down to call Direct TV to set up our bundle. This time we got a new representative. Confirming that our bundle would be tv, 8mbps internet, NFL Sunday package, free genies and trial of HBO. However the price he told us was $89, so it was different but matched up similar to one of the first agents I talked to, and with not a big increase in price, we weren’t too worried about it, so we started the process to set up internet and cable. I was on the phone with this agent for approximately 30+ minutes. I literally asked him “if there were any hidden costs.” And he then told me about a $9 router charge if we rented through them and that after a year the price will rise a lot. I asked so many questions that that particular agent was getting annoyed, but if I’m buying something I try and make sure everything will match up. I even asked him the connection fees and what our first bill total would be. I paid $19.95ish on the phone to him so we would be able to have them come out to set up on tv. Then he set up the , Century Link, internet to come out Friday. We’re an active couple and are hardly home. I work full time and the other part I try and tend to my Dad who’s in the hospital, so like encouraged by Direct TV I pay my bills online. First complaint is their their billing is very confusing. They have all these extra charges and no description of what they are. They purposely try and be as vague as they can. After several problems with our bills and hidden fees (like they failed to tell us although the Genies were free there’s a $7.99 genie monthly fee, so we pay $16/mo for genies, which we cancelled one because of finding that out. ). So I’m paying my bundle online with Direct TV, who were the ones to set up my service and bundles. I notice that there’s a $53.99 charge for HBO, my husband called twice to cancel. They never cancelled. So I called Direct tv and cancelled HBO. They refunded me $30 odd dollars, even though we were charged 53.99 and tried on several attempts to try and cancel. They said that my husband wasnt qualified to cancel, even though we gave all his information while signing up with Direct tv, they never recorded it. After finally getting a chance to look at my paper mail, i see that century link is billing me for internet services. While I’m on the phone with Direct TV for another problem, I ask the agent why I’m getting two different bills for a bundle, he said call century link. I call Century Link and he’s very confused and polite. He takes a while to talk to his supervisors and then comes and tells me that Direct TV never did their job for the bundle, and that all they provided to Century Link was an account number for my Direct TV account, so with the suggestion of his supervisors he actually starts a conference call with me, Century Link, and Direct TV to try and find out why I’m getting charged twice by both companies. The ladies from Direct TV, Kristina and later a supervisor named Latonya, was rude. She told me that the bundle never included internet. First off….if a bundle doesn’t include internet or phone, then how is it a bundle? She then said that the price was never $89 when it included internet. I talked to SEVERAL agents prior, during and after signing up with Direct TV and they all said the bundle included internet (hence the word bundle) for $79-$89 (price changed a lot, depending who you were talking to but all around that ball park). She then kept referencing to the paper mail. I told her that my father is in the hospital and that I’ve been paying my bill online with Direct tv and viewing my account online, so I have don’t have regular access to my paper bill. She said no where does the bill say internet. That’s when I got upset, their terms on DIRECT TV billing is so vague “XTRA” is literally the word next to my amount I’m being charged. No description of what that word means. How does a customer know what the made up term “Xtra” includes or not? I assumed it wasn’t just one thing (tv), that it was my bundle and that the “Xtra” referenced the internet you know, the EXTRA stuff. I told her despite not being able to understand the made up terminology on the bills, it was the several Direct TV agents that confirmed that internet was included. I even had a conversation with the agent I signed up for on how many devices I could use on 8 Mbps, so all of them saying internet included was not accidental. I even told her that I’m not mad that the internet is not included, I’ll cancel that. I’m not trying to get it at that price if it isn’t that price. I just the prior difference waived because I was told $89 and now all together it’s about $178 a month. That’s a very big difference. I’m upset that I’m being charged separately when I was TOLD by several qualified Direct TV agents and yet she is saying I should not listen to Direct TV agents, that I should not pay attention to the online billing, that I should not pay attention to the online account with Direct TV or with Century Link but I should pay attention to the paper mail at my house that doesn’t list internet. All it says is the term “Xtra”. Then it changed to that the account was never bundled and I was supposed to calll Century Link and my telco provider to set everything up, but she added even if it was bundled I would be billed separately and that it would only take $5 off of each service so it would literally still be like $180 a month. That was literally her argument. What’s the purpose of a bundle if it only includes tv and then YOU have to call all these companies and set up service and even when you do that it’s still billed separately and the price doesn’t change. Working in customer service, the customer might not always be right. But don’t try and treat them as a inconvenience when I was repeatedly lied to. When I told her I wasnt upset at her I’m upset at the company. I know she wasn’t the one of several that so poorly misinformed me but I want the service cut off because I can’t afford that $180 a month instead of $79-$89 a month that I was told. (like I said now that I know this price , I’m not trying to get it for less, I just want to cancel. ) She then told me she can do that but it will charge me $20 aMONTH FOR TWO YEARS for breaking the contract, plus the extra 100s of what I owe Century Link because I didn’t know that my bundled was just tv so I was just paying trough Direct tv, Direct tv is also the one who had Century Link come out to install my internet so I had no idea I needed to communicate with them. I did get irritated, I told her I was lied to! How is this my fault? That I just rather talk to someone else that can help me get the two years 20/ month cancellation waived since I was so misinformed. SHE literally said “Well you had 30 days to cancel before the contract started” and where was this information? it was not told to me. I then asked her how was I supposed to know all of this wasn’t bundled , I trusted the agents and my online accounts. She replied “if you looked at your paper mail from Direct tv and Century Link you could’ve noticed this problem earlier.” I started crying because I had told her at the beginning of the call that my dad was in the hospital and I didn’t have access to my home mail, but I checked my online mail and accounts regularly. She was so irritated at me for crying – and after not just her but a few irritated employees I can see that this is a trend from Direct tv. Theyre so nice to you before you buy, and then any problem you have after you purchase, even if the fault is theirs, you’re treated like a liar. She said that “since you say you were SUPPOSEDLY told a different price, she would pass my story on to account services.” When asked If could talk to them, she said no. I asked for a number to call them she said I couldn’t call them that they would call me. When asked for a number or area code so I could recognize the number to answer and make sure I didn’t miss it she didn’t give me one. At my job, we sell Direct TV and dish satellite antennas. I’ll be sure to let everyone know how Direct TV treated me, most customers set up home service after they get the satellites so although me personally stopping Direct TV won’t affect them financially , the THOUSANDS of traveling customers (we get a lot of canadians as snow bird and travelers from the northeastern seaboard) that I have influence over to suggest dish over Direct will have a huge impact. We also live in the house and football and tailgating is huge money business, I’ll definitely be selling the dish satellites and pass the word on to save everyone the trouble from not being harassed by Direct TV.
Casey Matthews

Honestly, I used to be extremely mad at DirecTV, but after reading through a great number of these comments, I am now just incredibly sad that this joke of a company has ripped off this many people.
I really don’t know what to add to this thread. I’ve read almost verbatim what has happened to me over and over and over again in these comments.
The customer service is atrocious! (Rude, condescending, inconsiderate, called me a liar, double-talked me, lied to me, insinuated that I cannot do basic math, I can keep going…)
The billing is unreliable! (Changed monthly yet NO statements were provided so I have no idea exactly what I was paying for other than for them to be rude to me when I called in.)
The tech support is an utter joke! (Seriously, the “input” button quit on one of my remotes and they wanted to send a tech out to “identify the problem”. Ha! I told them the problem and they didn’t believe me.)
The final straw was when I rearranged my living room and they were going to have to send a tech out because I “disrupted” the shwm? (they pronounce it “schwim”). Apparently, only a tech can fix this or so I’m told.
I have never paid an early termination fee to get out of a contract, but I was just THAT unhappy with these con artists. I’m becoming more and more convinced that the only way they are able to stay in business is off of collecting consumers’ early termination fees. Despite being unhappy within days of installation, I toughed it out for 14 months before I was just sick of paying for a “service” that only caused frustration, stress, aggravation, and contributed NOTHING to my household.
Please, please, PLEASE reconsider giving this company your business as they are only nice until they’ve got your signature on the dotted line and they will say ANYTHING to get that signature.
I, too, was told that my package included internet, but when I called about it a few days after installation, the CS rep was adamant that this was not a service they even provided. I was treated as though I belonged in a looney bin for even suggesting that they had internet as a service.
Simply a horrible, horrible, miserable experience that I would like to spare as many people from as possible.
Erin Hill

Help! DirecTV has been charging me for the NFL ticket without my asking or consenting to this. I have tried multiple times now to get it cancelled and to be reimbursed the $269.94 owed to me. I keep getting told they can do nothing for me. Does anyone have advice on how to handle this?
Rebecca Reno

HORRIBLE SERVICE!!!!! They sign you up under false contracts, they over charge unless you get their low rate internet or buy movie packs, when they don’t send your bill they penalize you for it not being sent, they threaten to turn off service if you ask to talk to higher up then supervisor, and it gets worse half people who anwser phone in representative department you can not understand or they hang up on you and do not fix issues. Save your money and don’t sign up with direct tv there are other companies or options more affordable and better customer care service. I was told by a rep I was put in false agreement they were gonna raise Bill $40+ and when I asked to speak higher they said there is no one higher we don’t want your service then said they were gonna cancel service at my cost. Bad company I paid every Bill least they could do is stop ripping off customers and get better company morals.
Karina calderon

Just got off the phone with a representative (Paul) and by far the worse you can even tell by the tone of his voice he didn’t even care! I switched Comcast to this because of the pricing and the deal of having the same amount being charged for 2 years! Not 12 months they never once mentioned that! I even asked multiple times it’s for two years and they assured me yes ! But they sure Lied! I know it wasn’t Paul’s fault of the issue but he didn’t even try to find another solution at all! All I said I will be cancelling this service and not even going to argue with you but just plain rude and not even caring it’s called customer service do something or quit your job! I wish they would have honored what I was told over the phone! Even an att person told me that my biggest mistake was getting direct tv over the phone now that’s sad. But I will be switching providers in the next couple of days !
Denise Davidson Mistich

Disconnected 3 times while trying to establish service. Was not told up front that I have to purchase additional AT&T services after one year in order to keep the price guarantee – which is no price guarantee at all. Took three phone calls to cancel my order. Bad, bad, bad.
Rocky501

I have only had DIRECTV for 5 days but find it vastly inferior to DISH Network in almost every way. How anyone can stand this after having DISH is beyond me, so few options, the ridiculous “go back” setting which seems to be like 3 or 4 seconds and no option to change it, the ridiculous fast forward – skipping instead of smooth, separate sign-in on useless app for DVR, then there is the seeming inability to watch your entire lineup on your mobile device, it just goes on and on where DIRECTV is deficient compared to DISH.
Jay

I was a Direct TV customer for almost 11 years. Used to be a great company but AT&T has ruined it. Never had any issues with customer service until today. I was getting the 771 (lost satellite signal) message. Have been thru heavy storms, blizzards, etc and very rarely lost my satellite signal. Back in 2010 I had a similar issue that I am having now called and the service tech walked me through the satellite set up and problem solved. This time totally different experience. The first tech rep I spoke to did absolutely nothing. After 20 minutes she told me she was placing a “service call” for me. I asked her if this meant someone was coming to my house or were they calling me? She never clarified. Then when I asked her if someone was coming out to my house would it cost me a fee and she told me “I will let you know.” After some more questions and vague answers I told her forget it. I hung up and called back about ten minutes later and spoke with another rep. After listening to my issues she told me a tech supervisor would call me back in 5 to 10 minutes. She confirmed my phone number and we hung up. Three hours later still no call back. I called back to tech support a third time and spoke with “Joe” and explained all of the above. All he did was tell me I had to pay the 99.00 service fee to have someone come out just to look at it or buy the protection plan. Again made no effort to help. When I told him I would I would switch providers he was smug and didn’t care. So I immediately hung up and called another provider and set up new installation. When I called back to Direct TV all they said was they would upgrade my DVR’s to the genie.

I used to love Direct TV and would recommend it to anyone back when it was just Direct TV. I am extremely disappointed with my experience today and now would never recommend it to anyone. Much like many others they also raised my rates significantly over the years and to be honest didn’t care because the customer service was always great and I loved having the NFL Sunday Ticket and NHL Center Ice. That said all good things must come to pass. Good-bye Direct TV.
Joe Vockler

I got Direct to cut cost and when they put the dish on my house the installer put it 4 1/2 ft off the ground in my driveway right where everyone walks, so I call as soon as I got home from work to tell them IT HAD TO BE MOVED… they did send 2 guys out to move it (even the new installer guys could not believe where it was install at). A Claim was put in for my house.
I got estimates to fix my house and they put $350. to replace the damage panels(and would not match colors) or $700.po to replace the siding of my garage to make it match(but I would have to pay the rest to make the front match the side wall. The claims adjuster said they would only replace the panels that are damaged and they don’t care if my house don’t match the colors, I told the guy let me put holes in your house and see if you like the mismatch colors on your house…… He said we are not talking about my house we are talking about YOUR HOUSE or let it be the head people of AT&T or Direct TV and the house WOULD be fix properly but sense I am just a NOBODY the big Corporate just want to screw the little people and do what they want to cost as little as possible not what is right to fix the problem.

now I could see if it was thousands of dollars to fix the problem but it is a matter of what couple hundred dollars to replace the siding on my house.
Should big corporate business be able to get away with this or do we just have to roll over and let them do what Big Corporate wants to do. Cable TV and Internet looks soooo much better to me now and I have been with AT&T for over 15 yrs or more, boy do the other Cell Phone Company’s look better.
CUSTOMER NO SERVICE.
docola

Ikr, I was trying to see the deals with Direct TV Select through AT&T, talked to customer service over chat, was very nice and helpful, then I told her I will have to read the customer reviews first to see how they feel. She agreed, so then I am here and see absolutely nothing good about it. Yikes!
- Jillxz
  
  Don’t take Directv . They are not the same since ATT bought them. I dropped them after almost 10 years. They advertise the Select Package for $ 50 for 2 years, but after that , the package goes up to $ 90. This package is next to the lowest package. It has no sports channels at all. No way would I pay $ 90 for it. ATT had raised all these packages and they are outrageous. Never will I go back to ATT/Directv
Mr. Z

DIRECTV online streaming is fraught with problems. When you find something you like on the Guide page, and click the button to “Play” it online through a PC or laptop, the “Play” function does not work about 50% of the time. I’ve tried everything (logging off and back in, refreshing guide page, etc.) to no avail. I think it is still a beta release that has not been finalized. You really can’t rely on the streaming services, at least not in 2017.
Revonda Bozard

Our modem keeps going out. They said 5 days before they can send anyone out this time. I’m so fed up. Our bill in the past 2 years has went from $80.00 to 196.00. I’ve had enough. I’m close to giving up tv completely . If it wasn’t for my parilized mom, that watches it to keep her mind aucipied I would have already shut it down.
Joseph Jefferson

THIS IS A WARNING TO ALL DIRECTV CUSTOMERS. Do not remain a Directv customer that moves from one state to another. I iwas lied to by a Directv rep. I was told that if I moved, all I would have to do was to take my receiver, and just pay for a new installation. Okay, no problem. I was also told the bold-faced lie, that in my moving to the new state, that I could keep my current stations.(lie). The only thing that might be changed would be my local stations (the truth). In my move, I lost the MSG station which is significant because I am a NY Knicks fan, not to say that I also lost the local Fox station where I watched my NY Giants games. When I called Directv to find out why I lost not just the MSG network and ALL of my other sports channels with the exception of ESPN, I was told that sports channels were eliminated due to my move. I was then offered a sports package which would have added another $67. to my current package. I disrespectfully declined, and told the new rep that I would plaster Directv’s bad business practices every place that I can on the Internet. MY Rating: 1 Star.
Tom

Been a directv customer for about 15 years. Service has been good. Every year in August I give them a call and they reduce my bill by about 20% for being a loyal customer. Have been getting Sunday Ticket Max for about $100 each year which is a savings of over $200. Picture quality on my 65″ plasma is very good. The costs without my annual discounts are high, but the discounts make the fees tolerable.
Scott Hosack

I just got Direct Tv along with AT&T internet. Price was $80 for 2 year contract and $200 in gift cards. I literally called them back an hour later to upgrade to the choice package at $90. Customer support told me I couldn’t switch until after installation. They ensured me I would still get the new customer price. I thought no big deal. However after installation, I called Direct Tv to switch plans and that’s where they pulled the ol’ bait n hook. They took me off the promotion plans. They considered me a an existing customer and jacked my price up to $120 a month. Wow! Really?
I called them back and every retention department said there was nothing they could do. I was getting the runaround for 3 hours. One lady from a distant country put me on hold for 40 minutes and then said “I can get you tv for $82.” It didn’t include internet. I said I want the deal I was offered and promised and she said she knew nothing about it. Click, hung up on her. This went on for 3 hours with 5 different employees. I was one call short of disposing of everything they just installed. FINALLY, I talked to a wonderful man named Brandon and he took care of it in 10 minutes. He was an AT&T rep. He saw the list of calls and the timeframe I was on the phone with them. Guess he felt bad. He also gave me an extra $100 gift card for the aggravation. I should have been enjoying my new service instead of dealing with this. Not a good start of my 2 year contract but it was fixed. I guess the moral of the story is know your exact plan before you call.
Katie Janis

I never, EVER, leave reviews for anything but I thought I should try to help, warn, beware, caution others about DirecTV.

The service we got tonight was ABSOLUTELY FREAKING HORRIBLE! When my family signed up, we were caught at Sam’s Club by a DirecTV rep. with a promise of NFL ticket for a cheap price PLUS a $200 reward card. We got the reward card (yay, right….) but not the NFL ticket! Our bill has been $150-$170 monthly, which was fine, we had movie channels and about every channel . BUT this month, they want $230!!!! what the actual hell?! We called and got to talk to a representative , they said there was no notes on this promotion and that we had to pay for the NFL ticket if we wanted to keep it….WHO TAKES NOTES AT THIS COMPANY?!? Bunch of idiots! We said no, just take it off (that should fix our bill right? WRONG!!). Mind you, this was after ->4<- representatives, we finally got it off but it wouldn't take an effect for 4 days and to call back to confirm it. Okay, cool, we call back (it is now been 4 days) and NO ONE TOOK NOTES and said they couldn't hold their promise they had previously made. We talked to a total of SEVEN representatives today. NOTHING got fixed, we still have to pay $230.

DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THEM! BACK AWAY FROM THAT CONTRACT! ITS ALL LIES!

My family and I will wait for this very disgusting contract to fulfill and them we are dumping them. Never had such a huge bill for television. So disappointed.
M

DO NOT USE DRIECT TV. There customer service department is awful. They don’t care about their customers or putting their customers first. They only want to take your MONEY. They don’t tell you when things are being added to your bill and you have to call and wait on hold for 30 plus minutes to get to a person that will attempt to help you. If you want to he robbed of your money, don’t ever look at your bill and it will continue to increase. They said that someone had added package to my account last week. I had never even heard of the package. They make up lies to cover their own butts because they are the one that added the package.
VA

Directv and AT&T services are good to have as long as you do not have to contact their customer service department by phone. Their representatives are in the Philippines, and ALL the representatives that I have spoken with do not speak English well so it is very difficult to communicate any issues. I have had to call Directv/AT&T five times in the past week and the issues that I have are still not resolved! THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE!!! I have never had to deal with such bad service. I’ve used their company for numerous years but I ended up canceling all my services with them because they can’t resolve any issues and they say they’re going to do something, but do not follow through with it.
Paul Davis

DirecTV are scam artist, they quote you one price and when they bill you it’s another in my case 25% more than they quoted.
Corinna Michele

HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!! After 19 years of service, we relocated to a new state. Unfortunately, after having a technician come to set up a dish at our new home, we were unable to continue service with Directv, as there was no clear path for a dish to be placed. Not only would directv not reimburse a pro-rated amount from the day we were told we could no longer use directv with our new home, but they continued to automatically withdraw future payments and are only willing to reimburse 1/2 of the payments charged after the account was canceled. FOUR months later, still spending several hours on the phone with customer service, supervisors hanging up on us, etc., we have yet to be reimbursed a penny. Direct TV has made over $50,000 from us over the last 19 years and refuse to reimburse $338 that was automatically charged AFTER service was discontinued! NO customer loyalty or appreciation! We will NEVER switch back to Directv again!
Joe Williamson

Worlds worst company! I have had service for a year and a half. In that time the contractor that installed it did damage to my house in the 5 digit range. Direct tv said it was the contractors issue and the contractor said it was Direct tvs problem. I had to file with my homeowners to keep the damage from getting worse. Then about six months later my bill went up about 200%. I contacted both direct tv and AT&T trying to reduce the bill dozens of calls and three months I finely got someone who could look into the problem but was not too concerned about the issue. I ended up canceling service due to the your bill is what it is commit and attitude. I wasn’t even offered a credit or apology for the trouble i was put through. I will never use them again and would never recommend them to anyone. If someone asks tell them to use anyone else.
Jillxz

The article says that Directv has remained the same after ATT bought it , but that hasn’t been my experience. I had Directv for nine years and loved it. After ATT took over it was replaced with foreigners , long hold times, sending you from one person to another and on , outrageous price increases for packages just like they do when you call ATT. I simply dropped them and don’t recommend them. ATT destroyed Directv . It’s definitely not the same.
Jillxz

You cannot get out of a contract once they come and install your service and you sign your name . The tech leaves the signed contract with you. There is NO 30 Days to change your mind once you have signed that contract. Don’t let anyone kid you into that lie.
Jillxz

Kenneth Copeland is a false teacher. Along with Benny Hinn and other prosperity preachers. Take your money while they own several mansions and own their own private jets. I turn the channel when these charlatans come on
Jillxz

Recovery kits? Never heard of recovery kits. They send you a darn box. Call that a recovery kit if you want to lol
Jillxz

I made three comments and apparently you didn’t approve them , although they were not ugly comments . Just truthful ones.
Lou Liberio

Sorry to say, that after 4 + years, I’m terminating their service. Overall, the TV service itself has been very good, despite some questionable billing practices like raising the rate mid year in a subscription that runs one or two years long? Don’t get that. We have to honor the agreement, but they can change it. But I’m finally cancelling due to deceptive practices. I called on October 6th to cancel because I knew my rate would nearly double in a week or so. The agent I spoke with said she couldn’t do anything about the rate, but if I called back on Oct 21st, they would be able to give me a discount for a year, and apply it retro. So I did. My next statement nearly doubled and I called on the 21st, to be told there’s really nothing they could do unless I was willing to transfer my cell service to AT&T. That was it for me. I’m on to other means of getting my tv service. Overall I was satisfied with the TV Service, but the ethics of this company and others in this business, just turn me off. On to local tv + SlingTV.
Joa

My name is freddy these people are not serious. I have a complain about this company. When the give you a contract they say one thing but when you get your bill is another. All the time I call someone they never give me an answer. I don’t recommend this cable company to no one! I even have to pay for service I don’t have
Yarimar R

A sido el servicio más pésimo que e tenido. Me ofrecieron un paquete de ATT, Cable y Teléfono y a última hr solo me brindaron cable. Me decían que la caja de internet venía de camino a mi casa y cuando me conectaron el servicio de cable para amarrarme a un contrato de 2 años llamo y me dicen que no brindan el servicio de internet en mi apt luego de ofrecerme el servicio en un paquete especial. 10 días me duró el servicio mientras llamaba día a día para que alguien me ayudara me pasaron las llamadas con diferentes representantes hasta q me colgaban la llamada. Cada llamada duraba de 1hr a 2hr y solo me decían mentiras para no desconectar un servicio que no pedí porque pedí un paquete de 3 servicios no un solo servicio. AT&T es aparte y Directv es aparte aunque quieran hacer como si fuera la misma compañía ni uno te da razón del internet ni el otro del cable. Si reclamas algo de internet hay que llamarlos a ellos directamente. Hoy 25 de oct fue mi ultimo día de los 10 días de mal servicio y llamadas tras llamadas sin contar que enviaron dos técnicos diferentes a mi apt para dar el cuento más corto. No caigan en sus mentiras q solo amarran a las personas a contratos con engaños.
Awful Service! Bad Costumer Service! Scam Company!
Sai Spandana Kancheti

I am usually not a person who writes review until I have a very good or bad experience. But unfortunately, I had a very bad experience with Directv which i thought of sharing . In the first place when we shifted, directv promised to give a 100$ gift card. We called them multiple times asking for the card and none of the representatives over the phone mentioned that we need to do some kind of enrollment to get that card. After multiple phone calls, finally a representative mentioned that you have not done the enrollment within 30 days(I am not sure of how many days exactly), so now you are not eligible for the card. After this, we shifted to a new place and asked the technicians for checking the tv signal at our new place. The technicians from directv mentioned us that there is no line of sight and that we can call directv and ask them to terminate the connection. When we called the customer representative again, she mentioned that you should take a secondary opinion before we waive the cancellation fee. So finally we booked another appointment with the technician and guess what, they went to our previous address and mentioned that the line of sight is perfect. Out of no option we had to call the representative again to tell them that we moved out of that address. When the representative checked the case, she said that you asked for a secondary opinion(which we didn’t, instead it told that that we have to take secondary opinion before we terminate the connection with the fees waived) . Now finally the connection was closed since there is no line of sight. After 10 days, we got the bill and guess what they added the early termination fee and we got a bill of (500$+) and some others fees and nothing was waived. As I mentioned since there is no other way, we had to call the representative and ask her to waive the extra fee that was added to our account. Believe it or not we ended up calling directv may 15-20 times to get this issue resolved. I think everybody is so busy that they have no time to call customer service so many times. Please resolve the issue when called for and let customers have a pleasant experience!
Valerie Gamel

I have never had such horrible customer service! We are having trouble with our service so I spoke with Max the billing manager. He was completely rude. I asked to speak with his boss since I was not getting anywhere. He got very nasty saying he does not have a boss and hung up on me. We will be switching service and I will never use direct tv again. Horrible horrible horrible customer service!
Fool

Worst Customer Service EVER! They screwed the billing up from day one and never straightened it out then turned my service off and tried to extort me! They actually sent the portion of the bill I refused to pay since they never corrected the billing to collections! They are crazy and walking a fine legal line!
Daniel Dominguez

Direct TV customer service is an absolute joke. They just pass you around from station to station and no one can offer any help on your problem. I love the TV itself, but the AT&T and Direct TV bundle is trash. Please don’t fall for the same mistake myself and everyone in this chat has. NO MATTER THE DISCOUNTS THEY GIVE YOU, DO NOT BUNDLE. Just get Direct TV by itself and save yourself the trouble. Definitely wont be making the same mistake again. They can pass me around and not help my problem, but they cannot silence my voice and my complaints, and I will be heard.
Carlos Menezes

Last spring I called direct TV to cancel my services because the price was higher than what I wanted to pay. In September they called me back saying that they wanted me back as a costumer. I expressed how much I wanted to pay and what I wanted (two soccer stations) because that’s all I watch. The lady I spoke with said that they could do what I proposed. Someone came to install and after they left I turned the TV
on and the two stations I wanted weren’t functioning. I called them back and they said that I would have to pay extra for those two stations. The first person I spoke with transferred me to a higher ranking person who said that they would add the two stations at no cost. The bill arrives and nothing ever changes. Since then I have spoken to several people who say that they will add the stations at no additional cost and nothing changes. Once my two years of commitment expires I am out and will never come back. Horrible way to treat your clients.
Leah

I was a loyal customer to directv for over 6 years. Sure there were price adjustments but nothing a call couldn’t do to reduce your bill. HOWEVER, things went noticeably sour when they joined with AT&T. My bill doubled.
Finally I got sick of it and cancelled. Once I cancelled my account, I suddenly had no way of paying my final bill which took over a month to to generate- and no reminders – I’m human, I forgot.

Never once did I receive a bill in the mail or any phone calls. Until the day I received a bill from a collections agency for $30!

Absolutely disgusted with this company. I wouldn’t go back to DirecTv now if someone paid me! And no amount of money in the world could convince me to sign up with AT&T either.
Joyce-e Lamberson

Biggest issue was with adding Direct TV with AT&T. We would get the typical call for a free month of these channels and would want a upgraded sports package, which we would declined or applied to our plan. No obligation with any of these channels so we would follow through and call and cancel them. Since January 2017, we have to call in about our bill being too much/incorrect or following up with a “credit” not being applied to the account. So after 9 months of nothing being followed through with correctly based off what every manager and representative assured us about, we canceled. We had only 5 months left of our 2 year contract and we were so fed up we just forked out the money to follow through with canceling. They even offered to lower our whole bill down to $85 a month but we knew that wasn’t even going to turn out right with all the issues already.
Now another bill that was paid off is being held against us. Now every month we get a warning about our internet being turned off if it’s not paid. And every warning we get, we call into AT&T and are reassured that it’s just an error. One day we come home and our internet had been turned off. We call and the internet is turned back on and the manager on the call assured us that he will “credit” 3 months of internet. So we will not see a bill till 2018 of January. This is based off being charged for things he saw we were wrongly charged for and as a courtesy.
Like always, nothing was applied. We have a bill for this month and warning about our internet being turned off again.
We like the products provided, we had Direct TV, and as of right now still have internet and a phone plan with AT&T. Never really had any issues with the quality. But the customer service aspect of this company is absolutely horrible and I feel like we have been more than patient with trying to get everything squared away with our account.
I WOULD NOT suggest getting AT&T at all or taking advantage of any limited time free upgrades. There are more minor issues we have experienced with AT&T and our bills like bundling but overall this was the last straw and switching to a different carrier is in our future. It’s not the headache.
PJ Nestler

I have been a long time subscriber to Directtv, on my own account or roommates over the past 10 years. Trying to get Directtv and ATT internet installed in my new house was a nightmare. Dealing with Directv/ATT has been the worst customer service experience of my entire life. Their technicians were incompetent and never had the right equipment, so they had to return multiple times for both internet and tv, making us miss multiple days of work to sit around waiting for our appointments.

They then tried to charge us upgrading fee to wireless boxes because that would be easier to install. We then proceeded to wait on the phone for over an hour to speak with a customer service rep, finally speaking with over 8 people from 4 different departments, all of whom wasted 20-30 minutes of our time just to finally tell us that they could not do anything but would need to transfer us to the department that could handle that, and EVERYONE saying they notated our account so the next person would see what we had been through so far.

Every time we were transferred we were met with “I do not see any notes in your account. We don’t have the ability to make those changes in this department.” It seemed as if everyone was just passing us along so we were no longer there problem, nobody provided us any solutions, and while waiting on hold after being told we were being transferred directly to a person so we would not be on hold in the regular service line, we were disconnected THREE SEPARATE TIMES.

How does a major technology and communications service provider just lose the connection 3 times during a service call? I guarantee they would not be having those connection issues if this was a sales call. In fact, during a few of our hour long hold times, we called the sales department from another phone and got right through, just to be told that they couldn’t do anything for us and couldn’t connect us to anyone.

We got so frustrated after 8 straight hours of dealing with this on our Saturday, after 3 other incidents, we just gave up and settled for the only option they provided us, to wait another 2 weeks for a new technician to come out and install our service.

The worst service experience I’ve ever had and has turned me off to this company for life.
Marisol Sanchez

Wow, this company is fraudulent. I got a promotion with Direct TV and AT&T for Internet and cable for $50 for TWO years. This company has been charging me more than 100 ever since. When I call and complain they end up transferring me to other lines without providing an explanation and their supervisors click on me.I am going to have to call my credit card to dispute the charges and CANCEL the contract with these LIARS!!
Pittctycitizen

Reason for the price change after one year is because their discounts normally don’t extend longer than one year. That being said, so far (knock wood) I have never had a problem calling and getting it back.
Don Cline

I have been a loyal customer for over 20 years. Starting last Fall, all contact with DirecTV has been horrible. The last 2 days continue to show how unreliable they have really become and they have a hard time be truthful.

Yesterday I called to drop to drop a service they had promoted before they started to charge me for the service. The rep I talked to hopefully did what I asked. While I was on the phone he told me I was eligible for a new equipment upgrade. I asked if it cost and I asked if I had to extend my contract. To both the questions there rep told me “no”. Great, I went ahead to get the upgrade to be done on Wednesday.

This morning I was going through my emails and there is a confirmation for tomorrow’s appointment. The last thing I see on the email is statement that my contract will need to be resigned and it will be for 2 years. EXACTLY the opposite of what I was told over the phone. No way did I want another 2 years of lies, poor service, foreign operators that don’t listen but only can read script, etc. So I have to call and cancel this upgrade.

While on this call I tell them my service is not working correctly, sound sometimes goes when moving from record shows to live TV (have to turn off TV and restart it) and also when rewinding a show to the beginning it sometimes shuts off and goes live. Long story short, they can’t do anything until it happens again and they can’t provide equipment because I will not go for another 2 year contract.

A couple hours after I was told my upgrade had been cancelled I get a text message confirming tomorrow’s appointment. I responded to the text with a “no” that the appointment was not good. This was followed by another text setting up an appointment on Monday.

I call them again and tell the foreign lady I had cancelled this earlier in the day. I also tell her I am hereby putting DirecTV on trial and will cancel my contract when it is set to end later next year since they will not go ahead and install the equipment. Unbelievable no response to me quitting them after over 20 years, no I am sorry, no let me have you speak to my supervisor…the only response is “do you have any further needs” and “have I provided you the best service today”. It is like you are talking to a scripted robot.

I guess if they don’t care, I don’t care. I will be taking my AT&T phone service and TV service elsewhere by the end of 2018 and don’t plan to ever come back to the lousy service.

I could also write a book about our moving our service a year ago. Uggghhhh…if you are considering these folks, RUN…don’t walk to another provider.
Bob M

If Direct TV did not disclose the exit fee, during your phone conversation, you could prevail in small claims. I suppose they have some Arbitration clause, but there again, If you signed nothing, and it wasn’t mentioned in the call, I don’t believe its binding. They record the call for “quality purposes”, but the burden of proof falls with you. You would need to initiate another call, and record it from the beginning. That way you would have them saying the conversation is recorded and could argue that they have no proof of any contract at all,. forcing them to play the recording. Then again, they may have mentioned the contract and penalty,. in which case you are screwed. If you are absolutely positive they did not……. Get em. I think its bullshit that the celular companies got this crap going in the first place. pretty soon all utilities are going to be contracts that can change without notice. Greedy money grubbing leaches on society. Unfortunately, that’s what everthing is all about now. Capitalism breeds greed and corruption. The corporations have no love for anything except more money and they could care less about anyone or anything else.
Mickey

Direct tv is far from the best, the dvr records crap in place of what you request it to, its way WAY over priced for the service and channel (90% are never used) lineup. On demand works half the time. I will be canceling here in the very near future, the cost are not worth the headaches when I can use online streaming and local channels and actually get what I pay for. Do waste your $ with direct tv.
Jolene McCormick

Over 2 weeks ago the box downstairs went out, and we were told “a service person will be in your area, we don’t know how long it will take,” and that “if it is still out next month we can refund you $7.00 (the price of renting the unit)” Since our main tv’s box is out, we have been watching a few things on our unit upstairs. The unit downstairs has not been fixed and there is no timeline in site. Our bill is $200.00. Personally I thing we should be refunded $100.00, since we are receiving only half our service.
If you are thinking of getting Direct TV?AT & T, find any other way for screen time entertainment.
d sin

Spent 1 hour on the phone with Direct TV. According to them, the package I purchased does not include sports channels (220, 212,215,618,219). So they charge $7.29 for them. So here is the listing of channels that comes with the package I purchased and they are clearly included. Also, up charged me $40.00 for no reason on my monthly bill for the last 3 months and will not remove the up charge according to the Customer Loyalty department. Moving forward they are giving me a $40.00 discount off my bill for 12 months but not credit for what I’ve already paid. If you have Direct TV – Read your Bill.
So I can’t post a pic, the package I purchased was the Ultimate package. You can see the channels for your self.

Let everyone know and SHARE THIS POST.
Elizabeth Rhonda Stanford

This is awful awful awful. I love ATT. I have had it for years. They came out with this crap. So I joined and did a contract. Cost me more to get same channels I had with spectrum. Expensive to break contract. I regretted this the day they installed it. It pixels, freezes, and always some stupid error. Have to reboot the boxes all the time. If you dont catch that it is screwing up then you miss your scheduled programs you have to record. The money is not worth the crappy tv shows either. On demand always has one issue or another. So you pay for stuff you either dont get properly or dont get at all, even tho contract says you do. You pay more money for the shows and they dont provide. Worse decision I have ever made. I wouldn’t have even tried them except they connected with ATT and I trusted them. Save your money, your time, and your sanity, go to cable.
Elizabeth Rhonda Stanford

brighthouse which is now spectrum offers great deals, see if they are in your area
Chi

Dircetv gauranteed me a $79 price for two years and they would bypass me having to buy any AT&T serivces to get that price. 6 months later I got a letter in the mail telling me that if didn’t purchase one of their serivices that my bill would go up an additional $59 at the end of my first year. Directv is a joke. I was with dish for 10 years and much happier. I will definately be going back.
Cannonfire

I have been a DirecTV customer since 1999. A few months ago I called to see if they could discount my monthly bill, now up to $120.00 with NO movie channels. The rep said sure, no problem, they could discount my bill by $25.00 a month. Less than a week later I realized the rep had changed my program plan to a lower plan, without my consent. Fortunately I was able to get my plan restored. My plan is an obsolete plan but I’m grandfathered in. Today I called to get a new box since mine has been freezing up and again asked if I could get a monthly discount. Nope, they could give me $5.00 per month only if I had autopay. I have NEVER been late on a bill but quit autopay years ago since they were billing for things I never ordered. This company sucks even more since AT&T bought them. I hate them but I’m not sure Dish would be any better.
Adrian Foods

Directv – impossibly bad customer service on top of a poor business model
I have so many customer service horror stories about this company it would be impossible to detail them all here. At a high level, in the past 1.5 years I have received 0 minutes of cable service but have been billed at least 10 times. I have called customer service at least 20 times to dispute these bills, wasting at least 10 hours of my life (conservatively) and have been “disconnected” with no return call at least 5 times. The automated call service will most likely hang up on you if you do not indicate that you want to spend more money and if you actually speak with an agent they will hang up on you if the end of the workshift is approaching.
Separately, it is evident that the Directv business model is setup to prey on nice people who dont constantly push back on incorrect or randomly rising charges. Honestly I don’t even understand how the business model is legal. If you have an option to avoid doing business with this company do so at all costs.
Sara

Directv used to be the best until AT&T took over. Call centers are located overseas now and getting someone with the authority and the ability to assist with technological issues takes about 4 separate phone calls. Also, they tout their 4k boxes but they are having issues with them at present. I have been without my full service since November and all I get in response is that their engineers are still working on it. Meanwhile, customers are promised discounts to offset the discrepancies in service and we’re not getting them. Also, stores that normally have Directv sales reps (Costco or Walmart) have quietly disappeared leaving a display with brochures in place. They’re still advertising their 4k service and wireless boxes and convincing people to sign up for 4k services knowing full well that the service is not 100% operational.
Robert B Liesegang

I cancelled Directv due to poor customer service. This entire Fall 2017 I was not able to watch FOXSPTS as Directv did not renogotiate their contract with FOXSPTS.. All Fall no football on Saturday or Sunday. Went with SPECTRUM and am satiswfied. My Directv account # was 76979442 id Directtv wished to contact me
Simonne Keller

DO NOT GET SERVICE WITH THESE PPL!!!! I had direct tv yrs ago and had problems when the weather was bad which was annoying bc that is when you do want to watch tv. I haven’t worked in 5 months so I thought I would lower my bill by switching. OMG!!!! I have an older house. The direct tv draws too much on the internet and is causing me all kinds of issues. I called the technician that installed it, doesn’t answer. It has cost me more to switch, than it will supposedly save me!!! Cox cable has come out several times and things were disconnected by direct tv that caused me to have problems not only with my internet but my alarm system. I called bc I have only been with them 2 weeks and have had 5 different repairmen out due to switching!!! The only remedy is for cable to run outside my house and a hole punched in the wall to install a new line to make the direct tv work. I didn’t have any of this when I had Cox. Direct tv said it is a valid contract and even though it has caused all kinds of problems with my system is not there problem. They said they would waive the fee for their guy to come out!!! I told them that when they installed it, I WAS TOLD IT IS FREE FOR A MONTH FOR THEM TO COME OUT!!!!
kpuckster

DirecTV . . . two weeks, many calls . . . I finally have resolution! Yay for me! Here is the scoop:

1. CSR lied to me about the ability to integrate my local digital antenna signal into the DirecTV guide/lineup.
2. Based upon the response, I signed up.
3. Installed. No channels in the guide from my antenna.
4. Tech told me that it was not possible and gave me an email address to contact corp.
5. (Here is the good part!) I am told that it is not ok to lie or be deceitful at any time in business and that the misinformation would be corrected with the csr’s involved, but that I am now in a contract and my only recourse is to buy it out!!

Hmm . . . we were wrong, but there isn’t much that can be done now?! Isn’t that a wonderful, “we value our customer” moment?
Rhiannon

In last two days i have called 24 times. 17 of which i was hung up on by the system transferring me to a supervisor. 6 of them times i spoke to supervisor in all departments who basically told me sorry but nothing i can do about my issue ( the issue i will get to in a moment). 1 of them times i was transferred to a line that rang for 30 min. I even went as far as contacing at&t directly to be told sorry call direct tv…..my issue is yesterday1/23/18 at 8:30 am i was sold internet, home phone and cable for 80$. I was promised free HBO for life and 300$ in visa rewards cards. I was read my terms and conditions and had money taken from my account. My set up date was for feb 9th. I then called my now cable company asking when is my last bill cycle day and was told feb1st. I then called direct tv back to set up a new insatation day for the 1st instead of 9th. And this is were it all started. Now im told sorry that order was only put through for cable and we dont offer home phone and internet in your area. I immediately ask to speak to suprivisor. He then tells me sorry the person who sold u this did it for the sale. Puts me on hold and phone hangs up. From this point on non stop hanging up every time im transfered to a supervisor. At 7:30pm on 1/23/18 is when i gave up for the day. Today 1/24/18 i started calling at 1pm. Hung up on again 5 times. Time 6 i get suprivisor Zack Y ( all he would give me) who tells me sorry nothing we can do. We didnt sell you anything until equipment is installed and since it wasnt because we dont offer them services in your area its not considered sale. At this point im mad, yelling, and beyond pissed. They took my money!!! They sold me services! They read my terms and conditions! They promised me all these rewards! Several times i asked him to get audio from the recorded line the so called had proving the hole conversation between me and woman who sold me non existing services but he refused. Refused to give me a full name or employee id #. So im out money, frustrated beyond belief, two days of time and hard inquiries on credit report I THINK NOT! I too was recording all 24 calls and conversations. I promise i will not let this go and i will be contacting BBB, attorney general, all news channels, leaving this review on all sites, and most importantly contacting my lawyer and taking this to court.
Karen c

I signed up for the choice package but, when I saw my first bill it included a sports package. I called to ask them to remove the extra charge, but was told that it’s a part of the package and can’t be removed. When I prodded further, I was told that it’s part of them “taxes and fees” and that’s basicalky how they snuck an additional 6.99 each month into my agreement. Totally unacceptable! A package is a package and should not include a “fee” for part of the package. Seems like it should be illegal to advertise a package then add whatever “fees” they want to add.
Karen Leigh

Worst company ever to get anything resolved. I was promised many things when I signed up for Direct TV. Never received gift card that was promised, was told i did not need internet in order to have Direct TV, that was a lie, Cant watch any movies without the internet Also could not get any HD channels with out internet. The area I reside did not have an internet provider provider at the time. Was told HBO was included for the period of the contract at no charge, That was a lie, they began billing me after 2 months for HBO. When Verizon Fios came into our area I chose to cancel my contract with Direct TV due to the horrible customer service as well as all of the lies and because I needed internet to watch anything. I complained several times to try and get this resolved and it never was so I canceled Direct TV. Now they want to charge me a $300.00 disconnect fee. They are the ones that broke their promises to me. Why would I continue to pay for a service from a company that continues to promise things then lie about it when questioned. I was on the phone with them today for 2 hours trying to resolve this issue. I was transferred several times to someone they said would be able to help. The last transfer was to a Spanish speaking employee. I don’t speak Spanish and she did not understand me so she transferred me with out saying anything, back to the original menu to start over and the line went dead. WORST COMPANY EVER!! Save yourself the drama and go else where. Completely unorganized and disfunctional company I have ever had to deal with.
Juan Torres

https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d83006a7d26334b7cd3c797ca66a688a106e8a81374c5b8939c79422f67c5936.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/78e53e89267f97b03374e8eb3ed72fe1b5e5639dfe01a147c086c19e7b69903b.jpg

This has got to be the worst service I have ever had. Day 1 installation: T he installer was terrible I was unable to understand anything he said. He installed the satellite in the center of the roof instead of screwing it to the side on the roof. I order the wireless boxes and he ran the line on the side of the house using my Christmas decoration hooks to hang the line. every time it gets a little cloudy or a slight shower the service freezes. I tried to contact Direct Tv and all I got was let me let you talk to a tech. Fuck that The service sucks period and I’m just 2 moths into it. Terrible service get exfinity or just local channels, but don’t get Direct Tv. I hate watching tv I feel like I got ripped off. I attempted to just switch back to u-verse but they just want me to talk to a tech. DIRECT TV SUCKS TERRIBLE see images.
Alan Frailich

First of all, I don’t really like Cox Communications for several reasons.. However, I find Direct TV to be worse. In fact MUCH worse.

1. ATT/Direct TV m don’t live up to their agreements. When I signed up, I was given a copy of a new customer sales order worksheet, which promised in writing, that my rate was guaranteed for 2 years. In January they raised my bill by $70 a month or more. When I called billing, they told me that I needed another ATT product such as a ATT Internet package or an ATT phone in order to keep the price I had been promised (in writing). I had specifically never agreed to this and still have the signed agreement,

2. In much of our area, ATT Internet service does not offer the same speeds or quality that Cox Internet does. My wife works from our house. The company my wife works for has thousands of agents working from their houses and determined that Cox internet service is far superior to that of ATT/Direct TV. They made a deal with Cox so that all employees in the Phoenix or Las Vegas areas are required to use Cox Communications for internet and we get it at a discount. We told this to our salesperson at Direct TV and he said no problem and put it in writing. We can’t use ATT for internet because of the inferior quality.

3. ATT cell phone service sucks in many parts of the
area we live in. That came from the salesperson at the ATT cell store on Eastern. Until ATT gets another tower in our area, ATT cell phone service will continue to be spotty. The store personnel have been asking for a new tower some time but they claim that they have been promised many times but it still goes nowhere. ATT cell service is inferior to it’s competitors in our area.

4. ATT/Direct TV customer service is slow and inefficient. Frontline customer service agents and their superiors are powerless to give resolution to problems. They have their standard scripts and then pass the call up to another person who is powerless. They then send your call up to another level of powerless people. The only way to get resolution is to reach somebody in the executive levels. Luckily, I have dealt with some of the execs in a previous job and only there did I get any resolution/. However, even then it was only after I threatened to make a phone call which would cancel a deal to get 1900 multi family homes that the owner was planning on having Direct TV wired up.for the tenants and including it in the rent.

Finally, due to their dishonesty in keeping their end of agreements, their inferior internet, their spotty cell phone service and extremely frustrating customer service, I highly recommend never signing up for Direct TV. In fact, if you have Direct TV already, I highly recommend you cancelling it even if you have a $200 early termination fee. There are less expensive alternatives that give you better quality.
Elena Jacquez

I got charged for a service I didn’t use and had called to cancel. The dumb rep lies to me saying she removed the charge and made my bill cheaper. Few days later the charge is still there. I keep calling different departments and getting the run around. I wish I knew this before I ever signed up with them. Worst service ever.
David Clark

I don’t like the new guide and menu at all. Big boxes with very small print. Huge highlight box I didn’t click on. No “day & date” at the top of the guide. Instead of me clicking down to the program I want, it moves up until it goes into huge highlighted box. No recording date on programs I recorded so you might not watch them in proper order. I really liked the old menu and guide, I really dislike the new guide and menu
- Vikki Wade
  
  Agree 100%! I am moving to a different company because of the change!
Maria Millett

Hi Dave! That sounds like a hassle for sure. There’s no excuse for someone not showing up to the appointment you made. However, 12 years with the company speaks for itself.
- Dave E
  
  12 years apparently doesn’t mean anything to them.
  - vito tane
    
    I started in 1995. They could care less.
Kelsie Slagle

Direct TV has been an absolute nightmare in every way possible. AT&T talked us into this bundle thing. We got a 50 inch tv, a tablet, And a smart watch. Seemed legit. HOW WRONG WE WERE. The channels were all garbadge except like five. Twenty minutes of commercials per show. Terrible customer service, no one could manage to give us a straight answer about anything. We had to pause the service for six months because it was too much for us to afford (tons of financial shit hitting the fan all at once.) What a fucking nightmare that was, desperately trying to get the service to pause, still getting bills in the mail charging is for service we WEREN’T USING. then we finally cancelled the service because we were so done with the whole experience. We got a paper in the mail telling how to get someone to come pick up the console and wiring and stuff, called, and the guy said “oh we haven’t had that option for awhile, I don’t know why our notices still have that option… OH BY THE WAY you owe us TWO HUNDRED MORE DOLLARS because you were late bringing the console back. ” This service is becoming more and more obsolete as each day goes by, and its obvious that they know this because we ended up spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. They’re leeching money from their customers as much as possible. This has been the worst experience I’ve ever had with any kind of company ever. We were probably charged upwards of fifteen hundred dollars over the span of nine months for nothing.
Direct TV can burn in hell. LONG LIVE THE INTERNET!!!
AZsnipe

Direct is the worst TV service I’ve ever had…that includes an antenna made from aluminum foil.
Service is continually dropped, problems with the server, and crappy response times for service. Considering dropping them, even though I’ve had them less than 4 months.
TERRIBLE SERVICE
Davon G. Franks

I am so disappointed with Direct TV and At&T. We signed up to get the Direct TV with such great incentives at Sams Club, but we could not get anyone out here to install Direct TV. The first time they were suppose to come out, I took the day off work, the appointment was for 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM. At 11:00 AM I tried to call Direct TV to see where my technician was. I call 611, they gave me 800-288-1145, then 800 288 2020 then finally 800 531 5000. I got some At&t rep in some other country, I am guessing India, she was rude and an asshole they had no idea I even had a installation appointment. I ask to speak to an American in America, they could not guarantee I would get an American manager. So I call back again, I finally spoke to an American who set me up with second appointment. Took the day off again. Technician showed up, he was just here to installing phone and internet. No one showed up to install TV. So I called AT&T customer service once again and got connected to people in India or some other fuckghanistan, who of course had no idea what was going on and was very rude. There is a lot more disappointing things that occurred but I just don’t have the time to list it all. I have been a cellular customer of AT&T for 8 years and U-verse customer for about 2 years. This should have been a simple move. So 2 weeks later I still have no TV, just internet and phone. With no date to have TV installed. AT&T has such poor customer service. they should stop the lying and stop sending our jobs overseas. I am so disappointed, after my phones are paid off we will seek service else where.
Carolyn L. Bassett

Okay. So I cancelled my service with Direct TV because it was the “PITS.” It cost me $655 to get out of the contract. I paid $155 then I made arrangements to pay the balance of $500 at $100/mth directly out of my bank account. 4 months later I get another call from another credit collection agency that I owe them $100. Well due to the fact that I do have a credit rating of 720, I hit the roof. REALLY AT&T? REALLY! So what do I do now? I will make them WAIT for that $100. I will pay $25 for the next 4 months. How can a Company charge outrageous fees for piss-poor service. WARNING: whenever it rains, thunders, snows or whenever there is inclement weather, YOU WILL NOT GET DIRECT TV. If they say it is always available, then they lied to you just like they lied to me. I went back to my previous vendor. It is not 100% but anything is better than AT&T and Direct TV. Go elsewhere. It is NOT worth the headache.
Linda

DON’T DO IT!! I lose service every time there’s a cloud in the sky or a bird flies overhead! My account is still not setup correctly yet they are bugging me for payment, which I cannot pay because I cannot log on. I tried to get help to resolve the service issue and they sent the same technician who broke two of my collectibles when he banged into my furniture. Now they say they will change me to get out of contract…..really? I’m so done but yet stuck!! DO NOT DO! Try the fire stick first or a wire hanger or aluminum foil rabbit ears and you will get bette service!!
- Debra Judd
  
  You are 100% right
  - Joel
    
    Totaly agree. I have had 4 modems changed due to directtv upgrades, white screens, and lose service during rain storms. Started using DirectTV in October 2017. 2 year contract is horrible.
darth nater

So I just got a new 4k TV with High Dynamic Range (HDR). I turn it on, and no sound, apparently my receiver is the problem. I log in to my DirecTV account and see “Congratulations you are eligible for a free upgrade to the latest DVR” and I see 4k upgrade FREE.

So I call the number … sorry sir you are not eligible there is no promotion and it will be $299. I inform them of the message I see, I wait for 5 minutes or so and they come back with sorry sir, you are not eligible. Wait 3 weeks and call back and maybe there will be something then. I ask for a manager. Manager says if I wait 3 weeks I will get the upgrade for free. I say that doesn’t make any sense, if I am guaranteed an upgrade in 3 weeks why not just do it now? She says wait 3 weeks or pay. I ask why the other gentleman said I was not guaranteed in 3 weeks and I had to wait and see. Manager quickly changes her story to they can’t make any promises and I would have to wait and see in 3 weeks.

I said I have been a customer since 2011 and this is ridiculous when my account says I am eligible. She said I am not eligible for a Genie mini upgrade, so I have to pay $299 for everything. They refuse to budge on the price at all. I told them I found from an authorized DirecTV retailer the mini for $30 and the whole package for $200. She said buy it from them then, and refused to do anything to help.

Since AT&T bought DirecTV customer service has plummeted, and now I get “support” more often from people in other countries when before I almost always had people in America helping me.
Debra Judd

Worst ever! First off they raised the price on us. All kinds of problems. Sound cuts out, breaks down completely, no picture, no tv! When it does work the shows or movies on demand are glitchy, they stop, rewind on their own, then go forward and go slow motion, lack OMG! Oh and the free movie section, WHAT A JOKE. 90 % of the movies are not free! You have to rent them, I’m talking about regular older movies . Don’t get direct TV. Huge mistake. $600.00 cancelation fee. And it’s partner AT&the Internet is hitious. Constantly drops off. I’m using all of my data on verizon. There’s no place on this site to leave a one star review .looks like FAKE 4 star rating. I would rate Direct TV negative stars.
kalo tuifua

IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE!!! RRRRUUUNNNN!!!! Get Netmaster or stick with netflix and get your news update from social media…IVE BEEN DEALING with these people for over 3 months of playing Tag over something their rep promised and they can clearly see but weren’t willing to honor. Finally I gave them my time of day and 4hrs if being tossed from one dept to another, finally a lady from the customer loyalty dept took care half the issue. Called back when we lost connection sadly guess what happened dept xfers all over again…WHAT A NIGHTMARE!!!! I finally gave up
paid for their MISTAKE, O how quick it was for them to take my card number SMH
HORRIBLE!!HORRIBLE!!HORRIBLE!!
Vikki Wade

Following are some of reasons I am leaving Direct TV:

HATE THE NEW PROGRAM MENU!!!
The print is ridiculously small
No date and time at the top of the guide.
Hate the big blue highlighted box
No recording date on recorded programs
Can not rewind or fast forward on Demand programs
- TroobeeSez
  
  On Demand programs have always been no-rewind/ff. We have an ancient DirecTV DVR and its always been that way. Frustrating, because oftentimes a show will be cut off when recording live, or there’ll be a breaking news interruption, where you just want to see the last 15 min or something, but you have to wade through the first 3/4 of it to get to the part you missed. A fix for that would be a welcome improvement. One thing my dvr does do is allow you to “bounce back” something like 15-20 seconds at a time, which you can just do 3 or 4 of those if, say, you nodded off or something. Can’t skip commercials, though there are very few of those to contend with.
  
  I’m curious –with the new menu being universally despised– if you click “more info” on screen, you can’t see “first aired on” (date) info? I’m gonna have to look around to see a video demo of this thing. We have to upgrade, because she’s really declining. I saw a dvr fix-it company online some time ago, maybe i can have them repair this one. Because what everyone here is describing sounds like a deal breaker.
  - Randy Nichols
    
    Only on demand channels that have commercials. Pay channels you can ff. Gotta get those commercials in
Mike Richling

I am in an RV and I wanted my services moved from Florida back to NY state. I put in a call to have the services changed like I do every year so I would get the local channels at my new address and this time it’s now been over 3 weeks and still not working. It usually only takes a few minutes to switch it over. I’ve spent over 16hrs on the phone with every agent in the company these past weeks. I’ve talked to more managers who are so polite it’s not funny… but no one was able to complete the move. The excuse was that due to the switch over from a Directv to AT&T system, it may take some time for the change request to work it’s way through the system. I would wait a few days and then call again and then was told it would take another 72hrs. Another time after that, I was told it might take 24-48hrs. I was passed from AT&T to DirecTv and back many many times… every time they said that they would fix it no problem just wait (They are so polite). Then last week I was told my move was coming up with errors… and that they would look into it but no information on how it was going to be followed up.

When the agents look up my account number they can see that I’ve been doing this for a while to get it fixed. Now I’m on hold with the cancellation section and they tell me they can’t refund me my past months fees because I didn’t cancel the account when the problem first happened.

My rating at this point for DirecTv and AT&T is zero. No stars. Staff don’t have full training, there is no ticket number system for tracking problems, no structured process for escalating. Each time you call for the same problem, you have to start from the beginning as the junior agents work their way through their process. I have tried to escalate by asking for a manager and all I get from them is that I will get a call back… what number is good for you? And then no one calls. I want to add that I understand it’s not the fault of the people on the phone and I tell them that (I was polite), but I also made it clear that I was at the end of my patience and very frustrated. That didn’t help.

So after 30min of waiting on the phone and a fair bit of back and forth, I received a $100 credit… for my $150 monthly charge. Now I will have to wait and see if it is $100 in funny AT&T money or what.

I know it won’t be much different but I’m switching to a different satellite vendor, perhaps going smaller is better.
Ms. LadeeBug

I prefer DirectTV over all other forms of cable. The problem is because my home faces the wrong direction I cant have a satellite installed. I was told the only direction allowed is South or Southwest and my apt faces North. This sucks. Hope DirectTv comes up with a better dish or better satellite range. You’re losing out on a lot of customers due to us being unable to comtrol the position our homes face.
Joe mauro

GUIDE: font too small to read. Too much space taken to twice identify programming channel. Why was it necessary to increase the menu panel from 5 to 6 lines? When choosing a program the display at the top again is just too small to read. I’ll take ease of use above advertising information that eventually Will be to the benefit of only DirecTV.In addition, on play backof recorded programming has also changed.Donald these changes is good for me and I suspect most of the DirecTV customers. I want my old menu and play back screen.
- Brenda Simmons
  
  Totally agree!!! Put it back like it was!
- RONNIE HUTTO
  
  AMEN JOE
- R Yokoyama
  
  Totally agree! I can’t see squat unless I’m right up to the tv!!! I want the old one back!!!
  - Randy Nichols
    
    How can you agree. I couldn’t even understand
sam thorpe

WTF …. a “scientology” channel! I will cancel as soon as my contract is up
- Randy Nichols
  
  Jusy dont watch it
Bill Crouse

The new menu is almost criminal. The tiny font can not be read by anyone with less than 20/20 vision. How can a senior citizen use this ridiculous design. The boxes are plenty big but they have just tiny text. My wife and I have been loyal customers nearly since the start of DirecTV but the tiny text is impossible to use. Also the menu has so much extra junk and we can’t even find our caller ID list. Was this designed by some young kids with great vision viewing their work on large computer displays sitting on their desk fifteen feet away. Please DirecTV, Fix this horrible mistake before I am forced to cancel my contract!!!!!!! With the mess you have made I doubt if you can hold me to my contract.
- Randy Nichols
  
  Oh yes they can. Its a contract. Its statex they can change whatever they ant whenever they want. Some “contract”
Martha Johaningsmeir

Absolutely HATE the new format. Font way too small, list is awful, no dates on when programs were recorded. I’m 50 and live with my parents who are in their 90’s and the FONT is just way too small and too dark. Please change back.
Sherry

Direct TV has the worst customer service that I have ever experienced! I was a loyal customer for over 18 years. I cancelled my service and switched to a competitor and I’m VERY glad I did. Unfortunately, when I cancelled and returned the requested 18 year old equipment to them, they state they never received it …whatever! What would they do with 18 year old or even 5 year old equipment. Before cancelling with them I called to ask about issues we were having and was told I needed to update my equipment and that would fix my problem. That’s the same equipment they state they don’t have and are now charging me $150 for!!!! I spoke to a supervisor (of sorts) who refused to remove the charges and unless I could provide them with the teacking number this would go on my credit….really!!!! I will NEVER NEVER NEVER recommend or return to Direct TV especially with so many better options now! I’m sad to say I stayed with such a company for as long as I did!
RONNIE HUTTO

I don’t like your new format.You don’t show the actors death and the screen name and I have to browse to find things and it’s not there.GO BACK TO OLD FORMAT ON THE GUIDE
- Randy Nichols
  
  Do t show death. What
RONNIE HUTTO

Thinking about jumping ship.Don’t like the new guide
Darryl Davis

direct tv is the worst piece of dodo out there….People if you have any other choice do not pick direct tv horrible serve and their charges are ridiculous !!
Darryl Davis

Direct Tv is the worst cable/sattilite company Charges are too high customer service is horrible….I just went in purchase new cable saving $150.00 a month….do not choose DIRECT TV! THEY STINK
Walt Newton

Poor customer service for tech support, we lost service, I followed their on screen step by steps of what to do, I then called them, they wanted me to go to my 3 boxes and make sure all lines were tight, I had done this 3 times prior and I’m disabled and told the lady this. I told her everything was tight and I had a service plan, she then told me before she can schedule someone to come fix it I have to go do everything she says to even though I had already done it. I finally told her to cancel my service as this wasn’t the first time I have had issues with them, she sent me to someone and after I explained yet again he said well you have a service plan so I can send you back to them and then maybe they can set up a appointment, I explained I already had tried and I have been a customer for years, he told me yea you have been one for 2 years, the fact being that is in my current state, prior I had been a customer since the 1990s, so all that money spent and they do not care. Then they told me they will mail me instructions on where to return my boxes and I have to do so by May 16th, which when I called it was May 6th, if I do not return them by then I will be charged a large sum per each box, I asked them if I would even get the instructions by then and he said yes. But due to all of the issues I have had with them in the last year I fear the instructions won’t come and I will be charged. They are not trust worthy. I don’t know why they couldn’t have emailed me them as they always email me with offers. I feel a bad charge is coming my way.
Casey seymour

This has been the worst experience I have had with any company I have had a service from. I closed my account, actually talked to a customer service rep, and sent back all of my equipment in December of 2017. I fought with them for three month as they kept sending bills for service I didn’t have. One customer service rep could see the closure and others couldn’t and spent the better part of a week worth of evening trying to get this resolved. Of the Customer Service Reps, 10 in total, only two were willing to help and look into my situation. The other 80% could have cared less if was help or satisfied. I drop my service because I moved to an area I couldn’t all of the services I was promised. During this time I was promised there would not be any early cancellation fee and I was just charged for it today. This company has been inaccurate with billing almost the entire time I was a customer. It has been 5 months Since I last had Direct TV service and finally, I hope this time is has been care of. This company is a joke and wish I would have never done business with them. I would not recommend them to my worst enemy.
Jose

Worst experience ever Directv is a company that offer promotions but does not comply with it, I been fighting for over 9 month about my promo credit. every month all i get is they have to escalate and i will take a cycle or 2 than a month or 2 no credit but they want the full payment, than call back they have to escalate it again another 2 month and so on im tired of this i will follow a lawsuit because this is not how you treat customers…
Jim Aycock

I almost always record programs to time shift. Yesterday the format on my screen changed, and I do not like the new appearance. When I fast forward the bottom of the screen is blacked out to show words white on black. I cannot see a putt go in because the hole is blacked out. I cannot read breaking news scrolls because the words are blacked out. This is, I hope, only an experiment, and to me it is a miserable mistake. The list of recorded programming and playback is far harder to negotiate. It is more trouble to check on sheduled future recordings. Please tell me you are going back to the format I enjoyed and used so easily.
Charmonika Smith

I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL THIS CONTRACT IS UP. Directv is a complete rip off. I signed up for an $80 a month package, the cable bill has been over $150 each month. Every time I call in they tell me that it will be credited to my nexts month bill and it never happens. The equipment went out on us tonight and the rep was very rude. They also wanted to charge us for having a tech to come out. What ever you do go some place else for cable, internet, or phone. Not to mention it will be Tuesday before someone is sent and they don’t give you a call before arrival. So you can leave work to meet them.
Kate

Kate
New GUIDE is horrible. They took away the ability to review saved phone #’s, you can no longer see the episodes of recorded seriers, and the font is extremely small. They shouldn’t have messed with a good setup. Over all the new setup sucks.
AM

Ever since the most recent upgrade, we cannot read the menu. The font is way too small. Is there any way to correct that?
Hailey Arroyo

They have AWFUL customer service. And I’m not talking about just one bad experience. Im talking about several bad customer service experiences. They are always so rude and they will try to get every last cent you have. They made a mistake with my package and they actually wanted me to pay them for someone coming to my house. They are absolutely ridiculous Their playback never works. They hiked up the prices and overall just suck. I hate how they changed everything remotes, the whole guide setup, …. Its just a terrible company.
H. Brown

I have been a DirectTv subscriber for 11 years, and just recently changed to a Genie. The new guide or whatever you call it – the whole on-screen menu – is terrible. Here are some examples: (1) The font is too small in many places. Very tough to see unless you are willing to sit close. Also, for example, the back arrow (on the screens on which you are supposed to hit “back” rather than “exit” to get to the previous screen) is just plain minuscule that it took me a while even to realize it was there on some (but not all) screens. (2) Also, they have opted to use large logos everywhere rather than just give us the info. I mean, do we really need a large NBC logo right beside the letters NBC? If they got rid of the logos, they could increase the size of the font AND provide more information on every page. (3) I agree with someone else in these reviews about scrolling down through the recorded list. As you scroll down through the list, it insists on showing every one of them as a sudden pop-up big blue box with, yes, a big logo. Please, DirectTv, just give us the list to scroll through. (4) Next, the old guide always told you upfront when a particular show was recorded. This one doesn’t, although you can search for it. (5) The old one told you when a particular show was first aired. This new guide only seems to do that sporadically. Often it just tells me what season it was and what number the episode was. That might be helpful every once in a while, but why not tell us when it first aired too? If I want to re-watch an episode of, for example, SNL which I’m pretty sure I recorded a few months ago, does DirectTv really think I kept track of what Season and Episode it was, rather than just telling me when it was first aired? (6) Also, when you hit any button (like fast forwarding), it now covers the entire lower 1/3 of the screen instead of having just a small box at the bottom that used to allow us to see all the info around it such as, for example, what quarter and what down it was in a football game. (7) Also, it seems to go directly to recording a billable movie rather than telling you the rental cost beforehand. That’s really bad. (8) When you’re fast forwarding through the commercials, for example, and then you hit the “play” button once the program is back on, the old one jogged back a couple of seconds so it picked up the program usually right at the end of the commercial. Now it doesn’t. Instead, you have to stop the fast forwarding and then hit rewind to get back to where you left off when the commercial started.

So I have elected to have them remove the Genie and go back to the earlier DVR box. I would like to have the new Genie for the 4k but the tradeoff just isn’t worth it for the horrible new on-screen display.
Maximiliana Berrospi

SINCE DIRECTV come together with AT&T is the worst. At the beginning I had the Chanel 333 IFC. Now on May 31, 2018 this Chanel disappeared. Also when raining or no it doesn’t work well like years ago.
Royal Story Jones

Worst tech/customer service ever! we lost internet and it took 5 men and 5 service calls and 5 days and many not so nice calls to customer service in which we could barely understand… before anyone
had enough sense to turn it back on. Yes.. 5 days of “We will be there anywhere from noon to 5 pm” Can you imagine wasting 20 hours out of your week just waiting, not to mention lost wages from missing work to be home whenever they decided to show up. And they never called 15 minutes before arriving as promised. Was just disgusted with the whole thing. these guys literally did a comedy routine of its not inside the house, it’s out on the pole.. next guy.. it’s not at the pole it must be in the house… next guy… couldn’t be in the house.. not picking up a signal near the house… you get the picture…
And then… and then I go to watch my recorded programs.. and the damn menu has changed 100% for the worse! we hate it! no recorded dates as well as no first aired dates? Am i watching this season or 5 years ago season? I don’t know! …..
And now have to hunt for our glasses to see the damn thing.
Matt Hamil

Please do not use AT&T.

I was with them for 10 years and I never had a good experience with their phone support. Most recently I wasted over three hours on the phone trying to get my Satellite hardware upgraded, and stayed home from work for their technician on three different days. A technician never came to my house and each time I called there were different issues with the way the last guy placed order.

I finally had enough, and canceled to move to Dish network. When canceling, they told me they wanted my 10 year old hardware back and I needed to waste over an hour more of time taking it to the UPS store. I asked them to come and get it as it was not worth my time. They then threatened me with over $600 of charges and said that should make it worth my time. What a horrible way to treat your customers.
Jennifer Bargman

Add Additional Premium Channels

OM-68×38-v2 STARZ & Showtime Special Offer

When you order STARZ® Super Pack and SHOWTIME UNLIMITED® you get two for the price of one for three months. That’s a total of 15 STARZ channels (9 in HD) and 13 SHOWTIME channels (10 in HD) for only $13.99 or less per month for 3 months. Receive a $11.01 credit on your billing statement for a period of three months. Offer for customers that do not currently subscribe to both STARZ® and SHOWTIME®.

$13.99 per month

****This is whats being offered by direct tv and they will not honor it. I saw this offer under my direct tv log in under add premium channels. This is false advertisement.
Jose Sanchez

I recently scheduled a DirecTV install and it was a very bad experience. We have previously had DirecTV and service itself was usually great. For this install I called their customer support, then chatted with a representative and clearly stated that we are renting, and only a chimney mount would be allowed. I also clearly stated that I would buy the chimney mount for the installer to use. I was told that would be no problem, the installer can use whatever mount I have.

On the day of installation, the technician told me that he WILL NOT install a dish using anything other than the DirecTV approved mounting systems he has in his truck. Absolutely the opposite of what sales/installation support told me. DirecTV DOES NOT install on a chimney, or anywhere else their mount can’t be used.
Kelvin KC Carter

Horrible experience I originally switched to Direct TV to get a bundle deal with internet and cable. I called and spoke to someone who confirmed internet would be installed as well. The earliest install date available was 2 weeks out for the morning between 8-12. The installer didn’t show up until 1:30 took 2-3 hours to install and at the end of the install asks if I had internet. I said no your suppose to be installing it “ah I’m just here to install the TV we don’t provide internet in this area.” So now I’m pissed wasted my entire day for nothing. I immediately called and cancelled within an hour of install.
Amy

They really have horrible customer service.. when I signed up I was lied to and then when we had a problem, that was because of the guys instillation job, they wouldn’t be out for 8 days to fix, then said they would credit the account and never did. When you call they say they have no record of saying someone told you that but have records you didn’t have service and still refuse to credit my account!! This is how they make there money, by ripping people off.. also the whole get a $200 dollar Visa card when signing up is a lie
Dan Gordon

Directv will rip you off just like so many others. You think it’s good until they add some charges on your account and not tell you about it. And when you find them and cancel your service after 4 years they will hit you with a $700 bill. Good luck if you choose this provider.
Ray

Directv is the worse. Reset password a thousand times and still can’t get to what I need. Worse customer service
Ray

Worse customer service. Reset password a thousand times and still can’t get what I want
Amber Carr

I absolutely hate directv and I’m looking forward to Christmas so I can get out of this plan with them! Horrible customer service, and why the heck would I pay $150 a month, when I can go back to dish and get the same amount of channels for $95 a month?!?!? The list goes on and on with directv too.

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DIRECTV Review: Packages, Equipment, & Prices

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DIRECTV overview

DIRECTV’s all-inclusive pricing is still a bit mystifying.

DIRECTV packages & prices

What a la carte programming does DIRECTV have?

Looking for DIRECTV internet?

DIRECTV channel lineup

What is NFL SUNDAY TICKET?

I want my MTV—in high definition.

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Going back in time to watch TV

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Have a complaint? Make it count and tell the FCC.

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The bottom line—is DIRECTV good?

DIRECTV review summary:

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