There were two choices for satellite: DirecTV and Dish Network. They both offered similar packages but the main difference was that with Dish Network, you leased the equipment from them and with DirecTV, you bought your equipment. Leasing equipment seems like such a waste of money to me so I chose DirecTV for my service.
I originally contracted with DirecTV in June of 2002. At that time, they required a 12 month annual programming agreement. There was an early termination fee if I canceled service before June of 2003. This was explained to me and I agreed to the early termination fee. This was the only commitment I ever had with DirecTV. It is important that you note this now since this becomes much more relevant later. My commitment to remain with DirectTV ended in 2003.
I Loved DirecTV (past tense)
When I first saw the picture quality of DirecTV, I loved it. I had switched over from Time Warner Cable's analog service that featured ghosted images on most channels. But I was used to it so you can imagine how thrilled I was to see a TV picture that was clean and free of ghosts. Their program offering were better than Time Warner as well. During my six years of having DirecTV, I had nothing but praise for their service and I recommended them to countless friends, co-workers and family.
The Party's Over...
In 2008, after a long wait, Verizon's FIOS was finally available in my area. On March 5, 2008, I canceled the DirecTV service. At that time, the representative told me that there would be a $12 penalty for early cancellation. Clearly, she was mistaken. I started the service back in 2002. When I disputed the charge, she told me there was nothing that she could do. I asked for her supervisor and she told me that her supervisor could not reverse the charge. Over the next few days, I inquired about this charge with other people from DirectTV both by telephone and by email several times after that and was told each time that the $12 fee could not be lifted and that I needed to write to the corporate headquarters to resolve this issue.
I was told that this new "commitment" stemmed from a replacement receiver box that I received in May of 2007. At that time, my Hughes receiver did not recognize some of the new DirecTV stations that they offered. I called their service department to see if there was something I was doing wrong and the representative explained that the Hughes receiver was not capable of receiving some of the new channels offered. The person I spoke with said that if I paid $19.95 for shipping, she would send me a new box that could receive the new channels. She did not tell me that I was entering into a new agreement or that I would be committing to any additional months, simply that I needed to pay for the shipping.
Once again, I need to reiterate that I did not agree to another year of programming commitment when I spoke with their representative in 2007. That information should have been told to me at that time, when the woman offered to send me a new box.
The Legality of Their Actions
For two parties to enter into an agreement, there must be a meeting of the minds between both parties. Since this "new contract" was kept secret by DirecTV and never told to me, we had no meeting of the minds and therefore... NO CONTRACT.
I might also add that at that time, the representative never told me that there would also be a subtle change on my bill. The $4.99 charge that I had been paying for "Additional Receiver" was changed to a $4.99 charge for "Leased Receiver." I didn't even notice this switch until many months later when I was looking over my bill. If there is to be such a substantial change in the terms of service, it is something that should be explained to the customer BEFORE the fact, not after the fact.
After a quick search of the internet, I have discovered dozens of other consumers who have had very similar experiences with this company withholding money, charging credit cards without authorization, and fraudulently imposing a contract where there never was one. It appears that this is their standard practice and they must be held accountable for their actions.
Since then, I have received countless offers in the mail to get me to come back. Really? Let's sum that up with four simple words... "not in this lifetime."
