Miami-Dade sues DIRECTV

[Nick]

Responding to complaints, Miami-Dade's consumer protection agency accused
DIRECTV in a lawsuit of using misleading advertising and contract disclosures.By NIRVI SHAH
MiamiHerald.comThe Miami-Dade Consumer Services Department sued DIRECTV this week, accusing the company of using ads that mislead consumers about the cost of services and failing to properly disclose the terms of its contracts.

The consumer protection agency has logged more than 300 complaints about DIRECTV since June 2006. The suit accuses the company of violating Miami-Dade's uniform trade practices law.

A review of the complaints showed that DIRECTV ads didn't state the complete price of products and led customers to believe they would pay as little as $34.99 for different packages of services, but were billed as much as $65.99, the agency says.

The agency says DIRECTV buried additional fees in small print in service agreements with customers. For example, it cited a $5 charge for a second receiver; a $19.95 fee for complex installation, handling and delivery; $6 per month for DVR service; and $10 a month for HD access. But the company's offers of free installation in up to four rooms and free HD DVR receiver upgrades didn't include information about these fees. >>>More @ MiamiHerald.com (http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/30/1752904/miami-dade-sues-directv.html#ixzz0vUhb3WQK)

[LarryFlowers]

Wow... 80 complaints per year...

[hdtvfan0001]

Wow... 80 complaints per year...
:lol::lol::lol:

[dpeters11]

And maybe the cable co there is different, but here I didn't expect the fees that TWC charged. The remote is extra? Or quotes on phone service with the telco and with universal access, 911 and other fees and taxes added at least $10 to the quoted price.

I figured it was just standard practice.

[Carl Spock]

The Miami-Dade Consumer Services Department sued DIRECTV this week, accusing the company of using ads that mislead consumers about the cost of services and failing to properly disclose the terms of its contracts.
They needed lawyers to tell them this? :scratchin

[roadrunner1782]

And maybe the cable co there is different, but here I didn't expect the fees that TWC charged. The remote is extra? Or quotes on phone service with the telco and with universal access, 911 and other fees and taxes added at least $10 to the quoted price.

I figured it was just standard practice.

I've always found it funny TWC charges for a remote. I wonder if other cable companies do that too?

[Lord Vader]

80 complaints per year isn't the point. Miami-Dade joins yet another group suing DirecTV. Several state attorneys general and other officials are joining the sue DirecTV bandwagon.

Quite honestly, some of DirecTV's contract practices are rather shady.

[matt]

Yeah, that DVR, installation, additional receiver, and HD access fee are hidden deep in the text, so far in the contract that you totally couldn't see them in the chart that details your bill every month and shows you exactly what you will pay on each bill for 2 YEARS when you sign up.

More frivolous lawsuits from idiots that can't read a legally binding contract. Some people are so stupid. Yes, the contract is a page long of small text. It takes maybe 5 minutes to read the whole thing before you sign it. Big deal. Quit being so lazy, read what you are signing, and quit crying because you suck at life. Their complaint should be thrown out and they should have to pay for costs on both sides of the time and resources they wasted.

Just like the people that lease receivers and are too stupid to send them back and get charged a non-equipment fee. Instead of looking at that little yellow paper that details it all for you, they b**ch and moan to whoever will listen instead, then they keep the receiver and get charged $400 on top of the $200 they spent to lease it, instead of just returning it and only "losing" $200 instead of $600.

[gilviv]

Yeah, that DVR, installation, additional receiver, and HD access fee are hidden deep in the text, so far in the contract that you totally couldn't see them in the chart that details your bill every month and shows you exactly what you will pay on each bill for 2 YEARS when you sign up.

More frivolous lawsuits from idiots that can't read a legally binding contract. Some people are so stupid. Yes, the contract is a page long of small text. It takes maybe 5 minutes to read the whole thing before you sign it. Big deal. Quit being so lazy, read what you are signing, and quit crying because you suck at life. Their complaint should be thrown out and they should have to pay for costs on both sides of the time and resources they wasted.

Just like the people that lease receivers and are too stupid to send them back and get charged a non-equipment fee. Instead of looking at that little yellow paper that details it all for you, they b**ch and moan to whoever will listen instead, then they keep the receiver and get charged $400 on top of the $200 they spent to lease it, instead of just returning it and only "losing" $200 instead of $600.

AMEN! matt1124 and just as a few(~300) slam D*, I would love to hear the stories regarding Comcrap and Scamverse. Those have to be in the 1000s.
I have yet to find one person down here in Miami-Dade that has installed Uverse(aka Scamverse) or Cable and not had some issue with AT&T or the later. Sometimes I have to say it is these companies' fault, but for those most part, people are not careful and install and upgrade and add all the bells and whistles to these services and then later get a bill only to realize that it is to much money or not what they needed. "They had no idea" really translates to they did not read the fine print

[paulman182]

There is a big difference between an "idiot" and someone who misunderstands a contract, or fails to read it because he accepts the claims at face value.

My 82 year old father signed up for DirecTV and he was one of the sharpest guys I knew...about certain things. Reading the fine print on contracts was not one of them, and so he complained to me on a monthly basis that his bill was higher than it should have been.

But an "idiot?" I'd sure like to have that "idiot" around to advise me on HVAC, or plumbing issues, or when my lawn mower or car craps out...

Hopefully all of us will be able to keep up with changing times and stay right on top of things like this, but somehow I doubt it.

[Dave]

As i sit here pondering my post to this situation. I see a comercial for Directv. It says on the comercial at there site. Free HD DVR, Free HD for life. Our best package (free) for 5 months. Then underneath in the real fine print, just sign up for the NFL package for $ 59.99 per month for (5) months. It says other fees apply. It doen't say what these fees are. But it says right up front FREE HDDVR. So I being a new customer would assume the HD DVR is mine to keep and there is no charge to use it. But as we all know on the boards here this is not true. So in my opinion we have the old bait and switch tactic in play here. This is also what the states attorney general, the city attorney generals and others will say. If you are going to advertise a product, then you should be required by law in my opinion to put up everything in BIG BOLD letters. I mean everything. So the public knows exactly what they get for there money. But instead the corporations as a whole has decided that small very fine print will be ok. I do not think this is OK. Hopefully after losing a few lawsuits and paying back customers for there UNHONEST practices they will start to do the right thing. This is why also I think the government needs to be involved more with the cable, satelitte, u-verse, and whoever wants to sell a product of this nature to the general public. Yes in my opinion they do need to be sued to set them on the right path for honest customer service as a whole.

[hdtvfan0001]

Unfortunately there is some Catch 22 going on to assist in these situations...and not just for DirecTV...but all providers. Requirements for legal disclosures end up creating reams of tiny paragraphs of disclosure content.

Unless you read it all...you could have "surprises".

I don't consider anyone who doesn't read all that fine print or understand it any less of a customer or person, but then again....if there is disclosed information in there....and later on it becomes a bone of contention...they have only themselves to blame.

The courts are filled with plenty of frivolous lawsuits, but...

On the other hand....all the providers seem to tip toe up to the line of accuracy and disclosure in their commercials, which may be legal, but obviously can confuse some folks as well. That's not right either.

[matt]

When I used the term idiot, I mean, as Merriam-Webster puts it, a foolish person, not one of any mental handicap. I mean no disrespect to your father specifically, but signing a contract without reading it is, IMHO, foolish. And yes, I do read every contract, fully, before I sign, and yes, I make sure I understand it before I sign it.

[Bigg]

Yeah, that DVR, installation, additional receiver, and HD access fee are hidden deep in the text, so far in the contract that you totally couldn't see them in the chart that details your bill every month and shows you exactly what you will pay on each bill for 2 YEARS when you sign up.

More frivolous lawsuits from idiots that can't read a legally binding contract. Some people are so stupid. Yes, the contract is a page long of small text. It takes maybe 5 minutes to read the whole thing before you sign it. Big deal. Quit being so lazy, read what you are signing, and quit crying because you suck at life. Their complaint should be thrown out and they should have to pay for costs on both sides of the time and resources they wasted.

Just like the people that lease receivers and are too stupid to send them back and get charged a non-equipment fee. Instead of looking at that little yellow paper that details it all for you, they b**ch and moan to whoever will listen instead, then they keep the receiver and get charged $400 on top of the $200 they spent to lease it, instead of just returning it and only "losing" $200 instead of $600.

I totally agree. Comcast won't give you a detailed 2-year cost chart like DirecTV, in fact DirecTV's is probably the easiet to read, and it overestimates the cost, since you can cancel the free movie channels they give you for 3 months or whatever it is.

[BAHitman]

Maybe DirecTV should be required to give potential customers a wretten exam on all of the disclosures to force people to read/understand them... no pass, no tv for you...

[Carl Spock]

Before somebody agrees to a two year commitment, I think it's reasonable to tell them how much it's going to cost them.

New customers would call into a CSR twice, once at the beginning of the install and once at the end. During the first conversation, which would be recorded, a CSR would explain what's going to happen and what the charges would be. That the customer had a 24 hour cancellation window would also be explained. The customer would have to agree to all of this before the install would even begin. No sense wasting the installers time and equipment on a customer that says, Whoa - I didn't think it would cost that much.

The installer would call in once more at the end of the install for activation and to clear any add-ons that came about during the install. The CSR would give him both the monthly cost and what the initial charges would be, so those figures could be written into a contract the customer would sign.

What's so tough about this?

[NR4P]

What I find surprising is all the disguised fees from the phone company that they get away with.

On your phone bill you probably have something like "regulatory fee" or "Telecommunications Act Surcharge".

Neither are mandated taxes, not required by law but the wording makes you think they are regulated/mandated charges by a taxing authority They are purely fees to pad our bill for their cost of doing business. But Miami Dade and other muncipalities don't seem to chase those.

[Lord Vader]

From today's news...

The Better Business Bureau says it has compiled 53K complaints about satellite providers across the past three years with DIRECTV drawing 39K complaints and DISH getting 13K.

Most complaints center around "complex policies and fees," says the bureau. Early termination fees (reportedly as much as $600) and introductory offers are two key problem areas.

[hdtvfan0001]

From today's news...
That's an update...but not real news.

The whole service termination issue - for satellite and cable both...has been going on for many years. The same thing occurs in the mobile phone business, and even land line phone service - terminate early -pay a huge penalty fee.

It may stink, but its not uncommon nor unique to one industry. Disclosures include all the information on how these work.

Problem is....most folks simply don't read it. No personal responsibility for making a decision, and then later on...when it isn't ideal to what someone wants....a "complaint" comes up.

All that said, perhaps they simply need to make that part larger print and bold, or else have as a separate disclosure altogether. People also need to fess up that they have a personal responsibility to read the fine print or else stop complaining.

[gilviv]

That's an update...but not real news.

The whole service termination issue - for satellite and cable both...has been going on for many years. The same thing occurs in the mobile phone business, and even land line phone service - terminate early -pay a huge penalty fee.

It may stink, but its not uncommon nor unique to one industry. Disclosures include all the information on how these work.

Problem is....most folks simply don't read it. No personal responsibility for making a decision, and then later on...when it isn't ideal to what someone wants....a "complaint" comes up.

All that said, perhaps they simply need to make that part larger print and bold, or else have as a separate disclosure altogether. People also need to fess up that they have a personal responsibility to read the fine print or else stop complaining.

Many fall or are taken by what that old line says "If it sounds to good to be true it probably is" :lol:
IMO Directv is a great company with great costomer service and oh yeah. an awsome product, but that being said, they are also in it to make MONEY!:D
Should the print be larger, sure, should the terms be easier to understand, definately, but marketing and legal depts probably don't think so. Marketing 101 dictates the use of practices that many of us find wrong. Look at the recent DISH 200+ HD channels ads. How many fell into that?
FREE is the hook, the fine print is the sinker.:mad:
We as consumers must understand that WE are always at risk of being prayed upon by companies selling things, that is the nature of it. Yes it sometimes leads to unethical practices but that isn't new.
I think it was P.T. Barnum that said "there is a sucker born every minute"
Do everything possible on your part not to be the "sucker":grin:

[hatchet]

Instead of "fine" print shouldn't it be called "find" print :D.

Seriously, the real terms of any contract are often buried in a page full of paragraphs that most of us just simply don't read. Should a company be more upfront with "hidden" fees? Well sure, but its common practice for them not to be.

I don't think any of this equates to a lawsuit. It is frivolous and I don't see where any real damages can occur from paying $5, $10 or $15 a month unexpectedly. IMO, this can't amount to any real pain and suffering or whatever the basis for the suit may be.

In my lifetime, we have all become so quick to blame others for our problems that we have lost touch with individual responsibility and accounting. I recently received my second D* bill and although I haven't analyzed either one, I'm pretty sure the billed amount is more than what the original sales rep quoted me my monthly bill would be. Frustrating yes but expected even more so.

[armophob]

Tonight's news described how the lawsuit also focuses on the practice of deducting the 2 year contract fees owed after early cancellation directly from credit cards and bank accounts on file within days of cancel.

[TBlazer07]

Before somebody agrees to a two year commitment, I think it's reasonable to tell them how much it's going to cost them.

New customers would call into a CSR twice, once at the beginning of the install and once at the end. During the first conversation, which would be recorded, a CSR would explain what's going to happen and what the charges would be. That the customer had a 24 hour cancellation window would also be explained. The customer would have to agree to all of this before the install would even begin. No sense wasting the installers time and equipment on a customer that says, Whoa - I didn't think it would cost that much.

The installer would call in once more at the end of the install for activation and to clear any add-ons that came about during the install. The CSR would give him both the monthly cost and what the initial charges would be, so those figures could be written into a contract the customer would sign.

What's so tough about this?

A lot of customers buy from local resellers and never contact DirecTV until it is too late and they are locked in.

The techs often don't hand the customer the contract to sign until AFTER the install (or upgrade) is completed. By then the guy just signs off. Sure it's wrong he doesn't sit down and read the contract but by then you just want to get the guy out of your house and have a beer and watch the $34.95 programming that really cost you $60.

The major point is, with DirecTV and Dish where there are COMMITMENTS involved there are SO MANY fees (like DVR, HD, Programming, MRV, mirroring/lease that the AVERAGE PERSON who just wants to watch TV for $34.95/month could POSSIBLY be confused.

At least with cable you have no contract so if when all is said and done if you have buyers remorse you can call and cancel.

With Dish and DirecTV the only way out after 24 hrs is to send them an urn with your ashes in it plus you are still stuck with equipment lease fees (if any) even if you can cancel.

Comparing DirecTV fees with cable fees really isn't a fair comparison because with cable you can easily get out.

[TBlazer07]

I don't think any of this equates to a lawsuit. It is frivolous and I don't see where any real damages can occur from paying $5, $10 or $15 a month unexpectedly. IMO, this can't amount to any real pain and suffering or whatever the basis for the suit may be.

I disagree, 24 months x $15 is a lot of money for some people who don't have it. Everyone isn't as smart and wealthy as many of those who hang out on these techie boards with their $40,000 man caves. There are lots of folks who just see $39 and sign up figuring it's cheap TV and the WORST part is they are stuck for 24 months.

If they could simply call and say "whooops I made a mistake" please cancel there would be absolutely no issue. Instead they get "Sorry sir, you can cancel but it's going to cost you $480 because you changed your mind after 24 hrs." THAT is the only issue that causes all these problems ....

[lee635]

Call me old fashioned, but if the advertisement says $34.99 per month for suchandsuch service, then the company needs to be able to deliver that service for $34.99 per month (plus sales tax).

Now if the $34.99 deal is for a cheapie receiver and the customer wants a top-o-the-line DVR -- that's a different story.

But my point stands, the company actually needs to be able deliver what it promised at the price stated. I'm reading a lot of rhetoric about how "folks don't read contracts" -- the advertisement is an offer of a contract, and the customer has a right to accept that contract and not have the company show up at the door with something different than was ordered. And the customer further has the right to demand that the seller honor the original offer. The customer is not obliged to cancel the order, rather the seller must honor the order.

Several years ago some matress retailers got in hot water for advertising matresses with a high retail price and claiming a big sale. Problem was they had never, ever, ever offered those matresses for sale at their stores at those high prices -- not even for a single day.

[MattScahum]

Call me old fashioned, but if the advertisement says $34.99 per month for suchandsuch service, then the company needs to be able to deliver that service for $34.99 per month (plus sales tax).

Now if the $34.99 deal is for a cheapie receiver and the customer wants a top-o-the-line DVR -- that's a different story.

But my point stands, the company actually needs to be able deliver what it promised at the price stated. I'm reading a lot of rhetoric about how "folks don't read contracts" -- the advertisement is an offer of a contract, and the customer has a right to accept that contract and not have the company show up at the door with something different than was ordered. And the customer further has the right to demand that the seller honor the original offer. The customer is not obliged to cancel the order, rather the seller must honor the order.
Several years ago some matress retailers got in hot water for advertising matresses with a high retail price and claiming a big sale. Problem was they had never, ever, ever offered those matresses for sale at their stores at those high prices -- not even for a single day.



I feel I'm in an interesting situation to address this to the benefit of the community, so I would like to apologize if Necro-ing a 2 month old thread...
I work for a company that does the phone in sales for DirecTV and literally could probably rattle off the fine print by memory..lol..that being said, here is how it goes on a typical call...
If you look at the flyers and use the Choice Xtra as an example, then the package price for 1 tv with SD is $34.99 plus tax after rebate. That is the advertised price. If you add an additional tv it is $5 per each receiver added(lease or mirroring fee whatever you want to call it). The 2nd thing is the free leased receiver upgrades. You can get an HD Dvr/HD receiver to replace 2 SD receivers on your order. In the fine print it says $7 a month for DVR service, $10 for HD access and $3 for whole home dvr service. The way I handle it is if Joe Somebody calls and says he has 2 rooms with 2 hdtvs, I start him on the Xtra/HD DVR/HD/Whole home service..then I quote him a price of $59.99/month plus tax. If he does auto billing I let him know he gets an additional $10 off a month for Free HD(and aggressively offer this because I don't see why someone would pay for HD when they can get it for free) which takes the price to $49.99/month.. I also let them know that that price includes the $29 rebate that needs to be done online before install.
Now at the end of the call, we read something called RCC's which must be read on EVERY sales call. If you don't get them, the person that you spoke with probably doesn't have a job anymore. They fired a guy on our team a month ago because he forgot to read the RCC attached the the NFL sunday ticket/Premier package offer about the 5 month pricing. RCCs are laid out like this:
-price you would pay with no discounts
-price after rebate(24/29 depending on how you do it)
-what package you have
-the extras on that package
-what equipment is on your order
-we check to make sure they understand that it is a 2 yr agreement/their card will be kept on file/and in the event of ETF or non activation or non returned equipment that card will be charged for those fees.

90% of the people that I talk to when I tell them I have to read that stuff just groan and everything I say they are like " mmmhmm, ok , yep yep, got it"
Then to top it off we send a copy of the agreement in their email and also include a copy in their first months bill. I can't speak for the whole company but I know personally I would rather people ask me questions while they set up so they don't get suprises in their bill. The problem lies in the fact that people don't pay attention when we tell them things and alot of times the prices they said they had no idea about were clearly disclosed to them before the initial call was disconnected...That is also the reason I encourage my friends not to set up at a local retailer who doesn't have to read that stuff or even online because that stuff pops up as an option to read and everyone just closes it. Call the number on the website and you get the same deals through us.
hope that helps anyone that had a question...ps nice to be part of the community as I have been a reader for a while off and on.

[BattleZone]

There are lots of folks who just see $39 and sign up figuring it's cheap TV and the WORST part is they are stuck for 24 months.

If they could simply call and say "whooops I made a mistake" please cancel there would be absolutely no issue. Instead they get "Sorry sir, you can cancel but it's going to cost you $480 because you changed your mind after 24 hrs." THAT is the only issue that causes all these problems ....

The problem is that, by signing up and agreeing to the installation, they have caused the sat company to incur costs that average about $700, between the costs of equipment, installation, sales commission, advertising, and order processing. That's a BIG amount of money that most customers don't want to pay up-front. The lease program and 24-month commitment allows the sat companies to heavily discount these up-front cost (often to zero), yet still be assured they will eventually make money.

If you end the commitments and ETFs, then you're going to go back to paying full MSRP for your receivers and your installation. Who wants to pay $500 for an HD-DVR and $200 for a new customer installation?

[Drucifer]

That HD charge is going to keep biting them in butt until they get rid of it.

Sooner or later someone is going to think they should start a class action.