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Anyone call DirecTV and reduce their bill? Share stats here!

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#1 ·
Hi. I'm curious about stories/stats about people's success (or not) of negotiating their DirecTV bill. If you haven't tried to do so already, I recommend you do (see my stats below - wondering if I got better than what others are seeing.)

If you call now, or if you called before, please share your stats so others in this forum can see what works.

  • Called June 2013
  • Been subscriber for about 2 years
  • Suggested I wanted to cancel because I was considering downgrading due to budget reasons and using online/netflix/etc.
  • Got $30 off/month. $10 off was specifically for the movie channels.
  • Took about 10 minutes

What have other people done? Any tips/tricks to share?

Thanks!
 
#1,300 ·
So I called back in to complain that my HR24 hard drive is just about dead after nearly 6 and half years and wanted to see if they would negotiate a line item credit to cover the MRV fee (that I don't currently have) so I could get a Genie.......CSR wouldn't do it. CSR was trying hard to push me into signing 1 year deal for new "free" Genie but wouldn't budge on the MRV fee. I only have one receiver so what is the point of MRV? CSR did offer NFL ST and Sports Package for free, but I declined as I don't watch sports. He came back with 50% of HBO or Showtime for a year. I declined, not trying to increase bill. He came back with free HD Xtra package for 6 months, I accepted.

I then told CSR I wanted the HR24 swapped for a new/refurb and he said no problem. He put the order in and then proceeded to tell me that I'm such a great customer so there will only be a one-time $49.99 replacement fee plus $19.99 shipping. I told him I don't pay to replace leased units. CSR acted like he was checking with his computer system and then came back and said they would replace for just the shipping fee. I again said no, long term customer, leased unit, waive the fees. CSR again checked with computer system and came back saying he would waive the fee.

At this point I think I'm done. He reads off the order to verify and starts to fast talk through the terms.......I stop him at "this offer requires 1 year commitment". He proceeded to tell me that replacing a dead leased receiver starts a new 1 year term. I told him to check with his manager because that's a new one by me as this wasn't an upgrade. He put me on hold and came back with "We will waive the 1 year commitment for you, we thought you just wanted to swap out units, we didn't understand this was to replace dead unit" so I accepted at that point.

Very tricky CSR....must get a commission for certain things like billable line items or commitments?
 
#1,301 ·
There is no Whole Home Service fee even if that’s what it’s called on old accounts. The current DVR fee is 15. If you have an old account like me and you then you are grandfather in on the 10 a month. And you get a 2 dollar discount when going to a genie that is supposed to require the 15 DVR fee. So you save 2 bucks.

Ask for a one time credit of 40 and it takes care of it for over a year.
 
#1,305 ·
There is no Whole Home Service fee even if that's what it's called on old accounts. The current DVR fee is 15. If you have an old account like me and you then you are grandfather in on the 10 a month. And you get a 2 dollar discount when going to a genie that is supposed to require the 15 DVR fee. So you save 2 bucks.

Ask for a one time credit of 40 and it takes care of it for over a year.
Question if anyone here knows, some of the credits given have this listed after (24mosAR-HD), does this mean that particular credit will last for 24 months or is it just a way in which the rep had to enter it into the system to get it to go through? The other credits have other designations after the hyphen like DVR.

The rep stated this particular credit would last for 12 months.

I double checked my agreement to make sure it was indeed for 1 year not 2 and Directv confirmed it was for 1 so that is not an issue.
 
#1,302 ·
After having my D account on “suspend” or whatever they call it for 6 months and using PSVue I finally completely cancelled D a couple of months ago. I had a credit on my final bill so called them last week to get them to send me my money. They did everything they could to get me back. The CSR finally got down to $9 per month, coverage for 4 tv’s, brand new Genie and clients, all installed for free. I said no, they should have been more interested in trying to keep me before I cancelled. People are starting to understand that they have real options. The days of “commitments“ and $100+ monthly bills are quickly coming to an end. Increased competition is working its magic, as usual.
 
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#1,303 ·
My 2 year contract ended last week. I have been a customer since 2006. Called the number today and was offered $35 off a month for 12 months with no commitment. I currently have the choice package with a genie, an hr24, and a client. I don't subscribe to any pay channels. I felt like this was decent offer. I might have been able to get a little more but I like the no contract part. Drops my bill down to around $103 after taxes.
 
#1,304 ·
Been with DirecTV since the year 2000. I just called in. My 2 year contract expires in March but decided to call in because I've had a few credits expire in the last month. I got $40 off with a one-year contract along with being upgraded from Entertainment to Choice. I have no premiums or any other sports subscriptions so my bill is going to be about $80 after taxes. This is the most success I've had in the last year.
 
#1,306 ·
There is no Whole Home Service fee even if that's what it's called on old accounts. The current DVR fee is 15. If you have an old account like me and you then you are grandfather in on the 10 a month. And you get a 2 dollar discount when going to a genie that is supposed to require the 15 DVR fee. So you save 2 bucks.

Ask for a one time credit of 40 and it takes care of it for over a year.
I am charged a monthly $3 Whole Home fee. I have never been charged the monthly DVR fee.
 
#1,311 ·
So I called today truly intending to cancel as my bill had gotten really high Xtra pack, 4 receivers, 2 DVR's. Yesterday was my last day of commitment. Put me on hold for a little while and then offered me $80 a month off for the next 12 months, no commitment. I jumped on that before they changed their mind. Took me down to $60 a month for my 4 receiver setup. Very happy!
 
#1,312 ·
I just called in this morning and got $60 off for 12 months along with 6 months of HBO. This is on top of the $50 a month I had from a call several months ago so My extra package is just $30 a month. I was still in contract for 4 months so I didn't think I would qualify. The CSR in Loyalty said they were giving discounts to almost anyone that called in December. Took less than 10 minutes, well worth my time for over $700 in discounts. Just make sure you get the loyalty department.
 
#1,313 ·
I called just now and got nothing. I asked why not. The lady said I could not have more than 2 promotions at a time. So I have just a $10 and a $5 off now. She said when the $5 dropped off in about 4 months I could call back to add another one.
I asked could she drop one of the ones I already had and she said that they could not remove existing discounts.
Oh well.
 
#1,318 ·
There is no Whole Home Service fee even if that's what it's called on old accounts. The current DVR fee is 15. If you have an old account like me and you then you are grandfather in on the 10 a month. And you get a 2 dollar discount when going to a genie that is supposed to require the 15 DVR fee. So you save 2 bucks.

Ask for a one time credit of 40 and it takes care of it for over a year.
I have never been charged the DVR fee, but I do get charged $3 for the whole home feature.
 
#1,319 ·
Then you must be on an ancient grandfathered premier programming package the includes DVR free for life. That's is very rare to see these days. Otherwise you are. It has been called advanced receiver fee though for some people. It's had a few different names over the years.
 
#1,321 ·
Called in today just for the heck of it based on thread over at Slickdeals. I am currently receiving a $60 per month discount from a call this past summer. The rep immediately offered $50 off per month, HBO and Sports free for 6 months, and Showtime free for 4 months. She also went on a hunt for more additional credits and could only find a $5 autopay discount which I declined.

All in all took about 5 minutes on the phone and no threats of cancelling.
 
#1,323 ·
I have extra if i upgrade to premier (with all movie channels ) would I be able to get more discounts??

I just upgraded to a 2 year contract as upgraded to 4k

Sent from my mobile device using Tapatalk
 
#1,324 ·
I still have several months left on 3 different discounts. I called up just for the hell of it and without really doing much of anything was offered a $50 one-time credit effective immediately plus free Cinemax and Showtime for 4 months. In addition to the free months of HBO I've had since August which is ending in January.

Are they just getting desperate to retain customers? The 800-824 number I called picked up on the second ring with no menus and they even had my account info pulled up from the caller ID. It was loud in the background and sounded like people were in a room watching a bunch of different shows. I swear the guy even said "damn it" when he tried to activate the free premiums and it didn't work right away.

Sent from my 2PS64 using Tapatalk
 
#1,325 ·
IT must vary on if you’re in a 2year deal or not . It seams I got much better deals before I got 4K installed lol
 
#1,326 ·
I finally called and I got $55 off for 12 months without a contract extension. She (CSR) asked me a few questions and that was it. I did tell her I have been researching switching to Dish, but I won't switch now.
 
#1,334 ·
I finally called and I got $55 off for 12 months without a contract extension. She (CSR) asked me a few questions and that was it. I did tell her I have been researching switching to Dish, but I won't switch now.
Centurylink fired up their FTTH Gigabit internet and Prism is now available over the fiber in our area. $89 a month before STB and associated fees for nearly the same channels (340 total, no AXS TV or HDNet) and Showtime, Stars and Encore channels. I'm off contract with a dying HR34. How does one leverage this when calling D?
 
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