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$10 to disconnect a premium?

7K views 55 replies 16 participants last post by  Inkosaurus 
#1 ·
so i was supposed to be getting hbo and cinemax free for three months starting 7/16 through 10/16. last month i added starz on a deal for 10 a month for three months then utilize the 25 cash back. well last month when they billed the starz they combined it with my hbo and cinemax resulting in a credit being wiped out for hbo and me getting charged for it. called in a week ago and siad there wasnt anything they could do. so i said cancel it since im not really watching it much anyway. so this months bill comes and there is a 10 dollar fee to disconnect? WTH? I got charged for something that was supposed to be free then got charged 10 to disconnect it. what a rip
 
#3 ·
bobnielsen said:
If you have had a premium channel for less than a month, there is a $10 charge to discontinue it. Wait until it has been on your contract for a month and there will be no such charge. If the charge was incorrect and the CSR cannot resolve it, contact ellen.fillipiak@directv.com with the details and hopefully it will be fixed.
Why would it be fixed? The situation falls into the rules and regulations of the company that he should have paid attention to.

So basically emailing ellen has now been delegated to just the email everyone uses when they feel entitled to not pay charges that they are rightfully billed?
 
#8 ·
"mmmason23" said:
Huh? So i cant add one premium and disconnect the other in the same moth without a charge regardless of how long ive had them?
I was always allowed to switch within the month. So like if I had sports pack I could switch to Showtime if I wanted. The problem you could run into here is HBO cost more so its not really a lateral change.
 
#9 ·
well i think what happened here was when i added starz they lumped it together with hbo and cinemax onto one billing line. which led to first getting rid of my free hbo/cinemax and also making it look like i only had hbo since that date of 9/10 not 7/16 which was when i originally had signed up. it boils down to the switch causing me to lose free hbo, which is 16 bucks and then getting charged 10 to disconnect it.
 
#10 ·
"mmmason23" said:
well i think what happened here was when i added starz they lumped it together with hbo and cinemax onto one billing line. which led to first getting rid of my free hbo/cinemax and also making it look like i only had hbo since that date of 9/10 not 7/16 which was when i originally had signed up. it boils down to the switch causing me to lose free hbo, which is 16 bucks and then getting charged 10 to disconnect it.
Call and get it credited. If you had the HBO for more than 30 days I don't see how they can really tell you you don't owe it.
 
#15 ·
zimm7778 said:
Then escalate it to retention if you have to. I'd definitely call back until I got it. There's no reason based on what I'm seeing here you should be charged $10.
Except the rules and regulations they have set in place to prevent this?
Not every thing that a customer perceives as a "mistake" deserves a credit.

The charge is legit and the only reason it would get credited back would be because the person handling it might just get tired of seeing notes indicated the customer is calling in asking for credits.
 
#19 ·
Inkosaurus said:
Except the rules and regulations they have set in place to prevent this?
Not every thing that a customer perceives as a "mistake" deserves a credit.

The charge is legit and the only reason it would get credited back would be because the person handling it might just get tired of seeing notes indicated the customer is calling in asking for credits.
No it isn't if what he says is true. He had HBO for longer than 1 month, and cancelled it. He kept Starz, which also has nothing to do with his HBO order. It's not his fault the system f'ed up...he's in the right. Also, they should have credited him if he was supposed to be getting it for free.

I've had something similar happen to me before where they've charged me a $10 disconnect fee even though I had the channel for more than a month and I've gotten credited pretty easily. If what you're saying is true, then you should get credited...no if, ands or buts about it.
 
#20 ·
Inkosaurus said:
Except the rules and regulations they have set in place to prevent this?
Not every thing that a customer perceives as a "mistake" deserves a credit.

The charge is legit and the only reason it would get credited back would be because the person handling it might just get tired of seeing notes indicated the customer is calling in asking for credits.
It is not as simple as you think. I recently turned showtime and hbo on and off for the strikeforce mma and boxing. When I call them up and ask if I can shut the channel off without being charged $10 directv didn't even know! They had to transfer me to someone else that could look that up. Then when they said I was ok I did so.

My last bill had two $10 early disconnect fees in one month! I called them up and explained the situation and got $40 credit. They screwed up and doubled the credit. I didn't argue with that. When you turn on a premium channel make a note on the calendar because directv has no clue. They can turn the channel on or off correctly. The $10 fee is a coin flip. They are clueless there.
 
#21 ·
Are you sure your hbo/max credit was wiped out? I ask because the charge and credit are two separate line items. You should have had a hbo-cinamax-starz for $35 and a seperate line of hbo/max $11.01 credit. Adding starz should not have wiped away the credit unless it expired.

As for the $10 charge. You are in the right on that. You definitely should not have been charged if you kept Starz. That other poster is wrong.
 
#23 ·
The same thing has happened to me twice. As has been noted, when a new premium is added, it gets bundled together with any existing premiums and the system sees them all starting on the new date.

The first time I encountered this issue, the CSR recognized the problem immediately and apologized. The $10 disconnect fee was refunded, and I think I was even given another $10 for my trouble, without asking for it. This was several years ago.

The second time, about a year ago, the CSR was much less nice. She kept telling me I was charged for holding the premium channel less than a month, even though I had actually subscribed (and paid for it!) for the previous 10 months. Long story short, I fought for a refund on the disconnect fee until I got it, although she said she was doing it "only as a one-time courtesy". I replied that should the same mistake happen again, I would expect them to correct it again.

I understand why DirecTV imposes the early disconnection fee and believe it is a fair charge. I do not understand why they cannot revise their system to keep channel additions/ deletions separate so that the charge is not applied erroneously. I try to make sure any premiums overlap by at least a month now, to avoid the hassle, but I shouldn't have to.

Bottom line, the OP should not have been charged a disconnect fee.
 
#24 ·
Thanks for the input. The lady on the phone tried to give me a refund but the system wouldn't let her? I'm probably sol just thought it was bogus. I actually had never heard of that charge. It does make sense. When I canceled it would have been nice to have been made known of.it. but on my account it would look like I had HBO since 7-16 so she probably wouldn't have anyway
 
#25 ·
mmmason23 said:
Last month when they added starz they changed the line item said hbo-max-starz 37 and 11.01 credit for 2-1 HBO/Max. I was supposed getting them both free for another month.
When you added Starz! last month, you restarted the clock.
DIRECTV Answer Center said:
Can I change my DIRECTV programming once I have service?

Yes. When you create an account at DIRECTV.com, you can change your programming online. You can also call us at 1-800-531-5000 to make changes. DIRECTV premium programming services are generally offered on a monthly basis. If you downgrade your premium programming options within 30 days of adding a new service to your account, you may be subject to a $10 fee.
http://support.directv.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2410

This fee is not plainly documented in the Customer Agreement.
 
#26 ·
joshjr said:
Your an idiot. Its not a accurate charge. I just went through this myself. Its a flaw in the system. When you have premium channels and add more they add them all at once and then disconnect the few you had as to not interrupt service but its causing billing errors if you disconnect any premiums even if you had one for years.

Nothing incorrect about it. Its a flaw on DirecTV's part and they shoudl correct it. I had to speak with Case Management to get mine fixed but I did get it fixed. Its not our fauly they add it in a manor that screws us later.
If its a flaw in the system its painfully easy to circumvent and credit back, I know first hand I used to work there ;)

If theres truly a flaw in the system you dont have to climb up the ladder to get it corrected, and it wouldnt be happening consistantly either.

Just because you feel entitled to being credited for every perceived mistake does not mean that you should receive those credits, no matter how much begging you do to ellen, or retention and honestly the only reason they usually dish out in the case of legit charges is because there just tired of hearing from you.
 
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