[Drew2k]

I have online billing so I don't have a bill mailed to me, but I was just comparing my online bill and recent activity and noticed that more information is available in the online "recent activity" section under My Account than is provided on the online bill.

Recent Activity lists each receiver and the last several digits of the access card number.

The online bill only lists "Lease fee" or "Additional Receiver" with no access card number.

Why would the actual bill not provide the access card digits for easier customer verification of their charges?

Also, the paper bill lists "DIRECTV on DEMAND -Complimentary" as no charge, but it's not on Recent Activity.

Why the differences? Shouldn't the same information under Recent Activity make its way to the bill, and shouldn't what's on the bill at one time appear under Recent Activity each billing cycle?

Is it like this on the paper bill also, or is this just a byproduct of being "paperless"?

 

[CJTE]

-DirecTV on Demand is a special item, dont be surprised that its not on your 'recent activity' because its not an activity.
If I remember any other 'special' items that you wont see on 1 versus the other, I'll let you know.
-The leased/add'l receiver fee has the last 4 of the A/C on the paper bill and recent activity, so I assume it should be online, thats strange if you don't see it.

- The differences you're seeing is the way the data is pooled. Recent Activity only pools certain data off the system, the Online Bill pools from the same resource, but not all the same data.

 

[Drew2k]

Thanks for the response about the On Demand, but it's a service, like Premiere is a service, so it's a little confusing to me that it wouldn't show up under Recent Activity online. I actually do have one other item on my e-bill that's not under Recent Activity: my grandfathered DVR status.

I'm attaching a sanitized copy of my online "e-bill", so you can judge for yourself how poor it is ... it should be provided as a PDF facsimile of the paper bill, yet you can see it's a poor imitation.

My utilities and several of my credit card companies all provide true PDF e-bills, with the PDF copy looking 100% like the paper version, right down to muffy marks and vertical numbering in the margins, and they include the back of the bill as well! I don't know why DIRECTV can't do the same ...

 

[randyss43]

Thanks for the response about the On Demand, but it's a service, like Premiere is a service, so it's a little confusing to me that it wouldn't show up under Recent Activity online. I actually do have one other item on my e-bill that's not under Recent Activity: my grandfathered DVR status.

I'm attaching a sanitized copy of my online "e-bill", so you can judge for yourself how poor it is ... it should be provided as a PDF facsimile of the paper bill, yet you can see it's a poor imitation.

My utilities and several of my credit card companies all provide true PDF e-bills, with the PDF copy looking 100% like the paper version, right down to muffy marks and vertical numbering in the margins, and they include the back of the bill as well! I don't know why DIRECTV can't do the same ...

they are too lazy and cramming comes to mind

 

[CJTE]

Thanks for the response about the On Demand, but it's a service, like Premiere is a service, so it's a little confusing to me that it wouldn't show up under Recent Activity online.

Thats the thing though. The On Demand Service is NOT a service like premier. You cant add/remove it like the DVR service. You cant call DirecTV and ask them to put DirecTV on Demand on your account like the HD Extra pack. (Notice im not saying you cant remove it, its easy to cancel it online or over the phone)

Another one you dont hear about, that I just remembered. Some peoples bills have a -no commitment- line item, which is just like the On Demand line item.

 

[Drew2k]

OK, I think I get it now. It does open up a whole lot of questions though about why On Demand is on the bill in the first place.

Now ... what can we do about getting the e-Bill to have the same data as the paper bill?

 

[spartanstew]

I'd rather they remove the data from the recent activity then add it to the bill.

What do you need it for? Except for the mirroring fee (which is identical on all receivers), all charges are on the main receiver, aren't they?

 

[dmurphy]

OK, I think I get it now. It does open up a whole lot of questions though about why On Demand is on the bill in the first place.

Now ... what can we do about getting the e-Bill to have the same data as the paper bill?

Laziness isn't the reason I'm sure ....

What I know is that they've outsourced eBilling to a third party ....
What I don't know is whether the paper billing is done in-house or by a third party, or whether it's the same third party.

I suspect there are two different "paths" for a bill, and as such, that's why they look different.

At my previous employer, we had outsourced our OBP&P (online billing presentment & payment) to a third party (a different one than DirecTV). At the time, our online bills looked nothing like our insourced paper bills.

Once we insourced the eBilling, we were able to offer PDFs of our paper bills. Made everyone very happy. And reduced our billing costs VERY VERY SIGNIFICANTLY. In fact - the company I worked for had the lowest billing cost per-customer in their industry.

 

[dmurphy]

I'd rather they remove the data from the recent activity then add it to the bill.

What do you need it for? Except for the mirroring fee (which is identical on all receivers), all charges are on the main receiver, aren't they?

Heck no!!!

When I make changes to my account, I want to see what got changed RIGHT FREAKIN' NOW.

I've had my bacon saved several times because a CSR made a change that resulted in major problems. I was able to research it through Recent Activity and figure out what the heck they did so we could correct it immediately, instead of waiting a full bill cycle ...

 

[spartanstew]

Heck no!!!

When I make changes to my account, I want to see what got changed RIGHT FREAKIN' NOW.

I've had my bacon saved several times because a CSR made a change that resulted in major problems. I was able to research it through Recent Activity and figure out what the heck they did so we could correct it immediately, instead of waiting a full bill cycle ...

Yes, I've done the same, but I've never needed the access card ID in order to do it.

What am I missing here? How did having that ID help you solve the issue?

 

[Drew2k]

I'd rather they remove the data from the recent activity then add it to the bill.

What do you need it for? Except for the mirroring fee (which is identical on all receivers), all charges are on the main receiver, aren't they?

The services are tied to the primary receiver, but each additional or leased receiver has its own fee. The recent activity section online links those fees to the specific receiver, while if I never looked at that section and relied only on the bill, I'd only see what appear to be duplicate lines: "Additional receiver" and "Leased receiver" repeated multiple times.

I'll be activating a new receiver this week and deactivating one as well. I want to make sure the actions are done properly, and my monthly bill should reflect what's in recent activity...

 

[Drew2k]

Yes, I've done the same, but I've never needed the access card ID in order to do it.

What am I missing here? How did having that ID help you solve the issue?

How are you verifying the new receiver is properly registered on your account as owned or leased if you can't see the access card ID number to associate the line item with a specific receiver?

In addition, PPV purchases ordered by remote are supposed to be listed under a receiver's access card number (last few digits only) so the bill payer can reconcile the purchases properly. Take away the access card numbers (hey look, they're not on the online e-Bill!) and how do you know which receiver ordered that PPV showing?

 

[Drew2k]

Laziness isn't the reason I'm sure ....

What I know is that they've outsourced eBilling to a third party ....
What I don't know is whether the paper billing is done in-house or by a third party, or whether it's the same third party.

I suspect there are two different "paths" for a bill, and as such, that's why they look different.

At my previous employer, we had outsourced our OBP&P (online billing presentment & payment) to a third party (a different one than DirecTV). At the time, our online bills looked nothing like our insourced paper bills.

Once we insourced the eBilling, we were able to offer PDFs of our paper bills. Made everyone very happy. And reduced our billing costs VERY VERY SIGNIFICANTLY. In fact - the company I worked for had the lowest billing cost per-customer in their industry.

Would this still fall under Ellen Filipiak's "customer service" umbrella? DIRECTV saves their money by electronically collecting my money, and because that's how I chose to pay, they then refuse to mail my bill to me, and punish me for saving them money by giving me an online bill that is incomplete when compared to the paper bill that costs them more money to give their other customers who don't pay electonically. :nono:

 

[dmurphy]

Yes, I've done the same, but I've never needed the access card ID in order to do it.

What am I missing here? How did having that ID help you solve the issue?

... I have several receivers, and even worse, several of the same type. Having the Access Card ID lets me distinguish one from the other.

I have some receivers which have Mirroring Fees, and some which have Leasing Fees. Those are different, and the only method I have for distinguishing one from the other, frankly, is the Recent Activity window.

 

[dmurphy]

Would this still fall under Ellen Filipiak's "customer service" umbrella? DIRECTV saves their money by electronically collecting my money, and because that's how I chose to pay, they then refuse to mail my bill to me, and punish me for saving them money by giving me an online bill that is incomplete when compared to the paper bill that costs them more money to give their other customers who don't pay electonically. :nono:

Now you understand why my previous employer insourced eBilling.

 

[spartanstew]

How are you verifying the new receiver is properly registered on your account as owned or leased if you can't see the access card ID number to associate the line item with a specific receiver?

I guess I just know. I used to have 3 owned DVR's. I slowly replaced them with leased receivers. When I replaced the first one and my bill showed 2 owned and 1 leased, I knew it was correct. Then 1 owned and 2 leased. Then 3 leased. I haven't changed anything since and don't plan to (and most people don't add/remove a lot of receivers on a regular basis), so that doesn't matter to me. Now, if someone is adding/removing/replacing receivers on a regular basis, I guess that information would be useful to them.

In addition, PPV purchases ordered by remote are supposed to be listed under a receiver's access card number (last few digits only) so the bill payer can reconcile the purchases properly. Take away the access card numbers (hey look, they're not on the online e-Bill!) and how do you know which receiver ordered that PPV showing?

OK, now that is a good point. I've never ordered a PPV event so didn't realize they billed it per receiver. If that's the case, then that would certainly be a reason why the access numbers should be there. Although I'd suspect that if you knew you ordered 5 movies and they charged you for 6, it wouldn't matter if you knew which receiver ordered it. They'd still research it on their end. As long as you can reconcile the total number, that's really all that matters.

 

[spartanstew]

... I have several receivers, and even worse, several of the same type. Having the Access Card ID lets me distinguish one from the other.

I'm not trying to be difficult, but why do you need to distinguish them? They all have a $5 fee right (except the main unit)?

I have some receivers which have Mirroring Fees, and some which have Leasing Fees. Those are different, and the only method I have for distinguishing one from the other, frankly, is the Recent Activity window.

Again, why does it matter? Mine are all leasing fees currently, but I don't really care what they call it as long as it's always 2 charges of $5 (I have 3 DVR's).

 

[randyss43]

Now you understand why my previous employer insourced eBilling.

and we learned why DirecTV is only caring about saving 1 penny a bill and is stupid for not insourcing ebilling

 

[dmurphy]

I'm not trying to be difficult, but why do you need to distinguish them? They all have a $5 fee right (except the main unit)?

Again, why does it matter? Mine are all leasing fees currently, but I don't really care what they call it as long as it's always 2 charges of $5 (I have 3 DVR's).

It matters quite a bit, especially if I want to shut off a single receiver. (as I do right now ... I have two receivers in one room and only need one there.)

I'd rather shut off an "owned" receiver since I can put it on a shelf in the basement and turn it back on whenever I want.

If I shut off a "leased" receiver, I'd have to send it back. And if I ever wanted to turn it back on, I'd need to order another one from DirecTV, and may be subject to another lease fee at that point.

 

[TigersFanJJ]

I apologize if this post isn't 100% on topic, but it is about Directvs online billing.

I just paid my directv bill a few minutes ago. When I accessed my account, it had a warning at the top that my service was scheduled to be disconnected tomorrow due to non-payment. I thought it was odd because I was pretty sure I was current but was relieved that I decided to pay it today. I clicked to pay the bill now, and on the next screen, it said I had $0.00 past due and my current payment was due on 7-11-08.

If I hadn't went ahead and paid the bill, I kind of wonder if they would have disconnected it for non-payment of $0.