[bravesguy]

I signed up for DIRECTV about 2 months ago and was installed at a previous location. I got the HD DVR and 1 additional standard receiver. We moved into an apt and the tech come out to install and said due to the line of sight and we can't get landlord consent to drill that he couldn't perform the install. He instructed that he would have to have 2 lines coming in for the DVR and we would need consent.

Given that I am in a 24 month commitment and I can't get landlord consent...what options if any does anyone think that I have?

I called DIRECTV and the lady told me to call back tomorrow and speak with the customer retention dept and explain the situation. She said that they take all this in consideration...but I know someone who had a similar situation and ended up paying to cancel his agreement. Anyone have any experience given this situation?

 

[BLWedge09]

Well, if they won't let you out of the contract (and I seriously doubt they will), you could always put the account on hold for 6 months if you think your situation might change after that period of time or even if you just wanted to delay having to pay the ETF. The time on hold won't count toward your commitment though.

 

[bravesguy]

Well, if they won't let you out of the contract (and I seriously doubt they will), you could always put the account on hold for 6 months if you think your situation might change after that period of time or even if you just wanted to delay having to pay the ETF. The time on hold won't count toward your commitment though.

It is not so much that I want out of the commitment...I just want to be able to utilize the service.

If this ends up being my only option...do you think they would postpone the commitment for 9-12 months? That seems more realistic of a period of time before we plan to be out of our current situation and in a house.

 

[BLWedge09]

Well, the rules have changed when it comes to putting an account on hold. I know that about 6 months ago you could suspend for up to 6 months at a time. You may or may not be able to suspend it again at the end of that period. I know there is a limit...just not what that limit currently is... I suspended for 6 months when I moved from my house to tha apartment where I currently live. Luckily, I was able to talk the management into letting me put a dish on a pole at the clear edge of the woods behind my apartment, run the cables through the woods, bury them just below the ground in the clearing between my apartment and the tree,s and run them up the wall. I was very lucky.... I only stayed suspended for about a week and a half. I had Charter cable for that week and a half. That was a terrible experience...

If I were you, I'd call and explain the situation but leave open the possibility that your situation could change. Ask them about the current suspension policies. I know you can do it for 6 months once. Just be aware that when that period is over, the account will automatically be reactivated and you will start being billed. You also have to bring tha account to a zero balance before they will suspend it.

 

[jimb726]

So no matter what you have no LOS? Because if you did, you could run the DVR with one wire. I have mine in the bedroom setup this way. If you dont have LOS that an entirely different problem though.

 

[cmtar]

I used to live in an apartment and they let me cancel because I had no LOS. And actually a friend of mine had to cancel his because he just bought a new house and there was no LOS and that was not even a month ago.

 

[boba]

I can't speak for Directv but I wouldn't let you out of the contract. Two months before moving you enter into a 24 month contract. When you moved you didn't provide for the needed viewing of the satellite. So because of your neglect you expect me to forgo 22 months of a contract.

 

[bravesguy]

I can't speak for Directv but I wouldn't let you out of the contract. Two months before moving you enter into a 24 month contract. When you moved you didn't provide for the needed viewing of the satellite. So because of your neglect you expect me to forgo 22 months of a contract.

No offense in the following statement.....

It is not my position to verify when moving if I will have a line of sight. Contracts have provisions and exceptions for a reason and these provisions and exceptions are to benefit both parties involved. Should also be noted that there was an issue in landlord consent to drilling too.

It was not my intention to move when services were installed either. I think it needs to be understood that it was my intention to have the services transferred and not just trying to get out of a contract with a provider. I moved and they came and tried install services and due to circumstances beyond both mine and DirecTV's control the service cannot continue.

Honestly, I think it is admirable that DirecTV is removing the commitment from my account and allowing me to cancel w/o associated fees. That type of Customer Service goes a long way with me (and others I am sure). So when we move in about a year...they will have a customer who remembers the fact that they were understanding and worked with a situation....and will have services installed as long as there is no LOS issue.

I know you are not DirecTV...

So because of your neglect you expect me to forgo 22 months of a contract

but why are you speaking to the fact that you are?

 

[bravesguy]

I used to live in an apartment and they let me cancel because I had no LOS. And actually a friend of mine had to cancel his because he just bought a new house and there was no LOS and that was not even a month ago.

I contacted both again today. No consent. I called and DirecTV has agreed to remove the commitment from my account. I know they didn't have to...but I appreciate the fact that they were willing to.

 

[Ken S]

One might argue that it is now impossible for DirecTV to provide the service to the customer. Yes, they may argue that the move was responsible, but they did the right thing in the end and terminated the agreement. They get their equipment back, customer no longer has to pay. There is some goodwill and it is just the right thing to do.

---
In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract, based on a change in circumstances (or the discovery of preexisting circumstances), the nonoccurrence of which was an underlying assumption of the contract, that makes performance of the contract literally impossible. For such a defense to be raised, performance must not merely be difficult or unexpectedly costly for one party; there must be no way for it to actually be accomplished.

 

[paulman182]

In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract, based on a change in circumstances (or the discovery of preexisting circumstances), the nonoccurrence of which was an underlying assumption of the contract, that makes performance of the contract literally impossible. For such a defense to be raised, performance must not merely be difficult or unexpectedly costly for one party; there must be no way for it to actually be accomplished.

Taking this literally would mean that someone would be responsible for cutting trees and even relocating buildings in order to performance to be "impossible."

 

[lander215]

I contacted both again today. No consent. I called and DirecTV has agreed to remove the commitment from my account. I know they didn't have to...but I appreciate the fact that they were willing to.

I'm glad as well that DirecTV chose to do the right thing. Absolutely no neglect on your part that you moved to a location that was unable to receive DirecTV's service. To think you had an obligation or responsibility to obtain residency in a spot that receives service is absurd bordering on absolute idiocy.

I figured DirecTV would do the right thing, it's in their best interest to do so because if you were to move again to a location that you could get service, you will go right back to DirecTV and become a customer again.

 

[inkahauts]

I contacted both again today. No consent. I called and DirecTV has agreed to remove the commitment from my account. I know they didn't have to...but I appreciate the fact that they were willing to.

What exactly is your apartment owner not giving you consent too?

 

[bravesguy]

What exactly is your apartment owner not giving you consent too?

Drilling. The tech said he would have to conduct drilling on site at the complex had he been able to get the LOS issue resolved.

 

[rustynails]

Directv did the right thing in letting you out of your contract. I wanted desperately to stay with Dish but due to los, I had to cancel the contract and go with Directv. There was no equivocation or dispute. Dish knew I couldn't get programming on sat 129 and wished me well. These people understand that their customer's circumstances change and they adjust.

 

[Johnnie5000]

No offense in the following statement.....

It is not my position to verify when moving if I will have a line of sight....

You can buy a engineers compass at wal-mart for $3.

I guess you don't technically have to see if there is a LOS before signing a contract with a landlord to keep a TV contract in good standing, but it is the sensible thing to do.
If you had a new 2-year contract with a cell-phone provider, and at your new apartment you couldn't get a signal, the phone company wouldn't let you out of the contract for that.

 

[bravesguy]

You can buy a engineers compass at wal-mart for $3.

I guess you don't technically have to see if there is a LOS before signing a contract with a landlord to keep a TV contract in good standing, but it is the sensible thing to do.
If you had a new 2-year contract with a cell-phone provider, and at your new apartment you couldn't get a signal, the phone company wouldn't let you out of the contract for that.

I am not here to split hairs over whether I should honor a contract that I don't have access to use or not.

Bottom line...I wanted to keep the service. In my case, I exhausted every means at my current location to try to get the service installed. I called DirecTV and asked them what to do now and they are the ones who decided to void the commitment...not me.

The difference...IMO...with the cell phone argument...DirecTV sent a rep to my location and could make a determination from what the rep stated. In a cell phone...they are just having to take the customer's word for it.

I didn't check my signal on my cell phone before moving in.

 

[Justin23]

Do you have a porch or patio at your apt that you can put the dish on a tripod? Have you asked the complex management if you can install on a pole instead of drilling?

J

 

[bravesguy]

Do you have a porch or patio at your apt that you can put the dish on a tripod? Have you asked the complex management if you can install on a pole instead of drilling?

J

The tech said that there wasn't anywhere he could install the dish to get past the LOS issue. He looked at all possibilities surrounding my unit and couldn't find a way that would work to get the service.

 

[HDJulie]

Knowing that DIRECTV was resonable to you in your situation builds goodwill to me because I get a warm fuzzy about it. Plus, you'll tell others that you had a good experience & maybe you will go back when you move another time.

Cell service is different because you can use it in more than one place. You can't use satellite service except at the installation site.