:nono: Sold house 5 years ago with dish and old Sony SD receiver and access card for new owner. This incident just occurred in June of this year.
The following edited e-mail should be educating for us all:
Dear Ms. Filipiak,
I am writing to you for help with a problem concerning account fraud, which DirecTV’s customer service department is responsible for creating and, subsequently, has provided no assistance in trying to resolve. Unpaid service charges were placed upon my .... debit card, which your customer service department stated is on file, without my knowledge or authorization. In fact, the card should not be on file as I terminated my account, number XXXXXXX, on August X, 2003, over five years ago. I have been informed I am responsible for the charges incurred and there is nothing your company will do to help me correct this situation. I have spoken with both customer service and retention concerning this.
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Somehow, someone other than myself was permitted by DirecTV’s customer service department to obtain service in my previous maiden name by reactivating said account terminated in 2003. I have since married, and the terminated account is not in my current, or legal, name. It is apparent that your customer service agent had to have verified the account information on record by asking questions that provided the necessary, and presumed correct, information to the fraudulent caller, then seeking verification of the information that he/she provided the person activating the account. This is the only way another person could have access to the information required by DirecTV considering the telephone number in your records at the time I had service was unlisted and is not correct as I have since married, moved, and obtained another number. This information had to have been provided by your customer service agent as the unlisted number is the telephone number listed on the fraudulent account statement sent to me and charged to my .... debit card, which your customer service department stated is still on file. Since I did not originate the call and it was not from the number listed on the terminated account, your agent should have requested the telephone number listed for the account, which the caller could not have provided. This would have been an immediate alert to something amiss.
When I received a DirecTV statement, I immediately called to determine why I was being billed when I did not have an account or service. I was informed that, since my account was terminated in good standing, it was reactivated for me by using the number provided from the receiver access card. I explained that I did not have this old receiver and had no knowledge the account still existed. I stated I did not reactivate this account and service was to be terminated immediately. I have been billed, and charged $XXXX, for the period from reactivation to my notification and demand for immediate cancellation on X X, 2008.
I do not intend being held liable to DirecTV for unauthorized reinstatement of an account, or using an out of date debit card, especially considering I terminated said account five years ago. The card is only valid for a period of three years. Yes, the account number is valid, but the expiration date on the card must be verified by DirecTV as well as the three digit security code on the back of the card. This is standard security procedure when a credit or debit card is utilized over the phone or Internet and it is evident this was not properly handled by your customer service person.
I very much enjoyed the programming and service provided to me by DirecTV during the time my account was active, but I am extremely upset that DirecTV expects me to be liable for misconduct by your company, and that your procedures could allow such an occurrence. I sincerely hope you are able to assist me in having the charges removed from my maiden name, credited back to my bank account and have said account and card purged from your system.
I would prefer to have this settled solely through DirecTV. Your assistance in this matter will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
XXXXXXXXXXX
This is a prime example of an incompetent customer service rep. He/She did not ask for the phone number on the account, the last 4 digits on the debit card, or the last 4 digits of SSN to verify they were speaking to the proper person. The account was just reactivated after having been canceled for 5 years! This was possible only because the customer service agent looked up the activation card number provided, pulled up the old account information, and reactivated the account. It's also a good reminder for us all concerning the activation/access cards. This is what can happen if someone gets their hands on an old one.:eek2:
