[schlar01]

I had an H20 go out and called to sign up for the service plan. She said she could charge me $20 to waive the 30 day waiting period and I wouldn't be charged for the service call or a receiver replacement. After the tech arrived he told me it would be a good idea to call again and make sure I wasn't being charged for anything. I did. The first person didn't know the answer and transferred me to someone who did. She said I wouldn't be charged.

I check my statement online today and its $200+. They charged me $85 for a service call

Not only that but there are probably 30 different charges and credits because the guy the tech was talking to couldn't drop the receiver and add a new one, so he had to blow all my services/channels away and start over so its one gigantic mess to figure out exactly what is actually correct.

It shouldn't be this hard to replace a piece of equipment.

 

[schlar01]

I also had the SuperFan package given to me for free and he forgot to add that. I'm sure it'll be pure hell getting that added back in without a charge

 

[rahlquist]

I had an H20 go out and called to sign up for the service plan. She said she could charge me $20 to waive the 30 day waiting period and I wouldn't be charged for the service call or a receiver replacement. After the tech arrived he told me it would be a good idea to call again and make sure I wasn't being charged for anything. I did. The first person didn't know the answer and transferred me to someone who did. She said I wouldn't be charged.

hadn't ever heard of this so I am checking into it. Maybe a CSR here will answer before I find out. Meanwhile you should be able to call in to get that corrected. Just be calm and nice and the CSR should work with you if not just ask for their supervisor.

Not only that but there are probably 30 different charges and credits because the guy the tech was talking to couldn't drop the receiver and add a new one, so he had to blow all my services/channels away and start over so its one gigantic mess to figure out exactly what is actually correct.

It shouldn't be this hard to replace a piece of equipment.

Judging by this the receiver you replaced was likely your 'primary' receiver, since everything in your service is tied to it, when it gets removed so does everything else. So each item on your bill gets terminated on that date and everything you need on the account readded at a prorated rate.

If your Superfan was on your account for free before it will show up for them that way, and the CSR should be able to correct that as well.

 

[Sirshagg]

I'll answer that question with another - Is the bill ever lower than it should be?

 

[MIKE0616]

If your services were the same before and after the replacement, you already KNOW what your charges should be, that is, standard monthly charges plus the 20$ and per month service plan (5.99?).

Do NOT pay any more than that amount as they will NEVER give you a refund, only a credit toward future bills, unless that is OK with you to be prepaid that far. (You didn't say what your typical bill was, only that you have a $200+ one now.)

Call and explain and then check on-line the next day and then the next day. Repeat as needed until all charges are corrected. After you have called 2 or 3 times, if needed, talk to the supervisor, and keep a log of who you talk to from all calls, what was said, and any actions they take.

The good news is, D* usually gets the bill straightened out, given enough time. They used to be a lot better, but over the past 10 years, they have gotten almost as bad as Sprint cellular, the low-point by which all others should be judged as the rock-bottom in getting bills corrected.

Hang in there and remember, just explain as easily and clearly as possible.

Good Luck!

 

[rhambling]

I'll answer that question with another - Is the bill ever lower than it should be?

i have noticed that I always get over charged but never under charged. amazing how that works.

 

[durl]

Why is it so difficult?

1 - You're dealing with layers and layers of people and departments.
2 - Computers.

 

[Dave]

You have all these problems because DirectV does not and will not train there personnel correctly. To me this just means that the Executive staff of DirectV is either stupid or do not care about customer relations. According to the last JD POWER survey, DirectV has fallen below some of the Cell Phone companies in customer satisfaction.

 

[schlar01]

Well, I called in and eventually they straightened it out but this isn't the first billing problem I've had, which is why I was frustrated. How hard is it to not charge me $85 for a service call when you were on the phone with me telling me you wouldn't? Maybe their IT systems are terrible and sometimes it doesn't go through, I don't know, but a multi-billion dollar operation like this should not have this many billing problems.

Also, it was my bedroom receiver, not the primary. The primary is another H20 that is still active.

 

[Ken S]

The cost to fix the problem is greater than the income fixing it will produce. So...there's no real desire to spend the money/resources to figure out what the issue(s) are and correct them.

 

[Upstream]

The cost to fix the problem is greater than the income fixing it will produce. So...there's no real desire to spend the money/resources to figure out what the issue(s) are and correct them.

Since fixing the problem would correct billing errors (almost always in DirecTV's favor, since they already have layers of checks to eliminate errors against DirecTV), fixing the problem might reduce DirecTV's revenue.

They probably have a very nice revenue stream from customers who don't notice the error or can't be bothered with the hassle to fix it. The only ways the error costs them money is if the cost of the customer service calls is higher than the revenue erroneously earned (and it seems that DirecTV does not have systems sophisticated enough to determine if that is the case), or enough customers leave because they are dissatisfied.

 

[Ken S]

Since fixing the problem would correct billing errors (almost always in DirecTV's favor, since they already have layers of checks to eliminate errors against DirecTV), fixing the problem might reduce DirecTV's revenue.

They probably have a very nice revenue stream from customers who don't notice the error or can't be bothered with the hassle to fix it. The only ways the error costs them money is if the cost of the customer service calls is higher than the revenue erroneously earned (and it seems that DirecTV does not have systems sophisticated enough to determine if that is the case), or enough customers leave because they are dissatisfied.

Ehh, I think it goes deeper than that. Some times companies grow fast and outgrow their backend systems. This leads to a nightmare because none of the choices (buy a new system, develop one in-house, keep stretching the existing system) are great and all can end up costing hundreds of millions and in some cases actually destroy the company.

If you read about some of the botched implementations of SAP, Peoplesoft, etc. you can get an idea of what can happen. In a fast moving industry a company can lose all momentum and be virtually dead before it's done.

 

[Upstream]

Ken -- I've been personally involved with companies struggling to update systems and processes to keep up with their growth and changing market conditions. It is incredibly difficult.

However, I would be more sympathetic to DirecTV if they implemented process/system changes to protect customers from errors as rapidly as they have implemented changes which only protect DirecTV.

 

[Motley]

I signed up with DTV at the beginning of May under the AAA plan. My 1st month with the AAA discount was this months bill. I had to call them repeatedly to get it fixed. I feel you pain.

 

[hugromieo]

DTV's CSR's cannot do everything for their customers. sometimes you need to be transferred to several different departments to get what you need/want. ask for the retention dept or protection plan dept if the csr cannot or will not help you out in the way you wish...DTV will do what they can to satisfy you, it just may take going through different depts to get you there...

 

[Ken S]

Ken -- I've been personally involved with companies struggling to update systems and processes to keep up with their growth and changing market conditions. It is incredibly difficult.

However, I would be more sympathetic to DirecTV if they implemented process/system changes to protect customers from errors as rapidly as they have implemented changes which only protect DirecTV.

I'm not all that sympathetic either...they could be a whole lot more customer centric.

 

[Grentz]

The problem is Directv seems to not be able to fix the problem except through the stupid "credits" system. They should just be able to fix the bill and refund you what the issue amount is like most companies do.

 

[Ken S]

The problem is Directv seems to not be able to fix the problem except through the stupid "credits" system. They should just be able to fix the bill and refund you what the issue amount is like most companies do.

Oh, I believe they're able to give refunds they choose not to.

 

[DishCSR]

I had an H20 go out and called to sign up for the service plan. She said she could charge me $20 to waive the 30 day waiting period and I wouldn't be charged for the service call or a receiver replacement. After the tech arrived he told me it would be a good idea to call again and make sure I wasn't being charged for anything. I did. The first person didn't know the answer and transferred me to someone who did. She said I wouldn't be charged.

I check my statement online today and its $200+. They charged me $85 for a service call

Not only that but there are probably 30 different charges and credits because the guy the tech was talking to couldn't drop the receiver and add a new one, so he had to blow all my services/channels away and start over so its one gigantic mess to figure out exactly what is actually correct.

It shouldn't be this hard to replace a piece of equipment.

I'm sorry you have to go through this, but let me explain how this happens, when a service call work order is created the service call charge is not billed immediately, so if a csr offers you a free service call, the charge for the service call is still billed when the service work order is "closed" by the tech, the system or tech has no way of not charging the service call. (unless it's a pro plan service call, where the pro plan has already been establlished on the account) there are different types of work orders, a regular service call (non-established pro plan sc) will always automaticailly bill the account the cost of the service call after the work order is closed, so when you are offered a free one, it actually has to be followed up on when that service call is closed, or the csr that offered the sc for free, would have to pre-credit the account against something else, since the service call code doesn't show up until the sc is closed,