DIRECTV Review

Overall 3.38 of 5 view all 218 reviews

faerie-txn
Arlington, TX

Beware of Directv!!!

simple is good, expecting good, fair service, appreciative of good service, Mom of 3, married, a video game addict, budget conscious, not rich

show all »

Pros

Quick Set-Up, Price Comparable to Cable

Cons

Constant Problems, FREE Gift not what expected, HORRIBLE customer service

NOV

2007

With 3 kids and a husband who loves his sports/movie channels Cable is getting ridiculously high priced, especially in our area where there is only one service provider (although it's been owned by 3 different companies in the past 7 years). Everyone we knew was getting satellite. Everyone. They were trying to convert us but, we weren't sure what would be involved. As a cable user of 8 years, we had heard all the jabs by cable companies about satellite. We'd expected horrible reception! The only thing we'd heard from satellite companies is that they're more affordable. After obtaining renters insurance (since we live in an apartment and it's required) we put a $200 deposit down and set up installation. Well... apparently they use contractors to install the equipment and apparently he'd told the people on the 800# wherever they are in the US, that our area was too icy and he couldn't make it to our scheduled appointment. We were shocked! We'd been out and around and unless he was driving from far north he was fine. Everyone within the metroplex was not icy! We explained this to the person at Directv and they called the contractor back and "Oh yeah, I'll be there later than expected but I can still make it." He finally shows up but, hasn't been informed that he's supposed to be doing a poll mount instead of whatever. We call Directv again and they say he's supposed to know. The contractor is asking for $75 for the materials and we're not even thinking of paying another $75! Finally Directv strikes a deal. We pay the contractor $75 and we get a $100 credit on our first months bill. Luckily we are able to do this and so a few hours later the equipment is installed. Our first month goes by and we're not 100% happy with Directv. Not only did we have to call and remind them that we're due a $100 credit, our satellite goes out nightly "searching for a signal" for a few hours (through most of prime time tv) and fails to DVR shows. The service in the bedrooms work great but the main receiver in the living room is horrible. Then we receive our "Free Gift with Purchase" excited to finally have our PORTABLE DVD PLAYER!!! we open the box and it's ... a ... COBY DVD-514??? A $40 small, regular dvd player. Not at all portable like the picture. Look back at the picture advertisement we saved it shows a portable dvd player (with it's very own screen of course) and it says in small print, while supplies last, may be exchanged for another item equal or lesser value. Don't be like us and assume this means a PORTABLE DVD PLAYER of equal or lesser value. And Directv doesn't go by the picture you're looking at, apparently they go by what they're giving out at the time of signup. OR so they said when we called them about the COBY DVD-514 not working properly. The dvd player they sent broke within 30 days! We called Directv and told them the dvd player isn't working they told us to call the redemption number on the box. Called that number and it was busy. For months we tried and it was ALWAYS busy. Finally fed up when the COBY DVD-514 stops reading disks (in addition to the eject button not working) we toss it in the closet and I call Directv again. They say my product had a 90 day warranty (tell me about how the picture doesn't matter you get what they say you'll get) and Since it's past my 90 day warranty, I'm out of luck. Found out the main receiver was some how routed to the kids bedroom by the way, that's supposedly why I was losing a signal daily. It's been changed and oddly enough all 3 receivers work extremely well now, and we've had lots of rain! One more reason Directv isn't all it's supposed to be??? If you're late on your bill, even though they say they give you 30 days past your due date before termination, they will call you daily sometimes multiple times day and night - usually when you've got the kids in a bath or when you're pulling out dinner from the oven, just to tell you, you are past due and would you like to make a payment over the phone?? You say umm? I just talked to someone this morning and arranged to make a payment on XX of XX month and they say: Well, until we receive payment we will continue to try to collect payment any way possible. If you have to get Directv, go for it, just beware. It really is cheaper over Cable but it comes with all the same hassle and poor customer service AND don't be surprised if you don't get your portable dvd player...

DIRECTV is not recommended by faerie-txn

Review inappropriate? Copyright violation?

Comments about faerie-txn’s Review

ViewFromParadise wrote on Apr 19, 2008 at 11:44AM

Inappropriate? Reply

Thanks for you comments on Direct TV. It has helped me decide to stay with my high priced cable. We have lots of trees and
have been warned that especially in Florida the WEATHER
affects the signal.