I have been a DirecTv customer since October 2005. In March 2008, my TIVO DVR (which I was leasing) broke. I called them for a replacement. I was told that they didn't use the TIVO unit anymore and that they would send me their new replacement. I asked them what they wanted me to do with the broken unit and I was told that I now owned it (???).

I canceled my service in late November 2008 since Verizon had finally put FIOS in my neighborhood. I called to cancel my DirecTv account and was told that I would face a $300.00 early termination fee. I was told that once you have leased a DVR for more than two years and it is obsolete, you now own it! The early termination fee was because they had sent me a new DVR to replace the broken one and, by doing so, I had agreed to a two-year extension of my contract. They would charge me $20 / month for every month still left in the contract.

The only thing is that they never told me this up front! If they had, I would at least have an option of what I wanted to do to replace the broken unit. They said to read the contract. I have never signed a contract with them but the boiler-plate one they sent me said that, if they upgraded my DVR, there could be an early termination fee involved. The contract doesn't give any information as to the length of the new contract or the penalties involved.

I called them and they refused to do anything about removing the early termination fee. They admitted that I didn't have a signed contract and that the person I spoke to might not have advised me of what I was getting into. I called my bank to make sure that they didn't honor any withdrawals from my account and I'm sure that DirecTv will report me to the credit bureaus and I'll have to fight it there (a losing battle).

The web is full of complaints about DirecTv and these types of issues. Some consumers have gotten their local TV stations and newspapers involved and DirecTv has backed down in some cases.

A word to the wise - what they tell you in the contract is very general and you have to know what specific questions to ask them about hidden fees, contract renewals, etc. Otherwise you'll wind up posting your report here too.

I was forced to cancel my Directv service after 11 years because of rising costs and very poor service. I sent back whatever equipment was theirs in the allotted time. I received a bill for $163. for early cancellation, which they had a $28. credit. I then sent $10 both in October and November and asked on both bills that the charges of "early cancellation" be explained to me. Today December17th a collection agency called and threatened my perfect credit with a judgement.

When I signed up with Direct TV in 2005 I was promised a DVD player - never got it and gave up after trying a couple of times. I was often overcharged and when I complained I didn't get all of it back. Just recently they offered 2 movie channels for the price of 1 and told me I had to get all 4 channels to take advantage of the offer, come to find out that was a lie too. I already had 2 movie channels and they charged me double for the same channels and their math "2 for 1" was also off. Again, I didn't get all of the overcharges refunded. When you call and complain they tell you one thing and then you check the bill and find they lied. In hindsight - why did I put up with it?

My husband and I have separated. He moved to the next town over. He got Direct TV. He had the bill sent to my place because he didn't have a PO box yet, I have harped on him to get his own and he finally got one last week. Anyways, his reception was lousy and he had to make several calls. Finally someone came over and he asked if this could cost anything. He was told it wouldn't and that was another lie. They charged him $90+ for the service call. He tried to get them to credit this and each time he was told he would and they never took it off the bill. Then he had more problems, someone else came out and they charged him again, even though they weren't supposed to! So that's almost $200. He then didn't pay his bill and got disconnected. Can't say that I blame him.

About a year ago my son, who lives with my husband, asked me how he could order Pay per View. I explained that he would be charged a fee if he called and ordered it, and I opened an online account so they could order their PPV through that account. They don't have a computer and that's why I did it from my computer. I felt generous and decided to pay for the movie when I ordered it for my son. This was a one time payment and not set up for auto-pay. I had no idea that I had just signed over my credit card to this corporate thief called Direct TV. Last month they charged my card (what business did they have to keep it on file since this was a one-time auhorization for a specific amount?) for the $386 my husband owes them. I have called Direct TV and even though my husband and I have separate accounts at separate locations in our name only they claim they had a right to charge my card that is in my name only because the contract says they can charge the card that is on file for the account. A couple of these customer service reps acted sympathetic and said I would be credited but that has not happened. They are rude and it's frustrating because they all say something different and none of them follow up or do what they said they would do. This has been a nightmare. They should get the money from my husband (which he doesn't have) and not STEAL it from me.

I have filed a chargeback with Chase Visa. The at first denied it because Direct TV lied to them and told them that my card has been entered as automatic recurring payment. I'm disputing the decision and had to send in any proof I had. I faxed about 10 pages to the bank. If Chase allows Direct TV to steal from people then I will also blacklist Chase. I'm supposed to call back about the faxes, it takes them a few days to scan them into their system.

It looks like I may have to take this to court. Does anyone have experience with something like this?

I'm now afraid to use my credit card to pay bills online. I thought that unless you specify auto-pay or recurring that a merchant can not charge your credit card. I'm going to use bill-pay through my checking account from now on.

If anyone has had a similar problem I would love to hear from you.

I've been a new customer for 1 month. Over that time, I have, not exaggeration, spoken with them 10 times. I've had the wrong parts installed, installation issues (broken outlets), products added that I did not sign up for, service cancelled, fraud check, unbundled service (I had bought through Verizon's bundled service).Today was the kicker -- over an hour to get things straightened out -- they wrongly blamed Verizon (who has been awesome through this). No credit and really no care that I've had to go through all this.

I purchased a Directv HD received more than two years ago and leased three standard receivers. I cancelled my service due to various issues (returning leased receivers) with the service and very poor customer service. I received my final bill of $49 and then to my shock a few weeks later received an invoice over $300 for the HD receiver that I purchased. I have no use for this receiver because I will never be fool enough to use their service, but I own this equipment and they are charging me again for it. I called and spoke to them and was advised since I did not purchase it directly from them it is their equipment. I argued to no avail and will either have to return my purchased equipment or pay additional for it! They will get it back, but they have proven that they are not ethical, honest, or worthy of my business.

In addition, I missed work on two occasions because their technicians did not arrive for scheduled repair service. They set up appointments because the service was bad and I ended up having to stay home from work only to have them not show up and then tell me it was not their fault. Yeah, I guess it was my fault their technicians could not perform their job.