DirecTV Sued By Washington State

thomst writes "A week ago, Rob McKenna, the Attorney General of Washington State, filed suit against DirecTV, alleging 16 counts of unfair, deceptive, and unethical business practices. The charges include failure to disclose important contract information (such as early termination fees, 'service maintenance' fees, and rebate terms), misrepresentation, 'negative option' billing, 'unconscionable enforcement of contract to which there has been no mutual consent,' failure to honor promotional offers, and 'imposing charges when no service has been provided.' The complaint is available online (PDF). MSNBC's Bob Sullivan states that McKenna's office received 375 complaints against DirecTV in the 11.5 months before he filed suit, and 59 additional complaints in the 24 hours immediately after the filing was announced. Sullivan's story also states, 'McKenna said he'd been working with DirecTV for months in an attempt to avoid a court battle, and he was surprised DirecTV refused to change its business practices voluntarily.'"

I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[hansoloaf]

I had a DirecTV Tivo DVR that was working fine in Missouri. I moved to Vermont and brought it with me. However the model would not work in Vermont.

Directv would not allow me to continue to use the Tivo model so they forced me to obtain their free DVR product (crap). Didn't cost me anything so I had to agree to that.

Then the DVR product broke and I asked DirecTV to replace it. They did so no problem but extended my two year contract without informing me. About a year later when the contract was supposed to have expire, I called to negotiate a better deal including HD etc, only to be told that I have one more year left. After countless calls I learned that they extended this quietly because they "gave" me a replacement DVR.

So screw them, I paid the ETF and moved to Dish. Ever since DirecTV have been bombarding me with mails begging me to come back but I'm staying with Dish for two years.

Hope the states force DirecTV to stop these practices.

Where does the surprise part come in

[dkleinsc]

he was surprised DirecTV refused to change its business practices voluntarily.

I'm not surprised DirecTV ignored him. The big corporate types are used to owning government, and tend to get blindsided by guys who take their job as AG to mean that they're supposed to enforce the laws of their state (e.g. pre-affair Eliot Spitzer).

Re:I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[the_Bionic_lemming]

Dish is even worse on leaving - you don't own any of the equipment, if you quit in February, they demand you climb up on the icy roof to get their lnb to ship back, and they threaten to charge not only the early termination fee - but the full cost of the equipment if its "damaged" in any way - meaning if they find a scratch, they'll hit your credit card- and better make sure the remotes are included.

Took a complaint to the BBB and countless calls to the escalated tech (which never returns calls - you have to catch them when they are off a call and in their seat).

I will never ever go with DTV, Dish, or comcast again. I'll take the netflix and stream the commercial free stuff to my tv instead.

Cheaper too.

Why have either?

[Temujin_12]

Why pay cable/satellite companies for TV in general? I've found that I'm perfectly happy with getting all of my TV online through iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, and various network's websites. Just pay for a good internet connection (which generally doesn't have such ridiculous terms and conditions) and stream. You can now even stream sports games from the internet (for a nominal cost from season to season).

The payment structures and contracts involved with cable/satellite TV just seem ridiculous and antiquated now.

And no, I haven't had any problems with bandwidth limits (just get the right package).

Re:I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[Anonymous Coward]

Dish is even worse on leaving - you don't own any of the equipment, if you quit in February, they demand you climb up on the icy roof to get their lnb to ship back, and they threaten to charge not only the early termination fee - but the full cost of the equipment if its "damaged" in any way - meaning if they find a scratch, they'll hit your credit card- and better make sure the remotes are included.

Took a complaint to the BBB and countless calls to the escalated tech (which never returns calls - you have to catch them when they are off a call and in their seat).

I will never ever go with DTV, Dish, or comcast again. I'll take the netflix and stream the commercial free stuff to my tv instead.

Cheaper too.

How is this worse? The termination agreement isn't horrible, and it is explained up front when you get your service (or it was for me). Just because you chose a rotten weather month doesn't mean you shouldn't honor your end of the bargain.

Now, if you want worse (which really wasn't as you'll soon see): When I moved houses I called up Dish and took advantage of their Dish Mover program. A few months after I moved, I decided that the money I was using on Dish could be put to better use, so I called to cancel. They tried to hit me with an Early Termination Fee. When I asked why (My initial contract with them had been over for a couple of years at this point), they stated that by using Dish Mover, you agree to a new contract. At which point I told the representative that I wasn't paying the ETF because:

• There was no mention of renewing the contract on the Dish Mover web page.
• I actually talked to a service customer rep when I placed the order, and it was never mentioned that there was contract renewal clause.
• There was no mention of renewing the contract in the confirmation email that was sent.
• The installer did not mention a renewing of the contract.
• There was no mention of renewing the contract in the papers that the installer had me sign.

Then, would you believe it? The customer service reps next words were: "Very good sir, I'll be sending you the packages where you can return our equipment..." Sure, she put in the "if its damaged" disclaimer but I had no problems.

Re:It's about time

[Anonymous Coward]

DirectTV had been strong arming alleged theft of service cases to force many innocent people to pay large amounts and settle out of court. It's about time that they get busted for other strong arm tactics that they are doing to customers. This company has been extorting money for years. It's finally about time someone goes after them!

True statement. I was a target of DTV's "theft of service" racket 5 or so years ago.

They demanded a $4000 settlement because I had purchased a smart card programmer from a company that had been implicated in producing hacked DTV smart cards. That was the only "evidence" that they had, and in fact, I maintained a subscription with DTV for years prior (including subscribing to a lot of premium content).

I told them (via my lawyer) to go piss up a rope. They never filed suit.

FWIW, as bad as Comcast is, they're way better than DTV.

Former employee here: lawsuit probably bogus

[Anonymous Coward]

I used to work at DirecTV's call center handling all types of calls (Mainbank, CIS, CRG, and Tier 1 Tech). The lawsuits are probably nothing more than sour grapes.

Regarding contract extensions, the service commitment was only extended if we were replacing customer-owned equipment with leased equipment. Replacing leased with leased did not affect the service commitment. Replacing customer-owned equipment under the Service Protection Plan did not affect the service commitment. The service commitment terms are disclosed when the replacement is ordered--it is in the standard scripting.

The equipment you get at retail comes pre-subsidized by DirecTV. That's why it costs about the same as leasing the equipment directly through DirecTV or through a DirecTV dealer. The lease terms are disclosed at the POS. Best Buy, at least, posts notices of the lease in the aisles where the equipment is located.

The ETF is part of the standard scripting too.

I don't know what kind of "account maintenance fees" the suit is talking about because DirecTV doesn't charge an account maintenance fee. DirecTV does charge an "additional receiver" fee (or "lease fee", but not both) for each receiver past the first one. The only other charges are for programming, or HD access or DVR fees if the customer is using applicable equipment--although some programming packages include the HD and/or DVR fees in the base package price.

Generally, DirecTV will not enforce an ETF if the customer moves, orders the DirecTV mover's connection, and the installation technician cannot find a line-of-sight. What frequently happens is that instead of using the mover's connection, customers set up a new account with a local dealer or even through a bundling partner like Qwest. The duplicate accounts don't get discovered until after the new account has already been activated. This means that potentially the customer may have 2 accounts under a service commitment.

I wouldn't characterize this as an attempt to defraud DirecTV, but it creates a sticky situation. DirecTV allows people to hold multiple accounts--generally DirecTV wants one account per service address. But once the second account is activated, it is impossible to distinguish between someone who wants and uses DirecTV at two addresses and someone who moved and is no longer using service at the old address. Usually when the customer calls to cancel the original account, it is after the second account has been successfully activated. If the original account has an ETF attached, things get hairy pretty quick.

I would not be surprised if the bulk of the "complaints" are people caught in that scenario; I don't have a lot of pity for them, because the Mover's Connection is advertised fairly heavily via bill inserts, e-mails, and TV commercials. With the degree of exposure that the Mover's Connection has, I'm not surprised DirecTV would consider these people to be borderline or actual fraud attempts. Not to mention that the number of complaints is (statistically) less than 1% of the customer base in Washington (assuming 16M customers across 50 states distributed evenly).

Re:Buying boxes

[sconeu]

My mother just moved. Her new condo association won't let them put antennas on the roof, and she's got a balcony/patio where the receiver can't see the satellite. They're charging her an early termination fee because of it.

Re:I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[sconeu]

In the last couple weeks, they have started calling again. Thank God for caller ID.

The 8 Magic Words: "Put me on your do-not-call list".

Rob McKenna is no hero

[MountainLogic]

Actually, Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna is the worst kind of political hack. He has shaken down the major businesses in the state to support his infomercials under the guise of public service announcements. ("Hello, this is Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna with this consumer minute....") It is an ugly way of getting around campaign limits.

Washington State has a history of statewide non-Governor positions being very bipartisan, but McKenna is all about pure ambition. He has chosen a few minor out of state companies to use as sacrificial lambs to populism and let major polluters and slime ball businesses run free in the state. He clearly has his eye on the Governor's office that is open in a few years due to term limits. The Current Governor is Washington's former AG and a prime mover behind the big tobacco settlement.

Re:I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow.

When my ex-wife and I split, I called Dish, and informed them that I was not longer at the residence, and to cancel the service.

I did get a call back from a sale rep, asking why I was leaving their service, and I informed him that I was getting a divorce. He was kind enough to cancel the ETF without any issues.

Re:I had a bad experience with DirecTV DVR

[ktappe]

Dish is even worse on leaving - you don't own any of the equipment, if you quit in February, they demand you climb up on the icy roof to get their lnb to ship back, and they threaten to charge not only the early termination fee - but the full cost of the equipment if its "damaged" in any way - meaning if they find a scratch, they'll hit your credit card- and better make sure the remotes are included.

Not true. I canceled Dish (for FiOS) earlier this year and they did not ask for a single thing back. The dish remains on the roof and we eventually threw their tuner away.

Re:Buying boxes

[rizzo320]

Broadband Reports has frequent posts about this very scenario. From what I've read, many times after system upgrades Comcast will leave many channels un-encrypted for testing purposes for months at a time, so you're receiving many Clear-QAM (unencrypted digital cable) that may not necessarily be there permanently. Often, these channels will move around and require a re-scan, disappear, be replaced with other channels, etc. The number of channels that are un-encrypted may vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. In the end, Comcast is only required to send local over-the-air channels unencrypted to your TV set. Otherwise, Comcast isn't responsible for other channels they may be inadvertently leaving "open" for people to see. Always check to see what the official listings are for your area, and those are the channels you will receive without the inconsistencies you mentioned in your post.

Re:Why have either?

[rizzo320]

I also watch C-SPAN. That's funded by cable providers and available only to their subscribers

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN.aspx [c-span.org]

Re:Buying boxes

[QuantumRiff]

FYI, the NFL sets the prices for the DirectTV Sunday Ticket. Thats why its non-refundable too.. The same Group (NFL) is trying to force some cable companies to carry their channel on basic cable, and pay per month per subscriber for it, when its only real good a few months out of the year, unless you love to watch old recorded games...

Bad Experience w/the Satellite Provider from Hell

[goldy1064]

I had signed up for service when my wife and I moved. Signed up online for a sweet deal that got me two HD DVR's and I only paid $99. Get everything setup and find out it's 2 HD receivers (not what I ordered). Since I didn't have the screenshot of me signing up, they tried to tell me I couldn't get it and they didn't offer that service; however, a coupon came in the mail that day for the exact same thing, which they tried to deny on the phone. Since I was still in the 24-hour grace period to cancel without fees, they appeased me by giving me one HD DVR for another $99 that would be refunded when I sent back one of the HD receivers. After not getting a refund for a full billing cycle, they inform me that they're not allowed to do that, there's no way to get my $99 back that I was promised and I cannot cancel without paying the $480 cancellation ($20/month * 24 months). I argue on the phone for a full hour and the best I can get is 6 months at $10 off. BBB complaint later and a "business decision" is reached to refund the remaining $39 they stole from me. Fast forward two months and we lose service for a full week from snow. I'm informed that I must have someone come out to fix it (implied that this wasn't optional) but not told about the service fee (yes, I know it was in the contract but at the time I was still new to satellite and didn't realize that, unlike cable, they have the mantra of, "Fix it yourself or pay us money."). When I see this $50 fee on my bill, I call up and complain. I get all the way up to the head supervisor who tells me that the only way she'll take that charge off my bill is to sign up for the $10/month protection plan because, get this, I have too many credits ($10/month for the previous screw-up, 1 week without service credit, and the $39 "we're sorry for stealing from you" credit)! Thankfully, AT&T U-Verse came around. No commitment, no up front costs, and I get $300 switching (net +$30 after canceling DirecTV @ -$270). I call to cancel DirecTV for the date I'm going to get U-Verse installed. The day after this I still don't see a cancellation fee on my credit card. Knowing DirecTV I find this odd, so I call them up and they promptly tell me that they have no record of my cancellation request but do see I called the previous week (deja vu). Luckily I had been screwed enough that I took down the employee ID of the person I had originally talked to and was able to file a complaint against them and get the cancellation backdated as it should have been. For the next week, I received 3+ calls per day wanting me to come back and wanting to know why I canceled. My only response: I canceled because of your crappy customer service. I guess they forget that when you claim "best customer service", comparing against one other company doesn't make the claim a good one.