DirecTV Sued By Washington State 181
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.'"
Buying boxes (Score:5, Insightful)
I particularly love the part about buying DirecTV from a Best Buy only to find out later that you don't really it.
Oh, and that you can't find a complete document outlining your rights and responsibilities in one place.
Even my credit card company does that...
It's about time (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Washington "State" (Score:3, Insightful)
The irony though is that much of what we do is superior to what they're doing over there. Remind me again who it is that has an effective measure against gerrymandering and who it is that has schools that are actually somewhat affordable?
Re:the 2nd happiest day of a directv customer (Score:2, Insightful)
"but also hoping there are some large punitive damages awarded, too"
I don't. I have had DTV since 1996. I've never had a problem with them (but I've never tried to cancel either...). I've been given free upgrades (DVRs/Receivers), free premium channels (for a year) and other incentives to "stay on-board".
A "large punitive damages award" would only end up be reflected in my bill...
Re:Washington "State" (Score:3, Insightful)
Give it up. I was born in Bangor. Which one comes to mind first?
I moved to Portland. No, not that one, the other one.
I did a lot ofbusiness in Augusta. That one is not known for golf.
If you just say 'Washington', most people think 'D.C.', and rightly so, since it impacts their lives much more.
A common mistake, get over it. Or move where the rain doesn't make you so cranky. That would NOT be Portland, Maine.
Re:"Washington State" (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:the 2nd happiest day of a directv customer (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree. A lot of this sounds like sour grapes. I didn't buy my HD-DVR at Worst Buy, I bought it direct from DirecTV. They made it perfectly clear that the cheap price was to lease it, and to buy it outright it was insanely expensive. You'd have to know this when you go to activate it, it's part of the process.
EVERYONE has termination fees. Go get cable and cancel it the next day, same deal. I have no problem with states going after companies over outrageous fees, but DirecTV certainly isn't the only one doing it. Same thing with contract extensions. My cell carrier will extend my contract if I even so much as breathe while on the phone with them.
The introductory fee thing isn't unique either. I called my local cable provider not too long ago to price out the competition. They couldn't tell me the non introductory rate. They didn't know (or wouldn't say)! This is the price for a year, you'll have a two year contract. What happens the second year, it's a mystery.
Seems like there needs to be a consumer bill of rights that lays down the law. The billion dollar corporations have way too much power. An individual consumer has little to no effective recourse. I'm not a fan of more government, but other than shunning all technology, what's a person to do?
The only "real fix" (Score:4, Insightful)
The only "real" fix it to stop treating corporations like "humans". They are a company regardless of their filing.
Hold them responsible for their actions, and limit their ability to "pass on" the cost of their bad actions, so it truly affect their bottom line. They don't care when they get "caught"; They "apologize"; then raise their fees/charges/rates/... to cover the cost of the "infraction", then find a new way to screw the customer base. If they actually had to pay, then they would stop, or go out of business - either way the consumer "wins".
I don't have any evidence, but I'll bet the "lease" deal came out of the DTV hacking that was so prevalent in the not to distant past. If they own the equipment, they have more "rights".
It seems a lot of corporations use this cycle; Telecom, Cable/Satellite, ...
Re:Buying boxes (Score:3, Insightful)
I've known others with similar problems with relatives who passed away. What I don't understand is why anybody goes through all this trouble.
Step 1 - fully probate the will and lock that up tight.
Step 2 - Just send a note explaining that they're dead, and if convenient attach the death certificate. I'm not sure that relatives even have an obligation to do that.
If DirecTV keeps the service turned on then don't pay any bills. The only person with a contractual obligation to them is dead, and their estate has been dispersed. The most they could do is try to re-open the estate to try to go after the termination fee, and it isn't like any lawyer is going to look at that and think that it is worthwhile - especially if the executor can point to a polite letter giving notice of what happened with time to respond.
So far I have yet to hear of anybody successfully serving a summons on somebody in the afterlife, although I'm sure that some have tried...
Just pay for a good internet connection (Score:3, Insightful)
Do you have any idea what that costs when you live in an area with no cable tv or DSL service?
No suprise there (Score:3, Insightful)
I was a DirecTV subscriber six years ago, and got fed up with them.
Dish is much easier to deal with. Full disclosure: I disconed them too in March, not for poor service or high fees, - I got good service and the fees were OK - but in protest to the Copyright Cartel.
Some find it shocking that I don't watch TV anymore (not even on hulu.com). Until the Copyright Cartel quits their antics, NO COOKIE FOR YOU!
Re:Buying boxes (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Devil's advocate: how is it DirecTV's fault that she unilaterally did something that made her unable to receive the service she'd paid for?
Re:Buying boxes (Score:3, Insightful)
Devil's advocate: how is it DirecTV's fault that she unilaterally did something that made her unable to receive the service she'd paid for?
It's DirecTV's fault because to do otherwise makes them asshats. Life happens, in ways that people often can't control. Any responsible business allows for such in their policies and contracts. For example, a local gym chain that I attended for a time had not only reasonable and responsible account termination rules and practices, but they even let you out of a contract no-fuss if you moved and were no longer within some very modest distance of a franchise location. They got my business over another local gym precisely because of a much better reputation for having an honest and well-defined relationship with their customers.