5 Things DirecTV Does Not Want you to Know
21 Oct 2008
Written by Master Blaster
5. Protection Plan
When your DirecTV equipment breaks down, you will have to pay about $80 for a service call, unless you shell out $5.99 per month for the protection plan. Instead you could wait until you have a problem, call to add the protection plan to your account (don’t mention you have a current problem), call back the next day to schedule a $5.99 service call.
4. Upgrades
If you have fulfilled your contract with DirecTV, call them every six months and ask for a free upgrade. You can get additional rooms, new equipment, HD receivers, and DVR receivers.
3. Retention
Ahhhh, retention the magical customer service department that can get almost anything done. The retention departments job is to keep you from canceling your account. Retention representatives get bonuses if they can get you to stick with DirecTV, so they are always willing to help.
The key is to pretend you are going to cancel your account. I have had to evoke the magic retention word a few times when dealing with regular customer service, and every time my problem was immediately fixed and a credit added to my bill. Just tell the regular customer service rep. that you have had enough and want to cancel your account. Once they transfer you, tell the retention agent what is going on, and they will do whatever they can to keep you. If they do call your bluff, just say you have to sleep on it and you will call back tomorrow to cancel.
2. Phone Lines
DirecTV receivers can not send pay-per-view billing information back to DirecTV unless the receiver is connected to a phone line. That means if you disconnect your receiver from the phone line, and order pay-per-view with the remote you will not be billed. Some receivers have safeguards to prevent or limit this.
1. Receivers are Untraceable
As long as you disconnect your receivers from a phone line, DirecTV has no idea where that receiver is geographically. That means one receiver could be at your house, one at Grandmas house across town, one at your best friends house, and one in your R.V. You would have to be handy enough to install a few satellite dishes that you bought on Ebay, and run some coax cable.
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15 Responses to 5 Things DirecTV Does Not Want you to Know
rahlquist
October 21st, 2008 at 11:30
My wife just finished a stint at DirecTV as a CSR. A few comments.
5. Technically PP is supposed to be on your account 30 days before you can get a service call. If you cancel too quickly you will get smacked with additional charges.
4. True, never take the first offer, haggle.
3. Use caution and be polite it will get you farther. Even regular CSR can give you some good stuff. If you are to arrogant about quitting they will send you recovery kits and close the account. Also keep in mind your value as a customer is directly proportional to the amount of service you pay for and if you pay late forget about asking for freebies….
2. The access card will limit the number of purchases. Once the card is full, it wont let you order them from the remote. Hook the receiver to a phone line and you will get billed for those on the card. When your term with DirecTV is up you are required to send back your receivers With the access cards or DirecTV can charge you for the receivers ( http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=P500014 ) up to $470 for each receiver. If you don’t return the card they can charge you for up to the value of the receiver.
1. Keep in mind that this is fraud and/or theft of service and could be punishable by law. Taking a receiver camping is all good but setting up another residence with your account is a no no.
Luis
October 21st, 2008 at 18:36
Dude this is awesome, I have to get their service because I moved to a place where DirecTV is all you can have. This tip it makes me less bitter to transition…
Chaz
October 22nd, 2008 at 02:43
Umm… Actually DIRECTV has just dropped the price of a Service call to like $50.00 and it’s $0 if you sign up for their insurance plan. OH and there is a 30 day no claims period where even if you add the insurance plan you don’t get billed for the first month because you can’t claim to have a problem that is covered until you have had it a month.
That 6 month ordeal doesn’t work it only works for customers who pay their bills on time and spend a lil cash with them every month. Also, depending on what time of year sometimes they don’t even have offers for free equipment.
Your a Genius!
Chaz
October 22nd, 2008 at 02:47
Oh.. a few more comments..
“2. Phone Lines
DirecTV receivers can not send pay-per-view billing information back to DirecTV unless the receiver is connected to a phone line. That means if you disconnect your receiver from the phone line, and order pay-per-view with the remote you will not be billed. Some receivers have safeguards to prevent or limit this.”
–> Keep in mind all receivers are now leased so even if you do get away with this for a while, you will eventually pay for these services. You must send back receivers if you disconnect your account or if you replace that receiver, so eventually the charges will show up and ya they are still valid.
“1. Receivers are Untraceable
As long as you disconnect your receivers from a phone line, DirecTV has no idea where that receiver is geographically. That means one receiver could be at your house, one at Grandmas house across town, one at your best friends house, and one in your R.V. You would have to be handy enough to install a few satellite dishes that you bought on Ebay, and run some coax cable.”
–> This is called Fraud, and is a Federal law Violation with the FCC. Ignorance is no excuse for the law… Try this… You will be breaking laws which could land you behind bars….
directv'r
October 22nd, 2008 at 17:39
wow, chaz is a buzzkill. i don’t think the author was specifically asking people to do this, just that it can be done. case in point, i’ve never had to send back a directv receiver. however i have paid for the $80 service call. at least the service guy was super nice about it. he showed me how to adjust the dish myself for the next time we have a bad windstorm.
directv rocks, now this just need to lower prices and allow me to pick channels.
The PHA : links for 2008-10-24
October 24th, 2008 at 16:39
[...] 5 Things DirecTV Does Not Want you to Know | The Best Article Every day 3. Retention [...]
bell
November 12th, 2008 at 09:29
Whats with all this nonsense about being polite. DirecTV is a corporation with no feelings, so why should it matter if your rude or not? Just because people in the community sell out to some faceless corporation doesnt mean we have to be nice to them. In fact if we were meaner to these corporate soldiers these corporations would have a harder time finding people to sell out to them.
Be rude, be mean, let them know you dont like having to go through the fraud in the first place.
There are more ethical ways of making a living then slaving for a faceless corporation.
mindmovies.eu
November 20th, 2008 at 06:35
I am not clear if I totally understand the full thought pattern behind this.
Tom
November 22nd, 2008 at 08:51
I ordered directv for the first time yesterday. Its worst than dealing with a car sales man. Lot of switch and bait activities. Lots of haggling. Cable seems much more straight forward. They seem very much like the carpet cleaners, lawyers and doctors and car salesman. Always haggling and trying to make as much money from you :)
Fred
November 24th, 2008 at 09:57
Actually, Chaz needs to get a life! Go away!!
Kevin Spicer
June 28th, 2009 at 06:40
Directv will not let me get out of my contract, they installed dish on 6-20-2009 had problems with channels freezing up and tech has been out here 3 times and said he could not fix it. This was front hte first day. And there was suppose to be a supervisor come out and it got cancelled twice and they blamed that on me but it was through an automated system I was told that by a directv agent and they said you have every right to cancel. So my account has been cancelled and I have no service and they are still chargeing me $90.00 a month for two years with no service. I have reported this to attorney general and better business bureau and trying to get a good lawyer, I am a disabled person, so for someone to do that to me it is not right. I live in Greenville Ohio and I am doing everthing to get even with them.
Davey
August 3rd, 2009 at 23:54
I am a technical CSR at a DirecTV call center and yes, if you disconnect your reciever from a phone line and order through the remote you get a free movie as we can send info down from our satellites but not back up. However, if you order two movies without a phone line a anoying message of 733 or 736 will appear and will not go away until you call them. That message tells them you are a fraudulent person purposely stealing movies. If your phone line was connected but was just faulty fine but WE ARE NOT STUPID and this is hardly the case. Your account WILL be flagged for fraud and sent to law enforcement agencies. That FBI warning you see before every movie isn’t that for looks people. And at the end of your service you have to send back the access cards if the PPV was enabled on your account through remote. If we get the card back with a chunk load of unpaid movies you better have a good reason for it. Use common sense people you will not get away with stealing Hollywood movies through Directv and you will end up in jail.
As for having receivers at different adresses, people tend to want to call in when their service doesn’t work telling on themselves that they have a reciever at a different adress getting themselves in trouble. Customers amuse me when they do that.
Davey
August 3rd, 2009 at 23:58
Sorry to be a buzzkill as most people are not out trying to break the law but there are people out there who do and if you are one of them head the warning.
Kevin
August 12th, 2009 at 22:17
Davey, thanks for the tips. Also, I now understand why I have so much trouble dealing with CSR techs @ DTV. Your obvious lack of understanding for all things spelling, punctuation and grammar tell me all I need to know. No wonder most techs can’t handle a simple call transfer let alone simple customer service.
titi
October 9th, 2009 at 10:01
hey there
i am with directv since the 3 of oct. 09 dont wannt it anymore couse they have no local chanels for my aria what is lawton ok.
so i try to cancel it but they telling me that i have to pay a fee from 480$…whatever…i think they sould me a bag but forget the most important part the LOCALS so it is NOT what it is and i think i have the right to cancel it.
or not?
thanks for feedbacks