Lawyers & DirecTV

[Kevinicus]

Sportsbabe,

I had the same problem you had recently. I just signed back up with them, and they initially offered me a lot of rebates and free superfan etc. And when I called the next day to agree to sign up they said they had a record of my call the day before, but no notes from it. The lady had been telling me the entire call to hold on a second so she could make notes. Somehow they just vanished, and they couldn't offer me what she told me. I called several times and each person told me something different about which offers I could and could not get. Finally I just sent a long nasty email through their website and they called me back a couple days later and I got everything setup for what it was originally offered. Never could get the free HD DVR like half the people on here seemed to get, but I did get quite a bit.

 

[NorTex]

We are all in big trouble if the NFL Ticket goes over to cable...they will charge outrageous prices!!!

I switched from cable to Directv with all the same equipment and saved over $20/month, plus I get the NFL channel, which cable didn't offer, and I have the CHOICE to buy the NFL Sunday Ticket.

I hope I never have to go back to cable, they are the biggest blood suckers out there!!

 

[Nomad]

Even just for practicality, it seems a lot better having the satellite on your roof and only worrying about the connection from the dish to your tv instead of having cables running all over town.

The SunTick should be available to anyone, I'm just saying it seems like the satellite system is the more advanced and practical technology, not necessarily just Directv but any satellite vs cable.

You would think it would also be more cost efficient for the company with just a satellite instead of constant maintanance and upgrades to the grid.

And the satellite can be used anywhere like out in the country where cable might not be available and you don't have to worry about your neighborhood being exclusive to one specific cable company or which ones are available.

I also didn't realize how much better looking it would be without that wire running by my back fence. The dishes can be put on in ways that aren't so noticeable if it's done right and they'll probably eventually design some that are more aesthetic, its just like the old days when everyone had an antennae on their roof.

I had way more problems when I had Charter cable and internet than now with Directv, and my bill has been pretty much the same except for the SunTick, but thats understandable because of the demand and the NFL increasing prices, and they keep adding new features.

And with my super hook up I just received because of geniuses on this board I'm extremely satisfied.

 

[MS17]

Count me among the happy DirecTV, Sunday Ticket subscribers. Ive been with them since 1998 and havent looked back. Our cable (Time Warner) here is dreadful and dollar for dollar cant compare to Satellite. It's actually a joke what some folks pay for cable.
And I called customer retention at DirecTV recently as many here report they have, and am completely satisfied with the extra perqs and things they offered. No matter what the NFL owners decide, I think Cable's going to have to make up a helluva lot of ground before they can match DirecTV's NFL offerings.

 

[Sportsbabe]

Sportsbabe,
I had the same problem you had recently....
Finally I just sent a long nasty email through their website and they called me back a couple days later and I got everything setup for what it was originally offered. Never could get the free HD DVR like half the people on here seemed to get, but I did get quite a bit.

I an email and got a reply. Waiting for the phone call. Just realized that I have to have an HD DVR. Oh, I'm gonna get one (for free) if it's the last thing I do. I'm sick of them ripping me off. The more equipment I get, the more equipment I HAVE to get.

 

[cobra]

I'm an attorney. Unfortunately, I cannot give you specific advice. If you want to pm me, I can answer general questions about options.

I will say the following are good general rules of thumb:
(1) write down everything;
(2) keep track of your notes and documents;
(3) don't waste your time talking to customer service representatives on the phone. Write letters. If you hire an attorney, the first thing that will get done is a letter will be written. That's what we do. Write the letter setting out the problem, the confusion, what you want. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of sending it. That is what an attorney would do. Because you want documentation; and
(4) know what your responsibilities are when you sign a contract regarding being able to get out of it (penalty clauses, mandatory arbitration of disputes).

Corporations bet on the proposition that the little guy won't challenge the big guy, so they get lazy at times. Letters written to the corporation can find their way into the hands of the corporations legal department and assistant general counsels. They are the one's who whip the corporation back into shape and try to fix claims.

 

[Sportsbabe]

I'm an attorney. Unfortunately, I cannot give you specific advice. If you want to pm me, I can answer general questions about options.

I will say the following are good general rules of thumb:
(1) write down everything;
(2) keep track of your notes and documents;
(3) don't waste your time talking to customer service representatives on the phone. Write letters. If you hire an attorney, the first thing that will get done is a letter will be written. That's what we do. Write the letter setting out the problem, the confusion, what you want. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of sending it. That is what an attorney would do. Because you want documentation; and
(4) know what your responsibilities are when you sign a contract regarding being able to get out of it (penalty clauses, mandatory arbitration of disputes).

Thanks, that's what I need to know.

By the way, I need info in regards to timer recording and hi-def. Anyone chime in on this: can I no longer use a VCR to record from my hi-def receiver? I only need it on very rare ocassions to record a program when I'm at the gym or the beauty salon. I may use it once every 10 days or so (if that often). I don't know if an HD-DVR is worth the investment. Any suggestions?

 

[cobra]

Thanks, that's what I needed to know.

No problem.

One point about writing letters: by doing so you are sending a signal. Customers are always pissed and most just want to vent and some attention. That is why customer service departments and call centers exist. From the corporations' legal perspective, the people who call customer service aren't a concern. They will get the attention/venting that they need.

But the people who write letters are different. As I said, that is what attorneys do. And the corporation knows that attorneys write letters because they want documentation, and they want the corporation to respond in writing for documentation purposes (the response in writing by corporation commits them to their response in a way a phone call doesn't). Also, attempts at resolving disputes before a lawsuit are, in most cases, prerequisites for suits.

The corporation knows all that. So when they recieve a letter, it is an indication that the writer is the kind of person who is serious. The mere fact of writing a letter sends the signal of "Don't jerk me around; I'm the kind of person who is at least thinking about legal contigencies."

So, if you are serious, writing letters is a good general rule of things to do.

As always, though, this shouldn't be construed as legal advice. It's general thinking/speculation on my part. Contact an attorney if you think your legal rights are jeopardized.

 

[skinsscalper]

Thanks, that's what I need to know.

By the way, I need info in regards to timer recording and hi-def. Anyone chime in on this: can I no longer use a VCR to record from my hi-def receiver? I only need it on very rare ocassions to record a program when I'm at the gym or the beauty salon. I may use it once every 10 days or so (if that often). I don't know if an HD-DVR is worth the investment. Any suggestions?

Yes SB you can still record from your HD DVR to your VCR (you will not, however, get a high definition recording due to the technology contraints of a VCR.

To give you a little insight, I have owned a high def tv for alomost 4 years now. I just barely got a hi-def Tivo receiver from DirecTV (and no, it wasn't free, but I got a $200.00 mail in rebate and another $100.00 check showed up in the mail about two days after the rebate check from DirecTV arrived). I wanted to cry when I saw the picture once everything was hooked up. Was it out of dissappointment? Yes, but not from DirecTV. I was disappointed that I waited 4 years to really experience what hi-def television was (and the capability was sitting right in front of my face!). Discovery HD is an absolutely amazing television viewing experience!

If you don't buy atleast a hi-def receiver (not necessarily a DVR) you aren't cheating DirecTV or anyone other than yourself.

SS

 

[jazzcat22]

I have had NFL Sunday Ticket since 1997, it was the same in 98, if I did the early bird special and kept it. It went up every year since. But I only used it for the Ticket and PPV movies. I've had it full time now for 4 years. I've never had a problem with them, except with a few access cards they sent. They would keep going out, and finally I cancelled it and the last 4 games of the 2000 season. Since where I was living I could see the rest of the games on network TV, but one, and went to the sportsbar 5 minutes away for that. DTV did give me a refund for those 4 games and the first four free the following year. The first card they overnighted to me, the 2nd card, for some reason came regular mail but took a while, was supposed to be fedex. That's when I cancelled, when I knew I wasn't going to see that weeks game and went to the sportsbar.
But always had good service and customer service from them with that exception. Which is far more than I can say for Comcast.

 

[Kevinicus]

I wanted to cry when I saw the picture once everything was hooked up. Was it out of dissappointment? Yes, but not from DirecTV. I was disappointed that I waited 4 years to really experience what hi-def television was (and the capability was sitting right in front of my face!). Discovery HD is an absolutely amazing television viewing experience!

Am I the only one who has been slightly disappointed with Directv's HD quality? I'm noticing a lot of digital artifacting. I know the regular HD receivers have MPEG-4, while the HD-DVR still only has MPEG-2, so maybe it will be better when the new boxes come out. It was crisper with Comcast though.

 

[lspain1]

Am I the only one who has been slightly disappointed with Directv's HD quality? I'm noticing a lot of digital artifacting. I know the regular HD receivers have MPEG-4, while the HD-DVR still only has MPEG-2, so maybe it will be better when the new boxes come out. It was crisper with Comcast though.

There has been much discussion on various forums about the 'HD-Lite' phenomena from DirecTV. I'm not going to go into details but aficianados claim that DirecTV is not offering true HD by performing a combination of bit-starving and down rezzing the signal to reduce the bandwidth requirements for each HD channel.

My own experience indicates there are channel-to-channel differences that occur on DirecTV. The type of HD technology and resolution in your television also impacts what you see. The NBA playoffs on TNT-HD had a ton of artifacts earlier this year and everyone was complainnig about it. For me, last year's NFL HD broadcasts on the Ticket were still so superior to SD broadcasts on my set, any artifacts that crept in were incidental.

I am now running with the MPEG-4 receiver and eagerly awaiting the new MPEG-4 DVR. I'm sure it's coming out any day now!