Movies and TV HD upgrade with DirectTV, they want $344!

rtmike · 06-01-2012, 05:14 PM

This place always has ideas of how to work the system.

I've been with DirectTV for 15 years. I installed an RCA dish package when it was $99.99, remember that? All so I could get my beloved Chiefs games. Every single year we paid in full mind you for the Sunday Package. I never tried the threats of cancelling their service if they didn't lower the SPTicket that others' here have mentioned.

DTV has a special going on right now for new to DTV, they can get their HD stuff for free.

They want to charge me $344 for 1 DVR HD & 1 HD receiver. To me that's unacceptable.

This has been our email exchanges up to this point. This last lady spelled my last name wrong & it's printed clear as day in the other emails at least 4 times so I made sure to misspell her name with my response. Childish? Perhaps, but I call it laziness:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I have been a faithful customer since 1997 receiving NFL Sunday Ticket every single year.

I see where you give new customers HD service. You want to charge us $344 to upgrade our 1 receiver & 1 DVR receiver.

To me that's unacceptable. As long time customers we deserve what the new customers are receiving.

If you can't help us out with this I'll unfortunately have to sever ties with DirectTV. There's other avenues now for me to get Sunday Ticket. I apologize if it sounds like a threat. I just want what's fair.

Thank you for your time, xxxxxx

Response Via Email(Jesy G. - 100260681) - 05/30/2012 05:48 PM
Dear Mr. xxxxxxx

Thank you for writing us. I understand how you feel about our equipment offers for new and existing customers.

I can assure you that we have ways of keeping valued customers like you.

We want to ensure that your concerns are addressed as quickly as possible. I have forwarded your email for special handling. While this may take some time, our specialists generally respond within 24 hours.

We appreciate your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,

Gayle G. - 100260681
DIRECTV Customer Service

Customer By Web Form () - 05/30/2012 03:26 PM

From: "DIRECTV Customer Service"
To: xxxxx@comcast.net
Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 12:31:13 PM
Subject: Price of HD [Reference #: xxxxxxxxxx]

Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Price of HD

Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response Via Email(Tamala W ID 439712) - 06/01/2012 12:31 PM
Dear Mr. gxxx,

Thank you for taking the time to write. I completely understand your concerns with the cost to upgrade your equipment. I'm happy to be of assistance to you.

DIRECTV equipment offers, even through retailers, are for leased equipment only. While certain offers, particularly for HD products, require you to pay some upfront costs, this is a substantial discount from the true cost of buying HD equipment. Equipment costs can be sizable and we believe leasing provides an affordable alternative to get the advanced products you need. With an HD DVR connected to the internet, you can also open up your viewing experience to over 7,000 additional shows at no charge. So the cost is minimal compared to what it gives you access to.

Our best equipment deals can always be found online so visit http://directv.com/ to see what lease offers are available to you.

Thanks again for writing Mr.xxx.

Sincerely,

Tamala W-439712
DIRECTV Resolution Specialist

P. S. Football season is coming soon! Catch up to 14 games every week this fall with NFL SUNDAY TICKET, now available at directv.com/nfl.

--------------------

Timale

That's it?

Wow, 15 years of being committed to DirectTV & the best you can do is tell me how good of a deal I'm getting by giving you another $344???

Let's see NFL Sunday Ticket 15 years X $350 a year = $5250. Not counting our other packages.

Let's start the process of terminating your services.

//xxx

In58men · 06-01-2012, 05:18 PM

WTF all they did was add $10 to my monthly bill.

rtmike · 06-01-2012, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inmem58

WTF all they did was add $10 to my monthly bill.

Are you effin' kiddin'? Didn't they have to come to your place & change out receivers?

**pr_capone** · 06-01-2012, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtmike

Are you effin' kiddin'? Didn't they have to come to your place & change out receivers?

You will definitely need new equip if you have had your receiver for that long. They will also, likely, need to put a new dish on the roof.

That said, after 15 years of just paying what they tell you to, there should be flexibility on their side to keep you around as a customer. If I were in your position, I would call and speak with someone in the retention or customer loyalty department and explain your situation in a CALM AND COMPOSED manner. Nothing makes a rep want to tell you to **** off more than you being a dick to them when they have nothing to do with your disgruntlement.

ToxSocks · 06-30-2012, 03:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inmem58

WTF all they did was add $10 to my monthly bill.

I got this too. However, i got them to waive it for the first year. I ended up with a $5 a month discount after i Upgraded two rooms wtih DVR's.

I was able to do it because my contract was up and I renewed it.

In58men · 06-30-2012, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Detoxing

I got this too. However, i got them to waive it for the first year. I ended up with a $5 a month discount after i Upgraded two rooms wtih DVR's.

I was able to do it because my contract was up and I renewed it.

I switched to bright house. 99.9% of my channels are all HD now, not just a hand full like DirecTV. My bill stayed the same, but I also have road runner now. So I got a better variety of HD channels and internet for the same price.

I only got Directv because of the nfl Sunday Ticket, but now you can stream it through a PS3. My move to switch cable companies was a great choice.

Bump · 06-01-2012, 05:20 PM

call them and tell them you are leaving if nothing is done. It probably will work.

rtmike · 06-01-2012, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bump

call them and tell them you are leaving if nothing is done. It probably will work.

Well I mentioned terminating their services in both emails & it didn't seem to matter.

Bump · 06-01-2012, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtmike

Well I mentioned terminating their services in both emails & it didn't seem to matter.

get on the phone! It costs them more money to replace a customer than to waive that fee. Stand your ground and you'll probably get it waived.

rtmike · 06-01-2012, 05:21 PM

So, am I out of line?

Any ideas on how to get them to give me some kind of discount?

I know dish TV isn't as good but I have zero second thoughts about switching. Between here & the Red Zone that dish offers I'm hoping that's enough.

I thought keeping customers, especially long timers like us meant something?

The last time they were here they took my old dish down & put up one of theirs'. I didn't realize until weeks later. So the dish currently up there should be mine correct? The old dish used to say RCA in the middle of it but after a decade of being up there it faded out so the tech prolly didn't know it wasn't theirs.

rtmike · 06-01-2012, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr_capone

You will definitely need new equip if you have had your receiver for that long. They will also, likely, need to put a new dish on the roof.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtmike

The last time they were here they took my old dish down & put up one of theirs'. I didn't realize until weeks later. So the dish currently up there should be mine correct? The old dish used to say RCA in the middle of it but after a decade of being up there it faded out so the tech prolly didn't know it wasn't theirs.

We were adding another receiver so they changed my old one out @ that time. Both receivers are fairly new, 2-3 years?

----------------------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr_capone

offers like that are typically for new customers only. that said, there is ALWAYS recourse for them to keep a long standing customer.

Yeah, she did mention something about that in the 1st email.

"I can assure you that we have ways of keeping valued customers like you."

---------------------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny Vegas

Also I don't recall sunday ticket being $350 for the last 15 years. Definitely for the last couple years, but I remember paying $250 with HD before it shot up to $300 then $350.

C'mon man. It's my story, so what if I exaggerate a little, just trying to over emphasis point.

**pr_capone** · 06-01-2012, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtmike

We were adding another receiver so they changed my old one out @ that time. Both receivers are fairly new, 2-3 years?

The age of the receiver doesn't necessarily matter... it is whether it is HD capable or not. If you were not using HD before, there is a good chance that you have non-HD equipment. You can find out for sure by checking the back of the box and looking for a spot to plug in an HDMI cable. conversely, you could google the model # of the unit and it will tell you whether it is HD or not.

/work in cable tv which is essentially the other side of the same coin.

**pr_capone** · 06-02-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rtmike

We were adding another receiver so they changed my old one out @ that time. Both receivers are fairly new, 2-3 years?

----------------------------------

Yeah, she did mention something about that in the 1st email.

"I can assure you that we have ways of keeping valued customers like you."

-------------------------------

did you call them? what came of this?

**Saulbadguy** · 06-01-2012, 05:27 PM

Call them.

BryanBusby · 06-02-2012, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saulbadguy

Call them.

This. Call and negotiate directly with the retention department. If you play your cards right, you won't be paying that dumbass fee.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr_capone

the last name is typically a giveaway.

ATT is ungodly ****ing stupid though.

06-01-2012, 05:14 PM	Topic Starter
rtmike union paraplegic organizer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: western Kansas Casino cash: $9094600	HD upgrade with DirectTV, they want $344! This place always has ideas of how to work the system. I've been with DirectTV for 15 years. I installed an RCA dish package when it was $99.99, remember that? All so I could get my beloved Chiefs games. Every single year we paid in full mind you for the Sunday Package. I never tried the threats of cancelling their service if they didn't lower the SPTicket that others' here have mentioned. DTV has a special going on right now for new to DTV, they can get their HD stuff for free. They want to charge me $344 for 1 DVR HD & 1 HD receiver. To me that's unacceptable. This has been our email exchanges up to this point. This last lady spelled my last name wrong & it's printed clear as day in the other emails at least 4 times so I made sure to misspell her name with my response. Childish? Perhaps, but I call it laziness: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have been a faithful customer since 1997 receiving NFL Sunday Ticket every single year. I see where you give new customers HD service. You want to charge us $344 to upgrade our 1 receiver & 1 DVR receiver. To me that's unacceptable. As long time customers we deserve what the new customers are receiving. If you can't help us out with this I'll unfortunately have to sever ties with DirectTV. There's other avenues now for me to get Sunday Ticket. I apologize if it sounds like a threat. I just want what's fair. Thank you for your time, xxxxxx Response Via Email(Jesy G. - 100260681) - 05/30/2012 05:48 PM Dear Mr. xxxxxxx Thank you for writing us. I understand how you feel about our equipment offers for new and existing customers. I can assure you that we have ways of keeping valued customers like you. We want to ensure that your concerns are addressed as quickly as possible. I have forwarded your email for special handling. While this may take some time, our specialists generally respond within 24 hours. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Sincerely, Gayle G. - 100260681 DIRECTV Customer Service Customer By Web Form () - 05/30/2012 03:26 PM From: "DIRECTV Customer Service" To: xxxxx@comcast.net Sent: Friday, June 1, 2012 12:31:13 PM Subject: Price of HD [Reference #: xxxxxxxxxx] Subject --------------------------------------------------------------- Price of HD Discussion Thread --------------------------------------------------------------- Response Via Email(Tamala W ID 439712) - 06/01/2012 12:31 PM Dear Mr. gxxx, Thank you for taking the time to write. I completely understand your concerns with the cost to upgrade your equipment. I'm happy to be of assistance to you. DIRECTV equipment offers, even through retailers, are for leased equipment only. While certain offers, particularly for HD products, require you to pay some upfront costs, this is a substantial discount from the true cost of buying HD equipment. Equipment costs can be sizable and we believe leasing provides an affordable alternative to get the advanced products you need. With an HD DVR connected to the internet, you can also open up your viewing experience to over 7,000 additional shows at no charge. So the cost is minimal compared to what it gives you access to. Our best equipment deals can always be found online so visit http://directv.com/ to see what lease offers are available to you. Thanks again for writing Mr.xxx. Sincerely, Tamala W-439712 DIRECTV Resolution Specialist P. S. Football season is coming soon! Catch up to 14 games every week this fall with NFL SUNDAY TICKET, now available at directv.com/nfl. -------------------- Timale That's it? Wow, 15 years of being committed to DirectTV & the best you can do is tell me how good of a deal I'm getting by giving you another $344??? Let's see NFL Sunday Ticket 15 years X $350 a year = $5250. Not counting our other packages. Let's start the process of terminating your services. //xxx
Posts: 3,097

06-01-2012, 05:18 PM	#2
In58men Baba Ganoush Join Date: Jan 2012 Casino cash: $1978026	WTF all they did was add $10 to my monthly bill.
Posts: 29,369

06-01-2012, 05:20 PM	#7
Bump YOU take YOUR seat Join Date: Nov 2007 Casino cash: $1915105	call them and tell them you are leaving if nothing is done. It probably will work. __________________
Posts: 32,493

06-01-2012, 05:21 PM	#10
rtmike union paraplegic organizer Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: western Kansas Casino cash: $9094600	So, am I out of line? Any ideas on how to get them to give me some kind of discount? I know dish TV isn't as good but I have zero second thoughts about switching. Between here & the Red Zone that dish offers I'm hoping that's enough. I thought keeping customers, especially long timers like us meant something? The last time they were here they took my old dish down & put up one of theirs'. I didn't realize until weeks later. So the dish currently up there should be mine correct? The old dish used to say RCA in the middle of it but after a decade of being up there it faded out so the tech prolly didn't know it wasn't theirs.
Posts: 3,097

06-01-2012, 05:27 PM	#14
Saulbadguy When a nightmare becomes real Join Date: Nov 2003 Casino cash: $2326966	Call them. __________________ http://www.goemaw.com
Posts: 46,970