Last week, I posted two articles here on why DIRECTV has lost as many as six million subscribers since being purchased by AT&T, and whether AT&T will end the bleeding by selling the satcaster to the highest bidder.
The two stories have generated an outpouring of comments (more than 80 as of this morning) from readers, most of whom are current or past DIRECTV customers who are dissatisfied with AT&T’s stewardship of the satellite TV service.
However, ‘dissatisfied’ may be an inappropriately weak description of their sentiment. Bitter. Angry. Livid. Those are certainly more accurate ways to describe how many DIRECTV customers are feeling these days.
The comments over the last several days are reflective of reader responses to previous articles I’ve written about DIRECTV’s decline. The deep-rooted animosity that many DIRECTV customers seem to have for AT&T does not bode well for AT&T continuing to run the company.
In my 30 years of covering television, I’ve never seen one company generate so much scorn from its audience, not even the large cable TV companies whose monopolistic practices in the 1980s and 90s outraged so many.
I thought it would be interesting to post some of the more interesting reader comments from the last several days to give you a perspective of what AT&T and DIRECTV face in the weeks and months ahead.
AT&T Is Losing
“I COULD WRITE A BOOK but in ONE and ONLY ONE take? AT&T !! (T-H-E most incompetent morons on the entire planet) THE GAME IS SOOOOOO OVER for AT&T !!” wrote ‘Dave.’ “I have been in the satellite TV and PCO biz for 40 years and can assure you I FORGOT more then AT&T knows about that business they bought with MONEY they STOLD from MILLIONS of ppl over the DECADES because of the need for a LAND LINE TELEPHONE (which is of course DEAD now) THIS is JUST the TIP of the ICEBERG but let me end with saying that there are THOUSANDS of us out here that work DAILY to END AT&T as quickly s possible and…WE ARE WINNING !!”
Streaming Isn’t the Answer
“That’s exactly right,” says ‘Glenn Huggins.’ “I work for AT&T and they’re a bunch of idiots. And probably what has killed DIRECTV is the fact that they own them because so many people hate AT&T. Plus their customer service screwed the number one customer in the business. Now I realize a lot of people are streaming these days but where I live in rural Alabama satellite tv is your only option because you can’t get decent internet.”
Wants AT&T to Go Bankrupt
“I was a Tmobile customer back in the day when I heard that AT&T was going to buy the company,” writes ‘Jeffrey Bernardi.’ “Because of past experience with AT&T’s customer service I dumped my Tmobile for Verizon. I have been a customer of DirecTV for over 20 years. I really enjoyed DirecTV up until AT&T purchased it. AT&T is the world’s worst company. I hate everything about them. Absolutely not customer oriented or concerned about customer satisfaction. I hope they go bankrupt. I have never hated a company so much.
AT&T Ruined DIRECTV
“Well when you can’t get anyone to answer the phone after waiting 30 to 45 min.on hold, it tends to lead to pure frustration,” says ‘Dan Walters.’ “I know some that (I) dropped them. Just for that. And why can’t you get anything done in the AT&T stores. After all, they own direct T.V. They should have never purchased direct T.V. They’ve ruined it.”
She’s Dropping DIRECTV
“My package keeps dropping channels but my bill doesn’t go down. Instead of offering better deals and upgrades to long time users all the deals are for new customers only so I’m dropping my direct tv and going to a different provider,” writes ‘Missy.’
She Has Dropped DIRECTV
“We dropped them as well. Nothing was the same. We have Spectrum as well as Roku, Hulu, and Netflix and it is still cheaper then what AT&T was costing,” says ‘Brenda Oakes.’
AT&T Ran It Into the Ground
“It’s a no brainer,” says ‘B. Klein.’ “The problem with Directv is AT&T and horrible customer service. I was a long time Directv customer until AT&T bought it and ran it into the ground by treating their customers like crap…”
AT&T Gutted It; He Worked For DIRECTV
“I worked for DirecTV for over 7 years as an installer and a customer since 1997.
I for one can tell you when AT&T took over the first thing they did was farm out our award winning customer service to overseas vendors. Premium subscribers expect a top notch customer experience and (pre-AT&T DIRECTV CEO) Mike White made sure we did provided just that. AT&T gutted the best thing DirecTV had going,” writes ‘Vance.’
Won’t Get Streaming From AT&T
“I guarantee that if I am forced onto a streaming service, it won’t be with AT&T or SlingTV!” says ‘B. Coleman.’
Will Never Consider AT&T Again
“We dropped DIrecTV after 24 years because of their relentless rate hikes, poor customer service, and they stopped supporting the standard definition equipment, while offering no viable solution for travelers,” writes ‘Leland Fox.’ “We’re in our Airstream more than we are at home. Their apathy and arrogance was astounding. We went with Dish Network. High Def on the road, and low cost hardware at half the price. Streaming is nice, but we go to places where there is no connectivity. Even when connectivity is available, it’s not sufficient for streaming. I will never consider AT&T for anything in the future.”
If you would like to comment on what AT&T should do with DIRECTV, the Comments box is below this article.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
The two things that has been the huge changes with DirecTV has been the customer service and the technical innovation. Before AT&T took over, DirecTV had the best customer service of any utility in the US, and it wasn’t close. Anytime I called or emailed, I got excellent help, and the employees really cared. You can tell they took pride in their work and it translated to me as a customer. Their technical development was also good. New features to align to new channels, improved DVRs with more storage, the Genie, etc.
But, after the purchase by AT&T, any interaction with customer service has been awful. Phone calls are terrible. Most agents on the phone are just reading from a script they don’t actually understand. And, there’s been zero innovation in the last few years. They took away the ability to download many shows so I could watch them on a plane. Their app is buggy. They obviously don’t have a SmartTV/Roku app for the satellite customers.
I’ve stayed with them for NFL SundayTicket and the overall sports options. But, it’s obvious that once DirecTV loses SundayTicket, they’ll lose another 3-5 million customers quickly.
I complete agree with Everything AB Says.
Another thing AT&T did about a year ago was
Changing the way we use the Genie.
They changed the format,
ADDED a TON of junk to the Menu we Never use,
and made it Very complicated to do anything.
I have one Genie and two (2 Receiver DVR’s)
The programming and menu options on the
(2 Receiver DVR’s) did NOT change.
They were always easy to use.
The Genie is very time consuming and a PAIN to use now.
What was the point to Change something that was NOT Broken ??
They also Dropped the ON screen CID
for us Land Line customers.
(There are a bunch of us still here)
It also worked on IP lines (Internet Phone Lines)
Cable TV Phone Customers, Fiber, Vonage, etc.
It was a real convenience with the
Zillion ROBO calls we get, to ignore them.
This is a PHONE Company, AT&T
who DROPPED their own product.
Go figure ?????
J
I agree with everyone Directv has gone to the dogs sense ATT took over ‘!!!!!!!!
They are the absolute worst! I was with them for a year customer service is horrible and I never got a copy of my bill when requested I was overcharged and was billed every 2 months instead of monthly I was told my address wasn’t on file but I was getting the service at my house so how can they not have my address? Very unprofessional I will never deal with them again!
When we moved from California a few years ago we didn’t know which service was avail. In our area.we decided to quit direct tv.I called a direct rep. And was told I had to get a return authorization no. Long story short I ended up calling at least 5 times and getting different stories each time. Finally I reached a gentleman that told me the truth on what to do with our equipment. Simply box it up with our account. Number and send it back.Now we are with dish which is terrible , but not as bad as direct was.Direct used to be great before
AT&T 100% bought DirecTV just to run it into the ground and force more consumers into streaming
Here’s a new problem this week. Some stations have no listing for programs. Oh, unless its sellingsomething. .
I agree since at&t took over they have screwed up everything they take channels away an put crap channels in their place or just drop channels but still charge for them an the price keeps going up over an over but your package changes without your permission or knowledge an when you have to talk to someone it’s always someone you can’t understand they don’t speak English
I’m paying direct..then att I can’t sign in to my account my password doesn’t exist anymore so I’ve been trying customer service waiting over 1 hrs they were willing help me until I told them that I didn’t want my cell phone switch from Verizon to them this CUSTOMER service got upset and hung up on me…I still don’t have the product….so frustrating
I absolutely agree with this. I am a 23 year directv subscriber And since ATT bought them it’s been going downhill. Now they are horrible and every time I have a problem it takes several calls to fix it. One time they had a “software upgrade” which eliminated several of my boxes. It took ONE WEEK AND TALKING TO OVER 50 PEOPLE TO GET FIXED. ATT IS USELESS
Have been with Direct TV since 2005 when we went full time RVing. Since AT&T took over we have lost our RV waiver to view east/west coast channels, and AT&T will not provide network channels each time we move. They said to use our antenna. We usually are in areas where the only way to watch TV is by satellite. Now AT&T has taken away OAN channel. According to their website our package includes OAN. After contacting them (waiting 40 mins on hold and then trying to understand the representative) they said AT&T is redoing their packages. I was never notified that this was happening. Then they tried to soothe the situation by saying they were adding channels to our package so they would not have to lower the price but charge only $2.00 more a month. These channels are what the normal person would not watch. I said no thanks and would be changing to Dish. Less expensive, will set for network channels when we move, better channels, etc. Even having to buy the satellite dish converter to go from Direct to Dish it will pay for itself since we will saving $100 a month. The only way we stayed with Direct after AT&T took over was the RV waiver. I have a very limited language when it comes to AT&T. Most RVers we know are switching also. Hope AT& T loses all their customers.
They removed OAN? Well then they did you a favor. Unless they were satirical news how could anyone watch them in earnest?
Says the person who thinks anyone that disagrees with them is wrong. In other words, an intolerant…….
I previously had Directv for a very long time(7years )before AT&T took over; because the moment at&t took over my bills kept going up every month and customer service sucks; well if you can understand what they are saying.
I have stayed with Direct, and staying away from Dish, mostly for sports, but also knows Charlie is not above cancelling any and all other channels if he can save a dollar.
IF He does somehow manage to take over Direct from A T & T, my question is, will i keep my same plan, or will Dish force me into one of his, and will the sports i now have, that dish doesn’t , go away?Thank you
Directv is a joke. They absolutely rob all and anybody that has service with them. I could type for a week an not touch the anger they put in me. Unprofessional!
Totally agree direct tv is very expensive and it can cloud up and you loose the signal and most of their channels just plain suck and their sports channels are starting to suck big time it’s time to move on to spectrum
Direct TV. Programming is the worst. They put one program on and you can watch it for the next month no choice.the movies are Hollywood ‘s failures simply put crap
I was a DIRECTV subscriber for 25 yrs. As soon as AT& T bought the company everything went south in a hurry. Horrible customer service, higher prices, fewer choices to name a few. Everything you read and hear about customers problems are true. Run…things will only get worse!!
Hate them hate them!!!! Finally after 2 months got my final bill and my $122 debit card for my refund!!!! The best thing that could happen to Direct is for the Chinese to hack their satellites and send them crashing somewhere into the Marianna trench!!!!
Glynn..LOL. If the Chinese take out the Directv satellites, can I hope the Russians will follow suit with Dish?
That would be the best use of hacking I’ve ever seen! I love your thinking!
Customer Disservice Department……..directv service used to be pretty good. Now you wait 45 minutes with several transfers to be told “the next service date is two weeks away, maybe you can fix it yourself if we talk you through it”———– that would be fine except I am calling to upgrade my receiver. Morons………
…
I have Frontier landline with DirecTV at my house for internet & TV – and my mobile phone is AT&T GoPhone – my bill has doubled almost $185 for landline & internet then another $50 for mobile phone – ridiculous! That is more than a car payment. Soon to cancel all!
They need to sell Direct tv at&t are so rude they don’t care about there customers at all
I whole-heartedly agree! My experience kept getting worse and worse! I was on the phone for 2 hours with a rep named Sergio explaining my experience and how I was over charged! After 2 hours he gave me what I was asking for. I asked what changed and he said “things just happen.” I asked him if I could hit his car and not pay – stating “things just happened?.” At that point I could not wait till contract was up. When I left they would not take ANY of my direct TV equipment. Direct TV has been run into the ground by horrible leadership direction! I have been told reps are encouraged NOT to transfer calls to others like management. In my experience this lead to false information by reps and things like signing a year contract without my permission! I don’t know how some of the things they do are legal!
My name is Joscelyn and I/my mother and I have had Direct TV for eons now. It used to be in my mother’s name but we both split the cost. We were very satisfied with them for so long (with everything). Within the last 4 years things started to change. The biggest thing was the price started going up astronomically. Since my mother could no longer handle it I started paying the bill all by myself as well as has it put in my name so I could get a cheaper package. First of all they gave me the wrong package and when I called them and told them they said I ordered some other package I didn’t want. I tried calling the guy who signed me up (as he told me to call him if I was having any trouble with the service right then), needless to say I called so many times but never got an answer. I left messages but he never called back. Back, to getting the wrong package, I finally found the carbon copy of the paper showing what I signed up for and what I would be paying. I called them and told them I had found the paper showing what I had ordered and I wanted what I ordered for the price that I was supposed to get it for during the first year. No!, ok but they would give it to me for that price for the last month. I told them they made the mistake and I was not happy with them. Earlier this year I (April) paid my bill on time as always with a money order. Not thinking at the moment I threw the stub away. This had several times before. I called them and told them I had paid but their records say I hadn’t paid so I paid again. Unlike the previous times when I would send a second money order, the following month when they would send a bill which would always say I owed nothing for that month I would be be satisfied. This time I used my credit card to pay again (2nd time), and once I did the automated service said I had a credit of 77 dollars because I paid twice in 2 months. Ok, the next month came I was charged for the regular monthly bill, a late charge, and charged to have my service restored after the interruption of my service. As soon as I can, I am switching to Spectrum!!! I am more than PO’d!!!
I don’t particularly like DirecTV also, but for the past 3 years I’ve called them yearly and complained about their service and the price of their programming. Each time, I ended the call with a $50/mo. credit for 12 months, so I can’t complain about the pricing after the discount. This last time I used the excuse that I was going to consider going to a streaming service and they said that they didn’t want to lose me after 20 years, so the gave me the $50/mo. discount. Next year I’ll see if I get another discount, if not, I’ll consider my alternatives.
Let some other newcomer buy it but don’t sell it to Dish network. They’re just as bad with thier supposed low starting price that skyrockets after 3-6 months and dropping of channel at a rate worse than the stock market.
We just signed up with DISH. 2 years at $79.56 a month for the top 200 tier. THAT is the price.
without channels that i happen to want. if charlie wasn’t such a harda$$ i would have gone to dish years ago
I feel the same way with freeking rising prices for crap programming
I’ve spent over 3 hours on the phone with these bozos these last few days trying to be able to stay logged into the site without being bumped off, or not being able to get anything to play…
I hate ATT
Direct was a great service. AT&T dropped it into the toilet. You call customer service and within 10 seconds you already know that the call is going nowhere. You may as well abandon the call for all the help you are going to get.
I was a DirecTV customer for over a decade. The number one appeal for me was the combination of top-rated customer service and top-notch programming packages. AT&T eviscerated both. I’m back to Xfinity for half the cost and none of the headaches. If only the NFL Sunday Ticket could find a new home, my television satisfaction would once again be complete.
AT&T corporate store told me they could give me a new customer rate for Direct TV by switching from AT&T Uverse. The lineup was supposed to be comparable to what I had at the time. I ended up losing numerous channels that I watched. When the promo year was up and I went to the higher rate for the second year of the contract all of those channels remarkably came back. I figured I was just suckered and would just be stuck for that second year. After about 4 months the channels disappeared again. When I called customer service I was told they gave me a special temporary promo when they added those channels. If I wanted to get them back I could upgrade for a small additional monthly cost. I refused saying I was leaving AT&T as soon as possible. The representative tried to transfer me to their retention several times but I refused saying I had enough!
Since AT&T has taken over DirectTV their customer service is not giid. When I called to change something they bent ovef backwards to keep you a satisfied customer. Now, they could care less. For longtime customers, they won’t help you out and give you a good price for your loyalty. They treat their new customers better. Wish they woukd find a new buyer that cares about keeping and taking care if their their customers again.
I have been a Directv customer for 20 years & only for one reason (NFL package). When they lose it, they lose me!!
Wow its been a long time coming with AT&T. All the comments I read was/ is so true and I knew it would only be a matter of time. Cancelled my service in June 2019 and was charged til Jan 2020 because AT&T keep said we didnt cancel mind you our equipment was turned into UPS and we had our receipt they tried to say they didnt receive the equipment. Since June we bought antennas and never been happier. Thank God for Free TV.
J W in Columbus Ga
We recently resubscribed. We have been customers since 2003 and took a two year break. I researched the packages thoroughly and chose the least expensive one that would still serve our needs. After 30 days we woke up to find that they had removed at least 4 major channels that we watched the most. I spent over 5 hours on the phone with a total of three representatives and received no resolution. They offered me a one time 10$ credit. That’s it. I was told that those were complimentary channels for a limited time. Come on. The Weather Channel is a premium channel? So now I’m stuck with two more years of this.
What package do you have ?
They got into a beef with the Weather Channel a while back.
It is Now Only offered in a HIGH PRICED Package.
I agree, it is NOT a Premium channel.
Complain some More.
But Don’t forget you are talking to people
who may NOT even have a TV
Streaming is out. Customers wants cheaper option. Rural areas can get faster satellite internet now through Viasat. Without Att, telecommunications will not exist….they started it, they are the grandfather!!
Y husband spent 4.5 hours on the phone today trying to get live tv on our laptops and iPad. This was never a problem before At&T bought them. They had screwed up our accounts and now we can’t do anything. We then tried to cancel our account and they said they couldn’t without a big cancellation fee. When my husband told them they broke the contract first by not providing the service. They basically said screw you. So we are done. I am going to cancel my cell phone as well
Have been with direct TV was years , contract up in October, just like all the other comments, we’ve lost channels but bill goes up not down. Customer service is horrible. No break for long time customers. You have to call in and ask about any promotions, now they say they aren’t allowed to offer anything.
I was with Directv for many years, when it stood for: customer service, excellent programming and fair prices. Since Att took over, its been a disaster. From Whole Home extra charge and regional sports channel, that’s extra $13 a month for nothing. Too being promised a discount on Sunday Ticket and winding up being told the promotion guy keyed it in wrong and I had to pay $389 for 5 months for Sunday ticket Max! Sound familiar anyone? Been duped and hung out to dry with ATT crap! I could arbitrate but they are the arbitrator! Corrupt, unscrupulous and liars! Hope they sell soon or go bankrupt
I pay for regional sports coverage and could not watch any for over 5 1/2 months. They still made me pay and would not let me cancel it even though I paid extra for it every year, was not in my contract. I wish there was some way zi could get my money back!, the Crooks!.
I have been with DirecTV for 15 yrs now. They had the best customer service & the website was so easy to maneuver. There technical services were top notch.
Now factor in AT&T and everything single thing I said is out the window. The day they lose the NFL sunday ticket I am going to drop them so fast that it is not even funny.
AT&T SUCKS…..
Had error codes come up that made the TV useless. all I had was what I recorded. After 50 min. on hold I got a AT&T rep on the phone and she tried to correct it and could not. So she set up the next available appt. that we could support. Have to be here when they come. The appt. was ten days out and a Saturday. Appt. set was 12 to 4 pm waited all day and no show. Called back and asked what happen. Was told the appt. was canceled becuse they did not have a service provider in the area. So they offered another appt. this one was 21 days out and I do not think they will show. However they did give me a credit for the lost time. Just not good at all.
I have been wit AT&T for over 30 plus years and one thing I can tell you about them are that they are so untruthful. Since I have had Direct tv I have had nothing but problems First of all they lied about how much my bill will be and each month the bill kept going up. It was so bad with Direct tv that I started recording them. The channels are terrible. They keep dropping channels and the bill don’t drop. My directv was out for about a month and one operator stated he could give me $5.00 credit. I told him I don’t won’t no 5 dollar credit. I am looking for something better and I am going to drop them because they are extremely too high. It had gotten so bad that I got the owners address and wrote him a five page letter. Now you know it’s time to leave them when you got to write the owner a 5 page letter concerning their terrible service. I wish everyone well and hope you all can find a better TV service. Belinda Moore
I will never do business with AT&T again! I had Direct TV for my TV, but AT&T Uverse was not available in my area, for internet, so I had to add a hot spot to my service. I always seem to have overage, despite the fact that I was never home to watch TV. I found out months later that the movies I had saved on my system, to watch after work, were using data just to be stored on my system (they were resending the data everyday). I deleted all the saved shows, to cut down on overages. The following month, my roommate and I were binge-watching Netflix for a week, and my hot spot was shut off. I paid the $300 bill (my highest bill before this was $200), and they still made me wait until the new billing cycle to turn my hot spot back on. It was then that they told me they automatically added data bundles when i used up my data, rather than asking me if I wanted to add more data. When my new bill came out, it was $1200! They had charged me for the overage I had already paid for 10 days earlier, and for all the extra data bundles they added on, without notifying me I was using up all my data and in overages. When I confronted them about paying for overages already, they had no explanation for the $300 bill, but insisted the $1200 bill was all new overages (even though my hotspot had been shut off for 14 days at this point!). They are a rip-off and will do anything to get money out of customers!
I was a Directtv customer since 1994, the start. I’m very tech savvy and always was interested in the latest greatest. I remember buying multiple DirecTV boxes at Good Guys like the Zenith 1080 box and the first TiVo HD DVR. I switched to YTTV. But when they started adding channels I don’t want and increasing the monthly I started thinking about cable. I was already paying top tier price for internet and when I added a good cable package the cost actually went down. But the cable boxes and dvr were a joke, seriously like 2010 tech, so I basically use my cable sub to stream everything. Saving 50 a month vs YTTV which makes it almost free.
I had Directv for almost two years. My contract is up at the end of October. Directv is over priced and they have terrible customer service. I will NEVER BUY AT&T OR DIRECTV AGAIN.
At&t are the worst. You can call 20 times a day and you will get a different story everytime. I called them to find out why I was getting charged $9.99 a month extra for the sports channels which we don’t watch and never ever asked for. I could drop it if I wanted to but I would also lose 90 channels. I got told we cannot take that charge off because it’s part of your package but yet my package is a totally separate price. I called them back and got told by someone else they could take it off and I would not lose the 90 channels. So when I asked them I would like my $9.99 a month refunded since I never asked for it i got told no they cannot refund my money and was told I couldn’t get any of my money from all the past bills because I didn’t catch the extra fee until now. So I called them back again and then was told I couldn’t take it off. I was on hold for over an hour waiting to speak with a supervisor which never happened. I asked to speak to one everytime. I kept getting told one would call me back which never happened either. These people are complete idiots. As soon as I can leave I am out. Watch your bills people
I have been with Directv for 35 years, have had a few break’s here and there but kept my account with them. I for One am happy with Directv and wouldn’t leave it. Had dish a few times when I had moved and DirecTV wasn’t available in the area. No way… Have access to our local cable and again no way..
While I do have a Roku and Netflix account I still use my DirecTV for my main TV packages.
There is a serious issue concerning customer service and hopefully this will be resolved in the soon purchase or merger agreement. I never have enjoyed calling att for anything.
Hopefully whoever is at the helm soon can get us back to the old DirecTV we all loved with a new twist for all the new technology that is now available.
Blessings
I’m leaving AT&T and Directv. My bill increases every month. I’ve called and complained countless times. I’m done!
That’s the way mine is it’s 159 a month I’m disabled and can’t afford it it gets cut off regularly it’s redicalus at the prices just for my 2 kids to watch cartoons dish ain’t much better but I think I’m going to switch
I would like to see Direct TV spin off of AT&T and become independent again. I would prefer that they don’t merge with Dish so there is still some competition.
DIRECTV never added MeTV in my area. That’s not a sports channel. That’s a niche channel that appeals to some older viewers who enjoy watching the shows we grew up with.
After 2.5 years of frustration about doing without MeTV, I switched to AT&T U-verse, which does carry MeTV in my area. But while I was with DIRECTV, I regularly called to see if they would let me switch from one AT&T service (DIRECTV) to another (U-verse). They would have still had me under contract either way.
But the answer was “No”. That was totally illogical.
Unless circumstances change significantly, I cannot imagine going back to DIRECTV. I’m about to leave U-verse, too, as they no longer offer the HD feed for MeTV in my area.
My ATT bill keeps going up, up , up and services and customer service continues going down, down and down. What the heck ATT I can’t even understand most of what the customer service. Person says much less get any help with a problem. There are so many different charges on my bill and most I dont understand anyway. Since when we’re the American people suppose to learn to understand the broken English with such a heavy accent. I don’t even know what accent the csr is speaking with. Att made their old money off the backs of the American people and what people do they cater to ? Overseas or where. Shame on you Att you will find that what goes around comes back around. and most times 70 times worse.! !!
I love you! LOL I love you articles I just switch from DirecTV to Dish Network not there in a much better but unfortunately when you live in the rural area that I do you only have two choices DirecTV or dish so DirecTV had told me when they were trying to get me to stay with them asking me what they can do to keep my business I told them to get rid of AT&T and they said we’ll just because they bought ourselves we’re still our own company asks if that’s cool that is a flat out lie it ruined their company their customer service text they suck how they work their little contract sex they cheat people by the way out of that but thank you for keeping on top of this for us to be able to read! Be safe!
The only reason Atel&tel bought Direc#U was to take up any and all royalties of any all media world wide as possible. They never cared about the hardware and only see it as a burden that can easily be gtten rid of.Those rights and royalties are now part of there U+Verc and Atel&tel-TV’s. It’s purely a business decision, sorry….
Live in Wilmington, NC and lost direct tv duty to a long tree limb hitting my dish on the past Mon the 5th when the hurricane went through. Called direct Tues after trouble shooting on phone through robo call and system could not fix problem and suggested I call help line. Got live help and they could not fix problem and then set service appointment for the 13th Thursday. Today received a call from them wanting me to try again which I refused.
Seems they are trying to eliminate service call. The 13th is the soonest they will send someone out.
Great service???
I had Directtv for 17 years straight. They kept raising the price and channels were leaving. Most of the channels were just re-runs. I finally left and it has been 5 years and I do not miss it. I do not watch tv really, once in awhile I will watch a movie on Prime. that’s it no tv shows not anything, not interested in TV anymore. It was ruined and I don’t even miss it. I read books, listen to music have hobbies and friends. And I can tell you this, I will never go back to sitting on the couch staring at tv. It’s all junk now anyway.
AT&T has terrible customer service and their plans are misleading. DirectTV has canceled my service twice for nonpayment after I paid the bill a week before the due date. They deauthorize my bedroom receiver twice. I had to show them I was paying for it on my bill. There’s more but I am tried of writing.
A core issue is the directv app for Androids is garbage. It should have been built as a competitor to Netflix, but instead it’s always been clunky and buggy, and you get the impression that development had been farmed out to the lowest bidder.
And, in order to watch your shows from the road, you have to first download them at home (unlike any other streaming service). And it doesn’t work on Chromebooks.
DirecTV extorted money from us for equipment that was returned. We got a confirmation number from one rep saying they received it. Next rep on another phone call said they hadn’t received it and the confirmation number we had was bogus. Then they charged us for an early termination fee even though we cancelled our service 2 months PAST our contract. They said when we upgraded our equipment, we automatically extended our contract another year. Only problem with that was we NEVER upgraded our equipment. When I asked when we upgraded he said….wait for it – the day we cancelled our service. So, according to him, I called, cancelled our service and in the same phone call upgraded. I argued till I was sick but how do you reason with a company that doesn’t care about their own business.
We switched from Direct tv today. My bill doubled within 3 months..they have no idea what the general public is experiencing. Tried to talk to them to no avail.
I’ve been a Directv customer for years but everything changed once AT&T took over. The prices are constantly increasing even though the channel packages are laughable. I watch about 5 channels from my package, in total my family watches about 15 channels. One year they automatically signed me up for the NFL package and charged me over $100 without my consent. After calling and being on hold for eternity, they said they would credit my next bill. I was irate! I demanded a refund and threatened to take legal action, dispute the charges with my bank, and cancel service just so they would agree to a refund. I have Hulu, Netflix, Prime, and can cast to my TV so I’m dumping the dish. It’s clear that AT&T doesn’t value Directv customers because they could have offered packages where customers could choose their own channels. Technology and streaming services have changed the game and AT&T didn’t keep up.
I DESPISE DIRECTV!! Had these idiots for almost 3 years! My bill was NEVER the same month after month after month for 3 years! I swear, they charged me whatever they deemed fit! Last straw before I dropped them Aug 11th, they took the travel channel from my package. When I called to complain, the rep said “it was only complimentary bc of covid” WHAT!? I had this channel for 3 years! It wasn’t “COMPLIMENTARY” for me! The only way to get it back was to go up a package! Screw you! Now stream YouTube tv! With the TRAVEL CHANNEL!
I recently joined the throngs of people who have run from AT&T DirecTV after over 5 years of being a loyal customer
Prior to AT&T taking over they were wonderful…great customer services and affordable. Boy, that changed with a vengeance. After multiple long drawn out calls, three service visits that did not rectify the problem and a high handed tech who added a service plan without my permission plus a tech who showed up without the new DVR they promised, I switched to Dish.
If Amazon was a more stable platform or Spectrum was anyone but the same old Time Warner….well, I may have considered streaming exclusively but I really live the convenience of the DVR. Orby is starting to look really good.
It’s really a pity that what was a stellar company was turned to utter trash by the ownership and heinous disregard for their customers that AT&T showed.
You couldn’t give me their phone internet or streaming service for free. My work phone is on their network and it’s horrible. I’ll stick with Verizon thank you very much.
Alice F Robinson. I have directv and I’m not happy with it. I have been a customer since july 6, 2009. It was mainly for my husband and son. When att took over. They discontinued my plan I had to go with a lesser plan for the increased price the price continued to go up until I called them to get a cheaper rate. I lost 30 channels and the price is $40.00 cheaper I want another service but they are 3500 ft from where I live and dont know when they will get closer. I’m not a customer of Att I’m a customer of DirecTV. I want relief.
I agree with 99% of these comments! AT&T customer service stinks! They outsource their CS overseas and they have no clue what they are doing! They drop your channel without any notification and pack on a bunch of useless shopping channels, plus I don’t speak Spanish yet still I have at least 30 Spanish channels! Your bill is never consistent, every month it.goes up! When the cloud gets dark, before it even start to rain you have to go watch Netflix cuz it’s a frozen TV until the rain stops!
At&t is a bunch of crooks and liars they overbilled us on DirecTV and would say they would fix the problem but just raised prices there own customer service rep told me the last 3 calls that was made was just ignored by the rep taking my call and that nothing had been done they even insinuated that my spouse was lying about my bill after finding where they had double and triple billed me they changed that receipt to justified enormous bill I hope they fail and disappear
I was a DIrectv customer for 22 years. I dropped them when I was told lie after lie after AT&T bought it. What a lousy company! I would never deal with AT&T again. I hope they get it together for their few remaining customers. And that was really hard for me to say. I’d rather rant about them but won’t. It would be a waste of breath as is this comment a waste of energy.
In March this year my Directv bill doubled. This month it again went up so that my bill is triple what it was one year ago, all with NO change in service. I’m gone!
Direct TV is absolutely horrible when it comes to customer service. Half of the people don’t seem to know their job. You never get the same answer from 2 people.
The subscription prices are insane. They charge us for a sports subscription(that they added on themselves) that we and I’m sure a lot of people don’t even use. They will not remove it! I don’t like to pay for something I don’t use. We are looking to go with Dish. We have been with DirecTV for 20 something years. AT&T has destroyed DirecTV.
I was a direc tv customer for over 20 years! – To which I’m not proud! AT&T is far and wide the worst run and operated company in America! They undid in just a few years what took several decades to build. This is typical of their business acumen! Their customer service is an industry oxymoron! Their unmitigated greed is legendary! Why they even have 1 phone service account is an enigma! This past spring I was finally offered fiber optic internet service and took advantage! Now I’m enjoying a streaming experience that I could not have imagined! Anyone thinking of subscribing to their streaming service should check themselves into a mental heath ward immediately! To AT&T I say good riddance and may your future look bleak and foreboding!!!!!
Yes, I’ve only had Direct TV for a month,they charged me for some Administration fee of 299.00 plus changed my package. I was told that the fee was for my credit not being good enough to get service and the fee was added to my account after the first month. When I first signed up for it I was told that my credit went through and the agent proceeded with the order, I never received a bill, they didn’t have my information correct and my 1st bill was 467.00 that I couldn’t pay. The Administration fee was non refundable so I canceled my service because I couldn’t afford to pay it.
As a long standing customer of Direct TV let me just say THEY SUCK!! The arrogance is unreal that you continue to go along with price hikes and say nothing.. My bill was 116.00 that was WITHOUT ANY PREMIUM CHANNELS!! Some of the networks I wanted would’ve required upgrading.. I told them You have competition..COMPETE DAMMIT!! Their response unfortunately we don’t have any promotions going on at this time.. WELL UNFORTUNATELY YOU JUST LOST A LONG-STANDING CUSTOMER.. BYE FELICIA
I thought I was the ONLY one who bitterly hates AT&T.
You’re not alone at all!!
Lawrence I believe you are in good company. Even my son (who is 8) hates them because of all the problems we have had. And we try very hard not to use the word “hate” but there is no other way to describe our feelings for these super jerkos!
I have been with AT&T since they bought Cingular in early 2003, I believe. I have had no major issues other than I live in real Mississippi and at night my service is slow. However, also contributing to this is 4 adults on a unlimited data plan. I also have DIRECT TV and have no issues. I have had DIRECT TV for 4 years and just saw a increase in cost in the last 6 months. I have always found customer service to be very pleasant and helpful for both AT&T AND DIRECT TV. Recently a tower in our area had some issues when I called AT&T they credited my account 60.00. No complaints here.
WEIRD
Linda do you own AT&T stock? Maybe a friend or relative works there? Yours is the first “happy customer” comment I have read in years. Honestly though I am so happy for you; I just wish they cared about the rest of us.
I have been with DirecTV for atleast 25 years. It is just a crappy company now. No customer service, keep taking away channels but raising rates. I lose service alot more often than I ever have.
Switching to Dish you will notice a degradation in the picture quality for local channels because if the way they possess them. That is the only reason I switched to Direct TV about 6 years ago. Direct TV has the best picture quality of all in my opinion and my own personal experience with Dish, Comcast, AT&T, and a host of streaming services I tested.
Dish has the best receiver, the hopper, with built in Sling box, which lets you watch everything remotely, even in other countries, but you do need a,good internet connection.
I was a customer for 20 years with Directv/ at&t, and at&t has took a good service that was enjoyed and ran it into the ground. Like they’ve done with everything else they’ve owned. Never giving at&t another dime, I dropped their phone service a good while back. I hope your reading these comments at&t to see what your customer base thinks of you. I would surely like to see at&t go bankrupt as well, for the way the company has treated its customers.
I have also experienced everything described by others, but am hostage to DirecTV due to zero alternatives in rural area. I believe they are capitalizing on that and the covid situation limiting entertainment options. Truly obscene business model. Hoping they get taken over by an ethical company — there must be one left somewhere.
I had Direct tv for 20 years and after AT&T took them over there was no working with them and it was nothing but a hassle to deal with them in my RV. You never knew what you bill was going to be every month. My cell phone service is the same way. I will never own or do anything that AT&T owns or associated with. They need to break that company up a sell it off to someone that supports customer service instead of just making a company richer.
Just About Done !
Have been with them for 20 plus years. The rates have gotten ridiculous! Being a long time loyal customer means nothing to them Tired of the black outs.
We just purchased a Rv that had In motion satalite. The people had Dish on it. They left it on a week. We called to ask rates they were so nice. We got it for the RV for a month. We are considering changing everything to them.
Let Dish but Direct TV at least the customer service and rates might be better.
We were DirectTV customers fire several years and I was happy with the service; I had no problem with my monthly billing, which was reasonable; when I found out AT&T purchased DirectTV, my first worry was how much higher will the rates go now; Well, we found ourselves hit with astronomical rates for both internet as well as the TV service and no matter how I try to keep my payments current, they disconnect our service because I was behind one month, which is frustrating because before AT&T, I always got my regular bill in the mail; we had enough and left DirectTV; we now have Spectrum and we’re happy with it; I have to be honest; AT&T ruined a company that cared about it’s customers; I don’t want anything to do with AT&T, they should had not bought DirectTV!
The FCC or some Govt agency should DO something about this.
This is an American Tragedy.
This is kinda a Public Utility. We do NOT live in the Stone Ages.
This is the way News and Entertainment is sent to us.
People ALL over the world have decent TV.
In America, we are SCREWED.
We live in a rural area, so Direct or Dish are our options. Internet providers + streaming services to get channels we like, is not much difference in price. Plus they’re all old stuff on streaming. We also use Direct in our RV, so it gets complicated. We have hade Direct since 2003,
I’ve been a directv subscriber since 1997. I’ve never seen the price go down, the equipment fees are akin to usury, the technology lags, late with DVR, late with HD, late with streaming VOD,etc. The saving grace was customer service and choice. Now that both of those have been sacrificed on the altar of profits for AT&T, they’ve lost me forever.
I was a Directv customer of over 15 years. Got tired tired of being treated poorly by customer service and cancelled the service even tough I had free Sunday Ticket. I had been lied to some many times and was even told that I was on the best customer rating for AT&T. I told them what it would take to keep me and they got offered within $7 per month. Then they proceeded to tell me that it was only $7 and that I could afford to pay the $7. I will be cancelling my wireless AT&T plan due to the treatment from Directv.
Wish like the H I never came back to Att now I’m lock in for 24 months. Yes the service suck and streaming is horrible. Now I see the price is not the price I was quoted my monthly bill would be. And I don’t like holding on the phone for 30 minutes or more. All I can do is wait our my time and leave again never to return. I was with them for fifteen years and left, my fault, I came back.
DirecTV & AT&T rank #1 for THE WORST customer service. I had to call them multiple times to have a billing issue resolved even though each time I call them they ensured me it was resolved however I would then receive a bill for a closed account! They continued to screw up our account and try to charge us fees for packages we NEVER consented to! It took for me to blast them on social media for them to finally resolve the problem. Mind you it took 5 months for that happen!!!!
Just switched from DirecTV to Dish after having DTV since 1998. AT&T ruined a great company. I now have better quality picture and every thing I had with DTV at half the price. In addition some one answers the without having to wait. I am sorry I did not make the switch two years ago
Got a message that I needed to update the access cards for my receivers. 2 phone calls later got new ones sent. When they arrived none of the numbers matched my current cards. Another chat (not on phone) told not to worry about it, did form there and no need for new cards. Now they guide only half works. Nevermind that the first guy insisted that he speak to my husband because it is in his name, can you say sexist. Completely frustrated with them
DirecTV was technologically tops when I first got it. The DVRs were years ahead of Comcast, and Sunday Ticket was necessary (the Bay area teams foisted on us were abysmal).
They sold an expanded warranty for $25/month that covered every electronic except phones. When I tried to use it on my 65 inch LED with burn-in, they told me I’d have to take it off my wall mount first. Also no more rooftop satellites, I’d have to re-install next to house. The signal’s been spotty, VOD wouldn’t work on premium channels, but worked fine on PPV.
Recently they said this season’s Sunday Ticket would be a free thank you. No NFL it looks like. My DVRs are loaded, I will keep the lowest tier until we’ve watched all our recordings, then we’re done.
I loved Direct tv and still do but when AT&T took over everybody from Direct changed and not for the better I will stay with Direct tv I think it will be a matter of time before Direct tv opens their eyes and see this was the wrong move
Easy, helpful customer service by phone, in my experience, disappeared with the switch to ATT&T I’ve been a DTV customer for many years and was very satisfied every time I had to call with a question or for assistance. Easy path to assistance disappeared with ATT. Recently I just finally had to hang up on the person who I had finally been able to reach, after much effort, as I could get no assistance. It was as if I were a new customer, not one of many years with all my info in their system and verified so. This final experience was the final straw, and I decided to cut their cord.
I recently canceled my DirecTV service after 6 years. DirecTV’s customer service used to be excellent and they would offer great deals to their loyal customers. Once AT&T took over, they tried to sway their customers into switching cellular providers in order to receive discounts or push its streaming service. But I chose DirecTV bc I wanted satellite TV. All I ever wanted was a long term discount like DirecTV used to offer me and I would’ve gladly stayed. After four months of trying I gave up.
The first time we had Directv was when still Directv. To date, that’s been our best cable experience. Then we tried RCN after the 2 year agreement expired to avail of its new customer promo. During the installation stage, RCN keep sending ‘on the job training’ technicians who would end up calling a senior technician to the rescue. In the end, it was still pretty satisfying. Then enter Directv again after 2 years, but this time AT&T has already bought Directv. The second time was horrible. There were times when only 1 to 2 tv sets could be on. The tv screen would flash something like ‘too many units are on, you cannot use this unit, please turn off the other units’. It was annoying. When we call the customer service, we are given the runaround. No customer service agent could give us a straight answer why it was happening. When we had enough of their BS, we decided to cancel it even if we knew we would be billed for early termination. We got Dish after Directv cancellation. We were happy with Dish, but we attempted to try again Directv after 2 years with Dish. Guess we never learned, it was deja vu. So, a Directv guy came to check the satellite disk on our roof. Lo and behold, he said it’s against their policy to go up the roof of a customer’s house, that we should a third party contractor to go up the roof and fix the disk at our expense. So we called the customer service. We talked to at least 3 agents who unanimously denied that policy, they sounded very surprised. But when I checked their website, I found out and confirmed by some customers’ feedback that it was indeed a company policy. Here we go again I said, what a lousy company! Long story short, we cancelled Directv subscription for the second time. We kept the Dish.
My conclusion, an A1 company like Directv was ruined by a horrible one like AT&T.
Direct TV is worst than I could described using any or every profane words in any language. I had a two year contract with them about two months before that contract ended they called and offer me two premium channels for free for three months ,I took it but ended it before the three months was up .then I got my bill it went from $79.00 to $98.00 which puzzled me so I called was holding for over two hours before I got a live person to talk to who put me on hold for about ten minutes before coming back to tell me my bill was prorated for the following months and the can’t do anything about it .but passed me on to another person who put me on hold then I got cut off.and it continued like that for two days .so I decided to end my service with them, that’s when I found out that I would be owing them for early termination because my contract was extended when I agree to the promotion of the three months premium channel’s. I told them where to kiss and reported them to the consumer affair division in Washington .to make a long story short.I’m no longer with them I have internet TV with all four premium channel’s all HD .and it cost $20.00 a month .its live TV 800 channels. At&t is the worst company to deal with .stay away from them
I’m so glad someone is finally writing about this I’ve had Direct TV for over 12years and have been over charged hung up on rudly charged for months I didn’t even have there service… Since At@t purchased them its been the worst I’ve ever dealt with… I always loved direct TV until at@t purchased now I’d never have them again inless direct TV drops them I hate AT&T with a passion they treat there very well on time paying customers so damn shitty ill never own or deal with this company again…
Tried to disconnect DT and keep internet. Paid up to end of month. Low and be hold both were disconnected yesterday! Can’t say anything good about AT&T
I loved Direct tv and have been a customer for a long time now that At&t took over everything changed and not for the better I am hoping Direct will see they made a mistake soon
My comment about A t and t it is no good they will not give their loyal customer any discount or try to reduce their bills for things and the same old shows all the time all they do is raise your bills for things that are no good and give all the discounts and other things to new customers and forget about the loyal ones I hope that direct tv takes it back and gets rid of A T and T every since they went in together direct has went way down on they subscribers and is no Good,Dish has A lot better deals and things on then A t and T and direct Tv I am thinking about going with them.
Years ago AT&T was the only telephone service millions of people could get and you either paid their prices or they would simply cut you off and this is the attitude that they have taken into their broadcasting network, my way or the highway attitude, I work 40 years in telephone communications and I’ve seen them first hand,, they used to trench everything going underground instead of plowing in upgrade gables they absolutely refused to take the simplest and better & 10× faster because they already had millions of coustermers would have to pay for these outside plant upgrades this went on for years and years while orther telephone companies was plowing it in savings millions upon millions of dollars and passed the savings into the coustermer ATT just simply didn’t care because they knew their coustermers didn’t have a choice and I made up my mind years ago id never have anything ATT because I’ve seen them and how much they care about you,
Had Directv before AT&T took over. It was fantastic. Things changed dramatically since AT&T took over. Dramatic increases in price with less customer service. Have since switched to another service saving over 50 bucks a month with better customer service and more viewing options. AT&T, YOU RUINED IT.
Way back when I was going to college. I took a business class. We had a case study about AT&T. They were then and still are one of the worst run companies in the u.s. when I found out that they had purchased direct tv I almost cried. I live in a Michigan rural community and don’t have much choose. So sorry it’s those idiots
EVEN BEFORE THE PURCHASE BY AT&T, DIRECTV IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN A JOKE. THEY HOLD NFL FANS HOSTAGE EVERY YEAR MAKING THEM PAY ANYWHERE FROM 1800$ ANNUALLY FOR A CABLE SERVICE THAT THEY NEVER WATCH DUR TO STREAMING SERVICES AND YET STE FORCED TO OAY EVERY MONTH 150$ OR MORE FOR SOMETHING THEY DON’T EVEN WATCH JUST TO HAVE THE “PRIVILEGE”.TO PAY $300 TO WATCH THE NFL. THIS SEEVICE SHOULD BE STAND ALONE AND SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE BOUGHT AND STREAMED THROUGH THE SUNDAY TICKET APP JUST 300$ BEING REQUIRED AND CAN STREAM FROM ANY DEVICE. LETS HOPE AT&T KEEPS IT UP SO DIRECTV ITSELF GOES DOWN IN GLAMES AS IT A JOKE SERVICR AND A RIP OFF.
If I were in ATT management, I would fire whomever is in charge of Direct Tv. Just from reading about customer complaints, its customer service which was moved from US reps to overseas, and pricing, to high for what you get. I will add the crappy performance of the latest hd hardware which always keeps dropping out until I added a battery backup to keep minor power glitches from killing the system. If ATT wants to keep a valuable product which is superior in many ways to streaming service, they need to put good management in place and not try to milk every penny from the product just to support the terrible investments made in other areas.
DIRECTV HAS ALWAYS BEEN A JOKE AND A GARBAGE OVERPRICED SERVICE. THEY HOLD NFL FANS MONEY HOSTAGE ON A ANNUAL BASIS CUSTOMERS PAYING AT LEAST $150 MONTH ($1800 A YEAR) FOR A SERVICE THEY DONY EVEN USE OR WATCH BECAUSE STREAMING FROM SERVICES (NETTLIX, PTIME VIDEO) WHICH ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO SUBSCRIBE TO PREMIUM CHANNELS (HBO, CINEMAX ETC) AT A CHEAPER PRICE THAN DIRECTV DOES. YET CUSTOMERS ARE FORCED TO OAY EVERY MONTH FOR A SERVICE THEY DON’T USE OR WANT JUST FOR THE “PRIVILEGE” TO PAY $300 TO BE ABLE TO WATCH THE NFL.WHEN THERE SHOULD OBVIOUSLY JUST BE A SUNDAY TICKET APP THAT CAN BE STREAMED TO ANY DEVICE FOR $300 A SEASON. AND DONT TRY TO TELL ME THAT IS AVAILABLE TO CERTAIN CUSTOMERS. ALSO A BUNCH OF BS THAT THEY ALLOW SOMEONE IN APARTMENT COMPLEX THIS OFFER BUT NOT SOMEONE IN A SINGLE FANILY HOME OR RESIDENCE. WHAT WE SHOULD ALL HOPE FOR AT&T TO KEEP DOING WHAT ITS DOING SO DIRECTV BURNS TO THE GROUND AND NEVER THOUGHT OF AGAIN.
Called to tell them not to renew NFL package , too late since I had it last year, but I did not have it last year, I cancelled before it started.
AT&T loss me for good back in 99 when a customer service agent felt compelled to ridicule me for attempting to set up a late payment for service due to the weight of medical bills incurred treating my wife’s cancer. That said, I cringed when the purchase of Directv was completed. Sadly, they are the provider in the apartment building that I currently reside in. I assure you, the first opportunity that presents itself for me to ve done with them I’m gone. AT&T is by far the worst company ever, on so many levels.
I HAVE DIRECTV ,AND I AM VERY UPSET WITH THEM. I PAY OVER 90.00 DOLLARS A MONTH. THEY WOUND PUT CHENNELS AND A FEW DAYS THEY TAKE OFF. AND THOSE CHENNELS ARE THE MAI ONES I WATCH. SOMETHING GOT TO BE DONE ABOUT IT. THANKS.
I have been a DirecTV customer since the mid 90’s. Never before have I seen a company treat their customers so poorly then turn around and tell us the satellite prices are going up. I have disliked AT&T for a long time but figured I would give them a chance to redeem themselves thru DirecTV. Didnt happen. I’m tired of getting calls from them only to try to talk me into something I don’t want. I would be happy to talk to customer service if 1) I could understand what they were saying, 2) they would understand that I do NOT want AT&T as my cell phone provider, and 3) learn to take “no thank you” as my final answer.
I have been a customer of DirecTV for over 20 years. I really enjoyed DirecTV up until AT&T purchased it. AT&T is the world’s worst company. I hate everything about them. Absolutely not customer oriented or concerned about customer satisfaction. I hope they go bankrupt. I have never hated a company so much.
I’ve been a DirecTV customer since the nineties. I left Dish for them shortly after DirecTV became available. Here’s a short list of things that have gone sideways since AT&T took over:
– No new hardware. Everything you can buy from them today was in the DirecTV pipeline when AT&T took over the company in 2015. There hasn’t been a hardware innovation since.
– The “new” user interface. As others have remarked, it launched as a basket-case and in many ways still is. I can only believe it was done to provide a platform for the obnoxious changes that have been introduced since.
– Transfer of online and billing accounts to AT&Ts systems. It is almost impossible to interact with them online now. When you log in (if you can figure that out at all), you’re also now agreeing to “AT&T Access ID and Account Management Terms and Conditions” which include, among other things, this tasty tidbit “You grant AT&T and its designees a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sub-licensable and transferable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display your Profile Information, in whole or part, and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed related to AT&T Access ID, Account Management or the services associated with your AT&T Access ID.” Up yours, AT&T. If you want to manage your account, you’ll probably end up logging in twice, and agreeing to that, twice.
– Severely degraded customer service. Basically they’ve moved from first to last.
– Price hike, price hike, price hike, price hike…..
– Relentless snail-mail cross promotion of other crappy AT&T services, notably DSL that can’t go a tenth as fast, in my area, as the cheapest available cable internet option.
– Relentless adhesion to obsolete and unfair fees. I pay for a programming package, then I pay for DVR service, “whole home DVR service” (we’re down to one TV on DirecTV), HD programming (virtually all of it has been HD for a decade now), and a “Regional Sports Fee” for stuff we don’t watch.
– We’ve gone from having cool screen savers to advertising. The advertising now comes up almost immediately when the pause button is pressed. Really? A new free email service from AT&T? Wow! That’s exactly what the world needed, and I needed to know about it NOW because I paused playback of the evening news!
– The Guide is now a wreck – over-run with promos for movie rentals.
– The death star logo is now everywhere.
– The online forum is a joke that AT&T first manipulated, and now ignores. Except that they’re now cross-promoting a protection plan on the home page.
Geez, not such a short list afterall, and I’m sure it is incomplete.
There is one, and only one, reason we still have DirecTV. They’ve got a monopoly on non-local NFL game broadcasting. Isn’t that interesting – AT&T hanging on via monopoly. I’ve canceled “Season Ticket” this year to see just how long we can get along around here without it, this year. If we get to the Superbowl (assuming there is one) without Season Ticket, then Dish will have our business the very next day.
That will end a 25 year relationship in which I’ve spent somewhere around fifty grand on subscriptions, hardware, services, and fees. No wonder AT&T’s stock is trading at around half of what it did in 1983. I can’t believe anyone would want it – the company is run by idiots.
We cancelled effective Aug 1st, went online same day to remove financial info stored on account and had no access after 10 years. Called and was told we could not access our account after cancellation. We get online statements and can not access them or our final bill. Tried to call and pay final $16 remaining on bill and was told their system was down. Asked for mailing info and was told it was on my final statement (which I can’t access). Now not only are they storing our financial info we put in for our convienece…we don’t have auto pay, but we also can’t pay or view our statements. This is a bunch of horse sh*t, totally unethical and probably illegal, business practices.
I am convinced AT&T is using the monies received from the astronomical Directv rates to cover their mandatory POTS (plain old telephone service) lines the state utilities commissions force AT&T to maintain. Years ago I worked for Bell South and they grumbled back then about the costs to maintain POTS lines, but as states regulated the service they could not drop them. Telephone lines (and their maintenance) are overwhelmingly expensive and there are still alot out there…especially in rural areas. As broadband capabilities spread, Directv would have given them a treasure chest of customers for streaming. Unfortunately, broadband is still hit or miss in many locations and utility commissions are forcing AT&T to maintain POTS lines as an essential service!
I’m wanting to get rid of Directv also, after many years, we’re going back to antaenna we can’t get cable where we live! Also their so called bundle service they told us we cannot get it where we are, even though we’ve got every service that’s in the bundle. Doesn’t make any sense to me. We’ve been customers since 1996 they don’t care about longtime loyal customers.
After reading so many comments about AT&T taking over DirectTV I just have to say I agree with most of them.Ive been a customer since 2000…When AT&T took over things went down hill fast…Trying to talk to someone was like pulling teeth..customer service was run by morons…several times I had to threaten to cancel just to talk to a supervisor over a issue…I pay over $165 a month and channels go away but the bill stays the same….Hopefully something will happen and AT&T will sell, it to somebody that’s competent….
I started with direct TV 2 yrs ago and it has been a nightmare . The first week after it was installed my service was in and out . MOSTLY OUT . Called the AT&T store I got the plan from . Instead of sending the guy back to fix it ( the dish was installed UNDER my upstairs neighbors deck , ) he signed me up as a new customer ( he got ANOTHER comission) they took money from my bank on 2 acts every month . It took a call to the dept of justice to get resolved. They owed me $700 .I got it back half on a gift card 10 weeks later . The other half in credit on my acct . So if I dropped dead ..they keep my money . NOW …they just more than doubled my bill with no explanation . Went from $96 / month to $197.00 month .I’m DONE with AT&T .
The timing couldn’t be more perfect! At this very moment, Dish Network is being installed and replacing my Direct TV after 13 years! The service is terrible, my DVR is ancient and doesn’t connect to the genie in the bedroom and when I called Direct TV, they would only replace it with the same models that are incompatible! No upgrade, no discount. Cant wait, to call in about 30 minutes and say immediate cancelation and no your name isn’t Cindy!
Have been a Directv customer since it started, sometime in the early 90’s. From the beginning the customer service was great. The tech’s were always on time and did a great job when needed. But prices always went up without any more benefits. I agree with all that has been said about the customer service and programming since AT$T took over, a steady decline in both. I also payed for sports programming I did not want.
I stayed with them because I was getting the east coast and west coast feeds, something I enjoyed, having both friends and family in NY and LA. Also because you were able to watch prime time early or catch something late you might have missed. It was a service that I payed a lot for. Thru no fault of Directv, and a stupid mandate of the FCC, this service was cancelled. Directv boast of having coverage in 99.9% of the country. Well I live in that .01% of the country that they do not have a contract for network local channels. This is one of the reason they allowed me to have the East and West coast feeds. They did provided an over air antenna so I could pick up locals from 90 miles away. Not good. With several calls and long waits to discuss this problem, they could not help.This was all I needed to shop around. Spectrum, the local cable, was expensive and sucked. I ended up with Dish for half of what I was paying for DirecTv, unfortunately also without the extra feeds. Just a couple of points of difference between the 2. I do think that DirecTv had a slightly sharper picture than Dish. I am, with Dish, able to get locals at no extra cost. The Dish customer service , so far, has been great. The one thing I will give to DirecTv is the remote control, the Dish one is a mess, to many steps to do anything.
Just my 2 cents
I COMPLETELY AGREE AT&T are complete incompetent morons and CROOKS…they have STOLEN my money because they are SO incompetent when I made a payment they LOST it and would not accept my bank account information proving the payment had already come out of my account and went to them. I literally made a double payment one month because they WOULD NOT accept any proof from me the payment had already been made. I even had a notarized letter and bank statement. I HATE AT&T ABSOLUTE CROOKS!!!!!!!!!!
I’VE BEEN WITH DIRECTV EVERY SINCE THEY BOUGHT OUT PRIMESTAR. I’VE NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THEM. INCLUDING CUSTOMER SERVICE. THROUGH OUT THE YEARS I’VE RECEIVED MULTIPLE GOODIES. I HAVE ALL OF THE CHANNELS EXCEPT THE SPORTS AND SEX CHANNELS. AT A $120 A MONTH, WHY SHOULD I COMPLAIN? THAT MAKES ME A HAPPY CUSTOMER.
Yes – I cannot echo the disgust with what AT&T has done to DirecTV enough. I have been with them almost 20 years and was a big proponent prior to AT&T taking over. Everything people have said from rude to non-existent customer service to the outrageous price it is all awful. If it were not for my special needs son understanding and being able to operate the system on his own I would have dropped them, too. You go to the store and even the clerks tell you everyone hates DirecTV and that they feel so bad for people who come in with problems and how they are not allowed to do anything to help; in fact some of their stores won’t even take a payment! It is so ridiculous. I have never hated a company more. I really hope a good company will step in and rescue all of us from this tyranny and torture!
We have been a loyal Directv customer for 16 years and loved the programming and especially the customer service. UNTILL…AT&T purchased the company. The customer service is horrible!!! You explain the problem and they answer you as if they have no idea what you’re talking about and read some pre- directed answer out of a book which does not apply. It’s difficult, most times, to understand/hear what they are saying so I’m sure it is for them also. Customer service and management are the reasons that they gave lost so many customers. Why can’t they see that?
Heaven forbid you have a payment issue!!!!! We ended up paying for a whole month when we didn’t have service. (And yes, I do know how to calculate the bill).
Please don’t shut the doors on this company. Do some housecleaning and reorganization!! Treat the customers with respect.
I’m just another unhappy att customer. I loved DirecTV before att took over. I have been on the verge of dropping them since att has been in the picture. Customer service is horrible and I’m sick and tired of the bill! Way, way over priced! I could go on, but read the other comments and mine will be totally covered. Everyone hates them. My neighbors got rid of them just a month ago because of poor service.
Wayne in Colorado
Directv SUCKS
Took 3 hours to get ahold of somebody today to discuss my technical issue that started last Wednesday night. 6 days without any satellite. We have not had satellite since then I called Thursday morning I called Friday afternoon I called Saturday I called Sunday every time I got transferred either disconnected or got told that call back on Monday during regular business hours.
My regular technical call today became a disconnect not real good customer service guys
The rep had the Gaul to ask if there was anything he could do to help me….l you guess what I told him, to do to himself.
Had it for 17 years, wont miss and WOnT go back.
I have never been so frustrated with a company since Southwestern Bell…(some of you probably don’t remember, but they use to be the only game in town, over charged, and terrible customer service)…finally when other companies were allowed to compete, Southwestern Bell was brought down…I wish that would happen to ATT… I can’t even call customer service anymore, can’t understand the customer rep, Accents are so bad, I have to ask over and over what they said, finally ask them to spell it, and finally when they understand what I am needing, they say they can’t do that, it is just awful…please someone come to rescue and give us back the Directv that I signed up for years ago….by the way I am cancelling
I am a direct customer and me and my husband both have lost our jobs and we gave them 170 for the bill tryin to catch up on our payment left me Owen them 94 dollars so I told them that I couldn’t pay the rest of my bill until I get my check…after I paid them the 170 dollars to try and catch up on my bill they cut my TV and wifi off after 4 days I had payed them…..this is bullshit they need to refund my money or cut my stuff back Owen…people are get screwed by this company everyday my name is amber Grayson and they can cut my stuff back on for real
Dropped my direct TV a month ago! Lost channels and bill kept going up. Called and was offered nothing to stay. Rude customer service and horrible wait times switched to Dish got a $400 prepaid card and cut my bill in half for two year contract locked in rate.
I’ve only been with AT&T internet and Directv for about a month and a half, they were one of two providers in the area and the only one with an NFL package. Additional receivers cost $100 each, plus a monthly charge of $8.00 each. I tried to cancel after the first week and was told there would be a $400+ cancellation fee. Don’t even get me started about the intermittent internet service. This is my first and last time using AT&T.
I can’t say it loud enough how I’ve been deceived and lied to by the AT&T customer service dept. And the overseas and U.S. minions with their platitudes and programmed and scripted apologies are just plain insulting. I wish the FCC would do their job and start representing the U.S. citizens and the country by landing on all the TV providers…they are all ripping the public off big time. What’s wrong with buying programing on a station by station basis instead of being forced to purchase shit like info commercial channels, unwanted sports channels and foreign language programs.
Of course I know the answer…the FCC sold us and the country out to the television providers and liberal media years ago. AFFORDABLE ENTERTAINMENT RIP
Hate at&t. Directv wasbetter before they took over been customer for over 40 years.. now no customer service and when u get someone cannt talk English
I have been a Directv customer all but the first 2 years it has been around. Close to 30 years. Since AT&T purchased it there has been the worse service in the world. I keep getting notification letters telling me that I have to get new equipment to continue seeing my channels. The letters say it is free. I have called 3 times since these letters have started coming. It takes Forever to get someone to answer and they never understand what your call is regarding. You can tell them everything on the letter including the letter number and they can’t help you. The last call I made was about a week ago, the person, who I could barely understand, said she would research and call me back. Still waiting for the call. Going to research Dish. I need satellite for my camper. Another thing… I have my cell through AT&T, never had a problem with it or the website. Since AT&T has taken over I have a problem logging in to either website. It is like they have tried to merge them and it did not work So frustrating.
I work for AT&T and I’ve seen them raise prices ridiculously on Directv. Customers complain constantly about the horrendous customer service and ask if I can help them because they can understand me. And I’m a directv subscriber. I only have it because it’s only $10 for me and I get free nfl Sunday ticket. I almost cancelled it in the first two days because everyone is right- the customer service is disgusting. Also they don’t verify it’s the account holder calling. A member of my household who was NOT on my account, a teenage boy, set up a service call. I chewed them out! Miserable!
I just finished my 7-day free trial with Fubo, and will be cancelling DirecTV this week.
The DirecTV product itself isn’t bad, but their customer service is horrible – the worst I’ve ever experienced!
When I moved to Texas 4-1/2 years ago, it was pretty much my only option because my rental home couldn’t be wired for cable and the streaming services didn’t have the channels I wanted.
When I bought my house 2-1/2 years ago they assured me that I was just getting a “move” order and would not be locked into another contract.
But when I discovered a few weeks later that they’d put me into another 2-year contract, after almost an hour on hold, the customer service rep (who was extremely rude and barely spoke English) kept saying over and over, “I’m not saying you’re a liar, but we never told you that…”
After many calls and hours on the phone, nobody would remove the contract, so I decided to wait it out.
Then last week they removed several channels from their lineup – effective August 1st – without any notice, communication, or adjustment to my rate.
I’m done! I have Hulu, Netflix, Prime, and Fubo for less then DirecTV and I’m so happy to be washing my hands of them!
(Not to mention that after doing a horrible job of installing their big honkin’ dish in my back yard – ruining my grass and leaving the cable on top of my lawn – they now refuse to come remove it from my yard.)
Buh bye DirecTV!
They really have to go.. there are better options out there, a company that really cares for you and never disrespect you the way at&t has done it DirecTV has the worst customers service and now that is part of at&t I’m strongly considering changing my cable service I would not keep allowing them to continue with the abuse as they have done it for the past couple of years. if anyone knows about a good company, please share.
Been with att for more than 10 years still with them and direct tv but have to constantly threaten to cancel my service to get a decent deal for tv and phone service. If ur patient they will give you a great deal but YOU have to constantly bug them to get those deals
Directv was ok fo a while. I changed from Dish because they had jacked their price and directv guaranteed the price wouldn’t change for 2 years. Best I can remember the guys at Sam’s forgot to mention it was only a year if you didn’t have att. So they were nice when the year ended and gave us a good price. But after 2 years, they doubled the price to 160 a month and this time weren’t really willing to deal so we are back to DISH. For a 100. Not as good as directv was. Our retirement doesn’t just keep going up.
I’ve been a direct TV subscriber for over five years and always been relatively happy with the service until the last couple years. The “ Promotion“ we signed up for ended suddenly after 3 years and the price doubled and keeps going up. The customer service is outsourced offshore and I avoid calling them at all cost. I’ve been a AT&T wireless customer for 20 years and it seems they could careless. Recently, they removed my pronation of having a multi service discount. All customer service could tell me is that was no longer offered. I am too lazy to migrate to streaming only but as the price for basic Satellite TV is quickly approaching over $200 a month I think we are at the point of its time for something else.
I hate direct TV, the signals always go out even when it’s not raining. My bill suppose to be$109 a month but it keep going up even after I pay late fees, I just want my wifi they can have the direct TV service. Seriously, I hate it!!!
My Directv monthly rates have gone sky high for MUCH less channels. They’re also charging me $10 for something they call Regional Sports. I told them I don’t watch sports…EVER. But they said that’s a required charge. SERIOUSLY?! They’re just picking things out of nowhere to charge for.
As soon as my contract is over, I’m done with them…FOREVER.
Like everything else, they’ve gone crazy raising prices for less.
Ana,
If you lower your package to the “SELECT PACKAGE”
you will NOT pay the Regional Sports Fee.
It does NOT have any sports.
Has most of the NON sports channels.
As soon as my mother in law passes, DirecTV and At&t will be history. We only keep it for her because she has difficulty learning new systems. We purchased Roku and several other things to try and get her adapted to using it but no luck.
Loved DIRECTV, then Att got involved. Been downhill since. I should have know because I had their phone service and that sucked, too. Especially for the customers like me. I live on Canadian border of NY and they wanted to always charge me for roaming. Canceled them and will be canceling my tv service as well. Want to know how to ruin a business? Call Att bosses, they are best.
At&t ran DirecTV into the ground. Everything about it is not working.
Thanks, Direct, for once again helping an old retired couple, that has been a steady sub for almost 25 yrs.
Yes still a bit more pricey than Dish, but over those 25 yrs, hardly ever lost channels due to price wars
Yeah I don’t understand what DirecTV is doing within the last 4 days we have lost most of my favorite channels DirecTV isn’t giving any explanation except supposedly they were offered during this pandemic even though we’ve had them since the beginning and I am sick of it how can you have channels one day and then the next day you go to your fave channel for your favorite show and it’s gone and you didn’t downgrade
What Package did you have ?
Which Channels did loose ?
AT&T is the worst company I know of and they screw up everything they touch like DirecTV and GOTW3!!Do yourself a favor and run from anything that has their name on it!
Whoever at AT&T decided to buy Directv should be fired. Apparently they didn’t think to talk to any current or former Directv customers or they would have realized Directv would be the worst company to purchase ever (compare this to HP buying Compaq – the CEO got fired for that disaster). About a year after Directv came into being, their customer service started circling the drain. This last time when we tried them again, it was a fight from the beginning. We were supposed to be getting special pricing for being a AAA member. We didn’t get the special pricing and we talked to them for 3 months about it – lies were all we got. We had to get AAA involved to make Directv do the right thing, give us the equipment we ordered and our pricing discount. Every time the wind changed direction Directv raised their prices and added more charges for things we didn’t need or want. Every time I called them about another charge or more costs it turned into a screaming match. Finally our contract time was up but we stayed with them for a while longer. About 3 months later, I saw a RSN charge for $6.xx, called them to find out what it was and was told it was a Regional Sports Network charge because they wanted to recoup their costs! I told the woman that we didn’t watch sports, they could delete all our sports channels and it wouldn’t make a difference to us but we weren’t going to pay that charge. She said we had to and I said we didn’t and cancelled right then. That was 5 years ago and I’ve never regretted it one time. We get decent internet so we went to streaming. I HATE DIRECTV!
glad you get decent internet, and since you don’t watch sports, you were a fool to get any satellite service to begin with
I have had Direct, since 98 and have had great service till ATnT bought in… I do watch sports and streaming is still patchy depending on your area
since you left 5 yrs ago…. still grumpy???
Well, me hating Directv has nothing to do with being grumpy – and it doesn’t concern you to start with. I wasn’t a fool to go with something that gives me a dvr since I hate being forced to watch commercials (also, we’re very rural so tv choices were limited). It seems you’re having a bad day and wanting to start a fight with someone which means you’re alone – and its obvious why. You’re mad that I get decent internet (it only took 15 years for the phone company to install optics for it), you’re mad that I even had satellite to start with, you’re mad about a lot of things but being mad at me for nothing? Stop trolling people looking for fights and grow up!
I just saw an advertisement for Directv, stating BEST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION for 19 years.
NOT exactly a fact since AT&T took over !!!
State who is # 1 with facts! As bad as Direct has gotten, they still might be better than the rest
DirecTV suck soooo bad… prices constantly going up, but some channels are dopped without informing the customer! Why are the ESPN channels moving around between the (roughly) 200-220 Channels and then there’s that 1990ties remote – which is by FAR the shittiest design in form and functionality, I’ve ever had to use, since AT&T doesn’t care about updating the DirecTv equipment!!! As of Taday, I’m done, out and over with AT&T/DirecTV after 15 years… I’d wish for these companies to go “belly up” ASAP!!! I’m massively frustrated and pissed of at them and their cocky ass, stuck up – who do they think, they are “customer service” representatives!!!! Goodbye AT&T…👎👎👎
to each his own, good luck wherever you go. Ive been with Direct since late 90s and although like every other place prices go up and service fluctuates We have been treated extremely fairly. For my money Direct is head and shoulders above Dish and don’t even mention cable GAH!
Wife got suckered into a deal by a lady at Costco. We switched over everything – tv / internet/ and cell service. Since then , it has been an absolute nightmare. Just spent 67 minutes on the phone with a supervisor in Idaho ( Im in Fresno Calif) – at the end, nothing accomplished. I have to call back in the morning and schedule the 3rd tech to my house appointment. I could type hundreds of words on what has happened – hours on the phone etc. Just please, take my advice and do not do business with Direct TV – you will be as sorry as I am if you do.
I agree with everything you said! It’s a wonder I didn’t have a stroke or heart attack while I was on the phone with them trying to get them to listen to me!