Jun 25, 2009 9:13 pm US/Pacific
Call Kurtis: Channel Charge Challenge
DirecTV Charges For Service She Says She Didn't Order
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
An Amador County couple says a satellite company slipped some pricey channels into her TV package. When they wouldn't refund her money, it was time to call Kurtis.
"Totally, totally unfair," is how Sheri Moore describes the situation with DirecTV.
When she and her husband moved into a new home in Ione over the summer, she says they signed up for DirecTV's basic service. Sheri says they offered her several months for free. She says when the bills showed up each month, they showed she owed nothing.
"Why did you think you didn't owe anything," Kurtis asked. "Because they told me the first four months, everything was free," Sheri Answered.
After that fourth month, she realized DirecTV had been charging her each month, deducting the money straight from the credit card they requested when she signed up. She says she never asked for autopay. Not only was she charged for service, DirecTV charged her a total of $244 for an NFL package she says she never ordered, and never watched.
She says when she called to complain, DirecTV insisted she ordered it, then hung up on her.
"I was furious. I paced back and forth in the kitchen and called, and said I'm going to cancel and go back to dish. She said well if you're going to cancel Ms. Moore, I'm going to charge you $360," Sheri said.
That charge was for an early termination fee. She followed through on her threat, firing DirecTV and switching to Dish Network.
DirecTV sent her to collections saying she owed $527.81.
"I will gladly pay them the service charge for the stations we requested; nothing beyond that".
DirecTV initially told us the Moore's signed up for the package and autopay, but after we requested documentation to prove it, they sent us a statement.
"After a thorough review of the account, we believe this was an honest misunderstanding between the customer and DirecTV".
They agreed to waive the fees and credit the remaining charges.
"Listen, listen to your customers when they're giving you an order," Sheri said.
You have to be careful with autopay. It may be convenient to have the money automatically taken from your account. If you aren't checking your bill, you could be getting charged for something you didn't want.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments