Directv anything I need to know before signing up?

[sarah4770]

we have direct tv, no issues with service, but, i really do not like that they charge you so much to get out of a contract (ours is a 2 yr contract and i think the fee to cancel is around $400-500 which decreases by $20 each month you keep service). if you decide to go with it, be really careful about the package you select the first time, because if you change your mind and want a different package, the rates are higher than the ones quoted in the introductory offer.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I'm just down the road from you, OP, in northern Bergen County and have DirectTV... the weather related outages are AWFUL!! Snow, rain, even a few drops and the signal goes out. During the terrible storms this past winter there were actually several days in a row when we had nothing. We sat around listening to the radio to get updated information on closures, road problems, flooding, etc.

I originally switched from Cablevision because the prices kept going up and up with no change in service and DirectTV is the only provider that has NESN. But at this point I'm looking to switch again... in the fall I am planning to move to FIOS.

 

[ICF]

I have Direct TV, and have for the last 13 months or so. Had Dish prior to that....either are far superior to cable.

My input.....

- The AAA discount is $10 off / Mo for 24 months, after that it is supposed to go away.

- People that have lots of signal problems either have a) trees / line of sight problems or b) had a really poor install done. In my year 10+ years of having satellite service through one or the other I've lost signal only a handful of times and usually only for a few mins. We have some very heavy storms in the the midwest, so it's not as if we dont have weather issues.

- I've have the HD package with Direct and enjoyed it and the picture quality is very good. If you don't have HD, then you don't really care.

- They have very good customer service (at least in my interaction). Twice I have called up asking for a sports programming discount and in both cases received. With the MLB Extra Innings package (cost of $190 or so) they took $10 off / mo for 6 months bringing the cost down to $130. For the March Madness baseketball package (cost of $65 - $70) they actually gave me $5/off month for 3 months and then agreed to waive my $10 / mo HD fee for 6 months. This means that after 6 months, they actually paid me to take the package!!

- Yes your price will go up after the intro pricing....this is told to you up front and also is the same practice Dish does. You will have to live with them for 2 years (or pay cancel fees) but you'll at least have a cheap price for half of that time!

 

[DreadpiratK]

I am a satellite engineer by trade, and have worked for and with DirecTV and Dish since they both launched. I can't add much to what's been said except that the difference in experiences you see here is all related to the quality of the installation. When it's "FREE" you pretty much get what you pay for. My advice: Call someone local who answers their own phone, and has been in business for a while. Ask them if they do their own installations, and what their warranty is. Do not, under any circumstances call an 800 number to order your service, the installers who show up may not even speak English, much less know what they are doing.

Get someone local and reputable who will stand behind their work, and if you have to pay a little more, it's very worth it. It's really doesn't matter where in the country you live, a good installer should be able to get you very reliable service except in the very worst weather. If you lose your signal more than a few times a year for a few moments, it's not done right.

All full CONUS (continental United States) Satellites orbit around the equator, so that the further south in the country you live, the higher in the sky the birds will appear, so if you are in FL, your dish will point up, if you're up here in northern NY, it points almost at the horizon. As long as there is a clear line of sight though, it doesn't matter for signal reception or reliability. Clear means clear though, not partially obstructed by trees or anything else. Any blockage will cause problems.

If you can help it, don't get a satellite dish installed in the winter because spring leaves can eclipse your line of sight where bare branches won't. Most installer make nothing at all if they find there is no LOS (line of sight) so they have a strong incentive to do marginal installs that may only work until the leaves come out. By that time they are long gone and couldn't care less about your problems. Once again go with a local guy who will be there in the spring if you have problems, and will stand behind his work.

The biggest problem with the whole industry is that both companies went to this 'free' model, causing them to have to get the cheapest installers possible, and while it's not really that hard, there's more to it than they want to admit, and a 3 hour class does not a competent installer make. These days if you find someone who has been in the business for more than six months your doing well, and as with anything else, experience counts.

As to which is better, Direct or Dish, I can't say, it's really all about what programing you want. From a consumers point of view they are equally reliable if installed correctly. I work on the transmit side for both, and Technically they both have their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[floridascgirl]

We have had directv for several years now and we have been fairly frustrated. Our service goes out on rainy, cloudy and windy days...especially if I have a show coming on that I really want to watch.

We also had a service issue and they wanted to charge us an outrageous rate to come out. I said that the problem was on their end, so why would I need to pay them to fix their problem? It baffled me. In the end, my husband researched the problem, bought the necessary parts at Radio Shack, and went on the roof and fixed it himself.

We would switch if we could, but we live rural and our options are limited.

 

[hsmamato2]

in our area Dishnetwork is WAY cheaper than Dircttv- we switched a few years back and love the savings! just be aware that your contract will bind you so decide well before signing....... usually you pay for a box per tv,sometimes one box will work on 2 tv's depends on what they offer.

 

[luvsmickeymouse]

I love Directv. I have a great signal. Check for specials, I know if you do mypoints, sign up through them they offer lots of points for that. AAA has discounts also, I think.

The only issue I had with them was billing, but they finally got it right.
LOL!

 

[GreyGooseCosmo]

We had DirecTV for about four months. It was OK.

We upgraded to an HDTV and called. They would only send someone out to install the HD receiver and dish if we agreed to a new 2-year contract. I agreed, and confirmed that the old contract was cancelled. They said "yes, you need a new 2-year contract since it's a different dish and receiver."

Fine. Except they couldn't install the dish. There was no line of sight, and they tried three different times in several places, and it just wouldn't work. So we returned the receiver and that was that.

Until, of course, I started getting collections calls saying that I still owed on the original contract. Now, we have went round and round that the original contract was CANCELLED, but they still insist that I owe it. Um, how can I owe on something that was cancelled?

I'm STILL fighting with DirecTV about this, and it's been three years. I refuse to pay them $600 for terminating a contract that was cancelled by them. UGH!

 

[Cruise]

After our experience with DirecTv, I tell people I'd rather live in a cave with no television service at all than go back to them.

That being said, my only advice is keep all of your paperwork. Even if you've fulfilled your contract, even if you've done everything that you agreed to, they will more than likely try to get more money out of you in some way or another if you ever cancel your service.

Having all my paperwork and faxing them a copy of it (showing that the contract I signed said exactly what I'd told them it said) along with a nasty note threatening legal action was the only thing that got them to stop hounding us for money that we didn't owe them. This was after they sent our account to collections... again, let me emphasize, for money that we didn't owe them. Had our credit score actually been affected, I would have taken that legal action.

ETA: I see that GreyGooseCosmo was posting at the same time I was. Yet another example of them trying to bilk money out of people who have done everything according to the agreements.

 

[tommya60]

We were considering DirectTV when we were at the city carnival. There was a large DirectTV booth, lots of people watching the "big game". This was on a baseball field, no trees, etc. They lost signal at the demo booth about 4 times in the 15 minutes or so we were there. We did not switch.

I'd be very, very careful about the installation--and thanks to DreadpiratK for all the info. I'll keep it in mind if we every think about switching!

 

[jerseygirl81]

Thank you for all the great info, we plan on signing up for Directv since our choices up here are few. After living here 22 years with cable I hate to go into a contract but it looks like a better choice than the other small cable co in our area. I'm glad I now know about the expenses so I'm not caught off guard after signing a contract. I was thinking of signing up through AAA for the add'l $10/month discount for the first year but maybe I will forgo it to sign up with a local installer, thanks for that advice. Linda