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Can you negotiate with DirecTV? (5 Viewers)

McGarnicle said:
They sent me a bill for $375. Charged $200 for my free Genie. :mellow:

This should be interesting.
Click to expand...
The extra $200 was for a DVR that stopped working last month that they wanted me to send back. They never told me they wanted it back, nor sent any instructions on how to do so. They are going to send me a "recovery kit" that includes a box and shipping label, and once they receive the package they will credit the $200.

Outraged, I said I'd like to cancel my service as this is yet another example of their ineptitude and is really just the last straw this time. I get transferred to Retention. Explain the situation, the guy says I have every possible promotion/discount they could give me at this time. :lmao:

 
Made the annual call:

ST MAX $148

$50 one time credit

$15/mo 12 mos

$10/mo free HD for 12 mos

$5/mo HBO credit for 6 mos

Free SHO 3 mos

Free Starz 6 mos

She wouldn't do any less for the ST max or give any more credits to offset.

I'm not under contract & good customer for 9 yrs or so.

 
This thread should really get pinned this time each year...

Got an even better deal this year than last:

  • $585 in statement credits over next 12 months
  • Free Sunday Ticket
  • Showtime free for 6 months
  • Starz free for 4 months
  • No new commitment
Coupled with the "free" Sunday Ticket Max upgrade through the Amazon Madden deal, that's something like $1,000 for 15 minutes of my time!

 
Called Directv...

Got free Genie and mini receiver (although I think I could have got this anyway)

$360 in credits over 12 months.

Paid 147 for Sunday ticket max.

Not the best deal but I was still under contract so I am still getting paid to watch Sunday ticket so that works for me.

 
bagger said:
Called Directv...

Got free Genie and mini receiver (although I think I could have got this anyway)

$360 in credits over 12 months.

Paid 147 for Sunday ticket max.

Not the best deal but I was still under contract so I am still getting paid to watch Sunday ticket so that works for me.
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I'm assuming a technician will have to install your genie? If so, call back in a few days and make up something about what a fiasco it was and you want to cancel. They may give you an additional discount.
 
the bill has arrived.......time to make the call :cry: i'm kinda over it, but will do it, because i must. i've called every year, for as long as i can remember.

 
Yesterday we had storms roll through and we lost satellite for about 10 minutes during the PGA Championship. Outraged, I called Directv to cancel my service. They called my bluff and said okay, sorry to see you go. :(

 
McGarnicle said:
Yesterday we had storms roll through and we lost satellite for about 10 minutes during the PGA Championship. Outraged, I called Directv to cancel my service. They called my bluff and said okay, sorry to see you go. :(
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Haven't you called multiple times in the last couple of weeks? lol...

 
Davej626 said:
McGarnicle said:
Yesterday we had storms roll through and we lost satellite for about 10 minutes during the PGA Championship. Outraged, I called Directv to cancel my service. They called my bluff and said okay, sorry to see you go. :(
Click to expand...
Haven't you called multiple times in the last couple of weeks? lol...
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It's a running joke with my wife. They're sending us a turkey for Thanksgiving etc. But yeah, I think the well has run dry for a while.

 
DA RAIDERS said:
the bill has arrived.......time to make the call :cry: i'm kinda over it, but will do it, because i must. i've called every year, for as long as i can remember.
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easy as always.

free ST with RZ and $30 off for 12 months. don't care for movie channels and didn't ask for the genie on this call.

simply asked for retention with the first person. they asked why, i said it costs too much. immediate transfer. robert was really nice, i merely mentioned hulu and roku. he gave me the $30/12 mo right away and offered free RZ no ticket. i asked for both. he put me on hold for a couple minutes, came back with ST and RZ. i had to agree to a 1 year extension. perfect! as my contract expires every year in august. :devil:

fyi: he did mention that he can't do anything for people who have late payments.

 
Any one have experience with negotiations when you are still in contract with them? Any flexibility there or are all the postings with people that we out of contract?

 
Johnny Bing said:
Any one have experience with negotiations when you are still in contract with them? Any flexibility there or are all the postings with people that we out of contract?
Click to expand...
As long as you are always on time with your payments then they will give you all sorts of stuff.

 
Johnny Bing said:
Any one have experience with negotiations when you are still in contract with them? Any flexibility there or are all the postings with people that we out of contract?
Click to expand...
I was a couple months away from my end of contract when I called last week. Had to extend another year but got free ST, RZ, and $30 off per month for 12 months.Last year I was a year into a 2 year contract, got ST for $99 and $180 in credits.

 
Johnny Bing said:
Any one have experience with negotiations when you are still in contract with them? Any flexibility there or are all the postings with people that we out of contract?
Click to expand...
I had a year left on mine. I called and said "Cancel" got moved over to customer retention. Started asking how much to get out of contract and just told them why (too expensive & only want redzone).

 
derek245583 said:
Johnny Bing said:
Any one have experience with negotiations when you are still in contract with them? Any flexibility there or are all the postings with people that we out of contract?
Click to expand...
As long as you are always on time with your payments then they will give you all sorts of stuff.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is what they told me as well.

They use two factors when determining discounts.

1) on time bill payment

2) how long you have been with direct tv

I typically have at least a year left on contract when I call. Then never mention that I am on one. Most times they do reset the 2 year clock though.

 
only once was i out of contract. it didn't provide me with very much more leverage. they pretty much give you whatever you want anyway.

 
As always, DTV was ready to deal. I was under contract till this December, been a subscriber since 2002 and pay about $90 per month with no movie channels. I got the renew fee for ST on my latest bill so it was time for the annual call.

Called the first time and said "Cancel service" at the automated prompt. Talked to Gwen for a while and gave her the sob story about costs being too high, etc. Got nowhere with her - she offered $5 off for 6 months and said she could cancel the ST for me. Said no thanks and hung up.

Thought about it for an hour and realized my mistake was assuming that the first person I talked was in the retention department.

Called back and when I got to the first live person I requested to talk to the retention department so I could cancel my service. They immediately transferred me to Cindy in retention who was awesome. I repeated my story about how the costs were just too high, how I already had Netflix and my wife wanted to get HuluPlus and drop DTV altogether. She gave me the soft sell about Netflix/Hulu not having current movies & news channels and I said it really came down to the cost. She said she saw I was going to be charged for ST and would it help if that cost was lowered. I said it was really the base cost that was the issue. She then started throwing out monthly discounts and (on her own) said she could get me ST for free. I asked it that included RedZone and she said she could do that for me too. I then admitted that the NFL package was great for me but it would really close the deal with my wife if she could get Showtime. Cindy laughed and said no problem.

So for a 10 minute call:

- $20 off for 12 months

- $10 off for 6 months

- ST and Redzone for free

- Showtime for 4 months

I had to sign up for a one year agreement but it starts today (rather than being tacked on to when my contract was supposed to expire in December). Well worth it.

Good luck to everyone!

 
:shrug: Got free Ticket and Red zone plus $15 off /month. 1 year extension.

Not great, but not bad either.

My CR rep was laughing, we both knew the song and dance.....I wonder if this annual negotiation is fun for them?

 
mquinnjr said:
:hijacked:

Sorry, but I had to post this here.

http://www.directv.com/premiums/dogtv?om_rid=ADg9XB&om_mid=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&om_u=ADg9XB&om_i=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&cmp=emc-rescus-cus-self-en-dashboardactive

I'm not sure if it's more ridiculous that 1) there's a dedicated channel with 24/7 programming geared towards dogs; 2) that it's a Premium that costs $4.99/month; 3) Not even broadcast in HD.

Pretty sure if you asked for this as a throw-in, you could get a concession. :oldunsure:

Free preview through 8/14!!!
Click to expand...
I just found out about this today. Turned it on quick, and low and behold, my dogs couldn't give 2 ####s about the channel. I can't imagine who will pay for this channel for the life of me. I have it on for about 3 minutes now, and it sucks..... Maybe because i am not a dog, but it certainly seems like they think it sucks too.

I'm hoping the energy one's are a little better, so I am DVR'ing afternoon stimulation and morning stimulation.

 
Good or Bad? Ask for more?

called today was offered

Genie and 2 mini's

Free Sunday Ticket

35 dollars off bill for 12 months.

Call back and ask for more or is this a good deal?

 
Abraham said:
SHIZNITTTT said:
Good or Bad? Ask for more?

called today was offered

Genie and 2 mini's

Free Sunday Ticket

35 dollars off bill for 12 months.

Call back and ask for more or is this a good deal?
Click to expand...
Ticket max should be an easy ask from what they offered.
Click to expand...
I think I got the max I could get.

credit of 20 dollars a month for 12 months

credit of 15 dollars a month for 15 months

HD credit of 10 dollars a month for 12 months

FREE NFL Sunday Ticket price ???

450 off my bill for a year

 
$20 / 12

$15 / 15

Free HBO / 12

ST and RZ for free

Genie and 2 minis for free

Brittany yelled "Noooo" when I first said I wanted to cancel. Caught me off guard for a second but then we hit it off and BS'd about HBO shows for 3 or 4 minutes after that. I love DTV customer service!

 
modogg said:
mquinnjr said:
:hijacked:

Sorry, but I had to post this here.

http://www.directv.com/premiums/dogtv?om_rid=ADg9XB&om_mid=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&om_u=ADg9XB&om_i=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&cmp=emc-rescus-cus-self-en-dashboardactive

I'm not sure if it's more ridiculous that 1) there's a dedicated channel with 24/7 programming geared towards dogs; 2) that it's a Premium that costs $4.99/month; 3) Not even broadcast in HD.

Pretty sure if you asked for this as a throw-in, you could get a concession. :oldunsure:

Free preview through 8/14!!!
Click to expand...
I just found out about this today. Turned it on quick, and low and behold, my dogs couldn't give 2 ####s about the channel. I can't imagine who will pay for this channel for the life of me. I have it on for about 3 minutes now, and it sucks..... Maybe because i am not a dog, but it certainly seems like they think it sucks too.

I'm hoping the energy one's are a little better, so I am DVR'ing afternoon stimulation and morning stimulation.
Click to expand...
My dog is only interested in the TV if a dog is barking. Her ears perk up and she cocks her head to one side. Other than that, can't see her getting into this. I thought a read somewhere that their eyes can't process images on TV anyway.
 
McGarnicle said:
modogg said:
mquinnjr said:
:hijacked:

Sorry, but I had to post this here.

http://www.directv.com/premiums/dogtv?om_rid=ADg9XB&om_mid=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&om_u=ADg9XB&om_i=_BR$uTuB80Qff$6&cmp=emc-rescus-cus-self-en-dashboardactive

I'm not sure if it's more ridiculous that 1) there's a dedicated channel with 24/7 programming geared towards dogs; 2) that it's a Premium that costs $4.99/month; 3) Not even broadcast in HD.

Pretty sure if you asked for this as a throw-in, you could get a concession. :oldunsure:

Free preview through 8/14!!!
Click to expand...
I just found out about this today. Turned it on quick, and low and behold, my dogs couldn't give 2 ####s about the channel. I can't imagine who will pay for this channel for the life of me. I have it on for about 3 minutes now, and it sucks..... Maybe because i am not a dog, but it certainly seems like they think it sucks too.

I'm hoping the energy one's are a little better, so I am DVR'ing afternoon stimulation and morning stimulation.
Click to expand...
My dog is only interested in the TV if a dog is barking. Her ears perk up and she cocks her head to one side. Other than that, can't see her getting into this. I thought a read somewhere that their eyes can't process images on TV anyway.
Click to expand...
http://www.break.com/index/pug-enthralled-by-homeward-bound-ending-2499235

 
So I had an interesting attempt to get some freebies from DirecTV last night. I wanted to confirm what I found with others...I call every year around this time and do this, so I'm not new to it, but this is the first time I didn't get what I wanted.

Last year I got $20 off for 12 months, and free Sunday Ticket. I called last night, and the guy re-upped my $20 off, but the best he could do was Sunday Ticket Max for $100. If I wanted the Genie, I had to sign a new 2 year deal. We were very cordial, and he said that I could try and call back in a few weeks and they might be able to give the Sunday Ticket for free, but his experience was that it was very rare that you could get it for free two years in a row.

Not being able to get it for free two years in a row doesn't seem to align necessarily with what others have said. Can anyone confirm that they've gotten Sunday Ticket (Max or regular, don't care) multiple years in a row for free?

I'll add that I'm on a pretty basic package. I don't get any of the movie channels. I think our bill is usually under $50/mos...So that may limit my leverage there.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Fat Nick said:
So I had an interesting attempt to get some freebies from DirecTV last night. I wanted to confirm what I found with others...I call every year around this time and do this, so I'm not new to it, but this is the first time I didn't get what I wanted.

Last year I got $20 off for 12 months, and free Sunday Ticket. I called last night, and the guy re-upped my $20 off, but the best he could do was Sunday Ticket Max for $100. If I wanted the Genie, I had to sign a new 2 year deal. We were very cordial, and he said that I could try and call back in a few weeks and they might be able to give the Sunday Ticket for free, but his experience was that it was very rare that you could get it for free two years in a row.

Not being able to get it for free two years in a row doesn't seem to align necessarily with what others have said. Can anyone confirm that they've gotten Sunday Ticket (Max or regular, don't care) multiple years in a row for free?

I'll add that I'm on a pretty basic package. I don't get any of the movie channels. I think our bill is usually under $50/mos...So that may limit my leverage there.
Click to expand...
I got it for free the last 2 years...the year before that I couldn't even get a discount on my bill while others were getting ticket for free and all kinds of savings.

 
This is my 3rd year with ST free. My 2 year contract was up in June, I switched to Time Warner, was terribly disappointed and switched back to DirecTV in July and qualified for the ST Free again.

 
Yea, I haven't paid for ST for two or three years now. You have to be able to cancel if they call your bluff. If you call to just try and get your bill down, they will give you the low hanging fruit (10 off per month for example). If you call to really cancel, then they will sweeten the pot...

My deal was:

45 off per month via different discounts

ST + RZ free for a one year commitment..

 
Davej626 said:
Yea, I haven't paid for ST for two or three years now. You have to be able to cancel if they call your bluff. If you call to just try and get your bill down, they will give you the low hanging fruit (10 off per month for example). If you call to really cancel, then they will sweeten the pot...

My deal was:

45 off per month via different discounts

ST + RZ free for a one year commitment..
Click to expand...
I found out I called on the 18th of August last year, and got the ST for a 1 year re-up. That should mean that I'm out of contract on the 18th. Maybe I'll call on the 19th and see if I can negotiate then. They claim that their system comes up with the offers that they can give, so maybe that'll be some sort of trigger.

 
With DirecTV since July 2010; had 2 year contract that ran out in July 2012, no contracts since. Called yesterday, asked to speak with customer retention (asked if I was calling to cancel service - said that was a possibility). Told customer retention was shopping around for the best deal, money is the bottom line, not afraid to switch providers, Sunday Ticket was coming up for renewal and not sure if I could afford it this year, etc. Received the following:

Free Sunday Ticket Max

Free DVR service ($10/month credit for 12 months)

One time $50 credit

Inquired about eligible upgrades - was told could get Genie for no charge and no additional monthly fee (by signing up for a 2 year contract)

Agreed to the contract - threw in free movie channels for 2 months

 
i have gotten the ticket for free 8/9 of the last 10 years. one or two of those years i had to pay 1/2 price but the cost was off set by other discounts.

basic cable package, no movie channels.

you must be on time with your payments.

you can only have 3 active discounts at any one time.

 
For new subscribers, is there any better deal than the $19.99/month (good for two years, I think) + $15/month HD charge?

 
Lots of good information in this topic! I just got this offer as a new user:

Additional TV $0.00 CHOICE $64.99 HBO STARZ SHOWTIME & CINEMAX $47.00 Advanced Receiver $25.00 Additional TV - 3 Clients $18.00 NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX 2013 $0.00 Save $5 for 12 Months -$5.00 24 Mo Credit w/AutoPay + eBill -$10.00 12 Mo Instant Rebate -$30.00 3 Months Free HBO/STZ/SHO/MAX -$47.00 ESTIMATED FIRST BILL* $62.99 So, I guess I'll sign up in time for football season unless anybody has a suggestion for having them sweeten their offer...

BTW, I'm not impressed with their customer service or sign-up process at this point. They forced me to give my SSN and choose an installation date before they would even give me a final quote and e-mail confirmation!

 
ComfortablyNumb said:
Lots of good information in this topic! I just got this offer as a new user:

Additional TV $0.00 CHOICE $64.99 HBO STARZ SHOWTIME & CINEMAX $47.00 Advanced Receiver $25.00 Additional TV - 3 Clients $18.00 NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX 2013 $0.00 Save $5 for 12 Months -$5.00 24 Mo Credit w/AutoPay + eBill -$10.00 12 Mo Instant Rebate -$30.00 3 Months Free HBO/STZ/SHO/MAX -$47.00 ESTIMATED FIRST BILL* $62.99 So, I guess I'll sign up in time for football season unless anybody has a suggestion for having them sweeten their offer...

BTW, I'm not impressed with their customer service or sign-up process at this point. They forced me to give my SSN and choose an installation date before they would even give me a final quote and e-mail confirmation!
Click to expand...
That is unacceptable. You should call and threaten to cancel.

 
Just called and got $31.50/mo for 12 months and another $15.00/mo. for the first 6 months. I asked for Sunday Ticket but they wouldn't budge. I had it free last year and it wasn't on auto-renewal so taht ended up biting me in the ###. I did manage to get the red zone channel for free though, which he said was "sometimes" available on its own.

So basically $468 in credits and RZC for free for a 15 minute call. Not great ... but good enough.

 
DA RAIDERS said:
i have gotten the ticket for free 8/9 of the last 10 years. one or two of those years i had to pay 1/2 price but the cost was off set by other discounts.

basic cable package, no movie channels.

you must be on time with your payments.

you can only have 3 active discounts at any one time.
Click to expand...
I have more than that

 
ComfortablyNumb said:
Lots of good information in this topic! I just got this offer as a new user:

Additional TV $0.00 CHOICE $64.99 HBO STARZ SHOWTIME & CINEMAX $47.00 Advanced Receiver $25.00 Additional TV - 3 Clients $18.00 NFL SUNDAY TICKET MAX 2013 $0.00 Save $5 for 12 Months -$5.00 24 Mo Credit w/AutoPay + eBill -$10.00 12 Mo Instant Rebate -$30.00 3 Months Free HBO/STZ/SHO/MAX -$47.00 ESTIMATED FIRST BILL* $62.99 So, I guess I'll sign up in time for football season unless anybody has a suggestion for having them sweeten their offer...

BTW, I'm not impressed with their customer service or sign-up process at this point. They forced me to give my SSN and choose an installation date before they would even give me a final quote and e-mail confirmation!
Click to expand...
If you bundle with phone and internet, you can get another $15 off your bill ea. month. I have everything you have and my bill is down to $46/mo.

 
lumpy19 said:
DA RAIDERS said:
i have gotten the ticket for free 8/9 of the last 10 years. one or two of those years i had to pay 1/2 price but the cost was off set by other discounts.

basic cable package, no movie channels.

you must be on time with your payments.

you can only have 3 active discounts at any one time.
Click to expand...
I have more than that
Click to expand...
SeaDogStat said:
lumpy19 said:
DA RAIDERS said:
i have gotten the ticket for free 8/9 of the last 10 years. one or two of those years i had to pay 1/2 price but the cost was off set by other discounts.

basic cable package, no movie channels.

you must be on time with your payments.

you can only have 3 active discounts at any one time.
Click to expand...
I have more than that
Click to expand...
I currently have 5...
Click to expand...
what are they? i believe it applies to straight up $X/month. not things like free showtime.

 
Also I have forgotten to pay my bill on time a couple times from being on vacation or whatever (for some reason i still havent set my directv to auto pay) and I still got all my discounts and my standard NFL Ticket+. It really is customer dependent. I called a couple weeks ago because of this thread as I hadn't gotten the genie yet, and they sent it right out.

I am also sure I have more than three discounts running right now. It looks like I have 5.

 
I just made the call. For some reason, I got some really rude individual at the first tier of service. I had to hang up and try again. The nice person I talked to put me straight through to customer retention. I got Mike, who was very nice. He sent a report on the nasty person to his supervisor.

My bill before ST was $63. (We don't have any movie packages. Not enough spare time.) Mike restored out $20 and $10 dollar a month credits and gave us ST and Red Zone for free. Whoo hoo! After all that, my bill is still $63.

(And we have four credits plus ST for free.)

 
I have scoured the internet to no avail on my question, so forgive me if this is obvious before I call DTV.

I have a 1 TV setup right now with the Genie Whole-Room DVR. I have a second TV that I want a second Genie Client (Mini) for so that I can watch the Ticket on 2 TV's on Sundays. Is the Genie Mini client (for the second TV) wireless, in that it doesn't require coax to the base DVR, or is it wired-only solution to the original box even if in a second room? And I could care less about on demand/DVR connectivity on the Mini, just want live TV for Sundays.

Sorry, I don't feel like getting the DTV sales pitch on the phone if this is wired, which won't work for me. Thanks in advance, guys.

 
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