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Can you negotiate with DirecTV? (2 Viewers)

I took them to the woodshed and abused them about a month ago and posted my advice and many have said it has worked for them too.

The trick is you must call and set a cancellation date about a week out (dont cancel for today or tomorrow, you dont want to be without TV) within days they will call and beg you to stay. No script needed, just sound certain you want to leave and there is nothing they can do to keep you.

I got my bill to $70 for the ultimate for an entire year, all premiums for 6 months and ST MAX plus a $200 Visa gift card. (I have been with them for 14 years between me and my wifes name) They messed that up though, so I called back saying I'm fed up and we are done, the covered last months bill in full and took $10 more bucks off this months bill to make it $60.

I even specifically said to them, "why do you want to keep me as a customer, you will go broke to keep me if I do not get what I was promised?" I do record every phone call on my end and had to utilize my recording to make them eat words once, many reasons why I was certain to leave until they virtually paid me and gave me my bill; for dirt to stay. One year not two, they are still bent over in the woodshed cleaning up as we speak.

 
listen up mofo.  i'm like yoda dealing with DTV and getting sunday ticket max for free, plus extras!    i haven't paid for sunday ticket max for 10+ years.  i kinda didn't give a #### about it this year and took the $60 off for a year, no ST, bringing my bill to a whopping $42/month.  then i got a bug in my ### and decided to play the game.  i set my cancel date for 8/22 for after the olympics, to give some credence to my cancellation and to buy myself a little time.  they called me 6 times in less than 18 hours after i set my cancel date up.  then some yahoo at DTV f'd up my cancellation.  i explained all this.  i reset my cancellation for 8/22.

then..........i decided to call the BIGDEAL # for the 2nd time today and they couldn't do squat without an actual cancellation,  so, i set it for tonight.  it just shut off.  i have the number and name of the dude i'm calling tomorrow morning to see what i'm going to get.  we shall see.  i'll be pissed, if i don't, at the very least, get what i had, back.  but the goal is STMAX and $200 GC with a bill in the $40-$60 range .  
Hope it works for you next time.  

It so bizarre that you guys are getting caught in this weird loop with the disconnect issues.  

 
I took them to the woodshed and abused them about a month ago and posted my advice and many have said it has worked for them too.

The trick is you must call and set a cancellation date about a week out (dont cancel for today or tomorrow, you dont want to be without TV) within days they will call and beg you to stay. No script needed, just sound certain you want to leave and there is nothing they can do to keep you.

I got my bill to $70 for the ultimate for an entire year, all premiums for 6 months and ST MAX plus a $200 Visa gift card. (I have been with them for 14 years between me and my wifes name) They messed that up though, so I called back saying I'm fed up and we are done, the covered last months bill in full and took $10 more bucks off this months bill to make it $60.

I even specifically said to them, "why do you want to keep me as a customer, you will go broke to keep me if I do not get what I was promised?" I do record every phone call on my end and had to utilize my recording to make them eat words once, many reasons why I was certain to leave until they virtually paid me and gave me my bill; for dirt to stay. One year not two, they are still bent over in the woodshed cleaning up as we speak.
"Sound certain" was the theme I wanted my friend to use yesterday and it worked. Stay focused on getting them to set up getting return boxes and keep telling them you are firmly switching to dish

 
called the BIGDEAL #.  easy peasy.  $47 off for 12 months, free STMAX.  i told them to keep the movie channels, they suck.  i did have to ask for the gift card.  no problem $200 gift card.

so to recap:  i was under a new contract as of june with $60 off.  jumped through some hoops and dealt with morons.  set cancel date for 8/22.  decided to cut to the chase and cancelled last night. service cut off around 1am.  called this morning, guy offered everything but the gift card.  asked for it, he said no problem.  so no tv for 10 hours, $1100 wind fall.

good luck all, especially noonan.

 
For those of you that don't want to go through the cancellation piece of everyone's recaps (which I fit into that category), here's what I did:

- Called main DirecTV number
- Asked to be transferred to customer retention
- Said I was looking to lower my bill; liked Sunday Ticket but not at full price
- Was offered $40 off per month for 12 months with no commitment; $45 off per month for 12 months with 1 yr commitment
- Couldn't do any discounts with Sunday Ticket (even put me on hold for about 15 minutes while supposedly talking to supervisor); got it for free last year which is why they said they couldn't do it this year

Decided to do the $45 off per month for 12 months and pay 6*$45 for Sunday ticket:  Net = $270 gain

So if you're uneasy about setting a cancellation date, worried about being without service, etc., at least give a call, say your bill is too high, and see what deals can be offered

 
For those of you that don't want to go through the cancellation piece of everyone's recaps (which I fit into that category), here's what I did:

- Called main DirecTV number
- Asked to be transferred to customer retention
- Said I was looking to lower my bill; liked Sunday Ticket but not at full price
- Was offered $40 off per month for 12 months with no commitment; $45 off per month for 12 months with 1 yr commitment
- Couldn't do any discounts with Sunday Ticket (even put me on hold for about 15 minutes while supposedly talking to supervisor); got it for free last year which is why they said they couldn't do it this year

Decided to do the $45 off per month for 12 months and pay 6*$45 for Sunday ticket:  Net = $270 gain

So if you're uneasy about setting a cancellation date, worried about being without service, etc., at least give a call, say your bill is too high, and see what deals can be offered
this is very easy to do and i recommend it for those not willing to go all the way through with cancellation.  and i had them done to $60 off/month.  however, going through the cancellation was just as easy

 
Okay I don't know where to start, this is not schtick.   I had called Dish to come out between 12-5 today because my efforts to get the big deal with Directv the past 3 days have failed.  I called one last time this morning and wouldn't you know it I spoke to a nice woman from Miami who said I qualified for the Big Deal!   Whoopee!  I verified the $47 off for 12 months, free Sunday Ticket Max, 3 months free movie channels,  and $200 gift card.  She gave me the address to redeem the gift card and a confirmation number.  She asked me to turn on the tv and I told her it wasn't working.   She said to press the red button to reset and wait for it to start up and that it should work.  In the meantime I told her that we needed 2 remote controls and she said no problem and would not to transfer me to another department.   She read the agreement and I agreed to a new 1 year commitment.   She then thanked me for sticking with Directv and transferred me to customer service. 

Once with customer service I saw my rebooted receiver still did not work and had an error code.  I told him and he had me unplug from wall and restart, still nothing.  After a bit, he transferred me to troubleshooting.   2 of our 4 receivers are working, 2 have error messages.   I went over several troubleshooting things with women and she could not get it working.   She finally asked a supervisor and found out the hd and dvr links had not been set up on my account.  She put those on and all 4 are now working.   I check the channels and realize movie channels are not on.  I tell her this and she says she has to transfer me to another department.   I am transfered back to the win back department and the rep tells me I don't have movie channels on my account, or Sunday Ticket,  or any of the big deal offers!  I tell her I have a confirmation number, she says that there is no button to push to put on the big deal.  What!?? $&**  I tell her the only reason I agreed to come back is the big deal and this needs to be honored.  She puts me on hold and comes back that an account manager will be listening to the original call and call me back in 48 hours.  

Meanwhile Dish has been calling me because I have been on the phone for over 2 hours and the Dish guy is ready to come to the house.  I ultimately pushed back installation on Dish to Tuesday until I can verify Directv will honor the big deal offer.  

TV is now working so wife and kids are happy, if Directv screws me over now you guys are all free to laugh at me.  What a cluster ****

 
Okay I don't know where to start, this is not schtick.   I had called Dish to come out between 12-5 today because my efforts to get the big deal with Directv the past 3 days have failed.  I called one last time this morning and wouldn't you know it I spoke to a nice woman from Miami who said I qualified for the Big Deal!   Whoopee!  I verified the $47 off for 12 months, free Sunday Ticket Max, 3 months free movie channels,  and $200 gift card.  She gave me the address to redeem the gift card and a confirmation number.  She asked me to turn on the tv and I told her it wasn't working.   She said to press the red button to reset and wait for it to start up and that it should work.  In the meantime I told her that we needed 2 remote controls and she said no problem and would not to transfer me to another department.   She read the agreement and I agreed to a new 1 year commitment.   She then thanked me for sticking with Directv and transferred me to customer service. 

Once with customer service I saw my rebooted receiver still did not work and had an error code.  I told him and he had me unplug from wall and restart, still nothing.  After a bit, he transferred me to troubleshooting.   2 of our 4 receivers are working, 2 have error messages.   I went over several troubleshooting things with women and she could not get it working.   She finally asked a supervisor and found out the hd and dvr links had not been set up on my account.  She put those on and all 4 are now working.   I check the channels and realize movie channels are not on.  I tell her this and she says she has to transfer me to another department.   I am transfered back to the win back department and the rep tells me I don't have movie channels on my account, or Sunday Ticket,  or any of the big deal offers!  I tell her I have a confirmation number, she says that there is no button to push to put on the big deal.  What!?? $&**  I tell her the only reason I agreed to come back is the big deal and this needs to be honored.  She puts me on hold and comes back that an account manager will be listening to the original call and call me back in 48 hours.  

Meanwhile Dish has been calling me because I have been on the phone for over 2 hours and the Dish guy is ready to come to the house.  I ultimately pushed back installation on Dish to Tuesday until I can verify Directv will honor the big deal offer.  

TV is now working so wife and kids are happy, if Directv screws me over now you guys are all free to laugh at me.  What a cluster ****




 
too much

 
How would you handle this? Signed up for the basic package years ago, no sports channels or movie channels, just the main stuff, ESPN, history, fx, TBS etccc.  We signed up at $65/mo.

I noticed the bill last month was $115/mo. Asked the wife how long we been paying this? She can't remember. 

2nd problem is we just finished an addition and the workers only ran one cable wire from the basement to the new space. My direct TV box has 2 cable connections for SAT 1 and SAT 2.

My goal would seem to be get them to refund all the money they've been stealing from me and have them hook up all new equipment. What do you think?  It would be easy to switch to Comcast 

 
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Tried again. Still stonewalled. One possible explanation, per the rep, is that I am calling one month earlier than last year. Last year's discounts may still be showing up and stalling a "win back" email.  No explanation nor solution as to how to clear that off my account. Totally stupid. Especially since I've been disconnected. Wtf.

A "supervisor" will supposedly call me back in 48 hours. Don't know if I can hold out that long. Dish or Comcast may be in my future. At least Noonan has made some headway - albeit delayed.

 
Tried again. Still stonewalled. One possible explanation, per the rep, is that I am calling one month earlier than last year. Last year's discounts may still be showing up and stalling a "win back" email.  No explanation nor solution as to how to clear that off my account. Totally stupid. Especially since I've been disconnected. Wtf.

A "supervisor" will supposedly call me back in 48 hours. Don't know if I can hold out that long. Dish or Comcast may be in my future. At least Noonan has made some headway - albeit delayed.
Try calling 866 284 2816.  That is who I called this morning and was finally offered the big deal

 
i found the intelligence level to be higher at this phone number 855-407-3110.  you MUST be pending cancellation or actually cancelled for them to be able to help you

 
i found the intelligence level to be higher at this phone number 855-407-3110.  you MUST be pending cancellation or actually cancelled for them to be able to help you
That's the number I used and got a great deal, but that's also the number I called for Noonan and was stonewalled.

 
Called last Saturday Morning (8/13) to cancel, and set it out to process on 8/31 (I didn't want to miss the 3rd week of pre-season games, just in case something went wrong).

Never got an email.  Never got a call.

Today (8/20) Called 855-407-3110, recommended in other posts including snogger's recap/script posted 8/18.

Immediately upon answering, he went to his script re: "thank you for calling us back - we've been trying to reach you." 

I responded that I had received a "Big Deal" email, and he went into his standard questions about my habits, what I watch, etc.  I mentioned that I felt the price was too high and I was looking at Dish.  After only about 5 minutes total on the phone, we got around to his response:  "Great news!  You're eligible for a package that we hope will be the 'Perfect Solution' to your needs."

* I kept my Extra! Programming, at a total bill of $81 for 12 months, with all the DVR/HD charges included.  This was previously $127, though I've also had HBO/SHO taking my total bill up to $158, so there's another $31 on HBO/SHO I'll be saving for a few months.

* Free ST Max for 2016.

* 3 Months of free Premium Channels.

* $200 Visa Gift Card in 6-8 weeks (he stated this was a "Customer Loyalty" bonus - but I had to ask about it, during his recap: "I think I saw something about a gift card in the email?")

* 12 month commitment (and I already have a calendar reminder set for 8/21 of next year to give it another whirl).

He wasn't pushy, and it went must faster than I expected.

Good luck!

 
I mentioned that I felt the price was too high and I was looking at Dish.  After only about 5 minutes total on the phone, we got around to his response:  "Great news!  You're eligible for a package that we hope will be the 'Perfect Solution' to your needs."
Again this works and I really think this is the huge flag that escalates things quickly.  

 
I've gone through the ringer trying to get the big deal this year. Been an absolute nightmare.

My credits were set to end at the of the month. Set the cancelation for the 31. Got the email. Called the 855 number and was offered nothing. Told to completely cancel. Still was offered nothing. Told that it might have been due to credits being on my account at the time of cancelation. They tried to put my account back to disconnecting on the 31st, but significantly messed it.

While trying to get things fixed, a rep even called my situation "ridiculous" yet had zero to offer. I think everything is back to being disconnected on the 31st. I've spent over 3 hours dealing with this nonsense and have nothing to show for it. 

 
I've gone through the ringer trying to get the big deal this year. Been an absolute nightmare.

My credits were set to end at the of the month. Set the cancelation for the 31. Got the email. Called the 855 number and was offered nothing. Told to completely cancel. Still was offered nothing. Told that it might have been due to credits being on my account at the time of cancelation. They tried to put my account back to disconnecting on the 31st, but significantly messed it.

While trying to get things fixed, a rep even called my situation "ridiculous" yet had zero to offer. I think everything is back to being disconnected on the 31st. I've spent over 3 hours dealing with this nonsense and have nothing to show for it. 
You got noonaned

 
I've gone through the ringer trying to get the big deal this year. Been an absolute nightmare.

My credits were set to end at the of the month. Set the cancelation for the 31. Got the email. Called the 855 number and was offered nothing. Told to completely cancel. Still was offered nothing. Told that it might have been due to credits being on my account at the time of cancelation. They tried to put my account back to disconnecting on the 31st, but significantly messed it.

While trying to get things fixed, a rep even called my situation "ridiculous" yet had zero to offer. I think everything is back to being disconnected on the 31st. I've spent over 3 hours dealing with this nonsense and have nothing to show for it. 
cancel immediately  don't wait till the 31st.

 
I've gone through the ringer trying to get the big deal this year. Been an absolute nightmare.

My credits were set to end at the of the month. Set the cancelation for the 31. Got the email. Called the 855 number and was offered nothing. Told to completely cancel. Still was offered nothing. Told that it might have been due to credits being on my account at the time of cancelation. They tried to put my account back to disconnecting on the 31st, but significantly messed it.

While trying to get things fixed, a rep even called my situation "ridiculous" yet had zero to offer. I think everything is back to being disconnected on the 31st. I've spent over 3 hours dealing with this nonsense and have nothing to show for it.
Seems others have had this issue also ( having credits still in effect) and is the reason I am waiting until 8/25...
On 8/24 I'll use the last of the credits I have.. So on 8/25 I'll be calling with "The Script" ... Time is almost here  :popcorn:

 
Each time you get Noonaned ask them for something. I got an extra $30 credit when I had to call back after my service didn't come on when they said. 

 
Each time you get Noonaned ask them for something. I got an extra $30 credit when I had to call back after my service didn't come on when they said. 
That seemed to work in that past all the time, but I didn't have any luck this time around. It seems like my account is basically blacklisted from any discount at the moment.

 
I reported this strategy months ago and glad its working, even if I'm the Rodney Dangerfield in this situation. I get no respect. lmfao
Take them to task folks.

 
I have my disconnect scheduled for tonight at Midnight. Will report back. 
Didnt receive any calls from them, so I called them today telling them I received the big deal email. They gave me the deal that everyone else has been getting. 

ST Max, $47 off for 12 months, Movie Channels free for 3 months (auto cancel), $200 visa gift card.

 
Didnt receive any calls from them, so I called them today telling them I received the big deal email. They gave me the deal that everyone else has been getting. 

ST Max, $47 off for 12 months, Movie Channels free for 3 months (auto cancel), $200 visa gift card.
Had you actually received the email? I'm contemplating fibbing on that like others have done, but am now worried that my account has been marked/blacklisted. 

 
Just called to cancel HBO for after next Sunday's episode of Night of.  Offered me 6 months of HBO at 10.99 a month, I said no thanks, just set the cancel please.  Lady then said she'd drop HBO to 7.99 a month for 6 months then add an extra $10 off my Sunday Ticket price, essentially giving me free HBO and lowering my bill again.

Almost feel bad posting about that with DN still getting the complete run around for no apparent reason...

 
Woman I was on the phone with just offered me a hummer if I'm ever in the ATL area.  That's on top of the gift card and the monthly discount, etc.  Seems like they're offering more rather than less if you know what buttons to push.  

 
Had you actually received the email? I'm contemplating fibbing on that like others have done, but am now worried that my account has been marked/blacklisted. 
No, i didnt received anything but the email saying my service was cancelled. 

 
I still haven't received a call back from a manager at Directv saying they reviewed the recorded phone call.  Shocker.  At least I have tv service in the mean time.  

I think the reason I got stonewalled was because I called in 3 or 4 months ago about movie channels and they gave me some deal, like 3 months free of starz/showtime and half off HBO Cinemax.  I think because I had active discounts going no new ones were available.

 
I still haven't received a call back from a manager at Directv saying they reviewed the recorded phone call.  Shocker.  At least I have tv service in the mean time.  

I think the reason I got stonewalled was because I called in 3 or 4 months ago about movie channels and they gave me some deal, like 3 months free of starz/showtime and half off HBO Cinemax.  I think because I had active discounts going no new ones were available.
I had the same thing, but it only affected my ability to get the free movie channels.  The rest was no problem.

 
I canceled yesterday.  They cut off service at midnight last night. Got the e-mail first thing this morning.  $40/mo credit, Sunday Ticket Max, $200 GC, 3 mos movie channels. 

She said they couldn't go more than $40/mo because last year when I did this they gave me a $10 credit for 24 mos, and I still have 10 mos left on that, effectively already giving me $50 in credits. 

My biggest takeaway from this whole thing every year is that I would hate to have the job these people have.

 
Now on the phone with SiriusXM, the guy is clearly not in this country, and I couldn't be :lmao:  more at this whole conversation.

Today I settle all family business.

 
I canceled yesterday.  They cut off service at midnight last night. Got the e-mail first thing this morning.  $40/mo credit, Sunday Ticket Max, $200 GC, 3 mos movie channels. 

She said they couldn't go more than $40/mo because last year when I did this they gave me a $10 credit for 24 mos, and I still have 10 mos left on that, effectively already giving me $50 in credits. 

My biggest takeaway from this whole thing every year is that I would hate to have the job these people have.
If I had to give hummers to all guys in the ATL area, I'd hate my job too.

 
Just finished mine, didn't need to cancel just call up and said I was thinking of it unless they could get me what my friend had gotten. Ended up $50 off a month, Free Sunday Ticket Max, Free HBO for 3 months and $10 DVR Credit for 12 months.  tried last week and got offered nothing but my ST renewal hadn't shown up yet, it came up Friday and now I had no issue.

 
Bob Sacamano said:
Now on the phone with SiriusXM, the guy is clearly not in this country, and I couldn't be :lmao:  more at this whole conversation.

Today I settle all family business.
We had a fraudulent charge on our credit card and had to cancel it.  Since I hadn't dealt with Sirius in the year since I last negotiated with them, I never thought about that card being the one on the account.  My 1 year with them auto-renewed, but the card on the account having been canceled, they've been trying to chase me down for money for a couple of months now.  I wasn't ducking them or anything.  It was just never top of mind when I had time, and every time they try calling is wildly inconvenient. 

So, I get this guy speaking broken English...

"Mr. Bob, you been a long time customer for us, why do you have a charges accruing on you account?"

*cc story*

"Oh, Mr. Bob, so if you had a problems with your credit card, I can charge this off for you if you didn't authorize it."

"No, I authorized it.  It's the auto-renew feature on the account."

"But if you didn't authorize it, I can take the charge off for youuuuuuu."

I can basically hear this guy winking through the phone.  He's killing me.

After listening to this guy abuse the language for the better part of 20 minutes and continuing to tell him I just wanted to cancel, he finally offered me the year-long discounted rate with a credit on top of that to offset what I already owe them.  Not because I didn't authorize the payment, but because I'm a long time customer and he was really sad to see me go.  The whole fixed cost, high volume customer business model is just so screwy.

 
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Bob Sacamano said:
Now on the phone with SiriusXM, the guy is clearly not in this country, and I couldn't be :lmao:  more at this whole conversation.

Today I settle all family business.




 
Are they screwing with existing customers?  I called and the best they would do was - NOTHING.  

Completely different from DTV - who ####s on their current customers to get "new" ones.  

But NOTHING? 

 
Are they screwing with existing customers?  I called and the best they would do was - NOTHING.  

Completely different from DTV - who ####s on their current customers to get "new" ones.  

But NOTHING? 
Your best bet with them is to cancel if you can live without for a while.  Eventually they will mail you an offer that's much better than anything you'll get on the phone with them.  Even if you just want a deal over the phone, tell them you want to cancel because it costs too much, they'll usually make a couple of offers to keep you, and if you stay persistent that it's too much and you just want to cancel, they'll transfer you to an account manager or whatever they call them.  At the point you tell that person you're canceling because it costs too much, they'll usually make a better offer to you.

Over the phone, the last two years I think I was at $72 for the year (usually ends up being 13 months).  He wouldn't come down from $99 today (12 months), and I was going to cancel.  But when he offered to credit the $30-something dollars I owed them on top of the annual rate, I took it. 

 
Your best bet with them is to cancel if you can live without for a while.  Eventually they will mail you an offer that's much better than anything you'll get on the phone with them.  Even if you just want a deal over the phone, tell them you want to cancel because it costs too much, they'll usually make a couple of offers to keep you, and if you stay persistent that it's too much and you just want to cancel, they'll transfer you to an account manager or whatever they call them.  At the point you tell that person you're canceling because it costs too much, they'll usually make a better offer to you.

Over the phone, the last two years I think I was at $72 for the year (usually ends up being 13 months).  He wouldn't come down from $99 today (12 months), and I was going to cancel.  But when he offered to credit the $30-something dollars I owed them on top of the annual rate, I took it. 




 
I am a brand new customer.  I got the one-month trial (the rep couldn't see that, I asked - weird) and wanted to sign up.  

 
Are they screwing with existing customers?  I called and the best they would do was - NOTHING.  

Completely different from DTV - who ####s on their current customers to get "new" ones.  

But NOTHING? 
I've been playing the game with Sirius for the past 3 years.. Just renewed a month ago.. told them I was canceling due to cost.. First offer was junk.. said no thanks.. Next offer still was junk said no thanks.. Last offer was $5/month for 5 months :hifive: .. Set a calendar reminder for myself to call back in 5 months to play the game again.

 
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I've been playing the game with Sirius for the past 3 years.. Just renewed a month ago.. told them I was canceling due to cost.. First offer was junk.. said no thanks.. Next offer still was junk said no thanks.. Last offer was $5/month :hifive:




 
Mine was $20/mo - when I could have gotten $16/mo for just the internet streaming (full retail) that I told them I wanted.  ####ers. 

 

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