TV Service VS Subscriber Rant

At the moment, I seem to be caught up in a battle with Direct TV.  There was a time when I had no problem with Direct TV. I got good service, and I was only unhappy about paying for something I wasn’t using that much. Then they merged with AT&T, and nothing seemed to work right after they started streaming TV.

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I kept the service, because I had a friend who visited sometimes for a couple of weeks, and she was someone who kept the TV on at her own house all day. My large smart TV was in my den where she could watch it, but I only went in the den to work on the computer. I like to keep the TV on in my bedroom at night. Since I live alone, the sound and light made me feel less isolated and made it easier for me to fall asleep. The problem was the signal in my bedroom was constantly going off and on. I called the station many times to report the problem.

They told me they would send someone out for a price, but I didn’t want them to come because I didn’t want to wait at home all day for them to show up. Plus, I’d rather not have people know I live alone in a secluded area.

Finally, I gave up trying to watch the one program that I occasionally listened to. My friend, who had often visited, died and with no visitors, I decided I was tired of paying $128 per month for something I wasn’t using.

In April, I paid my bill and told Direct TV I wanted the service disconnected. The lady informed me since I had paid in advance, they would disconnect my TV until the time I’d paid for expired. I remember her saying if you get another bill, ignore it. I disconnected all of their equipment from my TVs. A lady from Direct TV called me in May and tried to talk me into keeping the service, but I told her I wasn’t interested.

Although I was no longer using the service, they didn’t disconnect it until June. Then I received a bill again informing me I was delinquent. I called the company and told them my story. They looked up my account and claimed I hadn't asked to be disconnected until May, and I owed them for May.

Since I don’t have a verbal recording of the April conversation, I can’t prove I didn’t use the TV after April. I told them I didn’t intend to pay the bill, but they continued sending bills and are calling me leaving messages that I owe for May. I feel someone at Direct TV screwed up, and I shouldn’t be responsible for the bill.

I hooked a Roku stick to my TV and now I have over 200 channels streaming for free. I regret having paid hundreds of dollars to Direct TV for something that wasn’t worth having.

They may try to ruin my credit rating which is in the 800s at the moment, and it can’t get much better, but it isn’t that important to me, because I pay all my bills in full when they come due, and I don’t ever plan to borrow any money. I’m tired of being harassed by them and am stubborn enough not to give in to their demands.

Now, I feel better.