Hello Everybody , Here is my story with directv, Be away from this company.
Read and share please
Read and share please
I
own and operate DeliShez Café, located at 318 Blanchard Street in Seattle, WA. Direct TV is my satellite provider and my business
account number is 25317024. Prior to using
Direct TV, I used to have a commercial Comcast account for which I paid only $99
per month. I retired from the café business and passed management of my 600 SQf
café to my friend. Some time in April
2011, I received a call from my friend/café manager; Direct TV was offering him
what appeared to be a fantastic deal at the time (a $20 saving). I told him that if he really thought it was a
good deal to take advantage of it. He
then went on to sign me up for Direct TV’s services. Unfortunately, in the long run, we ended up
not saving a dime.
My friend left DeliShez Café in May
2012, and I began managing it again. I decided
to keep Direct TV’s services as well as the services from other companies that
he had signed contracts for under DeliShez’s name (i.e.: myself). In June 2012, I got in touch with Direct TV in
order to upgrade my package to include ESPN--I specifically told the representative
that I spoke with that I was planning to show the EuroCup games at my business and
this was the main reason I wanted to upgrade (a voice recording of this
conversation may exist). My package was
then upgraded and my new monthly payment went up $127 dollars per month--- an exorbitant
amount when compared to what I used to pay Comcast.
On August 7th 2012, I
received a letter by mail from Lonstein Law Office PC in New York asking me to
contact them immediately. I got in touch with Lonstein Law and the legal
assistant whom I spoke with told me in a rude tone that as per evidence supplied
to them by DirectTV, I had unauthorized reception of DirectTV programming AND had
committed unauthorized commercial display of such programming since my business
had a residential contract, not a commercial one. (Attention: This is the first time I hear
that my account is residential!) I told her
that there must be some sort of error, and when prompted me for my DirectTV business
account, I explained to her that I did not know it, since all payments from
DeliShez to DirectTV are automated, therefore I had no hard copies of the monthly
statements showing the account number; furthermore, since the account is linked
to MY FRIEND’S/FORMER CAFÉ MANAGER’S BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT, not mine, I was not
able to access anything online. After
struggling to get assistance from unhelpful representatives at DirectTV who
transferred me from department to department, I was finally able to get my account
details; it was indeed a residential account.
Lonstein Law Office told me I had two options: the first option was to
cancel DirectTV and pay a $10, 000 fee (a big price to pay for a mistake that
was not mine), the second option was to stay in business with DirectTV for the
price of $7,500 (This is NOT a joke).
My point here is that we are all
adults and we have to take accountability for our actions. If I had maliciously signed up for a
residential contract knowing full well that my coffee shop is a business, NOT a
private residence, then I would be guilty of whatever DirectTV is accusing me
of, no questions asked. However, we must
not pass judgment before considering the following: Who opened the account in
the first place? Who installed the
service? If the retailer opened a
residential account for DeliShez knowing it is not residential, why did he not
advice us against doing it or refuse to do it at all? Why when I called and I said I wanted to show
EuroCup games in my business and needed to add ESPN to my package , why did the
DirectTV representative advice me that my business was signed under a
residential contract, and made it unlawful for me to show any games in my
property? Another thing to consider is
that I never signed any contract with DirectTV.
The cable service change was made while I was away from the Deli and the
person who installed it did so without caring about that important fact. ( I
have a proof that my friend manage the business under his own business licence.
My own stupidity amazes me sometimes;
I should have never trusted anyone to take important business decisions on my
behalf. I still have my old Comcast receipts
showing the better deal I had with them, if I had stayed in business with them
I would not only have saved money but also spared myself from many sleepless
nights and headaches. If anyone cares to
offer me help in solving this matter, please help me. I am being incessantly harassed by this law
office in New York. They call me at my café,
send me faxes, mail me letters, and email me as well. They are trying to intimidate me and I cannot
handle this anymore, I am very stressed out. This is the worst experience ever; I am a
small business owner trying to make an honest living, this is not a sports bar,
we do not serve alcohol, my café has a seating capacity for 10 people, I work
very hard to make a living and keep it afloat and if I were to sell my café my café
to pay this money-hungry company who could not warn me about my account’s
status at the time of upgrading my package, I will certainly go broke because I
will probably not even be able to get $7,000 for it.
