It’s awful to tell but it’s true that I am seeing more and more DirecTV complaints filed online.

Unprofessional customer supports, hidden charges on installations, suspension on various sports programming, and billing mistakes – some DirecTV users are getting loads of trouble with their satellite TV deals.

Dimitriy’s case: Free DirecTV installation’s not free

A recent post by Alex Jarvis at Consumerist.com revealed one of these nightmare stories with DirecTV. Dimitriy, an ex-DirecTV customer, claims that he was charged extra fees for a ‘free DirecTV installation’. What’s worse – his phone call to customer supports was hung up!

Quoting in his full words at Consumerists, here’s what happened:

DirecTV complaint by Dimitriy

After purchasing HDTV this Black Friday, I have been looking for a good TV service and frankly there is no company with deals such as DirecTV’s. As much as I look, I can’t find another company that would offer over 40 HD channels, plus 5 Russian channels for under $100. So, of course, when I saw the current promotions you’re running, I jumped on the it and signed up momentarily. During online sign up process I was promised “No equipment to buy or startup costs” and “Professional installation included — free”, however when installers arrived, they wanted me to pay additional fees of at least $250.

They explained that additional equipment is required for installation on our apartment building roof (“flat roof”) and that DirecTV was not going to cover it. So I canceled that order and went on to try to find another deal with another company. Well, as I wrote earlier, there are no other companies that offer any deals even remotely similar to DirectTV’s, so I signed up again and decided to call customer service and explain my situation. When I called, I was met with a wall of misunderstanding. I was told that the “Professional installation included — free” was really just a standard installation, and that there were, possibly, many more charges I’ll have to pay in order to get my service installed and whenever I asked the representative to transfer me to their supervisor, they simply hung up on me.

Sure enough, the blog post sparks heated discussion. More than 63 comments had been added since the post was published, revealing more dissatisfying experience with DirecTV. There are, nevertheless, some who defend for the satellite TV company and one of the best I read would be the one by Kevin:

Comment by Kevin

I don’t want to but I feel like I have to somewhat side with DirecTV on this one. There is standard installation and there is extra installation. Working within the confines of a single-family home is pretty standard. Working within the expansive space of an apartment building is more involved.
If you live on the north side of a mountain and the only way to get direcTV signal is to route a line all the way to the top of the mountain and then erect a 40′ pole to get your dish above the treeline would you expect that to be included too?

Sometimes your life just isn’t standard. Unfortunately thats why fine-print exists. At least they didn’t hold you to the contract you committed to.

Sorry, I’m “that guy” today.

Bottom line: Pick the right satellite TV retailer

Well, it’s true that sometimes Americans just like to complain too much but for this case, I believe Dimitriy has his point to be frustrated.

A free installation should be a *free installation*. Don’t get ripped of by unethical retailers “clever” wordplay and fine-print-mining on the part of the CSR. Clever until they hung up on our tipster. Satellite TV shoppers, Dish Network or DirecTV, should always make sure you get what you are paying.

For DirecTV, I suggest my readers to order directly from the officials; and for Dish Network, AllSat is the one I trusted the most. In case online purchase is not for you, call 1-800-680-8671.