Direct TV/AT&T...

garysanfran · 02-04-2018, 03:15 PM

I had Metrocast in NH and was not happy. Direct TV/ AT&T convinced me to switch to them in San Fran from Comcast, try it out and go to Direct TV in the spring in NH.

I cancelled Metrocast in NH and replaced Comcast in SF with Direct TV and switched cell service from Verizon to AT&T.

Cell service with AT&T lasted until my first bill. Twice what I was told by Direct TV as part of their "bundled package" ($19/month more than what I was paying with Verizon). When I called AT&T to complain, they asked me to send them a copy of the agreement. They did not have access to Direct TV's records...They own Direct TV. I told them I had 35 e-mails with bits-and-pieces of info and I was not going to go through them all finding what THEY needed. I had no single "agreement". I cancelled AT&T and went back to Verizon.

Direct TV...I am not happy with them and switching over was a huge mistake. They misrepresented the service, quality, channel availability. The internet is terrible. I can't use Firefox. IE crashes frequently and chrome is kind of limited. Trying to "watch TV anywhere" is a joke. Trying to watch TV on my cell or laptop is a most frustrating experience. I am getting to know the tech support people at AT&T well. I was on the phone with a very nice tech lady from outside Bakersfield on Friday. We got to know each other well in the hour we spent on the phone. And although she couldn't fix my problem, she was quite pleasant. I spent the rest of the day fixing the problem myself...AT&T changed the format on my home page with their advertising crap.

Dealing with AT&T reminds me of the old utility company before the "Divestiture" in the 80's. I really don't think they ever got rid of the old wood. Must be kind of like a petrified forest over there.

Probably go back to Metro in NH in the spring. Direct TV is going to charge me $20 per remaining months of my 24 month contract to cancel. Money, I am seriously thinking would be well spent getting rid of AT&T...When I think of AT&T, I think of Western Bell, party lines, rotary dial telephones you rented and couldn't own, one phone company monopoly...Ma Bell.

Descant · 02-04-2018, 04:12 PM

At home, I have Comcast for Internet, TV and phone (landlines). We added two landlines a couple of years ago because the bundling price, and no long distance charges saved about $75/month compared to VZ. Verizon for the cell phones. Now we're leaving Verizon because the data charges are too high. Comcast tells me I can add a cell phone for free because I have
"x" services. How long will that last?
At camp, we signed up for Direct TV. Also had Fairpoint DSL. I wanted it for when I was there alone, and I had watched all the DVD VHF 4-5 times. The rest of the family says no TV when we're here. It turns out the box hasn't even been connected for two seasons. Why pay for that? I think I'm at the end of my contract (it takes awhile when you only pay a few months a year) and we'll just go with whatever internet we can get from Fairpoint which seems to work OK and maybe a ROKU for entertainment. Will that work?
Not so long ago, a guest at our Rotary Club was raising $$ to buy computers for schools in his home village in India. The question was asked about wires and cables so they could connect to the internet. "Not a problem. We don't use cables."
I think a lot of the world is like that, and the US is on the wrong side of the tech curve in that regard. Is that true?
Sorry to be long winded.

radar4401 · 02-05-2018, 09:08 AM

I have been with Directv for close to 30 years and have been very satisfied with their service. I've always been treated with fairness and never got ripped off. Did you try to call Directv with your complaint? I don't like AT&T as I don't get service at my home. Usually Directv stands by whatever they tell you. If AT&T won't honor the deal, you should at least give Directv a try. Also, ask to talk to a supervisor. No reason to pay for service that you don't get.

joey2665 · 02-05-2018, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by radar4401

I have been with Directv for close to 30 years and have been very satisfied with their service. I've always been treated with fairness and never got ripped off. Did you try to call Directv with your complaint? I don't like AT&T as I don't get service at my home. Usually Directv stands by whatever they tell you. If AT&T won't honor the deal, you should at least give Directv a try. Also, ask to talk to a supervisor. No reason to pay for service that you don't get.

I am with "radar" I have had Directv in both my homes and a rental property plus AT & T for cell since 1999 and have had nothing but great experiences with them. If I ever had a technical issue it was resolved asap and if there is a billing issue (like with most companies) you need to get to a supervisor

garysanfran · 02-05-2018, 11:02 AM

After signing up through Direct TV I had to go to the AT&T store in Concord to have them replace my phone's chip. When I got there they had no way of pulling up my Direct TV order, so they set me up with a "new account"...i.e. no "bundled deal"...a stand-alone account.

When I got my first bill, I called, complained, spoke to a "supervisor" and was told there is no "bundled deal"...Huh?

Now, this morning, I've lost my connection twice. Had to re-boot twice. Yesterday, I gave up trying to watch the Superbowl on my laptop and had to turn on my TV. Frequently I get a glitch when the screen freezes and then repeats itself with the last two seconds of broadcast. I wonder if I can still get one of those rented rotary dial phones? The average age of an AT&T employee must be well over 100 by now.

Biggd · 02-05-2018, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garysanfran

After signing up through Direct TV I had to go to the AT&T store in Concord to have them replace my phone's chip. When I got there they had no way of pulling up my Direct TV order, so they set me up with a "new account"...i.e. no "bundled deal"...a stand-alone account.

When I got my first bill, I called, complained, spoke to a "supervisor" and was told there is no "bundled deal"...Huh?

Now, this morning, I've lost my connection twice. Had to re-boot twice. Yesterday, I gave up trying to watch the Superbowl on my laptop and had to turn on my TV. Frequently I get a glitch when the screen freezes and then repeats itself with the last two seconds of broadcast. I wonder if I can still get one of those rented rotary dial phones? The average age of an AT&T employee must be well over 100 by now.

All these cable and internet companies are the same. As long as everything is going good there's no issue but as soon as there's a problem you have to spend hours on the phone trying to get it fixed. I think they do it purposely so you just give up and stop bothering them because they got your money and your signature on the contract already.

Flylady · 02-05-2018, 01:50 PM

Gary, as in your case I also am west coast/ east coast customer. I had two separate accounts with spectrum as a result of mergers. I disconnected my NH seasonal account last fall after a very bad experience with Spetrum. Figured I would look into other options during the winter. One option is I can stream Spectrum via ruku to my NH property with only getting internet. The problem with that option is I would be getting my west coast program line up and no local channels. So not really a good option.
Yesterday while watching LII You Tube advertised "you Tube TV". I checked it out last night and they provide this through major cities. Boston is on the list. So I am looking into if I can pick up the Boston You Tube in the Lakes Region. If so that may be a more affordable option. $35.00 a month. No contract. If anyone has first hand experience with this I would love to hear how it is working.

garysanfran · 02-05-2018, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flylady

Gary, as in your case I also am west coast/ east coast customer. I had two separate accounts with spectrum as a result of mergers. I disconnected my NH seasonal account last fall after a very bad experience with Spetrum. Figured I would look into other options during the winter. One option is I can stream Spectrum via ruku to my NH property with only getting internet. The problem with that option is I would be getting my west coast program line up and no local channels. So not really a good option.
Yesterday while watching LII You Tube advertised "you Tube TV". I checked it out last night and they provide this through major cities. Boston is on the list. So I am looking into if I can pick up the Boston You Tube in the Lakes Region. If so that may be a more affordable option. $35.00 a month. No contract. If anyone has first hand experience with this I would love to hear how it is working.

Another problem with the west coast feed is the 3 hr. time difference. If somehow it would allow sporting events 3 hrs. earlier, that would be great!!! I'll look into the youtube TV thing...Thanks again!

noreast · 02-05-2018, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggd

All these cable and internet companies are the same. As long as everything is going good there's no issue but as soon as there's a problem you have to spend hours on the phone trying to get it fixed. I think they do it purposely so you just give up and stop bothering them because they got your money and your signature on the contract already.

You got it! It's been there M O forever, going back to Adelphia with me, they would purposely leave you on hold and/or "transfer" you and you get disconnected. call back and do it all over again, A disgruntled ex Comcast employee verified that would do it all the time when they were over whelmed with complaints. Free market but with no competition?

02-04-2018, 03:15 PM	#1
garysanfran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Francisco/Meredith Posts: 1,563 Thanks: 660 Thanked 670 Times in 344 Posts	Direct TV/AT&T... I had Metrocast in NH and was not happy. Direct TV/ AT&T convinced me to switch to them in San Fran from Comcast, try it out and go to Direct TV in the spring in NH. I cancelled Metrocast in NH and replaced Comcast in SF with Direct TV and switched cell service from Verizon to AT&T. Cell service with AT&T lasted until my first bill. Twice what I was told by Direct TV as part of their "bundled package" ($19/month more than what I was paying with Verizon). When I called AT&T to complain, they asked me to send them a copy of the agreement. They did not have access to Direct TV's records...They own Direct TV. I told them I had 35 e-mails with bits-and-pieces of info and I was not going to go through them all finding what THEY needed. I had no single "agreement". I cancelled AT&T and went back to Verizon. Direct TV...I am not happy with them and switching over was a huge mistake. They misrepresented the service, quality, channel availability. The internet is terrible. I can't use Firefox. IE crashes frequently and chrome is kind of limited. Trying to "watch TV anywhere" is a joke. Trying to watch TV on my cell or laptop is a most frustrating experience. I am getting to know the tech support people at AT&T well. I was on the phone with a very nice tech lady from outside Bakersfield on Friday. We got to know each other well in the hour we spent on the phone. And although she couldn't fix my problem, she was quite pleasant. I spent the rest of the day fixing the problem myself...AT&T changed the format on my home page with their advertising crap. Dealing with AT&T reminds me of the old utility company before the "Divestiture" in the 80's. I really don't think they ever got rid of the old wood. Must be kind of like a petrified forest over there. Probably go back to Metro in NH in the spring. Direct TV is going to charge me $20 per remaining months of my 24 month contract to cancel. Money, I am seriously thinking would be well spent getting rid of AT&T...When I think of AT&T, I think of Western Bell, party lines, rotary dial telephones you rented and couldn't own, one phone company monopoly...Ma Bell. __________________ Gary ~~~~_/) ~~~ ~~~~~~~~

02-04-2018, 04:12 PM	#2
Descant Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Merrimack and Welch Island Posts: 4,341 Thanks: 1,339 Thanked 1,621 Times in 1,053 Posts	from a non-tech guy At home, I have Comcast for Internet, TV and phone (landlines). We added two landlines a couple of years ago because the bundling price, and no long distance charges saved about $75/month compared to VZ. Verizon for the cell phones. Now we're leaving Verizon because the data charges are too high. Comcast tells me I can add a cell phone for free because I have "x" services. How long will that last? At camp, we signed up for Direct TV. Also had Fairpoint DSL. I wanted it for when I was there alone, and I had watched all the DVD VHF 4-5 times. The rest of the family says no TV when we're here. It turns out the box hasn't even been connected for two seasons. Why pay for that? I think I'm at the end of my contract (it takes awhile when you only pay a few months a year) and we'll just go with whatever internet we can get from Fairpoint which seems to work OK and maybe a ROKU for entertainment. Will that work? Not so long ago, a guest at our Rotary Club was raising $$ to buy computers for schools in his home village in India. The question was asked about wires and cables so they could connect to the internet. "Not a problem. We don't use cables." I think a lot of the world is like that, and the US is on the wrong side of the tech curve in that regard. Is that true? Sorry to be long winded.

02-05-2018, 09:08 AM	#3
radar4401 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 58 Thanks: 2 Thanked 10 Times in 5 Posts	Directv/AT&T I have been with Directv for close to 30 years and have been very satisfied with their service. I've always been treated with fairness and never got ripped off. Did you try to call Directv with your complaint? I don't like AT&T as I don't get service at my home. Usually Directv stands by whatever they tell you. If AT&T won't honor the deal, you should at least give Directv a try. Also, ask to talk to a supervisor. No reason to pay for service that you don't get.

02-05-2018, 11:02 AM	#5
garysanfran Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: San Francisco/Meredith Posts: 1,563 Thanks: 660 Thanked 670 Times in 344 Posts	AT&T in Concord... After signing up through Direct TV I had to go to the AT&T store in Concord to have them replace my phone's chip. When I got there they had no way of pulling up my Direct TV order, so they set me up with a "new account"...i.e. no "bundled deal"...a stand-alone account. When I got my first bill, I called, complained, spoke to a "supervisor" and was told there is no "bundled deal"...Huh? Now, this morning, I've lost my connection twice. Had to re-boot twice. Yesterday, I gave up trying to watch the Superbowl on my laptop and had to turn on my TV. Frequently I get a glitch when the screen freezes and then repeats itself with the last two seconds of broadcast. I wonder if I can still get one of those rented rotary dial phones? The average age of an AT&T employee must be well over 100 by now. __________________ Gary ~~~~_/) ~~~ ~~~~~~~~

02-05-2018, 01:50 PM	#7
Flylady Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: So. California & Lakes Region Posts: 256 Thanks: 225 Thanked 106 Times in 61 Posts	Looking at Options.... Gary, as in your case I also am west coast/ east coast customer. I had two separate accounts with spectrum as a result of mergers. I disconnected my NH seasonal account last fall after a very bad experience with Spetrum. Figured I would look into other options during the winter. One option is I can stream Spectrum via ruku to my NH property with only getting internet. The problem with that option is I would be getting my west coast program line up and no local channels. So not really a good option. Yesterday while watching LII You Tube advertised "you Tube TV". I checked it out last night and they provide this through major cities. Boston is on the list. So I am looking into if I can pick up the Boston You Tube in the Lakes Region. If so that may be a more affordable option. $35.00 a month. No contract. If anyone has first hand experience with this I would love to hear how it is working.