Jennifer Steinberg "Direct TV Class Action"

In Santa Monica, California, consumers have filed a complaint with the Los Angeles Superior Court requesting that the courts stop DIRECTV from pulling early cancellation penalty fees out of bank accounts or charging them to credit cards without the consumer's knowledge.

Fees up of to $480 are being withdrawn from customer accounts without their permission, the injunction claims. Consumer accounts have been overdrawn by the action, while others have experienced bounced checks and over the limit fees. As a result, credit reports may have been harmed. The injunction hopes to stop the withdrawal of funds from current and previous DIRECTV customers until a court can determine if the action is lawful.

The company charges an early cancellation penalty for customers who terminate their agreements before the term commitment period has been met. This period is typically 18 to 24 months. The charge applies to anyone who cancels service during this period of time, no matter what the cancellation reason is. Harvey Rosenfield who is the founder of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog and Litigation Director Pamela Pressley are heading the case on behalf of consumers. They claim that customers have no notice of the early cancellation penalty prior to their accounts being charged.

Jennifer Steinberg, another attorney working the case calls the actions of the company "unauthorized seizure of people's money" and claims the company has refused to stop collecting fees like this.

Scott Drake talks with Milstein, Adeleman and Kreger's Jennifer Steinberg.

Comments

[Brigitte]

I've been having a terrible time with Direct TV. We got the service the end of summer in 2009. I signed up for the $24.99 for a year. I wanted to pay additionally, full preice for the NFL package, CS said they had a deal on that, I said I wanted the $24.99 deal and I was sure I couldn't have both, and he said yes you can! I said wow, ok then. In Jan the NFL season was over and I got a bill for over $100 per month, I called and they said there is no way they would ever give me two deals at once, that's ridiculous, I said I asked and was told yes. They said, sorry you misunderstood (I'm not foolish, I understood...it's bait and switch!) so we'll give you Showtime for 6 months free, I felt bad, but I had a 2 year contract, what were my options, I agreed. Three months later my Showtime was turned off, I called and spoke to Angie told her I had no Showtime, she said, sorry how about $2.99 for Showtime and Starz free, what options did I have, I said ok. I also told them that my DVR isn't recording properly and the remote isn't very good. She said I can have a service person come and fix it, I said fine, make it a Saturday. She said that will be $200.00. I said no, and argued about it being their equipment, etc. she said for $54.99 I can have a serve contract and the techical difficulties will be handled. I said no. She said or I can send you a new DVR, I said, whatever, she said that will be $200.00 I said no, she said I can credit that amount if you sign for another 2 years I said absolutely NOT, and told her I have had enough of theis, it reminds me of the Mafia, goodbye. Ten minutes later I got an email saying the DVR had been orderd and charges to my card!!!! They charged my card even after I said NO. I called back talked to Liz and canceled the order and even got a cancellation number. Two days later I got a fedex delivery of a DVR from Direct TV. I called and spoke to the president's office in El Segundo, CA. Shane said that he can't be sure that I didn't ok the DVR box, and that if it was not opened I can have Fed ex pick it up. I suspect there is another catch to this, I am sure somehow I will now have a 4 year contract because of this. These people scare me, I am loosing sleep over what they might do next. They all have access to my credit card info, my debit card info and I can not be sure that they will not use it again. I want to get away from them, get out of the contract with them, but I am stuck. They certainly are not a regular business where you work out issues, this seems more like I would imagine doing business with a loan shark. This is not the kind of business we are used to in the US. It's so dishonest. I would advise anyone wanting TV to stay far away from these people. I have complained to BBB (there are over 100,000 complaints against them and they score and "F") and with the California Attorney General's office and will look further into what else can be done to stop these people. I would like to be part of any lawsuit. I am documenting everything. I wish I would have googled Direct TV fraud BEFORE I signed up.

[coachbranch22@yahoo.com]

I would like to join any class action against them. My issue is over the rebate they offer for 29.99 a month to get the rebate you go to the site and it says your rebate is easy as 1 2 3 then you hit summit for your rebate. You think your done and the grace period passes and your still billed the regular fee. So I called and they said I did not finish the process there was a step 2?? so now they are billing me the regular fee.
Shane said there is nothing they can do about it since I did not follow step two.
Please share any advise or actions I can join.

[charles dual]

i signed up to direct tv and from day one had trouble with them price didnt match what they offered rebates didnt show up so it didnt go through told them i wasnt happy but didnt matter to them so i canceled and they took 487.60 out of my bank account so i filed charges against them and also filed with better buisness and they turned it into a collection service now i get 4 to 5 calls a day. is there anything i can do to get my name on your law suit

[Paul W.]

I am in Florida, and Direct TV has pulled the same Mafia Style scams here, especially on seniors. I signed a contract for $34.99 per month for 12 months, but within (4) months my bill was $129.95, no extra services. I continued paying the $34.99 per the contract, but; four months later they arbitrarily cancelled my service without notice, therefore; by law they broke the contract and I have no obligation to them. I have filed with every Federal and State agency, and the AG now has the case, but; the $546.55 that they stole from my credit card that was not authorised was refunded by my bank after their criminal department decided that DTV had committed Bank Fraud, and Credfit Card Fraud. I have joined a Class Action Law suit as advised by the FBI. There are many class action law suits on the Internet, you can join one of them.

[Bella]

When a customer´s commitment ends with Directv the customer can still keep the service if he wishes to do so for as long as he wants and also he can cancel services at any time while he is no longer under a comitment with only a disconnect fee of $15.00 USDLS and what ever prorated amount that he used the service within his bill cycle date. Many do not know this and what Directv is doing at the present time is calling their customers before their commitment ends and let`s them know their commitment is about to end. They do not tell the customer he can still keep the service without a commitment and rush him to get into another 24 month commitment and lure the customer by saying he will get a special price. All he gets is a regular discount on his bill and programming package that any existing customer would get just by calling in and say he is not satisfied with the service. By the time the customer gets a click in his head of what is going on too late he is already into a commitment again and yes he can cancel the services if he did not like it but he has to pay $480.00USD. And this is an every day practice this really got my anger when I received the call from the customer asking me to fix the bill. There was nothing I could do but to sen him to an area to work a better deal for him which I doubt they did. We are told by our supervisors: "He is already under a contract, let´s help him when the contract is about to end to keep him from quiting not in the mean time". This is only one story that really got my adrenaline going fast thorugh my veins. This last phrase was not told to me with this customer, but is an every day statement that you hear whenever a customer calls asking for help and he is still under a commitment.

[Paul B]

I want information on a current law suit against Direct TV in Los Angeles California. They took money said it would be refunded 3 times. Guess what now they say that they were national shipping charges. So I want to sue their national officers. Any information out there? I have had enough of these bad business practices.

[wayne withrow]

I would like to join an action against them,they also charged me when I cancelled I missed shows because of poor reception and to be announced was on every channel.

[TONY]

I AM MAD, REALLY MAD WITH DIRECT TV,. i SIGNED FOR THEIR SERVICE ON THE PHONE AND I WAS LIED TO, THERE WAS O FULL DISCLOSURE OF ALL THE THINGS THEY ARE CLAIMING WAS IN THE AGREEMENT. oNE OF THEM BEING THAT THEY CAN GET MONEY FROM MY ACCOUNT, THEY TOO MY 180 DOLLARS. i ALSO RECENTLY MOVED TO AN APARTMENT, THEY PUT THE DISH ON MY BALCONY AND NOW i CANNOT USE IT SINCE THERE ARE BLOCKS, AND OF COURSE ALL THE METAL AND HAVE 1.5 AND 4 YEAR OLD KIDS WHO CAN CLIMB ON ANYTHING. i WANT TO CANCEL BUT THEY STILL SAY THAT I HAVE TO PAY EARLY CANCELLATION

[carey]

i too have been fighting direct tv over the rebate i never was given credit for. they even lied about when my rebate form was entered . i entered it BEFORE installation, as per their instructions, and was never credited for it. they have since cancelled my service and TRIED to bill my credit card $470 cancellation fee...i disputed the bill with my credit card company, and they have honored my claim...but, direct tv is still trying to shake me down for the $470.

i would LOVE to be part of a class action suit against them...i don't care about getting anything from them, i would just like to see them fined an ungodly ammout, and, have to repay all the people they have screwed,

[Amanda Jones]

Direct TV debited my bank account for my monthly bill that was only 5 days past due! Called customer service numerous times and was disconnected, put on hold for 30 minutes and given the run a round while trying to get a manger on the line. I have never signed up for automatic payments and the charge through my bank was an electronic transaction of a check, I never sent a check! I asked Direct tV to produce a copy of this said "check" but they are unable to do so.

[PSV]

I would love to joing action against DT. I became unemployed, to reduce cost I tried to change from Comcast to Direct TV due to an advertised special. $29.99. Signed up via phone was told that would cost 39.99 total included applicable taxes. Also included reduced cost for internet service with ATT. First bill came in at $83 and Att reduced cost not applicable due to service level I signed up for. I called DT to fix but they offered no solution, I asked to cancel and give refund since they did not live up to their end of the bargain. Direct tv told me that they would have to charge me a 480 $ cancelation fee. After 3 more calls Direct tv operator told me that the bill would be reduced to $42 and I hesitantly agreed. Next bill came in at $52 at which time I called and cancelled and paid what I owed in services rendered. I then called comcast whom I had asked to stop my service temporarily to start up with them at under $20 per month for only local channels. I would like to join any class action suit going on or begin one if possible in Florida as I\'m pretty sure I am not the only one that has gone through this type of situation with Direct TV. They came out and told me that they would have to charge a work fee since the Direct Tv installer had cut all of the comcast wires, (which do not belong to Direct Tv) and used Comcasts\' installation to install Direct TV instead of doing the job themselves. At this point I could not financially afford any of it and was forced to have no service and no TV in my home. Direct TV and its collectors continue to call me about 5 to 6 times per day with recorded messages to force me to pay the 480 $ and are threatening legal action.

[Shelly Lockkey]

Help me, I want to be a part of this!

[Candice C]

I just signed up for the service on 3/1 at 2:00pm. I was rushed to sign the work order and equipment contract at the time of installation and was not given a chance to read over the contract before signing. I asked the Directv tech (who actually work for Directv) told me that I have 48 hours to cancel without having to pay a termination fee. There is no where on the equipment agreement and work order indicates that I have a certain amt of time to cancel the service without having to pay a fee. I signed up for the $34.99 2 yr contract, thinking that I would probably pay no more than $45 a month for the service. The bill came out to $52.05. After all the issues (didn't state on here) I had, I decided to cancel the service at 8:38am on 3/3. The rep. transferred me to the retention center, rep. was going to cancel the service for me, she then tried really hard to retain me. At some point, I was transferred the the manager. The manager then told me that I have only 24 hours to cancel the service without getting charge $480. He was rude and noted on my account to tell the others that I only have 24 hours to cancel and not to let me close the account. I have called back several times spoke to a number of service rep.; they all told me that I have 30 days to cancel without having to pay the termination fee. At this point, I am forced to keep their service for 2 years. In addition, who knows how much they will charge me after the first year.

I would love to join the action lawsuit against Directv. Feel free to contact me for additional information.

[Trevor Davis]

I noticed a rise in my bill and called about it ... Direct TV had added a Protection Plan that I never wanted or asked for. He said that it must have been on the paper work that I signed when they installed the Boxes. So they caught me in a trap and I was ok to pay the $5.99 ... but then when you go to get out of the trap, they charge you an additional $10.00 to get out of the protection plan? Is there something I can do? I have filed a complaint with the BBB, but as you can see if you go to the BBB, Direct TV has the worst rating you can get.
Please Advise

[Renee horton]

I had Direct tv for 8 years I recently moved in june 2010 and had my service moved in august 2010 i had to disconnect service due to job layoff in october I called to have my service restarted to my surprise when I asked how much it was going to cost to reconnect they said nothing we can start service right now no charge so I did .Later that day I went to the store to purcase some household items and my card was declined to my surprise justbeing paid that morning via direct deposit on my prepaid debit card so I called my cardcompany only to be told that Dtv had taken $596.00 from my card and they couldnt do anything so i contacted dtv and argued with them for days and never accomplished anything they credited my account that covered november and december and i shut it off after that and they nailed me again for 408.00 everyting that was available gone aand they say I owe them 12 hundred dollars for early disconnect I never signed anything for the last 8 years and when we moved the only person available was my handicapped mom and my children ages 6- 9- 16 so did they have one of them sign it ?? Direct tv =crooks

[Pansy Britton]

I was not inormed by DIRECTV that they would be withdrawing early termination fee of $279.00 from my checking account .

[Geneva C00k-Gervais]

I moved to Florida. I have never had satellite during the summer months. My problems first began with the rainy season. Direct TV goes out 4 or 5 times sometimes during an hour or so of steady rain, every time it rains. On average at least two dozen times this summer for minutes up to 1/2 hour or so.

I ordered my service from century link with a bundle package in April 2011. The women told me that direct Tv will be starting a promotion up and that I will be entitled to the NFL Sunday ticket even if i signed up in April as the promotion i gues was going to start in May, then No NFL Sunday ticket channel when football started up.

I called Direct Tv not only to get them to do something about the position of the Dish so maybe i wouldn't have outages, but a service tech came out once. The second month they said that i would now have to pay for a service charge to have someone come and look at the dish even though it was never fixed the first time and the pixles and same error message shows up when it rains.They offered me a service contract for $50.00 some odd dollars.

Sometime without the rain the pixels get all messed up for a short period of time and the picture is lost. Well I asked them how I could get the NFL Sunday package and they said $334.00 or $49.95 per game of my choice on there special football channel.

At some point after telling her i didn't think I should pay anything for the NFL channel and that my TV has gone out at least 6 times in 1 hour today because of heavy rain, and I was thinking about asking to go to arbitration over the contract dispute she said that she would ask her supervisor if she could reduce the Sunday NFL package and she came back with an offer of $224.00 or $45.00 added to my bill for 5 months. It made me nervous with all the horror stories that direct TV customers have written and I delined their offer.

They should have offered me free NFL Sunday package, or a good faith jesture and at least 1/2 price.Why shoud I pay for something they said I could get for signing up with them.

Anyway are there any class action suits or does anyone know the process of arbitration to get out of this contract with direct TV. I have had enough of lies and poor service and want to switch to a cable company without paying their termination fee.

Please somebody help, I have trully had it. P.S. TV is out yet again for 7th time since 1PM today (Sept 25, 2011)