I recently cancelled my service with DirecTV after two years of using them. I had no issues them, but with our new daughter on the way, we were looking for ways to save money, and this was a cut we decided to make. Unfortunately, their refund practices have put a bitter taste in my mouth, and I am posting a copy of my FTC complaint against DirecTV.
----- Begin FTC Complaint Text -----
I cancelled service with DirecTV on June 14, 2011. A charge of 88.98 was put on my CC on June 16. I noticed the charge on June 18 and called them that day. They told me 86.01 had been credited back to me. I took that to mean, the refund had already been applied to my CC, and expected to see it back on my card within 10 days.
I had not seen the refund the by July 2, so I called them back that day. I was then told that the credit had been applied to my account, but that they do not process refunds back to the CC until 30 days after the credit has been applied to the account. They verified that my equipment had been returned to them, and there were no further upcoming charges, but still said they were unable to refund my card immediately. I let them know that this "policy" is potentially costing their customers money, as interest can be charged to the CC for these transactions that have refunds due. They again stated they were unable to process the refund.
I let them know I would be disputing the charge with my CC, which I have since done, and they encouraged me to do so.
I filed a complaint with the BBB on July 2 in hopes of opening up a line of communication with DirecTV, and give them opportunity to review and ultimately revise their refund policy. I received their response on July 14:
"We regret to hear of any unpleasant experience you have encountered with your refund request. There are a number of steps involved for any company before a refund is processed. We owe it to our customers to make sure that we meet all requirements of law and that refunds are only processed when valid. Refunds typically take 6 to 8 weeks to process from the date of disconnection, or the last transaction on your account. We appreciate your feedback for our review, but we are unable to change the way refunds are processed. However, in an effort to amicably resolve your complaint, we expedited your credit balance of $86.01 to our Finance Department to be reviewed for an immediate refund. Please allow 5-7 business days for a refund to be processed to the credit card on file. If the payment has been disputed with your credit card company and it is returned to you by them prior to the refund being processed on our end, the amount will be charged back to your account as a double refund will not be provided. We again regret the delay in receiving your refund, and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Respectfully, DIRECTV Office of the President"
As you can see, DirecTV had no interest in opening up a dialogue on this topic. I am, therefore, escalating my complaint to the FTC, as I believe this practice is hurting consumers.
DirecTV is unjustifiably holding its customers refunds for 30 days before processing them back to the CC. Not only does this cause inconvenience to their customers, but in same cases, it costs their customers extra interest charges that cannot be refunded back. This practice needs to be stopped.
Note: As of July 21, I still have not seen my refund posted to my CC account.
