Signed up for Direct TV back in 09/09 w/ an offer of a $25 per month rebate for 12 mo. Signed up & went online as instructed to process the rebate but was told that my account was not yet active. Waited until after the equipment was installed Got my next bill and no rebate showed up. Went back online and reprocessed my rebate. When I paid my bill over the phone on 12/17/09 I again asked about my rebate and was told that it was taking as much as 90 days before the rebate kicked in.

Today I called to complain that I still had not received my rebate credit I was informed that since I was past the 90 day window, I was not going to be given the rebate and that it was my fault that their system did not process my rebate request.

I tried moving up the ladder to supervisors, was put on hold and the call immediately ended. I called again and asked for a supervisor and was put on hold for over 12 minutes before I spoke with a supervisor, then when Debbie couldn't or wouldn't help me I asked to be moved up the ladder. Another 11 minute hold and was told I'd be given to someone who could help. I was transferred to a null extension and the phone call was ended.

I called back and again asked for a supervisor. By now my phone number had been flagged in their system so when I asked for a supervisor I was told that the supervisor had arranged for me to talk with someone in their programming department who would help. Transfer went through so a lady that had no clue and gave the the word-for-word stock reply I had been getting from everyone else. Her only recommendation was to send me to a phone number for their Rebate Department - that number is to an electronic system where you cannot speak to a real person.

When asked why the only put a 90 day window on being able to get the rebate I was told that that was so they could keep up with which promotion I signed up under. What a load of crap! If their sophisticated systems doesn't know under what program I joined, how can they know anything else.

The actual programming and services delivered to the house are excellent. Even with all of the foul weather we've had no down time.

Bottom line here - watch out of their sales people and their claims. Their product is excellent. Their customer care is an excellent example of "we have you on contract so we don't have to care."

OH Yeah! They also reserve the right to raise their prices at any time during the contract. So, while you are locked into a contract and are penalized if you want to get out, they can screw with you as much as they want.

Be careful!

Direct TV has definitely done a bait and switch routine with me and I still have 21 months left on a contract or pay at a rate of 20/monthly for each month disconnected early.

My wife signed up for a bundle with AT&T to save money on what we was paying Comcast TV and we got Direct TV but they done a bait and switch routine us with the HDTV so now if we disconnect we have to pay $440 or buy a non HDTV receiver equipment. After the connection and disconnection fees to switch from Comcast, we would have been better off just keeping Comcast.

Canceled Direct TV and after equipment is returned and all done final bill includes a $328 cancellation fee after 13 years of patronage. What a short sited outfit this is.

I just bought a Sony LCD Digital and only want local programming that I can pick up with HD antenna. When hooted it up yesterday I was shocked that I had lost the programming that I was getting through the Samsung top box (that wasn't available through the Sony Bravia) and I had lost the ability to record channels when I was watching my HP ep7100 home cinema digital projector through my computer. Any suggestions to record and get through the HDMI connector without the $50 a month service. poor old retired person...

I am so ready, I mean I am chomping at the bit to get rid of Direct TV (71.17 mo.) and just watch programming on the internet but my husband is really stalling. He is so addicted to television that I don't think he thinks it could work but I'm convinced it will. I also want to get rid of Vonage at 32.00/mo. and maybe go with that Ooma Clark talked about.

If you're going to get a Converter box order the Channel Master cm-7000 It's Amazing.

I recently hooked up new flat screen direct.ly to cable without converter. I get over 70 channels plus all local HD channels and a few extra HD channel. Saves $$$ without box

I cancelled my cable service 10 years ago and it was the best thing I ever did! When will the cable companies have rates for the channels you watch instead of paying for 250 you don't watch?

are you married?

I am not even planning to do the digital switch over since I do not spend my whole day in front of the TV. I already find watching TV and news on the computer much more convenient and I really enjoy Hulu.com. I'll have to check out those other sites too :) Great Tip!

In response to CROCODILE CONSUMER -
Good for you, but not everyone is a millionaire. $1000 a year may not seem like much to you, but it is a good 4% of my take-home pay.

Don't forget Fancast.com! I dropped cable a few months ago and it has been great! Fancast is the easiest site for me to use, though I also use Hulu.com and the networks' websites directly. It has been especially nice to see some canceled shows I always loved (in addition to current shows) at my convenience.

For movies, it is much cheaper to get a Netflix subscription (you can download some of them) or even buy a few DVDs per month than pay for a premium cable service.

I have a computer hooked up to my large TV, so we watch directly on the TV!

clark says "you get a superior picture over the thin air with a modern flat-screen tv." does one still have to use an external antenna (rabbit ears) or is the antenna built in on new flat-screen tvs?

I don't get it... can you watch these websites on your TV, or just on your computer?

We just dropped the dish within the past few weeks and truth be told, I don't miss it one bit. The thing that amazes me the most is that it's like getting a new television... the picture is so much clearer now than it ever was with cable or satellite, I can actually put off buying new televisions because I am so satisfied by the picture quality. For those of you who miss your sports, if you have or switch to AT&T DSL, you may use ESPN 360 website to view a lot of sports content. For our favorite cable shows, we count on Hulu or network websites to view shows. Before we dropped the dish, our bill was over $80/month. That's real money!!!