This is what happened when I wanted to upgrade to an HD reciever from DirecTV.

I recently purchased a LCD HD TV and decided to upgrade to a HD Receiver. At the same time I was going to cancel the secondary receiver in the Computer Room since I never watched TV in there. The following is what happened when I tried to do JUST THESE TWO THINGS. I apologize for not getting anyones name. They did give them but I am horrible with names. All times are Central Standard and not exact:

Call #1 (Roughly 12:50 PM) Male answers (After going thru automated menu.) I say hello I would like to upgrade to a HD Receiver. He says ok, would I be interested in an HD DVR? I say no just a HD Receiver. He asks my name and phone number. He then says that his computer is acting up (I believe he said it was updating itself.) and it will be a couple of minutes. After 8-10 minutes he says his computer is OK but he wants to make sure I am not double charged for the HD Receiver.  He then remembers I asked to remove the Computer Room receiver and says he has to reset my service because that is listed as the primary one and he is switching the primary to the Living Room. He then says I was charged 4 times for a HD Receiver and he is going to transfer me to Credit Department.  Before he does that he gives me a confirmation number (58959992) and a total of $127.87 (HD Receiver, Shipping and Handling, and Tax) I hear clicking and then a recording saying If I want to make a call please hang up and try again. In other words he hung up on me. By this time it is 1:30 PM.

Call #2 (Roughly 1:35PM) Female answers (Again, going thru automated menu.) I tell her the entire story up until that point and say the other rep was transferring me to Credit so I could get credit for the 3 extra HD Receivers. She puts me on hold for 6-8 minutes. She comes back on to tell me I am only eligible for one free receiver. I say I only wanted to get one HD Receiver and the other rep ADDED 3 by mistake. She puts me on hold for 10 more minutes. She comes back on and says everything is taken care of and the credits have been issued to my account. I then say So, I am getting only 1 HD Receiver and someone is going to call me to set up install in case I may need a new dish? She says Didnt anyone tell you a date on the install? I say no we were cut off. She then puts me on hold for a few more minutes. She comes back on to tell me she needs to transfer me to Qwest since I bundle with them. I say OK. She transfers me and a female answers from Qwest Bundle Services. She then asks my name address and phone number and says So, you want to add Internet to your bundle? I say no. I have everything Qwest offers. She says she is sorry but doesnt know why I was transferred to her department and she will transfer me back to DirecTV. It is now 2:00 PM and the phone is ringing and I am brought back to the beginning of the automated menu.

Call #3 (A little after 2:00 PM) Female answers (Yup, after going thru automated menu.) I explain the Greek tragedy that was the entire phone epic up until that point. She apologizes, tells me since I have been a loyal customer since 2005 the upgrade wont cost me anything and puts me on hold for only a few minutes. She comes back on to say all is taken care of. The next available install date is January 10, a Saturday. I say that wont work. She says how about January 12, a Monday. I say great. At this point I am thinking GREAT, finally done. Nope, not by a longshot.

I go and check my email. It was totally random and had nothing to do with trying to get a HD Receiver. I notice I received emails from DirecTV. They are credits. I do the math in my head and come up with a low number. I go to DirecTV.com to check my account. My account balance is $240 and some change. I look thru the charges and credits. There were four HD Receivers plus four S&H charges plus tax. Only two credits each were listed for HD Receivers and S&H and tax. Also, Cinemax and Playboy TV were added. Yup.  Back to the phone.

Call #4 (About 2:45 PM) Male answers (Yadda, yadda, yadda) I explain the whole sordid mess including the adding of Cinemax and Playboy TV. He does the math also and says he is transferring me to the Credit Department. I say please make sure since I havent had very good luck today. Female answers from Credit Department. She says she has to read the notes. She says all credits are done and I am down to 1 HD Receiver and I think she took care of S&H because she quoted me $99. It is about 3:30 or so by now.  I think I am done so I go out for dinner.

I get home at about 8:00 PM. Turn on TV at about 8:45 PM and half of the channels have a blue bar with the channel not purchased info tag. Once again back to the phone.

Call #5 (About 8:50 PM. Keep in mind this started at noon with me wanting a HD Receiver) Female answers (After going thru that long automated menu.) I am fuming. I say half my channels are off. She checks and says I dont have the package that gets those channels. I say did you change your packages in the last 4 hours? Because they were coming in this morning.  She checks again and says I called earlier and asked for the package to go back down one tier. I say I only wanted to add a HD Receiver. Thats it! I tell her how ridiculous this is. She says she is adding those channels and they should be up shortly. I thank her and hang up on her. Thank God I didnt start the day asking for anything complicated like moving my service. My dish would probably end up bolted to a freeway light!

Call #6 The next day. I check my bill online. I have a $10 charge for Disconnection of Premium Channel Cinemax. I think HOLY SHIT they charged me for them fixing their mistake. I call and talk to a guy who listen to me rant about. He says he is removing the charge.

In Part 2 the saga continues here...

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/user/blog/DarthTolkien/view=80464641