I'm moving tomorrow and already have ATT U-Verse set up for everything. Called DirecTV today and they're trying to stick me for $380 early cancellation based upon $20/month. I was under the impression it was a flat fee of $150 or $200, but yet these clowns can't produce any documentation where I acknowledged a $20/month fee from the new DVR installation in January. I can't stand these clowns.
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What does your documentation show? :-)
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Best of luck and expect the same from ATT one day!
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I can't even imagine where it's at. The moving truck will be here tomorrow. As far as I'm concerned the need to show my acknowledgement either by dvr order on the phone or the installation clearly explaining the $20/month cancellation charge.
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Not sure what they are doing now but when I signed up with ATT over a year and a half ago, I didn't have to sign any agreement. I have been month to month since day one.
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If they can't produce the paperwork for the "contract" they say you have with them they can't charge you the fee. Wait for the other guy to "blink" but I know a lot of people who have Direct TV and they usually sign you up with a contract and it's not month to month,,usually.
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I'm not arguing over having a cancellation fee-I'm just not agreeing
with their method as I thought it was a $150 or $200 early termination fee. I told them I'll call my credit card company when the charge hits as well. I've been in procurement long enough and negotiated enough deals that I like my odds of cutting it in half once I escalate this to a manager.

The guy I talked to couldn't comprehend that I had made the decision to
switch as he was trying to "help" by moving my service. I'm
tired of losing my signal when it rains.
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You're losing me here...if you recognize that there is a cancellation/termination fee and you're saying it was $150 or $200 and they state the fee is more like $380 then it goes back to what the contract says it is and they have to have a copy to charge that fee. If they can't you don't have to pay but if they have a copy of the contract then it is up to their discretion to cut it in half or keep it at what the contract states. Either way it's not worth messing with your credit for and maybe their manager will negotiate with you. Did you ever report bad signals/outages? All of this goes into the big picture when talking with these guys which is why I don't do long contracts with any cable/satellite company. Things tend to get lost in translation when problems arise.
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How long have you had the service? They like to sign people up for 2 years agreements.

IME, you can try 2 other options besides your CC company.

1. Ask to speak with someone from the department that tries to keep you a customer. Most places call this their customer retention department. If you sign up for the move your service, you have a number of months in which to resign up. You can ask them if this will count towards your months as being a customer. If so, and the months pan out you can cancel when you reach the required number of months or a price at which you don't mind paying.

2. Call and ask to speak to a supervisor immediately. In my customer service experience as well as my wife working for call centers, They HAVE to give you to a manager when asked. If they don't, call back and try again. Sometimes I have had to call back and deal with a few before I get an experienced rep, as most are incompetent. Lay out your concerns to him/her and let them know you don't mind paying $200, and see how that goes. The manager/supervisor has power to change these things.

I have dealt with Directv many times and most of the time it's not pleasant. However, the phone calls are recorded and when you start mentioning how they claim to have the best customer service of any TV provider, they get nervous and usually comply.

Just for farts and giggles, I'll tell you my most upsetting story with Directv. I once had a remote control go on the blink. I was still under contract and told them I needed a new remote. By no fault of mine it went out and I didn't think I should have to pay $25+ shipping to get a new one. After almost 4 hours on the phone and multiple levels (levels are what they call it) of customer service, I get a lady who does nothing else but go ummm... let's see... ummm... hmm... for almost 15 minutes. I kid you not! I asked to speak to her supervisor as I was at my limit. She says and I quote "I don't have a supervisor, I am the highest it goes here". To which I replied, give me your boss then. Again she says I don't have anyone higher than me. To which I say are you the owner of directv? She says no. Then I say, then you have a boss and get him on the phone, whoever they are. She again starts in with the hmmm... and ummm... and I get so pissed and realize she is just messing with me, I hang up. I was furious. After a couple hours I calmed down and called back. The first person I got ahold of, was a first level rep. They immediately apologized after I told them my story, and she got the new remote out to me at no charge. The second call took all of 5 minutes. I say all that to show, yes I have had "experience" with them and if the first person gives you the slightest run around. Hang up and call back.
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Hmmm, a quick look at the fine print on their web site says "IF SERVICE IS TERMINATED BEFORE THE END OF AGREEMENT, A CANCELLATION FEE OF $20/MONTH REMAINING WILL APPLY." Not to say you can't try negotiating this down, but the fact that you are canceling your service doesn't give them much reason to work with you... Good luck.
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I recently canceled my DirecTV account and didn't have the hassle you described but that's because I waited until my 2 year contract was up. My fight - ongoing - is that when I canceled service last month they said they would send me shipping boxes & labels so that I could send the dvr and 3 receivers back at no charge. If I didn't send it back within 5 working days after receiving the box I would be charged for the equipment. Here's the catch: THEY NEVER SENT THE BOXES! I called and they said they did. I said by who and was told Fedex. I told them to check Fedex because I never received the boxes.

I am still arguing with them about this.
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When I switched from DirecTV to FiOS Verizon picked up my cancellation fee as part of the switch-over bribe.

I warned DirecTV repeatedly for months that I was considering switching because of a price disparity, but they would/could not match Verizon.

Now after nearly a year DirecTV is calling me back and is offering to beat the FiOS TV price and lock in the better price for two years. I have been having enough issues with FiOS TV that I am considering it (as long as my total price for TV, Internet, and Phone is less than what I am paying now)...
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I didn't place the order on their website that showed this. It needs to be explained when I called or on the agreement I signed (which they can't produce).
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Looks like $20/month remaining + $15 Cancellation fee

From the website:
"FAILURE TO ACTIVATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EQUIPMENT LEASE ADDENDUM MAY RESULT IN A CHARGE OF $150 PER RECEIVER. IF SERVICE IS TERMINATED BEFORE THE END OF AGREEMENT, A CANCELLATION FEE OF $20/MONTH REMAINING WILL APPLY. ALL EQUIPMENT IS LEASED AND MUST BE RETURNED TO DIRECTV UPON CANCELLATION, OR UNRETURNED EQUIPMENT FEES APPLY. VISIT directv.com OR CALL 1-800-DIRECTV FOR DETAILS. "

Also:
"Up to $15.00 Deactivation Fee if you cancel you're Service or we deactivate your Service because of your failure to pay or for some other breach on your part."
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Understood, but I doubt they have different fees for digital transactions vs voice and paper transactions. They are a big corporation with a large legal department, and they have a pretty airtight contract. I imagine they will just charge your cc, assuming they have it on file. When you dispute the charge with your bank, they will side with DTV, unless you can show proof that the charge isn't valid. DTV is a big customer for the cc companies... If you google "directv early cancellation fee", you will see how some people were able to beat DTV, while most give up and pay. If you offer them a compromise, they might just take it. Good luck. :-)
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