Considering that the hundreds of complaints from people saying DIRECTV was telling Joplin customers they would be charged for damaged equipment had to come from somewhere, it appears the company either into a public relations buzzsaw even worse than the one hitting Eric Cantor, or someone has been spreading untruths about the satellite dish company. Either way, here is the company's official response:
(From DIRECTV)
Victims of the Joplin tornado are not being charged for damaged equipment. In FEMA-declared disasters and emergencies we have a long-standing policy that provides special assistance for customers that includes:
Account cancellation - If service cannot be restored at the customer’s home due to the damage from the storm, DIRECTV will cancel the account, and waive any fees associated with the inability to return equipment, along with any remaining agreement on the account.
Account suspension - For customers who are without power for an extended period, we offer to suspend their account at no charge until power and services can be restored.
No-cost service calls - If/once service can be restored at the customer’s home, we will send a technician at no-cost to ensure the dish is properly aligned and to fix any technical issues.
Equipment – For customers whose equipment was damaged in the storm, we offer to waive equipment replacement costs if they continue services with DIRECTV.
More broadly we are also providing support to all victims of the storm through the Red Cross. Customers who have been affected by the tornado should call 1-800-531-5000 so we can remedy their situation immediately.
Robert Mercer
Sr. Director, Public Relations
DIRECTV, Inc.
This is great that they are offering Joplin customer lee way because of the tornado damages that hit that region but the fact of the matter is Direc TV customer service still sucks and most of there customers still had to pay an arm and a leg for there equipment up front anyway so why should they be charged for it. Direc TV charges me for installation and I had a six room whole home DVR which I paid $396 up front and then at that I only had full DVR functions in one room. DISH offered me a six solution for no charge and I did not have to pay for HD programming. I got three HD receivers for free and when I was with Direc TV and there whole home DVR I got charged $99 for each receiver! Being a DISH Network employee I know that we have the most HD channels in the industry with all your favorite network stations in HD. Come check us out at www.dish.com.
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