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If you have a DirecTV account and are thinking, “I’m ready to move on – how do I cancel DirecTV?”, then you may be dreading what comes next – the long service call to get rid of your satellite TV services. But you don’t need to dread the experience, because we’re going to show you exactly what to do and say to cancel your DirecTV contact ASAP! This is the best way to cancel DIRECTV, read on!
We probably don’t need to say it, but trying to cancel over the phone doesn’t always work out. Service providers, including AT&T/DirecTV, have a lot to gain by keeping their customers any way possible, which may lead to some lengthy conversations and a lot of hurdles to jump over. To make the process simpler, here are a few phrases that we found speed things up. We’re not saying that you have to use all these phrases at the same time – instead, think of them as potential strategies that you can pick from, based on your situation and how you want to deal with your call.
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“Please get me into contact with someone who can cancel my account.” Unfortunately, the first person you talk to won’t always be able to help you. The second person may not be able to cancel your account either. Always be ready to say this line and try to move up the chain to someone who will listen to you. If you’ve been repeating yourself for the last few minutes, or you’re listening to the same lines over again, it’s time to find someone else to talk to. If the rep refuses to put you in contact with someone else, keep insisting.
“I’m cutting the cord and getting rid of all TV services because I no longer pay for TV.” This approach is more useful than it once was, because it’s becoming a popular lifestyle choice and a way to save money for many Americans. In other words, they hear this excuse frequently these days. The common response is, essentially “Let’s look at how we can save you money instead,” but don’t go down this path. Stay on your first point: you are cutting the cord (sure it’s a cable TV term, but it has broad applications these days), because you no longer want or need to pay for TV – period. In our experience, this is currently one of the fastest ways for cancelling DirecTV.
“I switched services.” The key here is the past tense. If you’ve already bought satellite services or other competing TV services, then your service contact knows that it’s probably too late to change your mind. They may still stick to the script, but it’s bound to hurry the process up. Remember to ignore any, “What can we do to get you back?” questions – the point is that it’s too late, because you’ve already switched, and this is just a formality.
“I’m moving and I can’t get service anymore.” This phrase isn’t quite as powerful as it used to be, but it’s still very effective. The issue here is that AT&T offers a “mover’s deal” to move DirecTV services to a different address, which you will have to immediately refuse. Your best bet is saying that you have to move out of state, or to a different service region, and need to cancel (and keep repeating it). Some people just say they are moving out of the country to avoid annoying questions about their new address.
“I don’t want rebates or new packages, I want to cancel.” These aren’t exactly magic words, but you’ll probably need to say them a lot. When confronted with an offer to lower prices or give you a special discount, you need to keep repeating this. You may have to say it a lot! Keep your cool, and try to have a little sympathy for the customer rep, who is usually following requirements set forth by the company.
Oh, yes, there are DirecTV cancellation fees to pay if you want to cancel immediately. However, DirecTV is very cagey when it comes to just how much you will pay.
First, there is the deactivation fee. If you cancel before your contract ends, you pay a $15 fee, possibly supplemented by an additional $15 fee if you weren’t keeping up on your minimum programming requirements for your particular package.
Second, there’s the prorated early cancellation fee, which is where things get complicated. This fee is applied to every month remaining in your current AT&T contract. It can be up to $20 for every month. So if you have six months left in your contract, you would be paying $15 plus up to $120 for your cancellation, and frequently other little fees also get included, bumping the price up closer to $150. Ouch!
Unfortunately, there’s not an easy way to cancel DirecTV without penalty. You can call and argue about the fees if you want, but if you’ve gotten this far, then it may not be worth the time to get the DirecTV cancellation fee waived. However, if you have questions about the final bill or figures just don’t add up, then by all means ask for an explanation. However, you may have to go through the same gamut of refusing special offers before you get answers, so get your patience ready.
You’re not quite done yet! Getting through the phone call and successfully ordering a cancellation is a triumph, but there’s another step. You should get a box in the mail, pre-addressed, designed for your cable box and cable. Pack up your cable box and its accessories, and then send it back.
This step is vital, because your account won’t be fully cancelled until AT&T receives all your equipment, which was technically leased out. Typically the box should arrive a few business days after your call. If it’s been five business days or so, call customer service again immediately and tell them to ship another box, because your cancellation may have, for some reason, not been processed.
Once you receive the box you have three weeks to get it back, so don’t waste any time packing it up! Lastly, make sure to track the shipment, otherwise you’ll be on the hook. If you drop the equipment off at a local office make sure you get a receipt. Otherwise, if the equipment goes missing, and you have no receipt, you’ll owe some serious money.
“DirecTV Now” a much more experimental streaming service. While it’s still offered by AT&T, don’t confuse it with DirecTV’s satellite service, it’s a far different project and not exactly designed to make revenue (yet). In other words, if you want to cancel DirecTV now and aren’t interested in changing much else, the process is much, much easier. Just head to this website, login into your account, and head over to Settings. Choose Manage My Plan, and then Cancel Plan. You will be asked to give a reason why you are canceling, and then you can cancel immediately. There won’t be any cancellation fees, but your service will continue for the current pay period before ending.
Now, take a close look at your next AT&T bill, to make sure that you aren’t still being charged for the service and that there aren’t any odd cancellation fees for quitting Now.
Note: If you are cancelling because of poor service issues, you may be tempted to ask for a refund. However, reports have shown that people are unable to get any refunds for DirecTV Now – there just isn’t an option to provide them. So consider it a sunk cost.
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