Finally, after many years of being uncompetitive, my local cable company, Comcast, offered a long-term deal (not a 3-month promotion) whereby I could get many many more HD channels than DirecTV (See Note 1). along with 6Mbps Internet and all the locals including alternate channels for various stations and public access channels -- all for $90.
I called DirecTV and let them know (See Note 2). They said ok. Since I prepay several months each time I had a credit of roughly $23. They said that it would be returned to me.
I said fine ... either refund my money in the next 24 hours (30 days) or I will be forced to bill you a late fee. Mine isn't $5. The customer service representative explained that (of course) he couldn't do that. I agreed, and suggested the way both his company and I would be happy is if they just refunded the money.
We both agreed we'd both spent far too much time on the phone for $23. "Unfortunately," he explained, "refunds take six to eight weeks minimum." I thanked him for his time, and ended the conversation.
Later that evening I researched the name of the General Counsel for DirecTV as well as their internal email address format, and sent him a very very short note. It basically said "Look, I'm a former subscriber who's owed $23. That's not worth your time or mine. Can you please have them refund it?" He replied from his BlackBerry and said he'd take care of it the next day. That's how informal (and unimportant) this all seemed.
Forty-eight hours later with no credit appearing on the card I emailed him again, this time eliciting no response.
To cut to the chase, I filed a Small Claims Court case for the $23 I was due, the $19 filing fee, and $399 the estimated amount I paid for the HD receiver that was no longer of any use to me. (see Note 3).
In the meantime I twice received a white paper postcard asking me to evaluate "How we're doing" and asking how long it took to get my refund check(s?). I never received any checks. I've received other, much larger checks from title companies, so it's unlikely that someone really wanted to get rich off of my DirecTV refund. (In other words I don't believe my mail gets stolen.)
I didn't figure they would have much of an option (See Note 4) which is why I was surprised that they filed a Response to the Complaint. The case was set for trial (23-Jan-2007) and I'd planned to spend a couple of hours this weekend digging up the receipts, records, and electronic mail conversations.
In the afternoon of 18-Jan I received a call from the lawyer who had filed the Response to the Complaint. She explained she'd been made aware of the facts, apologized for my inconvenience, and explained that two checks had been sent out. The first was sent out as per the General Counsel, and the second was sent out after receiving my Complaint. I told her neither was received and about the little white cards.
Having checked the credit card activity two days later, I confirmed that the refund had been applied as agreed. I emailed the mutual Stipulation of Dismissal so that both DirecTV and I could dismiss the case. DirecTV sent it back, but not in time to file with the court without an appearance. I showed up at the hearing, providing the Stipulation. The hearing officer dismissed the case without prejudice saying "I thought something like this would happen when I saw the parties." I told him the gist of the story.
2. Of course each call to DirecTV involves at least two minutes of menu
navigation and then some non-interminable time on hold. The representatives
are friendly, but generally powerless. In other words each call is an
exercise in a process, not an actual problem-solving opportunity.
3.Yes, I do understand that when one cancels DirecTV service there is no
contractual obligation on their part to repurchase the receiver, let alone at
its full "as new" price. This is why we have a court system -- to create
justice wherever possible, even if there is no previous underlying agreement.
4. In Arizona, defendants in a small claims court case have an
interesting option that they can easily select rather than filing a Response. That option is to move the case
out of small-claims and into Justice Courts. The differences are numerous
but here are the important ones as I understand them:
So you see, a party going to SCC knows that the worst they'll have to pay
is what the Plaintiff is requesting, and at best nothing. If they move it to
Justice Court then potentially they will have to pay what I'm asking,
potentially punitive damages for holding onto my money without
returning it, possibly it could be certified a class-action for all ex-
DirecTV customers. Possibly it could establish a precedent barring
them from doing it in the future. Furthermore the cost to prepare for
a hearing in Justice Court at lawyers' hourly rates would far exceed the less than
$500 I was seeking.
In other words, they had no upside to going to Justice Courts.
On the other hand in Small Claims Court a party which is a
Corporation may be defended by its officers or a designatee *EXCEPT*
that the designatee may not be a lawyer, and no officer whose
job it is to be a lawyer for the company may represent it.
It stands to reason the cost to fly out an Officer of the company
would greatly exceed the amount requested.
If you think about that last option, you realize their "cheapest"
and "least hassle" course of action wasn't to settle with me at all
but rather let me go to court, [they would]not show up... maybe I'll
convince the adjudication officer. Maybe I'll get awarded the
entire amount I'm seeking. Maybe not. There seems to be NO
downside for them --- except that they would then have lost a
lawsuit, and others would learn of it.
Finally there is there is the option they chose -- settle with
me for a More Than Generous amount (they know and I
know that they don't have to buy back the receiver at
more than market value, and she knew and I knew and
she knew I knew that if she offered me $50 I would have
said that was great.) However, in being generous, and in
getting the case dismissed, both sides win.
The moral of the story is:
This site hosted by www.login.com Tucson Colocation
Don't prepay many months in advance to companies with complicated refund procedures.
Alternate moral: Stand up for yourself and don't let the Goliaths roll over on you. Small Claims Court is your friend -- not as good a friend as google though.