I have been with DIRECTV since September 2010 when I ditched Cox Communications and their yearly rate increases.
Acourse, I was lured to DIRECTV by the amazing new customer specials. I signed up for their NFL SUNDAY TICKET promotion. Basically, it was new service with free NFL SUNDAY for that season with free installation.
Picture. Sound. Reliability. All Good.
The problem started for me when they started charging me $10 for HD ACCESS FOR LIFE. They started charging me this after about a year has gone by. I called them and the agent told that it was only FREE for life if I signed up for auto payments.
I told him that was not true. The installation technician told me it was free for life. I also told the agent that I barely starting receiving this charge after approximately twelve months of service.
The agent is an idiot. Put me on hold forever. Came back and said that to get it reinstated I had to sign up for auto pay. I told him to stick it and I removed other services from my account like total protection and downgraded my package.
They raised the primary receiver fee from $5 to $6 per month. DVR monthly from $7 to $8 per month. All with-out prior notification.
They are sneaky A-HOLES and you need to monitor you bill closely.
The only reason why I stay with DIRECTV is because I have no contract and I have my services and packages at the levels that I am comfortable paying.
Besides, they are better than DISH and definetly better than COX.