Lawsuits Against DirecTV Filed in Two States

In 2009, Washington State's attorney general received more complaints about DirecTV than about any other company in the nation. Unsuccessful in attempting to persuade DirecTV to change its business practices, the state sued in December.

“Their business practices are unfair and deceptive,” says Paula Selis, the senior assistant attorney general handling the case. In its lawsuit, Washington State claims that important information about the terms of service is not always disclosed. Assistant AG Selis says DirecTV sometimes uses what she calls “mice type”—print so small that most people can’t read it.

A few weeks ago, the Miami-Dade Consumer Services Department sued DirecTV, accusing the company of using a number of deceptive practices. The lawsuit alleges the company ran “false and misleading advertisements” about the price of service packages and equipment and failed to properly disclose the terms of the contracts.

Sonya Perez, the department’s public relations specialist, says her office reviewed DirecTV’s ads and found they did not give the complete prices of products and services. The complaint states they were “phrased in a way to unfairly induce consumers to purchase DirecTV Packages.”

For example, customers who signed up for the $34.99/month service package were billed $55.99, according to the Consumer Services Department. Those who purchased the $39.99/month bundle were billed $60.99; those with the $44.99/month bundle were charged $65.99.

The lawsuit also claims DirecTV did not “clearly disclose conditions and limitations to their service agreements in advertisements or in any other type of communication with customers.” Additional fees were buried in fine print, such as a $5 monthly charge for a second receiver and a $6 charge for the “FREE HD DVR Receiver Upgrade.”

DirecTV spokesman Darris Gringeri challenges the accusation that customers are not always told what they're getting: “We make it clear about that agreement in the advertising and marketing materials. It is in readable print, not fine print. The customer is also told during a sales call or online ordering. There is a confirmation letter, confirmation email, and final review of the terms at time of installation. We make sure they are fully informed."