Get out of a contract?

[TheMonarch]

Some of you may know from my credit card thread that I've had some problems from Direct TV.

Its been since August since this whole ordeal began, now its October, and its still not over.

Direct TV insists I owe them $200 for a DVR they claim to never have received. I did sent it out, I have the tracking number, and they still want to charge me. I've been on the phone with them for countless hours, they're playing the 'pass the buck' system, and have gotten nowhere.

I have to juggle school and a part-time job, and don't have time to #^¢% around with them on the phone anymore. I want out.

I will NOT pay they $200 they insist on charging me for.
I really don't want to have to pay the ~$200 cancellation fee. But will If I must.
I really don't want to damage my credit score in any way, I've worked too hard to screw up now...

Things I've tried:

- Calling. Being on hold for hours on end...
- Waited their "7-10 business days" for the escalation... 3 times
- Paying the bill, and ignoring the 200 surcharge
- Paying everything, and calling my credit card company. Got my money back, but then the charge came back...


Any Ideas? Oh how I hate them.

 

[WildCowboy]

How about contacting one of those consumer advocate reporters at a local news channel or contacting the state consumer affairs department?

 

[D0ct0rteeth]

You have 2 choices:

Scenario 1)

You have ample proof such as the original recipt and contract and shipping info/tracking number that can undoubtably prove that you legally do not ow them the $200. IF you have all that you should just send them photocopies of everything along with a letter that states

"As you can see in the attached info I have clearly proved that I don not owe you the 200 that has apperaed on my bill from X date thru X date. In complience with the Fair Debt Collections act (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act) you are misrepresenting this as a debt that I clearly do not owe you. You are hereby notified that I expect this charge removed from my bill and YOU MUST notify all consumer credit companies that I do NOT owe you any charges and my account with you is on good standing.

Failure to cmply with this letter will result in legal action, as I have always wanted to own a electronics company. If I receive ANY phone calls or any communication that I can interpret as an attempt to collect this debt I will consider that a violation of the FDCA and I will contact my council"

Send this letter via certified mail so you have proof they recieved it, and you'll prob never hear from them again.

Scenario 2:

You have made a mistake, perhaps lost a recipt or two. Maybe misunderstood something. The whole phrase "Get Out of a Contract" scares me - because that alludes to the possibility that you are actually trying to change the terms of a legal agreement.... that cant be done. CANT. even if THEY are complete IDIOTS you cant stop honoring a contract. YOU must read it carefully and it 99.9% of the time explain the options you have for the situation you are in. Those contacts are thourough if they are anything. You have to honor your agreement. The only possibilty you have for success is that if YOU did everything you were supposed to do, and THEY havent.

anyway, scenario 2 is that you just need to pay the 200 bucks and move on, and continue your life. To be honest in the big picture - 200 bucks isnt a big deal... you need to get some peace of mind and just move on. Have some fun in life and forget about Direct TV.

Either way, I hope I helped. Good luck.