Home > Lawsuits > DirecTV and Best Buy Receiver Lease Class Action
DirecTV and Best Buy
February 25 2008
A nationwide class action lawsuit has been filed against the satcaster and retailer for allegedly failing to inform customers that they must return their receivers upon cancellation. The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court in Los Angeles Case No. CV08-00906 ABC (PJWx) and claims DirecTV and Best Buy failed to adequately disclose that customers can not keep their DirecTV receiver even after paying for it. At BestBuy.com, the satcaster's receivers now range in price from $69 to $199, but DirecTV has charged more for them since March 2006, when the leasing program began.
DirecTV considers the set-top purchase a lease, for which it can also charge additional monthly lease fees, which have ranged from $4.99 to $10. The lease requires customers to return the receiver when the agreement expires, which is when the customer cancels service. The class action claims consumers believed that they owned the receivers they purchased from DirecTV or its retailers, like Best Buy. Only later do they discover that they must pay lease fees, and return their receivers if they cancel their DirecTV subscription.
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I refused to return the receiver, DirecTV allowed my account to remain open for two additional months before terminating and then billed me, I refused to pay and DirecTV sent the account to the credit agency.
Posted by New York
on
DirecTV unlawfully withdrew $320 from my checking account without my consent for cancellation fee even though I've been with them for over 6 years. I never signed a contract agreeing to my service extended thru Feb 2010 whether it be verbally, or with Best Buy, or in a signed contract. They seem to be just saying after the fact that I am tied to them for whatever period they want.
Posted by South Dakota
on
I purchased a non-leased DVR receiver in January of 2006. The receiver was defected, and I called about the problems during my warranty period several times, and then called thereafter. In December, during a tech support call the representative told me that he would replace the receiver. I recieved and activated the replacement receiver within December. In September of 2007, I called to cancel my service, due to the fact that we had moved. My last bill included a charge for early cancellation and the DVR box itself. I was never told the replacement receiver was in fact a leased receiver, and that I was bound to any 2 year agreement. I sent a letter to them disputing the charge, and I have received no formal response to today's date. I called to rectify the issue in November of 2007, and the representative told me that once I returned the receiver, they would reverse the cancellation fee. Today I received a letter from a collection agency seeking to collect the early cancellation fee for DirecTv without prior notice.
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