It's strange how different it is moving my stuff back to Canada than it was getting it down here in the first place.
On my trip down, I just had the movers show up at my apartment, gave them my new address, and the next time I saw them was at my house down here. Going back I need to get them proof of my current (US) residence, meet customs officers, and whatnot.
Now I'm also having issues with my alcohol. Getting down here, it was just packed up and unpacked with everything else. I didn't think twice about it and the movers didn't mention it.
This time, the movers have said that their policy is that they don't handle alcohol at all - even sealed bottles. So I tried FedEx, and DHL, and other shipping companies. No dice. "Fine." I thought. "I'll just pack it good and check it with my luggage on my flight. The company is paying for that anyhow." Until I find out that they need special containers for alcohol. It wouldn't be an issue if it was just a couple of bottles - I'd just wrap it up good and stuff it in my bags. Unfortunately, I've got a couple of cases of the stuff (most of it local wines that you can't get outside of the wineries down here). It's not the end of the world, but it is frustrating. The way things are going I might have to leave it down here until somebody from our company decides to drive up to Canada and then reimburse them for the duty.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
I've managed to actually get money transferred back up to Canada, which has made me annoyingly - albeit temporarily - chipper. Although it might seem like a small thing to some, if you remember my difficulties in getting the money down here in the first place I think that my reaction to getting it wired the other way in three days is understandable. What really blows me away is that the tiny local bank down here in the middle of nowhere has said that they have no issues arranging a transfer for the rest of my money remotely once I'm up in Canada and need to close down this account. BMO said that I had to go to one of their branches in person to arrange such a thing.
I think that the stress is getting to me right now. I have a nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something, but that's likely just the worry about having stuff to sell that hasn't sold yet. Still, it's making me testy. Garbage pickup was late yesterday? I was seething. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot left for me to do. I've inventoried my house and set up services to be canceled once I move out. All I really have left to do is sit and wait. And wait. And wait.
I think that the stress is getting to me right now. I have a nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something, but that's likely just the worry about having stuff to sell that hasn't sold yet. Still, it's making me testy. Garbage pickup was late yesterday? I was seething. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot left for me to do. I've inventoried my house and set up services to be canceled once I move out. All I really have left to do is sit and wait. And wait. And wait.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Second verse, same as the first.
Talked to several more CS reps at DirecTV, with pretty much the same result across the board. My sister suggested that I email Larry Hunter, the interim CEO, and Ellen Filipiak, Senior VP of Customer Relations, and even helped me trim the venom out of said email so it wasn't just frothing incomprehensible spittle. The result was the following:
Mr Hunter,
Approximately three months ago, I decided to switch away from one of your satellite TV competitors. One issue of concern in choosing my new provider was the cancellation fee as I was working in the US on a work visa and could not guarantee I would be living in the United States long-term. While I was talking to your sales agent on the phone about the contract I was informed of having to sign a two-year contract. At that time I explained my situation to your agent and that I could not guarantee that I would still be living in the United States in two years time. Your agent assured me that, in the event that I had to cancel my account due to moving to a location that DirecTV does not provide service to (i.e. Canada) I would not be charged an early cancellation fee. With that assurance in place I was happy to choose DirecTV as my new satellite provider and I entered into a contract on that basis.
Three weeks ago, my employer decided to transfer me back to our head office in Calgary, Canada. Last week, in preparation for the move, I phoned DirecTV and canceled my service. Again I was told by your agent that because DirecTV does not provide service in Canada, I would not be charged an early cancellation fee. This week I checked my final bill and was shocked to see a $440 early cancellation fee included.
Based on my previous conversations with DirecTV, I assumed that this was a simple administrative error and I phoned your billing department. The billing department admitted the mistake, even going so far as to confirm that there was a note in my file detailing that I was not to be charged an early cancellation fee. Your agent forwarded me to your cancellations department because it was not within his power to remove the fee.
At this point, my experience with DirecTV became less than satisfactory. Every person I have subsequently spoken with has reiterated the same thing: That no matter what your agents have told me at least three times in the past, DirecTV does not waive early cancellation fees and I will have to pay the $440 fee. They did, however, reassure me that they will try to make sure that an agent never misrepresents DirecTV to a customer again. After talking to multiple people at your company, I have been left with the recourse of mailing a letter to your Billing Disputes department in Colorado. I was told that the matter MIGHT get resolved in several weeks time, long after I have moved back to Canada.
I am sorry, but the fact that you will not stand behind your own sales agent and that your other agents in billing, cancellations, and customer service will do nothing to facilitate getting this matter resolved is very unprofessional and frankly, unacceptable. I entered into my agreement with DirecTV in good faith that your agent was able to contract on your behalf and that the services would be as discussed.
I hope that this letter will help facilitate getting this issue resolved in a timely and fair manner. To be clear, I would like the early cancellation fee cancelled and my money refunded before I move back to Canada at the end of the month.
The result was a phone call from another CS rep who was absolutely unhelpful. Thus have I emailed Larry once more with the following:
Mr. Hunter,
Regarding my previous email, I was recently contacted by one of your customer service agents regarding the matter I stated. While very apologetic, she had obviously not even read my complaint when she phoned, as she seemed rather confused when I mentioned that the agreement I had entered into with DirecTV was based on the misinformation provided by your sales agent. She then suggested that I reactivate my account and have it suspended while I was in Canada. This made her seem to fail understand that this is not a temporary move for me, and while I might end up living down in the US in the future the current transfer I am undertaking is, for all intents and purposes, permanent. Her lack of familiarity with the situation which was described quite clearly in my email, is disheartening. Finally, she continued to repeat what I have heard from several other representatives with your company - that despite the fact that I entered into a contract with DirecTV because I was misled, I would still be forced to pay the early cancellation fee. I would like to know if this is your company's final say on the matter.
I've pretty much resigned myself to losing this fight. They immediately took the early cancellation fee off of my credit card (required by them for just such an emergency, apparently). I've reported them to the BBB, and am still considering small claims court except that I likely will be living in Canada by the time anything happens.
Mr Hunter,
Approximately three months ago, I decided to switch away from one of your satellite TV competitors. One issue of concern in choosing my new provider was the cancellation fee as I was working in the US on a work visa and could not guarantee I would be living in the United States long-term. While I was talking to your sales agent on the phone about the contract I was informed of having to sign a two-year contract. At that time I explained my situation to your agent and that I could not guarantee that I would still be living in the United States in two years time. Your agent assured me that, in the event that I had to cancel my account due to moving to a location that DirecTV does not provide service to (i.e. Canada) I would not be charged an early cancellation fee. With that assurance in place I was happy to choose DirecTV as my new satellite provider and I entered into a contract on that basis.
Three weeks ago, my employer decided to transfer me back to our head office in Calgary, Canada. Last week, in preparation for the move, I phoned DirecTV and canceled my service. Again I was told by your agent that because DirecTV does not provide service in Canada, I would not be charged an early cancellation fee. This week I checked my final bill and was shocked to see a $440 early cancellation fee included.
Based on my previous conversations with DirecTV, I assumed that this was a simple administrative error and I phoned your billing department. The billing department admitted the mistake, even going so far as to confirm that there was a note in my file detailing that I was not to be charged an early cancellation fee. Your agent forwarded me to your cancellations department because it was not within his power to remove the fee.
At this point, my experience with DirecTV became less than satisfactory. Every person I have subsequently spoken with has reiterated the same thing: That no matter what your agents have told me at least three times in the past, DirecTV does not waive early cancellation fees and I will have to pay the $440 fee. They did, however, reassure me that they will try to make sure that an agent never misrepresents DirecTV to a customer again. After talking to multiple people at your company, I have been left with the recourse of mailing a letter to your Billing Disputes department in Colorado. I was told that the matter MIGHT get resolved in several weeks time, long after I have moved back to Canada.
I am sorry, but the fact that you will not stand behind your own sales agent and that your other agents in billing, cancellations, and customer service will do nothing to facilitate getting this matter resolved is very unprofessional and frankly, unacceptable. I entered into my agreement with DirecTV in good faith that your agent was able to contract on your behalf and that the services would be as discussed.
I hope that this letter will help facilitate getting this issue resolved in a timely and fair manner. To be clear, I would like the early cancellation fee cancelled and my money refunded before I move back to Canada at the end of the month.
The result was a phone call from another CS rep who was absolutely unhelpful. Thus have I emailed Larry once more with the following:
Mr. Hunter,
Regarding my previous email, I was recently contacted by one of your customer service agents regarding the matter I stated. While very apologetic, she had obviously not even read my complaint when she phoned, as she seemed rather confused when I mentioned that the agreement I had entered into with DirecTV was based on the misinformation provided by your sales agent. She then suggested that I reactivate my account and have it suspended while I was in Canada. This made her seem to fail understand that this is not a temporary move for me, and while I might end up living down in the US in the future the current transfer I am undertaking is, for all intents and purposes, permanent. Her lack of familiarity with the situation which was described quite clearly in my email, is disheartening. Finally, she continued to repeat what I have heard from several other representatives with your company - that despite the fact that I entered into a contract with DirecTV because I was misled, I would still be forced to pay the early cancellation fee. I would like to know if this is your company's final say on the matter.
I've pretty much resigned myself to losing this fight. They immediately took the early cancellation fee off of my credit card (required by them for just such an emergency, apparently). I've reported them to the BBB, and am still considering small claims court except that I likely will be living in Canada by the time anything happens.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
[sarcasm] Thank You Direct TV [/sarcasm]
So about 3 months ago I swapped over from DishNetwork to Direct TV, since the former had proven to have issues giving me the sports channels needed to watch the upcoming CFL season. At the time I was signing up with Direct TV, I was told that I needed to sign a 24 month contract with the standard early cancellation fee.
I remember quite clearly asking the nice person on the other end something along the lines of "What if I have to move to, say, Canada, before then? You guys don't operate up there." to which I was told that in the event that I was moving to a place where Direct TV did not operate then the early cancellation fee would be waived. I happily signed up.
Fast forward approximately 3 months.
Last week I called Direct TV and explained my situation. They said that they would cancel my service, and waive the early cancellation fee. Thank you and have a nice day.
This week I got my final bill. It was rather large, due to the large early cancellation fee I have. I phoned up Direct TV and the conversation went something along the lines of this:
Billing Agent: You're right. There's a note in your file about no cancellation fee. It must have gone through automatically by mistake. I'll have to transfer you to our cancellation department, though.
Cancellation Agent: I'm sorry, but we only remove cancellation fees for soldiers being deployed. Our agents are not allowed to discuss cancellation fees with customers. We'll send out a memo to make sure that they don't do it in the future, but you'll still have to pay your fee.
Cancellation Supervisor: I'm sorry that the only reason that you agreed to sign up with us was because we lied to you, but you're still going to have to pay your fee. All we can do is make sure that our agents don't lie to anybody in the future.
In short: They admit that their agent lied (either deliberately or through ignorance. I don't really care which). They accept that I only agreed to sign up with them because of the lie. And they are quite happy to still take my money. Not surprising, I suppose (and technically legal, since I imagine their TOS doesn't say anything about waiving cancellation fees), but still more than a little dickish. I'd just move back to Canada without paying my bill, but I get the feeling that that would cause problems in the long run if I ever needed to get back into the US.
Fuck You, Direct TV.
I remember quite clearly asking the nice person on the other end something along the lines of "What if I have to move to, say, Canada, before then? You guys don't operate up there." to which I was told that in the event that I was moving to a place where Direct TV did not operate then the early cancellation fee would be waived. I happily signed up.
Fast forward approximately 3 months.
Last week I called Direct TV and explained my situation. They said that they would cancel my service, and waive the early cancellation fee. Thank you and have a nice day.
This week I got my final bill. It was rather large, due to the large early cancellation fee I have. I phoned up Direct TV and the conversation went something along the lines of this:
Billing Agent: You're right. There's a note in your file about no cancellation fee. It must have gone through automatically by mistake. I'll have to transfer you to our cancellation department, though.
Cancellation Agent: I'm sorry, but we only remove cancellation fees for soldiers being deployed. Our agents are not allowed to discuss cancellation fees with customers. We'll send out a memo to make sure that they don't do it in the future, but you'll still have to pay your fee.
Cancellation Supervisor: I'm sorry that the only reason that you agreed to sign up with us was because we lied to you, but you're still going to have to pay your fee. All we can do is make sure that our agents don't lie to anybody in the future.
In short: They admit that their agent lied (either deliberately or through ignorance. I don't really care which). They accept that I only agreed to sign up with them because of the lie. And they are quite happy to still take my money. Not surprising, I suppose (and technically legal, since I imagine their TOS doesn't say anything about waiving cancellation fees), but still more than a little dickish. I'd just move back to Canada without paying my bill, but I get the feeling that that would cause problems in the long run if I ever needed to get back into the US.
Fuck You, Direct TV.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Bother.
When I moved down here in 2007, the movers didn't need me for anything other than signing my name at my apartment in Calgary, and being at my house in Beebe to unload my stuff.
Now, for some reason when I'm going the other way I have to meet them at the border and go through a bunch of paperwork with them. Strange.I need to learn how to read the literature that the moving company gives me, and not just listen to their answers.
When I moved down here in 2007, the movers didn't need me for anything other than signing my name at my apartment in Calgary, and being at my house in Beebe to unload my stuff.
Now, for some reason when I'm going the other way I have to meet them at the border and go through a bunch of paperwork with them. Strange.I need to learn how to read the literature that the moving company gives me, and not just listen to their answers.
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