Switch from Comcast to Direct TV and Liked It?

Updated on September 26, 2013
D.P. asks from Minneapolis, MN
11 answers

It seems like once a year I have to call Comcast and threaten to leave in order to get my bill back down. I think it's ridiculous. Whatever happened to rewarding loyal customers? They did bring it back down but I committed to a 2 year contract that can be cancelled within 30 days. My husband started looking into Direct TV and found some deal where we can get all the same things for $64.99 (including equipment) vs the $139 + equipment charges. It sounds too good to be true to me and I am always worried about hidden fees. I do know it will go up another $5/mo after the first year. We will have to keep internet with Comcast which will go up about $15 and we'll get rid of the home phone. Any thoughts? Have you switched and been happy? Are the savings real or will I have to call in a year to renogotiate? I don't think we have any options other than these (or Dish network) in our area so please don't recommend other providers I won't have access to. Thank you!!

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So What Happened?

We decided to try it out so Direct TV is being hooked up today! My husband can't wait to take all the equipment back to Comcast. We did make sure we understood all costs for the next 3 years including equipment and it will still be cheaper .

Featured Answers

S.T.

answers from Washington DC on

we've been with direcTV for over 10 years now. i'm not brand loyal at all- i go where the best deals, and more importantly, the best customer service lives. we've been VERY happy with direcTV.
comcast sucks rocks.
khairete
S.

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E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

I love DirectTV! I had DirectTV for years, then switched to Comcast when I moved about a year ago (was able to bundle phone/Internet/TV). And Comcast was such a pain that I switched back to DirectTV after five months.

I've never had a problem with hidden fees at DirectTV. Your costs will go up after 12 months, but they will spell that out for you when you sign up. And the bill details all the costs and credits quite clearly so you're not left wondering what you're paying and why.

The most important thing for me, though, is that DirectTV is infinitely easier to use. The remote makes more sense. Recording shows is easier.

Do it!

3 moms found this helpful
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K.M.

answers from Atlanta on

We love direct tv. We originally signed up because of the sports packages. But their customer service is one of the big reasons we stay. The few times we have had to call for an issue they always give us a credit or upgrade our package for free or something. They have done service calls free of charge to reward us for being loyal customers. I HATE dealing with comcast and think their customer service is one of the worst I have ever dealt with so I would absolutely recommend direct tv over them!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I've had just about every service (they all go up a LOT once your promo period runs out, and you can only get back to a decent price by switching).

The only thing I missed when we had DirectTV was that there is no on-demand.

1 mom found this helpful

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

I have had DirecTV for years as well...I think we've had it coming up on 6 years. I have to call all the time to keep our bill down. However, I don't pay over $90 a month. We have one HD box, 5 regular boxes, and a great package. They no longer offer our pacakage though.

However, I've never had a problem keeping our bill fairly low for what we have. I only won't get a DVR because I'll have to go back on contract and I don't want to do that. So we will live in the stone ages for a bit longer :).

ETA: We RARELY lose signal. Even in really bad storms. The last hurricane that came through our area only had our DirecTV off for maybe 5 minutes.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

I have moved from cable to Direct TV just recently and I can say that they are one of the better dish companies. My bill with all fees is $65 a month, I have double the amount of channels, the HD DVR, a second TV hooked up, and only lose the signal when there is a very bad storm. If you have AAA you can get an extra $10 a month off in regards to the current offers and if you know someone else you both can save another $10 off a month. My bill will go up again in 12 months but it will still be cheaper than what I was paying for cable. I have called them to cancel a couple extras I had and the customer service I have received has been above and beyond.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.R.

answers from Kansas City on

I do not like Comcast, but I really HATE Direct TV!!! Every time it rains we lose signal even though they have come out a few times to realign the dish. I LOVE AT&T U-Verse and hopefully when our contract is up with Direct TV we will go back to that!!!! You pay for what you get, and honestly once the promotion runs out it is not much cheaper than AT&T U-Verse!!!

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

We thought about it, and then we made the big step, WE GOT RID OF OUR CABLE ALL TOGETHER, and we love it! No big bill, no worrying about when what show is on. Now, when we want to watch a show we just go to one of the many free online sites and watch. I mostly use Project free tv, but a google search will find others that are good as well if they don't have a show I want (which is rare). They put new episodes up the day after they air on regular cable. I also do netflix for $8 a month, they have all the shows my kids love and lots of great documentaries.

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M.F.

answers from Chicago on

We started with DirecTV, switched to WOW, then to Comcast. Of the three, DirectTV was the most user friendly, but over time the cost became ridiculously high (plus we sometimes lost service during storms). WOW was well-priced but we experienced a lot of technical problems. So far Comcast has been ok, but we're still in our first year. I'm sure they'll raise the cost on us next year.

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G.♣.

answers from Springfield on

Well, I've never had Comcast, but we do have Direct TV. We've been with them about 2 1/2 years and never had a problem. Actually, when our 2 year contract ended, I called them and they gave me the current promotion so I signed another 1 year contract.

We've also had Dish Network. We switched to Direct TV when our contract ended. My SIL switches between the two companies each time her contract ends because of the deals.

We liked Dish Network just fine, but this last time we didn't feel like dealing with the hassle of switching. When they gave us the latest offer we took it.

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M.P.

answers from Raleigh on

I had Directv for a few years, until they wanted to charge me full price to move to an HD receiver/package (which was a LOT back then). So, we broke the contract and moved to Dish network. So, as far as rewarding loyal customers, I don't know that you'll experience that with Directv.
If you have a clear view to the southern sky, then you can have dishnetwork. I found they have better programming (esp sports) and you can upgrade to the Hopper for free. I'd look into dishnetwork before settling with Directv.

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