DirectTV to fire victim who lost it all: You still owe $400

[kentuck]

http://gazette.com/directtv-to-fire-victim-who-lost-it-all-you-still-owe-400/article/1502291

<snip>
After Jeremy Beach's Black Forest home burned to the ground Tuesday, leaving him with little more than the clothes on his back, he started making calls to cancel the trash pickup, utilities, and other services for a house that no longer exists.

Most of those providers were understanding, he said. Then he got to DirectTV.

They told him he would owe $400 for a satellite dish and two receivers destroyed in the blaze.

"I couldn't believe it," he said Thursday. "I had lost everything and they acted like they could care less."

.....more

[madaboutharry]

1. It seems like Direct TV is due for a policy change.

[warrant46]

9. To go along for their D- Rating at the Better Business Bureau

Imagine the terrible negative press this creates--they could have used this tragedy to gain really good advertising had they used common sense and done a few things differently.

But Alas--- not to Be !!

[mnhtnbb]

2. Having lost everything to a house fire in 2007, I can tell him the nightmare will continue.

Mortgage payment? Yes, still responsible for monthly payments until insurance
pays off the entire amount. And expect the insurance company to fight the valuation.

Property taxes? Yes--for the entire year.

It took us over 6 months and finally enlisting the the aid of the NC Commissioner of Banks to
get the mortgage holder to recognize a partial payment of the mortgage from the insurance
company--sent in hopes of buying us off--while we had to hire a public adjuster to fight
on our behalf to get the insurance company to reimburse us for the entire replacement value of the house
(and pay off the mortgage). Then, of course, we had to give a percentage of what the public
adjuster got out of the insurance company to them. Result? We ended up paying over $20,000
out of pocket to demolish the remains of the house. And our unfortunate neighbors had to endure
the sight of the house remains for months and months--since the insurance company insisted we leave
the remains up until they determined whether the house could be rebuilt from the foundation.

[FBaggins]

3. I don't understand the problem

If you have things that belong to someone else in your home (whether borrowed or rented) and the home burns down... you have to replace them. But that's why you have homeowner's insurance (which will certainly cover this).

[Logical]

4. You know, there is nothing at all wrong with this.....

Sorry to be a realist, but shit, you had something someone else loaned you and under your care it was destroyed!
It a burglar broke in and stole it, same thing!
This is what insurance is for!
If he had a rental car in the garage, same thing!
Sometimes us liberals go too far!

[ReRe]

7. But...

...they could have told him to please call them back in a month and to take care of himself and his family. They didn't have to tell him on the spot. Could a person on DirectTV's end of the line not realized that that man was going out of his mind right now? A little human kindness could have gone a long way in that situation. Now there will be a backlash against the satellite company that will far out-shadow that little $400.

[ReRe]

5. Jeremy, dear heart...

... you're right... they don't care.

I feel so sorry for that man. Sounds like he is having a "nervous breakdown", perhaps still in shock. Wife 37 weeks pregnant with TWINS, boy age 5 and 2 doggy dogs. I hope a Medical Doctor got to him soon, as he was in serious need of a pill. He has to get hold of himself for his family. He had to be going out of his mind... the last thing I would have thought of doing would be to call the the utilities and satellite company. Thank goodness he and his family made it out alive. Oh yeah, and eff DirectTV. Boy are they going to get a surprise when this story spreads.

[Warren Stupidity]

6. They would also owe for anything else, like for example a car,

destroyed in the fire. Their home insurance might cover the dish. This is a bullshit news story. What exactly do you think happens when your stuff gets burned up and you owe money on it?

[xmas74]

11. But instead of basically demanding it immediately

they could have asked for a forwarding address and stated that they would settle the account in a few weeks.

A coworker went through the exact same thing with DirecTV. She lived in a duplex and her neighbor blew the damn place up. (Smoking with multiple oxygen tanks in the home.) The utilities all said not to worry about a thing and to call them when moved and ready to reestablish service, as did Charter Cable. (She used them for her internet. They said not to worry about the equipment and that they would reinstall without a service fee or equipment charge because of the circumstances.) Even her car was easy to deal with (it was in the attached garage at the time of the explosion)-they gave her an extension and double checked her insurance company. But DirecTV considered it to be a termination of service and wanted an early termination fee along with the equipment fee-immediately.

Turns out this is pretty common with them.

[valerief]

8. Because they COULDN'T care less. Corporations don't care. nt

[cbdo2007]

10. I bet his mortgage company is even more pissed....

He probably owes them $200,000 or so. Luckily that's also why he has insurance who will cover both of these bills.

[SecularMotion]

12. Kick

to expose a greedy, fucking, heartless, corporation whose only concern is the bottom line and won't write off a mere $400 loss to ease the pain of one of their CUSTOMERS!

And a double FUCK YOU to any corporate shill who would support this nonsense.