Hidden Charges on Monthly Bills
Our DirecTV bill was supposed to be around $40 a month for 185 channels. Not a bad deal for that many channels right? Well after the first month they decided to double bill us just because, I suppose, they wanted to. We can't afford to pay double bills every month and were not aware that they did this to anyone. We were told that our bill would be the same unless we ordered anything extra, which we haven't. Our satellite has been shut off several times because of this double bill. They know we are on a very tight budget and we can only pay it at a certain time of the month. Now next month we have to pay this whole thing so they will quit shutting it off on us.
It's the same with our phone bill. We got it yesterday and it stated on there that we had ordered voice mail for our phone. So my husband called and they said that one of us ordered it off the Internet. Neither one of us ordered this because we have no use for it. My husband explained this to them and they agreed to take it off the bill. Good thing because we shouldn't get stuck paying for something we didn't order.
I wonder how many other people this happens to? Do you check your bills thoroughly to make sure there aren't any hidden charges on them? I can't figure out why they do this, especially the double bills. When we sign up for something we should be made aware of all the charges that we are going to encounter on our bills every month. They say they understand when you tell them you're on a tight monthly budget but if they are going to do this every month then they must not understand at all.
Published by Sharon Morris
I have been an any writer for more than 5 years now. I call myself this because I am capable of writing on any topic. I started out small on the freelance writing ladder and have climbed my way to the to... View profile
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- Why do they add these hidden charges?
- We should be made aware of these things before we sign up.
- If they really understood people's situation, they wouldn't add these hidden charges.
3 Comments
Post a CommentGreat tips. I always check my bills if something seems different from the normal amount.
I get lost when it comes to understanding my bills. I too understand that they often bill a month in advance. I worked for Directv and the first bill that you get will be a lot larger than a normal bill, because they do bill a month in advance. Most companies often fail to tell people this. Directv is one of them. Directv representatives, read from a script on a computer and after staring at the screen all day, they often skip parts of it. The sad part is that they often wonder why people want to cancell.
Most cable, telephone, and satellite companies bill a month in advance. So, the bill you receive dated May 25 would cover your service from May 25 through June 24. The "double bill" you are referring to happens when you set up your service. Let's say you had your satellite installed on April 25. The period between April 25 and May 24 is a whole month. When you get your bill you will see the $40 for that month as well as another $40 for the next month. Remember, you'll always be billed for 1 month in advance. Once you have paid the total $80 bill you will always be "ahead" of billing with the satellite provider. When you disconnect your service they will owe you a refund for the days left in your billing period.
This is standard practice with any cable, satellite, telephone, or wireless company. It really is not confusing when you understand that they all bill for a month in advance.