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DirecTV Admits Screwing Up Regional Sports Fees, Starts Issuing Credits (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the whoopsie-daisy dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AT&T this week acknowledged that DirecTV has been charging the wrong regional sports fees to some customers and is now issuing bill credits to those who paid more because of the mistake. "We have identified a small percentage of customers who are receiving some inaccurate bills for regional sports network fees," an AT&T spokesperson told Ars yesterday. "We are working as quickly as possible to notify those customers and issue credits. We apologize for the error." AT&T bought DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV provider with about 21 million customers, in 2015. The mistake affects bills going back to late January. Customers will not have to do anything to get the credit, as it will be issued automatically. The billing problem came to light last week when Consumerist published a report detailing how the regional sports network fees vary by ZIP code in ways that simply didn't make sense. It wouldn't be surprising to see different fees in different metro areas and states, since different local sports networks and teams are broadcast in different areas. But there were numerous cases in which people in adjacent ZIP codes were charged very different amounts to watch the same exact networks and teams. Some customers were charged no sports fee, while others were charged amounts of $2.47, $5.83, or $7.29 a month.

15 comments

  1. Only a mistake.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Only a mistake because they got called on it ;)

  2. "By Mistake" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, like everyone else who overcharges, double-bills or 'upgrades' your account to a more expensive plan, it was "a mistake".

    The only mistake they're actually talking about is getting caught.

    1. Re:"By Mistake" by Enigma2175 · · Score: 2

      Pretty much this. It's funny how all the "billing errors" the big corporations are making are always in their favor. I haven't seen a bank error in my favor since I drew that Community Chest card in my childhood but I've seen plenty of errors in the favor of companies I do business with. If DirecTV would just quote a price and say "this is the price you are paying" then they wouldn't have these problems, but since it's in their interest to keep the bill overcomplicated (easier to make "billing errors" that way) it's not going to change unless the government forces their hand.

      --

      Enigma

  3. Admitted fault? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is the story that a company admitted they made a mistake?.....did NOT RTFA

  4. Oops... sorry about that mate! by rmdingler · · Score: 2
    Two things I find surprising about this allegedly inadvertent overcharging:

    1) How poorly the word stunned describes how we feel to hear it.

    2) What a different outcome there would be if you were a modest-sized sole proprietor and were caught cheating a goodly percentage of your customers.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Oops... sorry about that mate! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the more ridiculous part is REGIONAL FEES when you're operating a system of GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES. Could TV be any more ass-backwards and outdated at this point?

    2. Re:Oops... sorry about that mate! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not the technology, it's greed. Steam could probably charge people in Dakota a different price for a game than in New York City on the grounds of "Fuck you that's why".

  5. easy data entry messup or Changes to ZIP codes by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    easy data entry messup when there are Changes to ZIP codes that can happen monthly / and when it's time to change the prices for the new year.

    Also if say a zip code was linked to the wrong zone but it's price was the same as right zone that it should be part of then if may of been that way for some time but when the 1 zone get's a new price and the other right does not this error can show up.

    1. Re:easy data entry messup or Changes to ZIP codes by rmdingler · · Score: 1

      It seems likely on the order of tomorrow's sunrise, that if honest mistakes were made charging by zip code, there would naturally be some folks who were undercharged as well.

      When contacted by Ars, AT&T did not say exactly how many customers were affected. We've also asked the company whether any customers weren't charged enough as a result of the same error and will provide an update if we get one.

      Wouldn't you benefit by getting out in front of this and stating that some folks were charged too little if that was actually the case?

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:easy data entry messup or Changes to ZIP codes by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I admire your lack of cynicism but my gut says this was no zoning mistake. If the pricing data were to be made public, I bet you'd find that the higher fees were being charged in ZIP codes with a higher median income. At first blush that sounds like capitalistic schadenfreude, the greedy stealing from the rich... Until you hit a ZIP code that's split down the middle by railroad tracks, with McMansions on one side and Section 8 housing on the other, and customers on both sides being charged the same higher fee.

    3. Re:easy data entry messup or Changes to ZIP codes by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      But the Philly ones have got to be error as they don't get TCN or CSN Philly.

  6. Sports by Ritz_Just_Ritz · · Score: 1

    Why the fuck do I have to spend a penny on "regional sports"? That's not like docking all users for a 911 fee so that emergency services can be funded. I don't watch sports, don't care about sports and resent that I'm being forced to subsidize any aspect of it.

    Yet another reason to totally cut the cord on cable/satellite/whoever forces you to eat bundled services. I'll pay for what I want to consume and nothing more, thank you.

  7. We got caught so now we will fix it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    When I see something like this I assume it was either intentional in the first place or if originally an honest mistake, it was purposefully allowed to continue because it added to the bottom line. So I am not stunned or surprised. What would stun or surprise me would be irrefutable proof that it was an honest mistake and that when it was discovered all of those involved immediately said we have to do the right thing and refund asap,

  8. Well, corporations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    will continue these tactics ( if this was intentional ) as long as they can get away with it.
    What happens when a person does these things? Fines at a level 10x the amount stolen/conned... and maybe jail time.
    So, corporate fines are waaay too low. And jail time would mean a period without any billing, while having to continue
    delivering services. Oh - they might go bankrupt? Good.
    There has been talk of a corporate death penalty for years. Maybe time to think of this...
    There has also been talk of jail time for the CEO, CFO, and the board members for crimes... sounds good to me. 30 days in a pmita prison might work.

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