If you thought your bills magically disappear when you pass away, think again. Cable provider DirecTV recently charged a customer an early termination fee—but sadly, it was after she passed away.
Real life is often stranger than any form of fiction, as evidenced by DirecTV’s decision to charge 102-year-old Isabel Albright an early termination fee after she died last December. As @newsweek reports, Albright’s family was shocked to discover that DirecTV placed a $160 early termination fee on her account as they were tying up the loose ends of her bills and finances.
Albright’s son-in-law, John Manrique, explained that he tried to express to DirecTV that there was no need for the puzzling charge, saying “She’s gone. Nobody’s living (here). We’re selling the house. You’re going to tell us we have to keep the service at a house that’s not ours?” After further speaking with the company, the family found out why the charge was still being placed on Albright’s account. Turns out that just before she passed, Albright had a caregiver who moved in with her, that person then added a second DirecTV box so that they could watch different programming than what was already offered at the home.
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DirecTV also argued that since the account was in the name of Albright’s daughter Linda, when the caregiver added the second box it mandated a two-year extension to Albright’s contract. The family further insisted that they had been paying all of Albright’s bills for years and never saw the additional equipment charges, but DirecTV reportedly refused to back down.
However, there was a bright side to all of this. After being contacted by local news affiliates and publicly shamed, DirecTV sent a letter of apology to the family and informed them that the early termination fee had been cancelled.
Manrique stated his frustration at the company’s hidden fees, saying:
“Every time you hiccup they start you on a new two-year agreement basically. It’ll run the rest of your life if you accept some other feature or other. They got you.”
Ironically, this isn’t the first time that a family has been forced to pay fees after a customer passes way. Things have gotten so out of control that several local governments are hoping to outlaw the practice entirely.
Roommates, what are your thoughts on this?
