How long is the contract for DIRECTV?

How Many Years is the DIRECTV Contract?

When you subscribe to the DirecTV, you are bound to certain terms and conditions, which make you stick to the company for a certain period of time ranging from one year to two years. This assists DIRECTV to get customers who will remain with them and not move to another company within a short time.

Most customers would like to know how long they are bound by the contract when they subscribe to the services of DIRECTV. Now it is high time to shed more light on the most common DIRECTV contract periods and obligations.

12-Month DIRECTV Contract

While most of the DIRECTV packages have a 24 month contract term, the shortest contract term that is available is 12 months. This applies to some packages and deals mostly their standard or low end packages.

When you sign up for a 12 month DIRECTV plan, you commit yourself to continuing to use your DIRECTV television service for at least 1 year since the time it was installed and activated. In case you decide to cancel this service, then there will be a charge for early termination of the service.

The 12-month agreement is the shortest term available in the market among other major cable/satellite TV service providers. Therefore, if you may transfer or if you prefer to switch service providers within a year, it is among the best choices.

24-Month DIRECTV Contract

DIRECTV offers customers the standard and most frequently used contract period of 24 months, or two years. This applies to the packages that include more channels, equipment, NFL Sunday Ticket along with other packages which give the additional features for the DIRECTV programming package.

DIRECTV shall offer cheaper rates, new mobile TV or high tech apparatus equipment, superior channels, etc. to new customers who sign up for 24 months.

Therefore, be prepared for most of the DIRECTV offers will come with a 24-month commitment, which will guarantee that you will keep using the service for that duration. You can avoid early cancellation fees as long as you do not suspend, cancel, or change your main DIRECTV package.

What happens after 24 months?

Once you complete your first DIRECTV term, whether it was 12 months or 24 months, your service automatically switches to a month-to-month basis. This means that you can cancel your subscription at any time and you will not be charged any fee.

DIRECTV will normally reach out to its clients with expiring contracts to prompt them to renew their contracts. The option of re-subscribing allows consumers to do so at cheaper prices for an additional 12 or 24 months with other benefits like discounts, free upgrade or additional channels.

However, service after the contract is on a month-to-month basis and can be terminated at any time by calling DIRECTV customer care. Just be wary that your rates may return to normal, or standard, upon the expiration of promotional deals.

Terms and Conditions Related to Early Cancellation Fees or Penalties

It is important to bear in mind that if you make a decision to cancel your DIRECTV television service before the agreed time, you will be required to pay fees for early termination. These act as a deterrent for customers not seeing out their full agreement.

For most of the DIRECTV plans, if you had signed for a 24-month contract and cancelled after 1 year, you would be required to pay the remaining balance of 50%. On a standard 24-month contract and terminating the agreement halfway through, the user is expected to pay around $240 for 12 more months at $20 per month.

The early termination fees are actually tiered so that the closer you get to the end of the contract term, the lower they are. It may be less than $100 in the last few months if you canceled the service also known as termination. However, if one decides to quit immediately after signing up, there are steep penalties.

What Releases Early Cancellation Fees?

There are a few cases where you can cancel DIRECTV early in your contract period without owing a termination fee, such as:There are a few cases where you can cancel DIRECTV early in your contract period without owing a termination fee, such as:

• Changing to a location that Directv cannot cover

• Severe financial difficulties that render the access to TV impossible

• Temporary assignment to an overseas location for active military service

  Such supporting documents include military orders and financial statements, which may be needed to waive fees. However, there are exceptional circumstances where you will be charged on a proportional basis according to the number of months remaining if you cancel early.

  Pausing DIRECTV for Part of Contract

  Another option that you have instead of completely stopping using DIRECTV is to put it on hold if that’s what you want. DIRECTV lets you put your account on hold or “seasonally opt out” once a year but still maintain your subscription.

  Here, you can choose anywhere from two months, which is the minimum up to nine months of suspension. This helps avoid charges for canceling your contract midway. When you are ready to start using the services again, you simply contact DIRECTV and have your equipment and programming reactivated without any consequences.

  However, do not forget that even when you are taking the seasonal break you will still need to honour your monthly equipment lease charges in case you possess the DIRECTV equipment. And any promotional pricing is not automatically expected to return after the interruption.

  Conclusion

  Typically, the DIRECTV deals involve signing a two-year customer contract, to guarantee that you will remain a loyal client at that period. If you quit early, you have to pay higher penalties the fewer months that were left in your contract. However, the accounts renew at a monthly basis after the initial 24 months. Knowing the contract obligations of DIRECTV eliminates early termination charges and enables one to make the best choices concerning service requirements.