102-Year-Old Woman Dies, DirecTV Sends Her Family 'Early Termination' Fee
SAN LORENZO, Calif. (CBSNewYork) – File this one under the category of "bad customer service."
DirecTV is coming under fire for their response to the death of a 102-year-old customer in California.
According to CBS-affiliate WNCN, Isabel Albright died in December of 2018.
Apparently this didn't go over well with the television company, since the San Lorenzo resident was still under contract when she passed.
As Albright's family was packing up her belongings, DirecTV stunned them with a $160 "early termination" bill, saying the 102-year-old breached her cable contract – by dying.
"They told us… we're going to charge you $160 for an early termination fee," her son-in-law, John Manrique, said via WNCN.
"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?" the woman's relative added.
Unknown to Albright's children, who were paying their mother's television bill for her, DirecTV reportedly locked the family into a brand new two-year contract when they added an extra receiver for the 102-year-old's caregiver.
"We made it clear when we added the TV in the extra room that it was a temporary thing. We're saying my mother-in-law's on hospice, we're not gonna pay," Manrique told reporters.
The woman's family added that DirecTV couldn't provide any proof anyone had signed a new contract – claiming that the change in the 102-year-old's television service made the two-year-deal automatic, regardless of a customer's signature.
News of the callous fine sent to Albright's family quickly sparked outrage among consumers.
The public embarrassment pushed DirecTV's parent company, AT&T, to get involved and make things right for Albright.
AT&T has reportedly apologized to the Manrique family and has waived the early termination fee.
"We have apologized to the family and resolved this," AT&T said via local media outlet KGO.
