George Cleveland cancels DirecTV, but it hits him with a $40 fee 10 months later. Can a company charge you for a fee it never mentioned?

Q: I canceled my DirecTV service and even received a refund for overpayment. But 10 months later, the company emailed, demanding $40 for an “early termination fee.” 

No one mentioned an early termination fee when I canceled. DirecTV threatened to refer me to a collection agency if I don't pay. 

I called DirecTV, and a representative confirmed the charge, blaming a system delay. 

How can they spring a surprise fee almost a year later? I’ve emailed their collections team and sent a certified letter to an executive, but this feels predatory. Can they legally do this? — George Cleveland, El Sobrante, Calif.

A: DirecTV should have disclosed any termination fees upfront when you canceled -- not ambushed you months later. The threat to refer you to a collections agency was particularly offensive. The company didn't give you much of an opportunity to contest the charge.

It looks like you signed a 24-month contract with DirecTV but had two months to go on that contract. The company charged you $20 for each remaining month on your contract. DirecTV discloses these charges in its contract and on its website.

But that's not all. DirecTV should have disclosed any fees you owed at the time of your cancellation. Ideally, it would have taken the early termination fee out of your refund to avoid this situation. And even if it was less than clear, DirecTV should have promptly billed you for any remaining charges instead of waiting almost a year.

Bottom line: While DirecTV has the right to bill you an early termination fee, it waived that right by mishandling your case. (And while we're on the subject of early termination fees, let me say that I strongly disagree with them. These types of fees are really nothing more than a money grab by big companies.)

I like the way you kept a meticulous paper trail of the correspondence between you and DirecTV. That's an essential part of the resolution. The emails prove you did everything you could to resolve this and work through the system. One item you overlooked: As soon as you canceled your account, you should have asked for verification that DirecTV terminated your account and that your bills were paid up. That would have sealed the deal. If the company refuses, escalate to executives like DirecTV’s leadership team. I publish their names, numbers and email addresses on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. I shared these names with you after multiple efforts to get this resolved, including contacting the BBB, failed.

After you contacted the DirecTV executives I listed on my site, you received an email from the company saying that it had reversed its early termination fee. Nice job advocating this case yourself!

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy (https://elliottadvocacy.org), a nonprofit organization that helps consumers solve their problems. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help by contacting him at https://elliottadvocacy.org/help/