Deceptive practices and rude customer service reps.

I have to admit that I first got DirecTV, I forgot to cancel the
preview. However, when I noticed I still had the channels, I
remembered. I called to cancel. I politely said that I know I had to
pay for the time I had the channels past the trial, but since I had
had these channels for only 10 days, was there anyway I could avoid
paying for the whole month. They were happy to deal with me and only
charged me for those 10 days, which even I acknowledged I owed.

The lady in customer service shouldn't have yelled. There's no real
excuse for that. However, you really need to be more vigilant. You had
those channels for a month longer than you should have, and the moment
you notice you sill have the channels, you need to call. I admit that
the practice does seem a bit tricky, but that's why you have to pay
extra attention.

Good luck to you.

Oh, please. You HAVE to let them know if you want to continue it or
not. They don't just cut it off.

Also, they yelled (if in fact they did) at you because of YOUR
behaviour.

I've seen so many complaints in my life from customers complaining
about rude employees when in fact it was the customer who was rude.

The service NEVER gets cut off after the free preview. I'm sure you
were told that YOU would be the one who'd have to take action in order
to cancel the premium channels. If you weren't told that outright,
you should have asked.

Anyone with cable knows this. Good grief.

When one buys a new car,the owner must get regular oil changes or the
warranty will void. Should the auto company call with a reminder? No,
it is the owner's responsibility. The same is true in your case. It is
not deceptive, they have so many customers that it would be impossible
to call everyone. If you do not want the product, you must let them
know. Otherwise, they assume you are happily munching popcorn and
clicking the remote.
I do not understand why you were yelled at by the employess. Did you
get upset first? Call back and get a member of upper management on the
phone. Calmly state your case. They may remove the charge, but
probably not.
Why did you accept the 3 free months of service if you don't watch
these channels? Just say no to things you don't want and avoid future
problems.

I hate to say it, but there is ALWAYS fine print in those new customer
incentives that says that the first 3 months are free and will
continue unless you call to cancel.

Some even require that you continue the service for 6-12 months in
return for the free months. It's how they make their money.

The fact that you knew it was 3 months and knew it was still on after
that time (and no doubt you continued to watch) without calling, you
aren't entitled to a refund.

It's surely not the most up front way to handle it, but nothing is
ever really "free."

I hope you get your money back. A lot of business offer some sort of
free premium for a given time, the YOU have to call and cancel or be
billed. They hope you won't remember to cancel and therefore they
make more money. I am not sure its ethical but DirectTV is not unique
in this