DirecTV mistakenly charged some Philadelphia customers

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- If you're a customer of the country's largest satellite TV provider, you should look closely at your past and future bills.

There's a certain fee that customers in Philadelphia should never have to pay.

It turns out, DirecTV has been making a mistake by charging some of its customers in Philadelphia and elsewhere a certain monthly fee.

It now promises to issue a credit to customers, but you better check to make sure you get it.

DirecTV customer Kevin Booker may be getting some money back.

"I have put in a complaint to have it investigated but I haven't got a call back yet," he said.

But you might want to put in a call, too.

DirecTV now admits mistakenly charging some Philadelphia customers the Regional Sports Network - or RSN fee.

The company says the error occurred during a price adjustment in January.

The issue came to light when the blog Consumerist published a report detailing how the RSN fees vary by zip code in ways that don't make sense.

Why should DirecTV customers in zip codes 19103 and 19106 pay $54 dollars a year more than their neighbors when they get the same darn programming package?

Turns out - they probably shouldn't.

Lance Haver, the Director of Civic Engagement for Philadelphia City's Council, sent out an email alerting citizens, including Booker.

Meantime, DirecTV says it is notifying affected customers and they should automatically see credits for the fee and taxes on their April or May bills.

DirectTV used to have an online tool so you could check what the regional sports fee is for your zip code, but that tool is now being updated.

But you can CLICK HERE to check to see what programming you should be getting in your zip code.

By the way, AT&T now owns DirecTV. It says it has now fixed the issue so this erroneous charge should not appear anymore.

For more information, CLICK HERE.

Full statement from AT&T:

There was a small percentage of customers in select zip codes, including some in Philadelphia, who received inaccurate bills for their regional sports networks. We identified the issue, which occurred during a price adjustment in January, and have fixed it. Customers are now receiving credits over their April and May billing cycles.

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