This happened to me with DirecTV a couple of years ago or so. I was able to get my Visa card bank to reverse the charges, but then DirecTV turned it over to a collection agency.
I did some research and discovered that in Oklahoma, a contract that is for a longer term than one year must be in writing, signed by both parties. DirecTV did not have such a contract, even though they claimed that the term was for two years, and I sent a letter to the collection agency, documenting all of the facts. More than two years later, the collection agency has dropped the case, and they have never filed anything against me with any of the credit reporting agencies.
I think that DirecTV is now including the Early Termination Fee clause in their contract, so this approach might not work any more. I hope this lawsuit you’re reporting succeeds, because the early termination fee is just plain garbage.
I will NEVER again have DirecTV. NEVER.
DirectTV now includes the $20/month early termination in the contract. We’ve had their service for a year and I don’t really care for it. The receiver takes forever to change a channel and skips inputs, so dialing channel 360 might come up 30. It is annoying. We are about to move and I don’t think I’ll be using their service, early termination or not. We will be in a good location to get HD over the air for several dozen channels.