Get Gephardt helps satellite TV subscriber fight double-billing after DirecTV and AT&T split

By Matt Gephardt and Sloan Schrage, KSL | Posted - Aug. 4, 2026 at 4:04 p.m.

 
Bundled services became unbundled when AT&T and DirecTV parted ways, leaving a Magna resident to get double-billed by both companies.

Bundled services became unbundled when AT&T and DirecTV parted ways, leaving a Magna resident to get double-billed by both companies. (Mark Less, KSL)

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Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • DirecTV and AT&T's split caused billing confusion for subscriber Marilyn Newbold.
  • Newbold faced a $318.24 bill due to a miscommunication between the companies.
  • After media intervention, AT&T cleared her debt, resolving the issue.

MAGNA — Marilyn Newbold gets her television service from DirecTV, which until recently was owned by AT&T.

"I had been paying it through AT&T in what they called a bundle," Newbold said.

Then came a corporate breakup. AT&T and DirecTV were moving forward as separate companies. Bundled services were now unbundled. AT&T told Newbold that she needed to start paying her DirecTV service "directly to DirecTV."

As for Newbold, she's got bank statements, payment receipts and a DirecTV account that shows nothing is past due. So, imagine her surprise months later when she got a bill from AT&T demanding $318.24.

"They're saying that I didn't pay for April, May and June," she said of the surprise bill for a DirecTV service.

She said when she tries to plead her case, she is met with finger-pointing between the two former partners.

"When I called up DirecTV, they said I had to talk to AT&T," Newbold said. "When I called up AT&T, they said I had to talk to DirecTV."

Even worse, AT&T is now threatening to send her to collections.

When I asked her what she hoped would come out of this story, she told me, "That they untangle this knot! Somewhere someone has to get on their computers and find out where the tangle is."

Marilyn Newbold shows KSL's Matt Gephardt the documentation that she paid for three months of service after AT&T threatened to send her to collections.
Marilyn Newbold shows KSL's Matt Gephardt the documentation that she paid for three months of service after AT&T threatened to send her to collections. (Photo: Mark Less, KSL)

When the KSL investigators reached out to AT&T, we found, indeed, it is a tangled knot. AT&T told us we needed to call DirecTV. Well, DirecTV told us no, we needed to call AT&T.

Going back to AT&T, it then said it would investigate and finally come up with some good news.

Newbold got word that the $318.24 she had owed had been wiped down to zero.

Which was odd, because the statement we got from AT&T said it was positive that she owed that money. When we pointed out the discrepancy to AT&T, it sent us another statement.

Its final word to KSL: "We did our best to assist this customer with her account concern and are glad it has been addressed."

Just like that, it seems the knot finally is untangled. She is no longer being told she owes AT&T for her television service.

If you get caught between two companies after a billing change, keep every statement and payment receipt. That paper trail may be what finally untangles the knot.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Matt Gephardt, KSLMatt Gephardt
You might say that Matt Gephardt was born into journalism. On the day he arrived at the Indiana hospital, his father, a reporter, had to quickly rush away after the delivery in order to front a news report. Matt’s television debut came a few years later when, as a toddler, he was used by an Indianapolis reporter to demonstrate how prescription drugs can be mistaken for candy. Matt’s “professional” career in the business began when he was 17 years old, attending high school in Los Angeles, and he landed a summer-job as a teleprompter operator in the Salt Lake City market. He moved to Utah, enrolled at the University of Utah, and never looked back. In the more than 20 years since, Matt has worked virtually every newsroom job: production crew, video editing, video photography, producing, executive producing. In 2010, Matt made the jump in front of the camera as an investigative “watchdog” reporter. Matt’s reporting has not only earned him several journalism awards, it has also led to law and policy changes at local, state and federal levels. When not investigating on behalf of Utah consumers, Matt enjoys “urban hiking” with his wife and three children – setting out on foot towards Sugarhouse or Downtown hoping to run into a friendly group of people gathered at a park, a festival or a new store or restaurant to try out. Matt is absolutely thrilled to be working at KSL where the commitment to ethical journalism, fairness and community is in lockstep with his own ideals.
Sloan Schrage, KSLSloan Schrage
Sloan Schrage started as an “old man” intern with KSL TV in 2007. For the past ten years, he’s produced daily and investigative stories that impact safety, security and wallets of Utah consumers. When he’s not at KSL, he’s either with his family or trying to repair cars with help from YouTube tutorials, or buying cameras or other photography gear that he’ll never use.
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