ORWELL, Ohio – Angela Mixon-Smith said she nearly had a heart attack when she opened her satellite television bill Monday.

“I mean, my chest got heavy,” she said. “I had to get some water. I don’t drink. I was ready to drink.”

The retired postal worker said her bill for DirecTV service showed a balance due of $184,530.67.

“I know I don’t have that kind of money,” she said. “And, since April? There’s no way.”

In April, Mixon-Smith said she began a promotional offer to bundle her existing DirecTV service with a new AT&T cellphone plan. In the months since, she said service problems and confusing bills have had the cancer survivor and Army veteran battling with AT&T, which merged with DirecTV in 2015.

Mixon-Smith said the outrageous bill was the last straw.

“They don’t have everything together,” she said. “AT&T, they just don’t have it together.”

AT&T spokesperson Holly Hollingsworth provided a statement to WJW-TV:

“We apologize for the billing error that occurred. We’ve reached out to the customer to resolve the issue.”

She could not provide an explanation for the billing mix-up. However, by Wednesday afternoon, the account for Mixon-Smith’s DirecTV service had been credited.

However, Mixon-Smith said she was still confused over remaining service and billing issues.
“I just want them to straighten out my service,” she said.

She said she also reached out to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about the problems.