Can direct tv get away with this?

Direct tv charged my wifes account $866 for an old account that was in my name. The reason they said they took the money out of her account is b/c the last payment on my account was made with her bank card. Can they do that? Her name was not on my account and my name is not on her bank account. I know when I sign a contract I allow them to do this and so on, but she never gave them permission to use her account. People help other people out all the time by paying a bill for them, imagine if this came back on you for helping someone. She is going to the bank in the morning to try to dispute it through them. She never gave authorization. What they did is looked up an old check and got the routing number, isnt't that fraud? To make things worse. Rent is due in 5 days and we are leaving for vegas in 8 days. Luckily I have great family members that are willing to help us out. Direct tv is not wanting to hear any of it. I googled alittle and found several others having problems with the as well. Sorry to rant and rave, but I just needed to vent b/c I have not had a smoke in 9 days and I felt like I was going to explode, but feel better now.... deep breaths....................10 points for best answer