Yes, it may be confusing that improper grammar is accepted, but poor English is readily accepted, too (like saying 'me and my friend' instead of 'my friend and I'). You should certainly learn the proper way to say things, but allow for poor Spanish to be spoken around you.
The indirect object pronoun should accompany the verb '
decir', unless there is no indirect object. For example, '
Quiero decir algo'. Here there is no indirect object.