Dish Network

[ArmyPair2]

:thumbsup: This morning Dish dropped some channels from the Turner Network and once again had to make the aggressive phone call. I called Dish at this number (1 800 333-3474) and talked to the first representative which told me that he could give me $ 5.00 dollars off for the next six months on the bill. I told him that was not good enough and I have been a valued customer all these years and I want a better deal.When I told him I bet Direct TV had the channels I want he said let me let you talk to his higher up that could authorize more options to keep you as a customer .

When I was transferred to a supervisor I told her the $5.00 deal was not good enough for me and what can she give me to stay with dish. She told me that she can knock off $ 25.00 a month for the next three month plus will give me some premium channels for free also for three months like max, movie channel and star.
For a bonus she would also send me three free pay preview movies that we have to use within 90 days. It pays to sound mean sometimes on the phone and aggressive. When I asked her what else can I squeeze out of you she just laughed and I was already happy with what I got.

If you own Direct TV and a contract dispute happens again like it did a few months back maybe something like I did can help you in the future.

 

[RollingsFarms]

I recently upgraded for "free" to Genie and supposedly got $6 per month for the next 12 months off my bill. The catch is I had to sign a 2 year contract and when I turned in my "old boxes" I was charged for three pay-per-views I'd ordered back in 2006 and 2008! In other words I paid for them twice. I argued it til my heart was content but they knew I wasn't going anywhere since I just signed a two year contract. I'll remember this when my two years is up and will demand one heck of a deal or else I'll be walking.

 

[oosik]

Hmmmm - - I have had Dish for a loooong time and have never had to sign any contract. Not so with my AT&T phone. Every time I blow my nose or change my phone service with AT&T, its a new two year contract. Amazing, how many services they want to provide to get me back under their two year contract.

 

[Country Geek]

Hmmmm - - I have had Dish for a loooong time and have never had to sign any contract. Not so with my AT&T phone. Every time I blow my nose or change my phone service with AT&T, its a new two year contract. Amazing, how many services they want to provide to get me back under their two year contract.

You generally have to sign a two year contract with DISH to get the latest DVR equipment. If you don't upgrade your equipment you aren't asked for a contract.

 

[Country Geek]

Here is a view into the culture of DISH, btw: Dish Network, the Meanest Company in America - Businessweek

 

[jwstewar]

I recently upgraded for "free" to Genie and supposedly got $6 per month for the next 12 months off my bill. The catch is I had to sign a 2 year contract and when I turned in my "old boxes" I was charged for three pay-per-views I'd ordered back in 2006 and 2008! In other words I paid for them twice. I argued it til my heart was content but they knew I wasn't going anywhere since I just signed a two year contract. I'll remember this when my two years is up and will demand one heck of a deal or else I'll be walking.

I just upgraded our DirecTV equipment too. I also went with the Genie but with wireless boxes vs. the hard wired ones. Normally they will only give you 2 wireless boxes and $100 install vs the wired ones they will do for free. I put enough pressure on them that they gave me 3 of the wireless boxes and gave me the install for $50. I then also got them to give me $20 off per month for 1 year. I then persuaded them to let me keep our old DVR box and add it into the mix for $6 per month. So now we have TV on 5 TVs in the house and I can move 3 of those boxes around to anywhere in the house that I want them.

 

[roadhunter]

I planning on cutting Dish Network after football season. I only get it for the live sports and with major networks and HBO announcing they will be selling content direct to consumers without being packaged in a Cable or satellite bundle it's only a matter of time until we can get live sports over the web.

 

[Bird]

We had Dish here for awhile. When a receiver went bad, they sent me a new one "under warranty" but I had to pay a stiff "Shipping" charge. So when the next one went bad and I called and got an idiot in their support section who said it was the remote control and he'd send me a new one (for which I'd play shipping charges again), I decided I'd had enough. I may not be too smart, but I knew for a fact the receiver was dead; not the remote control.

So we had DirecTV; not bad service, but they just kept trying to sneak price increases in. When I'd call, they'd offer a little discount for awhile; the last one finally being $20 a month for 2 years. When that 2 years expired they jumped the price $26 and when I called I got a guy who said nothing could be done about it.

So I changed to Charter Cable and when I called to cancel DirecTV, the lady tried everything she could think of to get me to change my mind, including cutting our bill in half and giving us a bunch of premium channels we'd never had. I told her she was too late, so they still send stuff in the mail about once a month trying to get us back.

When I signed up with Charter, the guy told me how much it would be for TV, telephone, and Internet, and said after a year it would go up $20. Well, I guess he "forgot" about some fees and taxes because from the start it was just over $20 more than he'd said. And this month is one year and the bill that just came includes an increase of $59.12.

Is there any honest company in the business?

 

[kf4uda]

Is there any honest company in the business?

No, I don't think there any honest ones in this business. Between my own experiences with cable and dish and others experiences that I have talked to or read about, I hear about the same old song and dance (as you have experienced) from each one. :smiley_aafz:

 

[antlers125]

Dealt w/ similar issues w/ DisH Network. Canceled service completely. I purchased an Antenna & am getting almost 40 channels including local - all for FREE. That was almost 4yrs. ago. I have saved thousands $$$. LOVING EVERY PENNY!! A matter of fact I took my savings & purchased a Tractor.

No, I don't think there any honest ones in this business. Between my own experiences with cable and dish and others experiences that I have talked to or read about, I hear about the same old song and dance (as you have experienced) from each one. :smiley_aafz:

 

[cointoss]

Thanks!!!! it worked for me as well. I had to be very persistent, ended up with $25 off for 3 months: Starz, Cinemax, and Showtime: and 5 free Pay Per Views. Asked for more but I think I had reached the limit, who Knows?

 

[wrangler6831]

We called and asked if they could match our local cables price on the bundle (tv, internet and phone). They said they could but offered $30 off for the next 16 months plus upgraded us to the Genie's and 3 months of HBO, Showtime, and Max. It pays to shop around.

 

[HEC]

We called and asked if they could match our local cables price on the bundle (tv, internet and phone). They said they could but offered $30 off for the next 16 months plus upgraded us to the Genie's and 3 months of HBO, Showtime, and Max. It pays to shop around.

How good is the internet service ?

 

[ArmyPair2]

Well Dish did it again and so I had to call them. This time I had to spread the truth and tell them I watch FOX and now I can't get it and what are you going to do about it? The only thing they could do was knock off another $25 bucks off for the next three months plus some free movies. Since I always paid good money for this service all these years at least they should have their contracts in order.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Well, we just went through the drop of CNN from Dish. That has been "temporarily" resolved, with feed until sometime in mid January I think. Now, it's Fox News going off the air.

I like Dish and have had it for many years. These contract negotiations are normal business activity and they occur on all carriers. DirecTV is not immune. Switching carriers is a short-term fix. Like some, I called and got some perks when CNN was dropped. They gave me a free upgrade to the Hopper DVR, $5 off for some months and free pay channels for 90 days. I may call and try to get some more over the Fox issue.

While I miss the channels, they will eventually come back. In the meantime, I appreciate that Dish doesn't just whip out the checkbook and pay whatever these networks are demanding. Those costs will find their way to subscribers.

 

[i579rbd]

Hey Antlers,
What kind of antennae did you get? We will soon be moving back the US and I need to figure out Ant. vs. Dish vs. Direct. I don't care much for TV but my wife likes the occasional movie. I am thinking about Internet only with Dish/Direct and using Netflix or Hulu plus a antennae.

What experience does the group have or what am I not thinking about? I always had cable as a adult but haven't lived in the states for the last 10 years or so.

Thanks all in advance.

 

[MikePA]

I need to figure out Ant. vs. Dish vs. Direct. I don't care much for TV but my wife likes the occasional movie. I am thinking about Internet only with Dish/Direct and using Netflix or Hulu plus a antennae. What experience does the group have or what am I not thinking about? I always had cable as a adult but haven't lived in the states for the last 10 years or so.

Since you don't care much for TV and your wife only likes the occasional movie, all you need is an Internet connection and Netflix. No need for Dish, Direct, cable or an antenna.

If you want the broadcast channels, depending where you live, how close it is and what terrain is between you and your local stations, an antenna in the attic might be all you need. While I have cable, I also have an antenna in the attic and I can receive all the local broadcast networks in HD.

 

[LD1]

IF you have the option for actual cable, that is the way to go IMO.

I recently moved about 8 miles. Old place I had TWC and roadrunner. Where I moved to, no cable. They service the main road that I live "just off of" (1300ft), but they refuse to bring cable down my road as there isnt enough people, and only way is for me to pony up ~$19k to make it happen.

So I was forced with the same dilema, dish vs direct + Century link DSL.

Comparing 2 different packages

Dish + 4tv + DVR vs Direct + 4tv + DVR
Dish + 4tv w/o DVR vs Direct + 4 tv w/o DVR



Looking past all the promotions that sucker people in, The largest difference I seen between Dish and Direct was $3/month for those. That was comparing similar packages too. (the cheapest that had the sports channels, and the sci, disc, nat-geo, history, etc that I wanted)

At any rate, I opted for the DVR, Direct TV Xtra package, and century link 6Mb internet (fastest they can get me). And for the first year is ~$80-90. But after that it goes to $150-160. I had similar channels with TWC on one TV, and the rest were just standard that didnt need a box (which was nice). And MUCH BETTER internet @20Mb. All of that was ~$110/month.

I suppose the thing to do would be after 2 years switch to dish, then after 2 years switch back to direct and continue to do that. Cause if you average year 1 and ear 2 prices it is close to cable

 

[Country Geek]

Well, we just went through the drop of CNN from Dish. That has been "temporarily" resolved, with feed until sometime in mid January I think. Now, it's Fox News going off the air.

I like Dish and have had it for many years. These contract negotiations are normal business activity and they occur on all carriers. DirecTV is not immune. Switching carriers is a short-term fix. Like some, I called and got some perks when CNN was dropped. They gave me a free upgrade to the Hopper DVR, $5 off for some months and free pay channels for 90 days. I may call and try to get some more over the Fox issue.

While I miss the channels, they will eventually come back. In the meantime, I appreciate that Dish doesn't just whip out the checkbook and pay whatever these networks are demanding. Those costs will find their way to subscribers.

Yup, my local CBS and FOX affiliates are off DISH as well. I don't like the disruption either but I think it's better for all of us in the long run if pay TV providers hold out against ever escalating rights fees.

FOX in particular needs to lose this fight, they are trying to play on their viewers loyalty to leverage DISH to add unrelated sports channels at a high price that would jack up rates for everyone. But it's not just them. I dont have a ton of sympathy for my affected local stations either even though I'm not happy they're off.

But before you switch to Direct make sure you find out for sure when their contracts with your favorite channels expire. You would be unhappy to switch just to have this happen again with your new service....and it will.

 

[i579rbd]

Thanks, according to AntennaWeb - Resources our address will oly recieve two channels via ant. I'm not too sure that will keep the SWMBO satisfied. Personnaly I can do without it if I can surf the net for news, sales and of course TBN. .