Beware Dishnetwork Hidden "Upgrade" Charges!!!
Population Stabilizer
(aka Echostar) and I now feel I like I just fell into a greedy corporation's
consumer trap.
When I checked the Dishnetwork web site I see all sorts of huge hidden
monthly charges that go along with the receiver upgrade that I now see were
hidden in the small print. None of these charges were displayed on their
site where they offered the upgrade. Even though I already pay an additional
fee for high definition this new "digital home advantage" HD fee was still
applied!!!
How are these creeps allowed to get away with bilking the public? This just
another example of how companies allegedly regulated by the federal
government (the FCC) are allowed to prey upon the American people. It is
disgusting.
Alex
wrote:
Hi...
Actually I just upgraded my DishNetwork service to HDTV yesterday, and
they'll install the system this weekend. I'm with you in that we also
have the 'digital home advantage' plan, but they still wanted $229
(plus a $5 processing fee) for the VIP 722 HD receiver which they made
clear they still own. I called last week to get an estimate for the
price of upgrading, and they said this same receiver was $150 plus I'd
get a $100 mail-in rebate. Yesterday however they said there was no
rebate and the first person must have been wrong. *scratching head*
Dish has the best product in my opinion and decent prices, but their
customer service is horrible. They use overseas centers to man their
call centers, which I'm not completely opposed to, but I never speak
with anyone who I can understand. Also they contract the installation
to anyone, and each time I've had someone visit my home 'from Dish',
it's been 'some guy' in an old pick-up truck who looks like he just
walked out of a soup kitchen. The problem with Dish is you never
interact WITH Dish, you interact with their third party hired hands,
and these folks take zero ownership in their customer's problems nor
know the product they represent.
As for the fee's, I'm waiting to see what my first bill looks like,
because I couldn't understand anything the guy said yesterday via the
phone, so even though HDTV programming is 'free for 6 months', let's
see what fees they tack on. Our service was $68/month with a two-TV
DVR receiver (standard definition) and the Top 250 package. I'll post
details after we recieve a bill plus post comments after the HDTV
receiver is installed this weekend.
Alex
Char Jackson
My gosh, no wonder people pirate this stuff! Not saying it's right,
just that I understand a little better now.
My brother is a Dish installer and he drives a brand shiny new pickup,
but I have to admit he dresses as if he was homeless, so he's not
helping the stereotype at all.
spam@frontiernet.net C what I mean
"Char Jackson" <no...@none.invalid> wrote in message
news:432ua4doo8va7meq3...@4ax.com...
I just re-upped with DTV because they are coming out to upgrade most of my
equipment. Several times I point blank asked and received answers that
state this upgrade will cost me net zero and will not raise my monthly
fees... lets see how it works out..
Everett M. Greene
> On Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:04:41 -0000, Alex <sam...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > "Population Stabilizer" <rocka...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> >> I just made the mistake of upgrading a satellite receiver with Dishnetwork
> >> (aka Echostar) and I now feel I like I just fell into a greedy corporation's
> >> consumer trap.
> >>
> >> When I checked the Dishnetwork web site I see all sorts of huge hidden
> >> monthly charges that go along with the receiver upgrade that I now see were
> >> hidden in the small print. None of these charges were displayed on their
> >> site where they offered the upgrade. Even though I already pay an additional
> >> fee for high definition this new "digital home advantage" HD fee was still
> >> applied!!!
> >>
> >> How are these creeps allowed to get away with bilking the public? This just
> >> another example of how companies allegedly regulated by the federal
> >> government (the FCC) are allowed to prey upon the American people. It is
> >> disgusting.
> >
I've been a customer of Dish for quite a number of years
and have had very good success with their customer service
in the past. I've always been talking to someone in Denver
and getting whatever info or help has not been a problem.
A few months ago when I get one of their HD packages was a
whole different game. I believe I related the horrors I
encountered in that instance with trying get the installation
scheduling resolved. In that instance, I do believe I may
have been talking to somewhere other than Denver and, at
least initially, to someone who seemed to have less than
optimal intelligence.
I don't know about any fast footwork by Dish as to their
pricing, but I'm debating what I'm going to do when my
current 6-months free HD deal expires. I'm not convinced
that HD is worth the price that Dish wants for HD.
D. Stussy
news:Y%Trk.5568$MY1....@fe113.usenetserver.com...
I did that in August, but I also got the offer in writing: FREE equipment
exchange (MPEG-2 HD for MPEG-4 HD) and $0.01/month increase in HD
programming. However, when they billed me for the next cycle thereafter,
they increased my bill by $17.33. They tried to charge me for receivers
that were surrendered in the exchange. They also tried to charge me $2.00
more per month for the HD receivers (so what was free about that? It wasn't
in their offer, not even as a footnote). They did a billing adjustment that
resulted in an increase in my base package by a few pennies. As none of
these other charges were disclosed in their letter, I indicated in my
billing protest letter dated August 7 that their offer had WAIVED such
charges when they said the conversion was FREE, except as noted for the
$0.01/month increase in the HD programming package. They have not replied.
Instead of paying the amount they asked for, I paid exactly $0.01 more than
my previous bill.
I wrote them because their incompetent customer service representative tried
to fix the bill, but kept giving me itemized numbers that ended with an even
number of cents yet the total the computer had was in an odd number of
cents. The CSR couldn't even tell that there was something wrong; what a
moron. Only an odd number of odd numbers will add to an odd number (with
any amount of even-numbered values) - FIRST GRADE math.