It is not just Loyalty, though. I had the same experience when I tried to call AirTV support, which is also a division of Dish.
2021 Dish Prices
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After I realized they didn't charge the dvr fee I bought some PPV because, you know, those were "free" at this pointThat is correct. It has been that way for around a year-and-a-half now, if not longer. The same thing happened when my sister activated her account with a Wally and external hard drive, at the beginning of last year. Just play dumb and don't mention the fee when you call to activate the EHD DVR functions, and the agent will likely push the activation through without charging the fee.
I paid the $40 years ago, but I got Dish to refund it last year. That was a unique situation where Dish had already broken DVR functionality on my Wally, though, turning any Wally on my account into a "Wally D."They charged me $40 last August.
On another Dish account before that, I got Dish to waive the $40 DVR activation fee for my ViP211k by simply asking Loyalty to waive the fee. In that case, the monthly DVR fee credits that I started receiving when I still had a 501 (and I later used to offset the DVR fee on a leased ViP722k) had just expired. Those credits could not be renewed, so I asked for another option that would still give me free DVR service. The leased DVR went back to Dish right after that.
I am far from the only one who has reported here over many years that the $40 DVR activation fee could be waived by Loyalty if you ask nicely. In my recent experience (and the experience of some other members who posted here even more recently than that) you don't even have to ask to get it waived anymore.
They've been giving me $20/mo off for the last few years so not going to get too greedy. Enjoy not having any monthly DVR or equipment fees.
I have had to call loyalty quite a few times lately. They have always been very nice over the years- I am in year 21. As of late, they have been very generous in my opinion. I hope DBS will remain economically feasible to stay alive (Dish, that is) as long as I am alive. The 21 years have been a pleasant experience for the most part. The pricing is one of the most competitive for a full service provider based upon comparisons I have done. I have never bundled any of my communications services, dbs, cell and fiber broadband- feel like I have better bargaining power with the pricing.
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I forgot to say that I had been on AT200 for years but stepped down to the Flex Pack. The loyalty dept gave me $10 off on a 2 year commitment. I don’t know if that is the norm but with the Flex Pack price I felt $10 off sounded reasonable.
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My bill still shows $15 for my purchased Hopper3 receiver. So even though the agent removed my purchased Hopper3 receiver from my account and then added my purchased Hopper3 Receiver back on my account on May 3rd, it still charged $15 for my purchased Hopper3.
Today I noticed that Dish had called while I was outside with my dog. I called Dish back and the agent had no idea why Dish had called. Since I had an agent I asked why my purchased Hopper3 was still being charged $15. She read all the notes on my account and realized that the bill was wrong. Since she could not fix it she said she would credit my account $5.
So it appears that those of us with two Hopper3 receivers with one purchased still will be billed $15 for the purchased Hopper3.
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Just to be clear, that $15 is a receiver fee, correct?
Is it for your first or second Hopper3? If it is for the first, be sure it is not a DVR fee instead of a receiver fee. The receiver fee is the one that can be reduced on owned receivers, but on the second and subsequent receivers, not the first receiver because the first receiver is not charged a receiver fee but it is charged a DVR fee of $15.
Under equipment the Hopper DVR fee is $15. I then have a $5x24 months DVR savings since I started a new 2 year contract. I then have a Hopper receiver fee of $15. This Hopper receiver fee of $15 which is for my second purchased Hopper3 is what is wrong.
I also get a $5x24 month eAutopay savings.
The agents claim that the $5 reduction in the DVR fee doesn’t also allow the reduction for my purchased Hopper3 receiver.
By the way my Joey3 does have the correct $5 charge as access for additional TV.
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It may be that the deal is only if both are purchased, similar to how BOGOs work. The more expensive one is charged and the less expensive one gets the deal. Similar here. I bet money that if both your H3’s were owned, you’d see a different scenario altogether.
I think there are some members getting their owned Hopper 3 at $5. There has been some post that think the effective date when price increase came out 14 Jan 2021 has something to do with it. Can some fellow SatGuy members who are getting their owned Hopper 3 at $5 post when they purchased their Hopper 3? And also if you also have a leased Hopper 3 too.
You should know to be careful about betting, Chad...
I found the posts, although these so far seem to confirm Chad's theory above:
In any event, these posts and other posts shortly after them that also reference actually getting the $5 fee for the second (owned) Hopper 3 all involve Hopper 3's that were purchased and added to the accounts after January 14. So, this seems to confirm my "grandfathering" theory, where those who already had a purchased second Hopper 3 before January 14 get the short end of the stick, and get stuck with the higher fee.
I wonder if anyone who got "grandfathered" with the higher second Hopper 3 fee has tried completely removing the old purchased Hopper 3 and replacing it with a completely different purchased Hopper 3, instead of adding the same one back to the account again. If this works to get the new lower fee, perhaps everyone here with a purchased Hopper 3 can set up a club to exchange your purchased Hopper 3's with each other. Everyone would then have a purchased Hopper 3 that is new (to your account anyway) and was added after January 14, which should allow it to qualify for the lower rate. Someone recently listed a Hopper 3 for sale in the Classifieds section here for $150, if anyone wants to spend the money to test this theory.
I don't mind not being grandfathered with my purchased H3. If DISH would just fess up and tell me I would be happy and quit calling every month.You should know to be careful about betting, Chad...
I found the posts, although these so far seem to confirm Chad's theory above:
In any event, these posts and other posts shortly after them that also reference actually getting the $5 fee for the second (owned) Hopper 3 all involve Hopper 3's that were purchased and added to the accounts after January 14. So, this seems to confirm my "grandfathering" theory, where those who already had a purchased second Hopper 3 before January 14 get the short end of the stick, and get stuck with the higher fee.
I wonder if anyone who got "grandfathered" with the higher second Hopper 3 fee has tried completely removing the old purchased Hopper 3 and replacing it with a completely different purchased Hopper 3, instead of adding the same one back to the account again. If this works to get the new lower fee, perhaps everyone here with a purchased Hopper 3 can set up a club to exchange your purchased Hopper 3's with each other. Everyone would then have a purchased Hopper 3 that is new (to your account anyway) and was added after January 14, which should allow it to qualify for the lower rate. Someone recently listed a Hopper 3 for sale in the Classifieds section here for $150, if anyone wants to spend the money to test this theory.
Lol, hey, I won the last bet. But trust me, I have my fair share of losses. I’m banking on Dish’s history and what makes the most sense overall with that in consideration.You should know to be careful about betting, Chad...
I found the posts, although these so far seem to confirm Chad's theory above:
In any event, these posts and other posts shortly after them that also reference actually getting the $5 fee for the second (owned) Hopper 3 all involve Hopper 3's that were purchased and added to the accounts after January 14. So, this seems to confirm my "grandfathering" theory, where those who already had a purchased second Hopper 3 before January 14 get the short end of the stick, and get stuck with the higher fee.
I wonder if anyone who got "grandfathered" with the higher second Hopper 3 fee has tried completely removing the old purchased Hopper 3 and replacing it with a completely different purchased Hopper 3, instead of adding the same one back to the account again. If this works to get the new lower fee, perhaps everyone here with a purchased Hopper 3 can set up a club to exchange your purchased Hopper 3's with each other. Everyone would then have a purchased Hopper 3 that is new (to your account anyway) and was added after January 14, which should allow it to qualify for the lower rate. Someone recently listed a Hopper 3 for sale in the Classifieds section here for $150, if anyone wants to spend the money to test this theory.
None of it really makes sense, though. As we have already covered (over many pages of posts in this very thread) the fee for the first receiver is exactly the same, regardless of whether it is purchased or leased. The DVR fee was not affected at all by the changes to the purchased equipment fees. So, it is hard to see how Dish saves or loses any money (from the monthly fees going forward) by requiring that both Hopper 3's be purchased, if that even actually is the requirement to get the lower fee on the second one.
Dish may get a one-time income bump from the sale of the second Hopper 3. (This assumes that the customer buys the Hopper 3 from Dish, rather than a used one. It also assumes that Dish makes any profit each time they sell a Hopper 3.) Otherwise, the fees would be the same going forward. In the meantime, Dish has simply ticked off their existing two-Hopper 3 customers, by making them purchase a new Hopper 3 to replace a perfectly good working leased Hopper 3. The only way that Dish makes any more money from this scenario is by continuing to rip off existing two-Hopper 3 customers with one leased Hopper 3, by continuing to overcharge on the monthly fee for the second (purchased) Hopper 3. Perhaps that is what Dish is banking on.
Keep in mind that the only way Dish allows two Hopper 3's on the same account in the first place is if at least one of them is purchased. So, Dish already got their money from the sale of the first purchased Hopper 3 (again, assuming that Dish sold that Hopper 3 and made a profit on it) and now they are just double-dipping by requiring that the other Hopper 3 also be purchased, in order to qualify for the advertised lower monthly rate. It seems to me that Dish would make more money by now allowing two leased Hopper 3's on the same account. This would legitimately allow Dish to continue charging full-price for both Hopper 3's. Of course, even this scenario would still suck for those early-adopter existing two-Hopper 3 customers, who have already paid for their second Hopper 3 up-front, while new customers would not be required to make such a purchase. However, that is the option that makes the most sense to me going forward.
I would test the two purchased Hopper 3 theory myself, but I did not even purchase the first Hopper 3 on my account until well after January 14. So, it would prove nothing about whether existing customers who had two Hopper 3's before January 14 would get the lower rate by purchasing the second one, rather than leasing one.
Twice (in February and May) the agent removed my purchased Hopper3 receiver and then reactivated it on my account attempting to get the $5 charge for my purchased Hopper3 Receiver. Both attempts failed. The one agent claims that the $5x24 month DVR discount is preventing the system from changing the $15 purchased Hopper3 to $5.
I have several questions.
1) Are customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3 also getting the $5 Autopay and $5 DVR discount tor accepting a 24 month contract?
2) For customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3 when did you add the Second Hopper3 to your account?
3) For customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3: Are both Hopper3 receivers purchased or is one leased?
4) Are the customers getting the $5 charge for their Hopper3 brand new customers to Dish? If so it may have been offered as an incentive to get them to join Dish.
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I have several questions.
1) Are customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3 also getting the $5 Autopay and $5 DVR discount tor accepting a 24 month contract?
2) For customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3 when did you add the Second Hopper3 to your account?
3) For customers getting the $5 charge for their purchased Hopper3: Are both Hopper3 receivers purchased or is one leased?
4) Are the customers getting the $5 charge for their Hopper3 brand new customers to Dish? If so it may have been offered as an incentive to get them to join Dish.
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The problem with that theory is that Dish doesn't really advertise the ability to have two Hopper 3's to new customers at all. You have to already know about that option from reading sites like this, and then you still have to purchase the second Hopper 3 if you want to have two Hopper 3's at all. That doesn't really sound like any kind of incentive.
The other problem is that Dish's chart (which has been linked multiple times in this thread) is clearly advertising the new fees as applying to existing customers, who already had service before January 14. Otherwise, you would not have received any notice from Dish to go to that link to check that chart in the first place. So, for this $5 purchased Hopper 3 fee to only apply to new customers, with no mention of any such restriction on the price chart where that fee is listed (not even a tiny note in the fine print) is clearly a case of false advertising, plain and simple.
Again, here is Dish's exact wording that appears directly above that chart:
"In addition to the core package changes, if you own your equipment, you will see a new, lower service fee ("Access for Add'l TV") for access on those TVs."
Lower compared to what, if customers who are actually receiving the $5 second Hopper 3 fee never had an additional Hopper 3 before the new rates took effect?
Talked to the DISH senior resolution department yesterday about my recent bill still showing $15 for my owned Hopper 3. This guy I talked to wasn’t very helpful. He said that the 2021 price changes web page was for DISH retail customers only. I stopped short of telling him what I thought of that. I never heard of different prices for DISH retail and regular DISH customers before. He supposedly sent an email to the last senior resolution lady that I talked to last time to call me. She hasn’t called yet. I wish DISH would just say why us older customers aren’t getting the owned Hopper 3 for $5. I think I am giving up.
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