Charged for VOD that I didn't order

[MikeD-C05]

I'm not worried about the $7 dollar charge right now. I'm worried about if they keep charging me even though I didn't order anything. I keep thinking it is a glitch in their system and I DON'T want to keep happening to me. If this is a one time deal, fine. But if I see another charge, then well it will keep coming and nothing will stop it.



Too late, I just powered up my gamma ray machine and started a force field around my house. Hopefully the neighbor's remote won't penetrate my shield. Not even the aliens can come in the middle of the night and abduct me!

Oh, but you will miss out on all those alien anal probings.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

But if I see another charge, then well it will keep coming and nothing will stop it.

Cancel your service

 

[byseven]

I got 2 charger with the VOD ch 1 !
My 5year old boy was using the remote and just push 1 and the !! and YES!
so I lock and Hide the VOD CH1
EVERY WEEK DISH RESET THE CH 1 . SO I HAVE TO GO BACK AND RELOCK and REHIDE

I call and they did not know about the problem !

So you only can lock or hide CH 1 for 1 week !

"They will fix this soon " ( maybe 2 years )

 

[jg24]

I got charged for two in May. Receivers are not even connected to the internet. Only phone lines.

 

[articos]

I got hit with this one last week, as well. Luckily I checked my billing. There's definitely a glitch in Dish's system somewhere. I am 100% there has never been a PPV or a VOD order on my system, ever. There was no title listed on my billing to track, either.

I don't have any issue with mistakes happening, but I do have a big issue with Dish acting like the customer is at fault automatically. It took some strong-arming to get a supervisor to remove it and wasting 40 mins on the phone, and even at that point, I was told emphatically it was a one-time removal for the lifetime of the account, since they're non-refundable charges. My comment back was if it it's an error on Dish's part and I hadn't ordered it in the first place, I will be expecting them to remove it again. It's just a bad policy on Dish's part, and it needs to be addressed at upper levels. The CSR's are only doing what they're told.

(Scott, can you put this one up the ladder to someone at Dish to look into?)

 

[cabledave]

So is putting VOD movies on customers accounts and then charging for them. What say you, Krell?

But that is corporate theft which is OK

 

[tedb3rd]

I've never had a VOD movie show up as viewed but I have tried repeatedly to block it on channel locks. However, it goes back and enabled viewing (unchecks) it seemingly on a daily basis. That would double-suck for me because I would get charged by Dish AND it would eat up my bandwidth limit for internet (using 3G).

Which makes me curious... Isn't there a 'warning' message that appears the first time you try to access VOD that warns about bandwidth limits? I've always selected 'No' (as in get me outta here) but I wonder if any of you who have seen random movies show up as ordered (that you really didn't) had selected the 'OK' (on the screen that tells it's not Dish's fault if your ISP charges you for bandwidth usage).?

 

[n0qcu]

That would double-suck for me because I would get charged by Dish AND it would eat up my bandwidth limit for internet (using 3G).

VOD does NOT use your internet connection, They are all predownloaded to your DVRs harddrive when the receiver is in standby.

Which makes me curious... Isn't there a 'warning' message that appears the first time you try to access VOD that warns about bandwidth limits? I've always selected 'No' (as in get me outta here) but I wonder if any of you who have seen random movies show up as ordered (that you really didn't) had selected the 'OK' (on the screen that tells it's not Dish's fault if your ISP charges you for bandwidth usage).?

That's DISHONLINE not VOD.

 

[byseven]

I hate the VOD CH 1 !!!!!
You cannot block it !

 

[geodi58]

Still waiting to see my credit show up....

-- On Sun, 6/20/10, wrote:


From:
Subject: RE: Erroneous POV Charge 5/22/2010
Date: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 10:19 AM

George,

I can go ahead and make the exception and have the PPV waived. I would recommend changing the lock code password and I can put the PPV limit to zero so this doesn’t happen in the future.

Thank you

Matt Kliewer
Executive Communications
DISH Network L.L.C




From: George Lee
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 8:04 PM
To: CEO
Subject: Erroneous POV Charge 5/22/2010

Dear Sir or Madam,

My account number is *****.

I am a long time subscriber and I have never been late for a payment. I contacted online chat regarding an erroneous POV charge. I am absolutely sure I did not order the POV. After the exchange below where I was told I had no recourse, I checked the settings of the receiver that my wife uses (we are the only two users in our household) and the POV option is locked (a setting that my wife would not know how to change).

While $6.99 is not a lot of money, I am sorry to hear that Dish will not even entertain that something could be amiss with Dish's billing policy. The current policy seems to imply that the customer is ALWAYS at fault. Thanks for listening,

George Lee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: How can I provide you with the best value and service today?

George Lee: I see a VOD charge on 5/22 that I never ordered

George Lee: I never ordered or watched "The Blind Side"

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry about that and will be happy to help you

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I was unable to access your account with the phone number you have provided. Can you please provide a different telephone number or the 16 digit account number listed on your Dish Network bill statement?

George Lee: Was it #####96425?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you

George Lee: Account number is ############3312

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry, but we can't waive VOD. The VOD are non refundable and can only be ordered by the remote and selecting yes to order 3 times

George Lee: but I never ordered it!

George Lee: the first time I saw the charge was on my online bill

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry, but we can't waive the charge

George Lee: can you apply a credit...wasn't there a promotion recently for a free POV?

George Lee: also, can you verify if the POV was ever watched. I would not have ordered anything to watch at 1:50 PM. I don't think I was even home

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Ok

George Lee: do you have a fraud department???

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I can't give a credit

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: We are not able to check if it was viewed

George Lee: please refer this to the fraud department and give me a case number

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: You will need to call in to 1-800-894-9131

George Lee: are you saying the only way to resolve this is to terminate my contract with DISH?

George Lee: please refer me to the supervisor

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No, but the department you need to talk to is not on chat

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: That is why you need to call in

George Lee: i need to call in to terminate my contract??

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: If you want to talk to the fraud department you would need to call in

George Lee: so i have to pay for a POV that i didn't order

George Lee: you can't issue a credit

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: VOD is non refundable

George Lee: ...can you offer a credit for a future POV to make things right?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

George Lee: so you can't do anything, correct?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Correct

George Lee: can you see if I have ever ordered a POV before?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I do not see one

George Lee: so it's highly unlikely i ordered the one on 5/22, which is one day before my birthday - so i know i didn't order the POV - can you have your supervisor look at this?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: The supervisors have to follow the same business rules, and we are not able to waive VOD charges

George Lee: i want the supervisor to see this and tell me him/herself, thanks

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Would you mind holding 1-2 minutes while I check if there is a supervisor available?

George Lee: ok

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you for your patience

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: It will be 1-2 minutes to transfer you

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B. has entered the session.

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK has left the session.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: Hello, I'm Debbie's manager.

George Lee: hello

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: I've reviewed your request and the information Debbie gave you is correct. we do not waive VOD charges because the only possible way to order them is via the remote. we can't order VOD from our system. you may not have ordered it yourself, but someone in your home did.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: Is there anything else that I can assist you with?

George Lee: it's seems that you can't. it's your word against mine. i'm very unhappy

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: we don't want you to be unhappy, but in this case there's nothing to dispute based on system limitations.

George Lee: your agent acknowledged that i never ordered a pov prior to this charge. I have been with dish for a very long time. basically, there is no recourse for me, correct?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: it's true that you haven't ordered one in the past, but they don't get ordered on their own, and it couldn't have been a mistake on our end because we can't order them for customers. in this case there is nothing we can do. you would need to by the $6.99.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: I mean pay, not by. sorry about that.

George Lee: ...and there's no way the dish computer could make a mistake, right?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: the computer meaning the program we use in the call centers or your receiver?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: the receiver won't order events on its own.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: and our computers can't.

George Lee: i can see this is going nowhere. this is definitely not customer service. I may need to re-evaluate staying with dish, thanks

 

[articos]

If Exec Comm. said they'll take care of it, it should show up on your next bill. Sometimes it doesn't show until the bill cycles. Give them a chance to take care of it - if it doesn't show as a credit on the next bill, call and ask them to check to see why it didn't go through.

Still waiting to see my credit show up....

-- On Sun, 6/20/10, wrote:


From:
Subject: RE: Erroneous POV Charge 5/22/2010
Date: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 10:19 AM

George,

I can go ahead and make the exception and have the PPV waived. I would recommend changing the lock code password and I can put the PPV limit to zero so this doesn’t happen in the future.

Thank you

Matt Kliewer
Executive Communications
DISH Network L.L.C




From: George Lee
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 8:04 PM
To: CEO
Subject: Erroneous POV Charge 5/22/2010

Dear Sir or Madam,

My account number is *****.

I am a long time subscriber and I have never been late for a payment. I contacted online chat regarding an erroneous POV charge. I am absolutely sure I did not order the POV. After the exchange below where I was told I had no recourse, I checked the settings of the receiver that my wife uses (we are the only two users in our household) and the POV option is locked (a setting that my wife would not know how to change).

While $6.99 is not a lot of money, I am sorry to hear that Dish will not even entertain that something could be amiss with Dish's billing policy. The current policy seems to imply that the customer is ALWAYS at fault. Thanks for listening,

George Lee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: How can I provide you with the best value and service today?

George Lee: I see a VOD charge on 5/22 that I never ordered

George Lee: I never ordered or watched "The Blind Side"

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry about that and will be happy to help you

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I was unable to access your account with the phone number you have provided. Can you please provide a different telephone number or the 16 digit account number listed on your Dish Network bill statement?

George Lee: Was it #####96425?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you

George Lee: Account number is ############3312

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry, but we can't waive VOD. The VOD are non refundable and can only be ordered by the remote and selecting yes to order 3 times

George Lee: but I never ordered it!

George Lee: the first time I saw the charge was on my online bill

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I am sorry, but we can't waive the charge

George Lee: can you apply a credit...wasn't there a promotion recently for a free POV?

George Lee: also, can you verify if the POV was ever watched. I would not have ordered anything to watch at 1:50 PM. I don't think I was even home

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Ok

George Lee: do you have a fraud department???

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I can't give a credit

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: We are not able to check if it was viewed

George Lee: please refer this to the fraud department and give me a case number

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: You will need to call in to 1-800-894-9131

George Lee: are you saying the only way to resolve this is to terminate my contract with DISH?

George Lee: please refer me to the supervisor

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No, but the department you need to talk to is not on chat

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: That is why you need to call in

George Lee: i need to call in to terminate my contract??

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: If you want to talk to the fraud department you would need to call in

George Lee: so i have to pay for a POV that i didn't order

George Lee: you can't issue a credit

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: VOD is non refundable

George Lee: ...can you offer a credit for a future POV to make things right?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: No

George Lee: so you can't do anything, correct?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Correct

George Lee: can you see if I have ever ordered a POV before?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: I do not see one

George Lee: so it's highly unlikely i ordered the one on 5/22, which is one day before my birthday - so i know i didn't order the POV - can you have your supervisor look at this?

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: The supervisors have to follow the same business rules, and we are not able to waive VOD charges

George Lee: i want the supervisor to see this and tell me him/herself, thanks

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Would you mind holding 1-2 minutes while I check if there is a supervisor available?

George Lee: ok

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: Thank you for your patience

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK: It will be 1-2 minutes to transfer you

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B. has entered the session.

(04-21rf) Debbie E.3KK has left the session.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: Hello, I'm Debbie's manager.

George Lee: hello

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: I've reviewed your request and the information Debbie gave you is correct. we do not waive VOD charges because the only possible way to order them is via the remote. we can't order VOD from our system. you may not have ordered it yourself, but someone in your home did.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: Is there anything else that I can assist you with?

George Lee: it's seems that you can't. it's your word against mine. i'm very unhappy

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: we don't want you to be unhappy, but in this case there's nothing to dispute based on system limitations.

George Lee: your agent acknowledged that i never ordered a pov prior to this charge. I have been with dish for a very long time. basically, there is no recourse for me, correct?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: it's true that you haven't ordered one in the past, but they don't get ordered on their own, and it couldn't have been a mistake on our end because we can't order them for customers. in this case there is nothing we can do. you would need to by the $6.99.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: I mean pay, not by. sorry about that.

George Lee: ...and there's no way the dish computer could make a mistake, right?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: the computer meaning the program we use in the call centers or your receiver?

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: the receiver won't order events on its own.

(Mang10-PTLco-RF) Sara B.: and our computers can't.

George Lee: i can see this is going nowhere. this is definitely not customer service. I may need to re-evaluate staying with dish, thanks

 

[pabeader]

just an fyi. if you have a phone line connected or it's hooked to broadband, they CAN tell exacty if and when you watched any program. the question is, do they want to?

 

[tedb3rd]

You can lock out the VOD channel with channel locks.... But for some reason it unlocks itself later (within 24 hours)... at least on the 722.

I can't count the number of times I've gone and attempted to lock the channel out. I go back and check, yes, it's locked out correctly. Then the next day, without making any changes, the channel is visible again. I imagine it's unlocking itself in early morning when it downloads updates, guide, reboots...

I've heard that DirecTV DVRs are loaded with problems and people generally prefer Dish GUI over Direct... But I bet Direct's DVR doesn't order VOD on its own!!

 

[Junk Food]

I'm pretty sure the receiver does not order on it's own. I tried to find the ordered VOD but could not find it under My Recordings. My thing about this is that it is a glitch in their system. Maybe someone did ordered it but the system put it on someone else account? Kinda like your phones being crossed, you tried to dial someone's number but instead got a different person.

 

[xyz38]

Theft is theft.

Its much worse for billion dollar companys to do it to customers.

I on the other hand , would just give my equipment back and be done, instead of fighting with E* and keeping theri equipment hostage over a $7 PPV.

But thats just me.

If Dish is really doing this, it is not petty theft. It is grand larceny because it is being done to so many customers.

I do not have channel 1. Is it only on dvr receivers?

 

[lakebum431]

I do not have channel 1. Is it only on dvr receivers?

Yes, Dish only does VOD on DVR units as the movies are downloaded to a partitioned section of the hard drive.

 

[Ghpr13]

One thing I did to help prevent an unwanted VOD or PPV from being ordered, is to take them all off of my "favorites" guide...I know this isn't a complete fail safe, but it has prevented our 2 sons (24 & 21), from "accidentally" ordering a movie.
(Actually, I think the only reason this has worked so far is they're both too lazy to change the guide and hunt through all the channels.)

Ghpr13

 

[sparc]

i don't know if this works on all receivers... but...

in the Locks menu you can create "Channel Locks" to lock out all these garbage channels... then use the "Hide Locked" selection to make all those channels disappear.

cleans up your guide from all the junk channels and the one's you don't want people accidentally selecting.

hth

 

[Ghpr13]

i don't know if this works on all receivers... but...

in the Locks menu you can create "Channel Locks" to lock out all these garbage channels... then use the "Hide Locked" selection to make all those channels disappear.

cleans up your guide from all the junk channels and the one's you don't want people accidentally selecting.

hth

Yeah, I think this is how I did it.
Ghpr13

 

[Awohar]

Lock both ch 501 and ch 1. Choose LOCK PPV in parental locks. Choose HIDE LOCKED. Set a PIN.

4 digit pin can be guessed. Odds are 1 in 10,000 if trying numbers sequentially. Choose pins starting with a 4,5,6. Manual guess methods have their success reduced via abandonment since people choose a logical starting point of 9999 or 0000.