Dish destroyed by hurricane Wilma, HELP!

[elephant98]

I live in Broward County. Thankfully, my family is safe and my home is in pretty good shape. However, the same cannot be said about my beloved DirecTV satellite dish and OTA antenna, which were blown off the side of my home and destroyed. There's nothing left but a crumpled heap of twisted metal.

My wife called D* customer service and they informed her that D* will replace the dish and antenna for free. BUT, there is no way that they will be able to send anyone out to our home until at least December 9th. She begged and pleaded, but they said that the only way we get an install date was to find a local D* dealer ourselves who could come out earlier. Is this really my best option?

I understand that there are probably thousands of D* customers in the South Florida area who have had an interruption in their service. But I was hoping to find a way to get a little priority. I have been a loyal D* customer since 1999. I have had the NFL Sunday Ticket since 1999. I currently subscribe to the Premier Package, have NFL Sunday Ticket, NFL Superfan, ESPN Gameplan and the HD package. Also, I have seven D* receivers in my home, including the HR10-250 HD-DVR with Tivo. Does any of this matter to D*, or am I simply in the same boat as the rest of D*'s customers.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. (By the way, if anyone responds with a question, please understand that I may be slow in getting back to you. I'm not using my own computer and might not have access to one for another few hours. We don't have power yet, but will soon.)

 

[patvr]

elephant - I wish I had some answers for you. I am in South Louisiana and had my Direct TV install scheduled for Sept 22 two days before Hurricane Rita flooded this area (when the storm goes west of us it pumps in water - thus flooding). They called and rescheduled for October 21.

After the flooding receded and power came back on I called them to see if they could move it up. They said there wasn't any way to move it up. I appealed to them that I was missing "half the NFL season". They gave me $20 off each month for the next 6 month.

Now I know you would rather have it back on than have the $120 credit, but at least it helps. Get on the phone with them and see what you can get.

Good luck with the clean-up etc. It's been a hell of a hurricane season (and it's not over yet - Beta is out there but doesn't look like it will get into the Gulf).

Next storm I will remove my dish as part of the preparation process.

 

[mcbeevee]

If you could talk D* into sending you the dish, you could do a temporary setup yourself (like a tripod). Once you have the dish stabilized, the alignment is not that hard to do.

 

[Hogarth]

My wife called D* customer service and they informed her that D* will replace the dish and antenna for free. BUT, there is no way that they will be able to send anyone out to our home until at least December 9th. She begged and pleaded, but they said that the only way we get an install date was to find a local D* dealer ourselves who could come out earlier. Is this really my best option?

Yup.

You're lucky.
There are some customers in Louisiana and Mississippi whose installers literally don't exist anymore. There's no service calls in many of their areas -at all-.

Incidentally, my sources tell me you already got some priority -- I've heard incidence of some service calls in your area being in late December.

H

 

[flipper2001]

Yup.

You're lucky.
There are some customers in Louisiana and Mississippi whose installers literally don't exist anymore. There's no service calls in many of their areas -at all-.

Incidentally, my sources tell me you already got some priority -- I've heard incidence of some service calls in your area being in late December.

H

I also live in BC - Pem Pines and although my dish is still there and doesnt look like it moved, im getting 0 signal on all 3 sat locations. I have 2 Dtivo's and both have the same problem. My dish is mounted like 22ft up in a townhouse so its a problem to get to it to do anything. I called Dtv and they said because of the storm there are no service calls that can be placed at this time. This sucks.. I Physicially looked at the dish (from the ground) and it doesnt appear to be damaged, but 100+ mph winds can do some crazy stuff. If anyone out there has any suggestions, let us know!

 

[flipper2001]

Lemme ask another question, is there ANY way to get the HDTivo or Ditvo to skip the satellite search upon boot? Then i could at least use my OTA stations in HD. But the problem is , when it boots it doesnt find the guide to acquire and it assumes the account is canceled, since dtv cant see it, they cant help me either. Any trick to getting ot WATCH TV without it first trying to aquire?? Wow this might be the first time i pull out my old Voom box to get the OTA since i have no other way.

 

[crunkrock]

do you really consider that to be fair?

"sir i know you called before mr smith, but he spends alot more money with us, so we are going to do a service call on his house first".....


think about it.

 

[elephant98]

do you really consider that to be fair?

"sir i know you called before mr smith, but he spends alot more money with us, so we are going to do a service call on his house first".....


think about it.

I was just trying to see if anyone had an idea about how I could get my new dish up quicker. I find that this message board is good for that kind of thing. From reading this board on other issues, D* has a history of giving some preferential treatment to its long term, premium customers when it comes to customer retention issues. And, I was just curious to hear if anyone thought that angle would work for me here. It can't hurt to ask.

To answer your question, No I don't think its fair. But, if D* is willing to give me preferential treatment, I'm not going to decline it.

 

[little dish guy]

Elephant98,
If someone sent you a replacement dish could you install it yourself?
Bob

 

[elephant98]

Elephant98,
If someone sent you a replacement dish could you install it yourself?
Bob

I'm not sure if I could do it or not. Perhaps so if the mount is still on the house. But, D* told me that they won't send me a replacement dish in the mail. It has to be brought to me by the installer. I'll just have to be patient and see how things pan out over the next week or so. Now that power is starting to be restored to Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, I'm hoping to luck out with a local independent D* installer.

Flipper2001, my former dish got blown off-kilter by both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Each time I had to have someone come out to give the dish a adjustment. That's probably what happened to yours, check out your signal strength meter. Also, when that happened my HR10-250 HD-Tivo similarly could not download any satellite information. But, I remember being given an option to watch whatever channels could be recieved (ie. OTA HD channels) and also anything that I had previously recorded. I didn't do anything special to get to this screen, it was just given to me as an option. Best of luck.

 

[MikeD-C05]

Rita blew my dish off plumb from the pole and crushed it into a Big C. I went and got a dish off of a neighbors house out back on a pole, that he wasn't using. He had the sat cable cut and had gone with Cable , so I don't think he missed it. I traded his for my crushed sat dish. He keeps saying "I guess I'm lucky I went with TWC last year. " I was watching satellite that very day on 10/05 when the lights came back on, and he just got his cable back on yesterday the 28th. I keep telling him I am sure glad I had satellite.

 

[uboatcmdr]

Rita blew my dish off plumb from the pole and crushed it into a Big C. I went and got a dish off of a neighbors house out back on a pole, that he wasn't using. He had the sat cable cut and had gone with Cable , so I don't think he missed it. I traded his for my crushed sat dish. He keeps saying "I guess I'm lucky I went with TWC last year. " I was watching satellite that very day on 10/05 when the lights came back on, and he just got his cable back on yesterday the 28th. I keep telling him I am sure glad I had satellite.

A midnight acquisition!!! Guess the "D" in MikeD-C05 stand for "dawg", you dawg you!

 

[elephant98]

Lemme ask another question, is there ANY way to get the HDTivo or Ditvo to skip the satellite search upon boot? Then i could at least use my OTA stations in HD. But the problem is , when it boots it doesnt find the guide to acquire and it assumes the account is canceled, since dtv cant see it, they cant help me either. Any trick to getting ot WATCH TV without it first trying to aquire?? Wow this might be the first time i pull out my old Voom box to get the OTA since i have no other way.

Turns out I had the same problem as you did. My HD Tivo reciever was constantly searching for a satellite that no longer exists! There is a way around this problem, however, so that you can watch local HD stations using your OTA antenna. I don't remember precisely what I did, so check out your user's manual. What you need to do is go through the entire set-up process all over again, during which you will select ONLY OTA antenna as your source for programming. Then, the receiver will do a search for available local stations and you are all set. The receiver will no longer search for the satellite. Unfortunately, it does not look like you will be able to record anything on your DVR. (I tried to get the DVR service activated with D*, but they told me that the satellite must be up to do that). But, you will still have the 30 minute buffer, during which you can pause live tv.

Of course, once your satellite is up and running again, you will have to go through the setup process once more. Hope this helps.

 

[elephant98]

Kudos to DirecTV

It took a little determination on my part, but I'm very happy to report that I finally have a new dish installed on my home. I was able to find a local installer who was willing to show up and do the install (at a price, which D* would cover in the form of program credits), but lo and behold the D* installer actually made it out to my house first on Monday night (Halloween).

Basically, I called customer retention and I expressed my concern about missing the rest of the ESPN Gameplan and the bulk of the NFL season on the Sunday Ticket. They offered me a program credit for the missing week of my service and also the sports packages, as well as $20 off my premier subscription for the next 6 months. I in no way demanded preferential treatment, but it certainly didn't hurt that I have been a loyal customer for so many years and have so many receivers activated on the account.

D* contacted their installer on my behalf on Monday (Halloween) morning and also gave me their installer's telephone number so that I could do the same. It turns out that the December 9th install date that I was initially given was merely a worst case scenario, dummy date, and that there is really some flexibility in getting an installer out to your house earlier if you are willing to be at your house whenever they can make it out. My particular installer was at my house at 9pm that night!

I never expected such quick, quality service in light of the difficult circumstances left behind by Hurricane Wilma. So, I thought I would take the time to give some major props to D* for coming through for me.

 

[ssudia]

Dish Repair

If you need your dish realigned or if you have a new dish you need re-installed due to hurricane wilma please e-mail me . I am in boca raton and am charging between $25-$75 depending on travel and labor. I am currently out of work due to hurricane and have plenty of free time on my hands.

 

[flipper2001]

I ended up figuring out what the problem was, once i removed my shutters from the top which was pretty close to the dish, i noticed all the freakin screws from the side of the dish were gone. Anyhow, im supposed to be 52 degrees and the software is saying im 45, it only moved a drop but still no way to get to it. D* still hasnt called with an appt date for someone to come out here.. this sucks.

Turns out I had the same problem as you did. My HD Tivo reciever was constantly searching for a satellite that no longer exists! There is a way around this problem, however, so that you can watch local HD stations using your OTA antenna. I don't remember precisely what I did, so check out your user's manual. What you need to do is go through the entire set-up process all over again, during which you will select ONLY OTA antenna as your source for programming. Then, the receiver will do a search for available local stations and you are all set. The receiver will no longer search for the satellite. Unfortunately, it does not look like you will be able to record anything on your DVR. (I tried to get the DVR service activated with D*, but they told me that the satellite must be up to do that). But, you will still have the 30 minute buffer, during which you can pause live tv.

Of course, once your satellite is up and running again, you will have to go through the setup process once more. Hope this helps.

 

[Katrinasucks]

After the idiot mayor of New Orleans INCORRECTLY said my part of town had 10 feet of water in it. I called D* and they sent me all new equipment to Memphis. Free. I got the installer to get me a tripod mount and I got another directivo for 99 bucks with 100 rebate. (reup 2 year on the Tivo)

I paid the guy 40 bucks for the tripod because that is not a standard install.

I used it in Memphis and when we could finally return home the second dish came in handy. Mother in law had no cable so I lent her my extra dish and extra tivo. (Yeah I know the dish police would not approve, but it was a freaking hurricane. Besides, mom in law got hooked on the tivo and she is now waiting for the D* installer. ;-)

Long story short, D* did right by me... but people in hurricane zones should keep an extra dish and a tripod handy.

 

[elephant98]

I ended up figuring out what the problem was, once i removed my shutters from the top which was pretty close to the dish, i noticed all the freakin screws from the side of the dish were gone. Anyhow, im supposed to be 52 degrees and the software is saying im 45, it only moved a drop but still no way to get to it. D* still hasnt called with an appt date for someone to come out here.. this sucks.

Don't give up just yet. If you haven't done so already, try calling the D* customer retention line (1-800-824-9081) and inquire about your service appointment. At the very least, D* can provide your service order number and the phone number of the local installer so that you can call them directly to hammer down your appointment. Also, see if D* wouldn't mind emailing the local installer on your behalf. (Not to mention D* will suspend your account until you are up and running, and perhaps even throw some program credits your way).

Finally, if all you need is an adjustment, you shouldn't have a problem finding an independent D* dealer who can come out and do it for you. It won't be free, but at least you'll have your programming back. Best of luck.