Dish Pricing Update

[MikeD-C05]

E must be warching our reaction closely...... to decide if this is all a good idea

I hope they are and if so they can "simplify"there simplified equipment charges as no one can really understand how they are going to do them. IF there is no CES press conference it looks like they are rethinking this whole scheme. I for one am tired of trying to figure it out and I am really tired of rumor roulette. I give up for now and will come back to this thread, IF and WHEN, DISH decides to clarify and publish this changes officially.

 

[KAB]

They probably are watching, and shaking their heads.

 

[Mike_H]

Scott said he had 6 hd duo dvrs. The first one is not charged anything but the dvr fee of 6.00. The other 5 dvrs x 17.00=85.00.

85.00 equipment fee - 5 x 17.00
30.00 minus the extra dvr fees- 5 x 6.00
25.00 minus the A/0 fee for keeping phone lines plugged in- 5x 5.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
$30.00 extra for the 5 hd duo dvrs

I feel your use of the A/O fee as a keeping the phone lines plugged in is screwing some of us up. Doesn't A/O refer to Additional Outlet or Receiver? I.e. we never avoid it.

If you see something wrong with my numbers below, please let me know.

So, with Scott's latest report my AEP + DHPP + 622 + 510 + 501 would be:
for AEP: $102.98 (currently 102.98)
for DHPP: $6 (currently $5.99)
for DVR's (one fee for all): $6.00 (currently 0)
for 622: (Free as primary receiver? Currently 0)
for 510: $7.00 (currently 5.00)
for 501: $7.00 (currently 5.00)

So my current amount is 118.97 and with the increase my new amount will be 128.98. That nets out to a total price increase per month of $10.01.

One other note. While the primary receiver fee is waved on your bill, you are still taxed on the waved fee, though how this works out depends on your state taxing authority. Thus when the fee goes up, your taxes will incrementally go up.

 

[TheKrell]

Scott said he had 6 hd duo dvrs. The first one is not charged anything but the dvr fee of 6.00. The other 5 dvrs x 17.00=85.00.

85.00 equipment fee - 5 x 17.00
30.00 minus the extra dvr fees- 5 x 6.00
25.00 minus the A/0 fee for keeping phone lines plugged in- 5x 5.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
$30.00 extra for the 5 hd duo dvrs.

OK I have the "with DVR" AT250 plan for (1) 722 and (2) 612's. So, if I understand your math, this would be:

6.00 for all 3 (or any number) of DVRs, and
+2 x $10 for VIP612's (and the forthcoming 512) = $20
- 2 X $6 for extra DVR fees currently assessed = -$12
- 2 X $5 for the A/O fee since everything is plugged in = -$10
= $4

Since I'm now paying 2 X $12 = $24/mo for all 3 receivers, this looks pretty attractive. It must be wrong!

 

[CFGuy]

I have asked Scott if the DISH csr in post #1 figured it out the right way and he said it was figured that way by several csrs and it came out to 30.00 increase for him. Now I figured his bill using this same method of figuring and it came out to 30.00 as well.

Scott said he had 6 hd duo dvrs. The first one is not charged anything but the dvr fee of 6.00. The other 5 dvrs x 17.00=85.00.

85.00 equipment fee - 5 x 17.00
30.00 minus the extra dvr fees- 5 x 6.00
25.00 minus the A/0 fee for keeping phone lines plugged in- 5x 5.00
-----------------------------------------------------------
$30.00 extra for the 5 hd duo dvrs

This is the way the DISH csr in post #1 figured it. Now you would have to pay the dvr fee of 6.00 but we are figuring the extra cost for the extra equipment charges.

Is it really a $30 increase? The way you figured it the total fees would be $30.
But he is already paying $7 for each of the extra receivers.
$7 X $5 = $35. Won't the current $35 be replaced by the $85? Then you subtract the $30 and the $25?
Add the $6 DVR fee and the actual difference would be $1 more per month.

I figure this is Dish's attempt to make something negative into a positive.
Which is better?
To tell a customer that if they don't hook the receiver up to a phone line they get charged an extra $5

or

To tell the customer that if they do hook the receiver to a phone line they will get a $5 discount.

 

[nordicboy]

I have AT100 with two 322 receivers. If I am understanding this correctly

for AT100: $40
for 322: $0 (1st receiver free)
for 322: $14 (currently $5)

current bill: $45
new bill: $54

$9 or 20% rate increase for me. Is this correct? I keep both receivers plugged into a phone line.

If correct, I think I will be sending one of these 322 receivers back. We usually only watch two TVs at a time, so I'll share the TV2 output among three TVs.

 

[gqmagic]

Every year a increase is rumored, and every year the same people and people like them ask each other 'WHAT WILL MY BILL BE'?:rant:

A gazillion page thread about it won't change whatever it is, is it really that important to know

 

[blake20005]

if my math is wrong can someone correct me
i have AEP so my dvr fee's are wavied and i have all receivers connected so no additional outlet fees either and my equipment charges are currently
4 total receivers 722k - 722 - 622 -522 2 owned 2 leased.

0.00 722k
7.00 722
7.00 622
7.00 522
21.00 Total

so with the new pricing does this seem correct? or did i not take something into account

0.00 722k (still Waived no additional outlet fees anyway connected to phone)
6.00 DVR fee per account
17.00 x 2 for 622 and 722
14.00 for 522

54.00 Total

- 5.00 x 3 for additional outlet fees for the 622,722,522 connected to phone/ethernet
- 6.00 x 3 for 3 additional dvr's 622,722,522
if so then that means my bill does nothing
54.00
- 33.00 in credits a/o and dvr credits

21.00 equipment fee's

 

[MikeD-C05]

OK I have the "with DVR" AT250 plan for (1) 722 and (2) 612's. So, if I understand your math, this would be:

6.00 for all 3 (or any number) of DVRs, and
+2 x $10 for VIP612's (and the forthcoming 512) = $20
- 2 X $6 for extra DVR fees currently assessed = -$12
- 2 X $5 for the A/O fee since everything is plugged in = -$10
= $4

Since I'm now paying 2 X $12 = $24/mo for all 3 receivers, this looks pretty attractive. It must be wrong!

This is not "my math" it is the way the DISH csr in #1 post figured it out. I took what he said word for word and added and subtracted what he said. It came to the same answer for extra equipment.

But I am not going to try to justify it any longer, because it is still not official and I am really tired of trying to make sense of it. Especially since it really doesn't seem to matter to many here . Everyone wants to expect the worst and that way they won't be disappointed and may even be surprised when it turns out the change isn't as bad as they thought it would be.

But that being said all I can conclude is ,IF DISH is trying to jack the price of extra equipment WITHOUT giving proper credits or just hide the dvr fee inside the equipment fees without credited the extra dvr fees, they will lose a lot of extra dvrs on many accounts. This will cost them money not only for DISH, but also for Echostar that makes the dvr receivers. But if anyone can take a positive change, like ONE dvr fee per account instead of one dvr fee PER receiver and turn it into a negative, it would be DISH . I sure hope that this is not the case for DISH's sake. It would be very damaging to them in advertisements when DIRECTV compares them to, in overall equipment costs. Not to mention that many here have already said that they will drop programming down to off set the potential price hike on equipment.

I am hoping that DISH is reconsidering all of these changes to "simplify" fees and leave it as it is, for the equpipment charges. By all means change the dvr fee to ONE dvr fee PER ACCOUNT. But I really think that the "simplification" will cause subs more confusion , just like it has caused confusion here on this web board.

 

[ts7]

Everyone wants to expect the worst and that way they won't be disappointed and may even be surprised when it turns out the change isn't as bad as they thought it would be.

That may be the most accurate statement of this entire discussion. Float a rumor that your fees will go up hypothetically 50% then when they only go up 25% you think you got a bargain. But, keep in mind, prior to the rumor you would have been crying highway robbery at a 25% increase. This is just like gasoline prices - when gas hit $4/gallon, suddenly $3/gallon was a bargain, but still nearly twice as much as it was 6 months earlier.

I predict no one will be paying as much as what was originally posted but everyone will be paying quite a bit more than they are now, plus most Dish subscribers will CONTINUE to be Dish subscribers because for most of us there really just isn't anything else that sufficiently meets our needs or we probably would have abandoned Dish long ago.

 

[MikeD-C05]

That may be the most accurate statement of this entire discussion. Float a rumor that your fees will go up hypothetically 50% then when they only go up 25% you think you got a bargain. But, keep in mind, prior to the rumor you would have been crying highway robbery at a 25% increase. This is just like gasoline prices - when gas hit $4/gallon, suddenly $3/gallon was a bargain, but still nearly twice as much as it was 6 months earlier.

I predict no one will be paying as much as what was originally posted but everyone will be paying quite a bit more than they are now, plus most Dish subscribers will CONTINUE to be Dish subscribers because for most of us there really just isn't anything else that sufficiently meets our needs or we probably would have abandoned Dish long ago.

I agree . I have yet to find a company that suits my needs as much as DISH has. Athough ,over the last couple of years I have had to downgrade my programming from AEP to top 250 and drop off extra dvrs off of my account to offset price hikes. I will have 13 years on the 18th of January.

 

[dlsnyder]

The one part of this that is the most confusing to me is that A/O fee, which the Dish rep claimed would be going away. OK, both of my receivers are already plugged in to a phone line so I am already not charged for that. Was it stated directly that there would be a $5 credit for each dual-tuner DVR on an account if it is plugged in to a phone line, or was that merely implied by the way in which it was worded? It sounded to me that they would just no longer be charging the A/O fee and not actually giving me a $5 credit for each receiver I have on my account that is plugged in to a phone line. If that were true, my bill would go DOWN by $10 per month. I think that was just some obfuscation to make us all feel better.

 

[Ghpr13]

What I don't understand is if you subscribe to the DHPP and have equipment that you are leasing from E*, how can they charge you for a service call if you're having problems with their equipment? I can see a charge if you're not signed up for DHPP, and I fully agree with a termination fee for those that abuse the service, but to charge a subscriber who's signed up for the DHPP and has lease equipment, just seems wrong.
Ghpr13

 

[TheForce]

I really don't understand what DHPP is anyway.

I have two DVR's that are leased and AEP. I do not have DHPP that I know of ( it's not on my bill), yet I get replacement reconditioned VIP622's, all 6 of them, this Fall and there has never been any charges for them nor shipping charges. Of course, all 6 have only a life span of 5 minutes to a couple weeks.

Does the DHPP cover just leased equipment or just owned equipment beyond the 90 day warranty or 1 year whatever Dish has these days?

I'm still having issues with Dish CSR's and may end up having to own my DVR's after it's all said and done. What does DHPP offer me if I own the equipment?
I read the fine print and it says that the DHPP is handled through an insurance agency in Florida and if your equipment breaks, they will replace it with their refurb stuff that I have had so many problems with.

With all my own issues plus the rate increase on equipment, I have no idea what I'll be paying next year.

 

[TheKrell]

Everyone wants to expect the worst and that way they won't be disappointed and may even be surprised when it turns out the change isn't as bad as they thought it would be.

I find it rather curious that you made this remark in reply to my post wherein I came up with a $20 reduction in fees using Dish's math as explained by you. BTW - thanks for your attention and help on this math, whoever wants to claim it.

 

[Stargazer]

Other than AEP, basically, those that do not have MPEG-4 receivers will see a $2 increase in fees for additional receivers on their accounts and those with more than one DVR will see a $6 savings for each additoinal dvr on their account. Savings don't apply to primary receiver on account. This only affects additional receivers on the account.

They will do this now so that way when everybody gets swapped out with MPEG-4 equipment, they will see no difference in price. This is an early sign of this coming ahead.

Savings on one DVR fee for those with two DVR's makes up for 3 additional receiver price increases on the account. If you do not have a phone line connected then change the word receiver to tuner in my last sentence.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I find it rather curious that you made this remark in reply to my post wherein I came up with a $20 reduction in fees using Dish's math as explained by you. BTW - thanks for your attention and help on this math, whoever wants to claim it.

Sorry, didn't mean to infer anything about you are your post. I am just starting to feel really confused about all this negativity about the upcoming changes. Who really knows if the way the DISH csr is figuring the bill is right or not. Scott said they figured his bill out several times by different csrs and they came up with the same amount. But who knows if they are using the right terms in the way they are referring to like A/0 fee and crediting the dvr fees after the first one. Who knows if any of this is right or not. I have decided that I will not post anymore to this thread till I have concrete rules about the fees from DISH in my hand. There are just too many unknown variables in the way of getting the correct answers right now. I do hope that your bill will be less though. I hope all DISH subs will see lower bills and more standardized prices for their extra equipment next year.

 

[Mike_H]

I am just starting to feel really confused about all this negativity about the upcoming changes.

My issue is this:
Dish wants to claim they are allowing a decrease in costs or a net no change in costs for their customers when in fact their customers, that already pay a substantial amount, will see a significant increase in their costs. They can try and fool themselves, and others that they are keeping prices down, but they can't fool me. If Dish continues down this path of chipping away at their value proposition, eventually there won't be any reason left to be with Dish.

 

[ts7]

What I don't understand is if you subscribe to the DHPP and have equipment that you are leasing from E*, how can they charge you for a service call if you're having problems with their equipment?

Think of it like a car - if you lease a car, you are still responsible for all the maintenance, repairs, insurance, etc. DHPP is kind of like purchasing an extended bumper-to-bumper warranty that will pick up any repair expenses for the leased equipment but not necessarily the towing. It has been my experience though, with Dish's protection plan, the CSR can waive the service call fee under certain circumstances (I just had a conversion a couple weeks ago to 61.5 from 129 due to a botched install 2 years ago and was not charged - I was told it would have been $50+ without DHPP).

Unlike a car lease, though, there is no buyout option at the end of the lease. In fact, the Dish lease is really a perpetual lease that you continue making payments after the contract is up, though they will often swap out equipment for newer models after the contract period is up (and sign you up for another 24 months).

 

[TheKrell]

Sorry, didn't mean to infer anything about you are your post. I am just starting to feel really confused about all this negativity about the upcoming changes. Who really knows if the way the DISH csr is figuring the bill is right or not.

:up X 5

I received another update...

This one clarifies things even more.

All accounts with a DVR (not 501/508, those are PVRs) will have a $6 DVR fee, even if just one DVR. So doesn't matter how your account is structured, you have a 510 or higher and you will pay a separate $6 fee. The one exception will be 922 accounts which will be a $10 DVR fee.

The primary receiver will be based on the following hierarchy
1. 922 (slingloaded hd duo dvr) $17
2. 622 (hd duo dvr, to include 622, 622HZ, 722, 722k) $17
3. 522 (duo dvr, to include 625) $14
4. 222 (duo rec, to include 222k, 322) $14
5. 612 (hd solo dvr) $10
6. 512 (solo dvr, not yet released) $10
7. 211 (solo rec, to include 301, 311, 3900, etc) $7
8. 501 (PVRs, to include 508) $7

The receiver that is highest in the list will be the primary receiver. The more feature-rich receivers will have the highest fee.

I am also hearing that Dish will announce the changes at CES. (I am still hearing they plan to promote the no programming price increase aspect, which I feel is wrong as people bills might still go up.)

Yes, this quote by Scott does clarify even more, haha! It's from page 49 but bears repeating.

I can put my finger on the source of my confusion. My primary receiver is a 722. Will I pay $17 for it when right now I don't pay for it at all, explicitly? Nope! As a primary receiver, I already do not pay the A/O fee or the additional receiver fee, and I believe that won't change after Feb 1. But my "with DVR" package has the DVR fee hidden. After Feb 1, I believe by the rules in this thread I will pay the $6 DVR fee because there's a DVR on my account. So my primary receiver bill is going up $6, but certainly it won't be going up $17 as Scott's chart above might imply.

But suppose I have a 2nd 722. Will I then pay $17 for it? Not by the Dish CSR's reconing, because we start subtracting the A/O fee if it's online and in all cases we subtract the $6 DVR fee since that's (after Feb 1) applied per account and not per DVR as now. So, if we don't pay $17 for a 722 as a primary receiver, and we don't pay $17 as a secondary receiver, then why is that table as it is? This new fee chart defies all reason.