I'd like to know this for certain before I switch back to DishNet. Seems like corporate myopia to chance incurring ill will and losing an account. Why when I pay for four receivers (yes, they're collocated but I have to disturb two 95 year old relatives) in my $200/mo bill?
Do you know whether DirecTV subjects its clientele to the same inconvenience
You're going to need to forewarn the two 95 year old relatives that you will have to disturb their surroundings for less than 10 minutes, to give Dish some information off the receivers.
Some warnings: You say they're all in the same place, and that's good, because they need to be. They will have you pull information from the receiver that is constantly (for some definition of "constantly") changing, so you will NOT be able to write all the info down then call. You will have to physically walk from one receiver to the next receiver and give the information they are providing. You will not be able to put the Dish employee on hold or set the phone down to make another call. Do not disconnect them from a TV to "bring them all to one place". They need to be connected to the power, to the antenna, and to a TV in order for you to give Dish the information they request.
Why is Dish doing this? They have some reason to believe that all the receivers are not in one place. They may well be wrong, that's why they are calling to check. The original agreement requires the customer to keep all the receivers at the same physical location, and Dish does reserve the right to do exactly what they're doing.
Do other companies do this? No idea. While you imply that Dish may lose your $200 a month, Dish may also be wondering if you should actually have two (or more) accounts to cover these receivers, and that they may be losing just as much per month from you.
I know most people here hate dealing with the EVT folks. The big picture is, if everybody was stealing service, it's going to cost someone, and Dish is going to pass that cost on to the customers. Imagine, in your town, there are people tapping into water lines, taking water they haven't paid for. That raises the cost to the water company, and they'll pass it on to you. Sort of similar, people who do that are taking money away from Dish.
I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. I have absolutely no idea or way to tell. Just trying to explain the how/why/who about this...