I need some help. I just canceled Dish because I got Directv installed today. I had Dish for close to 3 years. I haven't received any new equipment for over 2 years so I knew I was under no commitment. I called up Dish to cancel and they said that I was under an 18 month commitment because I signed up for DVR Advantage in July 2007. They are charging me a cancellation fee of $133.
I don't remember signing up for a commitment when I signed up for DVR Advantage. I could not find anything on their website regarding a commitment for existing customers who sign up for DVR Advantage.
So my question to you all is: Is there a commitment to Dish for existing customers who sign up for DVR Advantage and who do not receive any equipment upgrades?
If the CSR was wrong about me being in a commitment, who can I contact so I don't get charged the cancellation fee.
Thanks for all your help.
Mike,
I hope this helps you and anyone else who may be in the same situation.
I just signed up for DVR Advantage about 1 month ago, and I made sure the CSR that signed me up repeated at least 3 times that I was not committing to any contract to get it. It ended up saving me $11/month and it looks like they have not signed me up for any long-term commitment, so it looks like it is working out great for me.
I have no other current commitments with Dish, and I've also been on Automatic Payment for many years.
However, toward the end of 2007, I received calls from two different DishNetwork representatives, trying to get me to sign up for DVR Advantage, telling me what a great deal it was because it would save me $2.99/month, and all I had to do was agree to an 18 month commitment. After I said no the first time, I looked at their information about it on the web site, which said no commitment was required, and also that premium packages were only $10 each if you signed up for two. I already had two premiums in HBO and AT250, but I was being charged $15/month for HBO. So when the 2nd sales rep called to try to sign me up for DVR Advantage, I asked if it would reduce my payment for HBO. They told me NO, nothing would change except I would end up paying $3/month less because of waiving the DVR service fee. And they again said I was required to sign up for an 18 month commitment to do this. Again I told them I wasn't interested in a 3% saving on my bill in exchange for an 18 month commitment.
After I researched this a little more on their web site and this forum , I decided that I really should be able to have DVR Advantage with reduced premium costs and no commitment. I called twice to get a CSR who agreed with this, and the bottom line is I am now signed up for DVR Advantage, no commitment, and saving over 10% on my previous bill.
The bottom line is I think Dish's lack of any firm price list, confusing fees, and untrained Customer Service all work together to let them charge the customer whatever they can get away with. If I had agreed to DVR Advantage as promoted by the Sales reps who called me, I fully expect that they would now have me on an 18 month commitment, and they would be charging me much more per month than I'm now paying.
And even though I "believe" I'm now signed up for DVR Advantage, and they've adjusted my bill with partial payments to indicate I have DVR Advantage, the "My Programming" section of my account information on the web site still does not indicate I have DVR Advantage; instead it indicates I have a DVR Service Fee. Since I signed up I questioned them 3 times as to why the web site doesn't indicate DVR Advantage. I finally got what I wanted, which was an email from them confirming that I have DVR Advantage, and exactly what my new monthly payments will be.
Good luck with your situation.
