It just got to be too much, cancelled Dish

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I would have to say fairly that my experience with Dish up until this past year has been ok. Before Dish, I only had OTA Analog, getting Digital Satellite was GREAT ! I have had to fork out ALOT of $$ on equipment but that has been the only option I had. Being a staunch supporter of Dish for the past decade, I am hoping Dish reads these posts and initates some needed policy changes. I am not trying to sway possible new customers or on the fence current customers away from Dishnetwork. Dish has done a fine job of doing this all by themselves!

Up until this year my only choices were Dish, DirectTV or nothing. Now that I have TWC at the pole I have another choice. TWC does offer me more services that I am interested in that Dish cannot even offer.....

High Speed Internet
2 HD DVRs now (without having to pay 598 or wait a year)
On Demand services
HD channels at no extra cost
HD locals at no extra cost

Cable is not perfect either, as they have some issues, but I'll save them for another thread.

Service problems differ between cable and satellite companies. Where with Dish I have to contend with rain fade, with cable I may lose my service due to a line going down. As a matter of fact my daughter (who lives in Buffalo, has been without her cable service since last night). I live out in the countryside.

Price increases are part of the business. Charlie has always said that he will fight to keep programming costs down (even to the point of dropping a station). And he has to a point but other costs continue to go up. When I signed up for dish I got 1 year of the best package they offered + a Dish and receiver for $500. But I OWNED the equipment. Now you pay that much just to have the opportunity to LEASE the equipment.

I maybe back in a few years as things do change. But Dish has will have to change alot before they get me to sign up back up.
 
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Could Not Agree More

sixbears said:
to much...restrictions, rules, $$

After 9 years of uninterrupted service, I cancelled my Dishnetwork tonight.

Groundhogs Day 2006

There was just too many changes, increases, restrictions and rules!!!!

Programming increases
increases in extra receiver fee
increases in DVR fee (still never understood why a DVR fee in the first place)
increases in New HD package, and Standalone HD package
have to wait till April to get $200 rebate
$100 charge to upgrade to a 622 after shelling out $799 for a 942, 3 months ago
only able to upgrade 2 tuners / year
18 Month committment
New HD "enable" fee to receive OTA HD if not subscribed to HD Package
Not bundling new HD channels (Universal & ESPN2) with old HD package MPEG2
Not allowing anyone after 2/1 to activate 942 or 811 with HD package
HD Lite
Lossing OLN Channel
MUST subscribe to SD locals in order to receive program guide data for OTA on 942
Still no reasonable High Speed Internet solution
lack of compelling content in new HD additional channels
old receivers to never get any new programming

I am sure I am missing a few issues....oh yes, BETA TESTING Dishplayer 7200, & 811 DISH Equipment !!!!

I am off to cable land where I will get 2 HD DVRS, Showtime, Digital package, HD package, digital HD locals, on demand services and Road Runner High Speed Internet for $10 more than I am currently paying Dish before any of the new increases or any upgrade "deals".

Charlie......there's trouble in River City, and that's spelled with a Capital D..I..S..H :downl
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Last month, I called to change my service to the HD pack & voom programming, and I was told I had to call back after February 1st due to a new equipment line coming out that was required to get all the channels.
I called back tonight and after being placed on hold by csr for 40 minutes, I hung up and called back again. The next call I only waited 5 minutes, but when the csr picked up, the hold recording was playing loudly in the background and he couldn't stop it, forcing me to hang up and call again. On the third attempt, I get through again and began the process and am now told I can't have the package I wanted due to not having called before February 1st.

I just wanted the HD pack & voom channels. I am aware that a service/access fee will apply due to not wanting any channel packages. I am taking this from Dish website http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/faq/search/programming/

I currently have an sbc partners account. I have a dish 500 pointing at 110. I am leasing 2 625's and want a vip222. I am returning my 2 625's.

I am dropping my affiliation with sbc for the dish network, phone service, and wireless Internet access.


I should come back essentially a new customer with a subscription for the HD pack & voom, with a vip222 receiver. Already a dish 500 pointing at 110 and cable in place. I understand their is a $6 access fee & leased receiver charge. $9.99 a month for hd pack & $5 month for voom.

What really irritates me is being told to call back after Feb 1st to get the equipment that gets the channels, and then being told now I can get the equipment but not the channels I want because I did not call before Feb 1st to get the package!!!

Insanity.....

I respectfully requested some kind of response that addresses what I perceive as incompetence on the part of CSRs and the fact that due to their lack of knowledge of the product they are selling, on E* behalf, has led to this total comedy of errors that precludes me from getting the package I wanted.

I have yet to hear back from customer "no service".

I ordered my Comcast telephone, Hi speed Internet, and cable yesterday. 2 HD DVRs, 1 HD receiver, 2 standard boxes. They asked me if Thursday was too late to perform the install. No hassles about equipment or contract obligations. They are even supplying me with an HDMI, 2 sets Component cables and a svideo cable. Little bit of a culture difference there eh?

If E* thinks they are going to act as they do and manage to retain customers, let alone grow a customer base with these "bait & switch" practices, they are sadly mistaken.

I read in a previous post that Charlie & Jim were ex card-counters. Doesn't surprise me a bit. Only, they have now switched to " 3 card Monte" and are fleecing the subs.

Dish-Me-Out. I'm done with this mom & pop operation. Maybe in a few years when E* is an actual grownup company I will consider hoping onto the merry go round once more.


Cant help but think of the quote from the movie " It's a MADHOUSE....MADHOUSE....

Best of luck to those of you remaining on this ship. FIOS will be here in a few more months so the future looks bright.
 
I'm getting fed up too. I am just waiting for Comcast to go full digital and I may give them a try. Dish keeps bragging about value and low cost, but they make it up with all the extra fees. Add to that the ever degrading SD PQ and I find I am watching less and less other than OTA HD and some of Voom and even that is getting weak. I just went form AT180 to AT120 and thinking I should have gone to AT60. Considering at one point I as a $130 a month Dish customer they are not doing much to retain me and these lame MPEG4 upgrade plans just plain suck. Cable does not charge any up front fees to get a HD DVR, why do I need to give Dish $299 for the honor of renting their box?
 
After reading through this thread I have seen many valid complaints, especially from those who recently purchased flagship model HD receivers. As it has been stated in many threads before, those of us on these forums are among the best informed consumers of DBS service in particular, and consumer electronics in general. I would suspect that most Dish Network and DirecTV subscribers (especially those who joined within the last 2 years or so) are SD only and are quite happy with their service. I have been with Dish continuously for almost 6 years now and have had a good experience. I was the first person on my street to get DBS back in July 2000, but today it is easier to count the houses without satellite dishes than to count those that have them. There is only one reason in my neighborhood for the mass migration to DBS - that reason is Adelphia cable. They upgraded the plant in my area in summer 2004 so that internet service is now available, but the price is outrageous. For the services I now receive from Dish (AT180, locals, HD pack) for about $63/mo. I would have to pay Adelphia nearly $100/mo. This amount includes rental of a DVR and DVR fee, plus rental on an additional digital tuner. On top of that, Adelphia's system is unreliable and the PQ on digital channels is worse than that on either Dish or DirecTV. They also do not have capacity for a wide selection of HD channels, offering only the major networks plus HBO, Showtime, ESPN-HD, and one other I can't remember. They say that that is all they will carry until the next system upgrade which is not even scheduled yet. Fios is available in a nearby community and a friend of mine who works with fiber-optic operations at Verizon claims that they are slowly working toward bringing it to my city, but no firm plans as of yet. Unless TWC or Comcast buys the Adelphia system in my area and upgrades it, Dish is the best option for me and my neighbors, like it or not.
 
tunagimp said:
I love this. It's really quite funny.

I'm getting quite a kick out of the "Automobile/Computer/You Should have known about MPEG-4 and been Smart Like Me" Dish-bots.

Taking a look at the meager offerings of my Living Room "Entertainment Center." we find:

One Dish 34" HDTV Monitor
One Dish 942 Dishplayer DVR
One Panasonic VCR Player-circa 1980's
One Sony VCR Player-circa early 1990's
One Panasonic DVD Recorder
(Note: These last three items were so "Bleeding Edge" they were acutally "Made in Japan")
One Panasonic 6.1 Digital receiver (Remanufactured--$120)
One Panasonic 5-Disc DVD Player
Six of the cheapest speakers I could find on Planet Earth
One Perpetually Humming Brand Subwoofer

OK, kids, quiz time!

Guess which one of these items (not adjusted for inflation, deflation or sublimation) cost the most munny?

Guess which one is less than two months old?

Guess which one of these items listed above will become obsolete for much of its intended purpose first?

And finally, guess which of these item's "Customer Service" department stated that it could be "software upgradable" though a "download" to continue to maintain full functionality from now until the End of Time or Chuck Norris' demise (if that is even possible)?

Hint--Let's see. The TV is outstanding at TVing. Both VCR's still VCR. The DVD Recorder still DVD records. The receiver still receives and amplifies. The DVD Player still plays whatever junky CD/DVD/MP3/DVD-R/DVD RAM (or is it ROM?)/Personal Pan Pizza I shove into it. The speakers, still speak. The subwoofer, hmmmmmmmmm.

Ding, Ding, Ding, Kee-rect. The Dish 942!!!!

But becasue Charlie put up the good fight against Viacom/Lifetime/OLN and because he provides FSTV and Al Jazzera (What's the diff?) to the Huddled Masses (or is it the Wretched Refuse?), I'm 'sposed to buck up, shut up and pony up another $99 MORE so's I can see "Penguins in Peril," "Emeril's Too Much Pancake Make-up Stand-off" and my Local channels in HD.

It is to laugh.
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Excellent post !!! "Dish-bots" - I love it ! :clap
 
Van said:
Funny thing is that when the special pricing that comca$t and TWC ends and the bills go up $40 - $60 a month there will be the same people on the comca$t and TWC forums posting the same exact comments there. See you guys in 2 years.
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Yes, and with the money I saved during that time frame I could buy that HDDVR from either D* or E* if I wish to.:)
 
I sub to international channels at the tune of $49 a month and was VERY interested in this new HD until I seen the prices. Not only will it cost $36 a month but if I want to lease the receiver, I have to committ to 18 months of programming with one of the american programming packages... dishbronze at $50 a month since my $50 stand alone isn't good enough. No thanks. I'll stick with my comcast HD and since they are getting Universal and espn2 within the next couple of months, I'll be set for the world cup.
 
The posts about people leaving E* because of price increases crack me up. If you do three minutes of homework you'll find that cable has historically raised rates twice for every one E* rate increase.

No, DISH isn't perfect but what service is? I'll keep my satellite system where ALL of my channels are digital unlike cable's joke of "digital cable". Besides, DISH has more than two times the HD content of the best cable company in the country.

I enjoy this site and the members that make it great. However, there is a group of people on here that I doubt will ever be happy no matter who their service is through. Seem to always need something to whine about.
 
iceondsom said:
The posts about people leaving E* because of price increases crack me up. If you do three minutes of homework you'll find that cable has historically raised rates twice for every one E* rate increase.

No, DISH isn't perfect but what service is? I'll keep my satellite system where ALL of my channels are digital unlike cable's joke of "digital cable". Besides, DISH has more than two times the HD content of the best cable company in the country.

I enjoy this site and the members that make it great. However, there is a group of people on here that I doubt will ever be happy no matter who their service is through. Seem to always need something to whine about.
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I've done my homework and figured out that Comcast and Dishnetwork are about the same price for my situation which is 3 HD tvs and an sd for a 4th tv. I also have full HD instead of HD-lite and most importantly I have all my locals in HD except for UPN. Dishnetwork is pricing itself out of the HD market and only the hard-core HD/tv watchers will ever shell out an extra $30 a month.
 
iceondsom said:
The posts about people leaving E* because of price increases crack me up. If you do three minutes of homework you'll find that cable has historically raised rates twice for every one E* rate increase.

No, DISH isn't perfect but what service is? I'll keep my satellite system where ALL of my channels are digital unlike cable's joke of "digital cable". Besides, DISH has more than two times the HD content of the best cable company in the country.

I enjoy this site and the members that make it great. However, there is a group of people on here that I doubt will ever be happy no matter who their service is through. Seem to always need something to whine about.
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I hate to bust your bubble, but there are many cable systems that are all digital and the numbers are increasing. The fact that I have been getting HD on all the networks including Starz, cinemax and others in True HD, it will be a while for both D* and E* to catch up. You can have your HD-Lite, pay Big $$$ for the privilege of leasing a HDDVR. To each his own.

The main thing is that you have a choice for most people. I know that some folks have no cable and the cable systems are even different for the same company.

Both D* and E* seem to be going down the same path as cable as far as pricing, it will be equal afew years down the road.
 
sixbears said:
to much...restrictions, rules, $$

After 9 years of uninterrupted service, I cancelled my Dishnetwork tonight.

Groundhogs Day 2006

There was just too many changes, increases, restrictions and rules!!!!

Programming increases
increases in extra receiver fee
increases in DVR fee (still never understood why a DVR fee in the first place)
increases in New HD package, and Standalone HD package
have to wait till April to get $200 rebate
$100 charge to upgrade to a 622 after shelling out $799 for a 942, 3 months ago
only able to upgrade 2 tuners / year
18 Month committment
New HD "enable" fee to receive OTA HD if not subscribed to HD Package
Not bundling new HD channels (Universal & ESPN2) with old HD package MPEG2
Not allowing anyone after 2/1 to activate 942 or 811 with HD package
HD Lite
Lossing OLN Channel
MUST subscribe to SD locals in order to receive program guide data for OTA on 942
Still no reasonable High Speed Internet solution
lack of compelling content in new HD additional channels
old receivers to never get any new programming

I am sure I am missing a few issues....oh yes, BETA TESTING Dishplayer 7200, & 811 DISH Equipment !!!!

I am off to cable land where I will get 2 HD DVRS, Showtime, Digital package, HD package, digital HD locals, on demand services and Road Runner High Speed Internet for $10 more than I am currently paying Dish before any of the new increases or any upgrade "deals".

Charlie......there's trouble in River City, and that's spelled with a Capital D..I..S..H :downl
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Well said. I too, am fed up. Due to my remote location, there is no OTA or cable available. I have slashed my programming to SkyAngel and Distant Locals. If/when cable installs the last 1000 feet to my home I will be cutting the last tie to Dish.

What a shame. I was originally a DTV customer prior to the acquisition of USSB. I've been a Dish customer since then.

Red
 
Outstanding OP sixbears!! Well put. Ima leevin too!

I’m one of the original 100k subs from 7/1/96, and this isn’t about the cost to me. It’s a matter of principle and the deliberate lack of loyalty, honesty and accountability to those of us who helped make E* a successful corporation.

I’m really too disgusted with this topic at the moment to waste any more of my spare time writing about it. Anyone who’s interested can review my previous posts at http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=55017&page=3

All of my rantings have been forwarded to the ceo address. Also, I incorporated them all into one professional letter addressed to 7 of the 19 puppet masters in Englewood. I know I’m just one of 11.6MM, but my back hurts from being bent over and I’m not going to take it anymore.
 
I was also a happy owner of an 811 back when Voom came to E*. Not long after the Jan Charlie Chat the 811 was sold on Ebay for $200, exactly what I paid for it.

There's a pretty Motorola HD DVR with working firewire in my entertainment tower now. Cost to startup??? $0
 
The bottom line is the bottom line for me. I'm going with cable as well this week after three years with DISH (508/811). I can get more of the channels I want (I don't want Voom, don't want to pay for it) and an HD DVR (no upfront ransom payment) for less money with Cox. HD PQ is outstanding. They've got MHD (MTV-HD), and analog channels are more than watchable in my area. Plus I get an awsome deal on high-speed (4MBs) internet. :)
 
Voom was great for the 1st month..........................................................................


well at least on Equator and Rave! HD News is nice just to get a fast news update. But the rest of it (at least for me) is not something I want to pay to have 24hr access too.

When it comes to HD, I don't need a 100 HD channels of replayed content I really could care less about. I would rather have 5 channels with quality content. Actually, I bet I watch the most HD OTA.


That should tell you something about where the compelling content is :rolleyes: Charlie !!!!
 
Sixbears... Thats what I am screaming.. All I have ever wanted was Fox, ABC, NBC, CBS and a few nationals. I can't get OTA so I'm stuck. I'm considering going to D*. My neighbor got his weavers over a year ago and has been watching these channels in HD for a long time out of New York. Quantity of HD channels does not make E* the leader in HD.
 

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