Letter from Dish Network (Phone Line Fee)

[RandallA]

Anybody else got this letter? I have 4 receivers, 3 dual tuners and a 211. Two of the dual tuners are connected to both the phone line and the network. The 211 is connected to the network and the 625 is connected to the phone line. Why in the world am I getting this letter?

I tested the line in all of them and everything checks out OK. Are they just sending this letter to everyone?

 

[Paradox-SJ]

Check the Diag screen and see if the box believes it can dail out.

 

[RandallA]

Check the Diag screen and see if the box believes it can dail out.

I checked all the receivers and they all check OK. I have no idea why I'm getting this stupid letter.

 

[mark40511]

I received the exact same letter. I called Dish because both my 622's are connected to phone line's. The cs rep told me to ignore the letter if my receivers were hooked to phone lines, that the exact same letter was sent to every Dish customer to let those who didn't have their receivers hooked to a phone line to do so or get charged. At any rate, I will be watching my bill carefully!

 

[Agonizing Fury]

Try a "Send Status" from the diagnostic screen on each receiver.

On the 211:
Menu 6-2
Select "Analysis"
Select "Send Status"

On 625:
Menu 6-3
Select "Send Status"

On Dual Tuner ViPs: (Which I'm assuming the other two dual tuners are since you said They had network and phone line)
Menu 6-3
Select "Analysis"
Select "Send Status"

If any of them fail to send status, you have a connectivity problem, and that would explain the letter.

If they all successfully send status, then dish should be fully aware that they are connected and you should not be billed, however you may want to call Dish and make sure they haven't already billed you.

 

[RandallA]

They all come back with the message:

Done.
Call Out Successful.

Receivers: 622, 722, 211, 625. I'll be watching my bill next month and they'll hear from me if they bill me for the second tuner. Why do "we" the customer should pay for their screwed up system?

 

[Pepper]

I thought they just tack the fee on if their system decides it's not calling in. I never heard of them sending a warning letter out before.

 

[tstolze]

I received the same letter. I have a 722 and a 622, both connected and tested to the internet and phone line. Called and was told the same as others, just ignore it if the connection is fine.

 

[Claude Greiner]

I thought they just tack the fee on if their system decides it's not calling in. I never heard of them sending a warning letter out before.

They do it for the simple reason that it cuts down on the amount of customers who call in and bitch about it when they see the charges on their bill, and having to un-necessarly permintly waiving the fees for certain customers.

By doing this, the customers who are halfway intelligent enough to understand the letter will hook up a phone line will do so to avoid the fees.

IMHO, they should just do away with the phone line requirement all together or make it mandatory for all installers to hook up the phone lines if the customer has a land line phone.

Too many installers get away putting the phone line bypass on the account without the customers permission!

 

[RandallA]

Claude,

I agree that they should send the letter to the customers without the phone line but their system is sending it to people with receivers that are connected to the phone lines and network. Obviously a screwed up system.

This is probably the same detection system that the nazi audit team uses and we all know the stories about them.

 

[fordpre]

Nice to see that Dish is wanting to save costs. I wonder if it is less expensive to send out a mass mailing to all subscribers rather than only to those which would be impacted.

 

[kvnfl]

Nice to see that Dish is wanting to save costs. I wonder if it is less expensive to send out a mass mailing to all subscribers rather than only to those which would be impacted.

+ the expense incurred fielding all the inquires as to why did I receive this letter? I have not been a Dish sub for very long, but the short time I have been a Dish sub I have come to realize Dish's business model is bad. Alienate and screw the consumer seems to be the company motto.

Dish dropped VOOM without advance warning. Dish knows I will leave when my contract expires.

 

[Max Wright]

+ the expense incurred fielding all the inquires as to why did I receive this letter?

Maybe it is so they can decrease their average call time. Thus making them look better for the next outside evaluation.

If it only takes 1 minute to tell a customer to ignore this, and they may get thousands of them. Plus, then they can say it was a "frivolous" call. Akin to "what channel is X station?".

 

[kb7oeb]

The letter said he was billed through his phone company, maybe they were not charging the fee to customers going through his phone company.

 

[rvdishman]

Where does it end? You have an entire RV community out there(4 mil +) last count I read, most of who can't hook up a phone line. Dish did/does have an exception for those people but there aren't many at Dish who know what their rule is on the RV exception, including the ceo@ group. THEN you get into what is fair.
A number of years ago before this phone thing got "out of hand" I had 4 receivers, 3 at home and 1 in RV. They knew exactly where each one was. I got a letter over the signature of a VP inferring that I was stealing programming for a neighbor because I did not have a phone hook up. I called and wound up the ladder somewhere with an attorney and many denials that the inference existed and a promise to send me a bunch of wireless setups. Keeping in mind that they were aware of my 4 line system at home they sent me the wireless setups. The first thing I read on the box was that they do not work on multiple line systems. Go figure!! I put them away and never did hook up a phone and never did hear back.

Ron

 

[psychicmind]

if the customer has a land line phone.

Isn't it a LAN line? Or am I mistaken?

 

[GaryPen]

No. A standard phone line is called "land line" as it utilizes land-based wiring, as opposed to wireless or other types of radio communications.

A LAN line would be the wiring in your Local Area Network, and only the local network, which is not the same as a broadband or WAN (Wide Area Network) connection. Of course, most home LAN's are connected to a broadband WAN through a router and broadband modem.