Paying S&H to replace leased DVR?

[partymonkey]

Are you kidding?

I have a leased 522 under DHA, and I've had this setup for less than a year.

If Dish Network needs to replace their receiver because it doesn't work properly, you have to pay $15 for shipping and handling.

Or you can sign up for a "protection program" for $6 a month and that covers you if they have to replace it.

This is a leased receiver, not purchased. Doesn't make much sense to me.

 

[Stargazer]

The $15 is considered an advanced exchange. You can actually ship the receiver back at whatever the cost is to you (it may be less if it is a different part as the $15 charge is pretty well their standard charge) and then they will ship it to you at their cost. With the advanced exchange you pay the $15 and they send the prepaid ARS shipping label to you so that you do not have to pay to have to have it shipped back.

 

[cobra55]

$$$$$$$$

no matter how you look at it this is a lease, and dish should replace free
but nooooooo, charley needs the money

 

[jtravel]

Nothing Inherently requires lease repairs to be free of charge. If you lease a car and its out of warranty you pay for the repair.
Many people use Cables business model to assume satellite should be the same and thats a mistake.
Cable and Satellite are two different offerings and you as the consumer have to decide what one is better for you and make a choice.

With the Dish Protection Plan (DHPP) repairs,replacements, shipping and handling are free and Tech home visits are $29

Customers under The older DHP Dish lease plan have the extended warranty plan included but the programming packages with locals are priced $5 higher because they pay extra for locals.

DHA customers get locals included and have the option to add DHPP for $5.99 per month so it would cost you .99 more per month than the older DHP plan if you want DHPP.
DHA customers however were not required to sign a Commitment but if you decided to selected a 12 or 24 month commitment option you would receive DPP plan at no additional cost saving you $5 per month over the older lease plan.

I think Dish structured there package and pricing so they can advertise the AT60 programming package as lowest in the business.

 

[partymonkey]

Actually, my DVR is still "in warranty", if there is such a thing for leased receivers. It is less than a year old. and I don't have the AT60 package, I have a much more expensive one.

I still don't agree, and I don't see why I should care if it is cable or satellite, it makes no difference when the device that you use to get the service does not work.

Make a DVR that works, so that you don't have to replace it. I'm definitely not the only one, there are lots who say that the Tivo quality is better than these DVRs.

I just don't see why I need to bear the cost, just a different way of seeing it.

 

[cdru]

Ultimately you are paying for the S/H one way or another. You can either pay a slightly lower rate on a monthly basis with the statistically remote chance that you will need to pay the S/H fee sometime, or you can pay a slightly higher rate on a monthly basis and get free shipping and handling. Dish isn't a charity, they are in business to make money. $15 for an advanced exchange is more then fair. If you don't like it and think that Tivo's quality is better, your welcome to call DirecTV up and get yourself hooked up with them. You might want to inquire what their replacement policy is first though.

 

[Mike500]

The Magnusson Moss Warranty and Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act of 1975, as amended, specifies warranty regulations and rules.

It is clear that, in most warranties, the purchaser pays for transportation to the repair depot. So, Dish Network's charges are in line.

You get nothing for free from cable. Their charges are averaged in and amortorized with the extra charges "built-in" to their monthly subscription prices.

Just because they do not have special warranty and protection charges, doesn't mean that you've been charged for them. Locals are not "FREE" with cable. You pay for them. They are built-in to the subscription price.

I prefer not to pay for the protection plan or locals. At least, with Dish, you can opt out of these charges.

A good example is the home refinancing scheme. They advertise no charge refinancing. A refinance actually costs $3,000 to $5,000. Do you think that they are giving away these charges? If you refinance for 30 years, you'd be paying this amount plus all interest for 30 years,

 

[jtravel]

Actually, my DVR is still "in warranty", if there is such a thing for leased receivers. It is less than a year old. and I don't have the AT60 package, I have a much more expensive one.
I still don't agree, and I don't see why I should care if it is cable or satellite, it makes no difference when the device that you use to get the service does not work.
Make a DVR that works, so that you don't have to replace it. I'm definitely not the only one, there are lots who say that the Tivo quality is better than these DVRs.
I just don't see why I need to bear the cost, just a different way of seeing it.

After the first 90 days you are responsible for shipping and handling if you need to return the receiver for a warranty replacement.
Thats the terms and conditions you accepted when you contracted for the service.

Every business has the right run its own business model as it wants within the law.
You have the right to accept the term and conditions of that business or choose not to use the service.
You have the Power to choose and must take responsibility for your decisions.

You had options and should have considered what was the best for you.
You can still purchase the Dish home protection plan for $5.99 per month if you feel this is a better value.

Im glad dish gives me the option instead of just including it and charging me a higher monthly rate. a Under $15 charge to replace a Receiver on the off chanch it may go bad is no big deal.
The replacement box you receive will have a new 90 days no shipping and handling charge if you should be unlucky and receive a lemon that fails again.

seriously If you think Cable or *D will offer you a better overall Value then you should switch providers.

 

[jpezz]

I agree with the original poster. Charging a fee to return a defective item under warranty is not right. However, it is more common among companies to make their prices appear lower by making various fees. "Port charges" on cruises, "safe fee" or "telephone availability fee"at hotels, "If you don't like it, we will return your money minus shipping and handling" and similar less than ethical business practices come to mind.

In the past most companies did the right thing. It used to be that if you shipped back a defective item or one that wasn't right, they would refund shipping. But some sleazy company figured out that they could pretend to underprice others by leaving out the cost of all those charges. Most people, not realizing they would have higher pices for the "extras" thought they were getting a better deal. This encouraged the more honest companies to "go along with everyone else" and do the same.

So now we have warranties on pianos and mattresses that require you to return the item to the company or pay a shipping fee on an item that costs less than the cost to return it.

But as one poster mentioned - accept it or take your business elsewhere. Unfortunately, in the TV reception business there is not much competition - E*, D* or your local cable company.

JohnP

 

[Walker1]

Where I live cable costs $47.99/mo. + taBasic). I signed up with Dish on a 2 yr. lease. I pay $31.99/mo. for 60 + locals + $4.98 X 2 for 2 510 DVR's + $5/mo. for the 2nd receiver. I will only incurr a $29.95 fee for a house call.

I originally had 2 HD receivers which I hated. I got Dish to swap both out at no charge for the 2 510's. Then I got 1 year's credit for the DVR rental fees. Cable's sound is not in5.1 surround sound. I have a very expensive 6.1 surround system.

In any event, I am very happy with both DVR's and what I pay per month. I really did not want to pay $47.99/mo. for basic cable with sorry ass sound.

Each has minus's and plus's. You have to decide what's best for you. Both of my 510's run perfect, have great PQ, and the sound is excellent. Enough said.

 

[Drone35]

I recently had to send a 522 back account the fan quit working and it would freeze up because of overheating, anyways agreed to pay the $15 bucks for them to send us another one.After we thought about for a while we felt like they shouldn't have charged us to ship to us it wasn't our fault it went out. So the wife called and gave them a what for and they took the $15 bucks off our bill, I guess squeaky wheels get the grease! lol

My advice, talk to the supervisor about getting it took off ur bill we pay enough for every thing else! :

 

[UBetchya]

Ok, so my first year of being a Dish customer is behind me and my free year of DHP ($5.99/month) has expired. Now they're charging me for DHP. I have one 522 and two 322's - all of which are rock solid with no issue (other than the standard 522 intermittent loss of audio). Does anybody think I'm likely to have a problem making it justified to pay the 5.99 a month? Or is these unit's mean time to failure sufficiently long to make it a waste?

 

[MikeD-C05]

You can add the 5.99 warrenty when you need it, and then discontinue it when you're done. But there is a good chance the hard drive will fail on the 522 and you will end up needing the warrenty. I wouldn't add it untill I need it. In the long run you will save money by only adding it when you need it.

 

[UBetchya]

That's good to know that you can stop and restart coverage. What I don't understand is how Dish can allow you to start up coverage after the 522 breaks. It's like trying to get insurance for a pre-existing medical condition.

How long do the hard drives generally last? I suspect it all depends on how much/often you record... Are these units old enough to get a real idea as to how robust they are?

I'm one of those guys that doesn't pay for the insurance when buying something at Circuit City. This just seems like a waste. I wonder how many people (percentage wise) have had to repair 522's.

On a related note, does dish have a policy about upgrading these units if we sign some kind of new contract?

 

[MikeD-C05]

I don't think you are under any contract with the warrenty. When you used to be able to get the extended warrenty for 1.99, you had to have the coverage for 12 consecutive months to be able to get anything covered. With this new warrenty for 5.99 you can add and take it off when you want. As far as the 522 needing replacements, some have had many replacements and some have had none. It depends on many factors , like whether you shake it excessively , or whether you allow it sufficient space for air to get to it or not. In the past I have replaced many of my dvrs ( 721 dvrs and the origional 7100/7200 dishplayers)because of failed hard drives. I have had two 942s since April and ( knock on wood) have not had to replace either one.

Either way you can add the warrenty without any contract and take it off when you want to, as long as you are not leasing the receivers and it isn't included as part of your lease.

 

[SaltiDawg]

That's good to know that you can stop and restart coverage. ...

Actually, you can't - unless you are dishonest. And if so, you'd be cheating the rest of us in the form of higher premiums.

"You represent and warrant that the hardware for which you are seeking coverage are in proper operating condition at the start of the warranty coverage ..."

 

[ItsDon]

If you let Dish automatically charge your credit card every month they will waive the shipping fees on replacement units. At least that's what they've done for me in the past, I haven't needed to have my 522 in for service yet and it's just about a year old now. My 508's had issues though and Dish replaced them fee of any charge after I signed up for auto payment plan. Call Dish and ask about it.