Statistics don't lie.

[Zero327]

BBB Reliability Report

The Better Business Bureau®
Serving Denver/Boulder Metro Area
1020 Cherokee St.
Denver, CO 80204
(303) 758-2100
data.denver.bbb.org




EchoStar Communications Corporation
9601 S. Meridian Blvd.
Englewood, CO 80112
Telephone: (866) 319-4564
www.dishnetwork.com
www.echostarcommunications.justgoodbusiness.biz

When evaluating the complaint record, compare this to the fact that Echostar has more than 12 million customers across the country.

The Bureau processed a total of 6425 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 6425 complaints closed in 36 months, 3307 were closed in the last year.

Advertising Issues
BBB Definition:

Advertising Issues - Claims alleging print or electronic media advertised claims or practices misrepresent the service or product offer.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



142 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
516 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



32 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
3 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
1 - The parties could not provide sufficient information to support their positions nor were they agreeable to make reasonable efforts toward resolving the issues of the dispute.

Contract Issues
BBB Definition:

Contract Issues - Claim of alleged failure to honor contract or agreement, work performed without authorization, or invalid contract.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



17 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
41 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Billing or Collection Issues
BBB Definition:

Billing or Collection Issues - Claim alleging billing errors, unauthorized charges, or questionable collection practices.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



137 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Complaint was settled through BBB mediation.
297 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



8 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
2 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.

Sales Practice Issues
BBB Definition:

Sales Practice Issues - Claims of alleged sales presentations made in person or by telephone that contain misrepresentations of the product or service, high pressure sales practices, failure to disclose key conditions of the offer, and verbal representations not consistent with written contractual terms or agreements.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



84 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
227 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



8 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
10 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Delivery Issues
BBB Definition:

Delivery Issues - Claims alleging delayed delivery of ordered merchandise.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



37 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
171 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



10 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.

Repair Issues
BBB Definition:

Repair Issues - Claims of alleged incorrect diagnosis of a problem, delay in completion of repair, inferior workmanship.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



6 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
26 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



1 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Service Issues
BBB Definition:

Service Issues - Claims of alleged delay in completing service, failure to provide promised service, inferior quality of provided service, or damaged merchandise as a result of delivery service.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



82 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Complaint was settled through BBB mediation.
270 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



21 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
6 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Customer Service Issues
BBB Definition:

Service Issues - Claims of alleged delay in completing service, failure to provide promised service, inferior quality of provided service, or damaged merchandise as a result of delivery service.



BBB Definition:

Customer Service Issues - Claims alleging unsatisfactory customer service, including personnel's failure to provide assistance in a timely manner, failure to address or respond to customer dissatisfaction, unavailability for customer support, and/or inappropriate behavior or attitude exhibited by company staff.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



86 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Complaint was settled through BBB mediation.
275 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



6 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Guarantee or Warranty Issues
BBB Definition:

Guarantee or Warranty Issues - Claims alleging failure to honor the terms regarding guarantees or warranties.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



51 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
266 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



11 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
1 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.

Product Issues
BBB Definition:

Product Issues - Claim alleging a product does not meet the expectations of the complainant, including defective merchandise.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



205 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
928 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



51 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
4 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
1 - The parties could not provide sufficient information to support their positions nor were they agreeable to make reasonable efforts toward resolving the issues of the dispute.

Refund or Exchange Issues
BBB Definition:

Refund or Exchange Issues - Claim of alleged failure to honor company policy or verbal commitment to provide refunds, exchanges, or credit for products or services.



Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



361 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
1691 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company offered a partial (less than 100%) settlement which the consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



80 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.
4 - BBB determined that despite the company's reasonable effort to address complaint issues, the consumer remained dissatisfied.
1 - The parties could not provide sufficient information to support their positions nor were they agreeable to make reasonable efforts toward resolving the issues of the dispute.

Issue Not Defined
Resolved
BBB Definition:

Resolved - The company resolved the complaint issues.



34 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to the BBB.
191 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
1 - Company offered a partial (less than 100%) settlement which the consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to the BBB.
Administratively Closed
BBB Definition:

Administratively Closed - The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.



15 - BBB determined the company made a reasonable offer to resolve the issues, but the consumer did not accept the offer.





Statistically, this means 1 in every 1,992 customers has an issue, of which 98%+ are resolved. My math is fuzzy but that's around a .002% issue rate for BBB claims I think.


Dem customers are failing to acknowledge a lot of stuff. I suppose it's easier to file a complaint than to tell someone your problem was fixed, but oh well. This also explains JD Powers (which I never understood why some customers that don't get what they want from the BBB call up DISH after having cancelled, demanding the direct number for the JD Powers review board... Doesn't it seem ironic you want help causing problems from the company you want to cause problems for?)

 

[RedWings]

I have no clue what you are trying to get at.

 

[Zero327]

This is a "make your own call" post. You're supposed to take the information, and reach your own conclusions based on it. But unlike word of mouth, numbers (when accurate) are more reliable. So the above, in theory, should be worth more than every positive or negative post about the service on the forum... In an ideal world anyways.

 

[mdonnelly]

"Figures don't lie (but liars figure)."

 

[riffjim4069]

Only about 10% of rapes are ever reported...it doesn't mean the other 90% didn't happen, just not reported. I'm sure most unhappy customers contact Dish Network and/or quietly cancel their service and more on...only a very, very, very small percentage ever contact the BBB.

If only 1 in a thousand unhappy customers felt compelled to file a formal complaint with the BBB, then that means there and more 6.4 million angry Dish Network customers; roughly 50% are not satisfied with the service.

My point is that BBB complaints provide a useful sample of unhappy Dish Network customers, but they certainly don't represent anything more than a tiny fraction of the Dish Network customer population.

 

[DISH_NC]

Everything is relative within the industry, which means without the report for D* or the Cable Companies, you can't really draw any conclusion.

If a comparison was made, then you can see how E* performed relative to the market they operate in....

 

[Hall]

This is a "make your own call" post. You're supposed to take the information, and reach your own conclusions based on it.

Your post is rather one-sided, is it not ??

 

[eatonjb]

ok.. so heres my question.. what does D* look like, or how about TimeWarner, Comcast etc..

well all know that EVERYONE gets a BBB Call. who gets more, whats the resolution hit rate.. ect.

 

[Hall]

When you "report" Time Warner or Comcast, for example, does your local BBB take the information or do you have to report it to TW or Comcast's "home town" or headquarter location ?? If you report it locally, you'd have to compare ALL of the local reports against Dish or DirecTV complaints.

Besides, this original poster is just a troll..... Why are we even acknowledging his post other than pointing out the flaws in it ??

 

[Tom Bombadil]

The interpretation of the statistics is questionable.

The hundreds upon hundreds of complaints that were administratively closed does not mean they were "resolved." These may well have been "resolved" because the customer switched to another provider and then decided to not bother to follow up with the BBB anymore.

And, as noted by others, most issues are never filed with the BBB. For example, I accepted an upgrade offer given to me verbally by a person from E*'s CEO office. It included a $99 programming credit, that I verified with the caller three times before I accepted. But then they didn't give it to me. I wrote back twice and received no response.

I didn't bother to file a BBB complaint because I had no evidence. So I lowered my programming commitment by $23/month for 7 months. Eventually bringing it back up to within $8/month of where I was before. That was 4 months ago. Thus so far I have paid $193 less ($94 less if you subtract the $99) to E* than I would have if they had honored their word to me.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

This is really difficult to interpret. Were these complaints from people all across the country; or were they complaints made directly to the BBB in the Colorado Front Range?

If it is national, then yes, 6000+ complaints out of 12 million is pretty good; if it is local, it may not be so good.

As far as people saying "but I didn't report a complaint" or "I am really frustrated with E* for such and such a reason," its pretty much just anecdotal, and not statistically significant. We, the members of SatGuys do not make a random sample in any sort of way.

Yet at the same time, the data is entirely self-reported; in that individuals choose to complain. Sure, lots don't, but lots don't for lots of different companies too. You can only take this sort of data with a grain-of-salt. It might be useful, it might not. What would be useful would be to have the same data over several years. Longitudinal data would not eliminate problems with the sample, BUT it sure would be useful to see if the company appears to be getting better or worse over time.

Just my two cents...

 

[Jordan420]

Statistics don't lie

73% of all statistics are incorrect

 

[rockymtnhigh]

Just because you can lie with statistics, does NOT mean that statistics are not useful.

 

[Jordan420]

73% of all statistics are incorrect

This post is meant to be funny

 

[downriver]

Agreed - statistics don't lie. This graph clearly illustrates the data proving that global warming contributed to the decline worldwide in Pirates.

 

[Foxbat]

But what about Dish pirates? (he asked, swinging the conversation back to Echostar...) Surely there are more than 17 pirates in the world today?

 

[tkorcal]

9 months with dish and I still love it!! Couldnt GIVE me cable to make me switch back, of which I was a customer for 20 + years!!