TV2 Connection Fee Question

[abletondj]

I am trying to find out about the TV2 receiver connection fee that dish charged for not having your receiver hooked up to a phone line.
With all of their new pricings for additional receivers, DVR fee, etc. it makes it a little hard to understand.
I know that new clients will not be charged this fee for not being hooked up to a phone line, but are encouraged to do so, but I want to know about existing clients.
Are existing clients that weren't previously hooked up to a phone line being migrated to the new rates, so therefor, the TV2 connection fee will be dropped then?

I tried calling retail services and their front line call center and got mixed answers, but it seems they have high turnover and aren't up to speed with the new pricing yet. I tried retailer services, but couldnt get a straight answer.

any insight is greatly appreciated.

thank you

 

[Lt Disher]

Even though the connection fee is supposed to be rolled up into the one receiver fee, there are evidently some people who did not have their phone line connected before Feb 1 who are being hit with the connection fee and the new receiver fees.

I did find this bit of advice on the other site about how to get them to remove the charge. I don't know if it actually works, but it may be worth a try.


Quoted from another forum site:



"If you are still getting a TV2 connection charge on your bill ( These are people that as of 2/1 had multiple Dual receivers But had 2 or more not connected to pots/ethernet you could have 1+ tv connection charges still. If you add Credit Card Autopay and Paperless billing for no set period of time they will be removed from the account. They are considered services so once removed they will not be added back so you can call an hour later and remove the Credit Card Autopay."

Evidently, you have to call and complain and the CSR can apply the above procedure and the connection charge can be taken away.

 

[jrbdmb]

I know the answer to this (I guess), but why should I being charged a TV2 connection fee when I am not using the TV2 output? The could have just as well called it a $7 "PIP fee".

This doubly stinks as Dish had really been pushing the dual output units hard the last few years. Luckily my 722 is the primary and avoids these charges, but I would absolutely be trading in a 2nd 722 for a single output unit if I was in this situation.

 

[abletondj]

I'm confused:

• Simplified Fee Structure – Effective February 1, 2010 we will make certain changes to select customer fees described in the following section. These changes are designed to help make customers’ billing statements easier to read (and potentially display fewer line items).
o Single Account DVR Service Fee – Customers with a DVR receiver activated on their account will no longer be charged a $5.98/mo. fee per DVR. Instead they will be charged a single $6/mo. DVR Service Fee per account, regardless of how many DVRs they have activated.
o TV2 Receiver Connection Fee
–
New Customers:
? Effective February 1, 2010, new customers will not be subject to the TV2 Receiver Connection Fee, but should still be encouraged to connect their receivers to a land-based phone-line or broadband Internet connection to take advantage of certain receiver functionality including:
? ? ? ?
Interactive TV (DishHOME Channel 100)
DISH Remote Access Pay-Per-View (PPV)
On Screen Caller ID

Existing Customers - Effective February 1, 2010, we will change the structure of certain fees, including some that apply to existing customers. These changes are being made in order to help simplify the customer experience. – Please direct all customers with detailed billing questions to call DISH.

Fees Related to Additional Receivers – Effective February 1, 2010, the fee structure related to additional receivers on new and existing customer accounts will change. Beginning February 1, 2010, a new Additional Receiver Fee will replace the current Additional Receiver Fee, TV2 Receiver Connection Fee and DVR Service Fee. As discussed above, for certain customers’ accounts each receiver activated beyond the first will no longer be subject to a TV2 Receiver Connection Fee. Additionally, the DVR Service Fee will no longer be associated with each DVR on a customer’s account; instead a single account DVR Service Fee will apply to the entire customer account. To help illustrate how the new fee structure related to additional receivers will affect customer accounts with certain receivers, please refer to the Monthly Fee Structure.

 

[JayStil]

I just looked at my upcoming March statement, and they're whacking me the $5 TV2 fee. The funniest part about it is the receiver is hooked up to broadband, and has been for a couple of weeks. I was having problems with my wireless bridge in Jan & Feb and just got around to fixing it. The Feb. statement was the first and only time I'd previously been charged the $5.

It might backfire on em' though. With that fee and the $4 increase for my 2 508's my bill is now dangerously close to the $100 mark. WAY too much for the amount of TV I watch. Time for a reducing plan.

 

[peano]

At the risk of being called a liar again, I can confirm that the TV2 fee applies to existing subs who never had phone or ethernet connected to multiple Duos.

It is a valid charge and was on my bill. A CSR over on the other forum confirmed this fee.

As mentioned above you should be able to get it waived if you go on Autopay and Paperless. YMMV.

 

[JayStil]

My April bill is now available in my account online, and they hit me for the $5 TV2 fee again. This is on my primary receiver, a 722. As my post above states, it was always hooked up to broadband except for a few weeks in late Jan - middle Feb. when my wireless bridge was acting up. It's been fixed since mid Feb., but it looks like once they tag you for the fee it's forever until you get a CSR to remove it?

Did an online chat last night and once the CSR finally "looked up my info" (took over 20 minutes, I almost fell asleep) he said since I was a "valued customer with autopay, paperless billing, and a valid email address" he could waive the fee starting next month. He had no answer when I asked him why the fee was advertised as being included since the Feb. receiver fee changes.

He then went into a hard sell of Starz for "only $12.99 a month". I told him I'd be glad to try it free for 3 months but he declined. Sounded hurt when I wouldn't take him up on his "offer". Must have a quota to meet or is getting a kickback of some sort.

 

[lilnemo]

I have never had a phone line connected so I paid the fee before Feb. 1 and it showed up on my bills after as well. I did an online chat and asked and they removed the fee because I had autopay setup and paperless billing. The fee was gone from my latest bill.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

I think that they should have kept things the way they were before. However, even having the $5 TV 2 credits for connected phone lines or broadband like before would have been better even with a price increase on receivers.