Complaint Review: Dish Network

We signed a 2 year promotional agreement for Dish Network on August 9, 2005. From the start, it was a nightmare. The entire system would go dead for days on end, with no rhyme or reason.

It would suddenly go dead, even if no one was in the room. My repeated calls to "customer service" went no-where. I finally complained on-line. I gave them a deadline to get it fixed or they could take their system and hit the road. No response. I re-sent the complaint to them a 2nd time. Still no response. After the umteenth call to "customer service" and getting a person who could barely speak American English to where we could understand her, I received a response to my email complaint. They said to contact "tech support." More run-around. Tech Support finally said after running through a series of diagnostics via the telephone, "Oh, there must be a problem with your system." No duh? That's what I've been saying for 2 months! After having the system down for 2 months, an installer came out and found a faulty piece of hardware. I had to call and complain to get a meesley little credit for those weeks the system was down.

Five months into the 2 year contract (in February 2006), the price was changed and "programming package options" changed. Let me give you a hint. Some channels that I usually watch were shifted to a higher-priced tier.

Now we are moving, and I called "customer service" and spoke to "Ann," to make arrangements to "move" the system, eventhough I was not the least bit happy with it because of poor customer service and their "mid contract" changes". After going through all of their "moving the system" questions, she said, "Oh, we can't schedule anything further ahead than 30 days! You'll have to call back."

I've totally had my fill of this company and their poor customer service and their system. I called yesterday and asked, "How much will it cost me to terminate this contract? We are moving and I don't want your service." I was told by "Darlene" in customer service that it would just be $160. to cancel out the entire contract. "Are there anymore charges?" I specifically asked. "No. Just the $160." she assured me. Fine with me. She put in motion the order to send me out an address label so as to return the equipment in the orignal box to COLORADO! THEN she transferred me to "Annette" in the Cancellation Department... whereupon I was informed by Annette, that there would be a $240. penalty ontop of the $160. plus a "transponder fee," and other fees! How convenient that their "cancellation fees" total over $400., which just happens to be more than the same amount as $25. a month for the duration of the contract? "Annette" did verify (for what anything they say is worth) that when I cancel out their service after the contract expires, I won't have to pay the $240 penalty.

I backed out of the "cancellation" and unfortunately have no choice but to set up to have the service "moved" to the new location. That way at least I'm just out the $400. over a series of months instead of something over $400. today. I called them back, and told "customer service" to forget the cancellation because it was cheaper for me to keep their service even if it was just on paper and I never turned the darn thing on.

Trust me...I have marked on my calandar the day after the contract is up, and it WILL be cancelled.

Bottom line is this: They use good-sounding promotions to lure unsuspecting customers into signing up for their service and lock them into 1 year or 2 year contracts. Then when the unsuspecting customer is firmly locked into a contract, they change their fees and move some programs into higher priced packages. (Something like "bait and switch"). Then when the unhappy customer tries to resolve problems or even ask questions, they are routed through a very poor "customer service" department that is physically located somewhere else on the planet. Finally, when a customer's patients are
totally fried and they try to get out of the contract, even when the company is the one who breached the terms of the original promotional package by changing it... it will cost the customer more money to terminate the contract... than if they'd kept the service for the duration of the contract and never turned the TV on. And lastly, if an unhappy customer unplugs the system from the dwelling's phone-line (so as not to use the DishNetwork System at all)..., it costs even MORE money each month as a penalty!

I can't believe that some State Attorney General's "Consumer Fraud" department hasn't gone after this company!


Jack
Littleton, Colorado
U.S.A.

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