Complaint Review: Dish Network

I decided to sign up for Dish Network in December of 2005 after feeling as though my initial mistrust and instincts had been eased in a lengthy conversation with a representative at the number on the card I had received in the mail offering a "free 4 room installation with a free DVR, 3 months free HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, free local channels and my bill would be... I can't recall the exact figures for all of this but the bill was to be right around $35 a month when all was said and done.

I asked what that would be at the end of the first 3 months and the guy said it would remain the same. I questioned him again, asking, "It won't go up all?" He said it would remain the same. I could also swear that this guy told me I wouldn't be paying the extra $5 a month for the second receiver. But,I caved on that one in pure frustration and fatigue. Only after a torturous ordeal of dealing with one of their reps, though.

I swear it was a good ten minutes of arguing with him before, in exhasperation, I asked for his supervisor. I can't tell you how many times I had to say with determination that I wanted to talk to his supervisor before he quit telling me his supervisor would tell me the same thing he was telling me and seem to do what I had asked.

Well, all he did was to put me on hold and come back a couple of minutes later saying that his supervisor was busy and would take some time to come to my call. Then, he'd say the supervisor would tell me "exactly what he had been telling me..." I was ready to reach through the phone and throttle this guy!

Finally, someone else did come to the phone and she was nearly as rude giving me the same old song and dance. That was the first strike. You can see how they frustrate you so handily that you just cave in and hang up, can't you?

Before I go any further, I would like to say that the people who handle the local installations in our area (Starwest Satellite) have been excellent to work with and seem to have integrity. But, these poor people were being run ragged and having to push people back for weeks on end because the people setting up new installations such as the guy I spoke with when I signed up, were promising installation dates 3-4 days out from the initial call which was impossible to do for everyone.

I was pushed back a week before because of this. The installer was very professional and pleasant. He answered our questions and did a fine job. And, I had a lot of questions! One of which was whether we owned the DVR at the end of the contract. His answer was a definite "YES".

Next, because I wasn't sure how the 4 room installation worked, I only asked for a 2 room at first. So, once I figured out how it worked (on a weekend), I decided to get the 4 room setup/second receiver.

On Monday I realized that our 3 months of free movie channels had turned into less than 3 days. It had been shut off! I called and asked if it was too late to get the second one installed. He said it wasn't because I had called so quickly after the first was installed. I also told him that my movie channels had been terminated. He told me that it would be turned back on when the second receiver was installed that Friday. It turned out to be 3 weeks later after being shoved back 2, nearly 3 times! The poor installer ended up having to come and install it late on the holiday weekend because I stomped my feet about being put off so many times.

Guess they were getting all sorts of suckers that month! They did reconnect the movie channels when the second receiver was installed. BUT! My most recent bill (received in February) showed that my 3 months of free movie channels had become 2 months because of some of their fancy, creative accounting. I was told that I was credited a dollar amount equal to the cost of the 3rd month of free movie channels on the first bill that I didn't get? I paid them $49 just to get signed up.

I went round and round with the gal on the phone and after about 20 minutes of this I lost it. I lost it! I told her I wanted to talk to someone who would listen to me or they could come and get their equipment and shove it. Only after telling her I wanted them to get their equipment did she shut her gums. Then, she said that if I wanted to terminate my service, she had to transfer me to someone in financial services or something like that. FINALLY!!!

So, I talked to a very courteous gentleman who tried his darndest to explain their creative accounting and billing to me while I tried my darndest to explain how I feel deceived because I was told I would get 3 months of free movie channels and expected to get exactly that only to end up a month short because of their accounting skills. To be honest, I still don't understand how they figured all that and feel cheated but the guy agreed to let me keep them until the 18th of March and I caved AGAIN.

Now, about a week ago (end of Feb 2006), my DVR crashed and a very nice gentleman in Tech Support decided I needed a replacement which would arrive in about 3 days at which time I would be credited for time without the service. Fine! Well, in the meanwhile, the thing decided to come back up and because the message said some of the data was corrupt, it had to erase the hard disk, I accepted it and it worked beautifully until tonight (March 4, 2006).

Now, it's crashed again. The replacement did arrive 3 days ago and I had planned to make the switch tonight which I was doing when I realized that the brand new DVR that had crashed was being replaced with a used/refurbished one. The reason I knew this was because the lens on the front of it was smudged on the edges. When I called them about it, I was told (by a very courtious tech, BTW) that I was misled by the installer and I would not own the DVR at the end of my satisfied contract and that I'm leasing it. When I asked how that could be when I was told it was free and I was told I would own it in 18 months, she told me I was misinformed and there was nothing she could do about it.

So, I asked what was free if I'm paying $5 a month for the DVR service and I'm paying for the DVR "lease". She tried to tell me that was the "installation" that was free. Well, I was very patient and as kind as I could be with this poor gal because she's only saying what she believes to be true because that's what she's been taught.

I did ask for a number and/or name of someone who would have the power to actually do something about my situation and she did try but came back with nothing. She told me I could call back tomorrow to see if I could get any further but offered no hope. By the time I hung up, I was choking up and tearing up with absolute frustration and the knowledge that I had been lied to repeatedly and I was stuck with this contract and there was NOBODY I could contact in order to have my case heard and make a stand with someone who could be held accountable for this web of lies.

Also, not every time I've called Dish Network but on every occassion I've called regarding and in question of my billing and the DVR issue, I've had to go through the most relentless and ridiculous broken record treatment and actually having to scream above the person on the other end who was talking over me and not listening to me at all. Add to that the fact that I could barely understand them in the first place! There's no excuse for treating customers that way. How do they get away with that?!!! I know they have to be trained to do that!

So, I have put the "replacement" DVR back in its box and am planning to call and talk to someone else on Monday morning. I have left a message with the gentleman who heads up the installations in our area to see if he can give me any options and/or assistance with all of this. And, if nothing can be resolved by Monday evening, I plan to tell them to come get both receivers and the dish and shove them. I also plan to tell them that if they want me to pay the penalty for terminating the contract, I'll see them in court.

I want to know why there isn't a class action lawsuit on this group of advertising magicians yet. I read the report where the customer was told that because they had been lied to by "another agency" at the onset, Dish Network couldn't be held responsible. That can't be a legal truth! Anyway, I want to see them be held accountable. Who's with me?!!!

B
Columbia Falls, Montana
U.S.A.

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