Assistance Please - Can Directv do what Dish cannot?

[jcrandall]

It looks exactly right to me, and I remember going through it in depth in your thread the other day.

Break down the email:
Leased Receiver $20 (right, 4 of them that you pay for @ $5 each/month)
HD Access $10 (right, and there is a $10 reduction at the bottom, free for life)
DVR $7, right
Whole Home DVR $3, right
On Demand $0 - everyone gets this for $0
Premier $0 - right, for 5 months as part of the NFL ST promo, then $109.99/mo
Protection plan $0, I don't know on that one, do they give you that free for a while? Otherwise it is $6/mo
Referral is right, discount for 10 months.

Sounds exact to me, $59.99 NFL Promo, $20 for extra receivers, $10 for DVR/Multiroom, less $10 referral = $79.99

 

[jcrandall]

Starting in month 6:

Premier $114.99
Extra Receivers $20
DVR/MRV $10
Referral -10

So unless there is another discount there I show $135/mo. Did they discuss changing to Choice Extra after the 5 month promo maybe?

That would be:
Choice Extra $81
Extra Recv's $20
DVR/MRV $10
Referral -10
$101/month

What I don't know here is if you are getting a discount after month 5. If it is $20 off or something then they may be right, otherwise they sound a bit low on month 6+.

 

[jcrandall]

From DirecTV's history the free preimer with NFL-ST is the best promo they ever offer, nets out to around $500 in discounts. This year it has the Free HD for life too.

I signed up with the NFL/Premier promo back in 2006 and it was great. Today I just carry Choice Extra and add a few premiums depending on what promos they offer.

 

[chargerrich]

It looks exactly right to me, and I remember going through it in depth in your thread the other day.

Break down the email:
Leased Receiver $20 (right, 4 of them that you pay for @ $5 each/month)
HD Access $10 (right, and there is a $10 reduction at the bottom, free for life)
DVR $7, right
Whole Home DVR $3, right
On Demand $0 - everyone gets this for $0
Premier $0 - right, for 5 months as part of the NFL ST promo, then $109.99/mo
Protection plan $0, I don't know on that one, do they give you that free for a while? Otherwise it is $6/mo
Referral is right, discount for 10 months.

Sounds exact to me, $59.99 NFL Promo, $20 for extra receivers, $10 for DVR/Multiroom, less $10 referral = $79.99

Thanks Jason!

So you do think this is a decent price? I am concerned that once the 5 months is up that some service charges will apply.

For instance: Once the football season is over and all the promos, I basically seem to be paying 96.99 and then 120.99 for premiere, HD, protection and lease fees.

Premiere is normally 114.99 + 6.00 protection = $120.99 which is right on target but the email mentions the $20 in lease fees. I want to make sure they do not creep back into the mix and I end up paying $140.99 per month.

 

[jcrandall]

Perhaps the CSR forgot to include the $20 in lease fees for month 6+. Yes, it is always $5 per receiver except the first one, every month.

If you keep premier you are around $140. You can always drop the protection, the receivers are leased so they are covered anyway.

Unless there is a discount I don't know about after month 6, which I doubt, to stay with premier you are at $135 plus protection if you want it.

 

[chargerrich]

Thats what I was afraid of... I covered this 4 separate times and was told that with no changes to programming at all I would be looking at 96.99 months 6-12 and 120.99 at 13+.

Guess I will be calling them today.

 

[paulman182]

Also, NFL Sunday Ticket will auto renew next season, at the current auto renew price, unless you cancel.

 

[stonecold]

Sorry I glazed over all these long post if there a billing question I can answer it just dont make it a novel.

 

[chargerrich]

Update:

Called Directv and confirmed after a lengthy discussion that the original CSR had misled/misrepresented me in terms of pricing (funny how you are never misrepresented with a higher price)! So despite my confirming the "premiere package" on four separate ocassions, the price I was given assumed a drop down to "choice ultimate" after month 5 but was never communicated to me. Needless to say I was not happy and said as much.

I got a supervisor, who after listening to my version of the situation and the clear cut nature of my package and price confirmation, wanted to go to the "listening room" and hear the tape. I did not expect much but he actually called me back less than one hour later to apologize and said the CSR will be reported for re-training and a reprimand. The supervisor then gave me a ticket number, his employee ID and said if I call back AFTER install (when I am active customer) that I could "probably" get a discount. I explained to him that at this point I was not about to just "trust" in this while I agree to a 24 month service contract. I clearly stated that the discount would need to be applied today or I was walking.

I explained to him that it was principal and my time at this point far more than money. I went as far as to say if they would mail me a handwritten letter of apology and a t-shirt for my trouble that would suffice! We both laughed.

I was then transferred to retention who agreed to add a $10 x 12 month discount to my account today, despite me not yet being "active". Only caveat is that I must call in to get the discount each month after this month for obvious reasons (would love to see their demographics on the percentage of people who forget and do not get the discount applied).

Done... Sat companies are a beast of their own!

 

[Jimbo]

Update:

Called Directv and confirmed after a lengthy discussion that the original CSR had misled/misrepresented me in terms of pricing (funny how you are never misrepresented with a higher price)! So despite my confirming the "premiere package" on four separate ocassions, the price I was given assumed a drop down to "choice ultimate" after month 5 but was never communicated to me. Needless to say I was not happy and said as much.

I got a supervisor, who after listening to my version of the situation and the clear cut nature of my package and price confirmation, wanted to go to the "listening room" and hear the tape. I did not expect much but he actually called me back less than one hour later to apologize and said the CSR will be reported for re-training and a reprimand. The supervisor then gave me a ticket number, his employee ID and said if I call back AFTER install (when I am active customer) that I could "probably" get a discount. I explained to him that at this point I was not about to just "trust" in this while I agree to a 24 month service contract. I clearly stated that the discount would need to be applied today or I was walking.

I explained to him that it was principal and my time at this point far more than money. I went as far as to say if they would mail me a handwritten letter of apology and a t-shirt for my trouble that would suffice! We both laughed.

I was then transferred to retention who agreed to add a $10 x 12 month discount to my account today.

Done... Sat companies are a beast of their own!

Soooo, should we "Welcome" you again !!!!

Welcome to D*and this Site !!!
Look around ...
Enjoy your stay.

 

[Chinatown]

As to the termination fee..............

First, thanks to a member I got a referral and a discount which only made my deal sweeter and my switch easier.

My Dish experience has shown that they really took advantage of my wallet, albeit through my own fault in just trusting what a CSR told me (best value, you got a good deal, great time to join Dish, we are across board a better value than cable or Directv, et al).

I was previous paying $112.99 for America's Top 250, 2 HD units, multisport package and a lot of service and HD fees.

My New Directv Plan

1 HR-24 HD DVR Receiver
4 HD Receivers
NFL Sunday Ticket w/ Redzone (normally $314.00)
Premier Programming Package (normally 114.99/mo)
HD For Life
Whole Home DVR for 5 HD rooms
Protection Plan (no charge for service calls)

Cost months 1-5: 89.99 - 10.00 referral discount
Cost months 6-12: 96.99 - 10.00 referral discount (up to month 10)
Cost months 13 forward: 120.99 (no penalty to downgrade to Choice Ultimate which I will do since I have netflix)

Install for 5 rooms included
Setup for VOD to DSL included

Promised in writing that there will be no hidden charges beyond taxes.

To be fair, I did have to pay $297 up front for 3 HD receivers and I went ahead and ate the early termination fee from Dish of $195 plus the $15 shipping per unit back to Dish (which Directv does not charge upon cancellation). Tough pill but glad to put it behind me.

I think I did well... did I?

They sent my brother an offer in February which included paying the cancellation fee up to $200.00. The offer initially was over at the end of that month. However, they accepted same just this week.

In turn, they issue a Visa debit card in the amount that is owed.