Dish Randomly Decided I Ordered Almost $40 Worth of PPV, Which I Didn't

HanoverPretzel

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
Oct 6, 2006
573
0
So, I was looked at my billing section online and though my pdf bill showed the correct amount due, the current balance listed on the non-pdf billing page was $37.51 higher, with no explanation.

I did the assistance chat online thing and apparently the CSR decided I ordered something called the "NHL Cricket Package" (Which as far as I know isn't a real package). He later revised that to the "NHL Center Ice" package, which at least was a real package, but not one I ordered.

The kicker is, not only did I not order anything like that, I'm on a pre-pay account, so they wouldn't have let me order anything like that without paying them when I was doing it. So, not only didn't it happen, it couldn't have happened the way Dish works the pre-pay accounts.

Anyhow, he said he took it off my account. I asked when my current balance on the website would reflect this, and he said it would be reflected on my next bill (Huh? It wasn't reflected on my last bill).

Oh well, I think it's resolved. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully? I'd feel better about it if the website current balance corrected itself.

I don't get how stuff like this can happen. That's a really weird glitch in the system or whatever.

Kind of annoying to have to take time out of my day to fix something like. It's not even an error that makes sense.

Hopefully this isn't because I listed Dish's phone number as my own in their system to get them to stop robo-calling me twice a month for bills that aren't due yet.

Dish is starting to get awfully high on the "Way too many recurring annoyances" scale. I feel like I have to take time every month or so to dodge phone calls, get my Dish serviced when the transmission goes out (twice in just over a year), correct overcharges, click through on-screen notices saying I need to pay bills I've already paid, argue about price increases during my first year (Which Dish got sued over- not by me- and settled. So it's not just me that thought their ads were leading people to believe the first year price was locked in), etc.. It always seems to be something. I mean, come on. I pay in full and on time. They are lucky I'm still under contract, because this is a lot to put up with from a service I pay for.
 
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I never had a problem with the PPV stuff until Dish moved it down to channel 1 with bogus firmware. I had to get my account PPV credit limit set to zero to get the madness to stop. It's stayed that way ever since. No spurious charges for soft porn or anything else for that matter.
 
So you've been a member here for how long, and for some reason you thought you'd go through CSR to fix something that DIRT could have cleaned up much more quickly?
 
I would be more than happy to review what happened. Please send me a PM with your phone or account number so I can help get this straightened out. Thank you!
 
So you've been a member here for how long, and for some reason you thought you'd go through CSR to fix something that DIRT could have cleaned up much more quickly?

But if DIRT came to the rescue (like they always do) there'd be no reason to write a 9 paragraph complaint on the forum about all the things that annoy you. C'mon Yespage, you know better than that. :p

It seems the OP's thread creation history is like a novel...chapter after chapter of the evils of Dish. :sob:
 
Dont feel bad, I just had 60 dollars worth of PPV and VOD ordered on my account. my 722 was locked for PPV, my 922 was not. funny thing is my 922 only showed one show in my order history. CSR was useless, and the Dirt member I contacted only confirmed what was ordered. looks like I am out an extra 60 bucks this month.

The kicker was when I was on chat with the CSR, the only he seemed interested in was giving me starz at half price. I told him if he did away with the PPV charges I would sign up for it. That did not happen
 
I would say still want to know this stuff when it happens, so I still would want the OP to post it. I do agree just use the DIRT team though to really be sure it gets fixed.
While I do see this kind of thing come up, compared to how many "issues" arise in a year I don't think I see this too much. Over the years of the times I have seen it, the poster has like one post, and never came back to answer our questions, and in some it was no one in my family would order that....... But to be sure there have been a few times it did seem like Dish made the mistake.
 
I would say still want to know this stuff when it happens, so I still would want the OP to post it. I do agree just use the DIRT team though to really be sure it gets fixed.
While I do see this kind of thing come up, compared to how many "issues" arise in a year I don't think I see this too much. Over the years of the times I have seen it, the poster has like one post, and never came back to answer our questions, and in some it was no one in my family would order that....... But to be sure there have been a few times it did seem like Dish made the mistake.
So are these things happening in a computer thousands of miles away from where a subscriber lives, or is the receiver having a hiccup, or is the subscriber doing something wrong, or is there some other reason this can happen?

I remember the one time I was trying to use the universal part of my Dish remote, and when I turned on the TV, I noticed I was well within the process of ordering a PPV for some reason (ie I didn't switch the device on the remote).
 
I can't profess to know the answer. Some have theorized it can be a remote from another close enough home/apartment, the cat, the dog,.......lol It just seemed to me there were some, I don't the number of times, where the poster was very believable and seemed to have covered all the bases as to why it couldn't have come from their house. As I said, there were other times there were some holes as to whether it could have been ordered.
 
The kicker was when I was on chat with the CSR, the only he seemed interested in was giving me starz at half price.

I got that sales pitch, too. I guess some people must actually respond well to it. Personally, though, when I contact a company I have service with because there is some sort of a problem, the last thing I want is a sales pitch for other services. I don't want to pay you more for something else, I want you to fix the problem with my existing service. I mean, come on, logically, I'm much more likely to trade down or cancel than trade up if I'm constantly having problems with a company- and the worst time to ask me to trade up is when I'm trying to get a problem fixed and thus negatively predisposed to a company at that point in time.
 
But if DIRT came to the rescue (like they always do) there'd be no reason to write a 9 paragraph complaint on the forum about all the things that annoy you.

Having the DIRT team here is a good service. But they don't always fix things. I kept being urged to contact the DIRT team about not being given free HD for life when I signed up for service initially. They told me they couldn't do it without an equipment charge. The DIRT team can only do what Dish policies permit them to do.

It seems the OP's thread creation history is like a novel...chapter after chapter of the evils of Dish. :sob:

Well, if Dish would stop having problems, I'd stop creating threads. I mean, seriously, you think I want to be having troubles every single month with my TV service? Really? You think this is fun for me?

Why do you think Dish keeps losing subscribers quarter after quarter? Why do they keep getting sued? I'm not the only on who has a lot of issues with them.
 
Update: Talked to the DIRT team guy last night. He said the issue was resolved. Checked the site today to find out that my current balance on the website readings nearly $100 over what I actually owe. That number is moving in the wrong direction.
 
that's why I have ppv locked and need a pin to order

This isn't someone else in my home ordering PPV. I live by myself. It's just me and the dog. The dog isn't a big fan of cricket or hockey or whatever else they say I ordered. ;) This is a problem with Dish's system.

Now, personally *I* like hockey, but I didn't order some stupid package. I don't think I've ever ordered PPV from Dish other than some free ones like a year ago I got as part of a promo.
 
Having the DIRT team here is a good service. But they don't always fix things. I kept being urged to contact the DIRT team about not being given free HD for life when I signed up for service initially. They told me they couldn't do it without an equipment charge. The DIRT team can only do what Dish policies permit them to do.

That says volumes. You are wanting Dish to do something they have a policy not to do, so no, the DIRT team can't just go against policies. There can of course be extenuating circumstances, but even then if the DIRT team seems to have gone against policy, they probably didn't what they did was uncover the real problem and then that fix is not going against policy. That to me is what the DIRT team is best at - finding the real problem and then acting on it.
 
Exactly. If DIRT can't help you... you know you are out of options. With a CSR, you never know what your options may be.
 
That says volumes. You are wanting Dish to do something they have a policy not to do, so no, the DIRT team can't just go against policies. There can of course be extenuating circumstances, but even then if the DIRT team seems to have gone against policy, they probably didn't what they did was uncover the real problem and then that fix is not going against policy. That to me is what the DIRT team is best at - finding the real problem and then acting on it.

Well, in that particular case from a while back, my issue was with Dish policy.

Right now, though, my main concern is getting these extra charges off my account. I'm sure it's not a Dish policy to randomly charge people for stuff they didn't order. Or maybe it is and will come out in some sort of whistle-blower type leak a few years from now, or as discovery in yet another class action law suit. Who knows.

The sad part is Comcast sucks, too. I don't relish going back to them when my contract's up. Maybe it'll be time to spin the ole roulette wheel and see how landing on Directv works out. I'm actually not looking forward to any of it. You know what I'd like? All the television channels I want at a good price and billing that's consistent and reliable and not constant service outages, robo-calls, on-screen stuff, and other issues. If Dish would just stop screwing up 1-2 times or more per month, I might eventually forget about my past negative experiences with them and stay with them beyond my contract just to avoid the headache of switching to a new provider, but, you know, fat chance that I won't have another problem to deal with in March or April and then the months following.
 
Having the DIRT team here is a good service. But they don't always fix things. I kept being urged to contact the DIRT team about not being given free HD for life when I signed up for service initially. They told me they couldn't do it without an equipment charge. The DIRT team can only do what Dish policies permit them to do.



Well, if Dish would stop having problems, I'd stop creating threads. I mean, seriously, you think I want to be having troubles every single month with my TV service? Really? You think this is fun for me?

Why do you think Dish keeps losing subscribers quarter after quarter? Why do they keep getting sued? I'm not the only on who has a lot of issues with them.

Mr. Pretzel, I sincerely do empathize with your situation and the billing error. I hope this all gets worked out quickly to credit you back for any errant charges. I'm sure it isn't fun for you at all.

I am very aware that Dish, along with any other company you want to name, has issues at times, and makes mistakes. You can't have 14 million or so subscribers and do every single thing wrong all the time. And it is not unusual at all for large companies to be sued. Again, just because you are sued doesn't mean you are in the wrong. Ever heard of frivolous law suits...perhaps like the McDonald's hot coffee incident years ago? And again, even if they made a mistake or did something to get sued for a legit reason, that isn't all that unusual for such a large company. Now, refusing to fix it...that's another thing entirely. I truly do hope there is a quick resolution for you!

Having said that, I'm sure you have heard the parable of "The boy who cried wolf" and when you constantly complain about everything, then when something that is a legitimate complaint finally comes along, you have to understand why there would be those who don't take it all that seriously. You've made it very clear in past posts that you want to cancel your Dish contract. It appears at first glance that you are going to complain about anything and everything Dish related. You certainly have that right. I would assume as long as all posts are within the rules you can post anything you wish regarding your issues with Dish. But I'd simply say please don't be surprised when you aren't always taken seriously. After all the boy who cried wolf had a legit problem also...:boink: