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UniversalCerealBus said:

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Should I talk to someone else or just pay them $100+ to get the hopper 3 and $50 for 4k joey (for the speed)? Are there any discounts I should ask for when signing a new 2year? It would seem that since I am on the international package there isn't too much discounting happening on that front. I haven't talked to the retention/loyalty department or anything- is that something I should do in this case?
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You can try calling the Loyalty Department at 1-888-496-1260. If they are not able to help you, then you can ask them to transfer you to the Office of the President. Keep in mind that they will likely be reluctant to transfer you, though, since that office is really only to be used as a last resort.

I would say that your combination of programming packages is definitely keeping you from qualifying for any other discounts. I ran into the exact same problem with my International Basic (prior to that, I had Welcome Pack) subscription. On the other hand, my sister just signed up as a new customer at the beginning of the year, and they were quick to mention that she qualified for a free upgrade to the Hopper 3. Of course, when I got her signed up, we went through the Sales Department over the phone, and the minimum programming package they could offer her was AT120. Then, we had to call back after setting up the account to get her switched to Welcome Pack. She did not accept the Hopper 3, since she did not want a monthly DVR fee, so they set her account up with a Hopper Duo. When the technician arrived, we had to tell him not to install the Hopper Duo, and use her purchased Wally instead. There was no way to activate the account with the existing purchased receiver through the Sales Department, which is why they set up the account with leased equipment. So, yes, I understand how frustrating it can be trying to deal with Dish's customer support over the phone.

If it is your programming package that is preventing you from qualifying for the free Hopper 3, one thing you could try is temporarily upgrading to AT120 for a month. That would only be a $32 increase from your existing Smart Pack, at $72.99 for that month. Then, you could downgrade back to Smart Pack again. Really, you could immediately downgrade back to Smart Pack as soon as the Hopper 3 is installed, but then there would be a $5 programming change fee for changing base packages again within 30 days of the last change. Also keep in mind that if you are signing a two-year contract anyway, the price difference for that one month of AT120 will actually be less than the $32 I mentioned above, since Dish would offer you a discounted price on AT120 with the contract, plus an additional $5 discount if you sign up for autopay. Any of these options would be better than paying the $100 fee Dish quoted you for the Hopper 3 upgrade. Ideally, they would let you do the upgrade for no cost without requiring you to switch base packages first. I was just spitballing ideas to try to come up with a cheaper way to do it, while still working within their system, if they refuse to upgrade you for free. Good Luck!

Thank you all for the guidance, its really helpful- I will reach out to the loyalty staff.

crodrules said:

If it is your programming package that is preventing you from qualifying for the free Hopper 3, one thing you could try is temporarily upgrading to AT120 for a month. That would only be a $32 increase from your existing Smart Pack, at $72.99 for that month. Then, you could downgrade back to Smart Pack again. Really, you could immediately downgrade back to Smart Pack

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The smart pack is listed as "package not sold anymore" on my dish dashboard so that could definitely be a problem if I remove it. We like the science channel and a few others that are included- some of these channels you don't get unless you get the 200-ish channel packages.

UniversalCerealBus said:

Thank you all for the guidance, its really helpful- I will reach out to the loyalty staff.



The smart pack is listed as "package not sold anymore" on my dish dashboard so that could definitely be a problem if I remove it. We like the science channel and a few others that are included- some of these channels you don't get unless you get the 200-ish channel packages.

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Welcome Pack is listed the same way, and has been listed that way for a long time now. If Dish will still let a brand-new customer like my sister switch to Welcome Pack immediately after opening a new account, I am sure that they would let an existing Smart Pack subscriber switch back to Smart Pack after trying another package. Like I said, hopefully that step will not be necessary at all, but it could save you some money if Dish decides to play hardball with you.

UniversalCerealBus said:

We have a 722k and a 622 currently with a $41 smart pack and $45 of international programming, coming to a bill of around $110/mo. Been a customer for 10 years. Contract expired in 2013-ish

The dust is starting to settle a little with regards to streaming stuff and dish's Sling.tv offers the most laughable DVR capabilities. (I think 80-90% of our watching is DVR these days)

If we're going to stay on Dish, we might as well get the Hopper 3. This article: Request Rejected says "Qualified new and existing customers can receive one HOPPER 3™ at no upfront cost. After that, the HOPPER 3™ system requires a whole-home DVR fee of $15 per month and $7 per month for each accompanying Joey client."

Now I've talked over the phone and over chat and gotten everything from "You don't need hopper 3 for 4 tvs" (I offered to hook up all my tvs vs the 2 I watch dish on) to "That offer is for new customers" (after giving them the link above) to "I have a hopper 2 and its just as fast as hopper 3" Bear in mind that this equipment (H3) is now 4 years old. They really want me on HWS for some reason.

Should I talk to someone else or just pay them $100+ to get the hopper 3 and $50 for 4k joey (for the speed)? Are there any discounts I should ask for when signing a new 2year? It would seem that since I am on the international package there isn't too much discounting happening on that front. I haven't talked to the retention/loyalty department or anything- is that something I should do in this case?

I did try to talk to the Dish Support on this website but they just give a link to the standard support page/chat. No real replacement for DiRT?

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I just upgraded from a 722 to Hopper 3 with 1 joey. No luck with getting them to waive the 100 upgrade fee over chat. I have been a customer over 18 years so I called the main cus service number and told them I wanted to cancel my service due to the upgrade fee. They waived that fee without sending me to Loyalty dept, plus lowered my overall cost a bit and price locked me for 2 years. Told them I only had 2 TV's to hookup right now but would add more in the future, did not tell them I would use the firestick for the 3rd TV.

rswelch91 said:

did not tell them I would use the firestick for the 3rd TV.

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It's OK. Here's a secret.

They don't care... lol

HipKat said:

It's OK. Here's a secret.

They don't care... lol

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We absolutely support people who want to use a firestick! We've got one too! Please, take advantage of the features we provide!