$99 equipment upgrade fee from nowhere

[spragers]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded to the TurboHD Bronze DDA package with a single 622 DVR receiver and one TV (a process that was a nightmare in and of itself) and thought that everything was finally taken care of. I paid the $50 upgrade fee back on Feb. 2. Today I received my first post-upgrade bill and found it to be more than $100 HIGHER than before. Out of nowhere, Dish hit me with ann undisclosed $99 "equipment upgrade fee."

What might this fee be for? The only up-front fee that was disclosed to me on the phone was the $50 "dish'n'it up" upgrade charge. I'm calling first thing after work and expect Dish to remove it or credit my account.

The worst part is listening to my co-worker tell me how DirecTV just upgraded her to HD, including a new dish and a new DVR receiver for FREE.

 

[Laddyboy]

Good luck, I'm still doing battle with them over a $50 charge for a free Dishmover. Usually the Dishn It Up fee includes any installation along with a commitment extension.

 

[Stargazer]

They hit me with a $59 dish upgrade fee three months after I added HD and the only thing I did was put up a wing dish myself and they provided me nothing but a 721. The fee hit my bill at the same time I called in requesting the $10 off per month for 12 months. They were asking me if an installer showed up and I told them no and that I did not call in for a dish upgrade. They removed it.

 

[spragers]

Surprisingly, it only took one call to clear things up. The $99.95 charge was made "in error" and there will be a credit for that amount on my next bill. While the issue was resolved quickly, there should not have been an issue to resolve. It's as if Dish Network just arbitrarily adds charges to random accounts just in case the person doesn't notice... we are not amused.

Hopefully this will be the last bill issue I'll have with Dish

 

[crappieguy]

I was wondering when this was gonna start happening. We retailers get hit with unfounded charges from dish ALL THE TIME. Not much per dealer but imagine if they hit EVERY customer with a $50 charge and only 30% complained. Or what about all those with CCA and paperless billing that just pay their bills and dont look? This is an old tactic of dish. The only difference is they are going after customers now.
Big revenue stream for dish.

 

[dlsnyder]

Maybe they charged you for the free receiver that they sent to a friend of mine last week. He called and asked why they sent it to him. He was told that someone had ordered it on his account, and if he didn't send it back he would be charged for it. It seems to me that if he hadn't said anything he might have been able to keep it. I think Dish needs some new accountants.

 

[Stargazer]

I was wondering when this was gonna start happening. We retailers get hit with unfounded charges from dish ALL THE TIME. Not much per dealer but imagine if they hit EVERY customer with a $50 charge and only 30% complained. Or what about all those with CCA and paperless billing that just pay their bills and dont look? This is an old tactic of dish. The only difference is they are going after customers now.
Big revenue stream for dish.

You hit the nail on the head. I know all about how they do retailers having been one until they decided to not pay me like they were supposed to.

 

[Awohar]

i set up one order where the price of the upgrade was showing only 25 that customer would have to pay, he agrees and I set up to ship him a 612 in place of 381, shipped via ups,, i just happen to look at future statements in my computer and i catch a 99.95 dish upgrade charge showing as going to post on his future bill. i created a credit for same amount and advise him he'll see the charge and credit so he know what that about. no deception on my end, my computer honestly tell me he only has to pay 25, then this charge show up. looks like some kind of glitch they have to fix

 

[crappieguy]

I beleive it is not a glitch but a deliberate charge on behalf of certain folks at dish gauging what they can get away with. It is ALL calculated risk.

 

[NotMe546]

Hi all,

I recently upgraded to the TurboHD Bronze DDA package with a single 622 DVR receiver and one TV (a process that was a nightmare in and of itself) and thought that everything was finally taken care of. I paid the $50 upgrade fee back on Feb. 2. Today I received my first post-upgrade bill and found it to be more than $100 HIGHER than before. Out of nowhere, Dish hit me with ann undisclosed $99 "equipment upgrade fee."

What might this fee be for? The only up-front fee that was disclosed to me on the phone was the $50 "dish'n'it up" upgrade charge. I'm calling first thing after work and expect Dish to remove it or credit my account.

The worst part is listening to my co-worker tell me how DirecTV just upgraded her to HD, including a new dish and a new DVR receiver for FREE.

Tell him to let you know when D* makes a DVR that works.

 

[Awohar]

I beleive it is not a glitch but a deliberate charge on behalf of certain folks at dish gauging what they can get away with. It is ALL calculated risk.

you are alleging fraud...

considering the penalties applied for doing so would likely be a fine for each individual case (each account), I doubt they are interested in doing so.

most likely it is how someone coded the customer management software that dish uses and it has resulted in such instances happening. simple answers usually are best explanation, human error writing code more probable than elaborate plan to bilk customers out of thousands of dollars.

 

[Carl B]

you are alleging fraud...

considering the penalties applied for doing so would likely be a fine for each individual case (each account), I doubt they are interested in doing so.

most likely it is how someone coded the customer management software that dish uses and it has resulted in such instances happening. simple answers usually are best explanation, human error writing code more probable than elaborate plan to bilk customers out of thousands of dollars.

Right, and U.S. corporations never engage in fraud or any unethical/deceitful practices. BTW, would you like to buy a nice bridge?

 

[Awohar]

Right, and U.S. corporations never engage in fraud or any unethical/deceitful practices. BTW, would you like to buy a nice bridge?

yeah, and they usually steal millions doing so, I doubt anyone in the upper echelon is going to make a worthwhile profit skimming $99 bucks from a few occasional upgrades.

 

[Stargazer]

I beleive it is not a glitch but a deliberate charge on behalf of certain folks at dish gauging what they can get away with. It is ALL calculated risk.

I agree. Notice that usually when a company makes a mistake or when you are usually overcharged for something on your bill at the grocery store or any other store or cable/satellite that it is in their favor, not yours. That right there tells you something aint right. Its deliberate. If it wasnt then there would be an equal amount of errors that would be in the customer's favor but I do not see that as the case.