About to jump from DTV to Dish - questions

DJ Lon

SatelliteGuys Pro
Nov 29, 2009
647
689
Phoenix, AZ
I'm actually going nuts; I can't order service. I was a victim of the Equifax disaster and placed credit freezes on all 3 agencies. I lifted the freeze on all 3 for a couple of days but the out-of-country Filipino (I asked where they were) telemarketers keep insisting the computer is locking them out from placing my order. They keep making me wait 24 hours between attempts and today is the 2nd try. How in the hell can I get someone in America? All they keep doing is reading scripts and then when I ask something they can't answer there's a long pause.
 

JSheridan

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Feb 16, 2008
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I'm actually going nuts; I can't order service. I was a victim of the Equifax disaster and placed credit freezes on all 3 agencies. I lifted the freeze on all 3 for a couple of days but the out-of-country telemarketers keep insisting the computer is locking them out from placing my order. They keep making me wait 24 hours between attempts and today is the 2nd try. How in the hell can I get someone in America? All they keep doing is reading scripts and then when I ask something they can't answer there's a long pause.

Call a local retailer if you have a good one.
 

JSheridan

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Feb 16, 2008
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Hmmm...a good idea but IDK how they'll be able to get around this

They can take your order and process it and if you need to do a credit verification then the retailer can probably get an American Dish rep on a 3 way call to get it done. We do it from time to time when the need arises.
 
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Jackonearth

SatelliteGuys Pro
Apr 2, 2018
446
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San Francisco, California
The Hopper 3 has really great features but it's not very reliable. Timers don't always record new episodes. Netflex often freezes the system which then requires several reboots to get it working again. Reporting issues to Dish take a long time to resolve and they won't give updates on any progress. For example, the timer problems have been a known issue for almost a year but just yesterday on this forum someone said they called Dish about skipped recordings and were told they were the only one having this issue. Bluetooth functionality used to drop out requiring daily reboots but that finally got fixed after many months.

I use Dish Anywhere on my Android Tablet every morning to watch news in the kitchen where I don't have a Joey while reading the paper and having my coffee. I have not had any problems with the app.

I had DirecTV a couple of years ago and here in Florida we get frequent heavy rains. DTV HD signal would drop out at the first sign of winds. Dish signal stayed on during the last hurricane. I'm sure signal strength is location specific.

I dropped DTV because of terrible customer service. Dish isn't any better. The Hopper 3 is the best DVR when it's working right. I'm thinking about trying the Comcast X1 but their small hard drive is a big concern.
Yeah try Comcast, you'll love it lol. The X1 lost the ability to set recordings from the app and the website earlier this year because Tivo sued Comcast. A couple of years ago the X1 lost the ability to record the live TV buffer for the same reason and we still don't have it back. Since then the program is saved only from the point you push the record button and everything before is lost even if you were already on that channel. Reminds me of a VCR.
 
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pattykay

formerly crodrules
Jun 14, 2014
8,620
7,751
North Central Ohio
How in the hell can I get someone in America?
Call 1-888-496-1260

This is the Dish Loyalty Department. I am not sure how much they can do for someone who is not a customer yet, but they are definitely in America, and they are higher-up than the regular front-line CSRs. I have used that number to open a second Dish account before, and it worked great!
 

DJ Lon

SatelliteGuys Pro
Nov 29, 2009
647
689
Phoenix, AZ
I've unfrozen all 3 credit agencies though (worked as intended) and I have excellent credit...this seems to be a Dish thing. "Let's verify, oops--verify didn't work, let's make customer wait 24 hours before we try again"
 

HipKat

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Pub Member / Supporter
Aug 25, 2017
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Pekin, IL
Or just force the Overseas guy to transfer you to an American. That's what I did when I switched to Dish from Comcast in 2012. Even though she argued about it, she finally got me through to an office in the States. I know this will make everyone that works at Dish shudder, but do NOT talk to the Filipino's. They're completely untrained and useless. I could start a whole new Forum of the silly things they do - like most recently, upgrades from VIP Dual Tuners to Hopper Duo's - without talking about the Joey and telling people a Hopper Duo runs 2 TV's just like the VIP did. You think you hate sales? Try telling people their bill is going up another $7.00 a month over what "Mike" told them, because they have to have a Joey for the 2nd TV.
 

pattykay

formerly crodrules
Jun 14, 2014
8,620
7,751
North Central Ohio
Or just force the Overseas guy to transfer you to an American. That's what I did when I switched to Dish from Comcast in 2012. Even though she argued about it, she finally got me through to an office in the States. I know this will make everyone that works at Dish shudder, but do NOT talk to the Filipino's. They're completely untrained and useless. I could start a whole new Forum of the silly things they do - like most recently, upgrades from VIP Dual Tuners to Hopper Duo's - without talking about the Joey and telling people a Hopper Duo runs 2 TV's just like the VIP did. You think you hate sales? Try telling people their bill is going up another $7.00 a month over what "Mike" told them, because they have to have a Joey for the 2nd TV.
In the case of such upgrades, Dish should really make it simple and match the price that they are offering new subscribers: $5 DVR fee + $5 Joey fee for two years. That would match the regular-priced DVR fee of $10 for the Hopper Duo by itself. Granted, the bill would still go up in two years when the promotional rate expires, but that gives Dish two years to try to upsell the customer and convince them that the equipment (which they would then be used to using at that point) is worth paying the extra money.
 
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dare2be

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Jul 15, 2011
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FL
like most recently, upgrades from VIP Dual Tuners to Hopper Duo's - without talking about the Joey and telling people a Hopper Duo runs 2 TV's just like the VIP did. You think you hate sales? Try telling people their bill is going up another $7.00 a month over what "Mike" told them, because they have to have a Joey for the 2nd TV.
I think a recent poster had gotten that same bad info and ended up arguing with the forum here over it, saying to the effect "are you telling me Dish lied, and bait and switched me?"

I'll have to find that thread. He never did report back on how his install went.
 

HipKat

SatelliteGuys Master
Pub Member / Supporter
Aug 25, 2017
21,618
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Pekin, IL
I think a recent poster had gotten that same bad info and ended up arguing with the forum here over it, saying to the effect "are you telling me Dish lied, and bait and switched me?"

I'll have to find that thread. He never did report back on how his install went.
Yep, I remember that
 
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DJ Lon

SatelliteGuys Pro
Nov 29, 2009
647
689
Phoenix, AZ
Update: I'm dealing with the local dealer, they've been very helpful, but they called me today and said now they're running into issues as well. They're going to call someone at Dish and get back to me later today.

Geez I didn't go through this much hassle when I got my house mortgage
 

Bobby

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Sep 7, 2003
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The issues don't really come from Dish, they come from the frozen credit accounts. Until those account are unfrozen I don't see how it can be circumvented.
 

ncted

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Pub Member / Supporter
Jul 4, 2004
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Durham, NC
Update: I'm dealing with the local dealer, they've been very helpful, but they called me today and said now they're running into issues as well. They're going to call someone at Dish and get back to me later today.

Geez I didn't go through this much hassle when I got my house mortgage

I have friends who recently had similar problems with DirecTV and frozen credit. They eventually got things straightened out.
 

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