An Open Letter to DIRT. Is this a scam? - Resolved

[comfortably_numb]

Dear DIRT team,

I was a loyal Dish customer who always paid my bill on time. I decided to "cut the cord" on March 17 and cancelled my service. I realize I will have to pay some ETF charges and I'm willing to do that. However, I have not seen any shipping information for the return box to send back my Hopper w/Sling. I've called Customer Service multiple times and they say it takes up to 10 days to generate the box; the box they are making me pay $17 to ship. However, Customer Service also says they will bill my credit card the final fees + non-return charges 20 days after I terminate my account. Now, when I returned two Joey's while my account was still active, the box shipped the very next day. So, my question is, do they purposely wait a long time to send the final box so that people will have huge final bills? Do they do that to everyone, or just the customers they want to sock it to? 20 days is coming up fast and I don't want non-equipment return charges on my account.

I am willing to ship the box back today at my own expense. Is the correct address 525 Dunnet Ct, Spartanburg, SC 29303?

I am posting this publicly so other Dish customers and Satelliteguys members are aware that cancelling isn't fun. Even when you're willing to do the dance and pay the fees.

 

[Laddyboy]

Dear DIRT team,

I was a loyal Dish customer who always paid my bill on time. I decided to "cut the cord" on March 17 and cancelled my service. I realize I will have to pay some ETF charges and I'm willing to do that. However, I have not seen any shipping information for the return box to send back my Hopper w/Sling. I've called Customer Service multiple times and they say it takes up to 10 days to generate the box; the box they are making me pay $17 to ship. However, Customer Service also says they will bill my credit card the final fees + non-return charges 20 days after I terminate my account. Now, when I returned two Joey's while my account was still active, the box shipped the very next day. So, my question is, do they purposely wait a long time to send the final box so that people will have huge final bills? Do they do that to everyone, or just the customers they want to sock it to? 20 days is coming up fast and I don't want non-equipment return charges on my account.

I am willing to ship the box back today at my own expense. Is the correct address 525 Dunnet Ct, Spartanburg, SC 29303?

I am posting this publicly so other Dish customers and Satelliteguys members are aware that cancelling isn't fun. Even when you're willing to do the dance and pay the fees.

Be sure to keep a copy of the tracking #s regardless of whether it is Dish's box or your own.

 

[Tampa8]

DISH does not prohibit you sending it yourself, it's your option. Just do that with tracking number.

 

[comfortably_numb]

DISH does not prohibit you sending it yourself, it's your option. Just do that with tracking number.

I shouldn't HAVE to, though. They should send the box just as promptly as they do for customers with active accounts, IMHO. Especially if I have to pay $17 for it.

 

[Asket]

This is odd!

Considering the nature of the request one would expect a DISH rep to jump into this. Where are they?

I have noticed irregularities in my billing which DISH reps don't understand either. These are often signs
a company is having difficulty. Hope not but with the degradation in quality of the available channels DISH as well
as other similar providers are losing product to sell.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Considering the nature of the request one would expect a DISH rep to jump into this. Where are they?

I have noticed irregularities in my billing which DISH reps don't understand either. These are often signs
a company is having difficulty. Hope not but with the degradation in quality of the available channels DISH as well
as other similar providers are losing product to sell.

Good question. But I tell you what, I'm not making an idle threat when I say I'd be happy to have my attorney call them if they decide to passively ignore me. I have told them I will pay my ETF. But if they are purposely delaying the box to try to "maximize" my bill, they've got another thing coming.

 

[Tampa8]

The lawyer will ask you why you didn't just send it yourself or advise you to do so. It's called mitigating damages. I would have expected the boxes by last Friday if you cancelled on Monday so I'm with you on that. But if the worry is DISH will charge you more because the boxes won't arrive in time just send off the receivers now. Standing on principle sometimes takes a back seat to taking action.

 

[comfortably_numb]

The lawyer will ask you why you didn't just send it yourself or advise you to do so. It's called mitigating damages. I would have expected the boxes by last Friday if you cancelled on Monday so I'm with you on that. But if the worry is DISH will charge you more because the boxes won't arrive in time just send off the receivers now. Standing on principle sometimes takes a back seat to taking action.

My response would be because Dish has a procedure in place to recover the unit. I'm sure Dish uploads their own tracking numbers into the system, which are connected to the Receiver ID(s). There are also reference numbers on the tracking sticker which I wouldn't have when/if I send it myself. On an active account, boxes are dispatched within 24-48 hours. Cancelled accounts have to pay a $17 box fee AND wait 7-10 days? Makes no sense. I'm not trying to defraud or otherwise harm Dish; on the contrary their delay and inactivity represents just the opposite. Just my two cents.

 

[Tampa8]

I read the agreement, it says you have 30 days to return equipment from the time you cancel.
It also says you have options (paraphrasing) on how to return, but you do need an return authorization before returning, not that you must use their boxes, that is one choice. Like any company the RMA assists in tracking should there be a problem.

(I'm not disagreeing the boxes should have been there)

 

[Tampa8]

Considering the nature of the request one would expect a DISH rep to jump into this. Where are they?

I have noticed irregularities in my billing which DISH reps don't understand either. These are often signs
a company is having difficulty. Hope not but with the degradation in quality of the available channels DISH as well
as other similar providers are losing product to sell.

Betting you're serious?

There are no DIRT members usually on till sometime around now.

By your logic, every company is in trouble because virtually every company has billing irregularities from time to time. Direct TV just had one.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I read the agreement, it says you have 30 days to return equipment from the time you cancel.
It also says you have options (paraphrasing) on how to return, but you do need an return authorization before returning, not that you must use their boxes, that is one choice. Like any company the RMA assists in tracking should there be a problem.

(I'm not disagreeing the boxes should have been there)

Is there a DIRT member in the house who can PM me and give me an RMA to send back this unit?

 

[Tampa8]

I see mikeH_dishNetwork came on.

 

[Rey]

Is there a DIRT member in the house who can PM me and give me an RMA to send back this unit?

We've informed them of this thread and will assist you as soon as possible.

 

[Rey]

You can also PM one of them now if you like, comfortably_numb :

ZachS@DISH Network - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

TommyF@DISH Network - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

maryb@Dish Network - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

Ray C@DISH Network - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

ZachS@DISH Network - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

Stephenh@DISH Network - SatelliteGuys- America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

MattG@ DISH NETWORK - SatelliteGuys - America's Satellite & Home Theater Technology Information Source!

 

[AZ.]

Is there a DIRT member in the house who can PM me and give me an RMA to send back this unit?

This is the key! Any business now wont return anything without a RMA #

 

[satnewb]

I think you're making something out of nothing. The boxes will be there. The receivers will be accounted for correctly.

Current customers get boxes faster because, well, they're paying customers. When I cancelled DTV a few years ago it took probably 10 days to get the shipping boxes. Didn't cause any problems with billing, etc.

A little patience goes a long way.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I think you're making something out of nothing. The boxes will be there. The receivers will be accounted for correctly.

Current customers get boxes faster because, well, they're paying customers. When I cancelled DTV a few years ago it took probably 10 days to get the shipping boxes. Didn't cause any problems with billing, etc.

A little patience goes a long way.

When one CSR says 20 days, another says 30 days, another says it costs $17 to send a box, another says they can bill ETF's only to the original credit card you signed up with and another says it can be your auto-pay credit card, it's not "making something out of nothing." These CSR's don't know what they're talking about and most of them are in foreign call centers and can barely speak English. I sold my 211 on Ebay, Dish said it was "free and clear to activate," but then told my buyer they had to wait 14 days to activate it. I spent an hour on the phone with Dish this past Saturday getting that mess straightened out so he could activate it. And for the record, I am a paying customer- I am paying to buy out of my contract.

 

[KAB]

When one CSR says 20 days, another says 30 days, another says it costs $17 to send a box, another says they can bill ETF's only to the original credit card you signed up with and another says it can be your auto-pay credit card, it's not "making something out of nothing." These CSR's don't know what they're talking about and most of them are in foreign call centers and can barely speak English. I sold my 211 on Ebay, Dish said it was "free and clear to activate," but then told my buyer they had to wait 14 days to activate it. I spent an hour on the phone with Dish this past Saturday getting that mess straightened out so he could activate it. And for the record, I am a paying customer- I am paying to buy out of my contract.

We (and you) all know about the general ineptitude of most CSRs, . My question to you is, why did you not just go through Dirt to begin with?

 

[comfortably_numb]

We (and you) all know about the general ineptitude of most CSRs, . My question to you is, why did you not just go through Dirt to begin with?

I tried. Here was DIRT's response:

comfortably_numb,
I do understand you want to cancel your DISH service and we never want to lose a customer for any reason.
For the ETF that will usually be charged on the account. When dealing with a cancelation or disconnect of an account we ask you the customer to speak with our Account Specialist.
We prefer that you call us and allow us to review all of the options available to you. You can reach an account specialist at (888) 496 – 1260, who will personally handle your request and ensure that we cover all of the necessary information needed to cancel your account.
Thanks

 

[KAB]

Ok then. But you still need to take some deep breaths.