Besides the obvious, am I being overcharged?

[LordEnder]

Hello all, I haven't been here in 2 years and I haven't really looked at my bill in that time either. So it probably serves me right that I cannot tell whether I'm being screwed or not. But after searching here and elsewhere for the last few days, I'm not sure I've found my answer.

I understand that there were two price change periods this year (Feb and June), and that seems to correspond with the changes I've seen, but I'm still concerned that I may be getting over-charged.

Here are breakdowns of my bill for the last year:


Sept 20th 2009 to Feb 19th 2010, all of the charges have been like this:

Monthly Charges
Classic Silver 200 With DVR 57.99
Classic Gold 250 10.00
GoldHD 10.00
PlatinumHD 10.00
DVR Receiver 12.00
$ 99.99
Other Charges and Credits
DVR Package Credit - Adjustment -3.00


Feb 20th to June 19th 2010, all of the charges have been like this:

Monthly Charges
GoldHD 10.00
HD DuoDVR Receiver 17.00
PlatinumHD 10.00
America's Top 250 With Locals 62.99
DVR Service 6.00
$ 105.99
Other Charges and Credits
Receiver Credit 1,2,3,4 of 6 - Adjustment -5.00


June 20th to Aug 19th 2010, all of the charges have been like this:

Monthly Charges
America's Top 250 64.99
HD 250 10.00
HD Duo DVR Receiver 17.00
HD Platinum 10.00
DVR Service 6.00
$ 107.99
Other Charges and Credits
Jun 27 Receiver Credit 5,6 of 6 -5.00


If there are any suggestions how how to reduce these prices, I'd love to hear it.

Besides pricing issues, please let me know if you have any ideas where these credits come from.


Thanks to all in advance.

 

[garys]

Sign up for HD for Life promo, that will take $10 off.

 

[LordEnder]

HD for Life Promo

Sign up for HD for Life promo, that will take $10 off.

I was looking at that - I was somewhat surprised to find that I did not already have that deal, though I suppose that even though I've been on paperless billing for many years and have been with Dish for 9 years, they wouldn't do it for me automagically. How naive of me ;-)

I'm also focusing in on the "HD Platinum" versus the "Platinum HD" - though they may mean the same thing in the months I've laid out here, I'm pretty sure that very few if any of the channels shown currently under that package are something that I ordered years ago. Am I right in thinking that Dish took what I signed up for, shuffled channels in and out, to the point that all the channels I got it for in the first place are now in the GoldHD or HD 250, and then changed the name in some sort of three-card-monte scenario?

 

[garys]

You also need to sign up for autopay. That may be the reason you don't have HD for Life yet.

 

[JrC]

I think only those that switched to the combined HD + Platinum for $10 were transitioned to Free HD for Life.

 

[m4dh4xx0r]

I think only those that switched to the combined HD + Platinum for $10 were transitioned to Free HD for Life.

Yeah, before June you were paying $10 for HD + $10 for Platinum. You would have been grandfathered into Free HD for Life if you had gotten that switched to $10 HD + Platinum.

I believe now you have to either pay the $99 fee to upgrade to Free HD for Life or sign a new 2 year commitment (+ autopay/paperless). You'd save $10 / mo, and if you didn't want the platinum channels, you'd save another $10.

Platinum channel listing is here:

http://www.dishnetwork.com/hdtv/images/grfx_08.jpg

 

[Scherrman]

Everything looks legit. If you want to save money listen to what the guys are saying on here. Drop Platinum HD if you want to save $10 and find a way to get the HD Free for Life promo to save another $10.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Besides what everyone else is telling you to do (I would also try for HD Free For Life if you can somehow get it hopefully without a $99 up front fee), as long as you have an extra DVR receiver, then it is correct. The first highest priced receiver should be included with the base package. However, I am not sure what other receiver you have. My guess would be another HD Duo DVR.

 

[LordEnder]

Autopay

You also need to sign up for autopay. That may be the reason you don't have HD for Life yet.

I have been on autopay for at least 4 years with Dish...hence why I haven't actually looked at what I was being charged in years.

Thanks



Also, thanks to everyone for the suggestions - I still feel like I've missed out on what HD, Platinum HD, HD Platinum, HD+Platinum, etc have meant over the years...but I guess that's my own fault for not being a constant watchdog on every company I do business with ;-)

To round out the conversation, yes I have two 722's on my account, nothing more.

 

[BBCInc]

but I guess that's my own fault for not being a constant watchdog on every company I do business with ;-)

Unfortunately the nature of the beast these days and, as I have been assured by others here, Dish Network is not the worst in this area. My best recommendation is to get off paperless billing, monitor your charges each month, and watch this forum like a hawk to keep from being labeled as an easy mark.

 

[Bobby]

I've been on paperless billing with Dish and many others for at least a decade and I simply look at the on-line billing I receive each month. I know exactly what I'm paying and why.