Beware: Account Hold and Switch

[WildBill]

Called Dish when I was going to be out of town for a couple of months and was told that I could put my account on hold for $5/mo. until I got back. Just call when you get back and your service will be restored they said. Well, I called to restore service and was told that my HD package was no longer offered and that I would have to get a new upgrade. After complaining that no one informed me that my service would change if I put my account on hold, I was put on hold for 30 mins. When the rep finally got back to me I was told that my legacy package would be restored, however, I would have to submit a waiver request to get my CBSHD east channel back. When I asked how long it would take to get it back she said that the waiver has to be acted on within 45 days. When I asked if the approval was automatic she said "No, that's up to your local station."

So now I've lost one of the stations I watch the most, since there is no OTA CBSHD available in my area, and no guarantee that I will ever get it back! Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

 

[Mr Tony]

I would send an e-mail to ceo@dishnetwork.com and politelly explain the situation. If the account is on hold, you shouldn't lose anything

Make sure to give a good contact number

 

[abricko]

i'm sorry to hear that, i'm also still amazed that people watch CBS, I swear if that channel didn't exist i'd never think or know it was there, do they show anything worthwile on cbs?

 

[Mr Tony]

CSI I think is the big one (I don't watch that so I don't know)

I like King of Queens myself

 

[dfergie]

i'm sorry to hear that, i'm also still amazed that people watch CBS, I swear if that channel didn't exist i'd never think or know it was there, do they show anything worthwile on cbs?

Csi's, Ncis, the Unit ( don't watch this myself) The Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case and Without a Trace are all pretty good... CBS HD generally offers more HD programming than any of the big 4...

 

[bert522]

i'm sorry to hear that, i'm also still amazed that people watch CBS, I swear if that channel didn't exist i'd never think or know it was there, do they show anything worthwile on cbs?

NFL Football.

 

[Devil24]

i'm sorry to hear that, i'm also still amazed that people watch CBS, I swear if that channel didn't exist i'd never think or know it was there, do they show anything worthwile on cbs?

Aren't you talking about NBC???

 

[Tom in TX]

Called Dish when I was going to be out of town for a couple of months and was told that I could put my account on hold for $5/mo. until I got back. Just call when you get back and your service will be restored they said. Well, I called to restore service and was told that my HD package was no longer offered and that I would have to get a new upgrade. After complaining that no one informed me that my service would change if I put my account on hold, I was put on hold for 30 mins. When the rep finally got back to me I was told that my legacy package would be restored, however, I would have to submit a waiver request to get my CBSHD east channel back.

Same thing happened to me just last night!! I called to take my account off "hold". I first had turned on my 942, and everything was showing up as usual. I called to re-activate, and the CSR told me the same deal - need to upgrade, no more HD pak, etc. I said that was totally unacceptable, and I wanted to speak to a supervisor. Held for maybe 10 minutes, and she tried to tell me the same thing, and I said "I'm watching HDNet right now". I said I still have my HD pak, and was just calling to reactivate. She said, okay, legacy package would be restored, no problem. They never mentioned CBSHD, and I still get it!!

Probably they do that to get as many people as possible to upgrade!! Kinda pissed me off, though!

Tom in TX

 

[DishSubLA]

dfergie's post of CBS hit shows is EXACTLY my mom's list of must see TV. It is interesting that after all these years of mega-channel choices, standard broadcast networks still provide some of the most compelling TV for most people. Not for me though, I am rarely on the broadcast nets. There is much more interesting programming on the "pay" channels.

 

[digiblur]

i'm sorry to hear that, i'm also still amazed that people watch CBS, I swear if that channel didn't exist i'd never think or know it was there, do they show anything worthwile on cbs?

CBS is one of the most watched OTA stations in my home. Lot's of favorites on the list here.

 

[gdarwin]

During the fall season we watch OTA more than anything else. When reruns are playing.... now... we search for HD on the other channels.

 

[WildBill]

I would send an e-mail to ceo@dishnetwork.com and politelly explain the situation. If the account is on hold, you shouldn't lose anything

Make sure to give a good contact number

I won't be home to see if CBSHD is really gone until Thurs. If it is, I'll try your suggestion.

 

[ThomasRz]

If you got a wiaver once why would they not give u one again

Called Dish when I was going to be out of town for a couple of months and was told that I could put my account on hold for $5/mo. until I got back. Just call when you get back and your service will be restored they said. Well, I called to restore service and was told that my HD package was no longer offered and that I would have to get a new upgrade. After complaining that no one informed me that my service would change if I put my account on hold, I was put on hold for 30 mins. When the rep finally got back to me I was told that my legacy package would be restored, however, I would have to submit a waiver request to get my CBSHD east channel back. When I asked how long it would take to get it back she said that the waiver has to be acted on within 45 days. When I asked if the approval was automatic she said "No, that's up to your local station."

So now I've lost one of the stations I watch the most, since there is no OTA CBSHD available in my area, and no guarantee that I will ever get it back! Needless to say, I am not a happy camper.

 

[WildBill]

If you got a wiaver once why would they not give u one again

I never requested a waiver to begin with. I was just told that I qualified for CBSHD east when I signed up several years ago. So I added it to my package. A waiver wasn't required because there was no local CBS station.

 

[ThomasRz]

I never requested a waiver to begin with. I was just told that I qualified for CBSHD east when I signed up several years ago. So I added it to my package. A waiver wasn't required because there was no local CBS station.

Ok. Well if you just got CBS (I woulda thunk that a the state capital would have had one a long time ago) then everybody should be asked to qualify (is there granfather for digital?) How r you getting regular locals? You might want to try a diff antenna to see if you can get it. Although you did say no local cbs HD - do you mean the local doesnt have digital yet?

 

[WildBill]

Ok. Well if you just got CBS (I woulda thunk that a the state capital would have had one a long time ago) then everybody should be asked to qualify (is there granfather for digital?) How r you getting regular locals? You might want to try a diff antenna to see if you can get it. Although you did say no local cbs HD - do you mean the local doesnt have digital yet?

There is a CBS station in Champaign (90 mi away) which has a digital translator that I can pick up with a roof-mounted antenna, but they do not broadcast in HD. I can get FOX and ABC in HD OTA. PBSHD and NBCHD OTA are weak signals and break up frequently. This is with the best roof-mounted Winegard antenna my installer had and connected to my 921. Don't know if the tuner in the 622 is any more sensitive, but I still have the problem of no losing CBSHD.

 

[rdinkel]

When I called a couple of years ago to put account on hold while in Europe, Dish CSR told me that if I did that I would need to re-qualify for all distants and could not keep $1.99 warranty. So, I just kept the account active. A bit of a scam, if you ask me.

 

[ThomasRz]

There is a CBS station in Champaign (90 mi away) which has a digital translator that I can pick up with a roof-mounted antenna, but they do not broadcast in HD. I can get FOX and ABC in HD OTA. PBSHD and NBCHD OTA are weak signals and break up frequently. This is with the best roof-mounted Winegard antenna my installer had and connected to my 921. Don't know if the tuner in the 622 is any more sensitive, but I still have the problem of no losing CBSHD.

according to e* kb, the cbs station WCIA is your local station. I dont think they just showed up recently so you probably lucked out in getting the outmarket stations. if you are in area that doesnt get a signal, i dont know why the stations wont give you a waiver whether DTV (even if only SD) and analog. Of course a waiver for Dish service might be worthless in a few weeks. Is CBS going to add HD programming anytime soon??

 

[ThomasRz]

If you are in a suspended status does E* still have to pay the networks for you? If so that is probably the reason. If they didnt have to keep paying for you they wouldnt have dropped you from the approved list (and therefore not have to put u back on)

 

[WildBill]

according to e* kb, the cbs station WCIA is your local station. I dont think they just showed up recently so you probably lucked out in getting the outmarket stations. if you are in area that doesnt get a signal, i dont know why the stations wont give you a waiver whether DTV (even if only SD) and analog. Of course a waiver for Dish service might be worthless in a few weeks. Is CBS going to add HD programming anytime soon??

The owners switched the Springfield CBS analog station to UPN some years ago. More recently WCIA-DT (CBS) was added. Last I heard they were having trouble finding a tower crew to do the modifications for HD and were hoping for September. But it has been one excuse and delay after another for the last two years, so who knows? Local management wants to get it done, but the owners have been dragging their feet since there is no financial incentive for them to do so and relatively few HD viewers to complain..