Billing nightmare and bait and switch tactics -- Should I expect this from now on?

[crash331]

Got DISH last week and just logged on to take a look at my bill and my head almost exploded.


What I expected:
HBO, Starz, Platinum HD free for 3 months.
Cinemax .01 for 1 year
Free upgrade to 722 reciever (after mentioning DirecTV and coaxing a CSR)
$50 credit on first bill

$34.99 monthly for TurboHD /w locals, and of course x2 since it's my first bill. So I was expecting to pay $20.


What I saw:
A $50 automatic draft from my credit card
a $54 balance
a $10 charge for platinum HD
a $50 charge for the 722
a $10 chage for no phone/boradband



So after trying chat and getting frustrated with the slowness, I gave DISH a call. I decided to tackle the Platinum HD first. The regular CSR couldn't even do this and he said he saw no notes so he couldn't give it to me. I told him a CSR promised this when I ordered and I wanted to speak to a supervisor.

10 minute hold for supervisor.

Supervisor immediately caves on the Platinum HD. I then move on to the $50 upgrade fee. She puts me on hold and then comes back and says she see no notes about this. I tell her of course not, why would they notate that? Originally when I first ordered, they wanted to give me a 622 or 612 or something but I told them DirecTV would give me a top of the line receiver, and after a few minutes the CSR obliged and said I would get a 722 free. The superviors again says she didn't see this noted, but as a 1 time courtesy she said she would give me a $25 credit, or half. I thought this was even more ludicrous because it's like admitting you're wrong and then stiffing me $25. I held strong and told them if they didn't give me $50 then I would start a chargeback on my card and they could pick up the receiver on the curb. After she saw I wasn't going to shut up about it, and a brief hold, she gave me $50.

Then on to the the no phone/broadband charge. She couldn't fix this and transferred me to tech support. They had me initiate a manual call out. Hopefully it will be gone from the next bill.




So in the future, do I need to start recording my phone calls with DISH? Is this the norm? Promise whatever it takes to get a customer, don't note it and and then say "Too bad" after the contract is signed?

The fact that I had to waste an hour of my life getting this straightened out is bad enough, but what set me off is when she offered half credit. I just don't understand that mentality.

 

[TheBobert]

It was probably a DISH sales partner that signed you up and not DISH directly when you ordered.
BTW which SPECIFIC "top of the line" receiver did DIRECTV say they were going to give you?
my understanding is that DIRECTV WILL NOT "give" you a HD DVR without first paying for it then refunding the money a month later.

 

[crash331]

I don't know what you mean by DISH partner. I called the number on the DISH website to order.

Frankly I didn't check on DirecTVs deals because people here said if you mention another carrier they will give you what you ask for most of the time.

What DirecTV will give me isn't the issue, the issue is a CSR promised it, didn't note it and I assume just ran it as a normal upgrade without telling me, and let me deal with the fallout after I was committed.

 

[Quantum]

This behavior by them is fairly common.

 

[8bitbytes]

Never deal with Dish directly if you can help it. Always deal with a reputable dealer like the DishStore, a sponsor on this site. This way you have a real person who cares to talk to.

If you do deal with Dish, use the online chat and save your conversation record for reference later.

 

[geonaz]

Hey Crash, don't get mad but did you not do some fast talking yourself? You told Dish that Direct was going to give you something and the you admit you did not even talk to them. Then you threaten to leave their receiver on the curb. All you had to say was you were sending it back or come pick it up. Does everything have to be a threat? I'll shut up now. I said my piece.

 

[crash331]

If they didn't want to give me the deal and thought a new customer wasn't worth a 722, then they should have said no. I would have been fine with that, but they obviously thought the 722 was worth a customer or they thought I would roll over and eat the $50 charge. Different providers are there so there is competition. I don't think it's my job to detail what their competition offers. If I go to BestBuy and tell them Walmart has a 50" TV for $200, I expect BestBuy to call and confirm that. While I didn't directly talk with DirecTV, I did go to their website and saw an advertisement for a free upgrade to an advanced receiver. What that entails, I have no idea, but that's all I told DISH.

My issue is they blatantly lied, failed to note my account and then had a half-ass resolution for me when I complain.

And I didn't threaten to leave the equipment on the curb until after she said I would be liable for $25 of the upgrade fee. No way in hell I'm paying for something they lied about. I was obviously exaggerating when I said I would leave it on the curb, but when I expect a $20 bill and see a bill of almost $110, I am not going to be in the best mood. And I did try diplomacy at first, I was very cordial when asking for the supervisor and when the supervisor came on, I didn't blow up, but I didn't roll over either. It's called assertiveness and you pretty much have to have it in today's world unless you want to take it up the pooper.

 

[Carl B]

Your experience with Dish is not uncommon. Any time you do anything that could affect your bill, keep detailed records of time/date, agreements, and who you talked to, because there is probably a 50 - 50 chance that your billing will be screwed up. Then you have to do what you did and waste your time arguing with them to correct their mistakes. And Dish wonders why they are losing subscribers.

 

[yellowcanary73]

Get use to that kind of treatment its the norm thats the reason after 8 years told them to shove it.

 

[Stargazer]

Sounds like the bull crap I have dealt with in the past. One guy tells me one thing and says its notated on the account, the next one says its not notated and that they cant give me the deal. I think the next time they pull this on me I will require them to give me the deal promised plus something extra or to just shut it off and I will go to DirecTv. You have to draw the line somewhere and with all the problems I have already experienced through them, it is easier to just switch providers instead of having to talk to half a dozen people to get credits that you should have already had and dealing with problems you should have never had to deal with, plus you get a new customer promotion elsewhere.

 

[Skibum]

Note on the $10 phone fee: That falls on your installer's head. If they didn't hook it up when you had an available land line or broadband connection, it's the installer's fault. If you don't have land phone lines, get used to the charge.

Failing to note the account? Normal. Always make sure you get an operator's ID when you call and make them confirm they put any notations in the account notes.

Our warehouse here hasn't received new 622's for a year; when they pop up on our workorders, it's an automatic and free upgrade to a 722 since that is all Dish will ship us.

 

[crash331]

Note on the $10 phone fee: That falls on your installer's head. If they didn't hook it up when you had an available land line or broadband connection, it's the installer's fault. If you don't have land phone lines, get used to the charge.

The installer was a very nice guy and to his credit we tried the broadband during setup. I was in the room when he tried it. It kept saying connection failed. He eventually had to call in a "bypass" in order to finish activation. He told me the $5 charge may or may not show up and I might have to call to get it off.

After he left, I was playing in the menu and found the network settings somewhere. I told it to acquire new settings and it immediately grabbed an IP from my router and I was able to download VOD. I assumed at this point, DISH knew it was hooked up and took the $5 fee off. Apparently being able to access VOD and being able to call out is two different ordeals.

Why it wasn't able to detect the broadband during setup, I have no idea. We tried connecting it to my wireless bridge first, then directly to the router and then directly to the cable modem and they all failed.

 

[Skibum]

Why it wasn't able to detect the broadband during setup, I have no idea. We tried connecting it to my wireless bridge first, then directly to the router and then directly to the cable modem and they all failed.

I personally have almost zero experience with the broadband connection as I almost always just run a phone line if necessary. High speed is something I'd like to play with on the Dish receivers, but the phone and cable Internet companies around here are even slower than we are.

 

[Claude Greiner]

It was probably a DISH sales partner that signed you up and not DISH directly when you ordered.
BTW which SPECIFIC "top of the line" receiver did DIRECTV say they were going to give you?
my understanding is that DIRECTV WILL NOT "give" you a HD DVR without first paying for it then refunding the money a month later.

Could not have been a sales partner since we do not have the ability to "Bill" the $50 upgrade for the 722 on the customers bill.

If I had that ability I wouldn't charge the customers anything at the time of sign up and put it on their bill all the time

 

[Claude Greiner]

He told me the $5 charge may or may not show up and I might have to call to get it off.

There is no may or may not appear, it appears on the bill and there is nothing you can do about it. There is no calling to get it removed, unless they make a special exception.

The installer didn't want to be the bad guy when he was in your home....

 

[tcdreamangel06]

God i hate CSR's...

Im in Technical Support and the whole CSR's not doing their job thing is always a problem..so when they dont feel like dealing with it anymore.. tech support gets the mean people.

Platinum HD, HBO/Starz are both under promotion right now...so that was a given... And the whole upgrade for free thing. If the CSR was SMART.. we have access to what DirecTV has to offer.. thus why we have good rebuttals. They just didnt feel like looking i guess. You would have paid about 150 upfront for the "Enhanced DVR" from Direct.. and then you would have gotten a rebate later.

Apoligize for the trouble.. but unfortunatly not everyone at Dish cares..pretty much the story everywhere.

Ill give this advice though.. If we speak English....and we dont sound like a*******..most of the time we arent..so if your nice..we pretty much give you whatever you want.

I know if a customer calls me.. and does nothing but curse me and wish me dead.. Im not gonna give him crap... So, be nice to the English speakers.. unlike the people in the phillipines... we understand EXACTLY what your going through and try to make it better.

 

[nrholland]

I know if a customer calls me.. and does nothing but curse me and wish me dead.. Im not gonna give him crap... So, be nice to the English speakers.. unlike the people in the phillipines... we understand EXACTLY what your going through and try to make it better.

Why do they use people in the Phillipines and India? I suppose it's cheaper for Dish to do that. I also think it's deceitful when they try to give us the idea that they are American and are over here in the U.S.

 

[jdmacor]

Why it wasn't able to detect the broadband during setup, I have no idea. We tried connecting it to my wireless bridge first, then directly to the router and then directly to the cable modem and they all failed.

I too had the same problem when the installer came over. My issue was that the modem and wireless router are in the office, and I have an airport express (n) in my living room. Basically, I had to switch the express to retransmit the wireless signal (as opposed to just connecting to the network), then hook it up via ethernet to a switch, then hook that up to my 722. I know the performance isn't great, particularly for watching VOD movies, but after it buffers for 10-20 minutes, it works fine. All of that to avoid a $5 charge...

The other similar problem I had was about getting the wrong receiver. The installer brought with him a 222, even though I expressly requested a 722 (I called Dish directly as well, not a third party, and they said it was no problem). However, my installer said, "Well, if you look at the work order, it says 222. But oh well, lets get you a 722." He drove back to wherever the hell satellite installers come from and came back with the new receiver. He apparantly cleared everything with Dish, because I saw no extra charge for the receiver as you had.

 

[TheBobert]

Hey Crash, don't get mad but did you not do some fast talking yourself? You told Dish that Direct was going to give you something and the you admit you did not even talk to them. Then you threaten to leave their receiver on the curb. All you had to say was you were sending it back or come pick it up. Does everything have to be a threat? I'll shut up now. I said my piece.

EXACTLY!

 

[Quantum]

Hey Crash, don't get mad but did you not do some fast talking yourself? You told Dish that Direct was going to give you something and the you admit you did not even talk to them. Then you threaten to leave their receiver on the curb. All you had to say was you were sending it back or come pick it up. Does everything have to be a threat? I'll shut up now. I said my piece.

So... out of one side of your mouth you say that he was too hard on Dish by asserting firmly for what he asked for and was promised in the first place... but out of the other side of your mouth you chastise him when he doesn't take personal responsibility for his own financial well-being and remembering 'buyer beware'?!

I prescribe a nice stiff dose of Clozapine for you, geonaz and TheBobert.