Cancellation issues, what ifs, and keeping my recorded content

[Yespage]

If you have stuff that is that important you could try to transfer it to a PC before cutting service. You would need something like http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html and record the component outputs.

The one trick there is that you record at a 1 to 1 rate, so if you have 50 hours of programming, it'll take no less than 50 hours to record while you playback everything. Most likely no worth the effort.

 

[Hall]

Thanks for the info.

Just got through with customer service. Here's how that went down line by line, this after jacking around trying to prove I have an account with them. I finally asked her to just answer the simple question. She wouldn't until I gave my Mom's maiden name.

>>
Hazel (ID: DN*): Upon checking once the account is already cancelled, there is no option for you to watch recorded shows on your receiver.

Hazel (ID: DN*): I apologize for the inconvenience.

Hazel (ID: DN*): I hope you understand.

Mark: No I don't understand.

Hazel (ID: DN*): I am a customer too and I fully understand where you are coming from.

Hazel (ID: DN*): I really love to help you on that as much as I can.

However it will only works once the account is still active.

Mark: It's another way your firm takes its customers hostage. It's trickery. What if I just unplug my sat cable and wall and then cancel? You can't touch my "dead" receiver then.

Hazel (ID: DN): I am sorry you feel that way.

Hazel (ID: DN): As much as I want you to access all your recordings even the account is cancelled, we do not have option for that.

You have disconnected.
>>

Your petty little rant needs directed at Dish management, not this poor lady. Her answers are just what the company has informed them to tell people who ask... Should could have submitted your "opinion" up the chain as something for them to consider but with the grief you gave her, I suspect she's not very sympathetic of your situation.

 

[KazooGuy]

I personally smile at the thought of dropping a service for them dropping a channel, even if it is one of your ATF's. It is television! I NEVER watched any of the so-called news channels unless there was something breaking going on. News channels are no longer news channels, they are political agenda networks where they try to tell you what you think! Now if you want to leave for a viable reason, like too expensive that makes sense and why I left last August. When I left I was offered $50 per month off of my AT-200 package for 12 months, but I had my mind was made up and I was tired of paying for something I was watching less and less of. I even own my own 922 and I just returned it to them so it could be refurbed and returned to service and I got a credit for it. My 11 years at DISH were happy ones, even when there was a service disruption with FOX, once again, where they dropped the FX channel, I found a way to view SOA online and never once thought about leaving over it. However, I cannot see myself ever returning unless many things were to change and I do not see that happening.

 

[babnmn]

My 2 cents , It is not always dish's decision as well. Programmers have a heavy hand when it comes to there programming and controlling it as well.( meaning they may control how long stuff can stay on a har drive. Years pasted some programming would delete it self of hard drives per programmers request. ) As for the whiners about this network is in a contract dispute bla bl bla . Do us other dish subs a favor and leave . Join directv drop your shorts and enjoy the price ride they will give you. They bend over to the programmers more often the dish does and pass the price hikes onto there customers. Its just tv man.. Off my soap box , peace out.

 

[Mark609]

She needs to forward this to an upper level supervisor. I'm sure some key manager at DISH must be archiving these complaints?

>>"It's another way your firm takes its customers hostage. It's trickery. What if I just unplug my sat cable and wall and then cancel? You can't touch my "dead" receiver then.>>

Now if you think I'm rude, she dodged the question, like she's taught to do.

 

[Mark609]

Dish's track regard regarding dropping networks is gonna win a prize. Here in Texas we call that the "Bum Steer of the Year Award".

 

[ChadT41]

To be honest, no it probably did not get lodged anywhere, other then the saved chat profiles. Also, as you would no longer be a customer, the encrypted content would not be something that would be the responsibility of Dish to maintain, and as mentioned, likely illegal for them to allow you to continue. This would not be a restriction to DISH. This would be a restriction to any tv company allowed recorded content exist anywhere. You already got jackasses like Les Moonves whom states DVR's are like stealing from him anyways. And Digital Rights Management is a serious thing in the entire industry. Its not really a scam, or anything like that....It is a service. You stop paying for a service, you stop getting a service. I have paid for auto insurance for the last 12-14 years, and if I stopped it today, and then got into an accident, I cannot go back to them and be like "I paid for this service for 12 years though. This is a scam"... Once you're not a customer, you're not a customer.... Gotta love the service industry.

 

[Mark609]

Your petty little rant needs directed at Dish management, not this poor lady. Her answers are just what the company has informed them to tell people who ask... Should could have submitted your "opinion" up the chain as something for them to consider but with the grief you gave her, I suspect she's not very sympathetic of your situation.

Don't care how she feels. She's paid to take customer complaints, it's her job.

There's too much touchy feelie sh*t going in America and not enough thinking.

Now, since you're a God here, please give me a link to the Dish god so I may have a conversation with him. Heck, maybe a little prayer would work? Nothing else seems to be working as Dish drops one network after another without regard for customer contract terms.

 

[ChadT41]

feedback@customermail.dish.com

 

[Yespage]

Don't care how she feels. She's paid to take customer complaints, it's her job.

No one is ever paid enough to work in customer service!

There's too much touchy feelie sh*t going in America and not enough thinking.

If it makes you feel better, they may not even be working from America.

Now, since you're a God here, please give me a link to the Dish god so I may have a conversation with him. Heck, maybe a little prayer would work? Nothing else seems to be working as Dish drops one network after another without regard for customer contract terms.

Since Voom, how many channels has Dish permanently dropped? And that list should exclude channels that ceased to exist or were rebranded. The NY RSNs come to mind, but that is it, that I can think of.

 

[Mark609]

And Dish wonders why so many jumped on the hacked free FTA market and boxes using keys before they managed to shut it down! Sure some are gonna steal service, that's just what they do but if they offered a reasonably priced package, that wasn't subject to a screw job from losing access to your favorite shows WHICH YOU PAID FOR......

When I moved they screwed me out of money. During the last increase I found out not via an email or letter, but thru a bill. 5 years ago or so when there was a controversy about providing locals, they packed some of my friends who asked for Austin channels and ended up paying for those from San Antonio in addition to those received from Austin. No one needs two local sets of channels.

It's a racket and somebody should take these telecommunication folks to task.

 

[ChadT41]

While we're at it, we should take down car rental businesses. I mean, we paid for their cars... Right?

 

[Mark609]

feedback@customermail.dish.com

Thanks. I wrote them here and haven't heard back. http://dishstandsforyou.com/

 

[Mark609]

While we're at it, we should take down car rental businesses. I mean, we paid for their cars... Right?

Enjoy your flat tires.

 

[ChadT41]

I promise. I'm not trying to be a dick. It's just using the same reasoning, hoping you see the irony in it.

 

[king3pj]

My 2 cents , It is not always dish's decision as well. Programmers have a heavy hand when it comes to there programming and controlling it as well.( meaning they may control how long stuff can stay on a har drive. Years pasted some programming would delete it self of hard drives per programmers request. ) As for the whiners about this network is in a contract dispute bla bl bla . Do us other dish subs a favor and leave . Join directv drop your shorts and enjoy the price ride they will give you. They bend over to the programmers more often the dish does and pass the price hikes onto there customers. Its just tv man.. Off my soap box , peace out.

How does that do other Dish subs a favor? The fewer subs Dish has the less negotiating power they have. Not that this would happen in the real world but if it was only Dish loyalists left who don't care what channels they get you guys would be in big trouble. I don't understand why people get so upset over someone they have never met choosing to switch TV providers. We all have channels we like to watch. Why can't a dropped channel be a valid reason for someone to switch?

Not only that but other providers benefit from Dish disputes. Dish does say no to the prices networks ask for more often than anyone else and they probably get better deals because of it. Say Dish holds out and gets a great deal on Fox News and has the FXX/FS1/FS2 stuff left alone on their existing contracts. Now Directv's contract with Fox News expires. They are going to get the same deal Dish did. They aren't going to agree to pay more and put FS1 on a new contract when Dish didn't have to. Fox isn't going to pull their channels when Directv asks for the same deal Dish got. They won't risk the drop in viewers just to end up at the same price after negotiating for a few weeks.

Depending on who's contracts expire first Dish probably helps out a lot of other providers. They probably help out the industry pricing as a whole. There are other options within a few dollars of Dish's price. If dropped channels are something you don't want to deal with Dish probably isn't the provider for you. There will absolutely be more disputes in the future and there is no way of knowing which channel is next.

 

[navychop]

I plan to work up figures on how long a CSR lasts with us. I know it's only a few months. Few make it past a year.

 

[king3pj]

To be honest, no it probably did not get lodged anywhere, other then the saved chat profiles. Also, as you would no longer be a customer, the encrypted content would not be something that would be the responsibility of Dish to maintain, and as mentioned, likely illegal for them to allow you to continue. This would not be a restriction to DISH. This would be a restriction to any tv company allowed recorded content exist anywhere. You already got jackasses like Les Moonves whom states DVR's are like stealing from him anyways. And Digital Rights Management is a serious thing in the entire industry. Its not really a scam, or anything like that....It is a service. You stop paying for a service, you stop getting a service. I have paid for auto insurance for the last 12-14 years, and if I stopped it today, and then got into an accident, I cannot go back to them and be like "I paid for this service for 12 years though. This is a scam"... Once you're not a customer, you're not a customer.... Gotta love the service industry.

I'm not sure that's true. I recently got a TiVo for OTA DVR. I'm thinking about adding cable for baseball season since it's only $25 more after tax and cable card rental than my standalone Internet. If I subscribe for baseball I'm sure I will end up recording other content as well. Because, I will only be subscribing for 6 or 7 months I did some research about this exact topic.

With TiVo your recordings still work if you drop cable and go back to OTA only. Shows you recorded while you had cable stay viewable until you delete them. People say they are able to switch between FiOS and different cable companies, continue to use the same TiVo, and not lose any of their recordings. Apparently, this also works if you use Windows Media Center as your DVR.

 

[Hall]

What happens to recordings on a DirecTV box (that is owned) when one cancels? I don't think this comparison is valid for cable because you typically can't buy/own a cable set-top.

What Tivo is doing may simply be their interpretation of whatever rules apply in this situation. I suspect it is a gray area...

I would say Dish is definitely inconsistent, if not WRONG. If I record HBO programming during a free preview, I can still watch after that preview ends and I'm not subscribed to HBO.

 

[ChadT41]

I'm not sure that's true. I recently got a TiVo for OTA DVR. I'm thinking about adding cable for baseball season since it's only $25 more after tax and cable card rental than my standalone Internet. If I subscribe for baseball I'm sure I will end up recording other content as well. Because, I will only be subscribing for 6 or 7 months I did some research about this exact topic.

With TiVo your recordings still work if you drop cable and go back to OTA only. Shows you recorded while you had cable stay viewable until you delete them. People say they are able to switch between FiOS and different cable companies, continue to use the same TiVo, and not lose any of their recordings. Apparently, this also works if you use Windows Media Center as your DVR.

The difference in this, is you would be using a 3rd party device. What if you use the cable companies DVR? It would not have access after dropping the cable company.