Just to throw this out there, with a credit card, Dish can run a credit check on you. If all you give them is a debit card, they cannot run a credit check, plus they are more likely to get their money out of a credit card than they are a debit card.
Credit Card Needed??
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This describes me, I have never had a credit card and am not planning on getting one. I would like to sign up for the promotions that dish has right now but I don't qualify because of this. Is there anyway for non credit card users to sign up. I do have a VISA debit card that I use everywhere when one is required but Dish doesnt seem to think its good enough.
BTW As far as I know I dont have a credit score(or at least a poor one since I dont use credit cards), if I need to borrow money I just go to talk to my banker. Seems to work for me since I borrow $100,000's of dollars for my business each year that way.
DISH uses credit scoring to determine their risk before bringing on a new customer under a promotion that requires a large subsidy for equipment, installation, and programming credits. With the advanced technology going into installs today, it's easy to have $1000 or more in just the cost of receivers, switches, and dishes. Then add the cost of installation, sales commissions, and free programming and credits, and you can see how DISH puts a lot of money into getting a new customer. They can't afford to sign up a customer who won't pay the bill or keep the service for at least the length of the contract period. They require a customer to pass with a certain credit score (proving past bill paying performance) and require the customer to have a valid major (revolving balance) credit card. If a customer can prove superior bill-paying performance by having a "superior" credit score, that customer can sign up using a VISA, MC, AMEX, or Discover "check card". If a customer doesn't have a "superior" score, they can NOT use a check card to sign up.
If a customer's credit score is too low, either from lack of reported credit experience, or from poor credit usage the only option is to purchase the equipment under the Free-For-All promotion or go with another company like DirecTV (who doesn't differentiate between credit cards and check cards).
The Free-For-All promotion allows for the customer to pay upfront for the equipment and still get free installation for up to two TVs. A credit of $5 per month is given on FFA accounts for either 30 months for 1 tuner or 40 months for 2 or more tuners. This pays the customer back for standard equipment under this promotion. Standard equipment runs $149 for 1 tuner or $199 for 2 tuners. If you need more than 2 tuners or HD or DVR equipment, the upfront cost will be quite a bit higher. The 3 free months of HBO/Starz is not available under FFA, but the annual Cinemax for a penny with autopay is available. The 9 months of DISH Home Protection Plan for free is also not available on FFA, but customers can still add it for $5.99/mo.
DHA is in my opinion a better promotion, but if you don't qualify for it by having an actual credit card, FFA may be a viable option.
As for the poster who stated that they can't tell the difference between different types of cards, that's not the case. Merchant Services processing companies charge different rates based on whether a card is credit, debit, prepaid, etc., and the first 4 digits on each card show who issued the card and what type of account it is. They can and do tell the difference between an actual credit card and any other type of card. Rental car companies do the same thing. I have rented from some of them who will also only take credit cards, not debit cards, to guarantee their "equipment".
DISH Network isn't interested in your business credit. They want to check your personal credit. The ubiquitous credit card is the device that they've chosen to gain access to your credit information. Prepaid offers are available but they don't do much in the way of promotions.
Call DISH and ask them what they suggest.
In case you were wondering DIRECTV is even more stringent about credit.
Yes, I understand the reasons why they need a credit check, I am just questioning their method. A credit score is not the only indicator of a persons ability to pay off debt, its just the easiest to get and any idiot in a cubicle can look it up.
I was guess I was wondering if there was any way to move up the company food chain talk to a person that will use a little effort instead of just talking to a peon that looks at one number from some service somewhere.
Its not like I would be adding any extra expense, if I could get this I would be trading my ~$70 cable bill for a ~70 satellite bill, so I dont see what the big deal is.
I was guess I was wondering if there was any way to move up the company food chain talk to a person that will use a little effort instead of just talking to a peon that looks at one number from some service somewhere.
Its not like I would be adding any extra expense, if I could get this I would be trading my ~$70 cable bill for a ~70 satellite bill, so I dont see what the big deal is.
It's a company policy. If we could get exceptions, I'd be submitting them everyday. We have a lot of customers who want to sign up but can't because they don't qualify. They don't qualify because the promotion requires a credit card. I personally agree that there is a better way to determine a whether a customer is going to be a good customer, but this just happens to be how they are doing it now.
It weeds out a lot of the customers who have been causing them negative subscriber acquisition numbers due to disconnects, but it unfortunately also excludes a few would-be good customers from signing up as well. Customers who don't have a credit card also have one less source to tap into if they run up PPV or other expensive programming and don't have the money to pay the bill.
Really, at this point, if you can qualify for a no-fee credit card, get one. Use it to sign up for DISH, then cancel it, or never use it. If you keep it active and only put maybe a tank of gas on it then pay it off, in time it will actually help your credit score. It would be a paid off account with a history. Then when anything else like this comes up in the future, you're set. If you can't qualify for a credit card, then DISH would probably be right in not approving the application for DHA. Unfortunately, this is getting to be a credit score driven world. Ask anyone who has recently moved. Every new utility and service requires a good credit score to get new service without paying a large sum up front.
It weeds out a lot of the customers who have been causing them negative subscriber acquisition numbers due to disconnects, but it unfortunately also excludes a few would-be good customers from signing up as well. Customers who don't have a credit card also have one less source to tap into if they run up PPV or other expensive programming and don't have the money to pay the bill.
Really, at this point, if you can qualify for a no-fee credit card, get one. Use it to sign up for DISH, then cancel it, or never use it. If you keep it active and only put maybe a tank of gas on it then pay it off, in time it will actually help your credit score. It would be a paid off account with a history. Then when anything else like this comes up in the future, you're set. If you can't qualify for a credit card, then DISH would probably be right in not approving the application for DHA. Unfortunately, this is getting to be a credit score driven world. Ask anyone who has recently moved. Every new utility and service requires a good credit score to get new service without paying a large sum up front.
that's pretty funny considering i've never had problems getting directv service with my bad credit but the first time i wanted to sign up for dish, they turned me down!!
Here's the main problem with the new requirement by Dish. A customer may qualify but only if they have a credit card. Some qualify and can use debit cards.
Back to the customer who needs a credit card. Some of these customers are what Dish considers "Premium" customers but because they are no longer using credit cards Dish won't accept them.
Here's the other problem I have with the no debit cards. A customer is required to use a credit card for qualification. The customer can now not use that card again but use their debit card for monthly payments.
Dish claims that a common factor with their high churn rate is the debit card issue. But a customer can use a debit card for their monthly payments but not to qualify?
Does this make sense?
Let me get this straight, one of your suggestions is that I get a credit card just to sign up for dish and then cancel it. How is that better for dish then If I use a debit card that I have had for years and will probably have for the foreseeable future.
It's not. It just gets you past a silly rule that requires a credit card to qualify for up to a $1500 equipment/install/programming subsidy. I don't make the rules, I just have to try to find a way to live within them.
I personally think it's the worst decision they have made in years. We are having a hard enough time getting people to sign up right now with a 24 month contract, without factoring in the requirement for a credit card. We can't change their reasoning, but we can find ways to make it work for you. If you want a way to get DISH without purchasing your equipment, I'm just giving you options. Just complaining up the chain isn't going to do it for you. You need a credit card, unless you can substantially increase your credit score to one they consider "superior".Then you could use your check card.
The telcom I work for has increased their credit guidelines as well.. these are some tough times for sure. And you would be absolutely SHOCKED to see how many people sign up for services, have all the equipment installed by a professional technician, and NEVER pay a single dime... I'm talking, within four months there is multiple hundreds to thousands of dollars outstanding on these customers who would have been weeded out if there was a stricter installation/credit guideline policy in place. I can absolutely see where Dish is coming from.
Its really quite sad how many people there are who screw the telecom industry as hard and as often as possible.. people sign up and within four months are disconnected due to non-payment.... then they have their cousin or uncle call the next month and do the same things over again.
I'm sure that part of the reason for the high cost of cable is due to this.
Its really quite sad how many people there are who screw the telecom industry as hard and as often as possible.. people sign up and within four months are disconnected due to non-payment.... then they have their cousin or uncle call the next month and do the same things over again.
I'm sure that part of the reason for the high cost of cable is due to this.
Consider yourself lucky you got in when you did because DIRECTV has become very picky of late and they've been spending many column inches talking about their "high quality" customers.
