Dish Network FlexTV Questions..

[STEELERSRULE]

I decided to call and see if, in fact, I could actually turn off the service and put it in "PAUSE" mode, which is what you can do with a regular account. Well guess what. NO!!! You pay up front for a month and if you don't use it you EAT IT!!! What I finally found out after about an hour on the phone is that NO PREPAID BOXES can be converted to regular accounts, so throw it in the trash and buy another one off Ebay. All you can do is convert it to a FLEX account which is for those that don't want to give out some personal info or qualify credit wise. So when you order programming, whether it be more or less (can you imagine ordering the 250 package, regional sports and maybe some movies channels) and only using it for a few days or a week you have no ability to PAUSE the service at all and your money goes right down the dumper for the rest of the month.

What really pisses me off is that I have had Dish (another four letter word) for over a decade and am extremely conversant with all of it. plus what I have learned here and the CSR that turned on my service on Saturday, 9/26, flat out lied to me and said I could PAUSE it for up to six months (not True), and even after I asked him about 4 times and said I only wanted a regular account (NOT AVAILABLE WITH A PREPAID BOX--another lie), he kept telling me it was the same thing. So the programming I ordered (thank God not much) will go for nothing in a few days because there ain't gonna be no one there for a while.

What I did get (after I kept bitching and got to a supervisor) was a note in the file for a free months programming when I call back in to turn the damn thing back on in November. She originally was just going to give me a free month's extension, when no one was there!!! DUH!! What the hell good does that do. The fact remains that I was lied to repeatedly. She said, what we all know that they threw this new thing on them last week with no info to speak of and a lot of the CSR's were told it was just like a regular account. Bull sh*t. It isn't.

It is nice that you can get anything you want, but you will eat the rest of the month if you don't use it. So you weekend or second home or vacation for a week guys can dump this one in a New York minute (maybe you could just get locals for $9.99). I told her to take it back to management and tell them how stupid this was and I was going back on line and they would see service getting dumped immediately, but the stupidity of corporations in how they perceive their markets these days is absoulutely amazing to me.

Another satisfied Dish subscriber.

Sorry to hear about your anger jakesnakemd. But you answered my question on the $5/month charge thing. It is a "pause", and it is not available with this setup.

This is what I meant when I said, I will sure miss the day to day ordering that we had with Dish NOW!, and maybe/hopefully they will add that feature too this setup(I REALLY DOUBT IT).

Maybe not add it to every package, but at least make day to day ordering available for things like locals, Dish Welcome pack, Dish Family, and maybe something like the superstations package. Other than that, you would be SOL, and would have to go the whole month route.

No this setup is no where near as convenient as Dish NOW! was. Not even close. But I changed mine just so my DP301 box would not become useless, and I could use it if I wanted too.

I could always sell it down the road, or just keep it, and maybe re-open the account if they make changes to the FlexTV setup that I like.

Day to Day Dish. Day to day. Maybe not everything, but some things would be nice.

 

[r10fret]

Flex requires one month at a time regardless of whether it is a $60 a month package or a $10 a month package you select, you pay for it up front and it is turned on for 30 days.

If a CSR told you something else then I agree with you but that was not what flex is.

At the end of one month it is turned off unless you pay for another month or switch to something else which can be cheaper. They dont charge you $5 to turn off after 30 days if you don't pay again, they do charge you a $5 restart fee once you restart if you wait 15 days past the grace period when your programming ended.

 

[mike123abc]

What is this $5/month fee people are talking about? I know about the $5 restart fee, but someone else mentioned this, and I am wondering what that is.

I thought I could just stop and not use the service at will/whim. Therefore at the end of 30 days if I decided not to re-up, I could just let it go, and then come June 2010 as an example, just restart and be charged the extra $5 restart on top of whatever it is I order.

I do have that right, correct? I sure as hell hope so. I don't want my account to be charged $5/month for nonuse. That is not the point of this. The point is to have the ability to start and stop at will, without contacting them or anything.

While I am not 100% sure this applies to FLEX, Dish has a $5/month charge if you do not have a basic programming package.

 

[jeffmn]

Geeze what a crock, they DEFINATELY told me if I shut it off early I'd get credit. :rant: Wait, wait, let's not get too worked up yet.

The back of the paper statement says......

"Partial Month Charges and Credits
Any changes you make to your service/programing in the middle of your billing
cycle will show as charges or credits to catch your service up to regular full month billing cycle."

If that doesn't mean you can make changes and get credit, then what the hell does it mean?

 

[jeffmn]

If it was me, I'd go online and turn yours to locals only when it's time to leave.
Then see if a credit shows up on your account.

There were a number of things they didn't know Shaaat about until they put it into the computer. They were friendly but dumber than a box of rocks as far as this program goes.

It took me 3 calls in to get my name spelled correctly, they can't hear either apparently. They had me as "Deff" WTF and my last name was unrecognizable. It's still not right, still has one letter missing.

Cant believe my CC even went through.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

While I am not 100% sure this applies to FLEX, Dish has a $5/month charge if you do not have a basic programming package.

Thanks Mike. But I came to realize that the $5 charge everyone was talking about is the $5 "pause" fee that some people use on a REGULAR dish account when they are not going to be at the residence where the box is located. Therefore they are charged $5/month to keep the box active, and then turn back on the programming when they return.

This not a part of, and is not allowed under, the FlexTV set-up.

Oh, and the $5 charge you mention is for those of us who want to have premiuims , but no basic package(Welcome package/Dish family/Bronze 100/Silver 200/Gold 250). And the charge, at least for me as a FlexTV customer, was $6, not $5.

But maybe you can answer this Mike, or Scott. Does that $6 encompass each individual premium I would want, or encompass all of them at one time

EXAMPLE: When I got my FlexTV setup, I just got the Encore $4.99 package only, so they charged me the $6 access fee, so my total came to $11.65. I did that just to get the box converted over to FlexTV, just so if I don't want it down the road, the box is ready to go for that type of setup, in case I want to sell it.

But let's say I got HBO/Showtime/Starz/Cinemax, with no basic package, and was hit with the $6 charge again. Would that $6 charge be for EACH(meaning $6 X 4=$24), or is it a one time $6 charge for access(meaning whether I get one or five or six premiums, that $6 charge covers them all)?

So it would be better for me to load up on premiums, pay the extra $6, instead of just getting one.

Do you or anyone else know this?

Thanx

 

[jeffmn]

No idea

FWIW.... I did try to turn on the sports package online.
I now have just the welcome package with locals.
It said nope can't do it, I had to upgrade first.
Sooo I'm not sure if the welcome package counts as a real package?

The more I learn about flex, the less excited about it I am.

 

[r10fret]

Steelers, see the statement I posted pictures of, the $6 is a programming access fee it has been around for years and you only pay it once per month if you don't carry a base package and want something like international ala carte or just premiums. I used to pay the extra $6 on a regular dish account because all I wanted was international and no base programming. They only charged $6 once per statement regardless of how many premium networks you sub to. The Sports Entertainment Package is available with welcome but you need to add over the phone. Since you can't add it online then they cant charge you a $5 fee for customer assistance, so dont let them, just explain online addition won't work.

 

[mike123abc]

But maybe you can answer this Mike, or Scott. Does that $6 encompass each individual premium I would want, or encompass all of them at one time

EXAMPLE: When I got my FlexTV setup, I just got the Encore $4.99 package only, so they charged me the $6 access fee, so my total came to $11.65. I did that just to get the box converted over to FlexTV, just so if I don't want it down the road, the box is ready to go for that type of setup, in case I want to sell it.

But let's say I got HBO/Showtime/Starz/Cinemax, with no basic package, and was hit with the $6 charge again. Would that $6 charge be for EACH(meaning $6 X 4=$24), or is it a one time $6 charge for access(meaning whether I get one or five or six premiums, that $6 charge covers them all)?

So it would be better for me to load up on premiums, pay the extra $6, instead of just getting one.

Do you or anyone else know this?

Thanx

On normal accounts the charge is just once for not having a basic package. If you want all movie channels it just is the cost plus $5.

Another route people do is get the Welcome pack, locals and cinemax for a penny on a regular account for around $15.

 

[wasjr]

Newbie with questions

Hello, doing research and found this forum. Looks like a lot of knowledgeable folks here. We have a lake cabin that we visit a couple of weekends per month and I was interested in prepaid daily usage but obviously that is out the window, so I am looking at flex. We don't need HD and I am looking at the Welcome Package with locals. I have done some research but still have a few questions. I am currently on hold on the online chat session from the flex website (I have about 30 "All operators are busy, we will be with you shortly......" posts on my chat window) so I thought I would post my questions here:

Probably a dumb question , but what is the difference between the solo and duo receivers and can I select the receiver I want?

I see that the $149 fee covers the cost of a receiver and installation for up to two receivers. Can I have the installation wiring done for two receivers, but only hook up one at this time? That way I am not currently charged the monthly fee for the second receiver, but can add it easily in the future.

If I want the Welcome Package and locals, can I also get other channels individually, and add or delete them monthly? Where can I find the pricing for the individual channels? I am mainly interested in ESPN and maybe a movie channel.


Do I sign up over the phone, or do I go to a local retailer?


Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Youlose]

Hi guys, nice site and good info here.
I read this thread before I switched my prepaid over.

I would like to point out I know alot of you guys are out for the minimal packages but for those that buy regular packages ask if they have any deals while you are on the phone.
I buy the gold 250 package. The deals available were Cinemax for 1 cent (I think per month for a year) if I signed up for automatic credit card billing every month. I did not go for this deal because I don't know if I want to use a credit card every month. The other deal was free HBO and Showtime for 3 months if I agreed to put my email address on file, well I went for that deal. I just have to remember to cancel it after that.

One bad part I live in Burton Michigan which is a suburb of Flint, with my zip code she could not turn on my Flint Locals. However I have already been to my account online and they are listed under my locals section for $5.99. So it looks like I should be able to order them myself.

I guess we are lucky they are letting us switch these boxes over because a few weeks ago it looked like we were all going to have to buy more equipment if we wanted to be in the flex program.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

Hello, doing research and found this forum. Looks like a lot of knowledgeable folks here. We have a lake cabin that we visit a couple of weekends per month and I was interested in prepaid daily usage but obviously that is out the window, so I am looking at flex. We don't need HD and I am looking at the Welcome Package with locals. I have done some research but still have a few questions. I am currently on hold on the online chat session from the flex website (I have about 30 "All operators are busy, we will be with you shortly......" posts on my chat window) so I thought I would post my questions here:

Probably a dumb question , but what is the difference between the solo and duo receivers and can I select the receiver I want?

I see that the $149 fee covers the cost of a receiver and installation for up to two receivers. Can I have the installation wiring done for two receivers, but only hook up one at this time? That way I am not currently charged the monthly fee for the second receiver, but can add it easily in the future.

If I want the Welcome Package and locals, can I also get other channels individually, and add or delete them monthly? Where can I find the pricing for the individual channels? I am mainly interested in ESPN and maybe a movie channel.


Do I sign up over the phone, or do I go to a local retailer?


Thanks in advance for your help.

A duo receiver is a receiver with two tuners in it. Since you have no interest in HD, then the DP322 is a duo receiver, while the DP311 is a single receiver.

With the duo receiver you can have the receiver in one room, and use the other tuner in it for PIP(watching two shows at once), or you can have the receiver in the one room, and run either the coax out/composite video and red and white audio cables out to another tv in another part of the cabin/house.

This setup allows the customer to have two tv's watching two separate programs, for the cost of 1 receiver. And you don't get hit with the $5/month for every extra receiver AS LONG AS the receiver being used is attached to a phone line, I think.

The answer to getting individual channels like ESPN is NO. There are some a la carte channels, but nothing out of the Encore movie pack $4.99/month, that would interest you.

The lowest package with ESPN in it is Bronze 100. For the NFL Network and ESPN Classic, you must go to the Silver 200 level.

 

[wasjr]

Steelersrule, thanks for the response. The duo receiver would be perfect for us. One thing that confuses me in your response is the phone. Since the cabin has such limited use and we have cell phone service, we do not have a land line at the cabin. Is this a requirement for service?

As an aside, my initial experience with Dish customer service has not been good. After waiting about an hour for an online chat I disconnected. Then I called the number on the website and was placed on hold, when I reached the first caller in line status, the system flipped me back to the main menu. When I finally got a person I was transferred. After the third transfer I became frustrated and hung up.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

Steelersrule, thanks for the response. The duo receiver would be perfect for us. One thing that confuses me in your response is the phone. Since the cabin has such limited use and we have cell phone service, we do not have a land line at the cabin. Is this a requirement for service?

As an aside, my initial experience with Dish customer service has not been good. After waiting about an hour for an online chat I disconnected. Then I called the number on the website and was placed on hold, when I reached the first caller in line status, the system flipped me back to the main menu. When I finally got a person I was transferred. After the third transfer I became frustrated and hung up.

I "THINK" with the prepaid FlexTV service, you may be able to get away with not having it connected to a phone line for the DP322. With the DP311(single receiver), without question that is not a problem.

But I am not 100% about the DP322(dual receiver). With the prepaid setup though you may be able to get away with it, which would help you avoid having to pay the $5/month second receiver fee.

Call 1-888-347-4132. This was the old Dish NOW! prepaid number, and wait to be transfered to an agent. These agents seem to be specifically trained for the Dish FlexTV setup, and they should be able to answer your question.

 

[wasjr]

Thanks. I thought the phone line was for pay per view which we do not need. The duo receiver would be perfect for us as we do have two tv's, but you may be right about the phone. After rereading the terms & conditions from the link on this thread it says that the TV2 Receiver connection fee will be waived if Dish can confirm that the receiver has been continually connected to a land based phone line.

We are just trying to find inexpensive minimal content. It sounds like we will go with the welcome pack, locals, and maybe the encore for my wife. I will forego ESPN and SEC sports.

 

[teched]

I found how you can add any of the ala carte internationals like TV Globo, when you go into add programming it isn't under international since those are only the expensive international packages, instead it is down at the bottom of the page where it says view additional programming, this takes you to another page with an international ala carte drop down box with all the internationals.

Yes, however it looks like they won't activate, at least, the Brazilian Internationals with 61.5.

The online system wouldn't let me add Record or Globo: "Your current equipment does not support this programming selection. Please call 1-888-884-2741 for more information."

I called and was given the $199 upgrade or 2 year commitment options for getting 118.7. (I took neither.)

 

[r10fret]

If you want these channels call up to order them and just tell them on the phone that you already have dish500+ installed for 118.7. The hit for Globo or Record turns on ch 596 and 597 @ 61.5 and channels 814 and 815 @ 118. If they try to be smart just tell them yes 119,110 and 118 shows up on the check switch and if they try to be smarter tell them you have channel 9903 which is the 118 satellite test info card.

They tryed the same with me and I already have the right dish, The hit turns on the channels at 61.5 and/or 118. One of my receivers is only hooked up to 61.5 and it was turned on by the hit.

Then if they ever give notice that the channels are being permanetly removed from 61.5 (a rumor for like 3 years running) you will still have several weeks, in some cases months, while the channelsmove to 60xx range to let your prepaid sub end or obtain the dish off of ebay and install yourself like I did. I don't see Globo being removed from 61.5 any time soon, on account of the number of subs in MA, NY, and NJ. The channels are more likely to go MPEG4 then ever be removed from 61.5.

 

[tmart]

Flex requires one month at a time regardless of whether it is a $60 a month package or a $10 a month package you select, you pay for it up front and it is turned on for 30 days.

If a CSR told you something else then I agree with you but that was not what flex is.

At the end of one month it is turned off unless you pay for another month or switch to something else which can be cheaper. They dont charge you $5 to turn off after 30 days if you don't pay again, they do charge you a $5 restart fee once you restart if you wait 15 days past the grace period when your programming ended.

I do understand the charge for the whole month regardless, but they did tell me when I would start the service again I would not get charged anything. However, based on all these comments maybe the CSR just didn't know. If I do get charged the $5, I can live with that. But, primarily for me is just to be able to sign up again for the Welcome Package when I need it again, for $10, even if I only use it for two weeks of the month. I think I will keep the $10 monthly going until I can verify 100% I can reuse the welcome pacage if I let it lapse. The other programing offered is just too expensive for me when I don't plan to use it. If I can't resubscribe to the welcome package and they charge $5 for turning it back on, it may make sense in my case just to pay the $10 charge from now on.
Make sense?

 

[prepaidsatman]

If you have multiple receivers on 1 prepay flex account, when you order a ppv does it let you watch it on all the receivers on your account or just 1?

Also if you have multiple receivers on one account do they only charge $5 extra per receiver or do you have to pay for a months worth of programming for each receiver?

1 more question, how many receivers can you have total on one prepay flex account?
thanks in advance

 

[dot_null]

I have a couple of questions about FlexTV:

1) Has anyone gotten the 1¢ Cinemax deal on either of the welcome packages (either English or Spanish)? I read a few pages back that one poster was told that the penny Cinemax deal wasn't applicable on the welcome packs, and the lowest qualifying package was Dish Family. I am really interested in the Spanish Welcome Pack + KTLA at the moment, mainly to augment my cable subscription - and if I could get in on the Cinemax deal, all the better.

2) Could you buy a regular postpaid receiver off of eBay or Craigslist and use it on FlexTV (assuming that it was clear for activation with a $0 balance, of course)? If so, would there be an activation fee for adding it to an existing account?

Thanks in advance!