Dish Network FlexTV Questions..

[jeffmn]

If your buying your own equipment.. Can't you turn on whatever you want without doing a contract anyway? Just say no to the promotions.

Flex works for me cause I want the minimum channels. If I was getting a regular package, I probably wouldn't bother with a prepay program.

All I have are 301's (2 of them) I suppose that will be the next hassle. :rant:

 

[STEELERSRULE]

Well, today was the first day of my account being past due for the FlexTV service. I only have the Encore Pack, so with $6.00/access fee, my total came to $11.65.

I only did it just to switch my box over to the new setup, just so it would not become a paper weight if i decide to sell it(along with the Dish 500).

Anyway, i have already received one annoying automated call on my cell(no way I am going to be annoyed on my home phone) which I hung up on, and my account via the website says past due. But I have no intentions on re-uping anytime in the near future.

I know I would have to pay the $5.00/restart fee with whatever programming I sign up for. And I "think" after you are past due(for an extended period), you have to use a customer service rep. in order to order new programming. Unless you stick with what you got in the first place, which I won't, since I just got the Encore movie pack in order to make the switch on the DP301.

On my account page, since it is past due, there is no place listed there for me to change my programming if I wanted too. Just a place to pay the current charges, in order to keep my current programming going, or starting again.

I am by no means complaing(yet ) about the phone call. I will put a stop to that by either blocking the number, or actually speaking to someone and telling them to take me off their list for calling for me to re-up. This is the point of FlexTV/prepaid. If I stop paying, there is a reason. Don't call me. But I will cross that bridge when I get there.

But as for now, I am DONE with FlexTV and prepaid. Like I said, I did it so the equipment I have would not become useless, and therefore i can sell it down the road, if I feel like it.

I may just keep it for the time being, in the REMOTE HOPE that some day they will bring back the DAY TO DAY purchasing of channel pakcs/movie packs/whatever using the GDMP or any other means.

I really doubt it, but I am most likely(can always change my mind) to just take the equipment out, and let it sit somewhere(wish i did not throw out original box. Would have been easy to repack) until that day comes. Probably NEVER, but I can always hope.

I will keep an eye here to see if Day to day prepaying ever returns to FlexTV , or some other setup.

 

[Zachstar]

In my opinion I think there is a chance it can come back.

The decision to go with FLEX was a very stupid one for Dish as it started to come about deep in the recession which is only now starting to end.

Now actual day to day I doubt I suspect it will be closer to weekly purchases. Likely because it is really hard to negotiate rates with channel companies when their ad companies think many people will only watch their programming for a day. A weekly rate would be the best compromise in my opinion.


Look all I know is that FlexTV is for me. I have Comcast digital cable right now and I dislike the quality. I pay over 80 a month for digital and one movie channel package. And I dont get good family channels like Boomerang. That BS but I really don't like the idea of owing a sat company 300 USD if an economic situation develops.

Tho I have to admit I may have to give up on HD altogether. 2-3-4 hundred USD for ONE HD receiver or DVR is BS. Instead it just looks like I will be getting the basic equipment and Family/Welcome pack. It will be enough to watch lots of Flintstones and How It's Made. Which I can deal with for a year or two and see if HD equipment prices drop or DirectTV gets out that PC tuner.

 

[jeffmn]

If you leave your receiver hooked up can you watch the Free preview channels ?

I always left mine hooked up with Dishnow, and checked what was on as a free preview.
Even when I didn't have anything paid for.

 

[richradioman]

Flex Pay

You would have to pay by due date, after service is cut off the only thing you pay is a $5.00 re-connect fee. If you have older box just call dish and the will send a new card to you via ups 2-3 days then call them and they will activate box, but best to ask for flex pay department

 

[r10fret]

So I turned off the additional flex receiver I had, a 3900, using online chat under billing question, I wanted it removed prior to my next billing cycle, I decided to use online chat to avoid a possible $5 phone in customer service downgrade fee, now I only have the main receiver, a 301, left on my flex account. Since the 3900 was converted to flex for a few months its out of dishnow mode and still gets the free preview channels even though it is not on my flex account anymore.

 

[STEELERSRULE]

***THIS IS FOR THOSE FLEXTV CUSTOMERS THAT MAY/WILL LET THERE SUBSCRIPTION END, AND HAVE A CREDIT CARD ON FILE WITH DISH****

I let my FlexTV lapse/end at the end of October, and I have until November 16th to pay the outstanding balance of $11.65, in order to keep my programming going, which I am not doing.

Anyway, over the past few weeks I have been getting call after call on my Cell from Dish telling me to contact them about my account. No big deal. I expected this, but I still had there number blocked from my phone(plus had them place me on a DO NOT CALL list).

Anyway, I decided to call the number anyway, just to make sure my account was setup the way I wanted, and too explain to them that I will not be reupiing the service until at least late next year.

So I get the CSR on and tell her this, and then she says she understands, and that when i come back i will have to pay the $5.00/reconnect fee, plus any additional channel lineup changes, PLUS the OUTSTANDING $11.65 I would owe for not paying to REUP the current programming setup I had!!!

WTF!!?? You mean, that if I came back in 6 months, I would not only owe the reconnect fee(which I completely understand), but I would also owe the outstanding balance on programming which I may no longer want?! I said the balance should go back to ZERO if I do nothing, and then I get hit with the reconnect fee, plus the cost of the channel lineup I want. I would OWE NOTHING since this is prepaid/flextv, and since I did not prepay for the upcoming month, my account balance would be at ZERO, and my obligations are done.

Well, after a few minutes of trying to explain to her that I am prepaid/flextv customer(Thank G*d I gave no Credit Card/SS# information on this account), she said she would talk to someone.

She came back, and said YES, since you are a prepaid customer, your balance would go to ZERO, when the time ran out for you to prepay your account, and that when/if you came back, you would be charged not only for the channel lineup you want, but the $5.00/reconnect fee. I said yes, that all makes sense.

The reason why I am telling you all of this, especially those who have credit card numbers listed on their accounts, is just too watch out. You may get hit with a charge which should never be there.

Just typing this too keep you informed, and your eyes open on your FlexTV accounts.

 

[prepaidsatman]

I have another question... Can you have any dishnet receiver now added to your flex account as opposed to the old prepaid way of having to use the special 301?

 

[prepaidsatman]

does anyone know?

 

[latin-dss]

does anyone know?

well you will need to convert an old prepaid receiver to flex or buy a flex tv recevier and have it set up as the main unit, after that, you can pretty much add a any second receiver you wish, prepaid or regular dish

 

[prepaidsatman]

thanks for the info

 

[tricky0ff]

dish flex- 510 dvr

So I bought a dish 510 receiver on ebay for cheap just to see if I can hook it up to the flex account. I got it today and after fighting with it to work (thought I got ripped off there for a minute) I called dish and they said I can either add it to the account or replace my existing receiver with it. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it right now since I don't have a smart card for it and I guess they cost $49. I did find a "new" smart card on ebay but I'm apprehensive to buy it because I can't find any information about buying a smart card like that.
If anyone knows if I can (hypothetically) buy an unused smart card from another person and dish will let me hook it up, please let me know. Otherwise, I might just resell it. Not sure yet. But I was glad to hear that they will let me hook it up. I'm just wondering (I forgot to ask) if they will add the dvr fee on my bill. I didn't realize before I bought it that the 501 receivers don't require the fee (or at least that's what I just read on another site- true?)

 

[peano]

NEVER buy a receiver without a smart card!! Resell it with full disclosure.

Buy another receiver that comes with a G3 smart card. Get the receiver number (R00.....) number from the seller and confirm with Dish before you buy it that it can be activated.

The 501 and 508 have no DVR fee. The 510 and newer DVRs all do.

 

[jeffmn]

Tried PPV and works pretty well. Movie came up instantly after paying with CC online.
3 days later though they added state tax to my account. So now have to go back and pay another .25, probably just wait until I want to see another one this weekend.

I like it.

 

[r10fret]

I thought flex accounts could not maintain a balance, in other words, no pay no play! If your account carries a balance and lets say you never order any programming again I wonder what would happen.

 

[jakesnakemd]

activating programing

I haven't used my 301 receiver on a flex account in overa month and checked the box this moring and I am still getting Fox News and some other channels. Intend to add programing today since we will be at our second place over the weekend.

 

[jeffmn]

I don't know the answer, I just added another PPV. And it would only let me pay the 4.99.
So there will probably be a .50 balance on there in a couple days I'm guessing.

Maybe I won't be able to pay it til next months payment?

Learn as you go I guess

 

[STEELERSRULE]

JEFFMN,

Same thing happened to me when I ordered my PPV. I paid the initial price out of my GDMP, and then a day or two later, the TAX was charged to my account, and I had too re-enter my GDMP in order to pay for it. Might be a little hiccup that needs fixing, but just to let you know, it is not just you.

R10FRET,

I let my account lapse a couple of weeks ago, and now when I enter my account online at dishnetwork.com it tells me that in order to get programming again, I MUST CALL the 1-888 number in order to order. Since I let the account lapse, I have to us a customer service rep. in order to get up and running again. I can't use the online account access in order to do it.

The account balance would revert back to ZERO for those of us who had programming, and then let it stop, then came back later in order to order more programming. I had a little bit of a problem(misunderstanding is a better word) with a CSR over that, and I wrote about it a couple of pages ago(a page back actually) about the incident, but the answers to your questions will be in this post, and within that one for when you let th account lapse.

I still have not started new programming yet, and don't plan too in the future, at least for a long time.

 

[jeffmn]

Just a FYI ....Another thing about PPV I don't understand why it happens, but noticed......

First PPV I bought was on 3 different "500" channels, with different start times. I just picked one and got all 3 for the full day.

Second PP I bought was on channel 103, and on 3 "500" channels. I didn't think it mattered which one I picked again. So picked I channel 103, that's all I got. The 3 "500" channels never turned on.

This didn't really matter to us, we just didn't get the 3 time choices. But don't know why it works this way.

And I now have a 50 cent balance, so they do seem to add tax later. But the payment due date says N/A, so I guess I can just wait until the next statement.

 

[simplexswrhs90]

Just a FYI ....Another thing about PPV I don't understand why it happens, but noticed......

First PPV I bought was on 3 different "500" channels, with different start times. I just picked one and got all 3 for the full day.

Second PP I bought was on channel 103, and on 3 "500" channels. I didn't think it mattered which one I picked again. So picked I channel 103, that's all I got. The 3 "500" channels never turned on.

I think Dish is getting desperate with PPV because now they're showing PPV movies on channels 455-465 range. I guess they're trying to promote the movies more or to get people to notice and maybe somebody will buy a movie.

That's the reason why earlier this year they put a PPV on channel 103 so someone can easily find it or may accidentally order a movie.