DISH takes away HD Free for Life if you go off AutoPay

[AlaJoe]

Why would you not want do autopay and paperless billing? I have for years; its great. First off I have it charged to a credit card that I pay off monthly and get 1% cash back on. So for my roughly $120 a month bill time 12 months I get about $14 cash back each year plus I do not have to buy close to $6 a year in stamps to mail the bill each month. I also never have to worry about late fees as the bill is just handled. Then what is my time worth. So to not do paperless billing with autopay you would be giving up about $14 a year in free cash, paying $6 a year for stamps, and paying another $10 a month for service for a total of around $140 a year. I guess you just have a lot of time on your hands and really like writing checks and buying stamps.

 

[Tampa8]

......... they are only pushing out VIP's and Hoppers now.

Not true.

 

[dare2be]

I recently cleared my ignore list. I see some can't change their spots. This thread should have ended in post #14. DIRT to the rescue.

 

[Ronnie-]

A little thread cleaning, let's leave that stuff out please


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[lazydogmot]

I do not have auto-pay or paperless billing but have "HD Free For Life (reg$10) 0.00"

Name withheld upon request!

 

[krauser1]

I do not have auto-pay or paperless billing but have "HD Free For Life (reg$10) 0.00"

Name withheld upon request!

Ditto!

 

[dare2be]

I do have auto-pay and paperless billing for the convenience and security. The $10 savings is just a bonus.

 

[gqmagic]

Why would you not want do autopay and paperless billing? I have for years; its great. First off I have it charged to a credit card that I pay off monthly and get 1% cash back on. So for my roughly $120 a month bill time 12 months I get about $14 cash back each year plus I do not have to buy close to $6 a year in stamps to mail the bill each month. I also never have to worry about late fees as the bill is just handled. Then what is my time worth. So to not do paperless billing with autopay you would be giving up about $14 a year in free cash, paying $6 a year for stamps, and paying another $10 a month for service for a total of around $140 a year. I guess you just have a lot of time on your hands and really like writing checks and buying stamps.

I'm sure you know you don't have to be on autopay to use a reward card.

I don't don't do paperless or autopay, and pay online the 1st of every month (no stamps).

 

[sremick]

Why would you not want do autopay and paperless billing?

Because you lose control of the amount of money being taken out of your account. I prefer to "auto pay" myself by setting up automatic bill pay that sends a set amount of money being directed (pushed) from my account to the reoccurring utility. With Dish's "autopay", they "pull" whatever amount they want from your account and if they should ever screw up then all that money is pulled out of your account already and now you need to fight to get it credited back.

If I'm in dispute with the amount of money someone wants from me, I'd rather take it up with them before they've yanked it out of my wallet.

 

[Claude Greiner]

With Dish, nothing is forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Especially anything that they say is free for life.

Can't tell you how many times they have promised lifetime and taken it away.

 

[dare2be]

If I'm in dispute with the amount of money someone wants from me, I'd rather take it up with them before they've yanked it out of my wallet.

I use autopay on every bill I can, have done so for more than a decade. Not once have I had an amount taken out that was different than the bill amount. If the bill amount looks wrong, I have plenty of time to dispute it or turn off autopay while disputing it. In fact, I have more time to dispute it with paperless billing as I get emails when my bills are ready and can review them days before having to wait for them to arrive in the mail.

 

[dishcomm]

So, for various reasons, I'm not comfortable with the automatic charges and called to go on to a monthly bill that I pay as it arrives ~ I was told by Dish that I would lose my 'HD Free for Life' if I went off of AutoPay.

So, the gist is this - 5-year customer, never a problem, multiple upgrades, HWS, 2 Joeys, and a Super - I have my credit card held hostage by Charlie - if I go off the AutoPay, I get $ 10 / month added to my bill.

We all know the 'HD Free' deal is a load of crap. That being said, I know other Dish subs not on AutoPay who have HDFFL. So, what's the deal? AutoPay or pay extra? Is this a new development?

Whoa.....When I activated my parent's system, they had to go auto pay to receive HD free for life..
"Uncomfortable"?....Why? Have you been hacked or had ID stolen?
Sorry...Something is missing from your story.

 

[dishcomm]

We pay $36 per month in equipment fees for the five tuners (four TVs). That would then jump to $ 46 if we go off AutoPay. I believe $12 of that is for the Hopper DVR.

I realize Dish isn't the only provider gouging customers on these (ahem) 'equipment fees', but another $10 if we change our form of payment? Is any other provider doing this?

gouging?.....If a person makes rthe choice to become a customer knowing the fees up front before the purchase has been made, they then agree to the fees. That's not "gouging"...
The fees are expensive. But you have a choice...You can disconnect service or downgrade equipment/programming.

 

[dishcomm]

For as long as they've had the Free HD promo the rule has been the same, must have paperless billing and autopay. It doesn't have to be a credit card. You can use a debit card or have it withdrawn from your checking or savings account.

Mine comes out of my checking account. I am not paying interest so I can watch TV...

 

[Ronnie-]

Mine comes out of my checking account. I am not paying interest so I can watch TV...

Using a credit card does not mean you pay interest.
Just pay it off monthly.


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[Tampa8]

Putting everything together from what has been posted - here now or not - it's possible the DISH CSR decided to charge "just because."

 

[Yespage]

gouging?.....If a person makes rthe choice to become a customer knowing the fees up front before the purchase has been made, they then agree to the fees. That's not "gouging"...
The fees are expensive. But you have a choice...You can disconnect service or downgrade equipment/programming.

Completely agree. I'd love to have a receiver at each TV, but the fees make it more than I'm willing to pay, so I deal with it and squeeze everything drop I can from the 722k. Some people seem to think they should be allowed to have the best equipment and not pay extra for all of it. Granted, if you buy all of the equipment up front, I could see a problem there, but it isn't like you didn't know that wouldn't be the case with the equipment fee.

And this is ignoring the fees other companies charge like Time Warner and ATT which make Dish fees look like programming costs.

 

[gadgtfreek]

I guess I dont get it, but have seen these threads tons of times. I have always used autopay with Dish and Directv, and never had one single issue. It is always timely and accurate. If there was an error, they remove it and it gets credited toward next month.

It saves me time as it is one less bill I have to do online banking for. I do always use my credit card though, not my debit card. Just like if I run a tab at a bar, eat at a restaurant, or stay in a hotel.

 

[david_jr]

And (At least for me) they send an email advising your bill generated and another that the card was charged so there are no surprises.

 

[WiCkeDuDe]

Using a credit card does not mean you pay interest.
Just pay it off monthly.


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Ughhh why do people think using a credit card automatically means interest??? It drives me nuts when PayPal warns you when using a CC. Charge the CC, protect against charges using dispute, get your reward points and pay the balance each month. No interest!