Enough With the Unwanted Phone Calls- Is My Only Way Out to Quit Dish?
- Thread starter HanoverPretzel
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Well, it sounds like Dish ran the numbers and found that it was more likely that if they reminded a certain type of customer to pay, that they would pay. You receive the calls, and you pay. That probably tells them the calls are working.
If I knew they were going to treat me like this, I kind of wish they had refused to do business with me. I probably would have been happier with Directv. Or maybe Directv is just as bad. I don't know.
What I do know, though, is that customer service seems to suck across the board these days. The only company I'm really happy doing business with is amazon.com, which still seems to believe the customer is always right. Most other companies seem to take the attitude that they are always right and that the customer should thank his or her lucky stars that an awesome corporation would take their money and condescend to do business with them.
Related link:
The Corporation As Psychopath
So what should I do to get them stop calls, by that logic? Refuse to pay my bill? They're probably would just respond with more calls, and then penalty fees and a service shutdown, followed by an early termination fee.
Oh well, maybe they'll enjoy calling themselves instead with that change of number I gave them. I have a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that somehow they'll manage to call me at my real number anyway, though.
You could do what many here have told you to do, pay 2 days early! If you don't have the money 2 days early that's your fault, not theirs..... You've been told how to get around your issue, you don't want to listen, your problem, not ours.....
The problem is you chose to do with business with Dish and this is their policy. You seem to be the only person that has a problem with it. If you're not happy with the way Dish has chosen to operate with this segment of their customers, you can do business with someone else when you have fulfilled your agreement with Dish, but I doubt Directv is going to be any better.
The best solution is you should start your own video provider company, then you can put all the news and sports channels in a basic package for $20 a month with no contracts.
You probably have a few thousand customers here on SatGuys waiting for you to start broadcasting.
The best solution is you should start your own video provider company, then you can put all the news and sports channels in a basic package for $20 a month with no contracts.
You probably have a few thousand customers here on SatGuys waiting for you to start broadcasting.Well if you were no longer a prepay customer, they'd probably stop the calls.
Yes, because Dish doesn't keep records of previous contact information. *roll eyes*
Jebus man. If this is what gives you a "sinking sensation in the pit of your stomach", I'd hate to see what something that is actually bad would cause you to feel.
There are folks in this world that prefer to take care of their financial obligations without using auto matic payments. Some actually still write checks!
If the OP has a record of paying his Dish bill on time then there is no need for phone calls. Does the TOS state that annoying phone calls will be made if the bill is not paid x days before the due date? I'm betting not.
The calls should stop...end of discussion.
Ross
Sent from my rooted DROIDX (Liberty Gingerbread) using SatelliteGuys
If the OP has a record of paying his Dish bill on time then there is no need for phone calls. Does the TOS state that annoying phone calls will be made if the bill is not paid x days before the due date? I'm betting not.
The calls should stop...end of discussion.
Ross
Sent from my rooted DROIDX (Liberty Gingerbread) using SatelliteGuys
Once again, two phone calls in two days from Dish reminding me to pay a bill that's not overdue. One the day before the bill was paid, one the day the bill was paid. Both before the deadline for paying (i.e. bill would only be over due if I hadn't paid by tomorrow).
I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I really don't want these calls, and I get them almost every month now. Is there any way out of them? The DIRT team once told me I couldn't and that this is part for the course on prepaid accounts if you don't pay at least like 3-4 days before the bill is due. Can I change my phone number on my Dish account to some random number without repercussions? Maybe I could list their number and they could call themselves with these annoying messages. Of course, then I might have trouble getting something important done if I need to use the number they have on file as verification, but I don't see any other way.
The other option is to simply quit Dish when my contract expires. It'd seem silly to do that primarily over unwanted phone calls, but I've done silly things before. It's really a customer service issue- I'm their paying customer and they're hassling me for no reason, even though I've told them I want them to stop. Should I start calling them every month to remind them to transmit my channels via satellite?
And, no, I am not going to start paying earlier in the billing cycle unless I want to do it for other reasons some months.
And, no, I am not going to do auto-pay.
I want to be able to pay when I want and how I want up to the deadline, and not receive phone calls about it.
You should get a google voice number. It is free for inbound and you can set it to send you an email instead of ringing/forwarding the call.
Google Voice - Features
However, anyone who pays with a check in the grocery line should be taken out and shot.
IF you really mean that, YOU should be taken out and shot...a thousand times. Lot's of older folks who still cling to the old and TOTALLY LEGAL ways of doing things...and I'm not that much younger than them. I mean , I see KIDS whip out at debit card for a 99 cent candy bar. And the instant they did that, that lost track of their expense. As most people do, these days. SO, don't you EVER mock the last of the responsible folks that, in a little check register, know how much they have, and how much they have AFTER they have written their check...that may have cost you a MINUTE in line.
It costs more than a minute in line. Most places anymore run it thru as an e-check so they can confirm instantly there are funds available, then the cashier has to have the purchaser sign a receipt, before handing the check and receipt back to the purchaser. All this after waiting for the person to fill the check out. It doesn't bother me 99% of the time except it always seems to happen the one time I am in a hurry to get in an out of the store. I have been on the same box of checks now nearly 5 years and I am just now on the last book. I only write a single check each month now, everything else I pay online. My brother in law is one of those people that writes 40-50 checks a month.
With online banking, transactions now show up within seconds and I can track my purchases much easier than scribbling it in a register. I check my accts on my phone daily with the great mobile app my bank provides.
Now as to the idiots that use a debit card for 99cent purchases. They just drive up the prices on low cost items as the stores raise the price to account for the card fees for that little purchase.
With online banking, transactions now show up within seconds and I can track my purchases much easier than scribbling it in a register. I check my accts on my phone daily with the great mobile app my bank provides.
Now as to the idiots that use a debit card for 99cent purchases. They just drive up the prices on low cost items as the stores raise the price to account for the card fees for that little purchase.
You missed the point, osu...most of the people who still write checks either don't have computers or don't know how to acces their accounts if they do. I am currently dealing with this my 83 year old Mother. Easier said than done. Nonetheless, they have nothing to apologize for.
I see KIDS whip out at debit card for a 99 cent candy bar. And the instant they did that, that lost track of their expense. As most people do, these days. SO, don't you EVER mock the last of the responsible folks that, in a little check register, know how much they have, and how much they have AFTER they have written their check...that may have cost you a MINUTE in line.
Just using a check doesn't imply responsibility. It only means you can only get so far in the hole. I'm pushing 50, have had a credit card of my own since I was 17. I honesty cannot remember the last time I wrote a paper check or paid cash for anything. Since 17 I could tell you at anytime during the month the balance in my checking account, and on my credit cards within $10 each (that's being generous - probably within $5 or less each). If I'm ever unsure it's a quick online check. My wife is the opposite, heavy check user, always balancing, etc. I joke that I know how much money I have and she knows how many pennies she has.
If you learned to manage money using a checkbook and it works for you, great, but online registers are just as valid (or back when I started phone based IVR systems). Responsible people will find a system that works for them either way.
There is also a generational component as well. If I have a client under 35 or so that is making an initial payment by check, I know the odds are high it will be a habitual late pay. They are probably using a paper check because the bank has pulled the debit card. For older clients it's a choice, but even then the stats are much better for those on auto pay either CC or checking based.
I can respect where your mother is coming from. If I live to the age of 83, I'll probably still want to use debit cards and online banking when most people are paying with the quicker hassle-free computer chips in their fingers, or whatever new technology comes down the pike.
At some point, you really just do want to do things the way you've always done them. The routine is probably comforting. So I don't begrudge people who like to do things the old ways their right to things those ways- I like when companies create options where you can pick what's right for you or what you prefer.There's probably a point where comfort is more important than efficiency sometimes with certain people.
I mean, honestly, I can't really get into Facebook. I've tried it, and I really was uncomfortable with it. So I tell people to e-mail me, IM me, or call me instead. They probably think I'm just being obstinate, but I tried the Facebook thing for a long time, and really found it frustrating. I didn't like that mode of communication. It sort of is what it is. Not everyone is going to like everything new that comes down the pike, and I'm glad that people who still prefer paper checks can get a paper bill and mail in a paper check. Personally, I'd rather get an e-bill and pay online with a debit card (Personally I'm at the point where I don't think I've even directly written a check out of a check book in several years- I use a "check card", I use online billing that basically has my bank send someone a check, but I don't actually whip out a check book and write real checks anymore), so I do that, but I'm glad people aren't forced to.
I never said they had anything to apologize for. As I said I don't have a problem with it. Most people that age have people helping them. My mom just turned 66 and I have my name on her accounts, but she still pays most of her bills herself, there are a few I pay for her electronically because she doesn't know anything about computers and texting is about the extent of her mobile phone knowledge. She is someone that is on a very limited income and gets paid once a month and pays all her bills at that time.
It is those 60 and younger that should be changing with the times. In this day and age writing checks costs more for banks and companies in terms of manpower and book keeping and the banks see plastic as a profit mechanism. I can already see the problems the government will have with the over 60 population that wants a tax refund check on paper and won't be getting one.
Now where I become the hypocrite is in my personal business. I don't take credit or debit cards because 99% of the companies I deal with are insurance companies that issue paper checks and only one of my clients will pay me electronically. This presents a problem when I have someone without insurance that actually wants to do the right thing and pay for the damages they caused, but are annoyed because I don't take plastic and they have to actually send me a check.
It is those 60 and younger that should be changing with the times. In this day and age writing checks costs more for banks and companies in terms of manpower and book keeping and the banks see plastic as a profit mechanism. I can already see the problems the government will have with the over 60 population that wants a tax refund check on paper and won't be getting one.
Now where I become the hypocrite is in my personal business. I don't take credit or debit cards because 99% of the companies I deal with are insurance companies that issue paper checks and only one of my clients will pay me electronically. This presents a problem when I have someone without insurance that actually wants to do the right thing and pay for the damages they caused, but are annoyed because I don't take plastic and they have to actually send me a check.
I had a plumber here today...asked if her preferred check or CC. He said he does not take CC anymore. That's where it's going, folks.
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Why should consumers care about whether writing checks costs their bank more than using a debit card does? It seems like that's really more the bank's concern. I know people say "Well, those costs get passed on to the end consumer eventually", but usually I find banks and companies charge as much as they think they can get away with regardless of operating costs or cost of production. They still hit the price point that maximizes profits. Like, they'll use the cost of widget production in China going up to justify raising the costs of widgets in America, but usually the real motivation is that they think people will be willing to swallow paying extra, and if they didn't think enough people would pay the extra cost, they wouldn't raise prices despite the higher cost of production, because it'd cost them even more money to raise prices if enough people would stop buying (on top of the money they are losing from the increased production costs).
Yeah, I was mostly joking. The people I'm referring to are the ones that wait until they get their total from the cashier, and then dig into their purse/billfold looking for their checkbook...then they spend just as much time fumbling around for a pen, if the cashier doesn't have one handy. Then they have to fill out the entire check as if they didn't know the name of the store they were spending money at. Once they hand them the check, then they are asked for ID...lather, rinse, repeat.IF you really mean that, YOU should be taken out and shot...a thousand times. Lot's of older folks who still cling to the old and TOTALLY LEGAL ways of doing things...and I'm not that much younger than them. I mean , I see KIDS whip out at debit card for a 99 cent candy bar. And the instant they did that, that lost track of their expense. As most people do, these days. SO, don't you EVER mock the last of the responsible folks that, in a little check register, know how much they have, and how much they have AFTER they have written their check...that may have cost you a MINUTE in line.
I understand the elderly component, but that isn't the demographic I'm referring to.
