Goodbye Charlie... (OFFICIAL I am Leaving DISH Thread)

[glasspilot]

Well, this is my first post here. I read this whole thread and I'll add my name to the list of those who are leaving E* for D*. I've been with Dish since the early '90's.

I used my old Legacy receiver until 2 1/2 years ago when it bit the dust. I upgraded to dish 500 and a DVR625 (I'm in the dark ages with a 27 inch SD TV). I really loved that DVR but I was not happy when they charged me for not having a home phone plugged in (I am one of the MILLIONS of people that don't have that dinosaur anymore). I asked about a receiver with an ethernet connection. They said the only ones with that were HD receivers; so I'd be trading a "no phone" charge for a "HD charge". I managed to get the charge waved for 8 months. After the 8 months my bill was at $63. Way more than I want to pay for TV. But I procrastinated until a week ago when I found my DVR dead as a doornail. Wouldn't turn on (with the button on the DVR) and no lights. Unplugged forever, no reset. Let sit for hours, plug back in..............nothing. Just died.

So now I look what I'm paying and I called E* up and canceled: "Tell me where to send the box". And that's it, after 15+ years I temporarily have no TV! I've been catching up on all my old tapes (yes tapes!) and DVD's. But I'll be calling D* soon and getting one of their specials.

 

[hvcomputech]

Thanks for getting rid of Voom
Thanks for getting rid of GolTV
Thanks for HD Platinum and not receiving all channels because they are on another sat
Thanks for charging extra for a second dish for international channels when I first signed up, to have it replaced with an EA dish
Thanks for forcing a replacement of a Dish DVR Duo with a 722 and forcing a commitment for another two years
Thanks for local weather (The Weather Channel 2?)

Good job E*!

Hi DirecTV

 

[Slamminc11]

Thanks for getting rid of Voom
Thanks for getting rid of GolTV
Thanks for HD Platinum and not receiving all channels because they are on another sat
Thanks for charging extra for a second dish for international channels when I first signed up, to have it replaced with an EA dish
Thanks for forcing a replacement of a Dish DVR Duo with a 722 and forcing a commitment for another two years
Thanks for local weather (The Weather Channel 2?)

Good job E*!

Hi DirecTV

BYE!

 

[whatchel1]

Thanks for getting rid of Voom
Thanks for getting rid of GolTV
Thanks for HD Platinum and not receiving all channels because they are on another sat
Thanks for charging extra for a second dish for international channels when I first signed up, to have it replaced with an EA dish
Thanks for forcing a replacement of a Dish DVR Duo with a 722 and forcing a commitment for another two years
Thanks for local weather (The Weather Channel 2?)

Good job E*!

Hi DirecTV

Thanks for this enlightening post too. Hope you like D* better.

 

[digital echo]

Like everyone.... You will be back..

 

[hvcomputech]

Like everyone.... You will be back..

Bold statement, but you are right. There are only two sat companies. ?

 

[jeslevine]

I left Dish for Direct, and for me, unless something changed radically, I won't be back

Bold statement, but you are right. There are only two sat companies. ?

For some Dish may be the way to go, for others Direct. For me it seemed that customers were always placed in the middle during contract negotiations, and either lost some channels during negotiations which later came back, or they never came back.

I am sure that all providers and their customers experience this to some degree, but it seems that Dish was over-represented in these kind of games, and I just got tired of it.

If Direct starts playing the same games, I would probably setup to just get locals, and go with NetFlix

 

[bfbchief]

Count me in as leaving too (and I'm gladly paying the ETF)....I've had enough...now I have lost two of my locals because of this latest dispute with LIN. Still don't have my Disney network HD....and their excuse? We are looking out for you (the customer)...yet they still increase our packages....I get the America's everything package and all the HD etc. Yet they keep taking stuff away and our prices go up...but they are doing this for us....RIGHT. I have switched to cable (coming today). Look I know some of you will say...oh you will be sorry...don't let the door slam you on the way out...that's fine....I have just had enough of all these disputes....look I know every provider has them...just seems like DISH has them all the time and takes forever to settle...in the mean time I am left without two of my locals, a number of HD I used to have....yet I don't see a reduction in my bill I see an increase. So believe me...I wont let the door slam me on the way out. And I really hope someone at DISH reads these and starts to wake up over there.

 

[inazsully]

Even though I'm not leaving I certainly understand why you and many others have and will in the future. In my area cable would be a bad option but many out here are going DirecTv's way.

 

[bfbchief]

Please don't get me wrong...I don't mind paying more and all operators increase their prices (I am not saying DISH is the only one)....and in the big picture the increases are small. But in every dispute you hear....they are doing it for us the customer...then yet we still get an increase. And I am sorry but when I am paying for every channel and every HD channel and they get taken away and I don't get them back (as is the case with Disney HD Channels) I mean where do you draw the line? I read this board and others just about everyday and like I said in a post above...I understand other providers have disputes...but it just seems like DISH has way to many of them and takes forever to resolve....if you can't resolve it...then why am I paying for services that when I signed up for my two year agreement I can no longer get? But like I said...this is just my two cents....

 

[mdram]

i wonder how many channels dish has lost over the years and not gotten back.......
anyone know?
maybe a comparison to other providers?

 

[hvcomputech]

I used to like Dish because they offered specialized channels. Then they got rid of them and, at that time, promised they were bringing something NEW instead, which ended up being the same old SD channels in HD.

Equator HD, world sport HD, and others disappeared, but then we got CNN HD. Woo hoo!

Don't know what ROI they're expecting with babytv mandarin.

 

[bebop]

I forgot to say goodbye, so goodbye. It was fun while it lasted (the good pricing that is).

 

[mike11]

Add me also the list of leaving soon. I have no hard feelings, in fact I rather like Dish, I've been waiting, hoping against hope that the two things I'm looking for, my regional sports network (MASN) in hd, and the MLB network would be added, but I've come to believe that neither will happen, perhaps ever. It is true that Direct is the better option for sports and in my case it's a simple matter of going with the company that provides what I'm looking for. Like everyone else the recent rash of dropped channels has been a concern but other than that I have few complaints about my 10 plus years with Dish.

 

[jwolf]

I left in November of 2010, after being a happy dish subscriber since 1999. My parents have an install scheduled for March 14 for directv after their CBS was yanked due to the LIN dispute. My brother is also leaving and going to directv after being with dish since 2000.

 

[smitbret]

Like everyone.... You will be back..

That's funny, the girl behind the counter said the same thing as I dropped off my cable boxes when I switched to Dish six years ago.

I wonder if she meant soon or just EVER. I mean, I've got another 55 good years.

 

[Super Dave]

Do they show if there is a commitment on your bill? Haven't seen one for years.

Looks like I'll be grabbing the out door soon, can't justify the price increases lately, on the DVRs and hit again on the package. Our bill is just over $135/mo. and for $25 less I can get the FIOS Extreme Triple Play with a whole house DVR. It finally has a larger HD so we can record what we like and use On Demand to cover the rest until they activate the external HD in a few months. So I also get to drop the Comcast Internet and Vonage and save $85. That's $110 in our pocket. Money can't be thrown away anymore, even though we did like Dish. Plus we finally get Philadelphia Comcast Sportsnet and MLB to watch the Phils this year. Not in a hurry, but before the next bill we will probably be gone.

 

[bebop]

Dave - that switch sounds like a good idea and keeps prices competitive if subscribers do this.

 

[Robdoggz]

Price increase on 2 accounts broke the camels back so I dumped dish after 6.5 years. As a loyal $150+ a month customer they could only offer me $5 credit a month for 12 months. I am now a happy OTA + netflix user never again will I go back to traditional pay tv the commercials ruined it more than anything. Hey maybe they will offer À la carte in this lifetime then I would consider it. I do love the extra $150 a month to spend on other stuff now.

 

[Laddyboy]

Do they show if there is a commitment on your bill? Haven't seen one for years.

Looks like I'll be grabbing the out door soon, can't justify the price increases lately, on the DVRs and hit again on the package. Our bill is just over $135/mo. and for $25 less I can get the FIOS Extreme Triple Play with a whole house DVR. It finally has a larger HD so we can record what we like and use On Demand to cover the rest until they activate the external HD in a few months. So I also get to drop the Comcast Internet and Vonage and save $85. That's $110 in our pocket. Money can't be thrown away anymore, even though we did like Dish. Plus we finally get Philadelphia Comcast Sportsnet and MLB to watch the Phils this year. Not in a hurry, but before the next bill we will probably be gone.

Nothing wrong with Fios as long as you get promotional pricing which thus far has been the case with them. I couldn't afford them if I had to pay the regular fees for everything. I'm not in love with their DVR, but it is serviceable though limited in respects. The E* DVR is still the best I've ever used with its flexible combination of OTA and sat tuner recording and larger capacity.