Does anyone know why you can not just get Locals Only? I have had the Locals Only for the past six months since since I downgraded from AT200 and 5 receivers to only one receiver since Dish took MSG off the air. Now they are telling me that I need to have at least the Welcome pack to get the locals even though I told them I don't watch those channels and plus they aren't even in HD. I asked Dish if they could maybe give me a credit of $ 5.00 a month till they got MSG back and then I would upgraded back to my 5 receivers and the AT 200 pack but they said they couldn't do anything. In my 13 years with Dish I have never received anything from them and I even paid for all of my receivers and dishes as well as installed it all myself. I guess Dish doesn't really care about its long term customers.
Locals Only
- Thread starter blts
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I thought so too but now they tell me they don't offer the "Locals Only". You need at least the Welcome Pack which includes the locals even though I own my equipment.
You make a compelling argument. It's not like you got dish knowing they didn't have MSG. While I agree with the overall way Dish does not overpay, in a case like yours I would like to think they would understand by them dropping MSG, they may need to make some concessions to those it affects especially when you own the receiver. FWIW, I don't think you are being unreasonable about it.
As of 2/1 there is no way to get "locals only". There is a minimum programming package required for service, and that is the Welcome Pack. The owning of equipment does not change the minimum programming required. If you wouldn't mind me taking a look into your account I can certainly see what I can do to help. Just PM the phone number.
Got a letter about that just last week. The minimum package that is available now with locals is the welcome pack with locals.... frankly... only another $5.
Well I didn't get ANY letters about it, but noticed this as a change on this months bill a couple days ago. (THIS is exactly why you have to to remember to look at ALL bills, with ALL these companies, when you are paperless &/or auto-pay
) Evidently they just went ahead & changed me from the locals only pkg f/$10, to WP w/locals for $15 - BUT they also are giving me a $5 credit for 6 months. BUT had I not looked at this bill, I wouldn't even know this was taking place.
Frankly, not surprised by this - after all, since they raised prices on all other pkgs, & with their increasing sub losses, they HAD to get some sort of rate increase from EVERY, LAST possible sub they could.
Frankly, not surprised by this - after all, since they raised prices on all other pkgs, & with their increasing sub losses, they HAD to get some sort of rate increase from EVERY, LAST possible sub they could.
Or just drop you. This is an example of the planned loss of subscribers IMHO. You may be staying, but how many just getting locals decided to leave Dish. Very unlikely those subscribers are actually doing anything but costing Dish money....
why not? To get locals only you have to buy the equipment so Dish isn't giving out equipment for that. All they're doing is making profit on those folks
Somewhat depends on the actual cost for Dish to provide just locals - including cost of billing, calls to CSR for service, etc.....
Dish to me has decided subscribing to the Welcome pack along with locals is worth it to keep customers. Just locals not enough. It may sound like I am defending it, in reality it may make economic sense. In the real world I guess we will have to see. I just don't think the time and energy servicing $6.99 a month is worth it in the eyes of Dish. Just my opinion. If they were making a profit I'm not sure they would insist on the change at least for current subscribers.
Dish to me has decided subscribing to the Welcome pack along with locals is worth it to keep customers. Just locals not enough. It may sound like I am defending it, in reality it may make economic sense. In the real world I guess we will have to see. I just don't think the time and energy servicing $6.99 a month is worth it in the eyes of Dish. Just my opinion. If they were making a profit I'm not sure they would insist on the change at least for current subscribers.
I know it's only another $5.00 a month but if you keep on adding another $5.00 to this bill and that bill it starts to add up especially when I don't watch any of those channels. Also they don't even give you those channels in HD.
I never even got a letter about the change. I noticed it last month on my statement online and then I went online and talked with Dish. After talking with two different agents for over an hour (No wonder Dish made a big profit last quarter they couldn't be paying these agents very much) they said YES I could get "LOCALS ONLY" with out the Welcome pack and I have it in writing. Then this month I saw Dish changed it again to the Welcome Pack and I went online again and they said I needed the welcome pack and their was nothing they could do about it. I even asked if they could give me a $5.00 credit until they got MSG back but they said they couldn't give me any credits. That's when I just said to cancel and I wouldn't be back even if they got MSG back.Well I didn't get ANY letters about it, but noticed this as a change on this months bill a couple days ago. (THIS is exactly why you have to to remember to look at ALL bills, with ALL these companies, when you are paperless &/or auto-pay
Evidently they just went ahead & changed me from the locals only pkg f/$10, to WP w/locals for $15 - BUT they also are giving me a $5 credit for 6 months. BUT had I not looked at this bill, I wouldn't even know this was taking place.
Frankly, not surprised by this - after all, since they raised prices on all other pkgs, & with their increasing sub losses, they HAD to get some sort of rate increase from EVERY, LAST possible sub they could.
Actually it was $10.00 a month with paperless billing and auto pay so it wasn't costing much for Dish to get my money each month. As for calls to CSR's in my first 12 years with Dish I called them TWICE, once to start service and the other time to add some channels. Since I switched to locals only six months ago I have talked with Dish at least 12 times because they were always adding things to my account and then when they told me it was taken care of I would find it again the next month.
If we accept that Dish does subsidize even the owned boxes that are sold at full retail, then that is the first loss there. But even if Dish breaks even or makes a few dollars on the retail sale of a box, profits are long term, not the short cash infusion. Consider if someone also takes what was the DHPP, and how it costs Dish to replace those HDD dead DVR's because owned equipment is also covered in the DHPP.
Now, I don't really like justifying Dish's rise in fees and minimums, but my point is that at the very low end, there are costs that take a lot longer to re-coup as opposed to a sub at the higher end.
What about someone like me who bought my system over twelve years ago, installed it myself, had at least AT200 service, movies,sport packages,never had a receiver replaced,a service call or even one dollar in credits . Then Dish goes and takes off all of my local sports this winter (MSG) and I try to downgrade until they get it back and they won't even give me a $5.00 credit. They made plenty of money from me over the years and they wouldn't do anything to try and keep me as a customer.
At least in my case, my post was not directed at your situation, in fact I said you have a good case in my opinion. But for someone who simply has been getting the locals only because that's all they want, I can understand Dish not exactly jumping hoops to keep them and trying to at least get them into the least expensive package. If you had Dish only to lose your RSN do to negotiations, even if Dish is taking a reasonable stance, I stand by my post that those people deserve a break, even if they only want locals till the RSN is returned....
I'm quite sure Dish knew very well dropping Absolute would not be very popular. I put that right into my thought that Dish made a conscious decision not to keep subs, if they want to leave, if those subs are costing Dish money. You have to think that was the case with those who had Absolute. Someone posted dish should have raised the rates instead of keeping it the same all this time, then dropping it. That is a good observation and further tells me the amount they had to now raise it would make people even more upset than just dropping it.....All those who said they would go somewhere else can not get a deal like that, other than on promotion. Dish knows that, and if someone else wants to subsidize dish existing subscribers, it looks to me Dish is saying let them.
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My understanding, which may be wrong, was that Dish refused to accept the demands MSG was making. Therefore MSG cut off Dish.
I'm sure it's both company's fault. Charlie doesn't like sports and Dolan the owner of MSG doesn't like any company that is in competition with his Cablevision company.
Well I didn't get ANY letters about it, but noticed this as a change on this months bill a couple days ago. (THIS is exactly why you have to to remember to look at ALL bills, with ALL these companies, when you are paperless &/or auto-pay
Evidently they just went ahead & changed me from the locals only pkg f/$10, to WP w/locals for $15 - BUT they also are giving me a $5 credit for 6 months. BUT had I not looked at this bill, I wouldn't even know this was taking place.
This exact thing happened to me also. We just noticed the change in our bill a few days ago and I spent a night on a chat session with a Dish CSR and then a long conversation with a person that the chat person told me to call (a department called something like RTA). They wouldn't budge from the Welcome Pack and apologized for my not getting a notice...but, they pointed out that in the e-mail sent in early February they said that our bill was ready *and* we should check the bill because something had changed. That was basically how they told us about the package change. If you check your e-mail records, you'll probably see a special note that says to check your bill for the change they made...it was actually a different e-mail message than they normally send.
I was upset at not being notified, but at least my bill comes out to $15.99 instead of the $16 that locals-only cost. However, after 6 months that will go up to $20.99 and I'll need to look around at my options again. I doubt that I can find a lower cost deal that makes sense for me...until something like Google TV works with local channels.
I had locals only and am leasing my 622. I never bought any of my Dish equipment, but I was allowed to switch to Locals only.
Why is your bill going up $5.00 in six months if you have the Welcome Pack and only (?) one receiver? The Welcome Pack is only $14.99 a month with locals.
