My Go Around with the Audit Team (Now RESOLVED!)

[Sean Mota]

I have been a Dish Customer for about 8 years. I have been living in at the same address all these years (as matter of fact 16 years). I have 4 receivers in my account and just received a call from Dish Network (they did not identify themselves as the Audit Team). They called at work and wanted to run some tests to make sure that my equipment was ready to get the lastest software updates. I told them I was working but I will give them a call when I get home. This was yesterday. I gave them a call and they did not test anything but asked me if this was a multi family residential house and answered yes (it is public record). I was told that since I was living in multi family residential house, I needed to pay for two accounts. This house is basically my family and my mom living in. The best line that they could tell me why it took them all of these years to change their policy was that they have millions of customers and therefore it just took them this long to figure me out. They immediately last night disconnected my receivers and I was not able to watch anymore programming and left only one box activated with programming on it. Mind you, that I have never been late with my payments and I have been a faithful customer that bought equipment in the past and now I am in the leasing program.

I spoke to the DIRT team here and they were helpful in trying to reverse this but could not. My only option is to cancel officially everything and go with my cable company. It represents right now the least problems unless I can get some information about DirecTv and make sure that they do no have the same policy. If you are directv dealer, I am looking for some kind of deal with 5 receivers. Please pm and I will try to listen to the offers. If not, I am going with my local cable company.

I find it frustrating that Dish Network treats his best customers like this. My bill is about $160 per month and have been paid on time and yet here I am been treated like a criminal who is stealing their signal. I just do not get it.

 

[tvropro]

I have been a Dish Customer for about 8 years. I have been living in at the same address all these years (as matter of fact 16 years). I have 4 receivers in my account and just received a call from Dish Network (they did not identify themselves as the Audit Team). They called at work and wanted to run some tests to make sure that my equipment was ready to get the lastest software updates. I told them I was working but I will give them a call when I get home. This was yesterday. I gave them a call and they did not test anything but asked me if this was a multi family residential house and answered yes (it is public record). I was told that since I was living in multi family residential house, I needed to pay for two accounts. This house is basically my family and my mom living in. The best line that they could tell me why it took them all of these years to change their policy was that they have millions of customers and therefore it just took them this long to figure me out. They immediately last night disconnected my receivers and I was not able to watch anymore programming and left only one box activated with programming on it. Mind you, that I have never been late with my payments and I have been a faithful customer that bought equipment in the past and now I am in the leasing program.

I spoke to the DIRT team here and they were helpful in trying to reverse this but could not. My only option is to cancel officially everything and go with my cable company. It represents right now the least problems unless I can get some information about DirecTv and make sure that they do no have the same policy. If you are directv dealer, I am looking for some kind of deal with 5 receivers. Please pm and I will try to listen to the offers. If not, I am going with my local cable company.

I find it frustrating that Dish Network treats his best customers like this. My bill is about $160 per month and have been paid on time and yet here I am been treated like a criminal who is stealing their signal. I just do not get it.

DirecTV does not use gestapo tactics like Dish. They don't even audit that I know of. Give them a call and see what they can offer. Give Dish network the boot.

 

[3HaloODST]

So wait, you have your family, and then your mother lives with you? I don't think that that's "multi-family" seeing as I would think that your mother is part of your family?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

And they all live in the one unit. Its not like hes stacking the account.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

I am a bit confused...HOW is you house consider a multi-family dwelling? Is it a Duplex or Triplex? Do you and your mother receive mail at the same address? Lets here more about your property because this just sound crazy at first glance.

 

[SaltiDawg]

... I gave them a call and they did not test anything but asked me if this was a multi family residential house and answered yes (it is public record) ....

I guess I would politely ask if this means that there are separate dwellings.. separate entires, separate mailing addresses, separate utilities, etc.

If it were simply Mom living with you, there would not be a "public record." (Or at least there was not when my Mother lived with us years ago in a single family residence.)

 

[KAB]

I don't know how you or anybody of the "public record" could consider your home a multi-family dwelling because your Mom lives with you. Now, if you would live in a double and Mom lives next door, then yes, it would be. So, please explain your situation.

 

[Sean Mota]

It is of public record whether a residential house is declared as a two family home or one family home. Mine is declared as a two family home. The only difference is that I do not charge my mom for living with me. I take care of all the expenses of the house. She has mostly junk mail that gets to her.

 

[Sean Mota]

Dish Network wanted me to change my residential house from a two legally family house to a one legally family house in order for me to be kept under one account.

 

[KAB]

It is of public record whether a residential house is declared as a two family home or one family home. Mine is declared as a two family home. The only difference is that I do not charge my mom for living with me. I take care of all the expenses of the house. She has mostly junk mail that gets to her.

I confess I know nothing of NY law/code/etc...but that sounds NUTS to me. She is YOUR immediate family, as you were her's.

 

[Sean Mota]

if they had told me this when I first became a customer 8 years ago; I would have had no problem and never would have become a customer. However, they just came up with this just now. I find it offensive and incomprehensible.

 

[Sean Mota]

DirecTV does not use gestapo tactics like Dish. They don't even audit that I know of. Give them a call and see what they can offer. Give Dish network the boot.

I just did an inquiry directly with DirecTv. I have an appt for next week Tuesday. If I decide to cancel before then no questions asked. I am getting the NFL Ticket (free this year), 3 months of three premium channels; their choice extra package, 6 receivers all HD and one HD DVR with HOME integration all for $74 per month first year and total of $105 per year after the first year.

The Audit Team at Dish Network managed to outsmart themselves on this one.

 

[Tampa8]

Sean you have every right to be upset with Dish over this. Even though I understand their thinking on it. They can't be there to see that you are not renting a muliti- family house, so to them a multi family is a multi family. But I don't like them automatically deciding you are doing something wrong, or not giving time to work things out.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

So it sounds like (thought you have not directly said) you live in a duplex...two different addresses, two different water, electric, garbage address/bills. You're a good son who takes care of his mum who just so happens to live in the unit next door.

IF.....you were to rent the unit out...they new tenant would pay all their own services as they have their own address.

So...I understand why you are upset...Dish allowed this to go on for 8 years but by the letter of the law it is account stacking. One account per service address...and your prop has two.

 

[Sean Mota]

I can be very reasonable and patient with people; I can see their point of view where I could get advantage of a situation like this. Right now my bill is paid and I cannot watch TV on 3 of the 4 receivers because they decided to disconnect them automatically based on the information they have on me. As far as I know there should be a better way to handle this on their part. The fact that they chose to do this without regard makes me believe that they do not want my business and it is time to move on. In the end a little frustration and all but it shows how they operate.

 

[Sean Mota]

So it sounds like (thought you have not directly said) you live in a duplex...two different addresses, two different water, electric, garbage address/bills. You're a good son who takes care of his mum who just so happens to live in the unit next door.

IF.....you were to rent the unit out...they new tenant would pay all their own services as they have their own address.

So...I understand why you are upset...Dish allowed this to go on for 8 years but by the letter of the law it is account stacking. One account per service address...and your prop has two.

there is no two separate building. It is the same house all connected inside. I just go upstairs and visit my mom. One property, one adress. Legally yes it is a two family house. Hey if that is how they see it fine. I never thought about it this way. Anyway....

 

[radio]

It started with me when my early PVR (their first model I owned) wouldn't call home to them on (early) vonage. Then, with vonage set to forward to my work number, I got called by the audit team, explained I was at work (my office) and that I couldn't get home until later to give them the numbers off the screen to verify I had two receivers in the same place and attempted to explain that (at that age in Vonage/Dish) the receiver didn't "talk" over vonage. It truly didn't. May have been a vonage quality setting. When I got home, both receivers had been shut down and the PVR material erased. (didn't know they could do that.)...... I was welcome to subscribe again, but with one receiver, no add-ons, and that PVR was labeled in their database as only good for single-installations again. Been either cable, Free to Air, or Big dish (now H2H) since. If you were leasing, hope you can get out of this without penalty! I always owned, so I left angry, but...I don't miss 'em! By the way, I owned and lived in the downstairs of a commercial building, converted to (3) apartments at the time. Maybe THAT was the trigger, not the Vonage! I'll never know.

 

[Paradox-SJ]

there is no two separate building. It is the same house all connected inside. I just go upstairs and visit my mom. One property, one adress. Legally yes it is a two family house. Hey if that is how they see it fine. I never thought about it this way. Anyway....

One address but legally a two family house...

HOW is that even possible?

 

[Sean Mota]

One address but legally a two family house...

HOW is that even possible?

very easy.... come to nyc and we will show how.

 

[Sean Mota]

...... If you were leasing, hope you can get out of this without penalty! I always owned, so I left angry, but...I don't miss 'em!

I do not think that they are going to leave me off the hook that easy for leasing. I expect them to kick me around a few more times and pay the penalty. I'll be super lucky if I do not. But in the end I'll be happy to end it and do not have to deal with them. To me customers that are paying their bills should not be dealing with headaches like this.