No Phone Line = FREE Pay Per View?

[scuzzynutty]

I have Dish Network, and don't have my 322 receiver hooked to a phone line and I am not charge the $5/mth because I wrote an email to one of the execs and complained about it and they had the fee waived off my account.

I've never ordered pay per view, and I read this today on the FAQ on Dish Network's site:

Why do I need a phone line connected to my Dish Network receiver?


A phone line connection is required in order to provide non-interrupted programming. The phone line will not interfere with your telephone use. If the Dish Network receiver is using the telephone line and someone picks up the telephone, the Dish Network receiver will immediately stop and try again later. The same will be done if a call is received. The Dish Network receiver will only use a toll free (800) number. This provides continuous access to DISH Network Pay-Per-View movies and events and allows use of the Customer Support Application and other Interactive TV applications on channel 100.

DISH Network Pay-Per-View purchases are stored within your receiver and limited to a specific purchase amount. The phone line connection allows your DISH Network Pay-Per-View purchases to download automatically and be processed by our computers. These purchases are then applied to your regular bill.

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Being that I don't have a phone line connected, can I order Pay Per View stuff for FREE since it will be stored in my receiver, but since there's no phone line connection, it can't download anything to dish network's computers for processing???

 

[BigTetto]

No...

 

[bbtkd]

Being that I don't have a phone line connected, can I order Pay Per View stuff for FREE since it will be stored in my receiver, but since there's no phone line connection, it can't download anything to dish network's computers for processing???

At some point it would stop allowing PPV until you plug it in and allow it to upload the report.

 

[cparker]

I don't think you can order PPV without the phone line. I think without the phone line connected you have to call in to get a PPV or order PPV online through your DishNetwork account. You can be pretty darn sure they won't give PPV away for free.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

You can't order a PPV movie without your receiver being hooked to a phone line or broadband connection. When you try you will get a message telling you so.

 

[garys]

I thought you can order PPV thru the Dish website. Does your receiver still need to be hooked up?

 

[HDRoberts]

You can't order a PPV movie without your receiver being hooked to a phone line or broadband connection. When you try you will get a message telling you so.

As garys indicates, I believe you mean to say you cant order one THROUGH THE REMOTE without broadband or phone. You can order on line or over the phone.

But in any case, simply unplugging your receiver from the phone does not give free PPV.

 

[garys]

Sorry, I thought that the two free ppv offer was extended. Didn't connect the OP wanted to order without paying and thought he had a loop hole. (Guess the coffee hadn't kicked in yet).

 

[scuzzynutty]

Well, I read that some people only use a cell phone and don't even have a land-line. But they can order ppv through the website or via a telephone call to DISH.

Isn't the phone line just for reporting purposes? I don't think the movie COMES through the phone line, it comes from the Satellite, and then the phone line is used to report that a PPV movie has been ordered and hence transmit the data to Dish network so they can bill you.

From some stuff I read, you can prob do it a few times, but then the memory gets full, and won't allow you to get anymore PPV movies until it reports it to Dish, at which time it probalby purges the memory, so you can order more PPV.

 

[garys]

OP thinks that without the phone line hooked up, he can order PPV thru the remote and not be billed for it as the receiver cannot communicate with Dish's billing dept. Without the phone line, you cannot order ppv via the remote. Receiver gives you a connection error message.

 

[thowe21]

I can remember on older legacy models it would require a "phone connection test" before ordering pay-per-vew. I would order it, it would decline and say plug in a phone line, I would then plug it in and it would perform the test, I would go back and order it and then remove the phone line right after. It wouldn't get transferred but I was only allowed up to $100 in ppv purchases on the receiver so I would have to plug it in and eventually send the info anyway to continue ordering any additional ppv. You can't use this method anymore as they corrected this "loophole".

 

[Stargazer]

I see people have receivers with ppv's on their receivers that must not have their phone line plugged in and was still able to order the movie.

Perhaps that used to be possible but is no longer possible anymore or is still possible to do? I know that the card was only able to hold so many PPV events before you had to send the PPV data through.

 

[Pen15head]

when you order the ppv, it will require a phoneline test. if no connection, no order allowed. on non adult and non-special events ppvs, the reciever does not place the charge, when it checks the connection. this is because you are allowed to watch like the first five minutes and then change the channel and not be charged. if you continue to watch the movie, then the rec will call out at a later time and place the charge. on adult ppv and on special events such as sports and concerts, the receiver places the charge on the account at the initial order of the ppv. one may think they can get away with ordering a regular ppv moving, then pulling the phoneline afterwards so the receiver does not call out again after it the movie is watched past its five minutes. but then the next time you try to place an order and reconnect it, it will probably have to call out before it can place the order. also, if the receiver ever has to be replaced, im sure dish has some way of pulling the information and charging your account during the refurb process.

 

[Scherrman]

From my experience, you need a phone line or ethernet connected in order to rent a PPV by remote. If you do not have either of those then you can call Dish or order online. Calling Dish to rent a PPV is a dollar more I believe. I don't think you can rent a PPV any other way without being charged for it.

 

[KKlare]

At one time the PPV info was stored on the ID card. If the card is replaced as recently, is that info lost?

 

[Dah-Henny]

Back when I had 322's, I would plug the phone line in to order the ppv, then immediately unplug it. It would sometimes be months before the purchase info would be uploaded to *E.

 

[sdschramm]

I thought the receiver would store about 6 PPV shows on the smart card, And if you never connected the phone line, they would never upload. I've heard of people doing this right before upgrading to a new receiver as once they watch the shows, they can just cnage recivers tand the bills for those shows would still be on the card of the old reciver. So as long as you distory the card, they can't bill you.

Or maybe this is how it was for DTV and not Dish, I can't remember. But I remember the number of exactly six.

 

[Claude Greiner]

Eventually you will get billed for the ppv, either when you hook up the phone line, turn in a leased receiver when you upgrade or cancel, or if your box goes bad and they swap it for a replacement.

 

[Awohar]

the following causes a call home condition in receiver: 4 or more ppv in purchase history, more than $25 worth, more than 30 day old event. any of those conditions prevents the receiver from ordering additional ppv until the condition is cleared by the receiver connecting to dish network. now even if never order another ppv, if box is ever returned to dish, the warehouse will transmit those charges to the account.

now for the original poster, the waived phone line charge will no longer be waived if ever the receiver calls in to dish. so if you connect the phoneline one time to order ppv, the waive code is automatically lost.

 

[sca]

in some cases you CAN order ppv with no phone line. if you were origionally installed with no bypass, unhook the phone line and attempt to order a ppv, it may let you. i know i ordered 3 or 4 movies with no phone line connected when i was a new customer. eventually i wanted to order another, and had to hook a phone up and pay for all of them at once. it didnt allow me to do it again.