Orby terminated my service after I upgraded -- without cause!

[N6BY]

I bought an Orby DVR at Best Buy and activated service on April 24th. I paid $44 for the Essentials Package + DVR fee. Then on May 5th I decided to add the Extras Pack for $10 a month more. They charged me $25.48 for that (see attached screen shot from my Orby account). The reason it was not $10 is that they extended my service to June 5th. I did the math and that was correct.

I thought everything was good until (without warning) they turned off my TV service last night. Then they sent me an email "Your Orby TV Service has ended", with no explanation why. I checked my bank account and both of the payments had gone through

So I called them this afternoon and they told me I owed them $4.48. They couldn't explain why. I told them that I had already paid them all the amount that they asked ( $69.48 = $44.00 + $25.48). Their online upgrade billing program determined the $25.48, not me.

I told them that the amount their computer had charged me for the extra $25.48 when I upgraded was correct and I paid that amount. Nope, she said, I owe them $4.48 more with no explanation why. We went back and forth for a while. I told them I have a degree in mathematics and I know how to prorate charges, and that I agreed with the $25.48 that THEY came up with when I upgraded. Eventually she got the supervisor. Said I owe them $4.48. We went around in circles again. I told them it wasn't that I couldn't afford the $4.48, it was the principle of being double billed for something I already paid. After about 25 minutes (mostly on hold) she got the supervisor again and said "they would credit me for the $4.48" and restore the service. Considering I never owed them the money, they didn't really credit me anything.

So they turned my service back on. But no apology, no 'grace' period for disconnect, and no credit for the time I was without service.

I now have Orby service till June 5th. I don't trust Orby anymore. I don't like the way I was treated and I don't recommend them. Every other day I have to power off the DVR to get it to work, and using most DVR functions is very awkward.

I really wanted to like Orby, but I have a bad feeling about them now. After June 5th I will most likely seek another TV provider.

 

[mwdxer1]

A terrible situation. Orby owes you an apology. After all you have to buy the equipment and have in installed. I wonder if there are other stories like this? You cannot be the only one. Orby never interested me as they do not carry a lot of channels I watch on Dish. But I always felt Orby is a good in between service offering a decent package. Sorry to hear this.

 

[Titanium]

Yes, they were wrong and they made it right. I don't see how this one time event would break my trust and give me reason to drop a service. If it is reoccurring or they refused to make it right, then yes, I would probably look for another provider. Guess we all have lines that cannot be crossed...

 

[Mochuf]

Yes, they were wrong and they made it right. I don't see how this one time event would break my trust and give me reason to drop a service. If it is reoccurring or they refused to make it right, then yes, I would probably look for another provider. Guess we all have lines that cannot be crossed...

Yes, they made it right. But how much of his time did they waste and then made it seem that they were doing him a favor. I've dropped companies that do crap like that, and he should too.

 

[Tvland1]

I have to agree with Titanium..All of the TV providers have their occasional billing mistakes..I recently had to argue with Dish because they shut down my account..I have Pay as You Go RV which your suppose to just log back into your account and pay the current service to restart..I went 60 days and that's when it was shutdown.. that's Dish's policy on normal account..Did online chat and the person didn't have a clue what RV account was.. Kept telling me I had to call 1-800 number and talk with their specialist..They have no specialist... Finally after telling them I would be sure to put it on Satellite Guys and they disconnected me from chat..15 minutes later my account was restored

 

[FTA4PA]

We have had the $40 package (no extras) for just over six months and so far there have been no billing issues. Now that I said that...

 

[AE6CH]

The billing system is pretty screwy. A few months ago I was charged twice. They didn't bill me the next month fortunately.

 

[cee]

I had a problem with orby also, service got terminated when i got my new credit card (the only thing that changed was the exp date and the ccw number which i updated on my account orby website)i was on autopay and tried to update would never worked i called 3 days in a row finally i went to cvs and got a prepaid card and have service.my credit card works i use it all the time orby reps were nice but couldn't get my card to work weird.
p.s. i was even telling the reps i couldn't even give my money away to them lol at least we got a good laugh.

 

[N6BY]

Yes, they were wrong and they made it right. I don't see how this one time event would break my trust and give me reason to drop a service. If it is reoccurring or they refused to make it right, then yes, I would probably look for another provider. Guess we all have lines that cannot be crossed...

Yes, its a one time event, but that was after only 11 days. Based on the posts here, it seems to be a chronic problem.

Its not only a trust issue. Its also an attitude issue -- "We are right and you are wrong". They had $69.48 of my money and terminated me after 11 days without warning or a chance to discuss it. At the very least they could have kept my service going until I had gotten $69.48 worth of service.

But they are a new company and are probably still learning some of the basics (like how to not double bill), and how to treat customers.

To their credit, Mark from Orby contacted me about this and apologized. He said he was going to look into it.

Besides the billing/customer service -- the DVR has some major issues. Every couple of days I need to power cycle it because it does not respond to the basic DVR commands, like pause, fast forward, rewind, etc.

Another serious bug: I set the DVR to record some shows. It acts like its going to do it. Then when I go to view it there is a red exclamation mark next to the program with a 'We couldn't record it' message'. The DVR software needs work!

And the guide has some issues too. For example, it said "Trading Places" was going to be on. So I recorded it. When I went to view it, it was one of the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies. But both movies have Eddie Murphy in them, so I watched it anyway.

 

[mwdxer1]

Yes, they made it right. But how much of his time did they waste and then made it seem that they were doing him a favor. I've dropped companies that do crap like that, and he should too.

The problem is, since the equipment is customer owned, dropping the service would cost money....Orby equipment probably is not worth much without the service....

 

[Claude Greiner]

Yes, its a one time event, but that was after only 11 days. Based on the posts here, it seems to be a chronic problem.

Its not only a trust issue. Its also an attitude issue -- "We are right and you are wrong". They had $69.48 of my money and terminated me after 11 days without warning or a chance to discuss it. At the very least they could have kept my service going until I had gotten $69.48 worth of service.

But they are a new company and are probably still learning some of the basics (like how to not double bill), and how to treat customers.

To their credit, Mark from Orby contacted me about this and apologized. He said he was going to look into it.

Besides the billing/customer service -- the DVR has some major issues. Every couple of days I need to power cycle it because it does not respond to the basic DVR commands, like pause, fast forward, rewind, etc.

Another serious bug: I set the DVR to record some shows. It acts like its going to do it. Then when I go to view it there is a red exclamation mark next to the program with a 'We couldn't record it' message'. The DVR software needs work!

And the guide has some issues too. For example, it said "Trading Places" was going to be on. So I recorded it. When I went to view it, it was one of the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies. But both movies have Eddie Murphy in them, so I watched it anyway.

Their DVR is garbage.

At least they have a DVR, but you get what you pay for.

Everyone who has orby has orby due to the costs

 

[N6BY]

Their DVR is garbage.

At least they have a DVR, but you get what you pay for.

Everyone who has orby has orby due to the costs

The Orby DVR reminds me of something out of the 90's. Bare bones functionality and needs power cycles about twice a week.

.... I recently received the Orby Self install kit in the mail (I have been using my 1.2M GeoSatPro). I cannot get a good signal! In the past I have successfully aimed satellite dishes dozens of times. Either I am doing something wrong, or something is wrong with the dish or LNBF.

Unfortunately I can't return the Orby dish for a replacement because I cut the mounting pole it came with.

My Orby experience so far has been 'sub-optimal'.

 

[Juan]

Their DVR is garbage.

At least they have a DVR, but you get what you pay for.

Everyone who has orby has orby due to the costs

Guess your not selling that yet

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[N6BY]

*** Update ***

I just got a message from Mark at Orby. He said that my experience has uncovered a bug in the web billing interface. They are fixing it. Also he said they will be crediting me for a month of service because of the inconvenience.

I really appreciate their quick response to resolving this. It's great to know that someone is listening and they care. And I am glad I reported the problem so it doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[Cosmo Blatz]

I guessing Orby monitors this forum.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I guessing Orby monitors this forum.

That would be a good business move if they did, IMO.

 

[KE4EST]

I guessing Orby monitors this forum.

Yes they do.

 

[N6BY]

.... I recently received the Orby Self install kit in the mail (I have been using my 1.2M GeoSatPro). I cannot get a good signal! In the past I have successfully aimed satellite dishes dozens of times. Either I am doing something wrong, or something is wrong with the dish or LNBF.
...

Fixed -- it was my fault. The problem turned out to be damaged RG6. It had a sharp kink in it.

This frees up my 1.2M Geosat Pro for FTA.

 

[krynn]

The Orby DVR reminds me of something out of the 90's. Bare bones functionality and needs power cycles about twice a week.

.... I recently received the Orby Self install kit in the mail (I have been using my 1.2M GeoSatPro). I cannot get a good signal! In the past I have successfully aimed satellite dishes dozens of times. Either I am doing something wrong, or something is wrong with the dish or LNBF.

Unfortunately I can't return the Orby dish for a replacement because I cut the mounting pole it came with.

My Orby experience so far has been 'sub-optimal'.

that DVR sounds like spectrum DVR'S D