Posts about Dish Network

—>In 2006, five states launched an investigation into DISH Network's crummy sales practices after hundreds of complaints from consumers. Now the company has agreed to pay $5.9 million to 46 states in a settlement announced today—and at least some of that money is earmarked for DISH customers.  More »

—>You've most likely seen those surveys you receive on your receipt, or after a chat session or phone call. Most people ignore them unless they get something in return, or service was exceptionally bad or exceptionally good. According to our source R., though, not answering that survey could help the rep you've just talked to lose his or her job.  More »

—>A lawsuit has been filed against Dish Network by the U.S. Justice Department (on behalf of the FTC) alleging that the company violated "Do Not Call" rules by phoning potential customers without their permission.   More »

—>Like anything that's cool and people use to organically connect to one another, companies have rushed into Twittering. To take advantage of this, reader Justin says he's started following all the companies he gets service from on Twitter. When he saw @dishnetwork tweet about an area getting local HD channels, he asked in reply when Cincinnati would get them. @dishnetwork replied back that Cincinnati should have them and asked for his account for so they could check into it. Turned out he needed a different Dish and the rep agreed to have it installed at no cost instead of the usual $60. "The tech showed up this morning, and I have local HD channels for free," writes Justin. "I'm finding tracking companies on Twitter is useful because they people monitoring the accounts are ones who can actually do something."  More »

—>The FTC fined a Dish Network telemarketing firm $75,000 for hanging up on customers, reports the Deseret News. The company used teleautobots to dial peoples' homes, which were then supposed to connect to a live telemarketer when someone picked up. However, the system would sometimes get more live customers than there were telemarketers, leaving some customers with a silent line. Federal regulations stipulate that if you use teleautobots, you have to connect the customer to a person within two seconds. The FTC made this law because people, in particular women and old people, were worried they were being stalked when they answered the phone and no one was there.  More »

—>Want to convince people you offer as much HD as DirecTV without, you know, having to actually do it? Add 22 HD channels, issue a press release bragging about it, then yank 15 of your older channels while the press isn't looking. That's what Dish Network did according to TVPredictions.com:  More »

—>This is Round 29 in our Worst Company in America contest, Countrywide Home Loans vs Dish Network. Vote which sucks more, inside...  More »

—>A San Diego Dish Network repairmen got more then he bargained for when he showed up late for a service call: homeowner Gary Thomson pulled a shotgun on him and threatened to kill him if he didn't fix the TV. "The repairman, who told detectives he was terrified, went inside and fixed the problem. Thomson put the shotgun away at some point during the visit," reports the San Diego Union Tribune.  More »

—>Kayla writes:

My Husband and I called Embarq for a bundle pack with dish network in April of 2007. We were told by Embarq that we would only be seeing one bill from them, that would include dish charges, and that it would be about $100 a month. We have paid our bill every month, and never had anything suspended. As a matter of fact, we had never had to make any inquiries about dish as it had been a wonderful experience until mid-January. One morning I was turning on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse for my son and I had no service. So I called Embarq, who told me to call Dish, who had no record of our names or social security numbers, who told me to call Emarq again...

—>Five Cent Nickel has had enough of Dish Network, and the final straw was when they told him that they wouldn't correct a billing error because pay-per-view billing errors (in which one is charged for a movie that they did not order) are impossible.  More »

—>Reader Ryan called the Dish Network three weeks before moving to disconnect his service. Dish graciously offered to send prepaid return boxes for his equipment, but instead of sending them to Ryan's new address, Dish sent them to his old address. Three times. Oddly, Dish managed to properly address a bill to Ryan's new address. Ryan writes:  More »

—>Jane came home to find a Dish Network receiver on her roof. Jane never ordered service from Dish Network, and isn't sure why she suddenly has a satellite dish on her roof. Dish Network isn't sure, either.  More »

Dee writes in with an update to her letter posted under Dish Charges You Extra For Not Having A Phone. Of special note: plugging in a phone to the dead line will not help her situation...  More »

Dish Network is charging Dee a $5 "programming access fee" because she doesn't have a phone line.   More »

John has a right to be pissed, he worked in consumer electronics customer service after all, so it's all the more galling when Dish Network treated him poorly this weekend, asking him to pay for shipping for a new tuner to replace the one he just replaced not a month ago.   More »

Remember the poor sucker who racked up $1800 dollars worth of phone bills when his isolated Tivo phoned home? A reader wrote in, mentioning that the Dish Network Satellite Service also has to phone home for updates. So you just disconnect the phone line, right? Wrong.  More »

—>It seems the swing towards High-Definition TV formats is happening only slightly less gracefully than a Mack truck doing pirouettes. Channel providers expect customers to invest in building up their network by purchasing HD converters. Apparently they've never heard the old saying that we just made up, "Give a man a free door but make him pay you to unlock it."  More »