Dish Network Customers Beware!
Former 14 yr. Customer here: I chose Dish Network TV over cable back when Dish Network was the just about the only provider out there. I had to drive 60 miles to find a retailer and then had to install and aim the dish myself using a protractor and compass because there was no installer network like there is today. One of the reasons I chose DIsh Network was the Dish pack was a purchase of equipment while the others were rentals, and I'm not a fan of perpetual renting. Purchasing saves you money in the long term. And when Dish converted to HD programming, I purchased the DVR instead of renting for that very reason. Purchase price: Approx. $500.
About a two years later, I had an unrequested visit from a Dish Network installer who said he was there to install an upgraded DVR to work better with the HD programming, etc. The price there? $150 upgrade. The installer told me the upgrade price was high because I was not a rental customer. Again, I paid it in lieu of endless renting.
Recently, after one of the many little $5 price hikes which Dish justified by adding a premium package (I didn't want or use) "free of charge", I found a better package for a cheaper price (saving $40 per month) through Direct TV. My network viewing had decreased considerably because of streamed video via Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, so I just couldn't see paying Dish Network $85 a month anymore.
Now the real character of Dish Network came through: When I closed my account, the Account Specialist told me that Dish had collected my purchased DVR during the "upgrade" and replaced it with a rental machine. Remember: the Installer had confirmed it was a purchase upgrade when he swapped it out.
When I disputed this, the Account Specialist told me that if I didn't return the rented DVR, worthless to me without the Dish service anyway - but at one time mine, my account would be charged $400. Their version of the upgrade was that they credited me $10 (TEN dollars) for my $500 DVR after they replaced it with the rental. The Account Specialist agreed that it wasn't a square deal but refused to credit me for the DVR purchase I'd made several years earlier. She even had the temerity to tell me that she hoped I would return to Dish and that I could leave the dish setup intact on the roof to make switching back easier. Fat chance.
Bottom line: Dish could have had a customer for life if they'd simply kept their prices reasonable (read: competitive), but they didn't. And the little move of switching a purchased machine for an "upgraded" rental machine, then shafting the customer for the difference, left an angry former customer and ensures that Dish Network has lost a customer - for life. Dish Network cost me $500 but I'd bet disseminating this information as far and as wide as I can costs them more.
I'm not recommending Direct TV over Dish Network (there are too many other entertainment options out there today), but I am advocating avoiding Dish Network. When you see the DIsh vs. Direct TV customer satisfaction commercials on TV, there is merit to Direct TV's claim of higher customer satisfaction.
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