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DISH Network review: my experiences with dishnetwork has been a nightmare 21

L
Author of the review
12:00 am EDT
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My experiences with Dishnetwork has been a nightmare. I have spoken to customer service untill I'm blue in the face on the matter of a service tech actuially coming to my home and getting the equipment to work. A tech. was suposed to have come to my home on the 21st of July butr no one showed up or did me the courtesy of a phone call. At this point i have no faith in this companies viability.

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21 comments
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Teresa Pilch Dufoe
, US
Dec 09, 2016 2:24 pm EST

I truely believe I had my dish payment in bank and went ahead and paid like always but when payment was summited it was returned . well I looked at acount on my bill pay and said it was paid. well ends it got returned for Insfunds not noing this. Well to make long story short they ended puting this through 5 times in less than 10 days cost me $ 165.00 which could have paid the bill plus gave me some to eat on but oh no. When I called only said put thru one times. So now I waiting for dish because my bank and lawyer they owe me fees back . here I set with no supper . have been on phone all day with them with people can't even speak English about ten still nothing and just back from faxing then the charges and to pay $2.00 more to fax to them I swears I will get my money or there will be more fees they will be paying . Teresa Dufoe

MikeL DISH
MikeL DISH
Denver, US
Aug 10, 2011 2:27 pm EDT

I'm sorry to hear about the issues you had experienced with us to make you cancel the service, nomoredish. Did you get the $700 charge for any possible non-returned equipment cleared up with one of our agents? As far as the shipment fees are concerned, not everyone uses our boxes with shipping labels to send our equipment back. Given that, we don't feel that it's fair to increase all of our customers' rates to cover the cost of shipping it back to us. You are by no means required to use our boxes with labels, but we provide you with them as an available option should you choose to use them.

Hope that helps and let me know if you have any further questions!

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nomoredish
, US
Feb 27, 2011 6:31 pm EST

I too and pretty disgusted with dish network I had the service for 4yrs and the dish went out and they said it will take 3 days to send someone out so I decided to cancel my service with them after a few minor problems with the service and the wanted to charge me 700 dollars if I didn't return all the remotes and stuff if it wasn't back to them in 2weeks so I sent it all back and they still charged me 130 bucks for using the postage they put in the return box they are a joke, beware people don't use them they have a bunch ot hidden charges they add to your bill.

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Joe Schmuckalelli
Punta Gorda, US
Aug 03, 2010 1:24 pm EDT

Customer service? They have none! We tried to speak with anyone with compassion and a commetment to service. None were to be found! Emails go un-answered.

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wyrosjr
whodat, US
Aug 23, 2009 8:29 pm EDT

Dish customer service really does suck. I have been rounds with them in the past. They are just inept I think. If you ever have trouble first thing I do is tell them I am wishing to cancel my service. This sends you to american better trained reps who have some sense. Usually they get it worked out well. Don't even bother with the lower levels of service.

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Brenda Gerdes
,
Mar 13, 2008 3:19 pm EDT

I have spent the last year trying to get a refund out of dish network for approximately $39.00, I know it doesn't seem like much but it was my money not theirs, I didn't donate it to them and would have like to put it towards another provider. Well now I have been told that the time period to collect is over and they can no longer refund my money because it has been over a year. How many times does a person have to call a company to ask for a refund? We have tried at least six different times over the last year and have never received the money. This is definitely a Buyer Beware company. does anyone know who I can contact to try and resolve this matter. Here is the letter I attached with another complaint to them on receiving my refund.
To Whom It May Concern:
After spending five years as a customer, in January 2007 we had finally decided to cancel our services. We had many reasons concerning this including poor maintenance support and poor customer service. Now fourteen months later we are still trying to acquire our refund, and now we have been informed that it is no longer available. This money was not a donation to your company and it was ours. However, no matter how we have tried to be reimbursed, it has been one thing after another. No I do not want to pay five dollars a month just in case we decide to come back. We made a decision to leave and we are happy with the services we are now receiving. If this issue is not resolved I am willing to take this matter as far as I need to. I do not appreciate being taken advantage of and I do not like to feel “ripped-off”. This matter will need to be resolved or I will continue to e-mail and to write to whoever I can find to resolve the matter of your theft.
Sincerely,
Brenda Gerdes

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D Wolfe
,
Nov 06, 2007 5:36 pm EST

They activated my account and charged me without installing a dish, or billing me. The account went to collections and was later deactivated for lack of payment! Same story as above. Now I have hits on all three Credit Reporting Bureaus.

Who can I contact to get their attention:

State Atty General
FCC
Anyone Else!

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Bob KZ
,
May 03, 2007 10:29 pm EDT

I am looking for E-mail addresses for workers that are in the Headquarters building. I have been having so many problems with the service. From them asking for there old equipment back (the people that hooked up the new one took them) to wanting me to pay the 5.00 fee for my dvr system since I can not hook up the phone line to is since it will knock out my phones (I have DSL and it doesn't like the Receiver) I had the tech here put that info in the Work order as well as that they took my receiver. I call the help desk just to be put on hold then disconnect, Or to be told that someone will call back just so they do not.

I am looking for E-mails to the big guy in HQ so that they really know what is going on ands to inform them that I have a lawyer working on a law suit since they broke the contract between us.

And Last, I would like to here from anyone that have problems with DISH NETWORK. I have a family member that is in a Natl. broadcast news TV and is interested in starting a investigation on them.. They say it may be news worthy!

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Paula V.
,
Apr 24, 2007 4:18 am EDT

Dish network is the worst company i have ever encountered. Class action? Fraud? Lies? I will file my full report soon.

Please be aware... if you ever use a credit card with dish network they can access it to charge you -even if the service if unusable, the charges not what you agree to, and service non-existent - the 18 mo contract in their paperwork still stands and allows them to access your account.

Here is the best part... even if you cancel the debit card number on your checking account and get a new one to prevent access, the banks consider it pre-approved and pay whatever charges... cancellation or equipment fees... dish network decides to charge. You must either close the entire account or change banks.

I cancelled a debit card at the bank because of the tj maxx fraud, and this is what happened. Dish network withdrew $373.00... i am taking this up with the bank. Consumers should be notified of this situation, you can bet dish network knows and uses it to their advantage.

Dish network has an 18 mo contract, and no matter what they do, incorrect or blatantly overcharging on your bill, raising the price in 90 days after you sign up, bad service, indian customer service, billing you for a higher package, anything they do they will charge you and expect you to put up with it for 18 months. Buyers beware...

Does anybody out there know the actual physical address for these executives... like charles ergen? Please email me. They seem to hide out. I do have a list and bios of the execs, and am sure they are collecting bonuses and not worrying about us.

My complaints read like many of yours. I have been a abused customer of dish network only since November 2006, and have a 3" high file of paperwork re them, and it is only 4 months later.

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Robert Evans
toronto, CA
Apr 04, 2007 2:26 am EDT

Sub: You name it, they've done it!

The retailer who came out to install the dish put it in my neighbor's yard in the winter, before the leaves on a ton of trees came out. He also connected the wrong cable and the wrong switch, using a splitter, instead of a SWITCH. He then took off and refused to respond to complaints from me. He'd always say, "call you back" or " I can sell you some cable".. etc I had a 90 day warranty! What's this sell?

I finally got a Dish tech to come out, he had to change the whole system out, took over 3 hours. Then a few days later, I had to call tech support because I had a snowy screen on TV 2. TV one was fine. The first tech Valerie, hung up on me when she was asked to hold on. The second, Brian, said there was nothing he could do, it was my TV, my fault, blah, blah! I scheduled another tech appointment which couldn't be till 2 days later and called my son who has a BS in computer science. He told me how to fix it on the phone. Very simple steps, very simple instructions.

Meanwhile, they also told me I would get Showtime free for 3 months, but they began charging me again. They also charged me a late charge that I already paid. They said pay the full amt and next bill we will credit you. I got online to pay today and it was a new amount, which I paid. They will probably bill me the balance and a late charge next.

I had Direct TV for 13 yrs and never a problem like this. Dish Sux and I am contracted for 2 yrs! HELP!

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Nic
,
Mar 29, 2007 11:58 am EDT

In a nutshell, here are the "issues" I have with Dish Network:

Issue # 1: My first legitimate appointment is a no show, and after calling, I find that it was rescheduled for a day that I did not choose. New appt. is rescheduled for a week later.

Issue # 2: My 2nd rescheduled appointment (8 - 12) is also a no show. Out of curiosity, I leave my cell number on the door to see when the installer arrives. Sometime between 1:30 and 2:00, I receive a call asking if I am inside of my house for the appointment.

Issue # 3: I call to see what had happened with the 2nd rescheduled appointment that was missed. I try to see if an appointment is available for that day, and after discussion, I am hung up on. I call a few more times, and get a new appointment for the next Saturday.

Issue # 4: The installer shows up...2 hours late. We had been promised that we would receive the upgraded single dish, replacing our 2 dish eyesore on the roof. We do not get our correct dish, but he does the install. He also uses my phone, and paces the hallway into our bedroom (only once) without even considering asking my permission.

Issue # 5: An accumulation of misinformation, lies, and blame that was put on me for scheduling problems.

Issue # 6: I call to ask again for one dish. I am told I cannot get this. I am then told I will pay extra for it. I again am hung up on.

Issue # 7: I call cancellations. I decide they have one last chance before I cancel to make it right. A very nice rep (Tom, ID # 8HB) does everything he can. He assures me that all the right equipment will be available for the tech to choose from when he arrives the next day. The next day comes, and when I arrive home I see that all the local channels are gone. I call Dish to get my locals back. I am told I have 2 choices: locals on my tv, or a work order in the system. Conclusion: he hangs up on me, and nothing is resolved.

A complaint was sent to Dish, AT&T (their partner & where my checks are sent), and Consumerist.com. I am currently communicating with Dish to come to some sort of reconciliation or at least to get answers to why I was treated so.

Thank you,
Nic

http://whydoesdishnetworkhateme.blogspot.com/

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DK
,
Mar 28, 2007 5:36 am EDT

The Dish Network sales staff servicing Florida will NOT stop calling my cellphone, several times daily, despite the fact my number is listed with the National Do Not Call Registry.

I made the mistake of calling them about a newspaper ad, and specifically said I did NOT want to receive any phone calls from them, ever. Since then, they've been relentless in calling me, and they tell me it will continue for "31 days until I'm out of their database". This is infuriating. I wouldn't take their service now if it was free.

Do yourself a favor, don't EVER call Dish Network, or their Phone Sharks will start circling you.

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Rhonda Robertson
,
Mar 20, 2007 7:29 am EDT

My first complaint is with the person that took the initial information fro my order. She explained to me that only $1.00 would be taken from my checking account when I gave her my account information, but instead $99.98 was taken out of my account, without prior authorization. My intent is not to get the person in trouble, but my account was overdrawn by $99.98 = $40.00 overdrawn fees. I ordered 2 Dish network at one time for 2 different addresses, which is why they took the aforementioned amount from my account. Again, I want to make it clear that this was not the authorized amount, it was $1.00. I assume that the person I spoke with obviously must have been a trainee, but this behavior is unacceptable and unlawful. I am requesting for my account to made whole. My Second complaint, is that the person who installed my Dish network, which I do regret getting, did not set it up correctly. I have wires outside of my window that are very visible and anyone can come and unhook it at any time. I called to have someone come out and correct it and was told that they would charge me $99.00 for those services. My problem with that is that the individual who installed it should have either explained that this was the only way he could do it and I would never have allowed him to connect the Dish. But I did not see the job until I left to go to work. Don't get me wrong he was a very polite gentleman, but the work was flawed. These are issues that are a direct result of the actions of At&T employees and contractors. All I am asking is that the problems be resolved without any cost to me, and in a timely manner. This is very bad business practices.

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Loretta Darrillo
,
Mar 15, 2007 2:48 pm EDT

DISH Network is the worst, hands down, when it comes to automated phone service. I've gone through the phone system instruction seven times in an attempt to resolve my technical problem. This annoying automated male voice asks me, after pressing the correct number for technical support, to "check the batteries on your remote." I do so, because I don't want to appear scatterbrained in the opinion of the automated voice. God forbid. Batteries good.

The voice begins each sentence or question with 'Okay...' or "Let's see..." in an apparent attempt to ingratiate me. I did a reboot. I reset the remote. I went through this each of the seven times I've called. I even had a new receiver sent to replace what I assumed was a broken receiver. Not the problem.
For my last foray into the beloved world of customer service, the human person (for whom I waited an astounding 46 minutes) told me I must go through the steps by phone before a technician is sent, or pay the price out-of-pocket for the call, which is $29.95 per hour, including drive time. I refused to go through the steps yet again. I asked to have a technician sent and reminded them of my warranty. I overheard this actual human person, Tiffany, speaking to another actual human person about how she finally "did" her brother's friend, and hopes no one finds out. I was almost so bored with the aforementioned 46 minutes of mind-numbing phone hell to actually care about her sex life. Really. She returns to the line to tell me that I will have to speak to a supervisor. This sounds like a fabulous idea to me. Then, dead line. Ooops, we were cut off. Damn, I won't find out who was on top and if they cuddled afterwards. I call back. This time, after chatting with automated Dish Man, a conversation sprinkled with my, "Sure thing, co*ksu*ker!" to his cheerful requests, I get a human in 22 minutes. I note that this is less than half of my original wait. I count my blessings. I tell this new human, who has just completed a weeklong community course in English as a Second Language, that for two months I've been experiencing the same problem, and I need help. I want a human to come to my home. I remind her that I’m still under warranty and throw in that DishMan has called me a valued customer at least twenty times. She is unimpressed, but schedules the human technician after two jaunts of "Um, hold on a minute...I need to,… um,...just hold on, okay?" She schedules the service call. I rejoice in that fact that although I’ve used foul language with automated DishMan, I’ve kept my actual conversations with the humans quite professional; cordial even. “Thanks for your help, honey-dumplin, I’ll be home on Thursday awaiting my technician!” (No, I didn’t SAY ‘honey-dumplin,’ I only thought it.)

I’m supposed to have a technician here between 8 am and noon today. I mean "was supposed to have..." I called in at 12:30pm to the automated system only to be told by DishMan, "Okay, I see that you have a service call scheduled for (second automated voice; this time female) Thursday, March 15th, 8 am to 12 pm. (now back to male voice) Please continue to wait for the allotted time." Then I’m rerouted to the main menu. Okay, I think, perhaps they meant Eastern time. Cool. I think I'm being quite reasonable, considering that I'm a bit limited to television programming because I live in a remotely rural area. I am also not afforded the luxury of finding and killing DishMan with my bare hands, but I digress. Now, it’s 2:40. I’ve called back, spoken to a human (31 minutes this time) and, while I didn’t use an epithet, I did become belligerent. They tell me the technician is “en route.” He must be flying right behind the monkeys that are exiting my a $$.

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Caroline Koch
,
Feb 25, 2007 3:42 am EST

(I've sent this to the BBB, Attorney General's office and a few newspapers. I want to get the word out)

To whom it may concern:

I am filing a complaint concerning Dish Network, a satellite television company, due to poor customer service.

I have been a customer of this company for over five years. I telephoned them on February 21, 2007 (yesterday) and asked if I had a standing commitment to continue service with them. The employee I spoke with put me hold, checked my records, came back on the telephone and informed me that I did not. I asked again, “Are you sure? I need to positively verify this as I am planning to enlist the services of another satellite company and intend to cancel your service.” The employee further assured me that I did not have any commitment with them any longer.

With that information supplied to me by Dish Network, which I trusted to be truthful and correct, I arranged for another satellite company to come to install their system, which they did today, February 22, 2007.
After the other company finished installing their satellite equipment and left my home, I telephoned Dish Network to cancel my account with them. The first person, with whom I spoke, verified apparent notes on his computer, that indeed I do not have a commitment with them. However, they needed to transfer my call, or so they said, in order to cancel my service. I was put on hold for a very long time, approximately 30 or 40 minutes until they caused the telephone to disconnect.

I called back. After waiting on hold for what seemed an eternity, listening to repetitious music, they then informed me that I have a commitment with them for another six and a half months and if I cancel, I will owe them $13.33 per month remaining in that time frame, which amounts to $86.65.

I objected, naturally, informing them of my telephone conversation yesterday with one of their employees. I went through the whole story again with someone else. (You can never talk to the same person twice) I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold again for approximately twenty minutes. Altogether, I was on the telephone for approximately an hour and a half and all to no avail. I was told, point blank, that no supervisors were responding.

Therefore, I explained the whole story again to yet another employee. This time, they denied having any notes that someone told me that I was not under any obligation to continue their service.

I again reiterated that they should honor the information that one of their employees gave me, regardless of whether I have six and a half months left of obligation to them. They refused to honor that. I explained that had I been given accurate information, I would not have arranged to connect with this other company yet. And still, they held fast.

They also demanded that I pack up their receiver boxes and satellite dish in boxes that they will send me by UPS. Then I am to take them to the UPS office and mail their equipment back to them. If I fail to do this, there will be an exorbitant monetary penalty. I am dumb struck as to why I should have to do their work for them, using my time and effort to package these items. I am a senior citizen and I am appalled at their aggressive behavior.

To sum it up, although I may have had a commitment with them and I had nothing in writing about the telephone conversation, (big mistake that I should know better than to make)I feel that Dish Network displayed very dishonorable, immoral and despicable business practices. These practices clearly manifest themselves in this company’s mistreatment of customers, with untruthful, incorrect and inconsistent information, resulting in my having to pay for two services for another six and a half months. Had I received a straightforward answer yesterday, that I am indeed committed for another six and a half months, I would not have signed up with the other company until those six and a half months were past. I am extremely displeased with this ineffective and dishonorable company.

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Jessica
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Feb 12, 2007 6:09 am EST

When my husband and I moved into our new place in April 2006, we contacted Dish Network telling them if they could give us a good deal we'd go with them. They didn't require a contract if we paid the $49.99 activation fee and since we hate contracts we opted to pay the activation fee one time and be able to get out of bad service.

The first time I called, I was on the phone for an hour with the first guy because he couldn't seem to get their computers to run right to accept my order. He kept asking me for my info over and over again and didn't like it when I asked him "where are you located?" as he replied "I'm not allowed to disclose that". I knew that he was in a foreign country, I could tell not only by his accent (everyone I'd talked to there had a foreign accent), but our connection wasn't great either. All in all it took me THREE Phone calls to dish network supervisors to try and get our initial service setup. All that was in one day, I spent a total of nearly three hours on the phone. Finally, I got so disgusted and infuriated I hung up. Then I spent the next few precious hours trying to track down Dish Network's corporate information. Trying to find a number to their HQ was challenging. I checked out public records and found CEO Charlie Ergen's information but couldn't locate a phone number.

Finally I was checking out Forbes magazine online and found the profile for Dish Network with CEO Charlie Ergen's info and a corporate number. I called the number and eventually got someone named John (whose ID number I kept) to help me. Thanks to him we got our service setup and received a one-month credit on service and three months of FREE HBO.

I wish that were the end of it. Remember, we just signed up for this effective April 1, 2006.

First let me say that we started with the Top 60 package for $34.99 and then moved to the Top 120 for $44.99 per month plus taxes.

Our first bill was screwed up. We didn't have the credits applied and so the bill was near $80.00. I had to call and explain to someone that we were owed a credit of one month plus the 14.99 for HBO. Finally they adjusted the total and it came to $32.54 and that's what we paid.

The second bill came in and was still screwed up. They were billing us for the past due amount from the previous month, which was actually the exact amount of credit we were supposed to be receiving PLUS they still hadn't adjusted our HBO credit for the current bill. I called in the evening and spoke to someone and together we laid out the bill and they gave me my new total which was something like $40.55. And the next evening, I paid that bill.

When the third bill arrived, it was for $117.06 they were still charging us for HBO (which the last person said be sure to cancel before July 7th so I wouldn't be charged another month) and they were showing we owed a past due amount from the previous bill (bill #2). My husband was so angry he called them and when the girl on the phone (again, in a foreign nation) refused to do anything about it, he told her we were cancelling. I believe the date of this call was June 21st.

When my husband mentioned cancelling service, the very first thing the female customer service rep (named Vanessa) said was that they would have to charge a cancellation fee because we had a contract. That's when my husband lost it. We never signed a contract. I was specific with Dish from the very beginning, even reiterated it through the guy who installed the service, we would not sign a contract.

Remember as I mentioned earlier, they charged our credit card $49.99 when we first ordered service and we did that to avoid a contract. Because the rep kept insisting we signed one, my husband got angrier and hung up. The phone rang on our end and I picked up and it was Vanessa at Dish again. And then she proceeded to insist to me that we had a contract. I told her I don't know what crap they were trying to pull (and I was being as nice as I could) but we signed NO contract. I said "and I have proof, I have paperwork and I have the $49.99 charge on our credit card for the activation fee that was charged at that time for those who opted out of a contract".

You know what she says? Instead of "one moment let me check that out for you" she just blurts out that everyone gets charged an activation fee. And then she continued to go on and on about how much we owed. She did finally admit we didn't have a contract but I found it very unprofessional of her that she blurted out they would charge us a cancellation fee rather than looking at our record to see we had no contract.

I was so disgusted with her I said "get me to the person who can cancel us" and I spoke to Sabrina who was so nice and in ten minutes she had not only reviewed our bill and admitted their errors, she credited the bill, added another free month of HBO and now our bill is $57.10, that includes the $44.99 in service, $3.99 for one pay per view movie, and taxes. I asked her "can you assure me that when we get our next bill all the credits will be issued" and she said that the only thing I'd have to call about was HBO and have them credit that. Our HBO is free till August 6th, I am going to cancel it long before that. She told me how to get a hold of her if we have any problems and I plan to do just that.

And by the way, Sabrina did agree that our record showed we did not sign a contract.

Ok now fast forward to Tuesday, January 30, 2007. My husband and I pondered getting rid of the Dish Network service since out of 120 channels we only watched half dozen and it wasn't worth the $53 we were paying each month. I called Dish Network spoke to a lady with broken English (possibly Indian or Pakistani) and I told her I wanted to cancel our service. First thing she says to us is "well ma'am I see you are under 18 month contract and you have only had service with us 9 months which means you will have to pay a cancellation fee"

I insisted to her that we did not have a contract and still she was insistent. I informed her of that twice and then told her that if she checked our account she would see that we voluntarily paid the $40 activation fee on our credit card in exchange for not signing a contract. Her reply was that we had been receiving a $5.99 credit on our bill each month as a refund for the activation fee. I informed her that the discount was NOT related to the activation fee and that I had the copy of the installation paperwork in front of me and we had NOT signed any contract. I also informed her that when I called months earlier I had the same problem with them and that there should be a note in our account that we did not sign any contract.

All she kept doing was insisting I was wrong and finally I asked to speak to a supervisor. I told the male Supervisor that the customer service person insisted we had a contract. He says "Yes I just noticed a comment on your account that states no contract"

I asked him why if he saw that on our account, the previous person did not and he replied that she probably had not scrolled through all of the account screens. I talked to the supervisor who spent the next ten minutes trying to sell me on staying with Dish (this--after ALL the problems we had with them!) and in the end he didn't sell me. He insisted a lesser package would still allow us to keep all our channels including FoxNews. But I didn't bite. He finally transferred me to the cancellation person, she was nice, although it became annoying that she too wanted to sell me more packages instead of just processing my request. She did tell me however that Fox News was NOT offered in the lower package whereas the supervisor had insisted it was. You just have to wonder WHO is telling the truth about anything at that company!

The cancellation rep offered us a $10 credit each month for a year to keep us as customers but I told her that not only did we not watch enough TV to warrant paying for it but that the customer service had been so terrible and the experience so miserable that I would not consider giving them a dime of my money again.

Before we hung up she told me that Dish Network would send us prepaid boxes so we could send back the two remotes, one receiver and the LNB that is on the dish. She said that they had to receive it back within thirty days from the time of cancellation, that cancellation date is February 6, 2007 so we shall see what happens. I have heard that even though people have sent the equipment back, they are still billed for it and ultimately contacted by a collector. Our credit is excellent and we plan to keep it that way. Therefore we will make sure that the package is insured and has a tracking number. Also, if they do not send us the prepaid boxes promptly we plan to pack them up and ship them at our own cost. We will do what it takes to take care of our responsibility, I just hope they live up to theirs. If they try to pull a fast one we plan to take them to court because we will protect our credit at any cost.

I should have listened to the people who warned me about Dish Network. I should have really considered the complaints I had read about them. Instead I thought perhaps my experience would be different. It has been a nightmare. They should be investigated, sued, whatever it takes to either change their business practices or put them out of business.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Feb 07, 2007 4:38 am EST

I can see I'm not alone in my dissatisfaction with Dish Network's customer service. First off, understanding their reps is a large barrier (curse outsourcing to foreign countries).

Secondly, their agents and technicians give conflicting information: a technician told me I could get rid of the $5.98/month DVR service fee if I upgraded to the NEXT package (from the $34.99 to $42.99 package). The agent dismissed me with how that was not true...I had to buy the $89.99 package. Thirdly, being recorded does not seem to produce improvements to the company's communications: As my call was being recorded, the rep gave me information and answered my questions about adding DVR service. At the end he went over all the costs and agreements. In none of that was there a disclosure of a $5.00/month Leased Receiver Fee (I agreed to a one-time $79 for the receiver, plus an installation fee). A call placed to Customer Service netted me a conversation with someone in India who had as much difficulty understanding my questions as I did his answers (except for "sorry," which I heard in every reply). No apologies for incomplete communication, no offer to review the "tape" of my sales call, no concern that I was now in it for the next 18 months without any recourse. They have you by the antenna. I would like to contact their stockholders, but I don't know how to do that. They're the only ones who could put this company's feet to the fire and demand better service for the customers that are keeping them alive. Let's unite.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Jan 29, 2007 7:12 am EST

I had cancelled my subscription with Dish Network because I didn't need it anymore. I had boxed up all of the equipment in it's original box and was prepared to send it back to the company.

It had only been two weeks and one day I had checked my checking account online and they had drafted out 124.00, 2.00, 2.00, and 17.00. I called the company and they said that they had authorization to take it out because I ended my service early. I told them that that was fine since I had ended it early and that was the fee for cancellation. I told them that I had their equipment ready to send out and that I thought it was inappropriate to take my money out without authorization and that they need to send me some sort of notification if ever they done it to someone else. It wasn't 2 days later and they drafted out 400.00 for the equipment charge without notification and left me with a negative balance and overdraft fees. I called yet once again and this time I was not cordial about it. Once again I was told that there was nothing I could do but wait for the money to be drafted back into my account once they got their equipment (5-7 business days) There has got to be something that can be done about this..If anyone knows anything please let me know.

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Dec 27, 2006 8:01 am EST

Dish service was installed in my home and never worked. I called Dish Network several times trying to get it to work with no success.

They sent three technicians to my home to resolve the matter, again with no success. I was told by the last representative that came to my home that I could cancel the service if I was not happy because I was still within my cancellation time frame. I called DishNetwork to cancel the service and was told that I could not cancel without a early cancellation fee. Since June of 2006, I have cancelled this service 4 different times, sent back their equipment and as of December 2006 I am still being charged a monthly fee for something I NEVER received. In addition to DishNetwork still charging my Centurytel account a monthly charge, they are now charging me an early cancellation fee of $186.00. I was told by CenturyTel that they would credit my account for every month I was charged starting from the first month. I have still not received this credit. The point is, I am being charged monthly for a service I never received. DishNetwork has never resolved this matter regardless of the numerous attempts I have made to resolve it. I have taken every effort I know to satisfy the situation with no success. I am taking this situation to legal and am looking for others that have been "screwed" over by the huge corporations like DishNetwork and CenturyTel. It is time to take a stand and stop these companies from taking advantage of the little guys. If you have had similar experiences with either of these two companies and would like to take a stand against them, then write me at RogerEMorgan@yahoo.com

Sincerely,
Roger E Morgan

Valerie
Valerie
, US
Dec 27, 2006 5:59 am EST

I discontinued DishNetwork several months ago and asked them to send me the boxes on three different occasions. They failed to do so. Then they charged my bank account over $500 for the equipment because I didn't return it! When I called them, they acknowledged that they failed to send me the boxes as they should but would not refund me any of the money until they received the equipment. The fact that they are causing me to have to pay overdraft fees is something they couldn't care less about. I am having to pay money for THEIR MISTAKE! The persons I dealt with did not speak English very well. When they told me they would send me boxes for the third time, I asked the person where he was sending them. I live in Alabama (postal abbreviation:AL) He read my address back to me correctly, except for the state, which he recited as Alaska!

L
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Liz Chace
,
Nov 13, 2006 11:31 am EST

We signed up for Dish satellite service on July 17, 2006 after being told by several customer service representatives that we could receive 100% of our money back if we were not satisfied with service, as long as we cancelled within 30 days. When installation was completed, we realized that one of the receivers installed was not correct. We contacted Dish the following day to explain the problem. We spoke to a number of customer service representatives who were unable to assist. Finally we spoke to someone in the accounts specialist department who again explained that if we were not happy, we could receive our money back. We made another appointment to have a different receiver installed and told that this receiver was an additional $199.99 which we paid. The service was awful, cutting out at the drop of a hat for 30 minutes or more at a time. Since we were within the 30 day cancellation period, we contacted Dish to cancel services. We were told that while the supervisor we spoke to could authorize a refund of the $49.99 installation fee and the $183.42 we had paid for the first invoice, we would have to return the receivers to Dish before they could process the $199.99 refund. We did so return the receivers and contacted Dish. They acknowledged that they had received the receivers back and that we would be refunded $199.99 within 7-10 business days. When we did not receive such refund, we again contacted Dish. This time we were told that the refund request was denied but that we could resubmit the request, which we did. The next time we called, we were told that our request had been approved and that we would get our money back within 7-10 days; we were even given the supervisor's identification number that approved the request. When we still did not get our money, we called again and were told that the refund was approved by a "floor" supervisor but denied by a "corporate supervisor". When we the representative that our request was approved by this particular supervisor, he told us he didn't even know who that person was. I have made repeated attempts to contact Dish, including sending them a certified letter which they acknowledge receipt of but to no avail. Dish engages in deceptive and misleading business practices and basically just outright lied to us. We intend to pursue the return of our money to the fullest extent.