Canceling Dishnetwork contract

Ron & Dee · 10-03-2010, 09:50 AM

Has anyone tried to cancel their Dish Network contract?

Did they give you a hard time?

My contract was supposed to be a 24 month at $19.97 + tax and fees ($34.20), but now after one year they have raised it to $51.12

I called and they said the $19.97 was only discounted for the first year. I have read my contract over and over and no where in the contract does it say that.

What would you do?

Thanks,

Ron

doc · 10-03-2010, 07:03 PM

Chances are when you tell them you want to cancel, you will be offered deals that they would never give an established customer. We cancelled Dish and got Direct and after about 2-3 weeks we had a "we want you back" letter and then a couple of phone calls. These offers were better than they offer a brand new customer.

**RickO** · 10-03-2010, 07:30 PM

What I would do (assuming I was ready to go through the hassel of switching to DTV) is call them and tell them I was out of there since THEY broke the terms of the contract. I thinks it's probably true that you'll get deals offered to you... but, it would be surprising if their lawyers hadn't somehow worked the increase into the fine print.

Rick

Rick Long · 10-03-2010, 07:31 PM

Fax them a copy of your contract and keep paying the $19.95. If you stop paying anything then YOU'RE in breech and they'll add on attorney fee's + + + +

TXiceman · 10-03-2010, 07:36 PM

The standard offering from Dish and Direct is a really cheap rate and in the fine print the rate is for only one year and the rate goes up during the second year and it is a two year contract. I doubt if you can break it even spending a lot of money on an attorney. You signed a contract and need to follow through unless you can prove they have breeched the terms.

Ken

JeepTJ5 · 10-03-2010, 08:10 PM

If you call Dish and start out by telling them you want to cancel, and then let them try and talk you out of it, you can usually improve your deal. I have done it 2 times so far, and both times I have gotten discounts and reductions. You have to be persistent and argue as much as you feel good about. You may have to agree to service reductions, I gave up a third receiver because the DVR fees have skyrocketed because they lost the suit with TIVO. Give it a try, you have got nothing to loose.

powderman · 10-03-2010, 09:09 PM

TXiceman has it right. The 2 year contract is a reduced rate for the first year, and regular price for the second year.

Me n Slowpoke · 10-03-2010, 09:17 PM

I have had service with dish since 1998, had 2 receivers, 1 dvr. Got a call one day and asked if I wanted to turn in the 2 receivers and get a HD-dvr for two tv's, with a $10 month discount that would cover the HD for 1 yr. Why not,, well they forgot to tell me and I forgot to read the paperwork the installer gave me but it said 2 yr contract. Prior to that I was on a month to month. I really do not like the set up for the two tv's so I called and asked about them returning my 2 receivers and taking the HD back. That is when they advised me of the 2-yr contract and should I want to follow thru then I would need to pay the equilevant of $23.75 for each month remaining in the contract. So, I will keep Dish until Dec 8, 2011 and then I will make a change to Direct. They are ok with whatever decision I make as long as they get the $23.75/mo for the remainder of the contract all at once should I cancel. Being a long time customer doesn't make any difference.. seems that every good deal has hidden challenges and we need to pay more attention to contracts
Helen

Ron & Dee · 10-04-2010, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by powderman

TXiceman has it right. The 2 year contract is a reduced rate for the first year, and regular price for the second year.

I can not find that anywhere in my contract even though they say that.

Direct TV will give us $200.00 to sign up with them again which will cover the $198.00 I will owe Dish to break the contract.

We only use Dish for our MH, one receiver, lowest package. Looks like I'm going to spend a lot of time on the phone talking to someone I can hardly understand

Ron

LindaH · 10-04-2010, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron & Dee

I called and they said the $19.97 was only discounted for the first year.

That's pretty standard for new customers...a "teaser" rate for the first year, and then you pay the full price thereafter.

We're on the same deal with Dish Network...$68.38 for the first year, and then it goes to $81.38 starting with Year 2.

Spikester · 10-04-2010, 04:17 PM

When you call Dish customer service and get someone at the outsourced service center ask to speak to an "account specialist", they will transfer you to a stateside location and a Dish Network person that is super knowledgeable about all the services, contracts, specials and etc. that are available through Dish. As an example they can do things like set up annual payment plans for the various standard, premier, and HD channel packages, and all sorts of other things that the front end "customer service reps" at the out-sourcing center do not even know about, or that you do not hear about. For instance an annual payment program for a channel/service package costs a little over what you would pay for 10 months of service on the monthly payment plan. Anyway after talking to an "account specialist" you generally go away feeling like you have talked with someone that has looked at all the available options, you may not get the answer you were looking for, but it was not because someone didn't try help you.

Spike

Ron & Dee · 10-05-2010, 03:39 AM

Finally after several days of polite, persistence, and patience, pays off

The first day I called was they day my wife wanted to know why our Dish bill had increased from $34 to $51. The first person I talked to was one of those you can never understand

So I ask to speak to her supervisor, since she could not help me with my disputed contract. I was put on hold; I waited and waited and waited, heard several clicks on the other end but no one ever answered so I gave up.

Yesterday started out the same way with the first person and the second person I talked to, was not able to help me with my disputed two year contract.

After almost an hour of being on the phone and being put on hold, which seemed like hours

, I was finally connected to a person with a little more authority. At first he tried to say the same thing that the others said about the two year contract, that the discount was only for the first year, and that should have been explained to me when I signed the contract.

I politely told him that I had the contract in front of me and no where on the contract does it say that. It only stated that I will pay $19.99/mo for two years. After several minutes he came back and said he would change the billing back to the original, $34/mo

There was also a $6.00/mo maintenance fee that was free for the first six months and then I would be charged for it for the remainder of the contract. That also was not in my signed contract.

Ron