Switched to Dish TV

[calico1597]

We've had Direct TV about seven years now, my bill has slowly crawled up to $140/month with none of the sports packages or extra movie channels. I called a satellite TV dealer last Friday afternoon, by 4pm his installer was here changing me over to Dish. I'm locked in for two years @ $75/month. The installer tells me they have many clients who switch back and forth every two years between Dish and Direct to get the best pricing and the newest equipment. We will put the service on hold during the winter months while we snowbird, which will extend our contract to nearly three years.

Today I rec'd an email from Direct asking me to take two receivers to the local Fedx or UPS office to be shipped back to them. I called them and asked about returning the DVR recorder. The gal said it's outdated and they don't want it back. They sure had no problem charging me $10/month for 7 years using outdated equipment!

We will be changing again when the new contract is up!! We have a new 4K TV at our winter home and use OTA channels and it's apps. Our Illinois home has all older tvs.

[zinger1457]

I switched from Dish to DirecTV back in January for the same reason. I am one of those that switch every two years unless they offer a rate close to what the new carrier offers, sometimes they do sometimes not. Surprised you got a DVR to last 7 years, in my experience the hard drives rarely last more than a couple years.

[pb4uski]

I didn't switch. After my first two year term was up I called Dish and told them that I was thinking of switching but if they would offer me the same deal as a new customer that I would sign on for another 2 years.... otherwise... I was gone.

Surprisingly, they agreed. I got all new equipment (it was just after they had introduced the Hopper), including a new dish. Anyway, I essentialy got the benefit without having to actually switch.

Even the local installer guy was surprised.... he couldn't believe it and was concerned that he would not get paid for the install... I had to get him, me and Dish on the line to confirm everything for him.

[CoolRich59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by calico1597 I'm locked in for two years @ $75/month.

Just wanted to flag this. You may think you're locked in, but don't be surprised if Dish disagrees with you.

I can't remember the monthly rate, but I "locked" it in for 2 years with Dish. About 6 months in, Dish increases the rate. I got busy and didn't call, but did a couple of months later when they increased the rate again, I got on the phone.

The rep told me the 2-year lock only applied to me, not to Dish. In order words, their view was even though I had agreed to a certain monthly rate in exchange for a 2-year commitment, their position was they didn't need to honor their rate but I was still stuck for the full 2 years.

Long story short: They wouldn't budge, I canceled. They tried to bill me, I refused to pay. In the end they backed down, but if I were you, I'd make sure you have that rate lock in writing.

[DrRoy]

We can't do either one as we would have to cut down one of the huge trees in the back yard to get sight to the dish. Not gonna do it.

[Midpack]

We went from Comcast (cable) to Direct TV to Dish (satellite) to PlayStation Vue (streaming). Now paying $45/mo on up to 5 TV/mobile devices with cloud DVR, saving about $600/yr over Dish TV - and we had way out of date equipment and a no longer offered bare bones legacy channel lineup or Dish would have cost much more.

[Dawg52]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CoolRich59 Just wanted to flag this. You may think you're locked in, but don't be surprised if Dish disagrees with you. I can't remember the monthly rate, but I "locked" it in for 2 years with Dish. About 6 months in, Dish increases the rate. I got busy and didn't call, but did a couple of months later when they increased the rate again, I got on the phone. The rep told me the 2-year lock only applied to me, not to Dish. In order words, their view was even though I had agreed to a certain monthly rate in exchange for a 2-year commitment, their position was they didn't need to honor their rate but I was still stuck for the full 2 years. Long story short: They wouldn't budge, I canceled. They tried to bill me, I refused to pay. In the end they backed down, but if I were you, I'd make sure you have that rate lock in writing.

Comcast cable agrees with Dish. Back in Feb I agreed to a two year deal and a month later they move one of my channels to a higher tier package. When I called to complain they simply said by law they can do whatever they want with the channel lineup. And that they would be more than happy to move me to the next tier and of course more money. I told them no and I would not renew when the term expires. They don't care. A contract is a one way street with them.

[ncbill]

You can also pay Dish to install an amplified OTA antenna:

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/need...led-dish-will/

https://www.airtv.net/antenna-installation/

[Jimmie]

Dish has way better hardware in my opinion over Directv. I've had both, but been a Dish customer for over 10 years. Love the Hopper/Joey 3 boxes.

Now, having said that, I am getting fed up with all the price increases. i'm paying nearly $160/month. With ER in the near future, I plan to be a cord cuter and cancel Dish at end of year. Will buy Tivo DVR HW/amazon fire tv stick at next Black Friday sale and install OTA antenna. This will drop monthly payment to $40/month for streaming video services, saving me nearly $1500 annually, while still be able to record everything and watch when I wish.

[SheitlQueen]

Generally Direct will give a discount if you threaten to move to Dish. At least in my experience they have.
I was paying $125, now I pay $89 for the next year. When it goes back up, I'll try to
renegotiate again.
Even though $125 is expensive, I don't go out to movies, seldom go out to eat, and don't go out to bars or to party. So I figure $125 a month for entertainment isn't such a bad deal.