DISH NETWORK

The price seemed competitive, but when reading the fine print, I learned that the price was only good for 1 year, but a 2 year contract was required.   We got an installation window of 12 - 5 pm, six days after we called.  The installer arrived at about 4:30 pm, then complained that this would be an 8 hour installation, and did a temporary thing to get it working until someone else came back to fix it.  the next day, the system stopped working.  I called Dish and they told us that they would have someone come out the next week.  When the next installer came out, it took him close to 4 hours to permanently install the dish, burry the cable, run it along side the wall, and replace the part that caused the system to stop working.  They also told us there would be a $50 charge because they sent an installer out.  They said this was because I switched two of the receivers.  (I asked for the main unit to be installed in the living room, it was install

ed in the master bedroom, but it was noisy and very warm, so I moved it downstairs and replaced it with a joey).  Everything worked fine for hours after that.

I also later learned that in order to qualify for the price that they quote you, you have to set up automatic debit on a credit card, and you have to agree to receive newsletters by email.

And when i called to complain and said that I'd be more than willing to cancel, the customer service rep was quick to point out that there would be an early termination fee of over $400.  Even though we had service for less than 48 hours at that time.

So, while the picture quality is a little better than Uverse, and the fact that it automatically records all the network primetime shows, and has some neat DVR features, I would still rather have AT&T's customer service and not have signed a 2 year contract.  I will never sign a contract if i could help it.

I hate Dish Network. We discontinued our service with Dish Network because they damaged my roof and caused a leak in my ceiling in my house with severe water damage upstairs. We needed to get our dish moved due to loss of signal. They should not have moved it on our roof because our roof was so old, but they did anyway. We filed a claim and we had an adjuster come out and he said it was due to the old roof. I told him we never had problems until they moved the dish. They refused to pay anything so I told them to disconnect my service. I got Direct TV instead. My dish was not grounded so if a bolt of lightning were to have hit that dish my house would have exploded. The idiot who put it on there in the first place did not ground it. Direct TV noticed that when they came to install our new dish. We had been customers for 8 years. It was not cost effective to lose us as a customer. I tried to negotiate with them and they refused to do it.

On March the 7th I called to cancel with them. They said I had 30 days to get the equipment back to them or they were going to charge me for it. They wanted me to send the HD receiver, smart cards, 2 remotes and arm to the satellite. I waited a week and never received a box so I called again to have another box sent to me. It took a total of 2 weeks until I received the second box (2 boxes were sent total). I have been receiving calls from them asking why I am leaving their service and they were offering me $300.00 to keep the service. They even sent checks for $300.00 in the mail to cash and get you to join their service. Finally I received a threatening phone call that if I did not send back all the equipment and boxes in the next 7 days that they were going to start charging me for them. They were also demanding to know who I switched my service to and if I had signed a contract.

They charge me about $70 a month and so far it has gone well. I have two receivers for my tv. I don't have the top tier but I do have the second tier. They don't have the FOX business channel, which I thought they did. The service is good, a little trouble when there is a storm, they block it for a few minutes but it is probably more reliable than the cable around here. I think the price is probably the going rate. I put up the antennae myself and did the wiring. I did get upgraded, which they came out and did. I had a receiver fail, which I sent back and they sent me another one. I think we would use them in the future, but I'm not sure about the switch to digital. If I have to switch packages to get my HD, I might just switch companies. When I look at the high resolution on these programs, its really nothing I watch, mostly movies. If my sensor has the high resolution I don't see the difference. I can still get the local stations. They have come out with a lot of new equipment and nobody has offered to come out and upgrade me or offer it.

They did not charge me for this service because I have a contract with them. They use subcontractors, which I do not agree with. I had four different people come out for this problem. They were never on time. They also gave me a big window of time when they would show up, and they were still late. The first three people could not fix the problem. After the first three people failed, they suggested that I return my DVR box and get it replaced. The fourth man was actually able to fix the problem, however I do not think it should take four people to fix a simple problem. Also the telephone support service is not very good. They are just not a very professional company. I will not use them again in the future.

If I didn't already have a contract with Dish when I moved here, I wouldn't not choose dish. Installation requires an unsightly dish, plus messing around with your prewiring for cable, this later affects things like cable internet, no local weather and when the weather gets bad, the signal goes out. Poor customer service website.

As long as the service works, it's fine. However if you ever need any service, the techs they will send out are subcontractors, they are not well qualified, rude, & unprofessional. Having any small service fixed is a major hassle. I am looking for another Satellite or cable service.