i have a pre-paid dish satalite service...i tried to turn my sattalite on and downgrade my programming and they keep telling me i owe 104.00 dollars ...but it is pre-paid, meaning i pay in advance for service and i do not owe them anything if the service is turned off ...i tried to tell them this, but they insisted i must pay them 104.00 dollars for the larger package and then and only then can i downgrade ..how can i owe them 104.00 if i am a prepaid customer..i was on the phone and computer for over an hour trying to explain this and they could not understand the concept of what pre-payed in advance meant and kept trying to soak me out of 104.00 dollars for service i did not recieve!!!.. HERE IS THE CONVERSATION I HAD WITH THERE AGENTS TODAY..4/8/2011 IVE REMOVED MY LAST NAME FOR OBVIOUS SECURITY REASONS... IT GOES AS FOLLOWS ...Customer Chat


Chat Transcript

Please wait while we find a representative to assist you...

Welcome to DISH Network Chat.

Marc (ID: DDI): How may I help you today?


edward: i have a prepaid dish and im trying to get a different package than what i have and pay the bill as it is off right now


Marc (ID: DDI): I am sorry to hear that you are having an issue. I'd be happy to resolve that for you.


edward : it wont let me


edward : thank u


Marc (ID: DDI): I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.


Marc (ID: DDI): For security purposes, can you please verify the PIN on the account?


edward : 9ty


edward : 2943


Marc (ID: DDI): You're welcome.


Marc (ID: DDI): Thank you.


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I understand that you are trying to login into your account and you are not able to do that.


edward : i got to log in but it only takes me to the billing page


Marc (ID: DDI): I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.


edward : im trying to downgrade my package


Marc (ID: DDI): I understand that.


edward : from everything pack to americas 250 i believe its called


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I see that your account is not active right now.


edward : right


Marc (ID: DDI): In order to reactivate your account you need to pay $104.99.


edward : so im trying to reacticvate with a different package


edward : its pre-paid


Marc (ID: DDI): I do understand your concern Edward.


edward : so i dont owe anything when it gets turned off as i pay in advance


Marc (ID: DDI): But if you want I can take a payment for you.


edward : will that change the service package and get it back on?since its prepaid


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I would like to inform you will not be able to login as you need to pay the amount.


edward: i dont want the everything pack and dont want to pay 104 if im not getting the everything pack


Marc (ID: DDI): Once you pay your bills then only you will be able to login.


edward : i can login to my dish account online


Marc (ID: DDI): I understand that.


edward : i dont have a bill, its prepaid


edward: iim not going to pay 104 if my package i want cost less


Marc (ID: DDI): I do understand your concern Edward, but you did not pay your bills of 03/24.


edward : its PRE-PAID...I PAID FOR THE SERVICE IN ADVANCE...SO THERE IS NO BILL OR BALANCE ...ITS A PRE-PAID DISH SATALITE


Marc (ID: DDI): May I know which package do you want to add by removing America's Top 250.


edward : i thinks it the one for 60 without movie channels as i dont use them


Marc (ID: DDI): Okay.


edward : i dont know the name of it..


Marc (ID: DDI): I will let you know.


edward : k


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, America's Top 200 package is $59.99 per month.


edward : i thinks thats it


Marc (ID: DDI): All right, I will add this now by removing America's Top 250 package.


Marc (ID: DDI): I am sorry Edward, its not possible to do that because you need to pay your bills.


edward : ii dont have a bill that bill was in case i wanted to keep my service going in advance..i was paid up..the 104 was for the following month that i did not get service


Marc (ID: DDI): I see that your bill generated on 03/24/11, as you are a Pay in Advance customer you need to pay this in advance.


edward : pre paid..pay in advance


edward : i know but i dont want the 104 package


Marc (ID: DDI): But you did not pay your bills in advance that is why your account is not active.


edward : i want the 200 package and pay for that, not the 104 package


edward : yes i did pay in advance..its a pre-payed service


Marc (ID: DDI): I understand that Edward, but once you pay your bills then only we can change your package.


edward : i dont have a reg sattalite servece


Marc (ID: DDI): Okay.


edward : its not a reg dish sat servive


edward : sry, typeing to fast, spelling off


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I got your point and would like to inform you that once your pay your bills then I will downgrade your package and you will see these credits in your next statement bill.


Marc (ID: DDI): But as of now you need to pay minimum of $104.99 to reactivate your account.


edward : i dont owe a bill, its pre-paid i pay for my service in advance, so why is there a problemm, i dont understand why i owe a bill for service i did not recieve


Marc (ID: DDI): I see that your last payment made was on 03/01 and your balance due date was 03/24.


Marc (ID: DDI): But you did not pay your bills in advance as the balance due date is over.


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, could you please tell me when your bill generation date?


edward : yes if i wanted the service from 3/24-4/24 i would have paid for 104...but i didnt not want the service for that time so i did not pre-pay...


edward : i ussually paid by the 22 of each month


Marc (ID: DDI): Okay.


Marc (ID: DDI): May I know if you had paid your bills 24th of this month?


edward : i did not pay anything for the dates 3/24-4/24


edward : as i pre-pay so i dont have a bill


Marc (ID: DDI): As you did not pay your bills of the bill generation date of 03/24 in advance so your account has been disconnected.


edward : i dont have a bill, its pre-paid


edward : what is so hard to understand its pre-pay


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, prepaid means Pay In Advance.


Marc (ID: DDI): So every month you need to pay your bill in advance.


edward : yes i knothats why i shouldnt have a bill for service i didnt get


edward : i did pay in advance!


edward : ive had pre-paid for yrs


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I am sorry I could not get you.


Marc (ID: DDI): Could you please be more specific?


edward : ok


edward : lets say i want service from say the first of april till the first of may..i would pay on the first of april for that service


edward : then at the first of may if i dont want service for may, i dont pay


edward : until i want the service agian i call and pay agian


edward: im not a billed customer, im a pre-paid customer


edward : i got a pre-paid sat so i dont have this kind of problem


Marc (ID: DDI): All right. I understand that you want to discontinue the services with Dish.


Marc (ID: DDI): Am I correct?


edward : no, i never said that


Marc (ID: DDI): Okay.


edward : i want to reastart the servive with a smaller package as a pre-paid customer like ive been


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, do you want the services to be continued now?


edward : yes with a smaller package that i wpould pay in advance for right now, but not the 104 that I DO NOT OWE


edward : AS I DID NOT RECIEVE SERVICE FOR THAT 104 THEY ARE TRYING TO CHARGE ME


Marc (ID: DDI): I understand your concern, as I told you earlier you need to pay the minimum balance of $104.99 in order to reactivate your account then only we will be able to change your programming. And once it downgraded the amount which you will be paying now for America's Top 250 package will be credited back in your next bill.


edward : BUT THATS WHY IM DOWNGRADING CAUSE I DONT WANT TO PAY THE 104 RIGHT NOW AS I DO NOT OWE THAT...I OWE NOTHING TO DISH NETWORK..SO I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY 104, I SHOULD HAVE TO ONLY PAY THE AMOUNT OF THE PACKAGE I WANT AS IT IS PRE-PAYED


edward : ITS COMMEN SENSE


Marc (ID: DDI): I am sorry Edward, I do understand your concern and I wish I could do this for you but you need to pay this bill in order to reactivate it then only we will be able to have any access on the programming.


edward : I DONT OWE A BILL!!!ITS PRE-PAID!! I OWE NOTHING TO DISH..WHAT IS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND????


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, I request you to pay your bills now first in order to activate your account and then you can change the programming package.


Marc (ID: DDI): Edward, may I know if you have paid your bills in time?


edward : IM TRYING TO START NEW SERVICE THATS ALL


edward : YES I HAVE, IPAY THEM IN ADVANCE SO YES THERE ON TIME


Marc (ID: DDI): I am sorry to hear that. Please be online while I transfer your chat to Loyalty.


Marc (ID: DDI) has left the session.

Please wait while we find an agent from the (20) Loyalty department to assist you.

edward pew: UNLESS I DONT WANT SERVICE.LIKE BUYING MINUTES ON A PHONE


Thank you for contacting the Customer Loyalty Helpdesk, I will be handling your request today. Please give me a few minutes to review the agents previous chat so that I can help you with your issue.

Brian (ID: LR9): Thank you for your patience Edward, we have been very busy today but I will make sure your issue is taken care of in a timely fashion.


edward : TY


Brian (ID: LR9): Thank you for holding. I'll be with you as soon as I can.


edward : K


Brian (ID: LR9): Your patience is greatly appreciated.


Brian (ID: LR9): Hello, Edward. Thank you for holding. As I am reviewing the previous chat session I see you are looking to downgrade the service. I'd be happy to assist you. Upon review of the account service is interrupted based on no payment. You are set up on a pay in advance plan, therefore we would need to collect a payment of $104.99 to restore service. Then we can downgrade the programming. Did you want to make a payment with me today so I can continue to assist you?


edward : -I DIDNT WANT TO PAY 104 FOR SERVICE I DIDNT RECIEVE, , I WANT TO PAY THE AMOUNT OF THE PACKAGE I WANT TO RECIEVE FOR THIS MONTH.I SHOUD NOT HAVE TO PAY 104 FOR WHICH IS MORE MONEY THAN I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR A LESSER PACKAGE AS I DONT HAVE A BILL..IM PRE-PAID AND THERE TREATING ME LIKE I AM A BILLED CUSTOMER, WHICH IM NOT


Brian (ID: LR9): I apologize but you are not a pre pay customer. You are a pay in advance customer. The service need to be paid upfront at all times.


edward : PAYED 9IN ADVANCE IS PRE-PAYED


edward : IT IS PAYED UP FRONT


Brian (ID: LR9): You would have needed to contact us prior to the interruption to make the change. Since the interruption has taken place you will need to pay for the amount of $104.99.


edward : THAT MAKES NO SENSE, WHY SHOULD I PAY FOR SOMETHING IM NOT GETTING...


Brian (ID: LR9): Did you want to make a payment of $104.99 with me today?


edward : I WANTED TO PAY FOR A NEW PACKAGE, NOT PAY THE AMOUNT OF A PACKAGE I DID NOT WANT


edward : OR GET


edward : BASICALLY START OVER


Brian (ID: LR9): I apologize there's nothing more we can do without a payment.


edward : AS IVE BEEN A PAY IN ADV CUST FOR YRS


Brian (ID: LR9): Was there anything else I can assist you with?


edward : SO I HAVE TOPAY 104 FOR SOMETHING IM NOT GOING TO GET?


edward : HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE SINCE I OWE DISH NOTHING?


Brian (ID: LR9): You would have to pay $104.99 to restore service. Then we can downgrade the programming and you would have a credit applied towards next months bill.


edward : AND JUST WANT TO DOWNGRAND AND PAY FOR THAT


Brian (ID: LR9): You would have to pay $104.99 to restore service. Then we can downgrade the programming and you would have a credit applied towards next months bill.


edward : THATS MAKES SO SENSE AND I FEEL LIKE IM BEING SCAMMED BY DISH NOW, IVE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM WHEN IVE UPGRADED OR DOWNGRADED BEFORE WITH DISH IN THE PAST AS A PAY IN ADV CUSTOMER


edward : THERE TRYING TO GET MONEY OUT OF ME I DONT OWE THEM


Brian (ID: LR9): Again if you do not make a payment there's nothing more we can do.


Brian (ID: LR9): Did you want to make a payment?


edward : NO


Brian (ID: LR9): Ok.


Brian (ID: LR9): Was there anything else I can assist you with?


edward : I DONT THINK I SHOULD HAVE TO PAY 104 FOR NOTHING IM GETTING


edward : NO


Brian (ID: LR9): Thank you for contacting DISH Network, have a great day.


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S

A dish net work tech. came to my elderly mother door and convenced her to sign up for dish TV.She Finally agreed. the tech. installed dish network equipment and he was gone. every thing was fine until my mother could no longer afford here 29.00 package. So she decided to cancel her subscription (ONE DAY EARLY). Nothing was said at the time of cancelation about a early termination charge. a few months past and she recieved a notice that she was being sent to collections for 800.00 .She was unaware of the fee because the tech. signed her name on the contract. It went to collections and after many months of arguing with the collection agency my mother (w/o my knowledge) agreed to pay 800.00. She paid several years and fianlly got it paid off.Jump to 4/5/2011 I was checking here credit report and thine line is still on the report.only now they are stating thaht she is in default to the tune of 1069.00. What can I do???? has anyone had the same expirence??? Can someone help me????

After completing a two year contract with the company and still choosing to stay with them for an additional 10 months and 19 days i called and tried to see what they would offer as a price incentive to stay with their company. They offered to take an additional $5.00 off of our monthly bill for the next 6 months. We were paying over $76.00 a month for the smallest package they had available and after explaining this to them they then offered to take off the $5.00 for the next 12 months. Not surprisingly I was unpleased with their offer so we switched to a different company with more channels and perks for less money. Now of course i understand that this is a promotional incentive and only good for a year however i have more faith in our current company trying to keep our service by working with us to keep our current package at a reasonable rate. After canceling with dish and the csr assuring us that the fees in order to send the equipment back to them would be waived we got the boxes and were shocked to find out it was going to cost us $15.00 per box to ship their equipment back to them. So I call and the csr says to let her check and make sure that they noted the account that the fees were going to be waived, and guess what unfortunately it was not and according to her supervisor and several other csr's they do not waive those fees. So riddle me this batman, if they do not ever waive those fees then why were we told they would and why would the first csr check to make sure the account had been noted correctly stating that the fees were being waived if they never do that. Seems to me if they never do that then there would have been no reason for it to be noted in the account?????? correct. At any rate much happier with our new company and plan to stray as far away from dish network as possible in the future. Customer service seems to be a greatly forgotten thing of the past in this wonderful new age, a terrible shame.

My dish network account is authorized to automatically withdraw $55.67 service fee monthly from my bank account. Early this month my computer repairman commented there was no HD reception on local channels as called for in my contract. On calling dish I was told a service fee of $95 would be charged for a technician to check it. When I responded I had never received HD on locals as contracted for the agent agreed there would be no charge. After the tech came he said in order to get HD on locals a dish would have to be placed on the mid front of the roof facing the street. I did not choose that unsightly placement and our homeowners' regs don't allow such. Checking online for pending charges, I found a charge of $155.67 was scheduled. I immediately contacted dish asking they cancel the pending charge. Instead, $155.67 was withdrawn.
I've called for correction almost daily since and repeatedly was told the matter had been settled.
Today, after speaking to 4 agents without satisfaction I was refused access to a manager. Dish has $100 of my money and is refusing to either return it or cancel my contract without further "charges".

1. Fee increases
When I signed up with Dish Network, I was told the first 12 months for 120 channels is $24.99. Four months into the contract, they increased the price to $31.99. The reason: their cost increased. I called them they asked to read the contract: it said the price subject to change. But when I talked them on the phone they told me the price is $24.99 that is good for 12 months. This is a company they are extremely greedy. I think the best person can be represent them is Bernard Madoff.
2. Signal loss
Some channels are consistently "complete loss" or "partial loss", I called their technical support hotline. Their staffs were not well trained. After more than 6 months, their technicians came and found out the receiving dish was not installed properly and was not aligned with the satellite! No wonder I consistently had so many channels not available. I spent hundreds of hours trouble shooting. For Dish Network, in order to have their technician to check whether their installation is correct or their equipment is working properly, they asked me to pay the technician visit. How ridiculous!
Even their technicians found their dish pointed to wrong direction, I paid fees and increased fees without getting the services I paid, they did not even say a sorry to me. During the trouble shooting, one of their representative said since I had bad service, she would waive one month fee for me. But when my bank account was still charged, I called them, they said nobody said that!

If you don't want headache, if you don't want to spend hundred hours for trouble shooting, if you don't want your friends waiting for you to change the channel found out "signal loss", if you don't want to see your bill increase but you have no right to cancel, if you don't want to have nightmare, STAY AWAY from DISH NETWORK.

Even after their technicians re-installed the dish, the signal is very bad. Every time, if I change a channel, it will take about 10 second to have the new channel show up. They told me it’s “normal”. This is a company they really don’t care how you feel, they care about how to get more money from you as Bernard Madoff.
Dish Network = Bernard Madoff