Raymond255
04-22-09, 04:21 AM
Sorry if this is a long story and TMI…
I spent most of 2007 and all of 2008 dealing ill and dying parents in another state. I’m not looking for sympathy I’m just saying that by way of an explanation as to why this has dragged out so long without my taking a more active role in resolving it before now – I had neither the time nor the interest until very recently.
I have two receivers that I own. My primary receiver is a VIP 622, but my problems are with my second DVR receiver. I had a two-tuner 921 that I was using as a secondary receiver in the master bedroom. In late 2007 it started having problems and after going through the troubleshooting process with Dish they agreed to swap it out. In December of 2007 I received a two-tuner 942 as a replacement and I sent back the 921. Because of what was going on with my parents the 942 sat on my bedroom floor uninstalled until February of 2009 when I hooked it up and called Dish to activate it. That’s when my problems started. After a half hour plus on the phone with Dish with them attempting to activate it the tech put me on hold and then came back on the line to tell me that the 942 is no longer supported by Dish and could not be activated. I went with the obvious question “What do you mean you can’t activate it?!? You people sent it to me! It still looks all bight and shiny and new. I have brand new manual and remote to go with it.”
The tech reiterated that it couldn’t be activated and then she claimed that their records didn’t show the swap, didn’t show the original 921 I had, etc. etc.. At this point I was getting a little hot and asked “If you don’t show that I had two receivers then why am I still being charged for a second receiver?” She claimed that I wasn’t being charged for a second receiver, and I asked “what is the item listed as ‘addl rcvr’ on my bill for?.” At that point she had to put me on hold again (we’re now more than an hour into the call at this point). When she came back on the line she said that they could get me a replacement for the 942 and a tech would have to come out and install it and we set up an appointment. In hindsight I’m now not sure what Dish thought they were offering me – whether I was getting a leased receiver or a replacement owned receiver.
A week later the tech shows up at my door and has a single tuner non-DVR receiver to install. He didn't have a two tuner DVR on the truck that he could install for me, so he tells me he can change the work order to a DVR and come back another day. I set up another appointment and send him away.
Meanwhile between work, my first vacation in two years, dealing with my parents’ estate, my taxes, my parents’ taxes, etc. my life gets hectic again and I’ve had to reschedule my installation appointment. I now have an appointment for next week to have something installed, but I’m not sure what. I haven’t had the energy to call Dish back because I know it’s going to be at least an hour on the phone (it’s always at least an hour on the phone with them) and I’ll have to threaten to cancel service to get to a customer retention rep who can give me what I want. Here’s what I want. I want to end up with what I started with – two two-tuner DVR receivers that I own. I also want a refund for the year plus of additional receiver fees that I was charged when the 942 was sitting on my floor uninstalled. Because it was my fault that the receiver hadn’t been installed I had been willing to absorb that cost; now that I’ve found out that it couldn’t have been activated even if I had installed it I’m not as willing.
I realize that some of this isn’t Dish’s fault – the long time span certainly isn’t. But it isn’t my fault either. If the last two years have that me anything it’s that there are some things we can’t control. So now for why I’m here (other than to just vent)… What do you folks think? Should I just give up on Dish and start investigating DirectTV and cable again? Am I being completely unreasonable in what I want? Am I being too reasonable, should I ask for more? Thoughts? Comments?
I spent most of 2007 and all of 2008 dealing ill and dying parents in another state. I’m not looking for sympathy I’m just saying that by way of an explanation as to why this has dragged out so long without my taking a more active role in resolving it before now – I had neither the time nor the interest until very recently.
I have two receivers that I own. My primary receiver is a VIP 622, but my problems are with my second DVR receiver. I had a two-tuner 921 that I was using as a secondary receiver in the master bedroom. In late 2007 it started having problems and after going through the troubleshooting process with Dish they agreed to swap it out. In December of 2007 I received a two-tuner 942 as a replacement and I sent back the 921. Because of what was going on with my parents the 942 sat on my bedroom floor uninstalled until February of 2009 when I hooked it up and called Dish to activate it. That’s when my problems started. After a half hour plus on the phone with Dish with them attempting to activate it the tech put me on hold and then came back on the line to tell me that the 942 is no longer supported by Dish and could not be activated. I went with the obvious question “What do you mean you can’t activate it?!? You people sent it to me! It still looks all bight and shiny and new. I have brand new manual and remote to go with it.”
The tech reiterated that it couldn’t be activated and then she claimed that their records didn’t show the swap, didn’t show the original 921 I had, etc. etc.. At this point I was getting a little hot and asked “If you don’t show that I had two receivers then why am I still being charged for a second receiver?” She claimed that I wasn’t being charged for a second receiver, and I asked “what is the item listed as ‘addl rcvr’ on my bill for?.” At that point she had to put me on hold again (we’re now more than an hour into the call at this point). When she came back on the line she said that they could get me a replacement for the 942 and a tech would have to come out and install it and we set up an appointment. In hindsight I’m now not sure what Dish thought they were offering me – whether I was getting a leased receiver or a replacement owned receiver.
A week later the tech shows up at my door and has a single tuner non-DVR receiver to install. He didn't have a two tuner DVR on the truck that he could install for me, so he tells me he can change the work order to a DVR and come back another day. I set up another appointment and send him away.
Meanwhile between work, my first vacation in two years, dealing with my parents’ estate, my taxes, my parents’ taxes, etc. my life gets hectic again and I’ve had to reschedule my installation appointment. I now have an appointment for next week to have something installed, but I’m not sure what. I haven’t had the energy to call Dish back because I know it’s going to be at least an hour on the phone (it’s always at least an hour on the phone with them) and I’ll have to threaten to cancel service to get to a customer retention rep who can give me what I want. Here’s what I want. I want to end up with what I started with – two two-tuner DVR receivers that I own. I also want a refund for the year plus of additional receiver fees that I was charged when the 942 was sitting on my floor uninstalled. Because it was my fault that the receiver hadn’t been installed I had been willing to absorb that cost; now that I’ve found out that it couldn’t have been activated even if I had installed it I’m not as willing.
I realize that some of this isn’t Dish’s fault – the long time span certainly isn’t. But it isn’t my fault either. If the last two years have that me anything it’s that there are some things we can’t control. So now for why I’m here (other than to just vent)… What do you folks think? Should I just give up on Dish and start investigating DirectTV and cable again? Am I being completely unreasonable in what I want? Am I being too reasonable, should I ask for more? Thoughts? Comments?