View Full Version : $15.00 for "Technician Visit" ?
We just started with Dish.
I'm confused about their billing. Is it right that they charged us $15.00 for "Technician Visit" ?
The add said free installation.
shadough
06-29-10, 09:30 PM
15$ is the standard rate for those who have the protection plan. You'd need to explain a lil more about why you need a tech visit. If theres something wrong w/ the install and your under 90days, the visit should be free. Any seperate issue would be chargable, or any visit outside of 90 days. The standard rate is $90 without the protection plan.
If this was the initial install, then your right, it should of been FREE. Call an complain.
If you were a new customer there should of been no fee. Usually there is a $15 fee for existing customers who have the service plan and have a service call but you shouldn't of been charged being a new install.
If you were a new customer there should of been no fee. Usually there is a $15 fee for existing customers who have the service plan and have a service call but you shouldn't of been charged being a new install.
We are completely new to Dish Network. They had to install the dish etc.
coldsteel
06-30-10, 11:42 AM
There would have been no fee to install. The $15 is the fee for a tech in the future, if you need repairs and are outside any 60-day (not 90) warranty from a previous Tech Visit.
tsmacro
06-30-10, 11:54 AM
The only way you should be charged a $15 tech visit fee is if you had a technician out to fix something after your installation that wasn't covered in the 60 day installation warranty.
finniganps
06-30-10, 01:12 PM
Call Dish and they should remove the charge.
Would someone explain to me why a subscriber should have to pay $90 for a service call or $6.00/mo plus $15.00 for a service call to repair equipment the subscriber does not own but is supplied by Dish to enable Dish to supply programming that Dish can then bill me for? When did they start doing this?
I have been a Dish subscriber for 10+ years and have never paid for a technician to come out. Now I have what I think is a bad switch or mis-aligned dish I am being charged for the call. I was given the option of signing up for a service contract or paying the $90. My other options are Direct TV, Charter Cable, or ATT U=verse.
dcb
coldsteel
07-07-10, 07:18 PM
Dish has charged for techs from the get-go. Some people had the old plan that had free tech visits, but Dish has always charged for techs. if you've never paid one in the past, then you got lucky or had the old DHP plan and dropped it to save $6.
MysteryMan
07-07-10, 07:28 PM
$15.00 standard rate "with" the protection plan?
Dish has charged for techs from the get-go. Some people had the old plan that had free tech visits, but Dish has always charged for techs. if you've never paid one in the past, then you got lucky or had the old DHP plan and dropped it to save $6.
I quess I have been lucky. Still it makes no sense to me why I should pay to have Dish equipment repaired.
dcb
BattleZone
07-07-10, 09:25 PM
I quess I have been lucky. Still it makes no sense to me why I should pay to have Dish equipment repaired.
dcb
It's simple: service calls cost money. You're going to pay for that service call one way or another. It could be "free" (nothing is free), but then your monthly bill would be automatically higher to pay for it. But the sat companies have learned things over the years:
- The cheaper a service call is, the more people will demand one rather than doing the most basic troubleshooting themselves. Things like: putting the TV on the right channel or input, or plugging the receiver back into the power.
- Satellite systems are more complicated than cable, and much more likely to be exposed (cable run on the outside of the house, etc.), making it more prone to damage, accidental and otherwise.
- Customers do lots of things to cause problems with their dish or cabling, and always want a tech to come out and fix it.
So, Dish gives you a 60 day warranty on your installation, or on any paid service call. After the warranty, if you want a tech visit, you have to pay. If you pay for the Service Plan, the tech visit is only $15. If you don't, then the tech visit is $90.
This is *starting* to reduce the amount of customer-caused service calls, though in my area, around 60% of service calls are still customer-caused. Just today, I had 4 of them:
1. Customer put in new flooring, so he cut all of the old cables and dropped them down into the crawl space. He ended up paying $90 for the tech visit plus $90 in additional time (a paid service call covers a max of 2 hours; beyond that, you pay the tech $60/hour) to do a full reinstall in 4 rooms.
2. Customer reported "loss of sat signal." He didn't report moving the receiver to another room, but that's what happened.
3. Customer had a failed HD-DVR. He didn't mention relocating it into an almost air-tight entertainment center, causing the DVR to reach about 175 degrees.
4. Customer reported no picture on their TV2. They didn't report changing the TV to CH4 so the Nintendo would work, nor did they bother to look at the sticker on the back of the remote that said "CH 60" or bother to press the SAT button, which automatically switched the TV back to CH 60. The system notes stated that the customer refused to troubleshoot and demanded a tech.
So, given that Dish has to deal with so many customers like this, who insist on expensive tech visits, they wisely put a system in place so that the people who need the techs are the ones who pay for them, which lowers the cost for everyone else.
Yes, this means that sometimes customers end up having to pay to service failed equipment, but that's actually pretty rare (and still often customer-caused). But that's how satellite TV is.
No "Service Plan" = a $95 Tech visit fee
MysteryMan
07-08-10, 04:47 AM
15$ is the standard rate for those who have the protection plan. You'd need to explain a lil more about why you need a tech visit. If theres something wrong w/ the install and your under 90days, the visit should be free. Any seperate issue would be chargable, or any visit outside of 90 days. The standard rate is $90 without the protection plan.
If this was the initial install, then your right, it should of been FREE. Call an complain.
The standard rate of $15.00 for a service call "with" the protection plan is absurd. I've been a DirecTV customer since 1995 and suscribe to their protection plan. Last week I had my dish relocated and a new LNB installed. The protection plan covered it. No standard rate added. I agree customers should not have to pay the providers to have their equipment repaired but that's the way it is. DISH charging a $15.00 standard rate with their protection plan is nothing more than "nickel and diming" their customers.
SaltiDawg
07-08-10, 05:47 AM
...
4. Customer reported no picture on their TV2. ... nor did they bother to ... press the SAT button, which automatically switched the TV back to CH 60. ...
:confused:
SaltiDawg
07-08-10, 05:49 AM
I quess I have been lucky. Still it makes no sense to me why I should pay to have Dish equipment repaired.
This has been rehashed quite often. Ever lease a car?:)
lparsons21
07-08-10, 06:57 AM
This has been rehashed quite often. Ever lease a car?:)
I have, and what Dish is doing isn't a lease. More of a month to month rental with a 2 year minimum term at a price that can and does vary at the whim of the owner of the property at any time.
Tell me which other lease you know of that changes the per month cost of the equipment you are leasing? And which other lease goes on forever?
I know of no other 'lease' that has terms quite as liberal to the owner and somewhat draconian to the 'lessor'. It is rent, pure and simple and maintenance should be a part of the deal just as it is in most other rentals.
SaltiDawg
07-08-10, 08:02 AM
...
Tell me which other lease you know of that changes the per month cost of the equipment you are leasing? And which other lease goes on forever? ...
Boats, construction equipment, aircraft, autos, Semi tractors.
During the two-year DVR lease term it certainly is comparable to a car lease, not withstanding your denial. Generally at the end of an auto lease you return the vehicle which has a substantial value and years of service-life ahead. A DVR probably has a service life of maybe four years before it becomes antiquated.
Dish certainly could have utilized a different business model wherein they would provide "free" service visits, but at a higher cost. In my case, I'm happy the way it is. I've been a customer for many years and have never paid a dime for a service visit. I guess my costs have been covered by those that complain about paying for service visits.
lparsons21
07-08-10, 09:42 AM
During the two year lease of an auto, the lease terms are fixed both in length and cost. In the case of both Sat providers, that isn't true at all. Or did you forget that you pay more now than just a few months ago for the exact same equipment? If they want to call it a lease, fine. But then make it just like every other lease, for the specified term, you pay the same.
And if it actually was a lease, then you wouldn't pay any equipment cost in the case of owned equipment. Try that on the car lease. Buy the car outright, pay a lease fee 'cause the seller is such a nice guy!! :)
As for those examples of open-ended leases, I'd have to see the contract to believe it. My experience with true leases says fixed term, fixed price.
phrelin
07-08-10, 10:06 AM
I guess everyone understands that Dish Network does not collect "rent" under some leasing agreement. If your own two 722s you pay the same charge that someone who has two Dish-provided 722s. Advantages to owning are limited to such things as being able to open up the box to modify it without incurring some additional cost in the future.
lparsons21
07-08-10, 10:24 AM
And of course, this thread has drifted off a bit, which is par for the course if they go long enough... :)
To the OP, you shouldn't have any tech fee for an installation, only if they come for a repair or some such.
And I'm not against the $15 tech fee as that is cheaper than paying the $95. But even though I've usually kept the maintenance contract, I've seldom had a need to use it.
Yes this thread has wondered off course a bit. The difference being in the car rental scene, that if I rent a new car it has at the least a (3) THREE year bumper to bumper warranty. No cost to me what so ever. With Dish you get (1) year on equipment. This means there should be no $ 90 or $ 15 cost to come out and do a change out or repair to equipment. So Dish is being dishonest in there dealings with the customer. That means if my 722 were to go out within 12 months from the install date there is no charge to me, not a 60 day warranty or 90 day warranty. My warranty in my 722 book says no labor cost for (10) ONE year. That means they can not charge you $ 15 or $ 90 to change out a receiver.
To the OP.
If Dish said free installation you need to hold them to that commitment that they are making to you. If they say they have made a mistake make sure they correct it then and there. If they do not correct it call your credit card company and let them know Dish made an illegal charge to your card. You may have to fight hard with Dish for them to make it right. They do have some less than intelligent folks working for them. You may even have to escalate it to the CEO Charlie.
SaltiDawg
07-08-10, 12:29 PM
... With Dish you get (1) year on equipment. This means there should be no $ 90 or $ 15 cost to come out and do a change out or repair to equipment. So Dish is being dishonest in there dealings with the customer. That means if my 722 were to go out within 12 months from the install date there is no charge to me, not a 60 day warranty or 90 day warranty. My warranty in my 722 book says no labor cost for (10) ONE year. That means they can not charge you $ 15 or $ 90 to change out a receiver.
The main problem with this thread, it would seem, is that people are posting bad info.
I am looking at my 722k and the Warranty is for one year on parts and labor for PURCHASED units. Additionally, "you will be responsible for the cost of shipping back the defective equipment." and also items must be returned with a copy of the Proof of Purchase.
Also in the Manual as a separate item is the Residential Customer Agreement, including the agreement that they may modify that item and upon being notified of said changes, you continued receipt of programming signifies your acceptance of those changes.
Oh yeah, on that leased car you are going to be liable for required preventive maintenance such as Oil Changes, tire rotation, filter changes, etc, etc.
These are the reasons we have lawyers and lawsuits. Bad customer service and companies wanting to make instant changes to there TOS and contracts. All you have to do is look at the mess DirectV is in. Class action suit in California. Then we have Dish being sued by TIVO. The Tivo case is costing us the customer money. Change out this DVR because they can no longer support it. Or when the change is made it will be a lease and not a true swap out. Oh yes lets charge a customer for that free install which is what the original story is about. Also it is a leased unit. Not a purchased unit. I do understand this. But this is only semantics. It is still Dish's unit. So I guess if worse came to worse I could just put it in a box and mail it to Charlies house. Dish is taking in $ 840 Million monthly. They are not likely to give up any of that money easily. If this is a leased unit, then it belongs to Dish and not the customer. Dish can have it back any time. But back to the question in hand. Why is Dish trying to charge the customer for a free install?? A free install is a free install any way you look at it.
Stewart Vernon
07-08-10, 03:07 PM
Let me try something...
Whether you own your car, lease your car, or are currently making payments to buy your car... you still have to pay to drive on toll roads.
Whether you own your Dish equipment or "lease" it, you still have to pay to access the SATs.
Dish probably should call it a satellite-access-fee as that would be a more aptly named fee.
coldsteel
07-08-10, 04:01 PM
Regardless on whether you feel the Tech fee for repairs is 'fair' this has gone off-topic. The OP needs to let us know if they were able to resolve the charge issue. Anything else doesn't matter one bit to the OP's question.
4. Customer reported no picture on their TV2. ... nor did they bother to ... press the SAT button, which automatically switched the TV back to CH 60. ...
:confused:
We call that auto-tune function. If the installer activate it, when the cust press the sat button, it tune back to the right channel.
BattleZone
07-19-10, 07:23 AM
4. Customer reported no picture on their TV2. They didn't report changing the TV to CH4 so the Nintendo would work, nor did they bother to look at the sticker on the back of the remote that said "CH 60" or bother to press the SAT button, which automatically switched the TV back to CH 60.
:confused:
There is a feature on newer Dish remotes called "Sat Auto Tune". It's designed specifically for TV2 remotes. Essentially, the installer programs the remote to the TV, then enters a sequence to tell the remote what the proper TV2 input channel is, typically CH60 or CH73. Once this is done, anytime you press the SAT button, the remote will change the channel on the TV to the pre-programmed input channel.
So, say, if you changed the TV's channel to CH3 to use a VCR or video game, pressing SAT on the remote will get you back to CH60 automatically, if that was the channel the remote was programmed for by the installer.
lbacker52
07-19-10, 01:52 PM
It's simple: service calls cost money. You're going to pay for that service call one way or another. It could be "free" (nothing is free), but then your monthly bill would be automatically higher to pay for it. But the sat companies have learned things over the years:
- The cheaper a service call is, the more people will demand one rather than doing the most basic troubleshooting themselves. Things like: putting the TV on the right channel or input, or plugging the receiver back into the power.
- Satellite systems are more complicated than cable, and much more likely to be exposed (cable run on the outside of the house, etc.), making it more prone to damage, accidental and otherwise.
- Customers do lots of things to cause problems with their dish or cabling, and always want a tech to come out and fix it.
So, Dish gives you a 60 day warranty on your installation, or on any paid service call. After the warranty, if you want a tech visit, you have to pay. If you pay for the Service Plan, the tech visit is only $15. If you don't, then the tech visit is $90.
This is *starting* to reduce the amount of customer-caused service calls, though in my area, around 60% of service calls are still customer-caused. Just today, I had 4 of them:
1. Customer put in new flooring, so he cut all of the old cables and dropped them down into the crawl space. He ended up paying $90 for the tech visit plus $90 in additional time (a paid service call covers a max of 2 hours; beyond that, you pay the tech $60/hour) to do a full reinstall in 4 rooms.
2. Customer reported "loss of sat signal." He didn't report moving the receiver to another room, but that's what happened.
3. Customer had a failed HD-DVR. He didn't mention relocating it into an almost air-tight entertainment center, causing the DVR to reach about 175 degrees.
4. Customer reported no picture on their TV2. They didn't report changing the TV to CH4 so the Nintendo would work, nor did they bother to look at the sticker on the back of the remote that said "CH 60" or bother to press the SAT button, which automatically switched the TV back to CH 60. The system notes stated that the customer refused to troubleshoot and demanded a tech.
So, given that Dish has to deal with so many customers like this, who insist on expensive tech visits, they wisely put a system in place so that the people who need the techs are the ones who pay for them, which lowers the cost for everyone else.
Yes, this means that sometimes customers end up having to pay to service failed equipment, but that's actually pretty rare (and still often customer-caused). But that's how satellite TV is.
Simple?Uh yeah right,if I were renting(leasing you a house and theAC went out,you would be calling me post haste to get it fixed 'you certainly wouldn't pay for getting it fixed:nono2:
coldsteel
07-19-10, 04:32 PM
Simple?Uh yeah right,if I were renting(leasing you a house and theAC went out,you would be calling me post haste to get it fixed 'you certainly wouldn't pay for getting it fixed:nono2:
Most lease contracts have the lessee paying for all required maintenence. Be happy that Dish offers a discount. :nono2:
$15.00 standard rate "with" the protection plan?There are actually two plans. One grandfathered plan has no deductible and the new has a $15 deductible.
SaltiDawg
07-19-10, 05:56 PM
There are actually two plans. One grandfathered plan has no deductible and the new has a $15 deductible.
Harsh,
I've had the plan since I became a customer many years ago. I may have fouled up, but I was not grandfathered and I am supposed to pay $15 for a service call.
I've had the plan since i became a customer many years ago. I may have fouled up, but I was not grandfathered and I am supposed to pay $15 for a service call.I signed up on the Digital Home Plan which has been grandfathered to the "Service Plan (0/0)".
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