Cancelling Service

[houset]

I really enjoyed my last Charlie Chat and hearing the exciting news about HDTV, but I have decided to cancel my service and go with Directv. My factors include 3 main reasons: The promises that never materialize or happen months down the road, The local channels that are available on Directv and not on Dish, and the sports.

I have a couple of questions:

Do I just call Dish and Cancel?
Do I take my equipment down first or after?
Do I sell my receivers with the Access cards in them?

ANy help would be appreciated.

[dennispe]

I went thru the same thing last week.


Do I just call Dish and Cancel?
YES. They will try to talk you out of it and offer something to entice you to stay.

Do I take my equipment down first or after?
Doesn't matter. I took mine down afterwards.

Do I sell my receivers with the Access cards in them?
Preferable but not manditory.

[Cyclone]

Unhook your receivers before you call so that they can't hit them with the "kill" signal. :D In a few monthes when Dish stops sending the kill signal, you might just be able to hook them back up again to see if they can see anything.

[Darkman]

Cyclone - lol - you're bad boy :)

[Mark Holtz]

Depending on your mood, the best time to call is when the DirecTV installer is on the premesis and the equipment is unplugged.

[Bill R]

Unhook your receivers before you call so that they can't hit them with the "kill" signal. :D In a few months when Dish stops sending the kill signal, you might just be able to hook them back up again to see if they can see anything.
DISH is very aware of that "game" and they don't ever stop sending out the "kill" signal on disconnected receivers. You may be able to get programming for a while but eventually they will "hit" it.

[Mike Richardson]

Actually I would let them offer me a bunch of incentives like free months and then just bum off their free months, before the free time ends call to cancel, and keep bumming free months until they won't give you anymore. Then cancel.

[Evil Capserian]

Very well put mike. We should all do this, even if we don't plan on cancelling.

[Unthinkable]

Very well put mike. We should all do this, even if we don't plan on cancelling.

:rolleyes: If everyone abuses goodwill policies like this we can all look forward to paying much higher bills thanks to your greed. This is shameless.

[Mike Richardson]

If everyone abuses goodwill policies like this we can all look forward to paying much higher bills thanks to your greed. This is shameless.

There is nothing legally wrong. A company is offering free service. One has the legal right to take it. Whether or not you think it's moral is up to yourself.

[moedog]

There is nothing legally wrong. A company is offering free service. One has the legal right to take it. Whether or not you think it's moral is up to yourself.

Yeah---rip off a company that provides a useful and much appreciated service!!!! I'm tired of hearing strategies for "getting over" on Dish--and this from a group of people who are huge fans of their service. Just because something is legal does not make it moral! one example of "getting over"---"moving" in order to get channels to which you are not legally allowed. :nono2: :nono2: :nono2: :nono2:

[Jerry G]

There is nothing legally wrong. A company is offering free service. One has the legal right to take it. Whether or not you think it's moral is up to yourself.

Pathetic. I only wish I could be there to see how you feel when you get ****ed over by someone as unscrupulous and immoral as this behavior is.

[Mike Richardson]

I don't come here to listen to the moral police. I come here to talk about DBS.

DISH KNOWS that people take the free months on purpose. It's a RISK that DISH takes to try to get you to stick around. If one got more than two free months then I would be surprised. They would figure it out eventually.

If I was Charlie then I would know full well that some people take advantage of those free month offers to get some free service. I personally don't see it as anything worse than, say, the free PVR510 for a year or two years or whatever deal. Even after two years DISH only makes $120 assuming a $5 fee.

Taking free months isin't even ILLEGAL. "Moving", technically I believe, is illegal.

[Lyle_JP]

"Moving", technically I believe, is illegal.

Even so, those who "move" are generally paying MORE for their network channels than someone receiving a locals package, so how moedog thinks this screws Dish is beyond me.

[Jacob S]

Its probably more about the moral of 'moving' vs. 'taking free months with the intent to disconnect' but I do think one should take all they can get if it is offered to them in a case like this. One would be crazy not to take the free months and perhaps, by the time the free time is up, you will decide to keep the system on. It is a risk that they are willing to take.

[moedog]

There is nothing wrong with taking free months as an incentive for remaining a subscriber. That is what Dish intended with the offer. However, if a person takes the free months with the consious intention of disconnecting (no matter what) when the free months laspe, that is wrong, even if it is legal. Regarding "moving" and Lyle's comment---I was not specifically referring to Dish as the victim here. The fact is, Dish makes money, as Lyle says. For example, take my home DMA, Roanoke. The GM of the CBS affililate, in a newspaper interview some time ago (before LIL was offered here) commented that the Roanoke stations had lost most of the 20% of homes that had sat service at that time as viewers because most of them could no longer recieve local channels. Many of them had legal distants, and some just gave up on network tv because reception is so poor in this mountainous region. Suppose all of those homes with sats (and I know the percentage is continuing to grow rapidly) all continued to view out of market broadcast channels? Where would that leave the 7 local stations and what would happen to local TV service? That is the reason for the regulations that some are so eager to step around. Local stations pay for their syndicated programing according to the total number of homes in the market--not just those that recieve stations on cable or OTA, so they should have a fighting chance of being able to reach all those homes, rather than loosing viewers to stations in, lets say, Peoria or Pittsburgh.

[Steve Mehs]

But what if one could careless about the finances of their local affiliates? Before Buffalo locals were added and my antenna was better aligned, I'd never watch Buffalo channels, I strongly dislike our local channels, I much prefer Rochester or Toronto. The big three Buffalo stations are so obsessed with competing with each other for local news, their news quality has gone down hill dramatically. I try to avoid supporting my local stations at all costs. Main reason why I subscribe to locals is for an extra $3 I get the convenience to DVR NYPD Blue, Third Watch and the CSIs. When the Twilight Zone was on, I always recorded it from one of the supers, never gave my local UPN a second thought. I'd watch The Simpsons on WUHF 31 from Roc, my mom would watch new episodes of 7th Heaven a day before they aired on the WB in the US, I should realign my antenna again one of these days, one thing you'll never see on US locals, The Naked News :D

[Mike Richardson]

There is nothing wrong with taking free months as an incentive for remaining a subscriber. That is what Dish intended with the offer. However, if a person takes the free months with the consious intention of disconnecting (no matter what) when the free months laspe, that is wrong, even if it is legal.

It still doesn't matter if it's wrong. But I would think someone taking the free months would try to keep somewhat of an open mind. If DISH Network suddenly had better PQ or a certain channel you wanted then yeah, reconsider them.

[Unthinkable]

There is nothing legally wrong. A company is offering free service. One has the legal right to take it. Whether or not you think it's moral is up to yourself.

Encouraging everyone else to take advantage and abuse a retention policy offered completely in good faith by a company that isn't obligated to give us anything if we switch is wrong no matter how you try and spin this. Whatever happened to loyalty being a two way street in this world? Subscribers demand the best satellite tv deals available, their equipment for free, their programming reduced or for free and to top it off now want to encourage others to pile on some more and beg for even more freebies with insincere threats to switch with zero intentions of sticking it out for the long haul. That my friend is called completely taking advantage of a situation/corporation to suit ones own selfish needs. Used to be folks appreciated services rendered and wanted to see their providers prosper and grow instead of it being me, me, me.

[Mike Richardson]

Encouraging everyone else to take advantage and abuse a retention policy offered completely in good faith by a company that isn't obligated to give us anything if we switch is wrong no matter how you try and spin this.

No, it's only your opinion that it is wrong. Maybe others have differing opinions. It's what keeps the world interesting.

[Unthinkable]

No, it's only your opinion that it is wrong. Maybe others have differing opinions. It's what keeps the world interesting.

You're right Mike. Everyone should make it a habit of routinely lying to business providers on a day to day business to suit their own selfish perogatives. How foolish of me. Whats wrong with kicking people when they are down right? Whats wrong with fishing through Grandmas purse for money while she's preparing a full course meal for you right? :rolleyes:

[Mike Richardson]

You're right Mike. Everyone should make it a habit of routinely lying to business providers on a day to day business to suit their own selfish perogatives. How foolish of me. Whats wrong with kicking people when they are down right? Whats wrong with fishing through Grandmas purse for money while she's preparing a full course meal for you right? :rolleyes:

You're making too much out of a statement. If you disagree with the statement, too bad. Life moves on.

[normang]

If your going to move, just do it and get it over with..... If and when you find the grass on the other side "really" wasn't greener, and you spent time and probably some $$$ to get new equipment, sell old equipment, possible installation hassles, perhaps new equipment that doesn't work as you expect any any other hassle that you might be able to ponder, then was it really worth the switch..

[Mark Holtz]

If I was in charge of a retention department, I would look closely at A) Payment history, B) Customer history of service, and C) Customer's current service. I'm more likely to try and keep:

* Total Choice Premiere or AT-Everything subscriber than I would a AT-50 or Select Choice customer.
* CC Autopay customer verses statement customer
* Excellent payer verses troublesome payer
* Long time subscriber verses short time subscriber

Both Dish's and DirecTV's receivers are better than what they were a few years ago. I would like to see a equipment trade-in program where you could replace say a Dish 1000 receiver with card with a DishPro 311 receiver. The customer gets better equipment, and you just removed a possible hackable receiver from the market.

[moedog]

You're making too much out of a statement. If you disagree with the statement, too bad. Life moves on.

Yeah Mike---I'm just glad you are in Texas and I'm a thousand or so miles away in VA. If you ever come up this way let me know so I can double check the locks on my doors. Peace

[Mike Richardson]

Yeah Mike---I'm just glad you are in Texas and I'm a thousand or so miles away in VA. If you ever come up this way let me know so I can double check the locks on my doors. Peace

That's just uncalled for! Don't make me out to be a damn crook when I haven't even done anything wrong!

[Mike Richardson]

Both Dish's and DirecTV's receivers are better than what they were a few years ago. I would like to see a equipment trade-in program where you could replace say a Dish 1000 receiver with card with a DishPro 311 receiver. The customer gets better equipment, and you just removed a possible hackable receiver from the market.

I think that's a pretty good incentive for E* to do that (removing hackable receivers). Although I would imagine them replacing a 1000 with a 111. And perhaps one of the better x000 receivers with the 311.