View Full Version : Screwed big time by DISH!!!!
Well, things were going along well with Dish. I just upgraded to a 622 receiver and was enjoying HD on my new HD set. Then today while checking my checking account balance I notice that they have taken $300 from my account! Infuriated, I give them a call.
When asked what the charge was for, they tell me they never received my old receiver even though I sent it to them back in September. I even checked the UPS number and it showed they received the receiver a while back. Thanks to their taking the money from my checking account, I've probably bounced a number of checks. :mad:
This isn't the first time I've had billing problems with them guys. I paid the $199 receiver upgrade fee over the phone but they billed me another $199 the next two months. Each time I had to call and have them remove the fee.
While I love the picture and 622 receiver, I don't think I'll continue with Dish after my contract is up.
This does not apply just to Dish. I would never let a company automatically suck a monthly fee from my bank account. Just for this very same reason. With Dish I always make a one time payment from my checking acoount which is NOT saved in their computers.
kmcnamara
11-09-06, 04:30 PM
Yeah, It sucks that that happened. It's exactly the reason I allow VERY few people to auto-debit my account.
The thing is I never authorized them to auto-debit my account ever!!!!! I pay my bill each month the old fashioned way.
cornflakes
11-09-06, 05:07 PM
DirecTV did the same thing to me when I had to replace a defective R15. They claimed they never got it, and automatically docked my checking account for I think $300. I let them do auto-debit because that was part of the deal on getting my HR10-250 for $100 way back when.
Anyway, I had a tracking number for the package, and after I notified them, they gave me my money back very quickly, and they even paid for my bank's overdraft charges that occured because they took out more than they should've. So it's not just Dish that does this.
icmoney
11-09-06, 05:39 PM
The thing is I never authorized them to auto-debit my account ever!!!!! I pay my bill each month the old fashioned way.
Then how did they know your bank account number and bank routing number? Does it say in some fine print in one of your contracts they have the right to do this? They have to have some sort of authorization or they are guilty of fraud.
Stewart Vernon
11-09-06, 07:38 PM
Then how did they know your bank account number and bank routing number? Does it say in some fine print in one of your contracts they have the right to do this? They have to have some sort of authorization or they are guilty of fraud.
I can't speak to whether or not he agreed to authorize such a transaction... but any person to whom you write a check has your bank account number and routing information because it is printed on the check itself.
Since he says he pays "the old fashioned way" which is incidentally how I pay my Dish bill... then they get a new copy of his bank account info each month!
I can't speak to the authorized or not part, though, since I don't know if he did or didn't inadvertantly agree to such a withdrawal... but them having his info is pretty much a no-brainer.
dishrich
11-09-06, 08:03 PM
This does not apply just to Dish. I would never let a company automatically suck a monthly fee from my bank account. Just for this very same reason.
Neither would I - THAT'S why I use CC auto-pay. At least if they suck something out incorrectly, at least I have not actually PAID them the money yet, not to mention most CC companies will let you NOT pay any amounts that you dispute. ;)
Chris Blount
11-10-06, 05:51 AM
Well, things were going along well with Dish. I just upgraded to a 622 receiver and was enjoying HD on my new HD set. Then today while checking my checking account balance I notice that they have taken $300 from my account! Infuriated, I give them a call.
When asked what the charge was for, they tell me they never received my old receiver even though I sent it to them back in September. I even checked the UPS number and it showed they received the receiver a while back. Thanks to their taking the money from my checking account, I've probably bounced a number of checks. :mad:
This isn't the first time I've had billing problems with them guys. I paid the $199 receiver upgrade fee over the phone but they billed me another $199 the next two months. Each time I had to call and have them remove the fee.
While I love the picture and 622 receiver, I don't think I'll continue with Dish after my contract is up.
Yep. DISH loves to do that. I recently had to return my 508 because the hard drive went bad. I received the replacement 508 and sent the broken one back in the same box and packing material. They received it but claimed that there was a dent in the cabinet which caused the problem. That was absolute bull! The 508 was always safely in my cabinet with no dents.
Luckily, they don't have my credit card or bank account number on file so the $199 charge simply showed up on my bill. I disputed the charge and threatened to disconnect my service. All they offered me was to take half off the $199 charge.
Word to the wise. Whenever you need to return a receiver, keep an eye on your account using the the DISH web site. You never know what they might try to pull.
JimFunk
11-10-06, 12:20 PM
Wow, the admin of this site gets the shaft from Dish. Damn, this does not speak well for the CS of Dish. I would think they would keep their customers happy since there are so many competition.
Chris Blount
11-10-06, 12:32 PM
Wow, the admin of this site gets the shaft from Dish. Damn, this does not speak well for the CS of Dish. I would think they would keep their customers happy since there are so many competition.I deliberately didn't tell them who I was to see what would happen. I was also hoping that I would be able to take care of it without pulling any "strings".
With that said though, when I was on the phone with them, they really did try to make good by offering free programming and such. The CSR's were polite and patient.
I deliberately didn't tell them who I was to see what would happen. I was also hoping that I would be able to take care of it without pulling any "strings".
With that said though, when I was on the phone with them, they really did try to make good by offering free programming and such. The CSR's were polite and patient.
The first CSR was neither polite nor patient. When I asked her who was going to pay the service fees for the bounced checks she flatly stated there's no way Dish would ever pay for those. She seemed irritated that I even called. The second CSR was much nicer but shill refused to reimburse me for any service fees I might have to pay.
Luckily, no checks bounced as a result. My wife got paid today which took care of any outstanding checks. I'm still disappointed in Dish's customer support, so much so that there's no way I'll continue with them after my contract is up. If they had just added the $300 to my bill, then maybe it would have been a different story. But to deduct $300 from my checking account without my permission is unforgivable.
LtMunst
11-10-06, 02:33 PM
But to deduct $300 from my checking account without my permission is unforgivable.
Not just unforgivable...it would be criminal. Under no circumstances can anyone present an electronic check debit to a bank without prior authorization. Another reason I'd bet you did authorize it at some point. I doubt Dish makes it a practice of copying customers checks so they could illegally debit accounts.
Well, things were going along well with Dish. I just upgraded to a 622 receiver and was enjoying HD on my new HD set. Then today while checking my checking account balance I notice that they have taken $300 from my account! Infuriated, I give them a call.
When asked what the charge was for, they tell me they never received my old receiver even though I sent it to them back in September. I even checked the UPS number and it showed they received the receiver a while back. Thanks to their taking the money from my checking account, I've probably bounced a number of checks. :mad:
This isn't the first time I've had billing problems with them guys. I paid the $199 receiver upgrade fee over the phone but they billed me another $199 the next two months. Each time I had to call and have them remove the fee.
While I love the picture and 622 receiver, I don't think I'll continue with Dish after my contract is up.
Have they offered you any compensation or apology, program credits etc? What have you done, besides saying they screwed you, to get credited properly?
They're putting the $300 back into my account, but didn't offer me anything to make up for the mistake.
robert koerner
11-10-06, 06:19 PM
Think I'd switch Dish over to Credit Card payments, and get a new checking account (number) with a small local bank.
Bob
Zero327
11-10-06, 06:26 PM
They're putting the $300 back into my account, but didn't offer me anything to make up for the mistake.
They fix the problem but you want something for the mistake? That's comprable to getting overcharged when you buy something at the store and expecting a $50 gift certificate.... How many are going to do that?
James Long
11-10-06, 06:29 PM
It was a domino effect ... their error caused the customer a loss. Saying oops and correcting their error is only part of the solution. Covering the loss would be a good thing to do.
If I got overcharged at a store and it causes me to overdraw my account I'd be looking for them to pay the fees.
Stewart Vernon
11-10-06, 08:43 PM
Yep... Not satellite related... but years ago I had a company to which I was making monthly payments to pay off a purchase, and they submitted a check of mine twice (2nd time was a photocopy). It bounced for insufficient funds, which is how I found out about it.
A quick conversation with my bank and they saw what I saw that the check # had cleared a month earlier, and this was a resubmission of the same check... I called the company who completely denied any knowledge of the problem since they showed my account paid current and no late payments.
Well, a month later and I get contacted by the company and they are suddenly saying I missed a payment and added it to my next bill. They also "forgot" my previous call wherein I asked what was going on.
Since I knew I was good, and I had all my cancelled checks and statements... I paid the balance off in full (minus their double-charge) and told the lady on the phone that I would love it if she took me to court for not paying that remaining amount because then I could produce my bank records and then we would be asking why they were commiting fraud by resubmitting an already cashed check.
I never heard boo from them again... and I promptly cancelled that credit account after paying it off.
Can't say this is the experience the poster here had with Dish... but I know from personal experience that such a thing can happen... and your best friend is keeping good payment records for yourself (or in this poster's case the record he had of the returned receiver being accepted).
Zero327
11-11-06, 01:31 AM
It was a domino effect ... their error caused the customer a loss. Saying oops and correcting their error is only part of the solution. Covering the loss would be a good thing to do.
If I got overcharged at a store and it causes me to overdraw my account I'd be looking for them to pay the fees.
Touche. But in defense of business, doing the "good" or "nice" thing generally tends to cost. It might frustrate the customer if you don't, but usually if you just fix the error the customer will stay. It makes better business sense to fix the error, apologize for making it and then moving on, not trying to change the customer's opinion after they've already decided they've been wronged. That $50-100 you save, is better spent on the customer you KNOW will leave if you don't rectify a situation or spend some funds.
...Or wasted on the ones faking it threatening to quit to get a free DVR. ...Oops, did I say that out loud?
idlehands
11-11-06, 09:21 AM
If they take money out of your bank account without your consent, would it show up on the statements? They always show you the balance and any previous payments made, but in this case there weren't any payments, but a withdrawl.
James Long
11-11-06, 10:04 AM
Although it isn't the bank's fault, if you don't have a history of going negative and/or bouncing checks you may be able to plead your case with them. There are real costs involved in processing overdrafts, but sometimes the bank will take the loss for an otherwise good customer.
It is always easier to refund money you have taken than to refund more than you have taken and take a loss. Taking E* to court for the overdraft fees would probably cost you more than the fees themselves ... even if you got certified as a class action the lawyers would make more than the injured parties.
Stewart Vernon
11-11-06, 11:37 AM
Yeah, that's the downside... JL nailed it... In a case like this, even when you are in the right... the cost of taking them to court would likely cost you more than you would get as payback of the fees, even if you got some "suffering" money in a settlement.
Zero327
11-11-06, 12:27 PM
Or you can sue in Texas!
calgary2800
11-11-06, 03:29 PM
I hear you on the dish billing problems. I had to literally yell sometimes and be on my last breath for them to treat me fairly with billing. I got used to it now so my blood pressure does go up anymore.
SaltiDawg
11-11-06, 05:43 PM
...
told the lady on the phone that I would love it if she took me to court for not paying that remaining amount because then I could produce my bank records and then we would be asking why they were commiting fraud by resubmitting an already cashed check. ...
Fraud is but one explanation. A mistake is another.
While I certainly agree that the company should have covered any fees, the very notion that anytime someone does something "wrong" entitles you to sue them is ridiculous.
Fraud is but one explanation. A mistake is another.
While I certainly agree that the company should have covered any fees, the very notion that anytime someone does something "wrong" entitles you to sue them is ridiculous.
Actually you can sue anyone at anytime. As for Dish I would go on line to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU in there hometown and state and file a report. I would also contact the state Attorney Generals office in your state and let them know what has happened. Fraud is Fraud no matter what. Dish's billing department knew they were committing an illegal act as soon as they took the money out of your bank account, they knew it was fraud and knew you would not report them.
They knew you paid by a check and not auto-pay and thought they could and did get away with it. As I said if you don't report them they will continue doing it again and again to you and other customers.
Stewart Vernon
11-11-06, 07:22 PM
Fraud is but one explanation. A mistake is another.
In my case it absolutely was fraud... because they had to submit a photocopy of my original check in a special kind of envelope through a specific process unique to banks... and since they had already cashed the check and properly recorded it previously on my account, it was too much effort to be a mere mistake.
In the case of the poster here, I don't know what to think. Could have been a mistake, or not... we don't know if he accidentally (or unintentionally) gave them permission to draft from his account in the event of non-payment. I suspect he did not, but we don't know for sure.
In either case, even if he gave them permission... since they withdrew even after he complied and returned equipment in a timely manner... even if it was a mistake, they should have been willing to cover any bank fees that they created by the "mistake".
If I were in his shoes, I would have expected what he expected.
SaltiDawg
11-12-06, 07:03 AM
Actually you can sue anyone at anytime. ...
Doh. Of course you can. If you believe that to do so were this an honest mistake it reflects more about you than Dish. :rolleyes:
SaltiDawg
11-12-06, 07:05 AM
In my case it absolutely was fraud... because they had to submit a photocopy of my original check in a special kind of envelope through a specific process unique to banks... and since they had already cashed the check and properly recorded it previously on my account, it was too much effort to be a mere mistake. ...
Nonsense. You think a big outfit like Dish would as a matter of policy knowingly resubmit checks? lol :rolleyes:
Stewart Vernon
11-12-06, 10:27 AM
Nonsense. You think a big outfit like Dish would as a matter of policy knowingly resubmit checks? lol :rolleyes:
You did not read my post at all did you?
I very clearly said the problem I related was NOT with Dish.
I was just using it as an example that sometimes things happen with companies.
Also... it may or may not be a company problem... could just be a bad employee that creates such a situation. Doesn't mean the whole company is bad... could be just one bad apple.
SonicBee777
11-12-06, 09:12 PM
(Post 718315)Touche. But in defense of business, doing the "good" or "nice" thing generally tends to cost. It might frustrate the customer if you don't, but usually if you just fix the error the customer will stay. It makes better business sense to fix the error, apologize for making it and then moving on, not trying to change the customer's opinion after they've already decided they've been wronged. That $50-100 you save, is better spent on the customer you KNOW will leave if you don't rectify a situation or spend some funds.
(Post 718117)It was a domino effect ... their error caused the customer a loss. Saying oops and correcting their error is only part of the solution. Covering the loss would be a good thing to do.
If I got overcharged at a store and it causes me to overdraw my account I'd be looking for them to pay the fees.
(Post 717888)The first CSR was neither polite nor patient. When I asked her who was going to pay the service fees for the bounced checks she flatly stated there's no way Dish would ever pay for those. She seemed irritated that I even called. The second CSR was much nicer but shill refused to reimburse me for any service fees I might have to pay.
Zero327: I hope I never have to do business with you, since your words indicate to me that you have a twisted concept of ethics and honesty. If your mistake costs your customer money out of their pocket, then you are ethically and legally obliged to reimburse that customer for those costs.
Suppose a customer pays you with a bad check, and your bank charges you $10 for the bounce. Are you willing to let that customer get by with making good on the original check amount and not reimbursing you the $10 you were charged by your bank, that you paid out of your pocket/profits? By your statement above, you should! Tit for tat.
If you overcharged my account, and that overcharge resulted in overdraft fees to me, I know I have "been wronged." If you reimburse the overcharge AND pay any overdraft charges caused by your mistaken overcharge, I very likely will stay your customer. But if you refuse to pay those charges, caused by your mistake, then you had better "KNOW (I) will leave," guaranteed. "That $50-$100 you save," in your words, would absolutely cost you THIS customer. Where's the "better business sense" in that?
Zero327
11-12-06, 09:26 PM
Zero327: I hope I never have to do business with you, since your words indicate to me that you have a twisted concept of ethics and honesty. If your mistake costs your customer money out of their pocket, then you are ethically and legally obliged to reimburse that customer for those costs.
Suppose a customer pays you with a bad check, and your bank charges you $10 for the bounce. Are you willing to let that customer get by with making good on the original check amount and not reimbursing you the $10 you were charged by your bank, that you paid out of your pocket/profits? By your statement above, you should! Tit for tat.
If you overcharged my account, and that overcharge resulted in overdraft fees to me, I know I have "been wronged." If you reimburse the overcharge AND pay any overdraft charges caused by your mistaken overcharge, I very likely will stay your customer. But if you refuse to pay those charges, caused by your mistake, then you had better "KNOW (I) will leave," guaranteed. "That $50-$100 you save," in your words, would absolutely cost you THIS customer. Where's the "better business sense" in that?
Well legally, no, the bank fees wouldn't be my responsibility but that's water under the bridge (yes I know not for you, but moving on...) Ethical responsibility and legal responsibility are two very differenty things. If a customer paid me with a bad check, and the bank charged me, I'd send the customer to collections, do not pass go. And yes, I would have to pay those fees to the bank in the meantime. The fact that I'm having problems with one business relationship makes NO difference whatsoever to the bank, they want their fees cleared and that's the end of it.
So I would settle up with the bank, and then deal with the customer as a seperate transaction. Now that said, I said it would be a logical thing to "fix the error" which could mean reversing the charge and/or apologizing and perhaps reimbursing the fees (remembering that reimbursing bank costs because you didn't have the funds to cover an overdraft is NOT required, ethical or responsible perhaps, but not required.)
But am I going to sit there, demand for the charge to be reimbursed, demand the fees be paid for me, and then demand something for my "pain and suffering"? Not likely. But then I have the luxury of pre-set requirements to meet so that I pay or don't pay issues based on policy. Honesty and ethics don't enter into it unless I choose to make a decision which deviates from said policy, in which case, it's my decision for better and worse.
I neither condone nor use dishonest or unethical business practices, and my company has quite stringent requirements on said issues. But I also don't issue payments for every complaint received, or send out product to settle differences of opinion. THAT makes no business sense. Even if your fees were paid, there doesn't seem to be any indication that you'd still remain with DISH. Now from a business perspective, what sense does it make to throw money into that situation? I personally weigh cost, with customer service and make a decision which hopefully balances both.
Just a quick update. After being told they would credit my checking account a few weeks ago for the $300, they still haven't. So I give them another call today and they tell me they still haven't received the receiver. Having gone over this with them weeks ago, I'm starting to get angry. She asks for the UPS tracking number, which I give her. After about 10 seconds she tells me it still shows it hasn't arrived. Since I'm sitting at my computer, I pull up UPS, enter the tracking number, and sure enough it shows up as delivered to them. I tell her I've just entered the number into UPS and it shows delivered. I read her the information as well. After about 10 seconds she tells me I should receive the credit on my account in 3-5 days and hangs up on me.
As much as I love my 622 DVR, I'm not sure it's worth putting up with this crap. Is DirecTV's customer service people this bad? If they are I guess it's back to cable for me.
Just a quick update. After being told they would credit my checking account a few weeks ago for the $300, they still haven't. So I give them another call today and they tell me they still haven't received the receiver. Having gone over this with them weeks ago, I'm starting to get angry. She asks for the UPS tracking number, which I give her. After about 10 seconds she tells me it still shows it hasn't arrived. Since I'm sitting at my computer, I pull up UPS, enter the tracking number, and sure enough it shows up as delivered to them. I tell her I've just entered the number into UPS and it shows delivered. I read her the information as well. After about 10 seconds she tells me I should receive the credit on my account in 3-5 days and hangs up on me.
As much as I love my 622 DVR, I'm not sure it's worth putting up with this crap. Is DirecTV's customer service people this bad? If they are I guess it's back to cable for me.Even Charlie has admitted they have a problem with customer service. Question is when will they correct it? How many customers will go to Directv and cable before they get rid of India?
techgirl7
11-27-06, 09:40 PM
they would have your cc# on file from when you upgraded to the 622.. and the fine print of the residential service agreement states that if you're leasing equipment, and it's not returned, they'll charge any cc that they have on file for non-returned equipment. i.e. legal disputes over this issue wouldn't go very far.
On a philisophical note:
I hear people talking about how a $300 error puts thier accounts into jeopardy of overdraft fees and i wonder if personal priorities are where they should be. I am not saying you should not be pissed off, i would be if they tried stealing $10 from me, much less $300, it's the principal.
So many today live check to check because they have to have everything and are in debt and have no savings. If someone keeps their checking balance at less the $50 and there is an $8 error on a $45 balance which causes 10 checks to bounce because of compounding balance errors, should a company have to pay $150 for a small error because how one chooses to keep their balance?
I'm not saying this is your case, or maybe there was some circumstances and this was a one time thing. I dont' know. just an observation.
p.s. my best friend has to buy everything i have or get better and he's not in the position to do so. And yes i give him a hard time about it and tell him to live within his budget, and we are still great friends. Me? not wealthy, not poor, i do ok, have very little debt, a house i can afford and worry if my checking account is ever below $2000.
Stewart Vernon
11-27-06, 10:13 PM
On a philisophical note:
I hear people talking about how a $300 error puts thier accounts into jeopardy of overdraft fees and i wonder if personal priorities are where they should be. I am not saying you should not be pissed off, i would be if they tried stealing $10 from me, much less $300, it's the principal.
To be fair... it all depends on how you manage your money. At one time I had a savings account that paid a lot better interest than my checking... so I kept the majority of my money in a savings account, and just moved money over to cover the checks I planned on writing that week.
It came in VERY handy once when someone tried to cheat me, and the check bounced so instead of being out money I simply had to phone the bank and they immediately knew it was not my fault and all was well and I wasn't out any money for the problem.
Some folks, most folks maybe, live check to check... but others manage funds in such a way that a small overcharge in error can wreck things.
James Long
11-27-06, 10:20 PM
:welcome_s
It is different with a $300 hit than a $10 hit. I try to keep plenty of float in my account but at the right time of month (right as I pay my mortgage) $300 could be trouble. I'm only writing five checks per month which limits the rest of the issue, but four of those checks (mortgage, Dish, cellphone, car payment) are due the same week. (Yes, those checks were written today.)
My savings goes to savings, not checking. Plenty of money there but it is earning interest in savings (and harder to spend because my savings is at another bank - which makes it savings more than another cash source).
Perhaps you should put some of that $2000 in your checking into a CD or other interest bearing account? If I had that sitting around I'd be tempted to make an extra mortgage payment or pay off a good portion of my car and stop paying the interest. If I had $2000 float in my checking and debt I'd be worried! :)
Probably best not to make personal observations about someone else's spending and savings unless you have put the microscope to your own. Glad having debt and a large checking balance works for you.
To be fair... it all depends on how you manage your money. At one time I had a savings account that paid a lot better interest than my checking... so I kept the majority of my money in a savings account, and just moved money over to cover the checks I planned on writing that week.
It came in VERY handy once when someone tried to cheat me, and the check bounced so instead of being out money I simply had to phone the bank and they immediately knew it was not my fault and all was well and I wasn't out any money for the problem.
Some folks, most folks maybe, live check to check... but others manage funds in such a way that a small overcharge in error can wreck things.
See, great point; as I said, was not trying to judge, just and observation.
:welcome_s
It is different with a $300 hit than a $10 hit. I try to keep plenty of float in my account but at the right time of month (right as I pay my mortgage) $300 could be trouble. I'm only writing five checks per month which limits the rest of the issue, but four of those checks (mortgage, Dish, cellphone, car payment) are due the same week. (Yes, those checks were written today.)
My savings goes to savings, not checking. Plenty of money there but it is earning interest in savings (and harder to spend because my savings is at another bank - which makes it savings more than another cash source).
Perhaps you should put some of that $2000 in your checking into a CD or other interest bearing account? If I had that sitting around I'd be tempted to make an extra mortgage payment or pay off a good portion of my car and stop paying the interest. If I had $2000 float in my checking and debt I'd be worried! :)
Probably best not to make personal observations about someone else's spending and savings unless you have put the microscope to your own. Glad having debt and a large checking balance works for you.
lol well, let me restate, i did say very little debt which actually means no debt other than my house payment 4.875%. I guess i feel having $2000 in my checking account is not alot of money in todays age of $2,000 - $5,000 TV's. I think most experts feel you should have 6 weeks? of income in liquid assets which a CD does not fall under.
:)
James Long
11-27-06, 10:54 PM
Without going too far off the map it comes down to priorities. If that $2000 in your checking account is your "emergency fund" for true emergencies you might be better off putting it in an interest bearing account (unless your checking pays the same interest as savings). If that is your "emergency fund" for I need a Wii or a PS3 or some other toy and you have no true emergency fund then I don't see the difference between your form of cash management and those that are perpetually broke from their spending. As you said, $2000 isn't a lot of money. If you are only $2000 ahead of the broke guy you are not that much better off.
I'd check into the penalties before investing in a CD (you may just lose the interest which doesn't put you any worse off than leaving it in checking) ... but unless you have a lot of emergencies liquid assets are only important if you are planning to spend instead of save.
Without going too far off the map it comes down to priorities. If that $2000 in your checking account is your "emergency fund" for true emergencies you might be better off putting it in an interest bearing account (unless your checking pays the same interest as savings). If that is your "emergency fund" for I need a Wii or a PS3 or some other toy and you have no true emergency fund then I don't see the difference between your form of cash management and those that are perpetually broke from their spending. As you said, $2000 isn't a lot of money. If you are only $2000 ahead of the broke guy you are not that much better off.
I'd check into the penalties before investing in a CD (you may just lose the interest which doesn't put you any worse off than leaving it in checking) ... but unless you have a lot of emergencies liquid assets are only important if you are planning to spend instead of save.
Tell you what, i'll pay my bills how I like and you pay yours how you like. He who dies with the most toys win yes? :) I still question at what $ amount of an error a company is responsible for overdraft fees. A $10 error or a $300 error could both have the same end result in overdraft fees. Lets hope there are not any $3,000 errors (even i'm screwed yes?) :)
Getting back on the Map, I'm going through Customer Service hell right now trying to switch to Vonage. I've had little or no issues with D* but thinking about switching to E* hence researching features and issues. A common thread I've been reading with Dish is issues around orders, returns, and now checking issues. I'm still guessing this is the minority of customers.
And YES i would leave a company i felt was dishonest with me, even for a small amount. A mistake i can handle if they apologize and fix it promptly. Does not sound like the original poster has recieved that at all.
I've been with D* for 7 years and have UTV for ~5 years, works great. Now I want to get HD other that just my local OTA HD which come in great. I will be seeing what D* wants to offer me to retain me as a customer.
James Long
11-27-06, 11:45 PM
He who dies with the most toys win yes?He who dies with the most toys is still dead. :D
I don't recall any section of the customer agreement that says I must have enough float in my bank account to cover E*'s billing errors. If they make an error that causes my account to bounce other payments they should try to make it right. Not just refunding their error but paying for any damages their error caused.
If making it right is purely financial such as paying bank fees for going negative that is easy. If it involves writing letters to the companies who were bounced explaining their error that would be good. If needed a letter filed with the credit agencies noting why any "late" payments were reported due to a bounce would be a good. If it is NOT the customer's fault that E* took money from their account then E* SHOULD make it right.
I've delt with banks that will go to this level when their mistake causes a customer's account to overdraw. Why E* should be absolved of the responsibility to make it right is beyond me. He who causes the loss should fix it.
BTW: Most posts that start out "Not to offend, but" usually offend. It is like saying, "You are a jerk - no offense intended." If you are offended by financial advice you shouldn't offer it.
He who dies with the most toys is still dead. :D
I don't recall any section of the customer agreement that says I must have enough float in my bank account to cover E*'s billing errors. If they make an error that causes my account to bounce other payments they should try to make it right. Not just refunding their error but paying for any damages their error caused.
If making it right is purely financial such as paying bank fees for going negative that is easy. If it involves writing letters to the companies who were bounced explaining their error that would be good. If needed a letter filed with the credit agencies noting why any "late" payments were reported due to a bounce would be a good. If it is NOT the customer's fault that E* took money from their account then E* SHOULD make it right.
I've delt with banks that will go to this level when their mistake causes a customer's account to overdraw. Why E* should be absolved of the responsibility to make it right is beyond me. He who causes the loss should fix it.
And instead of going through all that hassle, making sure you have enough float in your checking account to cover any reasonable error that could be made is worth any interest you may lose. So the only question should be, how much float?$200? $2,000? $2,000 at 4% is only $80. I would suggest the float should be enough to cover any single transaction. Or have overdraft protection or checking and savings with one bank that automatically transfers from Savings to Checking in needed.
But even the poster stated that he has not had any fees, it's just the hassle of trying to get his $300 which he deserves and should have been reimbursed promptly with an "We're very sorry for our mistake" at least.
If it was me in charge of Dish? I would have given his $300 ASAP and one months credit on his bill and found out how and why this could happen to my customers. It's not just his service I risk losing, but his family, friends, people who read posts on dbstalk thinking about using my service :) Maybe that is bad business practice, I sure hope not
BTW: Most posts that start out "Not to offend, but" usually offend. It is like saying, "You are a jerk - no offense intended." If you are offended by financial advice you shouldn't offer it.
No financial advice you gave offended me. I just don't agree and figured we could leave it at that. Like i "may" of done with the original poster, your making assumptions that are not correct. You say having $2000 in a checking account is a bad choice? I say i have no credit card debt, no car payment (not a junker), a house, a nice 401k, two pensions, and two stock accounts, a savings account and Toys, i really don't need much financial advice. I'm normally the one giving it :)
But then again, we are on a forum, be it Satellite talk, Customer service talk or financial talk, we are all offering comments / advice. You could offer me advice on what do with my money or you could offend me saying the Satellite service i chose was stupid. Now i'm just waiting for some good financial advice :) or stock tip
P.S. of course "Not to offend but..." means i know i'm going to offend someone, doesn't mean it should not be said. Not everything needs to be sugar coated. As i stated, i tell my friend all the time to stop buying things becuase i do. Am i supposed to not buy things just because he does. (his mother and wife both get mad when i do) or should i tell him he's my friend whether he has toys or not? I choose the latter, and if my advice offends him but keeps in out of a financial mess, then maybe i'm the true friend offending him when he needs it
James Long
11-28-06, 12:38 AM
Sounds like you're bragging again. Anyways ... it is off topic and unneeded this late in the thread.
It has been a couple of weeks since I read the first posts - sorry I missed that he was not actually charged fees (thanks to incoming deposits) but he has still been out $300 for long enough that some consideration beyond the $300 refund would be appropriate.
Stewart Vernon
11-28-06, 01:52 AM
Whenever someone asks "what is enough" I always ask to reverse the situation.
If the customer owed Dish money, but erroneously decided not to pay $300 of debt to Dish... how would Dish react?
In my experience, most companies who are defensive about reimbursing for their "mistakes" are the same companies who throw a fit if you are even a day late with a payment. I had a credit card company, for instance, who wanted to charge me a $30 late fee because my payment arrived one day late one month. Since I always paid my balance in full each month, and had never been late before... I politely told them that I believed I had mailed the payment in time for them to receive and post to my account on time... but that if they wanted to charge me the late fee, they could do that and then I would pay that + my balance and then cancel my account. They did not charge me the late fee. I may have been in the wrong, and my payment may have been 1 day late... but the $30 late fee was more than the balance I had on the card ($20 at the time) that I had mailed payment!
I've also dealt with companies who have overcharged and then wanted to issue me a credit but wanted me to pay the bill in full. When I know a credit was owed, I would pay what was due - the expected credit... One company tried to charge me an interest fee on unpaid balance even though they correctly applied the credit!
I had another company charge me a "$18 one-time signup fee" 3 consecutive months! I said to them it was bad enough that they kept charging me incorrectly the same fee that I had already paid... but calling it a "one time" charge made it laughable... and it took them 6 months to get that right, meanwhile they too tried to charge me late fees and unpaid balance fees when I wouldn't pay the erroneous charge.
And in the weird department... I once wrote a check for $140.00 to pay off a credit card... but they somehow only cashed it for $40! They then charged me interest for the balance even though it was clearly their mistake for not cashing the check correctly... and I never did find out how they were able to cash a check for less than I wrote it for with my bank! And I protested the interest since it was their mistake.
My experience is that when I owe people money, they go nuts until they get it... but if they owe me money, I am supposed to wait patiently for 30-60 days for a credit. I have companies for which I have only a 7-day credit to pay... but they expect me to wait 30 days when they overcharge, and they overcharge far more than I underpay!
So... I understand the guy who has a problem with an erroneous charge that may or may not cause him extra bank fees... and I understand that he expects more than just a "Sorry, we'll credit you in a month" for the problem.
Wow, I post about my experiences so that other can avoid these things and I get lectured about how to manage finances. Nice.
At the time all of this was going on, I was paying medical bills from the unexpected loss of our child. So between the stress of all of that I had Dish taking money out of my checking account they were not entitled to. So for those of you that decided to teach me how to manage my finances, find someone else to lecture. I'm not in the mood to deal with your ilk. For those that posted helpful information, I greatly appreciate it.
I'm done with this. I was going to continue to keep everyone up-to-date as a way of documenting Dish's apparent ineptitude at customer service, but I think I'll end it here.
At the time all of this was going on, I was paying medical bills from the unexpected loss of our child.
I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. We lost a child in the 7th month of preganacy which was hard enough and does not even come close to your loss.
I made a statement, and we all know people who extend themselves for short term gain. HDMe quickly showed me one example that could have been the case to which I promptly acknowledged. Then James kept going on and would say to get back on target, but continue to comment down the finacial road.
I remember when I worked at a supermarket while in college and people would use a credit card to pay for groceries. My thought was why would anyone charge food they could not afford to pay for. Of course as someone younger with limited finances, using a credit card for convienence and paying the balance off in full monthly was not my perspective.
Back on path, I signed up for Vonage 50 days ago. They have still not managed to get my old phone line switched, charging me while i am still paying my old phone company and would basically try telling me i did not give them all the imformation they required when i have emails from them saying my Letter of Autherization was completed on the first day i bought their service. I finally got a Rep last night who credited me one month. They are still trying to find out the status of my phone transfer. I had about 4 friends eagerly waiting to hear how my Vonage system was working and ready to switch. So not only will the probably lose my biz when my "agreement" is up, but my friends are all looking at other providers.
Anyways, I apologize to you, hope things are going better and I'm still on the fense about if i should switch to Dish, partly because of experiences like yours.
Off to work, have a great day all.
Wow, I post about my experiences so that other can avoid these things and I get lectured about how to manage finances. Nice.
At the time all of this was going on, I was paying medical bills from the unexpected loss of our child. So between the stress of all of that I had Dish taking money out of my checking account they were not entitled to. So for those of you that decided to teach me how to manage my finances, find someone else to lecture. I'm not in the mood to deal with your ilk. For those that posted helpful information, I greatly appreciate it.
I'm done with this. I was going to continue to keep everyone up-to-date as a way of documenting Dish's apparent ineptitude at customer service, but I think I'll end it here.
So sorry about your loss. I can't even imagine the pain you and the mother of your child must be going through.
One must realize that there are a significant number of E* apologists that would never admit that E* could possibly make any mistake whatsoever. These individuals thrive on rebuking any negative comments anyone makes against the sacred cow that is E*. You need to take those comments for what there worth and consider the source.
For every one of these pom pom enthusiasts there are many more that agree with your statements.
James Long
11-28-06, 07:32 AM
Sorry. If I knew how far RyZac was going to take his bragging I would have killed his off topic posts instead of trying to shoot him down. The fact that you didn't bounce anything despite the unexpected $300 hit and the other issues in your life shows that you are on a decent financial track, Todd. It should have never been brought into question.
Well, the story is over.
It took them almost exactly one month to refund my money. I called them at least five times during that month, each time getting the same "we never got your old receiver line" even though I had the UPS tracking number as proof that they did. Terrible customer service. I can only hope someone from E* reads this thread and sees how bad customer service is right now.
Thanks to everyone that contributed.
I've been a DISH customer for over 9 years. In that time, I've had a few billing issues with them - everything from returned receiver fees to double billing to added channels that I didn't order.
Every time I call, the issue gets resolved. That's one reason I'm still a customer. If you KNOW you are right and have the paperwork of their mistake, ask to speak with a supervisor and offer to fax the paperwork to them. Often, it's cheaper to correct your issue than have someone work on it for days. Politeness counts. When you first talk to a CSR, use their name frequently. It will cause them to WANT to help you. If you get a rude CSR, take their name and employee number and hang up. Call back and politley ask for a supervisor to report a serious issue. Don't tell the the CSR it's a personnel issue, only the supervisor.
Just my ideas from many years of dealing with others...
i opened a new free checking acct.with my bank just to use the
debit card to pay bills to people i don't trust, (like dish) then i
i only keep a few dollors in it untill it's time to pay the MONTHLY
bill, then i transfer just enough out of the master home acct.
to pay the bill.;)
Skeeterman
12-13-06, 07:19 PM
delete
Zero327
12-13-06, 10:21 PM
I will give you a "old Dish Network" trick. When you pay your monthly Dish bill by a check from your bank account. Dish now has a copy of that bank account that you written from the check. They can and will deduct charges from it. They did that to me couple years ago. On another note, when you deal with the Customer Service. Where do you think the CS place is located.. India..
You probably have tried to talk to a few of these CR's and couldn't understand them.
It's a no brainer/head-knocker to get results from them...
If DISH indeed outsources and it's not just a diversity thing stateside...what makes you think there's only a single call center? Or that that single call center happens to be in India? Isn't it far more possible there's A call center there, and many others stateside?
Cocoatreat
12-16-06, 10:12 AM
hmmm
i'm sorry for the problems you have had.........i have had my e* account auto-debited now for quite a while (over 2yrs!) never had a problem....it was never my intention to keep it like that.....but wow....it was so simple & i didnt have to think about it.... i am sent an email about 2weeks b4 its auto-debited, so i know what to expect.... never has been a problem for me...................YET!:confused: :hurah:
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