DBSTalk Forum banner

Best way to reduce bill?

27K views 143 replies 48 participants last post by  EW800 
#1 ·
I've now reached a point I'm no longer willing to look the other way with how much TV is costing me. I've been with D 3 years, I was with them prior for 8 years then one year when I moved I had no line of sight thus I had comcrap for 1 year. I've had NFLST every year.

I've never missed a payment in my life. I can't tell if I'm on a contract. Should I simply call them up and tell them the price is just too dam high?

Thanks for any help!

For the record, I'm reasonable, I think what I'm currently getting is only worth $85/month.

CHOICE XTRA CLASSIC - Charge $71.99
Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00
Total = $113/month
 
See less See more
#3 ·
I have always yelled on here how DTV is raping its customers with its fee's

Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00


With $ 41.00 dollars of Suck on your bank account fee's which is more then half of your current package ! :mad: And alot of members here think thats great ! everytime they come up with a new idea everyone defends DTV saying its only $ 3.00 more its worth it ! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

It will take an act of Congress to break it up and allow people that have OWNED Equipment not to be charged excessively !
 
#4 ·
Watch everything on-line. Drop D* entirely.

I have one client with a LOS problem, he bumped up his internet speed and watches everything on line.

It's different, might not be for everybody, but if enough people did it . . .


{and I am not saying I would ever do it}
 
#5 ·
Rickt1962 said:
I have always yelled on here how DTV is raping its customers with its fee's

Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00

With $ 41.00 dollars of Suck on your bank account fee's which is more then half of your current package ! :mad: And alot of members here think thats great ! everytime they come up with a new idea everyone defends DTV saying its only $ 3.00 more its worth it ! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

It will take an act of Congress to break it up and allow people that have OWNED Equipment not to be charged excessively !
On another thread you called DirecTV's billing "extortion". Now you have them "raping" customers. Rather melodramatic don't you think? :sure:
 
#6 ·
"Rickt1962" said:
I have always yelled on here how DTV is raping its customers with its fee's

Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00

With $ 41.00 dollars of Suck on your bank account fee's which is more then half of your current package ! :mad: And alot of members here think thats great ! everytime they come up with a new idea everyone defends DTV saying its only $ 3.00 more its worth it ! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

It will take an act of Congress to break it up and allow people that have OWNED Equipment not to be charged excessively !
It is not $41.00 worth of fees. Only $29.00, the two Primary TV cancel each other out. One is a charge, the other a credit.
 
#7 ·
saleen351 said:
I've now reached a point I'm no longer willing to look the other way with how much TV is costing me. I've been with D 3 years, I was with them prior for 8 years then one year when I moved I had no line of sight thus I had comcrap for 1 year. I've had NFLST every year.

I've never missed a payment in my life. I can't tell if I'm on a contract. Should I simply call them up and tell them the price is just too dam high?

Thanks for any help!

For the record, I'm reasonable, I think what I'm currently getting is only worth $85/month.

CHOICE XTRA CLASSIC - Charge $71.99
Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00
Total = $113/month
Change to Choice Xtra from Choice Xtra Classic and save a whopping $1.
You'll lose a few channels but in my case it didn't matter.
But, there is a new $2 RSN charge now.
So I guess my total went up by $1.

My bill is under $110/month which is basically the same as you.
Except I have DNS ($14/month). I may rethink this once the refer a friend discount expires.
I also have a refer a friend discount of $10/month.
And the sales tax is $2. Maybe your tax is higher?
 
#8 ·
You can tell I don't post here often by the number of my previous posts. I'm usually looking for some technical help that members here freely and graciously give.

But in this case it's different. Why do people come on here and complain about what they are paying? Directv didn't hold a gun to your head did they? Didn't you check what your bill would be before ordering service? If you expect your bill to remain the same from year to year you are living in a fantasy world. If it upsets you all that much, cancel your service. It's as simple as that IMO.
 
#9 ·
My promotion discounts were over in October. My bill has gone up from $104.00 from October to $112.00 today. I do have whole home and free HD for life. One HR24 and two H25's. No premiums but I do have the PP. They tell me I can get a free upgrade to a Genie in May. If I get it I'll have a new two year contract, but most likely I'll drop the PP. So the question now becomes, do I get the Genie or wait my contract out until October and go with Dish with a promo discount for a year.

Dish may not be the best provider and I like D*, but I don't know if I can justify the high cost for better HD. I left TW because of the high cost. At that time, I sacrificed a bunch of HD channels including HD locals. Now D* has caught up with the HD locals and other basic channels. They now have everything I want in HD.

I'll have to talk to someone who has Dish and see what they think of their service. At some point, I'll have to drop all providers and just go over the air. We have a lot of HD channels in this town and I also have Netflix.

LGB, sorry you got your feelings hurt. I knew what I would be paying for my service for each of the months of my two year contract, and did expect premiums to rise due to contracts. I'm not an idiot. I'm not complaining but what I am asking myself is, do I want to continue the high cost or not. I don't need anyone to tell me if I should cancel my service or not. That's something I can discuss and decide with my family. But constructive input is welcome concerning Dish's service. Then I can take all the pros and cons and make a decision.
 
#10 ·
Rickt1962;3196261 said:
I have always yelled on here how DTV is raping its customers with its fee's

Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00

With $ 41.00 dollars of Suck on your bank account fee's which is more then half of your current package ! :mad: And alot of members here think thats great ! everytime they come up with a new idea everyone defends DTV saying its only $ 3.00 more its worth it ! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

It will take an act of Congress to break it up and allow people that have OWNED Equipment not to be charged excessively !
Owned equipment wouldn't stop one of those charges.
 
#11 ·
Rickt1962;3196261 said:
I have always yelled on here how DTV is raping its customers with its fee's

Advanced Receiver-DVR - Charge $10.00
Advanced Receiver-HD - Charge $10.00
Additional TV - Charge $6.00
DIRECTV Whole-Home DVR Service - Charge $3.00
Primary TV Free - PrimaryTVFree ($6.00)
Primary TV - Charge $6.00

With $ 41.00 dollars of Suck on your bank account fee's which is more then half of your current package ! :mad: And alot of members here think thats great ! everytime they come up with a new idea everyone defends DTV saying its only $ 3.00 more its worth it ! :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono: :nono:

It will take an act of Congress to break it up and allow people that have OWNED Equipment not to be charged excessively !
Particularly with multiple DVRs other carriers charge a DVR fee per box, not per account. Some have a monthly fee for the remote. If DirecTV included HD in the base price, SD customers (and there are a lot of them) also would feel overcharged.
 
#12 ·
The industry is very different than back in the 90s.

You went to a store and bought a receiver AND a dish and installed it yourself (or hired somebody independent like me) it your self. DirecTV did not have a self branded box, their were Sony and Panasonic and Magnavox boxes along with several others.

DirecTV now has in house made boxes, in house installers (and contractors) and is now supporting way more employees than they started with. Instead of an ultimate capacity of maybe a hundred channels, we probably could see Direct with thousands once ALL the blank transponders slots are lit up on the signal strength screen.

Cable channels are now producing their own programming instead of recycling travelogues and educational films from the 50s.

We can individually only watch 168 hours of TV/week, but we love to have hundreds of shows to pick from, even if we only watch a few.

I'm still amazed at times I can watch 3D HD on my 65" plasma. Back in the 80s, I never dreamt I would ever have a $2500TV, and that I would consider such a beast to be a bargain. I have a killer sound system, but in deference to everyone else here, I only crank it up when I'm alone. (Yeah, I'm the guy that got the free Klipsch Cornwalls and Heresys you heard about on Craigslist 2 weeks later for the first guy to get there to get them)

I don't like the price increases, and between a $100 cell phone bill, $40 for slow internet, $60 for land line phone, $250 electric bills, DirecTV hitting me for over $150/month is tough on top of everything else. I'm rural wasteland here, no good bundle offers either. Exede wants $60 a month for faster internet with a pretty low monthly total byte package (Verizon wants way more than that). Electic company doesn't even talk about broadband anymore, no DSL this far out either.

I'm looking forward to some pension money in a few years, but frankly, I am already spending it. Best bet for me is to kick one of my businesses up a notch and hope for the best. (and not the installing gig, I love that, but I have another 'real work' type job that actually pays the bills, and that's getting a bump.
 
#15 ·
Some of these responses are whacky. I love my DTV, I've had the NFLST for 11 years now, I can't live without it, but my bill during the off season is far too high. I looked into cord cutting, seems like a huge pain and I won't get NFLST.

I have 71 channels in my guide, however I could easily cut another 20 - 30 that I probably just forgot exist and should remove.

I'm willing to compromise, give me less and I'll pay less.

$113 to watch tv with no premiums is just far too much, I no longer value any tv package above $85.

I'm curious to see how high it can go before there is a revolt... I would suspect we are real close.
 
#16 ·
saleen351 said:
Some of these responses are whacky. I love my DTV, I've had the NFLST for 11 years now, I can't live without it, but my bill during the off season is far too high. I looked into cord cutting, seems like a huge pain and I won't get NFLST.

I have 71 channels in my guide, however I could easily cut another 20 - 30 that I probably just forgot exist and should remove.

I'm willing to compromise, give me less and I'll pay less.

$113 to watch tv with no premiums is just far too much, I no longer value any tv package above $85.

I'm curious to see how high it can go before there is a revolt... I would suspect we are real close.
First I would take a look at what channels you do commonly watch (locals not included, as they are in every package) and then you can go online and see if there is a lower package that would still include those. Outside of that, I would contact DTV.
 
#17 ·
saleen351 said:
Some of these responses are whacky. I love my DTV, I've had the NFLST for 11 years now, I can't live without it, but my bill during the off season is far too high. I looked into cord cutting, seems like a huge pain and I won't get NFLST.

I have 71 channels in my guide, however I could easily cut another 20 - 30 that I probably just forgot exist and should remove.

I'm willing to compromise, give me less and I'll pay less.

$113 to watch tv with no premiums is just far too much, I no longer value any tv package above $85.

I'm curious to see how high it can go before there is a revolt... I would suspect we are real close.
This is tricky. I looked at going lower in my package and dropping one of my 3 premiums that I pay for.
The channels that get dropped as you go lower in a package might be like mine and be the ones you watch a lot or at least would miss them.
Having said that, I do have a lower package than the one you have. I have the $70 package.
I even went so far as to consider doing away with the receiver in the bedroom and feeding it with the receiver in the den ( they are never both on at one time ). It is a long run and would be a hassle to run the HDMI cable needed.
Next I looked at changing to another service. Big hassle for me and I did not see any available that I would probably be happy with for the trouble it would cost me.
Last, and this is what I did, I call them and ask them to help me lower my bill. The first person I talked to was no help at all. I thanked her and hung up. Called right back , got a different person , and told them the same thing. He looked and told me what he could do to help me out. For the next 6 months I will be saving $25 per month on the discounts he gave me. 6 months from now I will be on the phone again.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
 
#18 ·
saleen351 said:
I love my DTV, I've had the NFLST for 11 years now, I can't live without it...
There's the crux of the issue right there. The only way to get Sunday Ticket is with DirecTV, so if you have to have it, DirecTV has you over a barrel.

Fortunately, I don't have (or need) Sunday ticket. Like you, though, I feel that my monthly bill has simply gotten too high, as credits drop off that DirecTV will not re-apply, and rates do their annual march up. When my current contract winds down enough and I can tolerate a smaller ETF, I will switch to Dish and take advantage of new customer pricing. For similar programming that my family views and what is probably better equipment, I will save approximately $530 in the first 12 months, which works out to about $22 per month over the life of the 24 month contract. Or, pretty much what DirecTV was giving back to me when all my credits were active.

So, because DirecTV is getting stingy with credits (which is completely within their rights, if they want to do business that way), they will lose to a competitor a customer who has been with them for 16+ years (which is completely within my rights, if they want to do business that way). Maybe after 2 years with Dish, I'll go back to DirecTV as a "new" customer; maybe not if I really like Dish better and find that it's worth the regular prices.

If you're not locked into a particular feature that is only offered by one provider, there are usually other suitable options.
 
#19 ·
I usually call about every 6 months and nicely ask what can be done about my bill. I had some grandfathered package that was similar to the Xtra package about $70/month. This last time i ended up dropping to the Entertainment pack and lost about 50 channels. Only ones I lost that I cared about at all was NFL channel and Military. I guess when the fall comes I will need to rationalize if i care about bad Thursday night NFL games.

Some tips I use to get them to give me discounts are first when you call say cancel. Are you sure? Yes. You should be with the Retention folks now. Ask what you can do about the cost of the bill. I usually say my wife got the comcast triple play offer in the mail and why are we paying this much. I say I would like to stay with Directv if possible, can you help me? Be nice. Be polite. Don't threaten to cancel. I have been with DTV for 12 or 13 years now.

Also if you are willing to try it I believe Directv can "suspend" your account for up to 6 months a year. So if you have to have NFL Sunday Ticket you can keep rolling with that for that time of the year and "pull the plug" from Feb to August. I would like to try that some year. Live NFL is what keeps me plugged in. Hope this Helps
 
#20 ·
I have been a D* subscriber for at least 8 years. My current bill just jumped from $82 to $88/month. I only have one TV, one DVR and I subscribe to no movie channels or sports packages. $88/month.... That's too much. Yes I'm happy with the service and I'm sure I'll miss some aspect of D* when/if I switch to Dish but $88 is just too high for one TV with no special channels.

The business model these days is geared toward the new customers with all the special deals and perks. Fine and good for a company to pull in new customers but its a two edged sword in that when existing customers continue to see rate increase after rate increase they reach a point where enough is enough. I'm there. I'm going to follow the business model and stop subsidizing new customers but first I'll give D* a chance to lower my bill. If not then adios. My main concern is the content I have currently stored on the DVR but I'll deal with that.
 
#21 ·
I'm going to call tomorrow, I'll post what they say. I hate asking for a discount I'm a fair person and right now I do not see the value for my $113. I pay for 139 channels that aren't even in my guide!!!!

Looking at downgrading my package I would lose these channels that I do watch often:
H2
MiL
NFL
Science
Speed
Fox Business (I only watch one show)


I would only save $1-$16. These packages are designed to screw you over... They know just the right amount of channels to get you to pay more.

I checked out HBO on the website just to see what the price is, 18 bucks!!! Last time I had HBO it was the 2nd to last season of Entourage and I paid 12 bucks..
 
#22 ·
Buy and antenna and cancel D*. In my area we have over 80 channels, so I'm sure you should have a few.
 
#23 ·
saleen351;3196728 said:
I'm going to call tomorrow, I'll post what they say. I hate asking for a discount I'm a fair person and right now I do not see the value for my $113. I pay for 139 channels that aren't even in my guide!!!!

Looking at downgrading my package I would lose these channels that I do watch often:
H2
MiL
NFL
Science
Speed
Fox Business (I only watch one show)

I would only save $1-$16. These packages are designed to screw you over... They know just the right amount of channels to get you to pay more.

I checked out HBO on the website just to see what the price is, 18 bucks!!! Last time I had HBO it was the 2nd to last season of Entourage and I paid 12 bucks..
I think all providers charge between $15 and $18 a month for it.
 
#24 ·
I can remember many years ago when my dad opened the cable bill and was furrious over a $39 bill:lol:

Now days its pretty standard to see a $80 - $120 a month bill for TV. Our current D bill is $104 a month. Just for giggles i called Comcast once and asked them if i upgraded to TV bundled with our internet how much would it be. to have exactly what we have now (DVR's, converter boxes and every channel i have now that they could offer) i was quoted around $160 a month + taxes and fees.... so at $104 a month with D im pretty content.
 
#26 ·
The very best way to reduce a Bill that is 60% fee's is to Cancel it. Most shows are /or will be found on the internet -SO just TURN it OFF! and move on!

After a short time you will be surprised that it no longer matters.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top