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Gone!

12K views 70 replies 43 participants last post by  harsh 
#1 ·
After 12 years, I am leaving D*!

Deciding factors include;

-post card received for 'Free HD for 24 months', then noticing credit was off my bill(after 3 calls to CSRs was told each time that Free HD was no longer offered, and an email to 'Customer Advocate Team' who offered 12 months credit for HD on my bill, and then gave me the 'guilt trip' speech for calling about it. Also told me D* didn't have to give me anything.....and that D* 'never promised to be the least expensive service').

-SLOW response DVRs(tried several times to get an upgrade, but to no avail).

-$110 D* each month vs. $39.99 with cable company(with FREE HD, locked in for a year).

Congrats D*! I was your customer to lose, and you succeeded!
 
#54 ·
mdavej said:
I said that too. But Charter has made a dramatic turnaround in my neck of the woods thanks to SDV. They added about 60 HD channels in just a few months and now have more than satellite and better PQ. I get 12-18Mbps data rates on MPEG4, which is better than I had with DirecTV. And I can use my own DVR, saving a ton of money. Since I went back to cable, my bill has dropped by about $50/month and will stay that way for 2 years. I realize they'll gouge me after that, but by then I can give satellite another look, if they ever catch up on HD content.

As for service, that's changed dramatically too. They have a great online presence like Dish (I wish DirecTV would catch up in that regard as well). I often get a response within a couple of hours and service appointments right away.

Bottom line is, while I enjoyed satellite for many years back when they had the best service on the market, times have changed, and cable is a much better deal than it used to be (depending on your location of course).

So bravo to the OP for having the guts to make a change and not just accept DirecTV's empty promises (24-month free HD fiasco). If more of us did the same, DirecTV would have to step up their game. As it stands now, they can do whatever they want and most people just accept it.

Peace
Agreed!
 
#55 ·
bidger said:
Exactly. I don't recall being the sole requirement for posting here as being a current satellite sub.

Like the OP I recently canceled DirecTV. In my case I had been with them since 1998. Switched from TWC. It wasn't as big a deal for me as some, but TWC has done a great job off adding HD channels and that was something I needed to see from them before switching. I have a TiVo HD with an upgraded 500GB HdD that I pay a grandfathered rate that's less than half the DirecTV DVR rate. I do have to pay for a Cable Card, but that's only $2/mo. so it's still less than DirecTV. The major thing is TWC provides a quality High Speed Internet option, DirecTV does not. In '98 that wasn't the priority for me and now it is.

When I called to cancel DirecTV didn't go out of their way to stop me. Just as well since I didn't want to make a new commitment. I like the fact that with TWC I can bring my own equipment. When the DirecTV tuner card for WMC was canceled, I was truly disappointed. And as far as rate hikes go, they all do it. Difference is with Cable I'm not under commitment and, if need be, I can scale down to Internet only.

I was happy with DirecTV, but the constant two year shove any time you want something better gets old IMO.
Same here! I was happy with D*, but their failure to do what they said was the 'backbreaker' for me! They called yesterday, offering a 'new customer' incentive with NO commitment for me to keep service. Asked WHY I had to cancel service to be offered this?......they had no answer.....said NO thanks!

No commitment here either!
 
#56 ·
hdtvfan0001 said:
It certainly is not a requirement....and being a former subscriber likely would provide interesting insights on this kind of topic.
HOPE not! I would like to hang around!

Who knows, I may come back to D* someday..........
 
#57 ·
sdicomp said:
HOPE not! I would like to hang around!

Who knows, I may come back to D* someday..........
For sure...and you would not be the first to "return". ;)

There are a number of non-sat posters at this site already - you would not be "alone" in that regard.

Good luck on your changes - hope things work out for you.
 
#59 ·
sdicomp said:
They called yesterday, offering a 'new customer' incentive with NO commitment for me to keep service.
Interesting. When I cancelled DirecTV several years ago, I told them I would stay if they offered me a no-commitment upgrade to HD. They refused ... insisting any change would trigger a 2-year commitment.

So I have no-commitment service from Comcast. I am happier with the service and the price is lower. And without a commitment, I have been sending my money to Comcast instead of DirecTV for the past 4 years.
 
#61 ·
fleckrj said:
I wish we had choices. My only choices are Dish, TWC, and DirecTV. We had TWC from 1989 until 1999 when we switched to DirecTV. There is no way I would ever go back to TWC, and Dish does not have the programming I want, so DirecTV is my only choice.
I lot can change in 12 years. I'm not endorsing Time Warner, but to judge companies in this business in what things were like more than a decade ago isn't really fair.
 
#62 ·
fleckrj said:
I wish we had choices. My only choices are Dish, TWC, and DirecTV. We had TWC from 1989 until 1999 when we switched to DirecTV. There is no way I would ever go back to TWC, and Dish does not have the programming I want, so DirecTV is my only choice.
mreposter said:
I lot can change in 12 years. I'm not endorsing Time Warner, but to judge companies in this business in what things were like more than a decade ago isn't really fair.
Precisely.

I switched from TWC in 1998 and I didn't have any "warm and fuzzy" when I departed. The TWC installer knocked on my door in 2006 pitching triple play and I asked if he could return the following week after I'd researched their HD lineup. No CBS or FOX in HD cinched that choice. In 2009 a TWC tech knocked on my door to let me know they'd upgraded the wiring in my neighborhood, something that there's a snowball's chance in the Bahamas of Verizon doing w/ DSL. After Verizon p*ssed me off one last time in early 2010, I ordered Roadrunner online. Until some company deploys FTTH in my area, I can't see myself switching.

In 1998 I saw TWC as the villain. More than twenty years later I see Verizon in that role. DirecTV...I still feel is a good choice for TV service. I'm just a little tired of the two year commitment at the drop of a hat. You've already recouped your investment in me. Any new equipment I might receive isn't owned anyway. And as I was typing this post I got a call from the Retention. I let them know if I come back I want the HR34. Don't expect it free, so the $99 charge was OK, but they couldn't guarantee my Lifetime DVR service would be reinstated. Appreciate the honestly, but I ended the call right there. Commitment was not brought up, but I'd want that in writing if I'm told there is none.
 
#63 ·
bidger said:
. Don't expect it free, so the $99 charge was OK, but they couldn't guarantee my Lifetime DVR service would be reinstated. Appreciate the honestly, but I ended the call right there. Commitment was not brought up, but I'd want that in writing if I'm told there is none.
Quote from the DirecTv customer service agreement:
If you paid a "lifetime service fee," you will not be charged a fee for your DIRECTV DVR Service as long as you maintain television programming service from DIRECTV on the same account. If you disconnect your DIRECTV television programming service and later reconnect on the same account, your DIRECTV DVR Service will be reconnected and you will not be charged a fee for DIRECTV DVR Service.
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/legal/customer_agreement
 
#64 ·
Upstream said:
Interesting. When I cancelled DirecTV several years ago, I told them I would stay if they offered me a no-commitment upgrade to HD. They refused ... insisting any change would trigger a 2-year commitment.

So I have no-commitment service from Comcast. I am happier with the service and the price is lower. And without a commitment, I have been sending my money to Comcast instead of DirecTV for the past 4 years.
It is funny how their offers change! I had to call and cancel service for them to find the 'free hd for 2 years' that the post card I received back in June 'promised'. While I was still their customer, I was told that DirecTV no longer offered free HD, and I 'shouldn't have received the post card'.

No commitment from Charter here, and since my price is locked for 2 years in writing, I will be sending them my money as well. Their internet service is first rate!!
 
#65 ·
Got to go with what's right for you!

I moved to D* last fall from TWC and locked in free HD for life at the time.

TWC picture quality is CRAP, the HD was pixelated, and the feed would freeze or gray out several times a DAY. After several different boxes, I finally got a TWC rep to admit that the picture quality was never going to improve any time soon because there are hundreds of homes on my line and we all share bandwidth for phone, TV and internet, and the compression software could not overcome that limitation. She actually wished me well with D* as she knew the HD picture quality was going to be much better, and it is.

I keep road runner for internet only, and HD picture quality is WAY more important to me than price (I don't need much anyway, no premium channels for movies or sports).

No Fios (we have crappy Frontier phone not Verizon), so unless TWC went to all fiber optic or Verizon buys out Frontier and builds out Fios, I will be with D* for as long as they keep the satellites beaming.
 
#68 ·
Griffs77 said:
Got to go with what's right for you!

I moved to D* last fall from TWC and locked in free HD for life at the time.

TWC picture quality is CRAP, the HD was pixelated, and the feed would freeze or gray out several times a DAY.
Don't know if you're in an area where SDV wasn't deployed, but I'm in one where it is. I compared the two systems side-by-side when I still had DirecTV active and TW fared pretty well. And now that the NFL Network is on TWC all the pieces are in place as far as I'm concerned. I've been a critic of TWC in the past, but it's pretty clear to me they've got their game face on.
 
#69 ·
Yep. SDV has solved most of the PQ and bandwidth issues cable has had in the past. All I've seen looks as good or better than DirecTV, especially if you consider SD as well. I wouldn't touch cable a few years ago, but things have changed a lot recently, making them an excellent alternative to satellite in many areas.

I'm very happy with the media center system I have. I have a 4 tuner cable card device in a cheap PC and an Xbox (or other extender) at every TV to watch live TV or recordings. The DVR interface is beautiful, recording space is virtually unlimited, I can easily transfer anything to DVD or BD and access all my other media, and remote viewing of all my content and live tv, all for a grand total of $2/month in equipment fees. Plus I have more HD and better SD than I had with DirecTV or Dish.
 
#70 ·
mdavej said:
Yep. SDV has solved most of the PQ and bandwidth issues cable has had in the past. All I've seen looks as good or better than DirecTV, especially if you consider SD as well. I wouldn't touch cable a few years ago, but things have changed a lot recently, making them an excellent alternative to satellite in many areas.

I'm very happy with the media center system I have. I have a 4 tuner cable card device in a cheap PC and an Xbox (or other extender) at every TV to watch live TV or recordings. The DVR interface is beautiful, recording space is virtually unlimited, I can easily transfer anything to DVD or BD and access all my other media, and remote viewing of all my content and live tv, all for a grand total of $2/month in equipment fees. Plus I have more HD and better SD than I had with DirecTV or Dish.
That's a big turnaround for Charter. My father-in-law had them years ago and they were the pits.
 
#71 ·
mdavej said:
Yep. SDV has solved most of the PQ and bandwidth issues cable has had in the past.
What has cured the PQ and bandwidth problems is replacing most of the analog channels with digital versions.

I'm not convinced that TWC isn't mostly fiber. Fiber is overrated if you use it with QAM as FIOS does.
 
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