[jpman78]

3 months ago I ordered a AU9S in hopes of upgrading my current setup to the new dish and to an HR21 when I got some extra money and my installer friend had some free time.

The box showed up in good shape and seemed complete from the company I ordered it from (recommended on here).

I have been busy so it wasn't until 2 weeks ago my old receiver died and I bit the bullet ordered a new HR21 and got my buddy scheduled to come out and do the install.

Shortly after he unboxes the dish he tells me I'm missing some parts. It didn't come with the bolts to essentially put the dish together....it only came with the lag bolts to attach it to the roof (and two bags of lag bolts at that).

He also tells me that I need to get a pair of the monopoles to help support the dish because without them it's fairly unstable. (makes sense...I should have done more research when I ordered)

I contacted the company I bought the dish from and told them I was missing the bolts for the dish but had the lag bolts. I also told them I would like to order 2 monopoles as well and would like the bolts thrown in.

After 4 days of hearing nothing (which is forever without TV) I call again and they say they will let me know by the end of the day.

Sure enough I get an email. It says that I should take the matter up with UPS and file a claim with them saying the box was incomplete and is now useless. If UPS approves the claim they can send me a new dish. But they will not be doing anything because the order is 3 months old.

I emailed back and said that I was unhappy with that response and thought pawning the problem off on UPS wasn't a good way to handle this customer service issue. I further said that I wasn't looking to get a whole new dish or anything. I was even willing to pick up the shipping and buy more items from the company (the monopoles) but just wanted the packages of bolts I was missing that were suppose to included. I further asked if this was their final stance on the matter and they really wanted an upset customer over literally "a bag of bolts". I gave them until close of business yesterday to get back to me otherwise I was going to contact my credit card company as well as leaving negative feedback on google checkout and elsewhere as appropriate.

I haven't heard a thing.

Am I wrong? Is it really too much to ask for a bag of bolts to be added in? Or any amicable solution other than just saying "huh too bad....order another whole dish"

Is there somewhere else I can get these parts without buying a whole dish?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

 

[CrazyforYeshua]

Any company that would haggle over a $2.00 bag of bolts isn't a very good company-no matter who recommends them.
I think you're totally in the right to expect them to ship you what they should have given you in the first place.

 

[dave29]

wow, thats great customer service:nono2:
chances are you arent going to find anyone with an "extra bag o' bolts".
sorry, but it sounds like you are SOL due to poor customer service

 

[HDTVsportsfan]

The person/company that sent the shipment is responsible for filing the claim, not the person receiving it. If you call UPS they won't be able to help.

 

[boba]

Instead of posting that you are without TV why not go to the Hardware store and buy similar bolts and get the dish up? The manufacturer of the dish is who you should be contacting, they put the wrong package of bolts in the sealed box. Waiting 3 months before opening the box is your fault not the selling companies responsibility, a lot could have happened in the 3 months you stored the box.

 

[jpman78]

Actually my next step was going to go and see what bolts would fit assuming "anything" will work. Bad part is I don't have anything to compare to other than the holes in the dish.

The company I purchased from actually said that they packaged the box and check every box to make sure it is complete.

My guess is that they put an extra bag of lag bolts instead of the correct bolts.

As for the box sitting for 3 months....I guess I don't really know what could have happend to it just sitting in my basement?

Regardless my opinion is that if I paid for something I should get it. Day 1 or Day 90, especially if it's just a bag of bolts. Had it been the entire dish or something expensive I would agree with you but something subtle like a bag of bolts?

From a business perspective a bag of bolts, to me, just wouldn't be worth the hassle compared to not making the customer happy combined with the ability to make another sale.

Instead of posting that you are without TV why not go to the Hardware store and buy similar bolts and get the dish up? The manufacturer of the dish is who you should be contacting, they put the wrong package of bolts in the sealed box. Waiting 3 months before opening the box is your fault not the selling companies responsibility, a lot could have happened in the 3 months you stored the box.

 

[gfrang]

If you buy bolts make sure you get stainless steel.

 

[paulman182]

They probably don't have any extra bags of bolts. Unless they are the dish manufacturer, they probably come packaged two or four per box with sets of hardware for each dish. The company you purchased from separates them and sells them one at a time.

Nothing happened while it was sitting in your basement, but there is always a time limit within which claims must be made.

 

[veryoldschool]

So does anybody know where one can get "flat headed" carriage bolts?
Round headed can be found at any "good" hardware store.
Carriage bolts are those with the square part that the dish needs.

 

[K4SMX]

I'm looking at a "bag of bolts." Here's what's in the bag:

The four (4) LNB support arm bolts, which appear to be 7/16" hex heads 1/2" long, no nuts required, the arm is threaded

The four (4) bolts used to attach the dish to the mounting bracket, which appear to be 7/16" carriage bolts 1/2" long with a 3/4" diameter flat head (painted gray to match the dish) and the four (4) matching 7-16 Whiz nuts

The two (2) 8x32x1-1/4 inch bolts with Whiz nuts used to attach the LNB to the LNB support arm.

A green grounding screw, probably a 6x32, not sure. There'll be one in your electrical junk box....

 

[veryoldschool]

The four (4) bolts used to attach the dish to the mounting bracket, which appear to be 7/16" carriage bolts 1/2" long with a 3/4" diameter flat head (painted gray to match the dish) and the four (4) matching 7/16" Whiz nuts ....

"Wrench size" or bolt diameter?

 

[houskamp]

"Wrench size" or bolt diameter?

last I looked they are all 5/16-24 and 1/4-20s..

 

[jpman78]

THANKS!

This will be very helpful.

I'm looking at a "bag of bolts." Here's what's in the bag:

The four (4) LNB support arm bolts, which appear to be 7-16 hex heads 1/2" long, no nuts required, the arm is threaded

The four (4) bolts used to attach the dish to the mounting bracket, which appear to be 7-16 carriage bolts 1/2" long with a 3/4" diameter flat head (painted gray to match the dish) and the four (4) matching 7-16 Whiz nuts

The two (2) 8x32x1-1/4 inch bolts with Whiz nuts used to attach the LNB to the LNB support arm.

A green grounding screw, probably a 6x32, not sure. There'll be one in your electrical junk box....

 

[K4SMX]

It's whatever the threads are when you buy standard 7/16" wrench-size hardware, not fine thread.

"UNCLE!"

 

[Dave]

So you are saying that a company advertised on DBS Talk would not help you out. I would send a note or E-Mail to one of the mderators on here so they know this problem has come up. Also they may want to remove the advertiser from there recommended list and take down there ad on here.

 

[veryoldschool]

So you are saying that a company advertised on DBS Talk would not help you out. I would send a note or E-Mail to one of the mderators on here so they know this problem has come up. Also they may want to remove the advertiser from there recommended list and take down there ad on here.

There ads here?
Oh that's right, DBSTalk club members don't see them.

"Shameless plug to join DBSTalk" for only $15/year. :lol:

 

[harsh]

The lesson to be learned here is that if you want to upgrade, let DIRECTV do it. You can try to piece something together, but you'll have a lot of time and money invested in the project that you won't recover.

 

[K4SMX]

The customer got two bags of lag bolts, instead of one bag of each type needed. He can prove that with an e-mail photo. What they should have done is grab a bag of dish bolts out of a new dish box in the stock room, send them to the customer, and bounce the problem back to the distributor. You don't report parts missing from a box not damaged in shipping in a UPS claim. That's not "damage." It's fraud.

 

[techrep]

You can get a hardware pack here, or at least see what the pack includes.

http://cgi.ebay.com/DIRECTV-SLIMLIN...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

 

[K4SMX]

Nice find there, techrep! Of course it is $24, including shipping. Jeeeez! Almost like Sushi....