Dish Network, You STILL Suck
I’ve had my share of troubles with Dish Network customer service in the past, but this just about takes the cake… This past month, our bill was a bit higher than normal. When I investigated, I discovered that we were charged $3.99 for a pay-per-view movie that we never ordered. No, $3.99 isn’t a huge deal. But after all the trouble that they’ve given us, I’m not willing to pay them a penny more than absolutely necessary.
Because their phone service is atrocious and has extensive hold times, I decided to contact them via their website late last week. Within the prescribed 24-48 hours, I received a canned response that basically said “tough luck.” Here’s the text of their response:
Thank you for your e-mail. Please understand all pay-per-view (PPV) movies are non-refundable once ordered. Our technical specialists have done exhaustive troubleshooting on tuners that were reported to have ordered pay-per-view events independently and have found it is not possible for a tuner to do so. The system requires that you confirm your purchase two times before the order will process.
The process to order a PPV includes:
1) Tuning to an event from the guide or channel itself.
2) Pressing the “Select” button go to the order screen.
3) Pressing the “Select” button again to order the PPV.
4) Pressing the right arrow button to highlight “Yes.”
5) Pressing the “Select” button to confirm the order.
6) Pressing the “Select” button to run the phone test.
7) Finally, pressing the “Select” button again to acknowledge the test results.
We regret that it is not possible to make the credit, as you have requested. If you are unaware of how these movies were ordered on your system, you may choose to either lock out your system’s pay-per-view feature (menu, 5, 3) or call us at 1-800-333-3474 to have a supervisor permanently disable your pay-per-view. Both options will prevent pay-per-views from being ordered on your system in the future without your prior explicit approval.
We thank you for allowing us to be of assistance to you. If you have any further questions or concerns, please refer to www.dishnetwork.com or reply to this email.
In short, they claim that it’s impossible for their system to make an error of this nature, and they further argued that ordering a PPV movie is so complex that it would be impossible to do so accidentally. The only useful information contained within their boilerplate response is an outline of how to lock out PPV movies. The funny thing is, the movie in question was apparently ordered at 5AM on a Monday morning, at which time nobody in our house is awake.
I’ve responded letting them know that we’ve just about satisfied our original 18 month agreement (we’re seventeen months in) and that I can’t believe they’d risk running off a reliable customer in the interest of defending a $3.99 billing error. Whether or not the PPV movie is technically refundable, they have it within their power to make billing adjustments. They’ve just chosen not to. I’m sure that the CSR that reads my response won’t care, but I’m sick of dealing with dumbass CSRs on the phone. Next stop, a phone call to EchoStar corporate headquarters — this is seemingly the only way to get any satisfaction from them.
Dish Network, your customer service STILL sucks and we won’t miss you in the least.
As an amusing aside, I encourage you to run a quick Google search for: Dish network customer service
(Here, I did it for you.)
Notice what comes up as the #2 hit, immediately after their official customer service page? 
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What idiots. I went with directv a couple years ago and will never go back. I just don’t subscribe to TV anymore. It’s a waste of money.
Comment by Josh — Nov 20th 2007 @ 10:48 amI’ve been using the same cable company for about a decade now, great high-speed internet and lots of cable channels to choose from, it’s about $80 a month for both of those. It’s ot the cheapest thing in the world, but it’s great service.
Comment by FinanceIsPersonal.com — Nov 20th 2007 @ 11:13 amCongrats on your search placement.
It’s strange how companies will go to great lengths to woo new customers but not to small ones to retain them. Sad, really.
Comment by Mrs. Micah — Nov 20th 2007 @ 11:30 amFIP: We love a bit out in the country, and thus can’t get cable in our area (though oddly enough we can get DSL).
Perhaps try forwarding the email response along with a brief explanation to your state’s Department of Consumers Affairs complaint division. They may contact Dish or forward your request to the appropriate authority to investigate. If the way Dish has handled this with their canned response is not up to your state’s standards, Dish may choose to issue the refund rather than answer a formal inquiry. Just a thought.
Comment by Dylan — Nov 20th 2007 @ 12:29 pmUmm, sorry I meant to tell you I watched a pay-per-view at your house last time you were out. My bad :0
Comment by Ernesto — Nov 20th 2007 @ 2:04 pmSorry to hear about your troubles but be careful what you wish for. If you think Dish Network customer service is bad, try dealing with Comcast for a while. And you get to pay more with them too.
Comment by Vilmo — Nov 20th 2007 @ 2:15 pmRegarding Vilmo’s comment, that’s the problem with monopolies and oligopolies. There’s no real competition, and thus there’s no real motivation for these companies to improve service. They have terrible service and sky-high prices simply because they can get away with it.
Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about it except keep complaining to the government officials in charge.
Comment by Rick — Nov 20th 2007 @ 2:23 pmWe got DirecTV a few months ago and it is GREAT. Customer service is always rated among the best of ALL businesses. Sounds like you are making the switch. Good for you.
Comment by Mark — Nov 20th 2007 @ 4:01 pmWe’ve been Dish customers for years and are generally happy with it. While we haven’t had any problems like nickel has had, this e-mail surprises me.
In our old house, we were watching TV one day when all of a sudden our channels started changing. After some troubleshooting and a call to customer service, we found that a neighbor of ours had Dish installed that day, and our UHF remotes were sharing the same frequency, and they were changing our channels. So, hell yes, it’s absolutely possible for someone outside of your house to order a movie on their system and it could order it on yours at the same time. The fact that it happened at 5am could mean that during daylight hours, there is sufficient wireless activity around your house to block this signal from your neighbor. But at 5am, when things are relatively quiet, it managed to get through.
Pure guessing on my part, but I’d be surprised if this is the first time this has happened.
Comment by Scott — Nov 20th 2007 @ 4:23 pmYeah, by the way the email is worded, the are basically saying you are a big liar and you are not getting your money back. I dropped them a few years back due to poor customer service.
Comment by SingleGuyMoney — Nov 20th 2007 @ 6:32 pmWhatever happened to “the customer is always right?” We have DirecTV but it’s only because they were the first here to pick up the Big Ten Network.
Comment by Madison — Nov 20th 2007 @ 11:03 pmI can hear the boardroom discussions: “First, we set up the surveillance cams. Then, we start The Nickel Channel. All Nickel, all the time.”
Comment by mbhunter — Nov 21st 2007 @ 2:07 amI ditched DishNetwork years ago for DirectTv for a similar nonsensical customer service issue. It was like they didn’t even care that I left but then tried to offer me the world to stay when it finally went through.
I went to DirecTV and they weren’t much better so I ditched Satellite for digital cable (IO with the whole triple pack) and while it’s nice it’s overpriced and their service is almost as bad…
You can’t win.
Comment by T-bone — Nov 21st 2007 @ 9:51 amAfter three consecutive months of billing errors from Time Warner cable, I forwarded copies of all the correspondence to my credit card company and started disputing individual amounts. To my surprise, the credit card company refunded the entire months bill (not just the amount in dispute); given TWs lack of response, the CC simply made the refund permanent.
Comment by PC — Nov 21st 2007 @ 5:36 pmNickel : is this billed to a credit card ? Try the same tastic.
CANCEL CANCEL CANCEL! ABORT! CTRL-ALT-DELETE! OPEN APPLE-OPTION-ESCAPE!
Are you locked in to some sort of pernicious contract that keeps you with this obscene outfit? Put the Dish in the dishwasher, turn the machine to “Sanitize,” and switch to some other provider that will treat you decently.
If you’re stuck with the SOBs, complain to the FTC, the local and federal attorney generals, the Better Business Bureau, and every other regulatory agency you can think of. They’ve violated your contract by cheating you, and so you should be able to exit stage left.
Comment by vh — Nov 21st 2007 @ 9:02 pmAfter having Direct TV for 6 yrs. now, I can’t imagine that I’d ever switch. With the troubles my brother & sister had with Dish, it was an obvious choice. And coupled with the other discounts through AT&T/BellSouth, that makes it a no-brainer for someone who lives out of the reach of cable. If you’re having this much trouble, just switch next month…
Comment by T-R-A — Nov 24th 2007 @ 9:56 amI just came here from Consumerist, some of the commentators over there gave you a real hard time and it wasn’t fair. I’ve been screwed in supposedly “impossible” situations before as well.
This one is of a different sort but here’s but one of my consumer horror stories…
My cellular provider about 8 years ago nailed me with double roam charges when a few family members kept calling me while I was away on a trip. They also nailed me with additional long distance charges and thoguh my bill showed it was all entirely their mistake - they expected me to pay and even threatened me with a collection agency if I didn’t pay up. I’d been the utmost of polite up until this point but that was the last straw. I put the phone and all its gadgets back in the box and took it to the kiosk nearest my home. I smiled politely at the girl who said “We don’t take returns here” and I said “Oh? How tragic..” as I shoved it across the counter, paperwork included and just walked off. I never heard another thing from them…
Stick to your guns bud. Some companies will screw you any way they can. $3.99 here and there adds up after a while. I wonder how many folks they’ve done this to that didn’t complain or fuss?
Comment by Jean — Nov 24th 2007 @ 3:38 pmi just read your message i wish i had seen it before i got my dish network now i have 2 tvs that are in need of repair and a service that dont work right and im only 6 months into my contract and dish network wont even return my calls anymore
Comment by greg — Dec 7th 2007 @ 2:09 pmI just sent in a complaint to BBB about dish network. They keep taking money out of my bank account without my authorization and telling me they wont refund me. Long story but they have the worst customer service. Very unwilling to help you. Plus I asked to speak with a manager and they said it would be a two hour wait. Do they have that many people complaining? haha
Comment by Denise — Dec 19th 2007 @ 9:09 pmI thought was the only guy out there that was having trouble with the dish network company. I have been lied to, over billed and have not received what is in their contract. If you count the number of channels on the channel directory for the top 100 you come up with 75. and that’s only a small part of there lie-ing to the public. There has to be a place we can send this information to someone that will do something about it. I dought the government will help as Bush is probable being paid by them, and half the senate and congress.
Comment by kaiacat — Jan 18th 2008 @ 3:05 pmDISHNETWORK BLOWS!! They have lost me as a customer as of today. I was supposed to get it installed on 12/31 — long story short, I have now called them 5 times, and been promised a call-back within 24-48 hours and told “I will personally follow up on this” twice, and still haven’t heard from them. I am currently looking for a physical mailing address for Charles Ergen, DishNetwork CEO. I will be sending him a written complaint. Who knows if it’ll do anything, but it’ll make me feel better. Eat it, Dish!!
Comment by Katie — Jan 24th 2008 @ 12:32 pmOn March 12,2008, I contacted Dish Network regarding an update sent via satellite that crashed my HD receiver. For three days, we waited for the update to complete and it never did. So on March 12, I called customer service to report the interruption in service. I was told because it was a software error, they would send out a replacement unit within a week. I thanked them and went on with life. Here we are on April 9, 2008 and we still do not have a replacement! My husband I have called three more times to find out where the unit was. We were given a multitude of answers and apologies but still not unit! We are customers in good standing (no late payments and we have been customers for several years and referred people to their service) and this is how valued customers are treated! My last phone call resulted my promise to them that I would contact the all channels possible to express my extreme disapproval of this treatment. The customer service department explained that the fulfillment department was not getting back to them and that they handle sending out the receivers. Do not tell me a corporation of this size cannot overnight a receiver for a customer, especially since this was their programming error not user error that caused this situation. We have kept our tone professional and thankful for their help. This has not worked. This leads me to believe that vulgarity and screaming may have gotten our receiver sent to us in a timely fashion. I am writing to warn everyone of Dish Networks poor customer service / fulfillment department and recommend that they use digital cable or another satellite carrier. We will be.
Comment by Kimberley G — Apr 9th 2008 @ 7:56 amI hate Dish Network they have been screwing me since the day I had it installed. I now am thinking I have enough to just cancell my contract and send the crap dish and equipment back to them. I would advise anyone thinking of going with them to rethink. They suck suck suck. I have been way over charged for what the ad said and they continue to try to get more from me.
Comment by Tom — Apr 15th 2008 @ 2:02 pmMy brother works for Dish. He told me absolutely DO NOT get Dish Network. His exact words: “Dish customer service sucks.”
Comment by Kevin — Apr 15th 2008 @ 7:58 pmWe to have been ripped of by Dish network. They would not fix the problems that began the day of installation and caused our phone to not work and the internet to go only intermittently. The service was a bundle through Frontier and after 6 months of complaints to both Frontier and Dish with no resolution we canceled our bundle and were promised no termination fees would apply. We attempted to return the equipment but it was refused in person, we called the 800 number they never sent labels to return it, we contacted them online and were refered back to the 800 number. So after months of trying we gave up. We should be charging them rent for being forced to keep it. Last week Dish accessed our daughter’s account and so far has taken out $620 and were attempting to take out more so she had to close her bank account and is now trying to deal with bounced check fees and returned items. There was no bill ever sent, no communication what so ever by Dish they just took her money. So far we have contacted the FCC, Attorney General, BBB, ripoff report and this attorney listed below, I also found out today I should contact the FTC and lodge a complaint with them. I am passing this on to anyone else that has been ripped off by Dish in case anyone is interested in contacting this attorney.
We have been ripped off over $620 in the past week for service we terminated in Jan 2008. Prior to that we put up with horrible service from Dish and Frontier both and could not use our phone or internet, had lousy reception. It was all caused by the Dish HD receiver. We paid $920 for that lousy service before giving up on getting it fixed. We were never refunded the extra $140 we paid to frontier for this lousy service. We attempted to return the equipment in person and by phone they would not allow us to return it and demanded we wait on ups labels that have never been sent. Then Dish arbitrarily accesses my daughter’s account and takes out $620 last week. All termination fees were to be waived due to the service being so bad and the signal was turned off in January - this I have in writing. Now they claim we have received service for three months and owe termination fees, late fees, equipment fees. The bank account had to be closed yesterday to stop them from taking any more money out of the account because they were still demanding to be paid more. I have already lodged complaints with the FCC, Attorney General, BBB, and the ripoff report. In my research of the over 200,000 complaints about Dish Network online I found this information and have just faxed my info to them. I thought I would pass this on for others that have been ripped off.
Carpetz Law Firm
5000 Birch Street, West Tower Suite 2500
Newport Beach, California 92660-2139
Telephone: 949-724-3000 800-351-8588
Fax: 949-757-2635 URL: http://www.capretz.com URL: http://www.capretzlawfirm.com
ECHOSTAR & DISH NETWORK
We are currently investigating claims against EchoStar and its Dish Network satellite cable provider for possible violation of state and/or federal laws. If you or someone you know currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Dish Network, you and those similarly situated could be entitled to monetary damages. Please contact us or call our toll-free number (800) 351-8588 for a free, no-obligation consultation with an attorney.
Comment by Melodie — Apr 25th 2008 @ 1:58 pmI’ve had my share of troubles with Dish, too, mostly for restarting out of the blue and problems with ordering pay per view. By and large, i’m happy, tho. Keep your eye at ripoff report, cuz they’ll have the latest on what Dish’s response is to all their complainst.
Comment by meredith — Apr 28th 2008 @ 5:08 pmI had Dish Network back from 2000 to 2002 and had to cancel because I moved to an apt. I bought a house in 2006 and decided to sign up again in March of 2007 because my first time with them was fine. Oh my has their service declined, if there was one cloud in the sky the service would go out and I had at least three service cut outs per week. I cancelled them and switched to Directv in December of 2007 and service is fine, customer service although not great, is lightyears better that Dish. There have been countless times I was on hold with Dish for over 30 minutes before talking to some dude or dudette in India who could barely speak English. Dish nickled and dimed me to death, they didn’t even install the dish correctly and then charged me $30 for the re-point. They charged me $5 a month for not having a phone line, by the way Directv does not charge me for not having a phone line. Plus Dish doesn’t have MLB Extra Innings! Directv is a far superior product. When I got Directv HD I needed only one dish while with Dish Network I needed two. I hope Dish goes out of business, THEY ARE HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by David — May 1st 2008 @ 1:27 amDish receiver continues to disconnect. So far three repairmen have come out to the house in the past week,. and shortly after they leave it ceases service again. Everytime I call I get the run around from their customer service and I keep explaining the problem. They have changed antenna, changed plugs, changed cables but continues to shut off and keeps making attempts to reboot, but doesn’t,
Comment by Rob — May 2nd 2008 @ 3:36 pmI certainly don’t recommend them at this point.