Dumping cable for dish

[nmmetsfan]

Had DirecTV, was specifically told by the sales person I wouldn't have to sign a 2-year deal. Guy came to install, asked for my signatures, I purposely did not sign where the agreement section referencing the 2-year commitment.

Went to cancel 16 months in (the wife went back to school full time and money was tight) and they said I couldn't because I had a 2-year deal. I argued with three different people over it. They kept sending me a 200.00 early cancellation bill for another 13 months before I had a lawyer send them a letter outlining what happened when I signed up.

Won't go back.
Have had Dish for two years now, and have no complaints. I did agree to the 2-year deal this time to avoid another fiasco. When I moved 9-months into the agreement I asked them if they could give me some kind of deal to upgrade to HD and the gave me a higher package, plus HD for $5 more than I was paying and didn't even balk. Needless to say I'm happy with Dish.

Cable is overpriced, period.

 

[Stitch]

Had DirecTV, was specifically told by the sales person I wouldn't have to sign a 2-year deal. Guy came to install, asked for my signatures, I purposely did not sign where the agreement section referencing the 2-year commitment.

Went to cancel 16 months in (the wife went back to school full time and money was tight) and they said I couldn't because I had a 2-year deal. I argued with three different people over it. They kept sending me a 200.00 early cancellation bill for another 13 months before I had a lawyer send them a letter outlining what happened when I signed up.

Won't go back.
Have had Dish for two years now, and have no complaints. I did agree to the 2-year deal this time to avoid another fiasco. When I moved 9-months into the agreement I asked them if they could give me some kind of deal to upgrade to HD and the gave me a higher package, plus HD for $5 more than I was paying and didn't even balk. Needless to say I'm happy with Dish.

Cable is overpriced, period.

For those reading this, anyone who thinks you don't have to agree to a 2-year contract for DirecTV or Dish as a new customer is fooling themselves.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

DirectTV can eat **** and die.

Before we moved, we had it on the farm (I know, I know). After about a month, the system would go out at 11 and 3 like clockwork. They could never figure it out. The system would stay up in a downpour or a snowstorm, but during a drizzle forget it.

We moved in December and a guy came out to take everything apart and away. We moved into the local town where we could get cable, got it and lived happily ever after until June.

DirectTV started calling and wanted to know why we weren't paying our bill. My dad politely told them that we didn't live there anymore and we disconnected the service. They told us that we never did, we owed them nearly two hundred bucks and the were coming for their equipment.

After a while, dad said sure but didn't pay it. I'm sure they got a nice surprise when they went out to the old house -- only to find a nice Mennonite family living there.

According to Dr. J they sent him bills up until the time of his death. This thread has me all pissed off again. I think I'll call my mom tomorrow to see if they're still sending anything. If they are, I'll send them a copy of his obit.

Why would DirecTV come disconnect your stuff? They send boxes for the receivers and that's it. As for the people who look for a deal, you can always switch every year or two, but I like what DirecTV has to offer.

This was 10 years ago. I don't know what they use now, but back then we had a dish sticking three feet out of the ground, so someone actually came to the house to get the stuff.

Gutter has a good question. I'm upgrading in a month, and I'm thinking of running my intrawebs off my phone. Anyone here have success with it? What phones are the best?

My internet connection is through my cell phone. It's a Palm Pre Plus from Verizon. It's got a wireless hotspot app that I use to get my laptop online.

The connection speed is OK - better than dialup, but not high speed. You get 5G of data use through the hotspot, which I've never come near but it's a low enough total that you can't really stream any kind of movie or more than a couple of tv shows. But I don't do that so it's no concern to me. If you have any other questions about it PM me.

 

[I'll never tell]

I'm convinced that the cable companies are total D-bags, because they know they've got enough of a built-in market with people who live in apartments.

They kind of try, but when it comes down to it, they just can't compete with what Dish and Direct offer.

 

[proudpittsburgher]

Had DirecTV, was specifically told by the sales person I wouldn't have to sign a 2-year deal. Guy came to install, asked for my signatures, I purposely did not sign where the agreement section referencing the 2-year commitment.

Went to cancel 16 months in (the wife went back to school full time and money was tight) and they said I couldn't because I had a 2-year deal. I argued with three different people over it. They kept sending me a 200.00 early cancellation bill for another 13 months before I had a lawyer send them a letter outlining what happened when I signed up.

Won't go back.
Have had Dish for two years now, and have no complaints. I did agree to the 2-year deal this time to avoid another fiasco. When I moved 9-months into the agreement I asked them if they could give me some kind of deal to upgrade to HD and the gave me a higher package, plus HD for $5 more than I was paying and didn't even balk. Needless to say I'm happy with Dish.

Cable is overpriced, period.

I would disagree with the last part. I once swore I would never go back to Comcast. I was very happy with DTV for many years, then Verizon was pretty nice at a good price, but Comcast offered us the world for 89 bucks a month. internet, phone, all HD, free red zone, hbo, starz, encore, for one or two years . . . our choice. Pretty much anyoen will give you a great deal if you switch anymore.