DISH NETWORK and the PROGRAM ACCESS FEE! BE WARNED!

ComplaintsInternet ScamsDish Network

Complaint

0
Jess
Country: United States
We recently had DISH NETWORK installed in our home. We agreed to their 18 MONTH COMMITMENT. I was told when I ordered DISH NETWORK that our phone line would be hooked-up to the satellite receivers. So when the man came out to install DISH NETWORK he was finishing up his work, but had not connected the phone line.

I asked him "are you going to hook up our phone line"? And he said "well I could, but if your not going to be using pay per view, it is not needed". I said ok then,"don't hook up the phone lines", and he left.

Well a few days later we received our first DISH NETWORK bill. On it was a $20 PROGRAM ACCESS FEE. This did not make sense to me. I was not told about this fee, so I contacted DISH NETWORK customer service. The customer service agent told me that the PROGRAM ACCESS FEE, "was for not having my phone line connected to the receivers". I told him that the installer did not hook them up, "that it was not needed".

The agent got ugly with me and replied , "I can't help what the installer told you, but it is needed"! I said, "then please send the installer back out to hook-up our phone line". "If we do there will be a charge for the trip!" the customer service agent said rudely. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! What kind of scam are they pulling here? If I hadn't sign that 18 MONTH COMMITMENT, I would have canceled DISH NETWORK, then and there! Don't need it... do need it... charge you for a return trip, it went on and on! So finally it ended up with myself taking a few hours of my time to run phone lines all over the house to hook-up the DISH NETWORK receivers. Then it took 3 or 4 calls to DISH NETWORK customer service to get the PROGRAM ACCESS FEE off my bill.

I wonder how many DISH NETWORK customer are paying the PROGRAM ACCESS FEE and don't even know what it is. I'm sure there must be some senior citizens and other people who don't check their bill as closely as I did. Its pretty deceiving because it sounds like a fee for programs your are getting.

PROGRAM ACCESS FEE! They should call it the 'phone line fee', but that would send up red flags and alert people now wouldn't it. And they wouldn't be making that extra cash from a fee that people don't understand. I wonder why they are charging me for not hooking up my phone line in the first place? What difference does it make? Or are their receivers doing something with my phone line that I don't know about? They could be sending information about me and I wouldn't even ever know about it. Something must be going on!

So if you or your friends or family have DISH NETWORK, you should check your bills closely and see if there is a PROGRAM ACCESS FEE on it.
And to the people at DISH NETWORK, you should be ashamed of deceiving new customers by sending out your installers to tell people the phone line is not needed and then charging your customer for a return trip to fix your mistake! You should be ashamed of the way your agents at customer service treat new customers.

I guess you figure that after we sign your 18 MONTH COMMITMENT it doesn't matter, you can treat us like dogs. And by the way the DISH NETWORK 18 MONTH COMMITMENT, it is completely one sided in favor of DISH NETWORK! It's all about everything DISH NETWORK can do and everything YOU CAN'T DO! They have paid their lawyers good to make sure you have absolutely no way out! Without paying BIG BUCKS, that is. Oh yeah, if your promised a $100 REBATE from DISH NETWORK and the installer tells you "the rebate form will come with the first bill, to fill it out and send it in with the payment", don't believe him.

This is miss-guided, misinformation also! You must go on-line to a certain website to get the form and send it to an address other than where you send your payment. I wonder what people without computer have to go through to get the rebate form? DISH NETWORK and the PROGRAM ACCESS FEE! BE WARNED!

Comments

12
  • 0
    James (2)
    James - regardless of the service contract, I think the point being made here is that it is becoming pretty obvious that the $5 programming access fee is merely a pseudonym for "let's pad our wallets some more" which they justify with a lot of excuses. Just like the 'service fee' when you change programming line-ups it's probably just an encouragement for customers so they will be able to readily order pay-per-view and other enhancements. Dish will be able to deliver products, at a fee more easily while discouraging the cancellation of current programming or ordering premium for a few weeks and shutting it off to wait for the movie line-up to change. In any event, it really is a frivolous fee but I still think they are the best value for the buck.
  • 0
    Angry Customer
    I too have been ripped off by their "Rebate" plan.  Never received my check for $100.
  • 0
    Will
    When I started service with Dish Network, they gave me an HD receiver, which I did not ask for, and they gave me few months of HD service on promotional basis. At the end of the promotional period I asked that my HD service be discontinued. To my surprise, Dish Network started adding $7.00/month to my bill for what they call “HD enabling fee”.  This service has to be paid despite the fact that not a single channel in my package is in High definition.  

    When I called Customer Service, one supervisor offered to send me another receiver with no HD capability, but with a catch. He wanted me to sign a new 2–year contract and he will not refund the bogus charges they have been levying for months.

    This nothing but daylight highway robbery imposed on unassuming customers who often don’t look at their bill. Dish Network is one of hundreds of corrupt telecommunication companies which are engaged in ripping off the public while our FCC is turning blind eye to their crimes.
  • 0
    William Otis
    This "Programming Access Fee" is a scam and there should be a lawsuit, plain and simple.  Not just because of the way the installers are handling it, but because of what it is.  I have had Dish Network for over a year now and I have determined, partly through talking to Dish Network and partly through experience, that the ONLY things the phone line is used for is ordering Pay-Per-View and sending contest entries and such with the online advertisers (and perhaps accessing your account info to upgrade your service, but I think you can do that without it).  Note that all of these things make Dish Network MONEY, and are not required parts of your service.  They are charging you money, because they cannot make MORE money off of you. This sounds rather illegal, doesn't it?  Can you imagine if your local electric company charged you an extra fee because you were using natural gas for your heating?  Or the phone company charged you a fee because you *weren't* using any of their extra services like call waiting?  Can you imagine the uproar this would cause?  Well let's get one going here!
  • 0
    Duff
    I'm getting charged the P.A.F. even though my receivers ARE hooked up to a phone line. I ran the tests and they test fine. I have call detail from my phone provider proving my receivers are dialing into their network everyday. Not good enough, says Dish Network. *Our* records show your receivers are not contacting us. Charge stands.
  • 0
    Billn
    Several months after my Dish system was installed in 2004, I got the first on-screen warning that I must have my phone line connected to my receiver.  I looked, and it WAS connected.  Then I got a $5 extra charge.  I refused to pay it, so Dish charged another $5 for failure to pay the first $5.

    Eventually, I thought of hooking up a test phone to the phone terminal the installer had installed.  Lo! ... no dial-tone!  So I opened the terminal box and found the installer had wrapped a wire around a screw but forgot to tighten the screw, and the wire removed itself.  So I fixed it.

    I phoned Dish and eventually got one of the $5 charges credited.  Ever since, I've always paid my monthly bill, less the second $5 charge.  I cannot imagine why they've not contacted me, since I've been paying $5 less than they bill me every month for 5 years now.

    In the past year I've seen the warning message several more times.  I have dial-up Internet service, and software updates have taken many hours.  I do them over night, and then have received the Dish warning the next day.  Yesterday, I saw the warning again.  This time it was because of a storm that disrupted phone service for several hours.  It's obvious that the Dish system cannot distinguish between a busy signal or phone outages ... and a lack of a phone connection to their receiver.

    Billn
  • 0
    Tim
    Dish is the worst at customer service.  I have had Dish for years and paying tru auto pay.  One day they left me a message stateing that I would no longer get a bill because I was on auto pay.  Well a person is intitled to a bill so they know what they are paying for.

    So I called and their customer service rep assured me they would take care of it.  I got a bill for a few months then no bill again.  I called and the rep again assured me they would take care of it. Well a few days ago they left me another message.  And guess what??????  Yep I wouldn't be getting a bill again.  So I called again this time I was pissed, so I canceled my premium chanels forty dollars out of their pocket.  I am in the process of stopping auto pay.  And am checking into Direct and Comcast.

    Very UNHAPPY  Tim
  • 0
    Nikki
    Dish network reps are rude and have little knowledge about the BS service they are representing.
    I have a bundle with AT&T and Dish sent me a bill that was billing me two months in advance... what for??

    i had already paid my bundle bill with at&t which included the dish portion, its bundled for a reason, and i didnt understand the reason for a seperate bill.

    the reps had no idea all they knew is that i owd $$$ in two weeks and that i needed to pay.
    I am currently trying to work this out and find the cause because i refuse to pay that bill.

    one word. Scammers.
  • 0
    My story
    I signed up for dish on a bundled discount with my phone company.  As I always use a cell phone, I canceled my phone service and unbundled the accounts.  After several months of getting just dish bills I moved and took my reciever with me.   At my new house there is a phone jack but again I dont want to pay for phone service.

    Because my account was bundled at first I cant access my account to manage programming.  Also I am getting messages telling me I will be billed for no phone connection.  I called and complained and the supervisor told me she would ship me the wireless phone jack.  I told her THAT WONT WORK because the phoneline is dead - no service.  She insists this magical box will turn my electrical outlet into a phone line!!!  I laughed hard and said ok.  

    So I got the wireless jack and hooked it up to the dead phone line and the other end into the reciever.  Tried to dial out... no luck (obviously).  So I still have no way to order programming except the cell phone.  The reciever seems to think it is hooked to a phone line so I will see if the 5 dollar charges remain.  

    It just kills me that they cant get my account straightened out so I can access dishnetwork.com... and then this lady insisting my electrical outlet will be turned into a phone after I explained again that there IS NO PHONE SERVICE TO THE OUTLET!

    These people are MORONS and I will cancel once my 24 month contract is up.
  • 0
    Rosemary
    I recently upgraded to a dish dvr on 2 tv, I also have 2 tv's  with the old dish remote(no dish dvr receiver).  Since the installation of the ugrade I no longer am able to access the imput 1 or imput 2 on my tv to play my dvr.  I was told to call the dvr company and on a call back I was told to call the tv company.  There teck support is the worst, the people are from out of the country, barely can speak english and know nothing. I had the same experience when the dvr was installed after several hours and many, many calls, I was told that the little flag and the box has to be straight up.  Who knows the solution to my problem,, but I am not going to let them get away with it, they should have this solution.  I will never recomand dish to anyone ever.  I have been given credits on my bill twice for their mistakes.  Remember... NOBODY AND I MEAN NOBODY LISTENS to the comsumer  IN THAT COMPANY! FINE ANOTHER COMPANY!
  • 0
    Dished
    I had to hook up two phone lines to my 2 receivers on my own because I failed to see this charge when I signed up for the Dish Network, I am also still waiting for the rebate that was promised when I used my credit card to sign up for the service. I will say the online support was very helpful and the contact peolple did seem sincere in answering my questions.
  • 0
    maya N
    Unfortunately Direct TV is not better either-THEY recently stoped broadcasting an international chanel (which means not more available) and when I called to cancel the account they told me I had to pay cancelation fee ,since my contract it was going to be over in 2 months.
    THEY stop the services and I still have to pay fee.
  • 0
    fedupwithdish
    The reason the phone line is Necessary is simply this.  Without the phoneline.  once you activate the box to your account you can then take that box to anyone within a certain geopraphical range of your location.  You must all use the same satellite numbers.. like 110, 119 229 whatever to get your channels from, but dish has NO WAY to track the recievers so as long as you OWN the equipment once you activate the equipment to your account spread them out to your friends.. split the bill among 4-5 families.. It's against their terms of service, but since service is being paid for it's not something they can actually put you in Jail for.  Have fun Enjoy.  REMEMBER NEVER PLUG IN A BOX TO PHONE OR INTERNET and always buy your equipment and screw DISH NETWORK and DIRECT TV.
  • 0
    jdhorton
    I am a dish network customer also. I really dont have any problems with them. All my boxes are hooked up to phone lines after I found out that A $5.00 fee would be charged each month. The reason they told me was that it helped keep the boxed or channels upgraded. I dont know if this is a load of bull or not but when you live in a area like i do and the county you live in wont supply cable, electricity, or phone service then you count yourself lucky that you even get services. I have power from on county, phone and internet from another county, a phone number from a area in another county. The only service I get from the county I live in in gargabe pickup, LOL. I also got free HD for life after I signed up for automatice payments, You guys can continue to complain about dish is you want but I was told be a neighbor, if they had it to do all over again, they would NOT get Direct, it dropped signal all the time and they couldnt watch. They would get Dish. That is why i have it and when I asked for upgraded boxes I got them immedietly. Oh, I did put a block on so no one can order movies and I promptly forgot what the block was so I wouldnt be tempted to order myself. So just hook up your box and you wot have any problems. Sorry if not all agree with me.
  • 0
    Tobin
    I asked for something in writing. They wouldn't do it but promised 2 TV's connected with $44/mo for the 1st year...and increase later. With the equipment and DVR...I paid $64 in total for a year. The service guy said it did not need to be hooked up to phone line..at all :l  

    3 months later...dropping the free movie channels...they are charging me more saying the $64 is the program fee for 200 channels....and extra for equipment with DVR and extra per room! And taking it out of my bank!

    I signed NO paperwork and MAD they can do this. If I wasn't flying out to Europe this month...there would not be 4 months of Dish with me. They will have to wait till I get back but if there has to be my first black mark on my credit by an UNACCREDITED BBB company...so be it.

    THEY ARE CON ARTISTS.
12

Post a new comment