DISH Network
Reviews and Complaints

Hi there dchalfant! I happened to read your post & I'm extremely sorry to hear about all these issues you have experienced with DISH Network. I'll introduce myself, my name is Michael Hurst & I work for DISH Network, in our Executive Resolutions Department & I would be more then happy to help you get this resolved. Sounds like you have more then 1 Duo receiver that was required to be plugged into a phone line since you were getting charged $10.00 additional a month. This fee would be removed if the receiver was plugged into a phone line and waived the cost for the second TV that each receiver has the ability to run. The customer service agent that you spoke to advised that this fee is no longer charged which is correct. You can still connect your receivers to a phone line or Ethernet cable to get added features like caller id, PPV movies, check your bill, and make changes to your services. If you are still having an issue with this please respond to this post. I will also leave my email if you have any additional information that you would like to provide. Michael.hurst@dishnetwork.com. Take care and hope to hear from you soon. - Michael

I'm only 3 months into my 24 month contract and they doubled my receiver fees? They say they have the right to change the price at any time and I'm still bound by the contract.

Is this really possible?

My bill is going to Increase $25.00 as I have three recievers..

Been with Dishnetwork for 11 years, going to cancel and switch to Direct TV.

I am glad that I'm no longer under a contract.

One onboard here...

Been with dish over 11 years...
This Dish New price increase adds $22 a month
to my bill and in return I get nothing..literally
nothing...Jan paying $85 Feb paying $107...for the same
exact setup...there giving out 6 month credit to offset longtime customers
but this is merely a pacifier to get you use to the new prices...and in 6 months..
what then?...

I do not believe it is illegal in that they have the right to change packaging
pricing etc at there discretion...as long as it nots some huge conspiracy between
them and direct-tv/cable for price fixing...then no...

I believe there argument goes...we are still cheaper than the competition
for similar setups and this is true..but by how much..A Direct tv setu in my
case is easily $15 more...and cable is about the same if you have all the channels...
so there argument is "we can charge more and still be under the rest, so why not"...

Greed...

Santa won't be visiting my 7 & 10 year old because a Dish salesman opted to lie to put $10 in his pocket.

Dish Network is the worst. It reminds me of AOL years ago when they were being bullies to people that wanted to cancel their service. They are rude, agressive, intimidating and frankly very ignorant. My friend filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy and Dish Networks said they would NOT release him from his contract. They acted like they didn't have to abide by the Federal Bankruptcy laws and harassed him for $180 cancellation fee!

I would NOT recommend Dish to anyone not even my worst enemy. HOPEFULLY there will be a class action lawsuit AGAINST them and all injured and treated badly, will be compensated!

Again, how can dish tv make us pay a MONTH ahead...we have been fined $10.00 for not doing so!

Is it legal for dish to make us pay 1 month in advance?

I have been with them for 2 years and still on a pay in advance status, my pay periods are not even around the date they cut me off every month because of it and I have to wait a week to get it back on. It is ridiculous. I call and they are like I am sorry but once on this status can not change it or even give a extension. I said well then cancel my account with you and issue the credits because you just lost a customer. Wish there was something you could do about this.

pissed dish customer no more.
Iowa

Hi WalB78 my name is Mike Houston of DISH Network, when a customer is signing up for DISH Network service we do not require the Landlords permission for install. If permission is needed the tenant is responsible for getting permission. If the property owner does not want the Dish up or they want it in a certain place we will accommodate them. If there needs to be a Dish Removal there is a charge for this service of $95.00 and we will send out a tech to de-install for the equipment. If the customer is closing out the account we do ask they return the LNBF, switches, receivers and remotes so we can close out the account. We do not ask for the Dish back and most people will leave it up on the roof for the next renter. If you have any questions I will leave my e-mail so you can contact me directly. Michael.houston@dishnetwork.com

Take the dish units down yourself and cosmetically hide the wiring in some fashion. When Dish wants their units back, submit a labor charge to them that they have to pay before they can have them. Let them know the feeling of their own tactics.

I have been moving since Tuesday, November 18, 2008. I scheduled appointment with Dish Network for installation in my new apartment on November 12, 2008. On the day of the installation I called thirty minutes before the was to expire to find out the location of the technican and how long before it will be before he arrived. The representative asked for confirmation of address and phone of the new address installation. I found out that the appointment was cancelled with no reason of why. I stated to the representative that I am in the military and deploying very soon as in next month. I asked to talk with one of the Supervisors, Scott, identification number M50 for help. He refused to give me any help in this matter only when I asked to talk with his Supervisor did he say he could get appointment for tomorrow on November 19, 2008. I asked him to please verify my information to ensure that the guy would here and if he had a problem that he could reach me at home. So now it is today and guess what there was no phone call with no installation of my service. So I have to go the rest of the week and weekend until Tuesday November 25 for any service on my home. I called Dish Network to find out the status of my appointment only to be told my address was entered incorrectly. I am being to think that this company should hire trained monkeys. Because if you have a Supervisor and representative who cannot enter a address or phone number correctly into a computer then what else is falling through the cracks over there. You have a company who makes a mistake and does nothing to help the customer. They are more worried about adding extra services to you then to help a customer who has geninue concerns. I think what if everytime they made a mistake their employees were docked pay as we the customers are for missing our hours at work. Would that open their minds to better help the customers?

Hello, this is Kimberly Escobar with Dish network customer support just ran across your post here and wanted to inform you I would be more than happy to further look into this for you. I apologize for any inconveniences you might have experienced with DISH Network. If at the moment you have an active account please feel free contact me directly at kimberly.escobar@dishnetwork.com I would like to look into this ongoing issue for you and provide you with the best solution possible.

You should include a prevision in your lease concerning satellite dishes and any charges that are included. Personally, I would outlaw them as they are ugly and and the wiring job destroys the property. It's not Dishs' responsibility.

We were also scammed by this company. After setting up work order with Infinity, I was little curious about the $49.95 fee and did some research online. There were so many complaints about this company and we also came to find out that if you sign up directly through Dish Network you don't have to pay that processing fee.

So, we called Dish network immediately (within 24 hrs after setting up the work order with Infinity) and cancelled the work order and got the refund for the programming charge that was charged by Dish Network. But they sad they couldn’t refund the processing fee since it was charged by their third party retailer INFINITY DISH or INFINITY SALES GROUP. So, I called Infinity to ask for my refund and they kept transferring the call to the Dish Network customer Service and even hung up my call few times.

After, wasting about 100 minutes of our cell phone minutes going back and forth between Infinity and Dish customer service, I had had it. I was pissed…I mean really pissed. I was motivated to do anything possible to get my money back. To be honest, it wasn’t even about the money anymore, it was about what is right and what is wrong. So, if you really want your hard earned money back from these thieves, here is what you need to do.

a) Dispute the charge with the credit card company or the bank claiming it was a fraud charge since you can’t get hold of anyone at Infinity.

b) Filed complaint at Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org). Type in your zip code and then click on (File a complaint). Then keep following the on screen steps. When asked about the company you want to file complaint against, Type: Infinity Sales Group, LLC, P.O. Box 810491, Boca Raton, FL 33481. Then, write briefly what happened. Make sure to ask for the refund and also write that you want Infinity to remove your name, address and credit number from their data base. Don't forget to submit your complaint.

c) Also, file complaint at (www.infsalesgroup.com/contact). This is Dish Infinity (or Info Sales Groups) legal website. It took me a while to find this out. Briefly write down what happened and ask for your refund. Make sure to include your name, address and the dish acct number the sales guy gave to you through the phone.

D) Lastly, EDUCATE, EDUCATE! Tell everyone you know (friends, family, neighbor, blogs...etc) about your horrible experience with Dish Infinity so that you can save them from getting ripped off.

I hope this helps

An add came in the mail for Dish network. We were increasingly unsatisfied with our cable company. So, my husband called the contracted installation company to get the details on the plan they were offering. Free installation, four room set up. etc... It sounded like it would be worth while. My husband asked to set up an appointment. The gentleman (if thats the term for deviant liar) asked for our credit card and my husband said what for. I thought there would be no charges. He told him it was to hold our appointment. Cool! The installer was out in 2 days. We were set. So we started having some minor reception problems. no biggie. Then 2 weeks later we got our first bill. We were expecting in the neighborhood of $60-$70 dollars. Oh no, the wanted $115.00. On top of the $49.99 they fraudulently charged my credit card. It turned out that deviant sales rep also signed us up for auto pay to our credit card. I called dish network and had that switched over to regular pay. The dish net. rep told me my bill would go up $3.00 a month. I was very unhappy but said whatever its $3.00. He also would fix our bill to reflect the $10.00 per month discount we were supposed to be getting and adjust the pricing to what it was supposed to be. I asked why they charged my credit card 50 bucks. He told me that was the activation fee. I explained there was no activation fee supposed to be charged. Here comes the run around. My husband called when he got home to get the 50 bucks put back on our credit card. The new liar said that it was a credit from them. Mortified my husband explained to her that the charge was on his card and it was definetly not a credit from dish. She lied and said the charge would go back to our card. Next bill comes and is still up to 100 bucks and no 50 credit in sight. We had had enough. After about 3-4 hours being transfered around i spoke with a supervisor liar rick, account specialist supervisor no less. After i explained how there install company lied to us so we would sign up and how direct fraudulently charged our card he said he would go ahead and cancel our service for no early term fees. LIAR! I received a bill for $213 two weeks later, you guessed right early term fees. I called dish and the supervisor liar rick had totally snowed me. His notes on our conversation stated that he informed me that cancellation fees would be standing. I have never in all my life been defrauded by such a large company. They will never get those cancellation fees from me. I just cant comprehend. All there customer service reps must be prison inmates, they wont make license plates anymore...

My husband and I have run into the very same problems with DISH. They are truly masters at deception and shady practices. We have been passed around on the telephone from this "specialist" to that "specialist" and back and forth, so on and so on. The last "specialist" to whom we talked was with the "Office of the President." (I could hear the other "specialists" laughing in the background. We, too, were promised one fee and charged another and other problems with service occurred as well. So, of course, we tried to cancel. We have no contract in our hands, so we asked for their copy of the signed contract, and we got it! Whoever would have guess that these fraudulent people forged our signatures? They must have gotten them from the signed installation papers. However, our names are misspelled! So, needless to say, they will not get the cancellation fee. I just wish other customers would take them to court as I plan to do. Maybe they would straighten up their act.

3 months ago I signed up for a Dish Network special in which I was supposed to receive a $100 rebated as $10 per month for 10 months. I called immediately when the first bill showed up and didn’t reflect the credit. I called within my 30 day trial period and told them to come and pick up their equipment. A “specialist” spoke with me and assured me that he would get the credit posted and not to worry, and also posted another credit for another issue that was totally incorrect so I told him to continue the service. As a result of the credits I didn’t receive a bill the second month and today received a bill still showing that the “rebate” credit was not applied. Now when I phone I find out that the companies practice is that consumers are supposed to call and ask for a “rebate form”. I asked how I’m supposed to know to ask for a “rebate form.” Their answer was that when I get the bill and see that I don’t have the credit I would call and complain and they would tell me. I told them I did call and complain and that they said they would take care of it, but if I need to complete a form to send it to me. Their response was then “sorry you only have 60 days from the date of activation to complete the form and return it to us.” I asked them where it says that in any documentation whatsoever. Their response was “it says so right here on my script.” Moral of the story … Dish Network totally sucks. The problem is that I live in an area where my only other option is Charter cable, who sucks even worse. What’s worse is that both companies have policies in place to ensure that you can’t get any customer service at all, and when you ask to email someone their response is we can’t get email, and that nobody else in the company has phones to receive calls either. Then I discovered when I told them I’d like the service discontinued that by signing to accept their “free warranty” service for 18 months really committed to an 18 month contract for the service. I wouldn’t wish Dish Network or their customer no service on any of my enemies.

In September I contracted for and had installed Dish Network High Definition TV. The picture never was in High Def even though I could receive certain channels that were supposedly in HD. I believed the trouble might be with my television and I would fix that when I had the time.

I disassembled my home theater (no small feat) to find the problem and discovered Dish Network's crack installer had connected the HD receiver outputs to my TV's standard inputs. After that problem was rectified I still had no HDTV. I discovered the installer had never programmed the receiver to accept HD programming, so I fixed the programming issue.

Yep, you guessed it! I still had no HDTV so I called Echostar, AKA Dish Network. I think the reason for the two names is to confuse people who know one or the other totally sucks. I was informed that the installer had never started my HD programming despite the fact that the dealer, Echostar and I each had a signed contract specifying HDTV.

I asked them to start it up but they told me I would need to buy a new receiver and sign up for 18 more months of their BS and pay twice as much for programming. I asked if everyone who had HD when I signed up had to change and pay more and was told no, that they still had the original programming at the original price.

Then the THIEF told me he would make me a 'special' offer because of the trouble. I could buy the new equipment at only $49.95, sign the new contract and begin to get the HD programming I initially contracted for. I checked their website and found that EVERYBODY got that offer. Man, I hate being lied to.

When I declined their 'special' offer they told me I could pay the additional price for the new programming, exactly twice as much as our contract stated, but only get the lesser number of channels of the original contract! Under no circumstances would they do anything to make up for their errors. They told me I was responsible because I didn't b***h soon enough.

I just want what I contracted and paid for. Hopefully because I have the signed contract and they never supplied the agreed upon service I can prove breach of contract in court.

Please avoid the troubles I've experienced. Google Dish Network's and Echostar's terrible customer service to see for yourself. They obviously count on getting new customers because with service like that they MUST be hemorhaging existing customers!

This is the letter I submitted to Dish Network directly following the exp:

In November of 2008 I selected Dish Network as my satellite carrier. At that time I agreed to a promotion that provided the household with two receiver boxes. Only owning one television at the time, the gentleman who installed the necessary equipment said he would take the second box/receiver with him and when I was ready for it to be installed, simply give Dish Network a call and they would return to install the second receiver.
On the morning of Friday June 11, 2010 I was balancing my checking account with my online banking programs when I noticed an automatic payment to Dish Network for the amount of $315.99. My monthly bill is typically $31.99. I thought surely this was a mistake of some kind so I phoned customer service billing and inquired as to the charges.
The CR representative I spoke to said the charges were for a recent service call in which I had the second receiver installed. He said the charges were $90 for the service call, $149 for the receiver and the remaining portion was my monthly bill, now increased due to two receivers being in the house.
Upon hearing this information I explained that the receiver is not something I would have needed to purchase, as it was something that was inclusive in my initial agreement with Dish Network. He said he would speak with his supervisor, at which point I was put on hold for an extended amount of time. When he returned to the phone he said there was nothing that could be done and that I would not be receiving a refund for the unauthorized $315.99 pulled from my checking account by Dish Network.
At this juncture I asked to speak directly to his supervisor, stating that he had been very nice but obviously the supervisor was preventing a positive resolution between Dish Network and I. I was then put on hold for approximately thirty minutes before being disconnected.
Shortly after, around 11a.m. (MST) Friday morning June 11 I phoned Dish Network again, again explaining my predicament. I said that the bottom line was that this $315.99 withdrawal from my checking account was not authorized by me, nor had it at anytime been stated, at all, that there would be a charge incurred for bringing the second receiver into my home. The customer service representative I spoke to this time stated that “I can tell you whatever you want, but you’re still not getting your money back.”
At this juncture I asked to speak to a supervisor and was put on hold, eventually I was connected to a man who explained himself to be a manager. “I am a manager, I am superior to a supervisor” he explained. We spoke for twenty or so minutes at which time he informed me that a $149 credit would be placed to my account.
At this time the manager asked me if when placing my service call I had agreed to a two year contract or not, I stated very clearly, that was not a question I had been asked at the time of placing the service call. The manager went on to state that had I agreed to the contract there would have been no charge to me for the receiver box or service call. I again stated that while scheduling the service call no contract discussion or charges I would be incurring were mentioned, implied, or discussed. Further, had I been told that this service call was going to cost money, and was not inclusive of my original agreement with Dish Network, then I would have never had the service call to begin with.
I was once again transferred to a department that could, I was told, complete the process.
The following day (Sat, June 12, 2010) I phoned Dish Network again to begin the process of cancelling my account and to continue pursuing a full refund. Almost immediately the customer service representative (Rob QA5) became rude and short with me, talking down to me much in the manner an adult might condescend a small child. I stated that there was no reason to talk to me like that, but if that is how Dish Network was going to handle things, then I too would be more than happy to be rude and unreasonable.
I told Rob that I would be contacting a lawyer regarding this matter since obviously Dish Network had no interest in helping me, their customer of eighteen months. I then insisted I be transferred to a supervisor. I was transferred to what was referred to as the ‘executive department.’
The gentleman I spoke with offered his phone number so that I could continue to contact him directly, I informed him there was no need for his number. All I needed at this point from Dish Network was to cancel my account or to receive a full refund (less my monthly charge of $31.99) for the $315.99 charge on May 26, 2010.
He stated that a refund was only possible within thirty days of “purchase.” I pointed out that it was not yet June 25th and therefore I fell well within the confines of the thirty day return policy. He stated that by their definition of thirty days, I had “Purchased” in April. I stated that a point of purchase, by even the loosest of definitions is when the consumer spends money, which clearly was in May.
The gentleman made it clear there would be no refund issued to me. At this time I asked if he was certain that was the decision Dish Network wanted to make, he stated it was. I then said to cancel my account, effective immediately at which point he informed me that would be a $60 charge. I told him to be sure he was recording this conversation because I did not authorize the $60 charge. To say at this juncture I am dissatisfied with Dish Network would be an understatement, as this gentleman is well aware of.
That afternoon, June 12, 2010 I closed my checking account at my bank so that Dish Network would no longer have free access to my money. I also made another phone call to Dish Network to ensure that all bills would be sent to me in paper form from now on. Upon arriving home that afternoon I had no satellite signal.
The morning of June 13, 2010 I placed another call to Dish Network to inquire where I might return the two Dish boxes/receivers in my home. The gentleman said first that he did not understand what I was calling about and after I explained everything to him twice, and suggested he read through the notes on his computer screen, he explained that they would send me a shipping box in which I could return the boxes at my own cost.
During this June 13th conversation, the CR rep also noted that there was no evidence e of having spoken to a manager regarding my $149 refund.
At this juncture I am conferring with two lawyers, one local and one that contacted me after posting this experience on a consumer affairs website. I have informed several family members of my experience with your company and those who have Dish will be switching to Comcast. Also, I have spoken to my neighbor who recently moved to the neighborhood. Based on my experience she has decided to install Direct TV instead of Dish Network.
During this process, the weekend of June 11-13th I was in talks with investors regarding the programming/packaging we want in our next five restaurant/bars all scheduled to open in the fall/winter of 2010. Currently we have Direct TV and were planning to make the switch to Dish Network. After this experience we have decided to stay with Direct TV for all future stores. Our current package per store is $250p/month. Based on our growth plan for the next five years, at seven stores per year over the next five years, then fifteen per year after for five more years Dish Network has just incurred an estimated loss of $27, 500 from myself and my employer. Had the customer service representatives simply met my simple request of refunding a mere $315 when I initially spoke with them, then we would be ending this letter much differently. Further, instead of losing me as a customer, Dish Network would have continued to have a so-called “valued, ” happy customer.
My sheer disgust for your company at this juncture literally makes me sick to think about. I will continue to phone Dish Network, if for nothing else, sheer annoyance. I will continue to post this letter on every consumer advocate webpage; I will be filing official complaints with the better business bureau and my states attorney general. I will continue my conversation with the aforementioned lawyers.
I am not at all surprised to learn of lawsuits against your company for similar misdealings further reassuring me that I have been wronged. The fact that less than a year ago Dish Network had to settle with 46 states for similar wrongs that I have cited herein only reinforces that it is a dishonest and unreliable company. It is only a matter of time before Dish Network is put out of business by its dishonest and greedy practices.
Disgruntled and Disgusted,
Erin S. Borsdorf

Hello Yovich my name is Mike Houston of DISH Network, I want to say I am truly sorry your floor was damaged, I know this can be frustrating especially after receiving a bad customer experience when you calling in as a result. Here at DISH Network we always want our customers to have world class installations and great customer service. We do not tolerate or phone representatives hanging up on the customers at all. And I would really like to look into the issue of the damage. We do have a Damages Department and I would like to get more information to better serve you on this issue. I will leave you my e-mail so you can get to me directly Michael.houston@dishnetwork.com

we signed up for dish on [protected] and decided wew did not like the service and called to cancel it but they told us that they did not have a 30 day trial period and that we would not cancel the service. we do not know where to go from here. we are very unhappy with this service. please we need help.

I have yet to discover any one that did not make mistakes. But according to this company they never do. I recently did an electronic payment.

Unfortunately there seemed to be an error or type "O" in the routing and my payment came back as not found. ( it was not NFS just not found) I immediately got into my account to see what the problem was. What I found was the portion for payment had been froze so that I could not get into it to see if I had been the one to make a mistake. I then called the company, and was informed that I not only could not get into my account. But would not be able to make payments online for 6 months and they would not take my payment over the phone from my checking account. Now mind all this time there was never a dispute that the check was good. I mailed it and they had no problem posting it and cashing it. So let me ask you how does anyone out there like doing business with a company that pushes you to do business electronically and then insisted that if there is an error made it was you that made it, then locks everything up so that you may not check to see who may have made the error. On top of that tells you that they DO NOT! make mistake. Please keep in mind all this time it was not because of non-suficiant funds just a type O

I've never had DishNetwork and never will. My mother allowed their customer rep to talk to me on her phone, they were giving her the run around. She just wanted to get the service that she was paying for, not the big black rectangle she was getting on her tv. I talked to them and was unable to get any help from them.She paid her bill up to the end of her contract and cancelled the service. We told them to send a rep out and collect their equipment. Instead they demanded that I disassemble their equipment and return it to them. They then decided to try and send my name to a collection agency. (My sister had paid one of the bills for my mother so they took her name and sent it to a collection agency). (She also has never had an account with DishNetwork). The collection agency continues to call her demanding that she give my info to them. I told my sister to contact her states attorney's office and see if can help. dish no longer bothers her about a non existing bill but is still trying to get her to give out my info. What a way to run a company "threaten non customer into giving them money" I thought extortion was illegal.

Everyone has this problem. It would be nice if they let us pick what we want but they won't. None of them do and probably never will.

It sucks

Blame it on the installer, Not the company. You should call customer service and explain the situation and im sure they can send out another installer who will show up on time and do the job right.